Endless route

Chapter 400 10. Capturing Zhou Jiu and disappearing into thin air

As he spoke, the detector had already penetrated deep into the main hall, and penetrated into the gaps between the statues to explore. There were dangers among the heavy iron ropes, and it was possible to hit the iron ropes and cause vibrations at any time.

The operation requires extreme meticulousness.

It takes full concentration to do it successfully.

The picture on the screen continued to change. Ji Dao and Zhang Ergou continued to speculate on the origin of the statue based on the details of the statue. As more and more details became available, the answer became basically clear.

This statue was worshiped in a Taoist temple related to Dao Miao Zhenren in the early Ming Dynasty. It is a niche Taoist temple that is somewhat famous among Taoists, but cannot be ranked among the righteous Taoists.

According to Ji Dao.

Even though this Tao Miao Zhenren had some background, he once boiled medicine for the emperor in the palace, and seemed to have a high official position, but he was not a figure in the hundreds of years of Taoist history in the Ming Dynasty.

The most indispensable thing for Taoism is celebrities.

Daomiao Zhenren worshiped the Celestial Master, but there was more than one Celestial Master in the dynasty. Daomiao Zhenren was just one of them. He had no great achievements in his life and was only at the bottom of the Celestial Masters.

Making medicine for the emperor was equally unremarkable. The emperor longed for immortality. The harem had a large staff in the Medicine Supervisory Department. There were not even a hundred but eighty Taoist priests who made elixirs and made medicine.

Moreover, according to the records of Daomiao Zhenren, except for his final notoriety, he never did any other major things in his life.

Combining these backgrounds, the historical status of Daomiao Zhenren is consistent with the current situation. This name can be found in history, but no one remembers it and no one has heard of it regardless of history books.

Far inferior to the ancestors of Tiangong.

The successive founders of Tiangong are much stronger than Daomiao Zhenren, they have made countless great achievements, and they are older than him.

But nothing is absolute.

Throughout the life of Daomiao Zhenren, we can see that this person was well versed in the golden mean, did not show his ability in the Drug Supervision Department, had difficulty walking beside the emperor, and finally ended up with a stable end.

It can be seen that this person also has some tricks.

A few words in the history books may not be able to explain all of this person's thoughts and methods, nor can they explain everything about Daomiao Zhenren. Maybe there are other differences about this person.

At least for the moment.

Neither Jidao nor Zhang Ergou could tell which deity the statue was enshrined in, nor what its abilities were, nor even the relationship between the statue and Daomiao Zhenren.

"There is nothing underneath this stone statue."

Nia suddenly spoke up to remind everyone.

The detector she operated had sneaked into the bottom of the main hall, moved down from the head of the statue, and got under the legs of the statue. The situation here was a little different from the one above.

Everyone observed carefully.

Nia should be talking about the base of the statue. Generally, the statues worshiped by Taoists will be equipped with an enshrining platform, commonly known as the base, and the statues will be placed upright on the platform.

There are large and small bases.

The taller one is taller than a human being, and the lower one has several steps, but the statue in front of you has no base at all.

Replaces the base.

It's a dark pit.

The statue is suspended in the air by iron cables, with its feet a certain distance from the ground, and directly below it is a pit with a diameter of two to three meters.

The pit was completely blocked by extremely dense iron cables, with three layers inside and three outside. It was so watertight that even a searchlight couldn't shine through. It was impossible to tell how deep the pit was.

"It seems that the problem lies in this pit. There is a talisman on the iron rope, which is very similar to the original Demon Pregnancy Tower."

Ji Dao stared at the screen.

"There are the same iron ropes and talismans on the Pregnant Demon Tower. Could it be that this is also a Pregnant Demon Tower?" Zhang Ergou sounded confused. He had also been to the Pregnant Demon Tower and knew what the Pregnant Demon Tower looked like.

"I don't know, but the iron rope town is so tightly sealed, and the detector sneaking into this place didn't cause any abnormal phenomena. I guess the monsters in the pit will have difficulty escaping."

Ji Dao continued to reason.

The detector buzzes from time to time, but until now it has not caused any abnormalities, and no attack has fallen on the detector to prevent their continued exploration.

"We can't get down into this pit. The iron cable is too thick for the detector to drill into, and it's difficult to cut the iron cable."

Nia walked around the pothole.

In the deep-sea floating city, they prepared a lot of equipment, but in the end they chose to pump water. They pumped a thousand meters to the bottom of the rift valley in one go, and then managed to use explosives to open the channel.

"Then maintain surveillance for the time being, capture Zhou Jiu, and enter the ancient ship to see what's inside."

Zheng Yun immediately ordered.

The exploration of the Taoist temple at the bottom of the lake has come to an end. At this moment, they do not dare to rashly lift the seal of Haiwei. If something evil is released, the people of Wuhai will suffer disaster.

At this moment, we can only find another breakthrough point.

Catch Zhou Jiu, look for traces of Mr. Shan on Zhou Jiu, trace the identity and methods of Mr. Shan, and conduct targeted cleanup after obtaining relevant information.

