The catastrophe began in the spring and summer of that year. Thousands of years later, people in the world still remember very clearly that period of terrifying and crazy days.
In the extreme south of the southern border, among the 100,000 mountains, countless monsters and alien races suddenly swarmed out, the number is countless, all of them are bloodthirsty, regardless of gender, old or young, they kill people when they see them, and many evil beasts are greedy for human flesh , Wherever he went, it was appalling.
The catastrophe broke out in the southern Xinjiang area near the Shiwanda Mountain, and quickly spread to the entire southern Xinjiang. The five ethnic groups in southern Xinjiang, Miao, Zhuang, Tu, Li, and Gaoshan, rose up to resist.
But in the face of countless monsters and alien races, especially among the countless ferocious monsters and alien races, there are more than a dozen strange monsters with particularly powerful witchcraft. Dead bodies littered the field.
This incident immediately shocked the world and spread throughout the world. The people of China were in constant panic and panic all day long. Some people in the area near the southern border fled to the north with their families, hoping to get farther away from this catastrophe. the better.
All cultivators in the world were shocked, and even the righteous and demons, who had always been fighting openly and secretly, temporarily stopped their hands at this moment, secretly watched the movement in the south, and began to plan their own countermeasures.
Fenxiang Valley of the Righteous Dao Sect located in the south, because the owner of the valley, Yun Yilan, happened to lead most of his disciples to Qingyun Mountain to visit Daoxuan Daoxuan, so he was lucky enough to escape the catastrophe.
After the rumors happened, the owner of Yunyilan Valley, who was in Qingyun Mountain, heard the tragic situation of the people in southern Xinjiang, beat his chest and feet, and was in pain. The words were very sad and self-reproached, and he already wanted to thank the world by committing suicide. Fortunately, the disciples on the left and right stopped him, and the elders of the Qingyun sect persuaded him with kind words. Then the master of Yungu calmed down and vowed to burn Xianggu to the fullest. Use all your strength to avenge the people in southern Xinjiang for this sea of blood and deep revenge!
Not long after, Yun Yilan announced to all cultivators in the world at Qingyun Mountain, explaining that today's catastrophe was actually caused by a monster with powerful methods and a ferocious nature. Gu and the Qingyunmen sect jointly appeal to the cultivators of the world, and use the power of the world to kill this beast!
The next day, Tianyin Temple, which received the news, responded formally, agreeing with Qingyun and Fenxiang's call, and sent people to join the alliance soon.
Zhengdao anxiously organized discussions, and sent several groups of outstanding disciples to the south to find out the details of these monsters and alien races.
However, the three major sects of the Devil's Cult, the Ghost King Zong, the Wandumen, and the Hehuan Sect, who were usually arrogant, all suddenly became quiet, as if they were watching each other, and they were not in a hurry to take any action. That is to say, in such a situation where the storm is about to come, Middle-earth temporarily fell into a strange calm.
This weird peace was finally broken the day before the arrival of the summer solstice, and the alien race of monsters that had ravaged southern border to such an extent finally entered the Middle Earth.
However, at the beginning, the civilian casualties were not very large, because as early as a month ago, the people near the south had already run away completely. It's just that the number of these monsters seems to be increasing, and they are spreading more rapidly, and they are about to be forced into the hinterland of Middle-earth. At that time, it is time for all the people in the world to fall into a miserable place.
It is not clear whether it is shocking news or rumors that are difficult to distinguish between true and false, but the shocking news is indeed coming one after another. Yesterday it was said that a village was washed by blood, today it is rumored that the entire city has been reduced to ruins. Every day spent in panic and fear is so uncomfortable and frightening to anyone.
However, for those who are heartbroken, even if everyone in the world dies, it seems that it has nothing to do with them. Gui Li stayed with Zhou Yixian, Xiaohuan and Yegou and his group for more than a month, and even he himself didn't know why he followed them all the time, maybe he felt that he had nowhere to go, so he decided to leave. It's natural.
Among the group, Zhou Yixian was the one who objected to Gui Li's being with him the most. It's just that there was one more guy who was eating for free, but he didn't know how to carry luggage or do some chores like a wild dog, and he didn't drink all day long. He just sleeps, and in turn often asks someone to take care of him.
