In the seventh month of the sixty-third year of the reign of the Firmament God, in the land of the extreme north.
The morning sun rose, illuminating the snowy mountains. The thick layer of snow refracted the sunlight, forming a cloud-like mist that reflected the layers of palaces at the peak of the snowy mountains. Looking from afar, it was like looking at the nine heavens.
The palace was like a city, proudly reaching the clouds. Looking from afar, it was huge and magnificent. It was green in color, the color was simple and solemn, but the structure was gorgeous and exquisite. Between the palaces, the floating clouds lingered endlessly, those faint clouds mixed with snow, condensed into hexagonal plum-like snow at the extremely high and extremely cold places. Flowers fluttered down, three thousand jade steps, the ground was covered with broken jade and jasper.
The lonely city was closed, only for people to worship from afar, to enjoy the smoke and fire of the mortal world in this otherworldly land.
Evergreen Divine Hall.
The divine hall was actually also a city, a city that had no guards, yet it was a heavenly moat that was difficult to cross.
There were several palaces in the city, distributed in a circle, surrounding the glorious main hall in the center. The lonely city was covered in snow all year round, only the side of the main hall was filled with blooming flowers, beautiful like spring. Light purple tung flowers floated by like clouds, drifting endlessly in the depths of the clouds.
The main hall with a circumference of a hundred zhang was silent. In the center, there was a strangely shaped statue of a god. It was not wearing a crown, nor was it standing on a throne. It was actually in a posture of turning its body sideways, flicking its sleeves and looking back. It was wearing a loose robe that fluttered in the wind, and its posture was elegant. Its left hand held a sword, and the palm of its right hand, which was behind its back, had a lotus blossoming.
The sculpture of the god was extremely exquisite, its clothes fluttering in the wind, and its posture was lifelike. Especially its eyebrows, although it was only the side of its head, one could still see its radiance. Its appearance was peerless, and it looked like a young man.
The people who were wearing different colored robes would respectfully bow when they passed by the god statue.
This was the statue of the founding ancestor of the Evergreen Divine Hall, the supreme god of the Evergreen Divine Hall.
Three hundred years ago, when the founding ancestor of the Evergreen Divine Hall ascended, he passed down a decree: "From me, from me."
Many people didn't understand the meaning behind these six simple words. However, they were very certain that the omnipotent Hall Master would definitely understand the oracle of their ancestor and lead the Evergreen Shrine to evergreen.
There were many people coming and going in the hall, but they were all silent. Especially when they passed through the inner hall, where the curtains were drawn, their footsteps became even lighter. They were afraid that if they breathed heavily, they would disturb the Gods in the hall.
The gods were quarrelling.
There was a long table in the inner hall, with two rows of people sitting on both sides. Everyone looked calm, as if they were sleeping, but they weren't. The words that came out of their mouths were like sparks, clashing with each other.
"I don't understand why Palace Master is so insistent." The blue-robed middle-aged man on the left side of the seat of honor said indignantly, "My Celestial bloodline has experienced the mortal world for many years. We are good at the Divine Hall's affairs and know the common people of the world. Why can't we be promoted to the Upper Three Halls? Why can't King Jinnala control the Yaksha Tribe? "
"It doesn't matter if the Kinnaruo Tribe controls the Yaksha Tribe." An old man sitting on the right side of the main seat said indifferently, "I'm just afraid that as time goes on, the three upper halls will all belong to your Celestial bloodline."
"Third Elder, you're wrong." The fourth old man on the right side of the main seat of honor immediately retorted, "King Garuda only wants King Jinnala to control the Yaksha Tribe. Third Elder, why are you talking about the three upper halls? The Heaven Tribe is directly managed by the Palace Master, the Dragon Tribe is under the Sacred Lord, and the Yaksha Tribe has always been led by the Seventh Elder. The Seventh Elder is old and has little energy, so why can't he promote the younger generation? "
"Yes, yes." Another old man immediately said, "I don't have any opinion on King Jinnala controlling the Yaksha Tribe, but I do have an objection to King Garuda's reason for promoting him. Although there are many Celestials in King Jinnala's tribe, King Jinnala himself rarely experiences the mortal world. King Garuda, don't you think it's a bit ridiculous to use this reason to promote King Jinnala? “
"You're the one who's ridiculous!" The blue-robed man who spoke first raised his eyebrows, "King Jinnala is not a Celestial, so he can't control the Yaksha Tribe. The Sacred Lord is often not in the Divine Hall, so how can he control the Dragon Tribe?"
The few old men who objected all sneered, but didn't say anything. They immediately showed an expression that said, "I knew you were coveting the three upper halls."
