The vast Kunlun Mountains stretch across the land, winding like a giant dragon. To the north of the Kunlun Mountains is the grassland where the Tie'e people thrive. .The grassland stretches for tens of thousands of miles from west to east. The sky is like a dome, and the land is vast and sparsely populated. After the First World War at Zhenguan, only three tribes of Qidingwei Falcons and Gaoyantuo were left. Wolves are seen on the grassland, and the iron-fronted cavalry on patrol come and go like the wind. When they come, the dust is flying, and the horses neigh and people are happy. After they leave, the sun and moon shine in the sky, and the green grass is silent.
Qi Gu, the high priest of the Gaoyantuo tribe, is still alive. He is too old to be old. He lies motionless all day long, seeming to be awake but not awake, sleeping but not asleep, with a wrinkled face. The old skin hangs on the bones, all the hair and teeth have fallen out, and I can't even open my eyes. I can only drink mare's and goat's milk to survive. Occasionally, when I eat meat, I have to beat it with a mallet and roll it into small balls, just like swallowing pills. Send it down with milk.
But he is still alive.
Many years ago, Qi Gu lay dying like this in his tent. Young and strong warriors on the grassland died one after another. Even Khan Bamusa passed away, and he was still living feebly. .
No Iron-fronted man has ever lived as long as him. On the grasslands, aging means death and making room for young generations. Even the Khans of the Iron-fronted tribes, Not many of them could live out their old lives and died in tents. They either died on the horses in battle or died at the hands of ambitious generals or equally ambitious princes.
The reason why Qi Gu is still alive is because when he was young, he fell down a cliff in a terrible way, hugged the overgrown pine tree, accidentally entered the cave left by the immortal, and found three pills and a rotten silver ring. , a guideline of more than a hundred words. The elixir prolongs life but cannot prevent aging. The key to sacrificing the ring cannot directly point to the avenue. The opportunity for praying for bones is limited to this. This adventure allowed him to secure his position as the high priest of Gaoyantuo tribe and won the trust of Bamusa. , below one person, above ten thousand people, he can get wind and rain, but it is not enough to ensure that he will continue to enjoy prosperity and wealth after Bamusa's death.
Fortunately, he has vision and foresight and has taken on a good apprentice.
Qi Gu’s apprentice is Que Ding, the youngest son of Bamusa. Que Ding’s mother was a captured Han slave and died in childbirth. He was not taken seriously since he was a child and was ostracized by several of his brothers. Fortunately, Unfortunately, his background was destined to prevent him from inheriting the position of Khan of the Gaoyantuo tribe. Instead, he was able to stay away from the whirlpool of fighting and practice witchcraft with Qi Gu in peace and quiet.
Quading was a wise man. Taking advantage of his father's good health and Qi Gu, who was still a high-ranking high priest, he bid farewell to the Khan and his master, took enough gold, and traveled to the Central Plains alone. In the land, he traveled all over the capital of Xiongguan, visited famous mountains and rivers, and made friends with a group of hereditary cultivators. They each got what they needed, and learned a few side spells. They were all unfashionable three-legged cats who could only fool people. Gueding knew clearly in his heart that although money and silk could attract people's hearts, the magic that money could buy could only be to this extent at most. The truly profound Xuanmen magic, let alone the chance to see it, even if he could get it, he would not be able to learn it with his qualifications. Come.
The most important thing for a person is to be self-aware, isn’t it?
Quading stayed in the Central Plains for more than ten years. Although the place for the Han people was good, it was not a place to stay for a long time. He spent all his money and was penniless. The blue eyes around him turned white. He didn't care much and started back. After arriving at the Tie'e grassland where he was born and raised, he returned to Qi Gu and served his master with all his heart. After a long journey, Gueding's horizons were broadened, and his temperament was smoothed away, becoming a bit gentle. He tried the bone prayer several times, and seeing that he was sincere, he gave him an elixir and handed over his mantle. Teach each other carefully, give guidance carefully, and keep no secrets.