And when it comes to free food, Ghost Li is just drinking a little wine, Zhou Yixian's biggest thorn in the side right now is the three-eyed monkey who follows Ghost Li, Xiao Hui not only eats a lot, but also drinks far less than ghosts Li, a person who gets drunk as soon as he drinks, can be compared. After drinking a big bag of spirits, the monkey's face doesn't even turn red. If it wasn't for Xiaohuan who insisted on taking this person and monkey with him no matter what, how far would Zhou Yixian have come? How far have you run.
As for Taoist Wild Dog, ever since that night when he wanted to murder Ghost Li, Xiao Hui found out and stopped him, and in the end he was spared by Ghost Li. Don't say a word.
However, in the past few days, whether it is the nagging and complaining Zhou Xian or Xiaohuan, including the silent wild dog Taoist, they have gradually discovered that there seems to be some changes in Ghost Li. Although it is difficult for them to speak clearly, Ghost Li is indeed gradually becoming sober, the most obvious manifestation is that when he was drunk, he began to reduce, sometimes he didn't even drink for a whole night, but his behavior was also very strange - Ghost Li often sat with Xiao Hui , facing the direction of the north, in a daze, as if thinking about something on his mind.
The news of the catastrophe in the south gradually spread as the people fleeing to the north flocked to the north. Zhou Xian and others also knew about it.
Among the crowd, Zhou Yixian was startled when he heard the news, then thought for a long time, shook his head, then sighed all day long, asking where should he escape
As for the others, they are not as worried as he is. Ghost Li and Wild Dog Taoist both look preoccupied, while Xiaohuan doesn't seem to care about the crisis that sounds relatively far away. Playing with Xiao Hui, occasionally taking care of Gui Li and talking to him, life is also very enjoyable.
However, under Zhou Yixian's insistence, this group of people finally headed north. According to Zhou Yixian, the farther you are from the south, at least your life will be easier. But as more and more refugees came from the south along the way, the situation in the news seemed to be getting worse. The alien race of monsters coming out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains is like a broken bamboo, devouring wildly all the way, and has gradually forced into the hinterland of Middle-Earth.
A few days ago, among the many news, there was even a news that the alien race of monsters had killed a city hundreds of miles behind them, scaring Zhou Yixian, Xiaohuan and the others to rush on their way, although it was not long before they learned that the news was a rumor, But the fear and fear of the human heart can be seen from this.
In the middle of the day and night, a group of people slept in the wild, built a fire on a small hill, and sat around the fire, only Ghost Li sitting in the distance.
Xiao Hui jumped out from the darkness, with a lot of wild fruits in her hands, she didn't know where she picked them, she jumped on Gui Li's shoulder two or three times, sat down, and ate it.
Zhou Yixian glanced over there, pondered for a while, looked at Xiaohuan and Taoist Wild Dog next to him, and said, "I have something to tell you."
Xiaohuan was a little strange, glanced at Zhou Xian, and said, "Grandpa, what's the matter?"
Just as Zhou Yixian was about to speak, Xiao Hui, who was sitting on Guili's shoulder, seemed to have noticed something, and yelled loudly. Everyone was startled, they didn't know what happened, they stood up one after another, walked behind Xiao Hui, and looked in the direction of its dancing limbs. In the dim light, a group of people, including men, women, old and young, came walking on the ancient road below the hill. They all looked exhausted, but they still staggered forward.
Zhou Yixian looked at it for a while, then sighed, and said, "It's a refugee from the south."
Everyone was silent, no one spoke, Zhou Yixian was silent for a moment, and said: "Actually, what I want to say is this. I don't know what's going on in the south right now, but suddenly there are many monsters and barbarians who kill people when they see them. This is not wrong. Yes. In the past few days we have seen many people fleeing to the north, I think we have to speed up our journey and run to the north."
Xiaohuan frowned, and said, "Grandpa, it's right to go north. Anyway, we've always been wandering around, but the north is so big, I heard that those monsters and alien races move very fast. Do you have a good place to hide?"
