Afternoon.
The dark clouds gradually dispersed and the light rain gradually stopped.
Although the observatory at the Exorcist Department headquarters is open-air, there is an invisible ceiling constructed by magic on top. Even after a heavy rain, the ground and low tables here will remain intact. , futons, etc. are still dry and spotless.
Luochuan waved his hand gently.
Gu Xu followed his instructions and sat on the futon opposite him.
"This is the 'Baifang Tea' that I asked Dean Li of Longmen Academy for," Luo Chuan pointed to a teacup on the table and said to Gu Xu with a smile, "Would you like to try it?"
Gu Xu read all kinds of classics and naturally knew that "Baifa Tea" is a unique specialty of Longmen Academy. It is useful for monks like him who are climbing towards the "Wangxiang Terrace" and need to experience human emotions. Great help.
"Thank you, Mr. Chief!"
Gu Xu did not refuse, raised the tea cup and took a sip gently, then closed his eyes.
A mysterious feeling immediately rose in the depths of his soul. Many scenes appeared in his mind one after another like a movie, accompanied by many emotions such as joy, anger, sadness, and joy.
These include his first practice, his first drawing of talismans, opening the box and seeing the snow ginseng given to him by Chen Jisheng, and listening to the spirit of the "Jinghong Pen" telling the past in the Lu family's haunted house. , watching Shi Xiaohan playing shuttlecock with a group of children while watching by the Yi River, and being forced to practice the "Zhao Ming Forbidden Technique" by the Kongxuan San people next to the black altar in Yishan...
Wait until he can do it again When he opened his eyes, he felt like he was waking up from a big dream, and he seemed to be reliving the memories of the past few months since he traveled through time.
His intuition told him that tonight’s practice should go very smoothly.
"How does it taste?" Luo Chuan asked with a kind smile.
"It's like tasting all the flavors of the world."
"How many steps have you climbed on the 'Homesickness Ridge' now?"
"Eight hundred Level eighty-six."
"You climbed nearly nine hundred steps in less than a month... The speed of your cultivation is really shocking," Luo Chuan chuckled. , commented, "You must know that it took a recognized genius like Chu Fengge nearly half a year to climb the eight hundred steps."
"Maybe it was because I accidentally You must have found a little trick!" Gu Xu said modestly.
"Have you ever thought about how you will climb the 'Soul-Broken Cliff' in the near future?" Luo Chuan then asked, "According to the speed of your cultivation, it is likely that you will only need one or two In a month's time, you will reach the Soul-Broken Cliff.
"I think if you can board the Soul-Broken Cliff before the start of the Luoshui Conference, you will have a better chance of winning. "
"'Soul-breaking Cliff'..." Gu Xu silently recited this word in his heart.
Based on the information he learned from the practice books, he climbed the "Homesickness Ridge"The road he has traveled can be said to be steep and steep, full of dangers - the journey he has taken so far is actually just the beginning.
When he reaches the one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, he will face a cliff like an ax and a knife. There were no roads or stairs on the cliff, so he had to rely on his own strength and climb up with bare hands.
Because in the history of the Great Wilderness, many senior practitioners accidentally fell from this cliff during their practice, fell into the abyss full of howling ghosts and wolves, and finally became possessed. , the soul is destroyed.
That’s why this cliff is called “The Broken Soul Cliff”.
However, after thousands of years of exploration, the monks gradually found a way to deal with the "Soul-Broken Cliff", and the casualty rate dropped significantly.
It requires monks to find a specific environment that matches the attributes of the skill - for example, monks who practice ice-attribute skills often choose to retreat on snow-covered mountains; for example, monks who practice wood-attribute skills Monks often choose to go to primeval forests with towering ancient trees; for example, monks who practice thunder and lightning attribute skills often choose to practice in seasons with frequent thunderstorms...
Even for the most basic training, For the "Guiyuan Jue" which does not have special attributes, the monks will also find places with unique Feng Shui and use formations to create an ideal environment with smooth aura.
With the help of the environment and the power of skills, the monks can build ropes on the "Soul-breaking Cliff" or carve out ladders to move forward on the "Homesickness Ridge".
Of course, "Soul-breaking Cliff" is just an illusion constructed by the monks in the world of consciousness.
Its essence is actually an all-round and leap-forward strengthening of the true energy in the monk's body. It is a qualitative change that is naturally caused by a quantitative change.