One year before Bamusa’s death, Guoding, the leader of the Qi Guli, succeeded him as the high priest of the Gaoyantuo tribe. He did not hesitate to use ruthless means to remove all obstacles for him. Queding also strived for success. Relying on the heresies he learned from the Central Plains, he defeated all his fellow disciples and successfully ascended to the position of high priest.
Soon after, the South Dipper star fell, and Yongye spread its dark and cold wings, shrouding the sky over the grassland. Gaoyantuo Khan Bamusa passed away, and his eldest son Huge led the main force of the cavalry. With the strong support of Qi Gu and Gueding, he defeated several brothers in three battles and took the lead in entering the royal court to worship the gods and ancestors. For Khan.
The weather is freezing, life is cut off, the pastureland has turned into a wasteland, and the wolves have no food to eat. They launch crazy attacks on the iron-fronted people. The most terrifying thing is that they no longer fight with their claws and knives. The fire beasts and wolves are mixed with countless powerful and cunning monsters, which even the iron-fronted priests find troublesome.
The wind and snow were raging, cattle and sheep died in droves, food was scarce, and the situation became more and more serious. Famine and plague spread on the grasslands. The Tiebou people suffered heavy casualties, unable to protect themselves, and were driven away by wolves. As they continued to migrate westward, none of the old, weak, sick, women, children, and children who were left behind survived. In the end, the three tribes of Tiebes, Qiding, Wei, and Gaoyantuo who safely retreated to the royal court were less than 10,000.
Tie'e Wangting is located on the coast of the North Sea, in a valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The ice and snow cliffs are like unreachable and unbreakable city walls. There is only a narrow path that winds through. Towards the last stronghold of the Tiebei people.
The wolves surrounded the snow-capped mountains, howling day and night, trying to attack from time to time, wearing down the courage and physical strength of the survivors. Under the threat of death, the iron-fronted people of the three tribes gave up their past grievances and twisted. They formed a rope, pushed up the leader of the Yantuo tribe, Khan Huge, and dispatched priests and warriors to stick to the royal court and keep away the hungry wolves.
The wolves are not afraid of death and take turns to attack. The dead wolf carcasses serve as food, so there is no need to worry about starvation. Gueding led three priests to attack. They were often entangled by powerful monsters and were unable to escape. They suffered many casualties and had to retreat to the royal court. The trapped iron-fronted people lacked food. After days of fierce fighting, they were hungry and could no longer lift. He raised his sword and gun, but he couldn't hold his eyes any longer.
On this day, the wolves suddenly stopped attacking the royal court. Instead, they fought and devoured each other, seeming to have internal strife. The Tiebou people were relieved to survive the desperate situation. They all thought it was the blessing of gods and ancestors. The worst days were over. They even ventured out of the royal court, secretly dragged the wolf corpse back, and shared it with others to satisfy their hunger, saving many lives. Dying life.
However, survival from desperate situations is only beautifulA good fantasy, the wolves have not retreated yet, new demons appear in the royal court, killing the Tiele people without anyone noticing, a fresh corpse is discarded on the ground every day, a big bloody hole is opened in the chest, and the heart is broken. He flew away, his head was lifted off the spiritual cover, no brain matter was left, and his death was horrific.
Huge suspected that a monster had sneaked into the royal court, transformed into a human form, lurked day and night, and ate the heart and brain to satisfy his appetite. He summoned everyone to discuss it several times, but they couldn't come up with an idea. He could only watch the warriors die miserably one by one, unable to do anything.
Quading carefully inspected the dead Tiele people and found that all of them had been killed by one blow and their hearts were gouged out. They died cleanly with no trace of struggle or resistance. Except for the heart and brains, There were no other mutilations on the body. He remembered that when he was traveling in the Central Plains, he heard people say that most monsters are very picky about eating people. They mostly suck warm blood and devour soft and juicy internal organs. As for lifting the Tianling Cap to suck brains, it is extremely rare. It seems to be a habit only possessed by bird monsters.
He guessed that the man-eating monster was not lurking in the royal court, but living in the snowy mountains. (..)