Zhou Yixian glared at her, and said: "Didn't you listen to the rumors of people these days? Among those monsters, there are quite some abilities, some have good noses, some have good hearing, no matter if you hide in the tree or hide in the cellar , or even run into the deep mountains, they will be found out and eaten. Where can I find a place to hide when I encounter such a goddamn monster?"
Xiaohuan looked bitter, and said: "Then what should we do, are we going to be eaten by those monsters sooner or later?"
Zhou Yixian snorted, and said: "Nonsense, I, Immortal Zhou, had a wonderful plan, how could I die in the mouths of these beasts. I have already figured it out. Looking at the world at this moment, there is only one place that is safest."
Xiaohuan was startled, Daoist Wild Dog and even Ghost Li moved beside him, and looked at Zhou Yixian, Zhou Yixian felt a little complacent, "Hehe" laughed twice. Xiaohuan was both surprised and happy, and said: "Grandpa, there is such a place, tell me quickly!"
Zhou Yixian coughed twice, then said solemnly: "Qingyun Mountain."
Taoist Wild Dog's expression changed, Gui Li turned his head away, only Xiaohuan was a little surprised, and said: "I know that Qingyun Mountain is where Qingyun Sect is located, and there are quite a few monks, but after all, it is only a group of people, and when we meet Those monsters and alien races are good enough to protect themselves, how can they care about us?"
Zhou Yixian laughed, and said: "You don't know, although there is no news yet, but I predict that the sects of Fenxiang Valley and Tianyin Temple must meet in Qingyun, because that old guy Yun Yilan is in Qingyun right now , plus ten years ago during the battle of Qingyun, Qingyunmen's 'Zhuxian Sword Formation'..."
When Gui Li heard these four words, his body trembled violently.
Zhou Yixian didn't pay attention to him, and continued to say happily: "The Zhuxian Sword Formation of Qingyunmen has been in the limelight. Everyone knows that the sword formation has earth-shattering supernatural powers, so if we are in Qingyun League, at least there will be an extra layer of security. I Looking at the righteous people in the world, I am afraid that within a few days, most of them will go to Qingyun to fight against this unprecedented catastrophe. If we go to Qingyun, we will naturally arrive at the safest place. There are so many masters of Taoism People, you don’t want to let our common people die!” After saying that, the more he thought about it, the more complacent he became, and he couldn’t help laughing.
A cold snort suddenly came out amidst his laughter, Zhou Yixian was startled, looked together with Xiaohuan and Wild Dog Taoist, only to see Ghost Li slowly stand up from the shadow, without turning around, said coldly: "Just I'm afraid that those righteous people of yours will not only leave you dead, but also kick you in the back."
Zhou Yixian was ridiculed by him face to face, he couldn't hold back his face, and said angrily: "Yeah, anyway, you are a crooked devil, and if you go, you will be kicked out..."
Xiaohuan suddenly shouted loudly: "Grandpa!"
Zhou Yixian took a look at Xiaohuan, knew that the words were serious, and shut his mouth resentfully, Xiaohuan turned to look at Gui Li, hesitant, but finally said: "You, don't listen to what my grandpa said, he is just so speechless. Obscure..."
Zhou Yixian was furious, and interjected: "How dare you say that your own grandpa has nothing to say!"
Xiaohuan ignored him, and still said to Guili: "But the situation is really bad now, you should go with us, after all it will be safer than other places..."
Before Xiaohuan finished speaking, Gui Li said calmly: "No need, the world is so big, I have my own place to go." After saying that, he moved his body and walked forward.
Xiaohuan was taken aback, with an anxious expression on his face, he said anxiously: "Zhang... you, where are you going?"
Ghost Li didn't answer, his figure moved forward from slow to fast, Xiao Hui who was lying on his shoulder turned his head, looked at Xiaohuan who was standing on the top of the hill staring blankly, grinned, and raised his hand to shake.
Xiaohuan looked at the rapidly shrinking and disappearing figure, and for some reason, suddenly felt empty in her heart for no reason, her nose was sour, and she was about to shed tears.
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"hiss!"
