Bamboo slips have been in use during the pre-Qin period. They vary in length, from a dozen centimeters to more than half a meter, and characters are carved on them with a knife.
The piece in Wang Xuan's hand is golden, with a warm luster under the light.
It is eight centimeters long, three centimeters wide and two centimeters thick, and its length is shorter.
It is heavy and weighs heavily on your hand. As you can imagine, it will sink when it enters the water.
What is engraved on the golden bamboo slips is not text, but several patterns. A creature with the head of a human and the body of a snake shows different postures.
It has long hair, and it is unclear whether it is a man or a woman. It has the posture of a snake with its body coiled up, and there are also carvings of it rolling on the ground, and there is also a picture of a snake with its tail touching the ground, like a sharp sword. Stand upright toward the sky.
There are no words on the bamboo slips, only a few engraved pictures. It cannot be seen that it has any relationship with the old skills. At least Wang Xuan did not find its value.
"I can't understand it, I can't understand it. It's been in my hands for many years, and I've been playing with it like jade." The middle-aged man wearing a cyan mask spoke.
He had short, thick hair and sat there quietly.
"I got too little. A bunch of golden bamboo slips fell into the hands of the plutocrats from Xinxing. I only got two pieces back then." He said flatly.
Wang Xuan is convinced that this is a master, and his achievements in old skills are probably very amazing.
He dared to seize the food from the tiger's mouth, competed with the men and horses sent by the chaebol, and took away two pieces, which was not easy.
This kind of bamboo slips is regarded as a rare thing even by Xinxing. After major organizations obtained it, they kept it secret from now on. They were all studying it in secret, and it was difficult for outsiders to see it.
"Has anyone from Xinxing analyzed anything?" Wang Xuan asked.
“I don’t know.” The short-haired middle-aged man spoke briefly and did not want to talk about this topic anymore.
For a moment, the room fell into silence.
Wang Xuan met him two years ago. It was also at that time that he first knew and saw the dark areas in this peaceful city.
On the ninth floor underground of a certain landmark building, there is an old martial arts competition every Friday night. The contestants fight in iron cages, which is extremely bloody. The loser usually loses his hands and feet.
The stands outside the iron cage were filled with people of unknown identities, all wearing masks, both men and women. They were watching the fierce competition, roaring and screaming, a mixture of excitement and chaos. together.
Wang Xuan rejected the middle-aged man on the spot and told him clearly that he would never walk in a gray area. He liked the study of old arts, but he would not "show blood" in front of others.
The short-haired middle-aged man laughed at that time and told him that he was just taking him to see another side of the city. The real world was far from what he usually saw.
The bloody actual combat in the iron cage has little to do with them. They only occasionally select potential seedlings.
As for them, they are a group of explorers.
What they have to experience is far more thrilling, exciting, mysterious, and even terrifying than this cage match., because they have entered the starry sky and are not limited to the old land.
The middle-aged man told him that no matter in terms of prospects or strength, the explorers were very brilliant, far from being comparable to those people and organizations wandering in the gray area.
They chatted several times during that time, but Wang Xuan still rejected him.
The short-haired middle-aged man left him a golden business card and told him that if he changes his mind after graduation, he can come here to find him.
And as early as that time, that is, two years ago, the short-haired middle-aged man predicted that the old technique experimental class would inevitably be disbanded and this investment project would be shelved.
"Why did you find me?" Wang Xuan once asked him seriously back then.
The short-haired middle-aged man told him that first the investment project of the Old Technique Experimental Class attracted his attention. Then, he observed everyone in the class and finally only focused on two people.
Others in the class are not determined enough and have doubts about the old skills. Even if they continue along the old path, their achievements will be limited.
In fact, after Wang Xuan embarked on the path of old skills, he was out of control. In just a few years, he succeeded in collecting Qi and nourishing his body.
The short-haired middle-aged man believes that Wang Xuan has great potential and will probably make extraordinary achievements in the old arts.
This organization is relatively free and loose, but its strength is undoubted. At the same time, it is very mysterious. Its tentacles have already entered the starry sky and can reach new stars.
"After formal introduction, you can call me Aoki." The short-haired middle-aged man wearing a cyan mask spoke, breaking the silence.
"Does this count as joining?" Wang Xuan asked.
Aoki said: "Not counting, you are one of the potential seedlings I have selected in the past few years, but you are not the only one."
"Do you need to pass any test?"
"Yes, this is an existing rule. Although I like you, I can't change it."
Aoki, a middle-aged man with short hair, told him that there would be one in two days The expedition can be used as his assessment to ask him whether he will participate.
"Participate!" Wang Xuan nodded.