"good."

Ji Dao took action immediately.

He wanted to take the immortal corpse ghost general and personally sit on the cliff of the cave to prevent the Yin soldiers from losing control after they went down.

"You continue to monitor."

Zheng Yun warned Nia, then turned to look at the surveillance screen in the cave and began to control the Yin soldiers.

The Yin soldiers were already ready.

Wearing a diving suit and carrying filming equipment, stand by the lake and wait for the submergence. You can jump into the underground lake at any time.

Not long after.

Ji Daogui will rush to the scene.

They used rock climbing equipment and put it on a large number of Yin soldiers. When Zheng Yun ordered the Yin soldiers to jump off the cliff, they pulled the rope to slow down their descent and let the Yin soldiers fall smoothly into the water.

Wow.

More than a dozen Yin soldiers entered the water one after another.

Among them were more than a dozen Yin soldiers, who landed directly on the deck of the ancient ship, presenting a close-up view on the screen.

There are shade-loving plants everywhere on ancient ships.

The lush greenery is like a grass cover, covering the entire ancient ship, including the deck, masts, and cabins. The colors range from green to black, and are rooted in the wood of the ancient ship.

Creaking.

Every step the Yin soldiers took made the deck beneath their feet make strange noises, as if the ancient ship could no longer withstand this kind of stampede.

"Don't let it go even under water."

Zheng Yun ordered the underwater Yin soldiers to disperse around.

Bandit Zhou Jiu looks unshaven and crazy, but the more this situation happens, the more we need to be prepared for him to flee in panic.

If he discovers that an outsider has entered the ancient ship, he may jump off the ship and escape. Once he gets into the mountain cracks and large and small river mouths near the underground lake, the difficulty of catching him will be greatly increased.

The Yin soldiers are to be suspended in the water.

Use a high-definition action camera to monitor the surroundings. Once a figure appears, it will immediately lock the location and continue to track it.

Not long after.

everything's ready.

The Yin soldiers on the deck began to move slowly towards the interior of the cabin. The searchlights illuminated various parts of the ancient ship. The bright lights overlapped and illuminated the dark corners one by one.

The ancient ship is dilapidated and old.

The level of corruption is extremely high.

The damp environment is too destructive to wood. Even if the material of the ancient ship is water-proof and is the best ship-making material on the endless route, it will not be able to survive the erosion of time.

There are large and small potholes on the deck.

It seems like it can be crushed by just stamping your feet.

The Yin soldiers had just taken a few steps on the bow of the ship when they discovered various traces left by Zhou Jiu on the ground, including the boardwalk paved on the deck and daily items stored in the corners.

There are many bottles and jars placed in the corner of the deck. They are all porcelain bottles and earthen jars that Zhou Jiu found from the ancient ship. There are some burlap balls stuffed in the mouths of the bottles. It is unknown what is stored in the bottles and jars.

Probably food.

It could be something else.

The Yin soldiers did not explore the bottles and jars, but walked around them towards the ship building. The rotten doors and windows were dark, the tables and chairs inside were vaguely visible, and everything was filled with debris.

"There are really a lot of things on September this week. A homeless person can be considered rich, just like an old man who collects rags."

Zhang Ergou interjected.

The picture on the screen made people speechless. All kinds of messy things were piled up. The first floor of the ship, which was not very large, was filled with all kinds of miscellaneous things.

His right hand was piled with bones.

The deep part of his left hand is covered with animal skins.

There are also a large number of wooden boards placed in the corner, as well as some swords tied to wooden sticks, possibly used as axes.

Right in front is a homemade fishing net and a lot of fishing equipment. Bandit Zhou Jiu was also born in a farmer's family. He may have learned fishing in his early years and was able to make these gadgets.

"Go to the front right and have a look."

Zheng Yun glanced around and commanded.

The ship building is the most important part of an ancient ship, and it is the same for Zhou Jiu, because the ship building is the farthest from the water and has a roof to protect it from water droplets, making it the driest place on the ship.

If Zhou Jiu wants to live in the cave, he must make good use of the boat building. He himself can only live in the boat building.

And among the debris on the floor.

There is an abnormality in the front right.

The Yin soldier kept vigilance and walked over, only to see a cauldron over there and black stones piled all over the ground.

"Is this coal?"

Zhang Ergou frowned and recognized.

"Where did he get the coal? Is there coal in the mountains near the underground lake?" Ji Dao asked at the same time from the other side.

The camera footage is very clear.

The black stones on the ground were coal. Zhou Jiu had placed them on a wooden shelf to dry, but they were still a little wet. After a rough sweep, they found they were at least several hundred kilograms.

"This old boy is really lucky. I said why he was able to spend the rainy season in the cave. It turned out that he found coal and used Triton's furnace for refining medicine as a heater."

"These coals cannot be burned at the moment, but after the temperature drops sharply and the lake freezes, the air will dry up. If the coals are stuffed into the furnace, they can be used for heating on Zhoujiu."

Ji Dao sighed.

