Journey to the head

Chapter 695: Twenty-seven Years of Darkness
The 100th birthday banquet, which should have been extremely lively, ended in a depressing atmosphere. The guests had their own thoughts, and most of them were worried.

Taoist Wudi stood alone in the corner. After the battle for innate spiritual energy, he had already repaid the favor of Xiaolong Zhenren of Qinglei Sect, and he was disgusted by the behavior of Qiongfei Sanren, so he stopped associating with them. Even at this grand banquet attended by almost all sects in Cangzhou, he had no friends to talk to.

He looked at the Jindan Zhen people who were whispering in groups of three or four. Among them, there was a group of Jindan gathered in one place. They were the largest and most conspicuous.

They were the Jindan of the Chongming Alliance. Since it was Tianyuanzi's 100th birthday party, they were all naturally present. Standing together at the moment, they felt a little more secure in such a bad atmosphere.

Taoist Wudi looked at it a few more times and couldn't help but let out a light exclamation.

Is that Wu Chongweng from Qingyuan County?
Although Taoist Wudi lived in seclusion in Xiankong Mountain, several hundred years had passed after all, so he could naturally recognize the old-fashioned golden elixirs in Cangzhou.

But this Mr. Wu Chong was disabled due to the war between the two states in his early years, and now he is fully recovered?
Is it the Creation Fire Pill? !
Seeing him standing together with the other Jindan members of the Chongming Alliance, it seems that Qingyuan County has also completely turned to the Chongming Alliance.

Taoist Wu Di withdrew his gaze and sighed softly, wondering what he was thinking.

Lu Qian was busy for a while, sending the guests out one by one, and then discussed with Lianyi Lingjun and Youde Lingjun who stayed behind.

The Great Disaster is Coming
This new case makes that terrifying prophecy more likely to come true.

Several people reiterated the tone of unity in facing the outside world and also rehearsed possible disasters.

But the information they had was still too little, and everyone felt unsure. Even Yuanji Lingjun had met with an accident, so who on the scene could guarantee safety?

"We must warn Lord Miaomiao Xuan." Lord Youde Ling said, "The Nascent Soul seed was killed before, but this time it was Lord Yuanying who suddenly disappeared, and he was in the late Nascent Soul stage! The enemy who can do this is extremely powerful, who knows if it is possible to directly target Lord Miaomiao Xuan?"

Nothing can happen to Miaomiao Xuanjun, and nothing can happen to Xuanwei Sect. This is the consensus among Lingshou Sect, Qinglian Zhenzong and Yunshan Sect.

Everyone is working hard to develop, and some even have the idea of ​​replacing the Xuanwei Sect deep down in their hearts. However, before they have the real strength to take action, the giant Xuanwei Sect cannot fall.

Xuanwei Sect is the controlling sect of Cangzhou recognized by Taiyi Paradise, and Miaomiao Xuanjun is also the leader of Cangzhou recognized by the neighbors. Once something goes wrong, a storm will inevitably sweep across Cangzhou, and the disaster of disintegration and overturning is imminent. Who can stay out of it?
Lu Qian thought for a moment and said, "We have shared the prophecies of Jiyang Mountain Villa and the predictions obtained by Mingzhuang Lingjun's Destiny Eye with Xuanwei Sect. Besides, Xuanwei Sect is full of experts, including those who are good at divination. I think they will also make some predictions. Now that their sect has been in trouble one after another, Miaomiao Xuanjun will naturally be doubly cautious."

Lianyi Lingjun looked grim: "I don't know who this person is. He could do such a thing right under the nose of Miaomiao Xuanjun in Cangzhou. Previously, the two Yuanying seeds of 'Wild Fox Zen' died. We reasonably guessed that 'Jiashengzi' might have committed the crime, but what about now?"

Yuanji Lingjun was not alone, but led a delegation of envoys from Xuanwei Sect, accompanied by two Jindan and twenty foundation-building masters. They were riding on the Xuanwei Sect's "Floating Light and Shadow Mengchong". Although the boat was small, it had extraordinary defense and amazing speed.