"What are you laughing at?" The blue-robed man also sneered, "According to my position, I can't say that I'm the Sacred Lord, but I'm still his elder. Today, I'll overstep my authority. I know you all support him because he's a genius, because he's the most capable person in the Divine Hall in the past three hundred years, because he's a god …" Suddenly, he heard a slight cough from above, and he immediately stopped. He snorted and continued, "But whether he's a genius or a capable person, if he doesn't care about the heavy responsibility, what's the use of him? He doesn't care about the things you offer him, so what's the use of it? If a careless Sacred Lord can control the Dragon Tribe, then why can't King Jinnala, who has always been loyal to the Divine Hall, be promoted to the Yaksha Tribe? "
His words seemed to have hit a sore spot. The few old men who objected to the Divine Hall kept silent, and the few old men who supported the Divine Hall sneered. The others who hadn't spoken all this time looked thoughtful. The man with the high-bun turned his eyes and smiled proudly. He looked up at the old man who had been silent except for a slight cough.
Above, the old man in the feathered robe and crown had been sitting quietly with his eyes closed. His wrinkle-free pale golden face was calm, and he didn't seem to hear the arguments of the crowd. In the face of the anxious gazes of the crowd, the supreme and authoritative master of the Divine Hall didn't even move his eyebrows. His motionless figure was hidden in the pale green mist, and he looked more like a god than a human.
There was a breathless silence. Although the eight kings and the elders of the Divine Hall were all highly respected, they didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of this old man who had absolute authority and ruled the Evergreen Divine Hall and even the Firmament World for more than sixty years. He had already cultivated the body of a half-immortal, and his consciousness was about to be born. Even the most arrogant middle-aged man in the high-bun and blue robe had his smug gaze subdued a little.
Only when he was sure that the silence had suppressed the disturbance did the Divine Hall Master speak, but it had nothing to do with the topic just now. "Why didn't the Jinnala Tribe report the arrival of a master from the South?"
His words made the expressions of the middle-aged man in blue and the others change immediately. The Jinnala Tribe was responsible for collecting and reporting information throughout the country, and someone who was called a "master" by the Divine Hall Master had to be an extremely powerful person. How could the Jinnala Tribe not report the arrival of such a person in the Firmament Kingdom in time? Wasn't this a major dereliction of duty?
With just this sentence, the Divine Hall Master's attitude was clear. However, even the man in blue, King Garuda, who wanted to fight for the power of the Yaksha Tribe on behalf of the Jinnala Tribe, was speechless. The Jinnala Tribe had dereliction of duty, so what right did the Jinnala Tribe have to compete for the Yaksha King?
The few elders who originally supported the Jinnala Tribe immediately fell silent. The expression of the middle-aged man in blue changed. He clenched his teeth and said nothing.
With one word, the Divine Hall Master didn't give them a chance to discuss this matter anymore. He immediately changed the topic. "I went into seclusion the day before yesterday, and received the message from the immortals. The day of ascension is just around the corner."
Everyone was shocked, and their faces lit up with joy. They stood up and bowed. "Congratulations, Divine Hall Master!"
The middle-aged man in blue was still overjoyed, but it didn't seem like he was happy for the Divine Hall Master. His eyes flickered as if he was thinking about something.
However, the Divine Hall Master's second sentence immediately dispelled his joy.
"Summon the Divine Hall Master back."
"The Divine Hall Master is still in the territory, just now …" A man had just said two sentences when the Divine Hall Master stood up.
Everyone immediately fell silent and bowed. The Divine Hall Master's tone was calm and unquestionable.
"Summon."
= = =
"Muddleheaded old man!"
In the Inner Hall, the members of the highest ruling class of the Divine Hall of Evergreen gradually dispersed. A few elders looked at the middle-aged man in blue deeply before leaving one after another, leaving him behind. He was filled with frustration and anger as he strode out of the Inner Hall.
His face was dark and he didn't say a word. He went straight to his own Garuda Hall under the silent gazes of the disciples around him. It was only when he entered the Inner Hall that he suddenly flipped the desk in the hall.
"Crash!"
The books on the desk were scattered all over the floor. The man was still angry and roared, "Muddleheaded old man!"
Everyone in the hall trembled and bowed their heads. They didn't even dare to pick up the scattered books.
"… It's him! It has to be him! Why must it be him no matter what! We've worked so hard to travel the world and suffered all kinds of hardships, but he's sitting high up on the lotus platform with ease. Even if we don't want it, we have to force it on him! " The man was like a trapped beast as he paced around on the floor. After a while, he kicked away the person kneeling in front of him and scolded, "Get out!"
Everyone left. The man fell on the chair and looked up to the sky. He sighed silently, as if he wanted to let go of all the depression in his heart.
