As the sun sets over the mountain, the lush and green forests and fields are covered with a layer of rosy clouds.
Bang bang bang~~~
The shafts of the carriages rolled over the rough road. Several carriages drove away from the city behind them along the official road with the driver shouting "Gee!". The sound of footsteps and horse hooves filled the air. The messenger on horseback caught up with the first carriage and shouted to the driver, "Take the side road. We must separate!"
"Why?" The curtain of the carriage was lifted. As soon as Dou asked, she was pulled back by her husband. After a quarrel, Li Yuan appeared behind the curtain with a messy beard and hair. He waved to the scouts walking side by side outside and said, "Go to the front and tell Jiancheng to lead the soldiers to take the official road, and Shimin and his family to take the shortcut to Taihang."
"yes!"
The scout bowed and took the order, then ran out, sending the message by flag signal. At the same time, Li Jiancheng in front was gathering the soldiers and generals who had come out of the city. The confidant saw the meaning of the flag signal and hurriedly reported the news. The former roughly understood what his father meant, and immediately summoned the generals, led their respective subordinates, and hurriedly came from the back, left and right to gather around him.
On horseback, Li Jiancheng drew the sword from his waist and shouted: "Everyone, I have too many family members to travel with the majority. As soldiers, we should escort the elderly and the weak and attract the enemy. Please follow me!"
There was a noisy crowd, filled with the sounds of noisy soldiers. Some were passionate, holding up their weapons and shouting to fight back, while others were timid and dared not answer, but just followed their comrades in front of them and kept moving forward along the official road.
Soon, a small path heading south appeared in front of them. Following the clanging sound of several carriages rolling behind the large group, they turned to a forest path. At this time, Qu Yuanfeng, who was left behind, noticed that the army was marching in different directions, and hurriedly caught up and rushed into the path.
Tap tap tap…
The sound of horse hooves approached the carriage. Li Shimin, who was following the second carriage, turned around and raised his hands: "General Qu!"
"Second Young Master!" Qu Yuanfeng bowed and glanced at the carriage that Li Yuan was riding in. After a moment, he looked away and asked in confusion, "General Manager Li, why do you want to divide the troops?"
“It was my idea, actually.”
Li Shimin saw the anger of accusation on the other party's face and quickly explained: "If the enemy wants to pursue, they must..."
"They are coming for you and Manager Li."
Qu Yuanfeng interrupted him, causing Li Shimin, who had never experienced any storms and had only read some military books, to be stunned for a moment. After reacting, he subconsciously looked at the carriage in front of him where his father was riding. Obviously, it was too late to turn back now.
After coming down from the top of the city wall, Qu Yuanfeng kept thinking about one question. If these gods and immortals came down to the mortal world and wanted to stir up chaos, they would definitely possess high-ranking officials or extremely capable mortals. Martial arts and wisdom are both options. Li Yuan is in an important city with soldiers under his command. Once possessed, he could stir up even greater chaos.
"Forget it. It's too late to go back and call the eldest master back to join forces."
As he spoke, Qu Yuanfeng had many years of experience in leading troops. For now, he could only continue to move forward according to Li Shimin's previous idea. Looking around, he saw overlapping and undulating mountains. "I hope the mountain road can delay the journey for a while..."
However, even as they were talking, there was a burst of rapid chirping of birds in the woods, and a large number of birds flew away in panic and hovered above the woods, not daring to come down.
“Oh no!”
Both Qu Yuanfeng and Li Shimin were horrified when they saw the scene before them, and they heard countless horse hoof sounds on the official road behind them, getting closer and closer.
“Speed up!”
Almost at the same time, the two men shouted at the guards who were following the carriage. The coachman hurriedly cracked his whip, and the guards pushed the carriage forward with all their might. The rolling shafts rolled over one stone after another and staggered into the woods.
Li Shimin ran to the front to lead the way. Qu Yuanfeng anxiously jumped off the horse, held a knife in hand, and used his shoulder to hold up a carriage behind him that had fallen into a pit. He pushed it back and forth with all his strength a few times before the shaft of the carriage ran over it. He immediately jumped on the horse and turned around to look behind him.
The sound of hoofbeats was like thunder, sweeping over.
The drooping branches swayed slightly along with the tree trunks, the dust particles on the ground trembled in the sight, even the tiny stones shook on the ground, and the clear sound of horse hooves gradually turned into thunder.
Boom—
Countless horse hooves tumbled down, splashing dust that lingered between the galloping war horses. Hundreds of cavalrymen turned past the official road like a torrent and rushed towards the mountain trail. The leading general had dark and rough skin, a tall and burly figure, and held an iron whip in his hand. He was the black evil star who had rushed up the city wall before—Yuchi Gong.
The path under their feet was only one road, winding and twisting. Everyone in the caravan ahead heard the sound of horses’ hooves coming in pursuit. Suddenly, more than 20 guards escorting the carriage stopped, drew their swords and raised their shields to block the path. Qu Yuanfeng stopped his horse and turned back, shouting at them: "What are you doing?! Go!"