With such a configuration, what kind of power is needed to make them disappear silently?
Even if the "Wild Fox Zen" side wanted to retaliate, they couldn't do such a thing unless the two Nascent Souls and a group of Golden Core masters came out. But that would surely not alert Miaomiao Xuanjun.

"We still don't have enough information. These two incidents could have been committed by the same murderer, or they could have been committed by different people." Lu Qian said in a deep voice, "The murderer wanted to muddy the waters, and they undoubtedly did it."

Several people fell silent. Although the new disappearance case was still a huge loss for Xuanwei Sect, it directly proved one thing, that is, Cangzhou is no longer safe!
"Even with the 'no conquest' order, there is still the possibility of foreign invasion."

"The 'no conquest' order is not a heavenly oath. Its effectiveness depends entirely on the deterrence of Taiyi Paradise. If there are really ruthless people sneaking in, even if the regional garrison commander Wuzhuo Zhenjun is watching, she is not only responsible for Cangzhou, but also for the entire western twenty-three states of Yuheng Continent. If the movement is not big enough, it will definitely not be detected."

Lu Qian’s words made the two Spirit Lords feel even more depressed.

Is it an internal spy or an external enemy? Is it the same murderer or different people? Who will be the next target? Everything is unknown, so we can only be extra careful.

It seems that the most important thing for the next period of time is to guard the mountain gate carefully.

After seeing off the two Spirit Lords, Lu Qian was just trying to sort out his thoughts when Xuanwei sent an imperial edict, ordering the Yunshan Sect to cooperate in the investigation.

Lu Qian had no choice but to follow the order and spread all the disciples of the sect widely, taking advantage of the local situation to search for clues. He also brought a few golden elixirs to the deadly desert to assist the Xuanwei sect in the search.

This is a barren land with no grass or human traces, and there are gullies everywhere, as well as high and low hills and valleys. This was the most intense battlefield during the war between the two states. Not only did the entire surface of the land with a radius of more than a thousand miles collapse and lose all life, it also left behind many indelible spells, poisons, engravings and formation marks. In fact, it is difficult for any life to sprout today.

Seeing this scene, and thinking of Wei Zhaixing's prophecy of "millions of corpses lying on the ground", I am afraid that when the disaster occurs, the disaster will be worse than the war between the two states! I don't know what Cangzhou will become.

The Xuanwei Sect sent a large number of disciples to conduct a dragnet-style investigation here. Miaomiao Xuanjun was personally in charge of the command, and the only three remaining Nascent Souls in the sect were all present.

Miaomiao Xuanjun listened again to the whole process of discovering the disappearance of the diplomatic envoys from Lu Qian, and then asked Lu Qian and others to join the search team.

Lu Qian also went to say hello to the three spiritual masters of Xuanwei Sect, Qiancheng Spirit Master and Lingxuan Spirit Master of "Wild Fox Zen", and Qingyuan Sanren, an old and dying "hermit".

Although the Yuanying of the head of the rival "Jia Shengzi" was missing, Qiancheng Lingjun and Lingxuan Lingjun did not look happy, so Lu Qian did not say much. On the contrary, although he had not seen the "hermit" Qingyuan Sanren much before, he was a little warm to Lu Qian.

I thought the large-scale search would be in vain, but I didn't expect to find something a day later.

The ship was dug out from the ground, with 22 neatly laid out corpses inside.

In addition to Yuanji Lingjun, the Xuanwei sect's envoys also have two Jindan and twenty foundation-building envoys, all of whom are here.

Checking the bodies, they were all killed with a single blow. The entire ship was hit blindly, with few signs of fighting, and even the overall structure had no major damage.

Lu Qian immediately thought of the Nascent Soul seed that had died in his cave before. The environment around him was also seldom damaged.

"Yuanji Lingjun barely put up any effective resistance." Lingxuan Lingjun who suddenly came to his side said, "Either the murderer's power has reached that level, or..."

