Pawn Crossing the River

The fourteenth person in Bishan Temple and the only survivor is named Zheng Ding. After he woke up, he told Zhang Yuelu and others about his experience on the day of the incident. Coupled with the files compiled by the Western Region Taoist Office and various traces on the body, Zhang Yuelu roughly restored what happened that night.

Strictly speaking, this was a sneak attack, which happened around midnight. Except for one person who was responsible for keeping vigil, everyone else was already asleep. This group of monsters first killed the night watchman, the Taoist priest with five bloody holes on his face, and then used a large-scale illusion to make the sleeping person immersed in a sweet dream and unable to wake up.

The reason why they go to so much trouble is because after death, the soul will quickly dissipate between heaven and earth, so the soul must be captured while the person is alive. This illusion itself is harmless to the human body, but it has a similar effect to numbing powder and intoxicating drugs.

Even when their souls left their bodies, the twelve Taoist priests were still immersed in sweet dreams and could not extricate themselves. This is why they had smiles on their faces after death.

After being deprived of their living soul, the person did not die immediately, but became a living dead, as unconscious as vegetation. This group of monsters refused to give up and sucked blood again, causing all twelve people in their sleep to die from excessive blood loss. Including the night watchman, there were exactly thirteen people.

As for Zheng Ding, he was able to escape because he was a martial artist at the Kunlun stage. The martial arts state at this stage is called the unity of spirit and body, which means that the body and soul are initially integrated into one, although the soul is prevented from traveling. It's possible, but you're not afraid of the soul-stirring method, and you can't bypass the body and directly injure its soul. It can damage both of you. If your soul is injured, your body will also suffer pain.

Several other dead warriors were not in such a state, and their souls were easily taken away, but Zheng Ding woke up from his sleep due to severe pain when the Niwan Palace was "cut open", and with a mouthful of blood Courage escaped.

But after all, he was only a martial artist at the Kunlun stage, and his soul and body were only preliminary and not truly integrated. Therefore, when he escaped, he still lost one soul and three souls due to the damage to Niwan Palace.

After Lingquanzi helped Zheng Ding summon his soul, he also helped him initially repair the Niwan Palace so that he would not lose his soul again, and then let him take a good rest. A full recovery will require a long period of rest.

Zheng Ding also confirmed that this group of demons were indeed not locals, but a group of people with high noses and dark eyes.

Although Zhang Yuelu finally figured out the ins and outs of the matter, there was one key issue that remained unresolved, which was where to find this group of lewd monsters.

The name Semu people comes from the Golden Horde. When the Golden Horde was at its peak, people were divided into four classes, and the Semu people were in the second class.

Today, the Golden Horde has withdrawn from the Central Plains and shrunk deep into the grasslands. Even the former vassal Rakshasa Kingdom has also gotten rid of the rule of the Golden Horde. But the name Semu people has been retained, and it generally refers to people from the Western Continent outside the Central Plains and grasslands.

"Where should we go to find this group of monsters in the vast Western Region?" Although Zhang Yuelu was asking everyone, he subconsciously looked at Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu said slowly: "The Western Region is a mixed place. There are Central Plains people, grassland people, and Semu people. However, the latter have been assimilated in terms of language and customs. Even the differences in appearance are due to constant intermarriage. It’s not so obvious, but according to what Zheng Ding said, the group of Semu people who attacked Bishan Temple were completely foreign in appearance, not much different from those Semu people who came to Lingnan and Jiangnan in big ships.”

"This dynasty does not close the sea, but vigorously develops sea trade. Therefore, many foreign merchants have traveled across the oceans to Daxuan. In many prosperous ports along the coast, Semu people are quite common. But it is precisely because of sea trade. With the prosperity of the country, the trade routes on the land are shrinking. In Xizhou and even the entire Western Region, most of the Semu people from the Western countries are old faces. "

"Such a group of lustful people have just arrived. They all have new faces and may not understand the language. It is easy to leave traces. The Taoist government in the Western Region has no time to take care of them due to the war, but the local snakes must know the relevant information about them. Among the many local snakes, those who have close contacts with Western countries are the most important."

Xu Zhen asked: "What if this group of semu people simply don't have any contact with the local snakes, but hide directly in the wilderness?"

Qi Xuansu said: "If they hide in the wild, then there is no need for them to rob the caravan. In the wilderness, money cannot be used as food. If you want to spend money, you must go to a densely populated place."

"What Deacon Qi said is true." Zhang Yuelu glanced at Qi Xuansu appreciatively and ordered, "Map."

Mu Jin immediately unfolded the map in front of Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu first found the location of Bishan Temple on the map, then slowly moved his finger along the route marked on the map, and finally stopped at a place called "Ugo Shanli".

This is a city that belongs to the vast Western Region, but it has gone beyond the scope of Xizhou and is not under the rule of the Daxuan Imperial Court.

Zhang Yuelu tapped the "Ugo Shanli" location on the map a few times with his finger and said: "This is the nearest big city to Bishan Temple, and it is also where the Semu people gather. Let's go here."

Lingquanzi asked: "What should we do with these corpses?"

Zhang Yuelu said: "Cremate them on the spot, send the ashes back to the Snow Mountain Palace, and then notify the Requiem Secretary. They all died for the Taoist sect and should be worshiped by future generations."

