Zhang Ming was incomparably shocked. He had never thought that in this so-called Celestial Mountain, the people of the world had already reached such a state of destitution.
According to Scribe Lin, the world's population had already been reduced to nine out of ten. The remaining people were struggling at death's door, barely managing to hold on to a corner of the land. Even a small storm could drown them.
At this time, he unconsciously thought, could it be that Master was really not here? If not, why did he not come out to help? Could it be that he was only focused on pursuing the path of Celestial Cultivation, so he turned a blind eye to this?
With his ability, if he did not try to be brave and hid deep in the mountains, it would not be difficult for him to avoid this calamity.
However, he asked himself in his heart if he did not do anything and did nothing to help those who were dying, he could not!
For a moment, his emotions were in a mess.
Scribe Lin saw that his expression was not good and said, "Little Taoist, don't think too much. This world is like this, how can it be changed by human strength? But before you die, you must think of a way to eat your fill. "
At this point, he could not help but touch his shriveled belly. Even though there was no shortage of grain here, it was only porridge and thin soup, not enough to satisfy his hunger.
Zhang Ming came back to his senses. Even though his body was strong, these days he had been hiding from place to place and had not eaten much. Now that he heard him mention it, he also felt a little hungry. He said, "Official Lin, I still have some food in my carriage. Please wait a moment, I will go get it."
Scribe Lin said happily, "Then I will benefit from Taoist this time."
Zhang Ming went to the carriage and took some dried meat wrapped in oil paper. Then, the two of them leaned against a low wall and ate.
Not long after they sat down, they saw Lady Yu get out of the carriage with a bamboo basket in her hand.
Zhang Ming stood up and said, "Lady Yu, it is freezing outside and your body is weak. Why did you come out?"
Lady Yu walked in front of the two of them. She lifted the cloth covering the bamboo basket and revealed a small jar of wine. She said, "Just Now when Taoist came, you forgot. I have some wine here. You two can take it and drink it. It will also help to ward off the cold."
Scribe Lin cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Lady. There is meat without wine, it is not good."
Zhang Ming Chi said, "Why is there wine beside Madam?"
Lady Yu said sadly, "Uncle loves to drink, but Gong-gong was afraid that he would cause trouble when he drinks, so he ordered me to keep it elsewhere. Before this, I had been hiding it in the carriage. We were in a hurry on the way here, so I did not throw it away."
Zhang Ming thought of Yu Duan's death and felt a little sad. He consoled her, "The dead are gone, Lady Yu, please take care of yourself."
Lady Yu said, "Thank you, Daozhang, for your concern. I understand. Both of you, please enjoy yourselves here. I will return to the carriage first."
Scribe Lin brought the wine jar over and opened the seal. He took a whiff and said in surprise, "It's actually the finest 'Zen Suxiang'. Who is this lady?"
Zhang Ming sighed and recounted what had happened on the road.
When Scribe Lin heard that the entire family was now left with only an orphan and a widow, he couldn't help but sigh. He picked up the wine jar and drank a few mouthfuls in one go. Then he lifted his sleeve to wipe the corner of his mouth and said with a smile, "I don't know if this demon will be able to eat this rotten meat of mine."
Zhang Ming looked at him and said, "Official Lin, you don't seem to be afraid?"
Scribe Lin chuckled and said, "The past cannot be admonished, the future can still be chased. Death awaits either side, so why worry? In this life, I have always acted according to the will of others. I have lived my entire life as a yes-man and had no choice. Now that I am here, I can finally be the master of my own house. "
When Zhang Ming heard this, his heart was moved.
"Yes, Master often said to follow his heart. Where Master is, what he does, that is his business. Why should I bother? Everything I do, I only need to follow my own heart. "
Once he thought it through, it was as if some shackles had been removed from his heart. He stood up and asked, "Official Lin, I wonder who is in charge of the city now. Can you bring me to meet him?"