“After joining us, you have a rough idea of what you will experience before, but now I still want to emphasize what adventure means. There will naturally be dangers and even life-threatening dangers, so you have to think about it. "
Wang Xuan said: "No problem, I have thought it through."
Qingmu was very serious and said: "You can live here, we must ensure that nothing is leaked before that. Any news, because this operation is very important!"
Wang Xuan expressed his understanding and there is no problem in staying.
He held a golden bamboo slip, looked at Aoki behind the mahogany desk, and said: "Can I ask some questions?"
Aoki said: "It depends on what the problem is, if it involves Even if you successfully join us, you will still need to obtain some amazing secrets."
Wang Xuan asked: "I want to know if the end of the old magic road is the top among the alchemists. person, formerIs there really no other way out for Fang? "
Aoki sighed and said: "I understand your mood, because I also started by practicing old skills, but this road is too difficult, it takes countless hard work and sweat, and it takes decades. , it is difficult to achieve achievements, and the highest peak in theory is the alchemist, and the end point has been determined. "
It is indeed the same answer, the same conclusion reached by the life research institute at Xinxing.
"In fact, the most pessimistic thing is that even if the end of the road is at You already know where it is, but there are not many people who can reach that point. After the passing of the pre-Qin Dynasty, there are fewer and fewer people who can reach the level of alchemists. As for the recent ancient times, they have completely disappeared. "
The old skills are increasingly declining, and the alchemist has long been a legend, difficult to spy on.
"The position where the alchemist is standing is the end of the road. Has no one tried to continue exploring? "Wang Xuan asked.
"It's easier said than done. Throughout the ages, even real alchemists have been unable to appear again. How can future generations dare to think about this? Aoki shook his head bitterly and said: "In ancient times, there were some powerful people who wanted to continue to deduce the road, but unfortunately, no one succeeded. "
"Why are those alchemists able to push the old skills to the extreme? Can those who come after us never surpass them? "Wang Xuan asked.
"Do you think it is the result of the hard work of several alchemists? No, it was the result of generations of powerful alchemists constantly improving the old techniques. In the end, there was really no way out, and the top among the alchemists may have been the strongest individuals among ancient humans. "
......
That night, Aoki asked people to prepare various equipment for Wang Xuan for the expedition, including alloy knives, daggers, protective clothing, simulated human skin masks, etc.
In addition, there are thermal weapons!
They set off early the next morning. They first came to the outside of the city and boarded a small spaceship in a secret manor to head to Qingcheng Mountain.
p>The small spacecraft is very advanced and cannot be detected by the satellites of the old earth.
This is the first time that Wang Xuan has sat in this kind of spacecraft. Everything feels strange, but he is just calm. Observation, no random questions.
He feels that he has a lot to learn.
Aoki's personal participation in the operation shows that he attaches great importance to this operation.
In addition to Wang Xuan, there are four other people traveling with them, all wearing simulated human skin masks. I don’t know what their true expressions are.
Qingmu said: "The target is Qingcheng Mountain. This time there is a chaebol on the Xinxing side. We have sent troops to secretly dig in the mountains, and our target is also there! "
"What was discovered in Qingcheng Mountain and attracted the new star plutocrats? "Someone asked.
Before the action, it had been kept secret. Even they did not know the destination earlier.
Aoki was very serious and said: "Someone seems to have come from a certain place. Some remarkable records were found in the bamboo slips left by the alchemists of the pre-Qin Dynasty, and they pointed directly at Qingcheng Mountain. ”
“Are they still interested in the inheritance of the Alchemists? "SomeoneQuestioning, Xinxing has a super technique, and the old technique has been officially abandoned.
Qingmu said very solemnly: "On the deciphered bamboo slips, there are some secrets recorded. Qingcheng Mountain seems to have something that makes the alchemists excited and excited, so this time the chaebol came in secret again."
A few people were in high spirits, and even Wang Xuan's heart skipped a beat. Is there a new discovery in Qingcheng Mountain? It makes all the alchemists worry about it. Could it be related to... the Immortals? !
The most powerful alchemists are considered to be immortals.
But some people don’t agree with it and think it is more mysterious and powerful than the alchemist.
"The Zhou family and the Ling family dug into the underground palace and found the target!" Qingmu whispered, he had just received the latest secret report.
Wang Xuan’s heart skipped a beat, which two families were they? !
It didn’t take long and they were close to their destination.
Qingcheng Mountain is known as one of the four famous Taoist mountains and one of the five fairy mountains.
It is also considered to be one of the birthplaces of Taoism. Zhang Daoling once preached in Jiemao, Qingcheng Mountain. There is a saying that he finally emerged in this mountain.