There was a soft sound of breaking through the sky, and Gui Li's figure flew across the night sky. The sky was dark and cloudy, and there was not a single bright spot of starlight to be seen. It seemed that even the sky had been affected by the catastrophe in the south, making it look gloomy and gloomy, giving no hope.
After leaving Zhou Yixian and the others, Gui Li flew south alone for a while, but in the night sky, under the dark clouds, he could see gloomy and dark places in all directions, the wilderness and mountains under the sky, cold and lonely, people in the air It was empty, and I didn't know where to go.
Xiao Hui, lying on his shoulders, suddenly barked twice, Gui Li glanced at it, saw three eyes in front of him, Xiao Hui grinned, to it, it seemed to be happy most of the time. A smile and affection appeared on Gui Li's rare face, he gently touched the monkey's head, his body sank, and fell to the ground.
The place where I settled was a wild mountain with a dense forest. Looking at the lush vegetation and dense bushes, there was hardly any place to step down in the forest. Even in this wilderness, no one had ever been to this mountain or forest. Gui Li's face was pale, he landed in the forest, before he landed, he shook his right hand, and the Soul Eater Wand flew out from his sleeve, circling around his feet, but he didn't hear any abnormal sound. In the place, all the trees, shrubs, and thorns suddenly withered, and turned into dead branches in a blink of an eye.
And as the Soul Devourer flew back into his hand, Gui Li could clearly feel strands of thin icy breath wandering through the black body of the stick. Xiao Hui let out a cry of joy, jumped off his shoulders, and ran deep into the forest. Ghost Li raised his head and glanced at Xiao Hui's back, since he went to the southern border, especially after Xiao Hui transformed, his appetite has increased rapidly, and he always thinks about eating.
The night was dark, and the night wind blew from the field, blowing over this mountain forest, the forest made a sound like waves, and countless shadows shook together. Gui Li slowly sat down on the ground, slowly closed his eyes, the surrounding tree shadows passed over his face, in the darkness, he was like a silent ghost.
I don't know how long it took, a low growl was faintly heard from a distance, and then disappeared without a trace. Ghost Li frowned slightly, opened his eyes, but his body did not move. Sure enough, a moment later, there was a tremor in the nearby bushes, and it was the monkey Xiaohui. ran back.
The sharp and annoying thorns seem to be ignored by Xiao Hui at all, many times it will just step on it, and when it gets closer, Gui Li can see it clearly, and see Xiao Hui with one hand on his chest , Sure enough, he was holding a few wild fruits, but the other hand was dragging behind him, as if pulling something.
Ghost Li couldn't help but feel a little strange, and glanced behind it, he was actually taken aback. In the shadows, Xiao Hui ran back dragging an animal-like thing, it was not small, much bigger than Xiao Hui, but Xiao Hui dragged it very easily. After a while, Xiao Hui had already run to a nearby place, with a chuckle, he first put down the wild fruit, then waved his hand, there was a muffled "bang", and a large piece fell in front of him.
It was an adult wild boar, it was huge, maybe it would be taller than Xiao Hui when standing up, but at this moment, the wild boar had a hole in its head, bleeding from its body, it was already dead. Gui Li looked at the wound, saw that the wound was still fresh, he was stunned for a moment and said to Xiao Hui: "You caught it?"
Xiao Hui grinned, pointed at the wild boar, and pointed at Ghost Li at the same time.
Gui Li sighed, smiled and said, "I'm not hungry."
Xiao Hui scratched his head, blinked his three eyes together, then pointed at the wild boar, then at himself. Gui Li was so teased by it that he couldn't help laughing, for a moment the heaviness in his heart eased a lot, he smiled and said: "Okay, I'll help you."
Xiao Hui immediately beamed with joy, obviously knowing that Ghost Li's craftsmanship is not trivial, it is his favorite. Gui Li rolled up his sleeves, pointed like a knife, and lightly stroked on the wild boar's belly, and immediately cut off the tough pig's skin. He saw that he was skillful, and he peeled and deboned the wild boar with two or three strokes, and then flew up to find it. I found a place with spring water to wash the pork back, set up a wooden frame and lit a fire, and started roasting the pig.
