This was the world of Haotian, and Haotian Taoism was the most powerful force. Not to mention the West-Hill Divine Palace, which gathered countless powerhouses, just the thousands of Taoist temples in the world. Who knew how much more power Haotian Taoism had hidden?
In the Wilderness, the Xuankong Temple had sent more than two hundred ascetic monks and several masters who were equivalent to Knowing Destiny State to chase the black horse carriage. It was already very powerful, but the West-Hill Divine Palace was a truly terrifying ocean.
From the moment the Divine Hall announced that Sangsang was the Daughter of Yama, the ocean began to brew a storm. The raging tide gradually rose from the calm sea, and it would not stop until the black horse carriage was completely smashed into pieces.
Under the night sky, the mountains separated the Yuelun Kingdom and the Tang Kingdom. Ye Hongyu stood on the highest peak. Her divine robe danced in the wind, but there was no expression on her face.
The Divine Robe of Judgment was dark red, brighter than blood and darker than the night sky.
No matter how sharp her eyesight was, she could not see the black horse carriage in the distance. But she kept looking in that direction, as if she had seen something very interesting, and refused to look away.
Dozens of priests and knights from the West Temple were kneeling on the rocky peak in front of her. A deacon of the Judicial Department in black was reporting the information about the Yuelun Kingdom in a low voice. She looked indifferent, as if she didn't care at all. It seemed that she was not nervous at all about something as important as killing the Daughter of Yama.
After a long time, Ye Hongyu withdrew her gaze and looked at the dozens of mountains around her. Hidden in those mountains were four hundred papal knights of the West-Hill Divine Palace, three Grand Cultivators of Knowing Destiny State, and more than ten powerful rogue cultivators from Haotian Taoism. They had also received the summons and were hiding in the mountains under her command.
With such a powerful combination, they could even occupy the capital of the Yuelun Kingdom, Chaoyang, overnight before the Buddhism Sect could react. It was more than enough to deal with Ning Que and the sick Sangsang.
After the deacon of the Judicial Department finished his report, he still knelt on the ground, waiting for the Great God's order. However, after waiting for a long time, he still didn't hear the voice that made him incomparably awestruck. He couldn't help but raise his head to look at the graceful figure on the cliff and asked respectfully, "Great God?"
No one knew what Ye Hongyu was thinking about. She was lost in her thoughts and only woke up when she heard this. She looked to the west again and said with a smile, "That guy is more cunning than a thief. How could he not guess that Haotian Taoism would make arrangements here? I'm afraid he has already left. If that's the case, why should I wait here like an idiot?"
The black-robed executors were somewhat startled. From the words of the Divine Priest of Judgment, it seemed that she was preparing to leave. However, the Daoist Sect had set up an ambush in the Cong Mountains. This was an order personally issued by the Sect Master. Who would dare to disobey?
Ye Hongyu walked down the mountain.
A deputy commander of the divine guards stood up in shock. He looked at the back of her robe fluttering in the wind and said, "Great God, this is an order from the Hierarch. Where are you going?"
In the Cong Mountains, in this world, there were very few people who were qualified to ask Ye Hongyu for an answer. Therefore, she didn't answer. But when she walked past the deacon, she said, "I'm going to the Quagmire."
The deacon was her direct subordinate. She told him her whereabouts for the affairs of the Divine Hall of Judgment. This didn't mean that she needed to report her whereabouts to anyone else, even the Hierarch.
The people on the peak were stunned when they heard this. Even the deacon was shocked. He anxiously tried to dissuade her, "The Quagmire? The thousand-mile swamp between the Yuelun Kingdom and the Golden Palace? Great God, it's too dangerous. No one has ever chosen that path for so many years … "
"The path that no one has chosen is the path that Ning Que will take."
After saying this, Ye Hongyu floated away. Her ink-red robe fluttered on the mountain path. When it fluttered, it was like a bloody flag. When it fell, it was like the night sky. The people of the West-Hill Divine Palace knelt on the peak to send her off.
…
…
The capital city of the Yuelun Kingdom was called Chaoyang City. This name had been passed down for many years. No one knew whether it was Chaoyang or Chaoyang, because both meanings seemed to be the same.
There was a green mountain in the north of Chaoyang City. The mountain was rather slow, but it was wide and long. The mountain was covered with dense vegetation. Although there were many tourists, there were many secluded and uninhabited places.
The southeast of the Yuelun Kingdom was connected to the Great River and the South Jin Kingdom by a primeval forest. The moisture from the Great Lake, the Great River, and the Southern Ocean were constantly blown into the kingdom by the wind. They were also sealed by the plateau in the west, the Wilderness in the north, and the Cong Mountains in the east. Therefore, it was very warm and humid.
It was late autumn, and the Wilderness had already been snowing heavily. However, there was not the slightest cold or chilling aura around Chaoyang City. The mountains were covered with dense foliage and green, similar to the spring in Chang 'an City.
At noon, the sun hung high in the sky, spreading its heat to the ground. Chaoyang City and the green mountain in the north of the city became increasingly hot and stuffy. Everyone felt a little uncomfortable.
Tourists and mountain people rested in the green forest, hiding from the slightly dry autumn sun. Some children played by the spring in the forest. Many dark-skinned ascetic monks sat cross-legged on the mountain path with relatively little shade.
Some of the ascetic monks wore the robes of the White Tower Temple, while others came from other places. Their clothes were long tattered. Whether they were local or foreign ascetic monks, the copper bowls in front of them were filled with fruits and food. These fruits and food were naturally offerings from the people of the Yuelun Kingdom who worshiped Buddhism.