Scribe Lin put down the wine jar and asked cautiously, "What does Daozhang want to do?"
Zhang Ming said, "I am skilled in talisman arts, which can increase the power of the army. I also have a way to block that spell!"
When Scribe Lin heard this, he was even more excited than he was. He jumped up and grabbed him, saying, "Really?"
Not waiting for Zhang Ming to reply, he laughed again and said, "At this time, who cares if it is true or false? If Daozhang is willing to help, then it is for the best. Come, come, I will lead you there."
The two returned to the carriage and, under Scribe Lin's guidance, went into the city. After traveling for half an hour, they arrived in front of the ruins of a high platform. There were hundreds of tents around it, and outside, there were soldiers holding swords at their waists. They looked at the people on the road with vigilance.
The carriage stopped in the distance, and Scribe Lin had just jumped down from the carriage when one of the guards recognized him. He shouted, "It's Official Lin, Official Lin has returned!" His voice was filled with joy.
Zhang Ming looked at Scribe Lin. This official Lin's identity might not be as simple as he had said.
Not long after, he heard the sound of footsteps from inside, and then he saw a group of people hurrying out. The leader was a young man wearing a brocade robe and a tall hat. When he saw Scribe Lin, he hurriedly came up and bowed. His expression was slightly excited as he said, "Teacher, you have returned. I have been looking for you for a long time."
Scribe Lin sighed and said, "Young Marquis, as a teacher, I am ashamed to face you."
The young man said in a low voice, "Father's matter was not Teacher's fault. Teacher does not need to blame yourself."
Scribe Lin was about to speak again when an attendant at the side said, "Official Lin, now it is time to call you Marquis."
He couldn't help but be startled, and then he nodded his head. With Marquis Le's death, this eldest son naturally inherited the title. He solemnly bowed and said, "Marquis, I am Lin Mujie."
The young man held him up and said, "Teacher, there is no need to be like this. Although Li Shugong inherited the title, he is still Teacher's student. Now I need Teacher to teach me how to deal with this."
Scribe Lin smiled bitterly and shook his head. He said, "Marquis, there is nothing I can do in this situation. But this Taoist beside me is an expert in talisman techniques. He originally cultivated in the deep mountains. A few days ago, he brought a mother and son and broke out of the encirclement of thousands of demons. He is truly capable."
Only then did everyone notice Zhang Ming beside him. Seeing that he was only fourteen or fifteen years old, they were somewhat skeptical.
But Marquis Le did not doubt Scribe Lin's words at all. He solemnly bowed to Zhang Ming and said, "For the Taoist to be able to come out of the mountains at this time of the world's destruction, it is enough to show that you are a person who cares for the common people. Li Shugong will first thank you on behalf of the people of the county."
Zhang Ming returned the bow and said, "Marquis is too kind. When the nest is overturned, there are no eggs that remain intact. I do not wish to become food for the demons."
Marquis Le nodded and said with a smile, "That is natural. I have just inherited the title and naturally do not wish to live in the belly of the demons. I am even more reluctant to part with my beautiful wives and concubines."
As soon as he said this, everyone unwittingly smiled. The solemn atmosphere around them eased a little.
Marquis Le said, "What does the Taoist need to cast the spell? I will send someone to prepare it. "
Zhang Ming did not stand on ceremony and listed the items he needed. Someone beside him noted it down and then handed it to him for inspection.
After checking that there were no mistakes, he said, "I need three days to cast the spell. Do not come and disturb me during this time. Otherwise, it is very likely that all our previous efforts will be wasted."
"Three days …"
Marquis Le slowly nodded and said solemnly, "Within three days, no one will disturb the Taoist."
Marquis Le's subordinates worked very quickly. In more than two hours, they had gathered all the items Zhang Ming needed. He then asked for a large tent and ordered people to move the items inside. Then, he chased everyone out.
At this moment, in the large tent, there were hundreds of neatly cut bamboo slips.