The flames became more and more intense, Xiao Hui and Gui Li's faces were a little flushed by the flames, Xiao Hui had already eaten a few wild fruits, and now his eyes were fixed on the roasted pig that was gradually emitting fragrance from the flames . Ghost Li slowly took out various homemade seasonings from his waist and added some to the meat, then took out a small bottle of sesame oil and began to sprinkle lightly on the pork. The sesame oil slowly flowed along the pork, and was roasted by the flames below, slowly seeping into the meat. Soon, the surface of the pork began to turn a light golden yellow, transparent oil droplets ooze from the pork itself, and the alluring aroma wafted away.
The light of the fire moved slightly, illuminating the faces of the monkeys and people, as well as the trees in the small open space around them. The reflections of the tall trees swayed, as if the wind was howling. Ghost Li looked at the burning flames in front of him, and gradually lost his mind, while Xiao Hui looked at the roast pig with a salivating look, touched his ears and gills, and ran to the side from time to time to break some wooden branches and add them to the fire.
In the silent air, there is a strange and alluring fragrance.
In the depths of the woods, suddenly there was a low roar: "Roar!"
The roar was deep and powerful, it seemed to be far away, but it still came clearly, and a chilling intent quickly spread. Gui Li suddenly woke up from his contemplation, his brows slowly wrinkled, his body didn't move, but his gaze gradually became deeper, looking towards the direction where the roar sounded. Xiao Hui jumped onto Gui Li's shoulder with a swish, without any fear on his face, he also looked back.
There was a "crack" in the flames, a branch burst open, and the smell of wild boar became stronger.
Three feet away, there is a dark forest, the wind in the forest seems to suddenly pick up, whistling, after the low growl, there is no sound, but the cold and murderous intent is almost invisible Zhizhi quickly approached here.
The pupils in Ghost Li's eyes shrank slightly, and his brows frowned even tighter.
"Crack!" Another twig finally burst open.
Suddenly, the whistling wind lost its sound, and the whole forest seemed to be still for an instant, without any sound. In front of the darkness, the dense forest and tangled thorns suddenly fell to the sides, revealing a narrow path. But it is a passage for one person to walk.
A young man dressed in bright silk clothes, with a handsome face that was almost seductive, stepped out of the darkness step by step. In the darkness, he was so conspicuous, as if the surroundings were lit up because of him. Gui Li didn't get up, didn't move, still sat on the ground, looking directly at the boy.
The boy looked at Gui Li, then his eyes fell on Xiao Hui, he was slightly taken aback, he let out a "Huh", and said: "Three-eyed monkey!"
Gui Li didn't speak, but Xiao Hui suddenly called out "Zhi Zhi", looking very annoyed.
Almost at the same time as Xiao Hui yelled, the deep roar just now sounded again, the difference was that this time the roar sounded directly from behind the young man.
"Roar..." Following the deep and powerful roar, behind the calm young man, a hideous strange head slowly rose from his shoulders, with four eyes and two pairs of upper and lower pairs of faces. As thick as a copper bell. The mouth is huge, almost as wide as the face. When the mouth is opened, it can be seen that the mouth is full of sharp teeth, especially the six sharp fangs protruding from the mouth. Bits of saliva dripped from between the teeth, and landed on the monster's gray-black skin covered with crusty bumps.
Gui Li's expression finally changed, he stood up slowly, and said coldly: "Taotie?"
The boy hadn't answered yet, his eyes were still sizing up Gui Li, he suddenly seemed to sense something, he turned his eyes to Taotie (Note 1), he couldn't help being startled, he saw that this vicious beast's usually fierce gaze was now very greedy , but the target was not Ghost Li and Xiao Hui, but the wild boar that was grilling on the ground.
The enticing aroma of barbecue wafts in the air.
The young man smiled suddenly, and said to Gui Li: "Your craftsmanship is good! I said why Taotie is restless tonight, I didn't expect to be attracted by you."
Gui Li said indifferently: "Although Taotie is an ancient evil beast, ferocious and fast, but it has always been greedy for food, a roasted pig is nothing."
The young man shook his head and said, "Otherwise, my gluttonous food is different. Ordinary delicacies have long been ignored. I never expected to be so greedy by your seemingly rough barbecue."
