It was windy and snowy in the forest at night. However, the seemingly light snow was not blown away by the howling night wind, nor did it disappear into the dense snow. Instead, it fell from the sky alone and arrogantly, ignoring the surrounding wind and its companions. It slowly floated down and landed on the shoulder of the Third Minister of Offerings.
The Third Minister of Offerings of Qinghe County was bound by the monk's Emblematic Gesture. He sat cross-legged in the snow and could not move at all. He could only watch the thin snow fall on his shoulder and could not help but feel confused.
When the thin snow fell, the monk stopped walking toward the lakeside. His straw sandals sunk deep into the thick snow. Then he turned around and looked at the thin snow in silence.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the forest. The sound was like sharp pieces of ice rubbing against each other. Accompanied by the wind and snow, it was naturally mournful and sounded like the chirping of cicadas.
Cicadas were creatures of summer and would be silent in the autumn wind.
In this context, cold cicadas were silent.
However, the wind and snow were cold tonight, and there seemed to be countless cicadas in the forest!
Those cicadas hid behind the branches, in the upturned bark, hanging between the spider webs, and sitting in the ice and snow. They watched the falling snow and the monk in the wind and snow, chirping wantonly.
The cicadas kept chirping.
The forest was full of cold cicadas.
The chirping of the cicadas in the forest became more and more intense and mournful. The thick snow on the branches was shaken and fell down. However, there seemed to be two large and invisible cicada wings above the forest by the lake, covering the whole sky and preventing the chirping of the cicadas from spilling out of the forest.
The mournful chirping of the cicadas was colder than the snow and more elusive than the night wind. It sounded everywhere, returned to silence, and revived everywhere. Finally, it fell into the ears of the monk.
The chirping of the cicadas in the forest seemed to be indifferently saying, "Repent and you will be saved."
…
…
The monk listened to the increasingly mournful chirping of the cicadas, and his expression became more and more solemn.
His name was Qi Nian.
He came from the Xuankong Temple and was a powerful World Wayfarer of the Buddhism Sect.
Because of the records in the temple, he came to Chang 'an to see the legendary Son of Yama. He was even ready to kill that person even if he had to face the Academy.
Ever since he started to practice silent meditation, his Zen heart and willpower had become firmer and firmer. Even the countless powerhouses in Chang 'an and the mountain of the Academy in the south of the city could not move him.
Logically speaking, no sound should be able to stop his footsteps.
But these cicadas were different.
Because he knew that these cicadas represented a person.
He was the most mysterious person in the world, and could even be said to be the most terrifying person in the world.
Even if the Chief Preaching Monk of the Xuankong Temple was here, he would have to treat the cicadas with the utmost caution.
Qi Nian's expression was solemn, even with the respect that a junior should have. But his eyes were still firm, and he slowly pointed to the Yanming Lake behind him.
He used this action to tell the person behind the cicada that his Higan was over there.
…
…
The Third Minister of Offerings of Qinghe County was tied up by the snow rope made by the Emblematic Gesture of the Buddhism Sect and could not move at all. But he could see, hear, and hear the mournful chirping of cicadas in the forest. Looking at the thin snow on his shoulder, his face became paler and paler, and his expression became more and more frightened.
He was a Grand Cultivator of the Knowing Destiny State, and he knew many secrets of the cultivation world in the Qinghe County Book Collection. Although he was not sure, he had vaguely guessed the identity of the person in the forest.
To cause the cicadas to cry in such a snowy night, and to make the Bhadanta of the Xuankong Temple so solemn, it could only be the most mysterious Master of the Devil's Doctrine in the world, the Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation!
After the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine was destroyed, the force that had once set off bloody storms in the world had withered. But no one dared to ignore the current Master of the Devil's Doctrine.
For many years, no one had seen the Master of the Devil's Doctrine, or even heard of him. So the Master became the most mysterious legend in the cultivation world.
Rumor had it that the Master of the Devil's Doctrine was possessed by the Devil while practicing the Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation and had already turned into a pile of bones. But some people also said that the Master of the Devil's Doctrine was hiding somewhere in the world, watching the world indifferently, and might appear at any time to summon the wind and rain again.
But no matter what, no one in the cultivation world would forget this person. Even those who believed that he was dead, in fact, were frightened and uneasy at night. They always felt that one day, the Master of the Devil's Doctrine would reappear in front of the world at a moment that no one could imagine.
It was indeed a moment that no one could imagine.
At least it was a moment that the Third Minister of Offerings of Qinghe County could not imagine.
Just before the decisive battle between Ning Que of the Academy and General Xiahou, the World Wayfarers of Taoism and Buddhism Sects arrived in Chang 'an. Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation actually reappeared in the world!
The Third Minister of Offerings was terrified. But then, he thought that the Master of the Devil's Doctrine was confronting the Bhadanta of Xuankong Temple, and he thought that he might have a chance to survive. His eyes rolled subconsciously.
His eyes turned slightly, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the snow on his shoulder that was as thin as a cicada's wing.
Then he remembered that he had forgotten something in the legend.
According to the legend, the Master of the Devil's Doctrine did not kill many people because he disdained to kill ordinary people. He thought that only Grand Cultivators in the Knowing Destiny State were qualified to be killed by him.
According to the legend, the reason why the Master of the Devil's Doctrine was the most mysterious person in the world was that he would kill everyone who had heard the sound of cicadas.
The Third Minister of Offerings was in the Knowing Destiny State, and he had heard the sound of cicadas tonight.
The Third Minister of Offerings understood this, and then he died.
The snowflake that was as thin as a cicada's wing flapped its wings and gently wedged itself into his old neck.