Zhang Ming clearly remembered that Euphoria City was breached due to the demonic power. Before that, Le County had relied on the strength of the elite soldiers to hold on for more than ten years. This meant that as long as he could think of a way to resist the demonic power, with the strength of Euphoria City alone, it was not impossible to defend this last remaining piece of land.
He composed himself and sat in front of a table. He took out a stack of talisman papers from his bosom and lit a fire to burn them. Then, he collected the ash and sprinkled it on the inkstone on the table in front of him.
Then, he took out a dagger and cut his finger. He squeezed his blood into it and mixed it together. Then, he dipped a brush in it and took out a bamboo slip. Finally, he wrote on it.
This was using his own blood as a guide to trigger the power of the talisman. Once it was activated, the effect would be doubled.
However, this method was extremely damaging to one's vitality. In his memory, his master had repeatedly warned him to be extremely cautious when using this method. Otherwise, if he was not careful, his life would be in danger.
However, other than this method, he could not think of any other way to restrain the demonic power. If he could save tens of thousands of people, he was willing to lose his life.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed. Zhang Ming worked day and night and finally drew the Talisman on the hundreds of bamboo slips.
At this moment, although his face was pale and his eyes were lifeless, his heart was gratified. With this scroll, he could defend against the demonic power.
He pulled himself together and went out of the tent. However, the sun was blinding his eyes and he felt a little pain. He quickly lowered his head and passed the bamboo slip to a person waiting by the tent door. He said in a hoarse voice, "Send this to the Marquis. When the soldiers go to battle, they only need to recite it."
However, the person did not reach out to receive it. He sighed and said, "It is a pity that Daoist has put in so much effort. However, in the current situation, even if you can defend against the power of the demonic power, you will not be able to turn the situation around."
Zhang Ming was shocked when he heard this. At this moment, he saw the face of the person beside him. "Official Lin?" He asked anxiously, "What is going on?"
Scholar Lin sighed and said, "Daoist, go outside and take a look. You will know."
Zhang Ming pushed him away and stumbled out of the tent. He looked out and saw that outside the mountain city, there was a sea of demonic power in the sky and on the ground. For a moment, there was an uncountable number of them.
The bamboo slips in his hand fell to the ground. Just like the demonic power, even without using any power, it was enough to drown these tens of thousands of people.
Scholar Lin came to his side and smiled bitterly, "Man proposes but God disposes. What can we do?"
Zhang Ming looked outside and thought to himself, "That's right, the heavens are like this, and no man can change it. Could it be that teacher knew this would happen, and thus didn't help? Could it be that I really did something wrong?"
He suddenly turned around and walked down the stage.
Scholar Lin said, "Daoist, where are you going?
Zhang Ming did not even turn his head, as if he did not hear.
Scholar Lin shook his head and looked down. He said to himself, "Isn't it the same everywhere?
On the Heaven Following Slope, tens of thousands of people were surrounded. Looking at the demonic power surging in from all directions, everyone showed a look of fear.
Zhang Ming walked in the crowd, confused. At this moment, he heard a young child's voice. "Father, mother, I am scared."
He turned around and saw a middle-aged couple holding him tightly in their arms. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Father and mother are here. Don't be afraid, Ah Nan."
He looked around again and saw that the people around him were either trembling, screaming, numb and motionless, or kneeling and begging for mercy.
At this moment, a scholar said sorrowfully, "The sky is high and wide. Why can't we be accepted? Why can't we be accepted? "
His voice was heart-wrenching, each word weeping with blood.
"Yes, the sky is high and wide. Why can't we be accepted?"
Zhang Ming muttered it twice, and then his footsteps paused. He said to the sky, "This world can't go on like this!"
As soon as he said this, something in his mind was triggered. With a loud bang, an inexplicable force suddenly burst forth!
When he raised his head again, a divine light suddenly bloomed in his eyes.
At this moment, Zhang Yan's true consciousness had awakened from his doppelganger!
…
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