At this moment, as the young man said, Taotie seemed to be very fond of this roast pig, and the saliva flowed wildly between his teeth, flowing down the gap between his teeth. Suddenly, with a whistling sound, Taotie jumped out of the young man's shoulders and turned into a black shadow , to the flames. Unexpectedly, the gray shadow flashed, and the sound of "squeak" sounded angrily, and it was Xiao Hui who came out of the air, blocking in front of the roast pig.
With a low growl, Taotie landed on the ground and revealed its real body. It had four legs and sharp claws, and its body was at least four times bigger than that of the wild boar. Double your body height.
Compared with it, Xiao Hui is pitifully small, but for some reason, Taotie seems to be a little afraid of Xiao Hui, not daring to be careless, but he is reluctant to part with the delicious food in front of him, so he growls in a low voice, and his expression gradually becomes ferocious.
Gui Li looked at the two strange beasts who were annoyed and confronted each other over the roasted pig, and suddenly said: "This wild boar has not been roasted yet, and the taste is not up to the heat, why are you arguing?"
What he said was inexplicable, even the boy couldn't help but look at him more, but the two confronting beasts reacted, Taotie stared at Xiao Hui with four eyes, and Xiao Hui opened his three eyes wide. , the seven eyes of the two strange beasts stared one bigger than the other. After a while, Xiao Hui yelled at Taotie a few times, baring his teeth, then ran back a few steps, and sat on Ghost Li's buttocks. Beside him, his eyes were fixed on the roast pig.
Taotie's four eyeballs swayed with Xiao Hui's movements, and when Xiao Hui sat down, the beast yelled "Roar, Roar" twice, and unexpectedly walked to the other side of the flame slowly, with its hind legs retracted. He got up, swayed his front legs lightly, and actually fell down in front of the flames, but the saliva still flowed out involuntarily, looking scary, but also a bit funny.
The young man watched Taotie sit down, walked over slowly, didn't care about the dirtiness of the ground, sat down beside Taotie, looked at Ghost Li, smiled slightly, and said: "Which expert are you, I can't imagine that there is such a person. How can Taotie suppress his viciousness temporarily?"
Gui Li didn't look at him, he sat down, his gaze returned to the flames lightly, and said: "You and I met by chance in the mountains, why bother to know the name, it's just a roast pig, just enough to eat."
The young man stared at Gui Li for a while, then suddenly laughed loudly, startling countless night birds in the distance.
"Well said, well said." He tapped his leg lightly, with an expression of surprise on his face, and said, "It's just to feed the hunger. Speaking of which, all living beings in the world are busy all day long, isn't it just to feed their hunger? In this way, the so-called "human" you said is no different from me, a gluttonous beast?"
Ghost Li turned the roasted pig gently, and the smell of sesame oil on the pork immediately became stronger, seducing the Taotie on the opposite side to be agitated, but I don't know if it was for the delicious taste or what, this strange beast is not only ferocious but also famous for its gluttony Unexpectedly endured it, and at the same time, Xiao Hui gave it a hard look.
The flame was burning quietly, reflected on Gui Li's face, he said slowly: "People are different."
The boy said: "What?"
Gui Li said: "Love and hatred, love and hatred, people have feelings."
The young man laughed loudly and said: "Don't you know that all beasts have feelings too. If you kill this wild boar, you should know that the wild boar is in pain and fear. If I kill you, you are also like a pig. All living beings are equal, how can there be a distinction between humans and beasts?"
Gui Li raised his eyes, looked at the boy, and said: "There is a difference."
The young man's eyes were sharp, and he said, "What's the difference?"
Gui Li said: "I have great regrets in my life, and I carve them into my heart day and night. Life is better than death, but I have to live. If you live, you still have hope, and if you die, you are a cowardly and betrayal person. How can a pig have such hatred? ?”
The young man was startled, the sharp look in his eyes gradually faded, and then a strange look appeared on his face.
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"Note 1: Taotie in "Strange Tales of Gods and Demons: Strange Beasts": There are evil beasts in the extreme south of China, with four eyes, black skin, long neck and four legs, fierce nature, and extremely gluttonous. Moving swiftly like the wind is a disaster. 』