Suddenly, a faint knocking sound came from under the bluestone floor. The sound sounded dull and distant.
The blue-robed man, King Garuda, was stunned. He seemed to remember something and frowned. He held his chin and pondered for a long time. Suddenly, he lifted his foot and kicked under the table.
With a series of cracking sounds, the brocade carpet under the table split open, revealing a staircase leading downwards. It was deep and dark without any lights.
King Garuda walked down the stairs for a long time, then turned right and stopped in front of an underground room.
The underground room was narrow and covered with weeds. If a tall and strong person entered, it would be difficult for him to turn around. He couldn't sleep straight and he couldn't stand up. It was a place of pure torture.
But someone was lying on the high ground, moaning loudly.
"Damn it!" King Garuda scolded in a low voice. He squatted in front of the underground room and shouted, "Hey! Get up! "
The person turned over and pointed his butt at him.
"Stop pretending!" King Garuda scolded. "Weren't you the one who knocked on the floor just now?"
The person didn't move and slept comfortably.
King Garuda scolded again and sat in front of the prison door. He said helplessly, "Old man, you and I have known each other for many years. It's not like I'm the one who locked you up here. You should listen to me."
Perhaps the person was amenable to persuasion but not coercion. After a long time, a black claw stretched out of the haystack and waved, indicating that he was "listening".
"Do you want to get out?" King Garuda sat in front of the underground room and asked after a long time.
The person turned over on the haystack and turned to King Garuda. The dark underground room made it difficult to see his face. Even if there was light, the dirt on his face was enough to make it difficult to distinguish his face.
"What?"
His voice was a little hoarse. He coughed and spat out a mouthful of phlegm unhygienically on the lower part of the luxurious Garuda King's robe.
King Garuda's eyebrows twitched in anger, but he forced a smile and held it in. He turned to stare in a certain direction and said, "If you want to get out, do me a favor."
= = =
The further north he went, the colder the wind became. At first, it was like ice water, but later, it became ice blades. Those ice blades swept across the frozen ground, leaving behind crisscrossing knife marks. The horse's hooves clattered on the ground, and with every step he took, he slipped. Those snowflakes fell on his eyelashes and did not melt for a long time. After a long time, they condensed into beads of ice. When he blinked, there was a "ding" sound.
One day, she raised her head and suddenly realized that the faintly discernible snow-capped mountains were already approaching from the horizon.
"We've been traveling really fast." Tuoba Mingzhu leaned close to Zhangsun Wuji and smiled at him. "We're actually almost at Mount Evergreen."
"Every day we're outside, we have to bear the heavy responsibility of the temple." Zhangsun Wuji smiled. "Why don't we go back earlier and hand over the task? That way, we can relax."
Tuoba Mingzhu was in high spirits, her expression overflowing with the joy of "relaxing and falling in love". "If that's the case, I'll do as you say."
While they were whispering to each other, Lord Di Feitian glanced at them and approached Fuyao. "Hey, look, someone's fallen in love with someone else. Don't fall in love with them too, okay?"
"Alright." "I've decided to love my Yuan Bao. Return my lover to me." Fuyao agreed readily and tried to hug Yuan Bao, who was perched on his shoulder.
Lord Di snorted coldly and turned his head away.
Lord Ingot let out a proud squeak, folding his arms and turning his head away in disdain. Fuyao could not be bothered with him. Looking at the backs of the two people in front of her, she thought to herself that she had been prepared to barge through the entire Qiong Cang Kingdom. Who would have thought that she would use the honey trap, using Tuoba Mingzhu as a cover, and relying on the protection of Oracle Nala to smoothly traverse more than half of the Qiong Cang Kingdom's territory. It was really a rare stroke of luck.
Along the way, they also met some subordinates from the temple who seemed to be on a mission, but their status was lower than Tuoba Mingzhu's. The temple's hierarchy was strict, so they avoided her and did not come forward to question her.
The only strange thing was that on the day they entered the Qiong Cang Port, there was clearly a huge commotion, but the temple did not seem to have any reaction. This was really not logical.
Was it because of … him?
Looking at Zhangsun Wuji's back, Fuyao silently sighed and muttered, "At least it was a smooth journey …"
"Smooth what?" Di Feitian, who was beside her, heard her and sneered. "Do you think you're really lucky?"
Fuyao looked at him questioningly.
Lord Di used his noble nostrils to look at her and said proudly, "From the moment we entered the Qiong Cang Kingdom, there was a Demon Subduing Formation at every city we passed, but they were all silently taken care of by me."