Lingquanzi nodded and said to Xu Zhen: "Deacon Xu, take the people to transport the corpses to the backyard and cremate them separately, and mark the names. In addition, be careful of the transformation of corpses. Cremation can easily cause corpses to be raised, and these people are also being intoxicated. There is no guarantee that there will be no problem if you die with blood.”

Xu Zhen tightened his expression, nodded and said, "Yes."

At this time, everyone was in a side hall. Next door was the main hall where the corpses were parked. Xu Zhen took people directly to the main hall.

Zhang Yuelu said: "Next, we will divide our troops into two groups, go all the way to Wugoshanli, investigate the traces of the demon, and return to the Snow Mountain Palace with Zheng Ding, two disciples from the Western Region Taoist House, and the ashes."

There was a moment of silence among everyone. Everyone knew that chasing down that group of daring alien monsters would definitely be dangerous. Relatively speaking, returning to the Snow Mountain Palace was a good thing.

Zhang Yuelu looked around at everyone and saw their expressions in his eyes: "Chief Lingquan, Deacon Qi, Deacon Zhou, you will follow me to Wugoshanli. Deacon Mu, you and Deacon Xu who are responsible for cremating the corpses will return to the Daxue Mountain Palace, and then wait. My order."

Everyone took orders one after another.

In Mu Jin's view, this was Zhang Yuelu's sign of caring for her. Whether he asked her to stay at Bishan Temple before or whether he allowed her to return to the Snow Mountain Palace now, he was partial to herself and was afraid of being hurt. But some people vaguely felt that the deputy hall master clearly paid more attention to Qi Xuansu. After all, the people he kept by his side were his confidants.

Next, Zhang Yuelu discussed with everyone the relevant details of going to Wugoshanli.

Wugoshanli is controlled by a family surnamed Ai. The ancestors of the Ai family are Western Semu Hu people with a long surname. They have taken root in the Western Regions for many years. After intermarriage with locals in the Western Regions, they were assimilated and took the surname of the Central Plains. This 'Ai' The word ' is taken from the first pronunciation of their original surname.

This family has always maintained close business contacts with Western countries and is proficient in the languages ​​of Western countries.

As the saying goes, if you fail to predict everything, it will be ruined. You must estimate various situations to avoid being in a hurry when things happen.

At this moment, shouting came from the direction of the backyard, and it seemed that someone was shouting "pick up the body."

Lingquanzi's expression changed and he strode out.

Zhang Yuelu stood still, but gave Qi Xuansu a wink, indicating that he should follow him.

Qi Xuansu didn't know why he could always accurately understand Zhang Yuelu's intentions, but he couldn't act stupid in front of Zhang Yuelu, so he had no choice but to follow Lingquanzi out.

The two came to the backyard and saw several firewood piles set up in the backyard. They had been lit, but the fire was not a normal flame, but a strange blood color.

In the blazing flames, several corpses that were supposed to be cremated stood up staggeringly and turned into flaming figures. They bared their teeth and claws and roared, which was very scary.

Seeing this situation, Lingquanzi did not use any spells. Instead, he directly took out his gun and shot it at the head of a corpse who was about to jump off the pyre.

With a "bang" sound, at such a distance, the corpse's entire head exploded, and blood flowed across the face.

Qi Xuansu, who was standing next to Lingquanzi, could see very clearly that what the principals were using was not the "Blue Bird Gun", but the "Dragon Gun" worth 800 Taiping coins. At the moment when the gun was fired, the position of the "dragon head" A ball of intense fire smoke exploded, causing Lingquanzi's gun-holding arm to tremble slightly for a moment.

Even if the alchemist is not good at physical fitness, Lingquanzi is after all a genuine innate person in the stage of returning to the true state. He is only one step away from the heavenly beings. It can be seen that the recoil force is huge. If it were an ordinary person, he would probably hit the sky with this gun. .

After Lingquanzi dealt with one of the corpses, he reloaded his bombs. The others followed suit, took out their "Blue Bird Guns" and fired at the other two corpses.

How to use fire guns is one of the second courses of the Wanxiang Taoist Palace. Anyone who can successfully graduate from the Wanxiang Taoist Palace will use fire guns, including long guns.

Daomen's handguns are all equipped with fixed-loading ammunition with an integrated structure, which solves the cumbersome problem of separation of projectiles and gunpowder. Different talismans are engraved on the warheads to have the effect of destroying energy, evil, spells and armor. At this time, everyone in the Taoist sect was using evil-busting projectiles. Under the concentrated fire of the handguns, the two corpses only struggled slightly for a few times before falling into the fire again.

Lingquanzi was a little dissatisfied with the shallow experience of these new members of Tiangang Hall, but he also understood that all veterans came from novices. He did not rebuke anything, but just ordered: "Go and get some peach wood. Use peach wood to make a fire, which can prevent corpse transformation. , This is the basic principle taught by Wanxiang Dao Palace.”

Xu Zhen said ashamedly: "Yes."

Taoist disciples are in great demand for peach wood, and all Taoist temples have reserves, and Bishan Temple is no exception.

Soon, everyone got the peach wood and started the fire again. This time, there was no corpse transformation, and the flames turned into normal colors, with only a slight "crackling" sound.