"General Qu!"
Among the twenty-odd people, one turned his head and a smile appeared on his dark face: "Remember to avenge us!"
"ah-"
The man on horseback had red eyes, tightened the reins, roared, and chased the convoy in front with his horse's belly. Li Shimin turned around to see what happened, but Qu Yuanfeng, who caught up with him, shouted, "Don't look, hurry up!"
The sound of wheels and people's shouts faded away.
The twenty or so people standing on the road looked at each other, tightened their shields and blades, and looked ahead at the winding path. One, ten, a hundred riders... were rushing towards them in a line.
Someone took a deep breath and grinned at the long dragon coming back.
"Brothers, see you in the next life!"
There were also voices that laughed, raised their shields and rushed forward, shouting, "Go ahead!"
No one wants to die.
But if you eat the military rations, you should do your duty.
The next moment, the iron cavalry rushed up, stirring up dust—
…
Wisps of clouds passed through the sunset glow, blocking the setting sun on the top of the mountain. The Cangyu Mountain was winding and the green woods were swaying slightly in the evening breeze. Several figures walked down the moss-covered stone steps to the foot of the mountain. They were all wearing light blue Taoist robes with yin-yang patterns printed on the backs. One of them was an old Taoist with gray hair and beard. He wore a dark blue open-necked Taoist robe with a white lining inside. He held a whisk in his hand and carried a long sword on his back. He walked briskly as if walking on flat ground.
"Master, the Gathering Spirits Palace, just let us go, why bother you to go there?"
Hearing the words of the disciples, Yun Ji flicked his whisk, stroked his beard and smiled: "Haha... A few years ago, Master Lu paid off a debt for Taoist Zixing and left a bunch of things in the sect, causing him to not step out of the mountain gate for several years. Now it has finally been returned almost all. The remaining ones are from the Juling Mansion. I will return them and stay there for a few days to discuss scriptures and Taoism. If possible, I will go to Chang'an to see how Master Lu has governed the world in the past few years with the assistance of the current emperor."
The old Taoist chuckled as he spoke. He came to the foot of the mountain and walked up the path to the south. Looking at the long mountain ridges covered with white mist, he couldn't help feeling relaxed. He continued to chat and laugh happily with several of his disciples.
"I haven't left the mountain for a few years, but the outside world is still the same..."
He stopped talking abruptly, his ears trembling slightly, and he could vaguely hear the sound of people shouting and horses neighing. A moment later, several carriages creaked and swayed from behind them, accompanied by a dozen horsemen. Seeing several Taoist priests dressed up here, Li Shimin, who was in the front, waved his hands and shouted, "Monks in front, get out of the way!"
Bang bang bang~~~
The carriage swayed as it passed. When Qu Yuanfeng, who was running at the end, glanced at these Taoists and felt the fluctuation of their magic power, he pulled the reins and, with a "whoosh", slowed down.
"General, please stop. What's the matter?"
Seeing a general in armor suddenly stop, Yun Ji raised his hand and bowed. People who practice Taoism rarely deal with government officials in the secular world, but they still behave politely.
"Master Taoist, we passed through here in a hurry and disturbed the mountain gate." Qu Yuanfeng bowed on horseback and glanced around. This was the Taihang Mountains. He remembered that his master said there was a Cangyu Mountain here and there was a Chengyun Sect in the mountain. Maybe it was them.
The conversation suddenly changed, and he said, "Masters, we are really helpless. We passed by the desolate mountains and happened to encounter a demon blocking the road. I hope you can rescue us."
As he spoke, he pointed to the mountain trail behind him and said, "They are still chasing us. Please help me!"
There was a faint evil spirit coming from the mountain road over there. Yun Ji frowned and flicked his whisk, "Such a strong evil spirit. This general will go first. People like us who practice Taoism, how can we ignore the demons when we meet them on the road?"
"Thank you!"
Qu Yuanfeng bowed and thanked him, urging his horse to leave as soon as possible. The Taoists behind him had strong cultivation bases, so even if they were defeated by the Black Evil Star, they would be able to escape unscathed.
Boom~~
The sound of horse hooves spread over the mountain road. The old Taoist who watched the general leave slowly turned his head, put a long sword on his back, and walked slowly to the middle of the road with his whisk under his arm. Among the cavalrymen who turned the corner on the other side, the murderous aura from the rough man in the lead contained rare divine power in the world, and there was a faint divine light shining from between his eyebrows.
"Hmm? How can there be divine power? Could it be that a star from the immortal class has descended to earth?"
Thinking of this, Yun Ji's face lit up with joy. He stepped forward and bowed, announcing his Taoist name, "May I ask which immortal family you are from? I am Yun Ji, the head of Chengyun Sect in the human world. I am honored to meet you..."
"Get out of my way!"
The horse's hooves came running wildly, the burly figure opened his mouth and roared, and the black whip in his hand hit down with a bang -