Meng Fuyao carefully recalled her experience of passing through the city gates over the past few days, but she could not recall any formation. However, judging from Di Feitian's expression, he did not seem to be lying. She also knew that although he was not a good person, he had never been one to lie. It seemed that Zhangsun Wuji's decision to abduct him was indeed wise. The Firmament Divine Power Nation was no less mysterious than Fufeng. If she had recklessly barged in, she would probably have been discovered the moment she entered the nation's borders, right?
They were close to the extreme north, and the temperature was extremely low. Fuyao straightened her collar and worriedly went to the carriage behind to check on Yun Hen's condition. He was sleeping soundly. Although he had not woken up, it was obvious that he was improving. Fuyao even felt that the divine light flowing on his face was becoming more and more obvious, as if there was something in his body that was about to break through.
Fuyao was pleasantly surprised. She knew that Yun Hen and she had the same master. The essence of this martial art lay in the experience of life and death. Every time one walked through the gates of hell, one's skills would increase by a level, and the higher the level, the better the effect. If Yun Hen was able to break through because of this calamity, it would be a blessing in disguise.
Putting down the curtain, Fuyao turned around and brushed past a servant carrying a basin. The master of a branch altar had sent him to serve Tuoba Mingzhu in order to curry favor with her. He had just gone to the river to fetch water for Tuoba Mingzhu, but the weather was cold and the road was slippery. His footsteps were a little unsteady, and he was walking too fast. As a result, he bumped into Fuyao, and the edge of the basin brushed past her hand.
She felt a sharp pain in her finger, and a drop of blood dripped from her fingertip, landing on the edge of the basin and slowly sliding down. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the servant hurriedly said. Meng Fuyao waved her hand and glanced at the copper basin indifferently. Noticing that the basin was not very smooth and that the edge was slightly protruding, she smiled and said, "The edge of the basin is not neat. Be careful when you carry it, little brother."
The servant thanked her and brought the water to Tuoba Mingzhu. Zhangsun Wuji turned to look at her, and Tuoba Mingzhu smiled and said, "Fetched water? Just nice, my boots are dirty, so I'm wiping the mud off. "
She reached out to scoop up the water, but when she saw the red marks on the edge of the basin, she was furious. She raised her hand and flipped the basin over. She frowned and said, "Bastard, how dare you give such dirty water to the Oracle!"
The servant hurriedly kowtowed in apology. Zhangsun Wuji did not see what was wrong with the water, so he asked, "What's wrong?"
"I don't know where this bastard got this dirty water from!" Tuoba Mingzhu's anger had not subsided. She kicked the basin away and wanted to kick the servant, but the quick-witted young man hurriedly scrambled away.
"The servants are rough, there's no need to stoop to their level." Zhangsun Wuji looked at the water on the ground and smiled. Tuoba Mingzhu's temper came and went quickly, especially with Zhangsun Wuji. She immediately smiled and said, "Of course, it's up to you." She raised her hand to adjust the reins, and her fingers brushed past Zhangsun Wuji's hand. Zhangsun Wuji suddenly bent over to retrieve the water bag, and her hand once again missed.
Tuoba Mingzhu raised her eyebrows and was about to speak when she heard the sound of hooves in front of her. A group of people galloped over from afar, their black flag embroidered with a huge, ferocious python. This group did not avoid Tuoba Mingzhu's guards of honor like the previous ones. Instead, they galloped straight towards her, and the one in front called out, "Is that the Luo Tribe's envoy in front?"
"Ah, Oracle Mahoraga." Tuoba Mingzhu looked at the flag and greeted them with a smile. "Are you guys returning to the temple too?"
"Not for now." The other party reined in his horse. "The Luo Tribe's envoy should have received the order from the Heaven Department, right? Have you found the person you want to investigate? "
Meng Fuyao felt that something was wrong. Her heart tightened, and she looked at Zhangsun Wuji. Zhangsun Wuji's expression did not change, but he slowly shifted his horse back to avoid Tuoba Mingzhu's line of sight.
"Ah, I'm ashamed that I haven't found him," Tuoba Mingzhu said. "I've already ordered my subordinates to search everywhere, but there's still no trace of him."
"Yes." The middle-aged Oracle Mahoraga sighed. "We haven't found him either. Previously, there were clues that said that there were traces of that person in a few places, but none of them were there … How strange."
"Those people entered from the west with ill intentions. They must have taken the mountain roads," Tuoba Mingzhu suggested. "Judging from the direction you came from, it seems like you came from the other side of the sea. The direction isn't right, so you won't be able to find him, right?"
"The west?" The Oracle Mahoraga raised his eyebrows in surprise, staring at Tuoba Mingzhu as if he did not know her. "The west? Where did the west come from? That person came from the harbor … "
= = = =
Hmm, this chapter seems a little flat, but I want to say that it's still very important. There are a lot of clues …
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