For example, the "Red Flame True Technique" that Gu Xu is currently practicing can make his true energy have the effect of burning flames. Then after he climbs to Soul Broken Cliff, what can his true energy achieve? The maximum temperature will be increased exponentially, and there may even be a chance to have properties such as explosion, breach of defense, or inhibition of enemy wound healing.
For example, Chu Fengge and Shangguan Jin, who practice "The Art of Stars", can obtain more pure star power after climbing to the "Soul-breaking Cliff", which can not only bring life to the true essence The attributes of the palace lord star, and he can also be more proficient in using a series of martial arts pioneered by Luo Si, such as "Meteor Walking on the Moon" and "Sea of Clouds and Galaxy Sword".
"I have considered setting up a formation in the house that can maintain a high temperature environment," Gu Xu replied, "because I have just recently understood the 'Seven Burning Sky' Second Style' Ming Zhu', this shouldn't be difficult for me to do."
"I have a better idea here," a mysterious smile appeared on Luo Chuan's face, "I wonder if you are interested, little friend Gu. "Listen?"
"Please give me some advice, Sir"
"There is a grotto under the ground in Daguguan, south of Luojing. There is a blazing tunnel in the cave." Lava River——For monks who practice fire-attribute skillsFor me, it is a very ideal place for cultivation. ”
Gu Xu did not respond immediately.
…………
He is no stranger to the place name “Daguguan”.
< p>It is recorded in ancient books: "Dagu, fifty miles south of Luocheng, was formerly known as Tonggu. ”This valley is a gateway to the south of Luojing City and an important pass to Nanyang, Ruzhou and other places. Its terrain is steep, with sharp peaks and thick bushes. It can ambush heavy troops and cut off the enemy during war. North-south transportation.
Of course, the reason why Gu Xu remained silent was not because Daguguan was an important military location that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
It was because it was once a protected area. The headquarters of the sect known as the "Devil Sect" - the "Longevity Sect"
According to the book, this sect was once rampant, not only practicing evil methods, but also secretly recruiting people. Believers collected incense and held bloody sacrificial rituals.
So, in the third year of Tianxing's reign, Emperor Tianxing sent the Imperial Guard and the Exorcist Division to carry it out. No one, whether ordinary disciples or servants, survived; its mountain gate was also completely burned by a fire.
Nearly all traces of the "Changshou Sect" in the world were destroyed. Erase.
If it were not for the fact that there are still a few brief records of Emperor Tianxing’s great achievements in annihilating the Demon Sect, I am afraid that the world would have completely forgotten the existence of this sect.
In this regard, Gu Xu once secretly lamented in his heart: His Majesty, the Emperor of the Daqi Dynasty, was really indecisive in dealing with ghosts and heavy-handed in dealing with humans.
Logically speaking, at his peak. The Kongxuan San people are extremely afraid of Emperor Tianxing, which obviously shows that Emperor Tianxing's strength is far beyond that of ordinary eighth-level monks, and may even have the combat power of the ninth level.
But now. , not only are "fierce god" level ghosts harming the people in every province, but also only about a hundred miles away from Luojing, the "Mangshan ghost" is still dominating the top of the mountain.
< p>However, when he encountered the Qingzhou Lu family who had committed "treason" or the Changshou Sect, which was regarded as a "devil sect", Emperor Tianxing showed no mercy at all and killed them all without leaving a single blade of grass behind. < /p>Gu Xu once complained: Is it possible that Emperor Tianxing also believed that "the old husband who wants to get rid of foreigners must first settle down at home"?
…………
Seeing that Gu Xu didn't respond for a while, Luo Chuan smiled and said, "Gu Xiaoyou, I know what you are thinking. The lava river I mentioned is indeed related to the ‘Longevity Cult’.
“Since the ‘Longevity Sect’ also practices fire-attribute skills, the monks in the sect often retreat in that grotto to break through the realm.
“But now, The 'Longevity Cult' has been completely eradicated by His Majesty, and the magma river has become a resource shared by all monks in the Daqi Dynasty, but it has not yet been made public to the public.
“Some monks from the Exorcism Department Headquarters and some teachers and students from Longmen Academy occasionallyChoosing to go there for meditation, the disciples of the Zhao family in Youzhou regard it as their training ground. Every time they come to Luojing City, they will go there for a few days - after all, they Youzhou people once believed in the 'God of Fire' , are basically good at playing with fire, and the environment there will be a great help to their practice.