Blood spurted out from his neck and sprayed into the wind and snow, making a hissing sound.
It was also like the sound of cicadas.
…
…
The sound of cicadas was the sound of the vibration of the drum of cicadas. It could vibrate thousands of times in an instant. Therefore, it could tear silk when it was clear, make people cry when it was sad, and make them feel sad when it was bleak.
The sound of blood splashing was the vibration of the friction between the blood and the wound. It was similar to the sound of cicadas, so the sound was similar and could be equally sad.
The mute monk turned around and looked at the Third Minister of Offerings of Qinghe County, who was sitting cross-legged in the deep snow. He frowned slightly, knowing that this was a warning from the man in the forest.
He was a disciple of Buddhism. He could kill people, but he did not want to. That was why he used the Emblematic Gesture of the Buddhism Sect to bind the Minister of Offerings. However, he did not expect that he would become the accomplice of the powerhouse from the Devil's Doctrine.
The monk knew why the Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation reappeared in the world, and why it used the sound of cicadas to stop him from going to Yanming Lake.
Because Xia Hou was a traitor of the Devil's Doctrine, and he was someone that the Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation had to kill.
If the Master of the Devil's Doctrine was really dead, then it would be fine. But since he was still alive, he had to kill Xia Hou, or watch him die.
The Master of the Devil's Doctrine had probably endured for many years because of the Academy and the imperial court of the Tang Empire. Now that the Academy had decided to kill Xia Hou, how could he allow others to intervene?
The Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation might be afraid of the Headmaster of the Academy.
But he would never be afraid of the Xuankong Temple or the Zhishou Abbey.
The mute monk could understand the intention of the sound of cicadas, but it did not mean that he could accept it.
The Buddhism Sect had always been called the Outer Way by the Haotian Taoism Sect, but it belonged to the Righteous Way after all. Although he knew that the powerhouse from the Devil's Doctrine in the forest was unfathomable, how could someone as strong-willed as him stop?
He was Qi Nian, the successor of the Xuankong Temple.
He began to get angry, but it was anger.
It was not coquettishness, nor anger.
The monk still pressed his lips tightly together, and his eyes were firm. His hands were constantly changing in front of the cotton kasaya, and in a moment, they formed a cold Emblematic Gesture.
It was the brightest and most powerful Emblematic Gesture of the Buddhism Sect, the Acalanatha Gesture.
The two seemingly ordinary fingers in front of the old kasaya curled up like orchids, and the majestic aura followed the direction of the Emblematic Gesture and scattered around the snow forest.
Silently, the snow in the forest suddenly scattered into the sky, and suddenly the wind and snow in the air stopped.
The sound of cicadas, which seemed to be everywhere in the night forest, also stopped.
However, then the sound of cicadas sounded again, and this time it was brighter and more violent.
It seemed that a person was laughing loudly.
The wind and snow in the forest became stronger, and the snow fell even faster. The snow that had just been shaken up from the ground instantly covered the ground again, and the snowflakes in the air were shooting at Qi Nian's body.
Qi Nian's expression did not change. He lightly stepped on the snow with his straw sandals, and bounced his right calf to hit the bend of his left knee. Then he sat on the snow like a half snow lotus.
The flying snowflakes were like countless cicadas, whizzing and hitting Qi Nian's body.
There seemed to be an invisible barrier on the surface of Qi Nian's body.
When the snowflakes were half an inch away from his body, they could no longer move forward. However, the snowflakes did not fall, but stuck to the surface of his body like cotton.
In a moment, his kasaya was covered with snow, and only his face and hands with the Acalanatha Gesture were outside. He looked like a snowman.
Qi Nian looked into the depths of the night forest and saw the frost on his eyelashes. The muscles on his cheeks twitched slightly, and he seemed to be hesitating whether to say something or not.
He had practiced the Silent Meditation for fifteen years, and he was finally going to speak tonight?
…
…
At this moment.
A voice suddenly came from the depths of the night forest.
That voice was so quiet and peaceful.
It was a sharp contrast with the irritated cicadas in the forest.
However, the words that came out of such a tranquil voice were so cold.
"If you speak, I will make a hundred thousand mutes in the world."
…
…
Hearing this, the monk was furious. He opened his eyes wide and looked into the depths of the night forest. The frost on his eyelashes evaporated, and the snow on his body turned into warm water and dripped down.
He knew that even if he spoke tonight, he might not be able to defeat that person. But that person could definitely set off a bloody storm in the world.
If he was facing Mr. First, Mr. Second, or even the Headmaster of the Academy, the monk could ignore them, because he knew that the Academy would not be so shameless.
But that person was Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation.
That person could do anything.
So he was angry, but he still could not speak.
After saying this, the person in the depths of the night forest did not speak again. But Qi Nian knew that he was still here, because the cicadas were still chirping.
The monk could not speak, nor could he sigh. He could only sigh softly in his heart, and then dispersed the Acalanatha Seal. He put his palms together to guard his heart, and then slowly closed his eyes.
The snowflakes continued to fall like cicadas, covering the monk's body and covering his facial features, turning the successor of Xuankong Temple into a snowman in the night forest.
The snow that had been falling for a whole day and night suddenly became lighter at this time.
The chirping of cicadas in the forest gradually became weaker, but it became more and more sad.
Cold cicadas were sad.
Facing the winter lake, the heavy snow had just stopped.
…
…
(Let me be excited. This is also the picture that I have been writing for a whole year. Maybe half of the fun of writing a novel is here. Tomorrow is Saturday. See you the day after tomorrow.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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