Lu Qian took over the conversation: "Even if it was an ordinary Yuanshen Xuanjun, it would be impossible for Yuanji Lingjun to not even have the chance to call for help. If the opponent is really that strong, I'm afraid there is no need to resort to such a devilish trick."

"It is more likely that the other party's methods are unique, making Yuanji Lingjun and the emissaries lose the ability to resist."

Ling Xuan Ling Jun turned his head and looked over: "It sounds like Master Lu seems to have ruled out the possibility of an acquaintance committing the crime or a sudden attack?"

"If it's a Jindan Zhenren, it's possible. But for a late Nascent Soul master like Yuanji Lingjun, even if his closest relatives want to surprise attack, it would be difficult." Lu Qian shook his head, "Let alone other things, the activation of his innate magical power is several times faster than ordinary magical powers and can be activated in an instant. How can he be easily taken down?"

"Master Lu is indeed a wise man, totally different from those fools who always suspect me, 'Wild Fox Zen'." Ling Xuan Ling Jun waved his long sleeves and smiled softly, "What could it be? Strange poison, strange formation, or curse?"

Lu Qian's heart sank.

Unfortunately, the initial judgment showed that the wounds on the twenty-two corpses were simple and clean, just ordinary sharp weapons piercing through, and no useful traces were left. He said in a deep voice: "The world is so big, there are too many methods we have not seen, it is difficult to judge."

He suddenly changed the subject and spoke in a lower voice: "Regardless of who the murderer is, although it was Yuanji Lingjun who disappeared this time, a group of emissaries were destroyed, and 'Jiashengzi' suffered a huge blow, but I'm afraid that 'Yehu Zen' will have a hard time in the future. The two Lingjuns must act with caution."

Ling Xuan Ling Jun looked at Lu Qian deeply and cupped his hands: "Master Lu, your words are valuable and good. I will always remember them in my heart."

Soon, the news that the Xuanwei envoys were killed and Yuanji Lingjun was missing spread throughout Cangzhou and even began to spread to other states.

The entire Cangzhou was in a state of panic. All sects and schools closed their mountain gates and guarded their gates tightly. Whether it was the Plum Blossom Market or the Market Alliance of the Chongming Alliance, business dropped sharply. Even if there were cultivators coming here, they came in groups and left in a hurry.

The communication between the sects was basically through message transmission, and door-to-door visits were almost extinct, as everyone was worried that they would follow in the footsteps of the Xuanwei sect's envoys.

In such a tense atmosphere, suspicion between hostile sects becomes more serious, and any small incident may trigger a violent conflict.

Accidents that would normally happen on a daily basis could be attributed to the attacks, and with people with ulterior motives taking advantage of the situation, the atmosphere of panic continued to expand.

In December, two Jindan sects in southern Cangzhou became suspicious of each other due to the death of a disciple. The conflict continued to escalate, and finally they openly violated Miaomiao Xuanjun's order to "stop the war" and fought each other!
Finally, the already grief-stricken and anxious Miaomiao Xuanjun flew into a rage. He didn't care who was right or wrong or what the truth was, and directly sentenced both parties to death!

The Xuanwei faction spread the imperial edict, saying that anyone who violated the order to "stop the war" would be killed without mercy!

Such a cruel act immediately made the entire Cangzhou silent, but beneath the seeming silence, the undercurrent became more and more turbulent.

Since ancient times, the Jindan has governed the county, and independent Jindan sects have had the autonomy to conquer, but now they are being forcefully suppressed by Miaomiao Xuanjun, and all the Jindan sects are complaining.

At the same time, there was a storm of turmoil within the Xuanwei Sect.

"House-Born Son" suffered a great blow, and "Wild Fox Zen" was ready to make a move, but Qiancheng Lingjun and Lingxuan Lingjun remained calm and sober, restrained everyone in the faction, and even took the initiative to retract their tentacles.

Unfortunately, in order to expand its strength in the early days, "Wild Fox Zen" moved too fast and absorbed monks too quickly, so that the lower-level monks expanded too quickly, and the good and the bad were mixed together. There were many fakes and those with poor character, and the middle-level backbones were difficult to control.