Therefore, human beings are powerful and can manage to survive in any extreme environment. Even Zhou Jiu, who is obviously abnormal, knows how to make the best use of everything according to local conditions.

"Aren't all the river mouth caves around here dug out by Zhou Jiu? Is this man mining coal alone in the cave?"

Zhang Ergou was still in disbelief.

"Keep looking."

Zheng Yun asked Yin Bing to speed up the progress.

The Yin soldier immediately spread his legs and searched up and down the ship's building. After a short time, he made a circle, passed the wooden planks between the ancient ships, and stepped onto the bow deck of the second ancient ship.

The perspective continues to switch.

The Yin soldiers dispersed into several teams, thoroughly inspecting the five ancient ships, forming a faint encirclement shrinking inward.

The creaking sound was continuous.

Five ancient ships are brightly lit.

Looking down from the surveillance angle above, Yin soldiers were like villains wandering around the ancient ship looking for it. The light beams of more than a dozen searchlights were scattered in all directions, illuminating half of the cave.

It was only a matter of time before we found out about September.

Even if he was familiar with the terrain, he would still be unable to escape the encirclement of a large number of Yin soldiers, because there were not so many blind spots in the ancient ship for him to dodge and avoid pursuit.

At this moment, the little Taoist priest suddenly pointed to a place and said, "Master Immortal, is there a Yin soldier missing here?"

"There is one less?"

Zheng Yun moved his eyes to look.

The Yin soldiers in the picture are currently shuttled in the cabin of the ancient ship. The environment is dark and messy, and a large amount of debris is piled up like an old alley from the last century, making it appear dark and strange.

There are five Yin soldiers here.

But there are only three in the perspective.

"Look back and scan around."

Zheng Yun frowned and ordered.

Several Yin soldiers turned around and looked around at the same time. After scanning the circle, it turned out that there were only at most three Yin soldiers in the screen.

Plus the main perspective itself.

There are only four Yin soldiers in total.

There really was one missing, and Zheng Yun didn't know where the lost Yin soldiers had gone, so he could only ask these Yin soldiers to return along the way they came from to see if they could find any traces.

"Master Immortal, did Zhou Jiu take action?"

Noriichi asked over the intercom.

Master Xian was manipulating a large number of Yin soldiers to explore the ancient ship at the same time. There were so many perspectives that it was difficult to take into account all of them. If Zhou Jiu took advantage of the chaos, he would have a chance to sneak attack a few Yin soldiers, but that was all.

"We don't know yet."

"But it's certain that the thing to do is on this ancient ship, which can make other Yin soldiers move closer to this ship."

Zheng Yun stared at the screen and said.

There are advantages and disadvantages to using Yin Soldiers. The advantage is that you can explore and find dangers without taking any damage, but the disadvantage is that Yin Soldiers are rigid and difficult to adapt to, and are far less flexible than exploring in person.

"If we weren't trying to arrest him alive, Zhou Jiu wouldn't have survived for a moment." Zhang Ergou said angrily after taking the words.

"Master Immortal, I'll just take action and sprinkle the poison to cover the ancient ship. I'll see how Zhou Jiu can resist it."

Ji Dao gave his advice.

He had already prepared relevant measures. The Yin soldiers were wearing diving suits and were not afraid of being drugged, but Zhou Jiu was unable to resist.

"Can."

Zheng Yun stared at the screen closely. Until now, he was not sure whether the missing Yin soldiers acted for Zhou Jiu.

But this does not affect the decision.

You have to be willing to use the means you have to use.

"okay."

Ji Dao immediately took action, took out the poison from the side and handed it to the immortal corpse beside him, asking the latter to pull the rope and jump off the cliff.

Immortal corpses are nimble and agile.

Descending quickly on the rock face.

In just a few breaths, the immortal corpse landed at the bottom of the cliff, a few meters away from the ancient ship. Then he took apart the drug in his hand, threw it towards the ancient ship and scattered it in mid-air.

A large amount of white powder floated.

Cover the entire ancient ship.

The drug will blend into the air. As long as Zhou Jiu is on the water, he will not be able to escape the poison. If he inhales even a ray, he will faint.

But this is just an auxiliary.

The Yin soldiers still need to continue the search. Even if Zhou Jiu faints, the Yin soldiers will have to find him before he can be captured and taken back to the command room.

"Master Immortal, there is one missing here."

The little Taoist priest pointed to the other side and continued to speak.

Zheng Yun looked sideways and saw that the previous situation happened again. There was indeed one less Yin soldier in the picture, but his location was not on the same ancient ship, but far apart.

"well-done."

Zheng Yun praised the little Taoist priest, saying that even if the situation was strange at the moment, he still had to encourage the little Taoist priest to stay focused and alert.

"I didn't see the culprit when I played back the video."

Nia operated the screen in front of her and played the two videos back and forth, but after watching them several times from beginning to end, she could not find the moment when the Yin soldier was lost, let alone the murderer.

The two Yin soldiers seemed to disappear on the spot.

Captured out of thin air by some strange thing.