There were hundreds of banyan trees in the depths of the green mountain. Under the trees were long grass and dense shrubs. It was difficult for humans and beasts to walk among them. It was very secluded. Looking at the rotten leaves on the ground, it seemed that no one had been here for decades.
Ning Que picked up the last handful of dead leaves and carefully scattered them evenly on the ground. After confirming that no traces were left behind and that even the intent of the array was perfectly hidden, he felt relieved. His right foot stepped on the thorny bushes and his body swept to the flat ground a few feet away. He began to give instructions to the Big Black Horse.
Normally, the Big Black Horse would have been annoyed to see Ning Que lecturing like a child. However, he listened very carefully today and his eyes were very focused. He did not miss a single word.
"I don't know how long I will stay in Chaoyang City. If I find Eldest Brother, I will bring Sangsang and him back first. Then, I will ask Eldest Brother to come back and pick you up. If I can't find him, he will probably wait in the city. You can stay in the mountains for some time. Don't worry, I won't leave you alone. Thank you for your hard work, buddy."
Ning Que hugged the Big Black Horse's neck and patted it gently. He then picked up a blue cloth bag and tied it around the Big Black Horse's neck. Inside the bag were the few yellow fruits and ginseng and other food left in the carriage.
The Big Black Horse rubbed his face and neighed softly at Sangsang under the tree. It turned around and walked slowly toward the deep mountains behind the dense forest. The blue cloth bag swayed gently.
Watching the Big Black Horse's figure disappear into the depths of the green mountain, Ning Que walked back to the banyan tree and carried Sangsang on his back. He tied them tightly with a strong rope and carried the heavy luggage to the city at the foot of the mountain.
…
…
Everyone in the Yuelun Kingdom, from the monarch to the peddlers, believed in the Buddhism Sect and pursued the state of being aloof from worldly affairs. They were known for being low-key and peaceful. Although the Great River Kingdom, which had a feud with the Yuelun Kingdom, would certainly not think so, at least within the Yuelun Kingdom, there were very few cases of powerful ministers rebelling or shocking murders.
It was because of this special philosophy or pursuit that many cities in the Yuelun Kingdom did not have city walls, except for the Tang Empire and the Right King's Palace. Even the capital, Chaoyang City, did not have city walls. They only built a simple bamboo fence in the direction of the Great Green Mountain to prevent beasts.
Travelers who had been to Chaoyang City and Chang 'an City always liked to compare the two cities. It was not because Chaoyang City was as magnificent as Chang' an City, but because Chaoyang City was at the other extreme.
There were no city walls in Chaoyang City, so naturally, there were no city gates. The soldiers in charge of collecting business taxes from the royal family placed a few tables and umbrellas on the official road to act as tax gates.
Due to the warmth of the four seasons, the officials always looked lazy. Some of the soldiers even laid down their clothes and slept under the trees by the road. Everything looked so unruly and unruly. But what made the imperial court of the Yuelun Kingdom proud was that Chaoyang City collected more taxes than Chang 'an City every year.
This was not because Chaoyang City was more developed than Chang 'an City, nor was it because the tax officials were more diligent, nor was it because the citizens of the Yuelun Kingdom had the self-awareness to pay taxes to share the burden of the kingdom. There was no secret to this. It was just that the tax collected by the Yuelun Kingdom was ten times that of the Tang Empire.
Such an unruly and unruly country, such an inefficient and corrupt imperial court, such an open and chaotic capital, where they could not even defend against wild elephants that occasionally came out of the mountains to hunt for food, how could they defend against foreign enemies?
If it were not for the mediation of the Buddhism Sect, the Yuelun Kingdom would have been destroyed by the cavalry of the Right King's Palace a thousand years ago. If it were not for the help of the West-Hill Divine Palace, they might even have been defeated by the much weaker Great River Kingdom.
Chaoyang City was an unguarded capital. Wind and rain could enter. Fortunately, its geographical location was superior. There had been no storms for many years, and people could enter and leave at will. However, most of the people who cultivated in Buddhism were timid and few dared to try to sneak into the city to avoid the various heavy taxes imposed by the imperial court.
One day in late autumn, a white cloud floated into Chaoyang City. No one paid attention to what was happening on the ground, so no one noticed the cloud in the sky. Only a tax officer was lying on the ground and basking in the sun. He looked at the white cloud in the sky, which was sharp on both ends and thick in the middle like a spindle. He smiled foolishly.
Right under the white cloud, Ning Que carried Sangsang on his back and held a paper umbrella that he found somewhere. He successfully walked into Chaoyang City, his body covered with a very faint shadow.
The air in Chaoyang City was filled with the smell of spices. Buddhist temples could be seen everywhere. The beautiful white pagodas above the temple walls and the small Buddhist shrines by the roadside were inlaid with many precious gems. Beggars holding broken bowls wandered casually, but no one looked at those gems, and no one tried to pry one of them off.
Sangsang rested her head on Ning Que's shoulder and looked at the scene in front of her. She was a little surprised and murmured, "It is indeed the legendary Buddhist land. Even the beggars are so virtuous."
Ning Que looked at an old beggar at the corner of the street, whose hands had been chopped off by a sharp weapon. He said, "There are only two possibilities. If beggars are so lazy and resigned to their fate, they are destined to be beggars for the rest of their lives. Or they know very well that even if they steal the gems, they will not be able to sell them and will be punished terribly."
…
…
(Try to finish the third chapter before midnight.) (To be continued.) If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