"You can go there to practice without any worries.
"I very much hope that you can break through the 'Soul-breaking Cliff' as soon as possible, and then compete in the 'Luoshui Conference' Achieving a good result has once again made our Exorcism Department proud. ”
Gu Xu nodded and decided to go back and check some more information about the Daguguan Grottoes.
On the road of spiritual practice, if you want to go further, you need to take every step They all walked calmly and steadily. Because Gu Xu was determined to become a saint, he had to strive to do his best at every stage and leave no consequences.
He was born in an ordinary life and lived in a remote town like Yishui. There are no particularly good conditions for practicing in the county, so he has to rely on himself for almost everything.
But now, since he has the opportunity to share the same training ground with the disciples of the Zhao family in Youzhou, it is natural for him. You won't be polite either.
"By the way, Gu Xiaoyou," Luo Chuan continued after a brief silence, "Actually, I am very curious. I have never let you go with Chu Fengge and Shangguan Jin before. Have you ever felt dissatisfied while practicing "Lexing Jue"?
"After all, the place where the power of the stars in the entire Da Qi Dynasty is strongest is the observatory under your feet - if you practice "The Art of Stars", you can do it in this yamen You can easily climb the Soul-Desolating Cliff without having to go through such trouble."
"No," Gu Xu shook his head, "I have read in a book that there are high-grade techniques. Containing the true meaning of the great path of the saints, it is essentially a shortcut opened by the predecessors for future generations, so it can speed up the cultivation of future generations, but it can only enable people to reach the sixth realm at most.
" If you want to reach the seventh realm, you must open up your own 'way'. Taking shortcuts will not work.
"Now "Red Flame True Art" is very suitable for me."
"You are right," Luo Chuan smiled and said, "For those who are determined to become a saint, For monks, high-grade exercises are indeed a shackle that hinders progress.
“However, the "Lexing Jue" was not created by me, but by Emperor Ziwei of Zhongtian North Pole for the believers. The technique was put into my mind in the form of a dream.
"Its true meaning is to comply with God's will and obey fate. It does not match your wish to 'change destiny against heaven'."
"Actually... I just want to Live longer." Gu Xu sighed and sighed silently.
Today, he got confirmation from Luo Chuan: Luo Chuan's "Tao" is indeed related to "complying with destiny", which is completely consistent with his previous conclusion.
It’s just that he and Luo Chuan’s “Tao” have another inexplicable connection.
Although he does not agree with this "Tao"", but he can learn all the magic and martial arts from Luo Chuan almost at a glance.
"I almost forgot an important thing," Luo Chuan suddenly spoke and interrupted. Gu Xu's thoughts, "Gu Xiaoyou, today you created a talisman like the 'Fire Character', which will be of great use to our future ghost-killing plan.
"Are you willing to teach its drawing method to the monks of the Exorcist Department? The Exorcist Department will not treat you badly in terms of merit rewards."
"Of course "Okay," Gu Xu replied without hesitation, "My original intention in designing the 'Fire Character' was that I hope all monks can use it."
He knew very well that there was a gap between monks and evil spirits. In a battle, sometimes just a single talisman can turn the tide of the battle, help a monk escape from danger, and save one or even many lives.
These people are probably people he knows or even is close to.
For example, the "Tai Shang Arctic Demon-Suppressing and Ghost-killing Talisman" that he originally improved once helped Ma Qin defeat the ghost "Xi Nang" and escape from death.
Today, when he was designing the "Fire Character", he actually didn't think about what kind of rewards he would get.
But now, since Luo Sishou mentioned meritorious service rewards, he naturally would not refuse.
After all, he needs merit very much now.
"It's just that the 'fire character' is not in the existing talisman system, and has never been used in actual combat. It is difficult for us to measure its value and directly calculate the corresponding merits," Luo Chuan He continued, "So, I will consider giving you a basic reward of one thousand meritorious deeds first."
"After that, throughout the country, as long as any monk kills a ghost with a 'fire character' , you will get an additional merit reward - the merit value will be calculated according to the specific situation and the level of the ghost killed.
“What do you think?”
PS: On the last day of November, please vote for me! !
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Notes:
(1) “Dagu, fifty miles south of Luocheng, formerly known as Tonggu.” ——Jin Luji’s “Luoyang” "Records"
(2) "The old husband who wants to fight outside must first make peace with himself." - Zhao Pu of the Song Dynasty