Soon, several conflicts occurred between the "Wild Fox Zen" and the "House-Born Son" monks. This time, Miaomiao Xuanjun did not try to smooth things over. Not only did he deal with the parties involved with the most severe means, but he also directly asked the "Wild Fox Zen" to give up many of their interests.

Xuanjun wants to help the "house-born child" to a dominant position again.

This also directly aroused the dissatisfaction of the lower-level monks in "Wild Fox Zen", and they were very resentful in private.

These grievances could not be released in the Xuanwei Sect, and some despicable people even began to seek a sense of existence among small sects and independent cultivators in Cangzhou, which undoubtedly exacerbated the tense atmosphere in Cangzhou.

But fortunately, Miaomiao Xuanjun is still here.

In extraordinary times, severe punishments should be used. After a group of people were dealt with ruthlessly, this unhealthy trend was finally suppressed.

Although Cangzhou is in turmoil, it will not lead to a major disaster.

As long as Xuanjun is still there
In the spring of the 443rd year of Jiashen, amidst the martial law in Cangzhou, a friend knocked on the door of Mianlong Mountain.

"It's him?" Lu Qian reacted immediately and smiled, "It seems that this situation has made him determined. This is a pleasant surprise for Yunshan."

Lu Qian went to greet him personally, and after a night of conversation, the Yunshan Sect gained another powerful helper.

Fei Guang Fei Guang, persuade you to have a glass of wine.

The moon is cold and the day is warm, spring and autumn interweave, have you ever stopped for anyone?

In the blink of an eye, another twenty-seven years have passed.

The 470th year of Jiashen, the turn of spring and summer.

After several years of turmoil and tension, the inexplicable murders and disappearances finally stopped happening, Cangzhou slowly returned to peace, all sects and schools resumed their normal lives, and the market town, which had experienced a cold winter, gradually regained its customer flow. The disappearance of Yuanji Lingjun was buried deep in people's hearts.

Until the 470th year of Jiashen, after more than 20 years of stability and prosperity, Cangzhou seemed to be full of vitality again.

A new batch of Jindan Zhenren came on stage, and the appearance of several new Yuanying Lingjun restored Cangzhou's strength.

Under such a prosperous appearance, some people are always extremely vigilant. As time goes by, instead of letting go, they further restrain their disciples, tidy up the mountain gate, and take a defensive posture.

It is the four gates of Cangzhou plus the Chongming Alliance.

According to the prophecy, a great disaster is about to come and a catastrophe is about to occur.

Mingzhuang Lingjun predicted that this disaster would happen within 20 to 30 years. This is originally a vague observation. Who knows whether a terrible event will break out in the next moment?

However, the monks who were unaware of the situation still lived a peaceful and stable life, not to mention the monks from other states. The turmoil in Cangzhou had nothing to do with them.

For example, this time, the Wanling Immortal Herb Conference held in Yingzhou, south of Cangzhou, was still very lively, with many monks and rare treasures attracting everyone's attention.

"Fellow Daoist Qi, are you selling your earthworm so quickly this time?" A short and fat monk wearing a bamboo hat who looked like a big mushroom said enviously, "Alas, it's a pity that no one appreciates my dragonfly spores. I don't know if I can sell them this time."

Lu Qian, wearing a white mask, bowed to him and said, "So you are Senior Mushroom. Dragonfly spores were in great demand at the previous fair, but maybe we were unlucky this time. I heard from Master Tianfu that there will be another fair in Luzhou in the south soon after this one ends. You might as well try again, and maybe you can meet a buyer."

The old Taoist priest shook his head and said, "Forget it, forget it. Luzhou is not peaceful right now. I am an old man, so I'd better stay at home and grow mushrooms. It's better not to go."

Lu Qian asked in confusion: "What happened to Luzhou?"

Taoist Gu was surprised: "Don't you know, Fellow Daoist Qi? A high-level fourth-grade spiritual vein in Luzhou has just been destroyed, and the innate spiritual energy produced has been robbed!"

(End of this chapter)