Knife splashing

Chapter 241 The Legend of the Nine-headed Bird
The tomb chamber is not big and is circular in shape. There is a square stone platform in the center with a sarcophagus on it, but it has been broken open.

The bones in the coffin had been turned into a mess, and were wrapped with yellowed clothes and black mud, making it impossible to see the appearance of the tomb owner.

There were also some bronze, gold and jade artifacts scattered around the coffin.

The reason why it is strange is that this kind of round tomb chamber is really rare, and there is a square stone platform in the center, which probably symbolizes the roundness of the sky and the squareness of the earth.

Li Yan's attention was not attracted by the messy burial objects on the ground. Instead, he raised the candle and looked at the surrounding walls.

The walls are densely covered with murals. Even after thousands of years, the colors are still gorgeous and full of ancient charm from the pre-Qin period.

The mural seems to be telling a mythical story about a giant ten-headed bird, one of whose heads was shot off by someone...

The bird shooter has nine bronze tripods beside him...

The nine-headed bird was buried, and the mountains and rivers wept blood...

Nine people, holding nine blood jade congs, sleeping in different positions...

Li Yan was stunned and felt vaguely that he seemed to have discovered an incredible secret.

He quickly got out of the cave and shouted, "Uncle Sha, hurry up and ask Taoist Feng to come down and take a look!"

…………

“There are two stories in this!”

Taoist Feng held a candle and examined the mural carefully. His eyes were wide open and his voice was trembling. "Have you ever heard of the legends of 'Wen Ding' and 'Nine-headed Bird'?"

Li Yan nodded, "I've heard of it."

Sharifei was confused, "What is this? Taoist priest, tell me more."

Taoist Feng said in a deep voice: "This has to start from the origin of Chu."

"In the Li Sao by the Sanlu official, it is mentioned that the Chu people came from Emperor Zhuanxu and Gaoyang. Gaoyang was the grandson of the Yellow Emperor and the son of Changyi. Zhuanxu gave birth to Laotong, who gave birth to Zhurong...

During the ancient Shang Dynasty, Yuxiong of the Chu tribe was the leader of the Jilian tribe of the Mi clan, one of the eight surnames of Zhurong. He was also a descendant of Zhurong Huozheng. He wrote "Yuzi", which is one of the source classics of my Taoism...

Yuxiong had helped King Wen and King Wu of Zhou to destroy the Shang Dynasty, and he should have been a participant in the Conferred Gods War. During the reign of King Cheng of Zhou, Yuxiong's great-grandson Xiong Yi was granted the title of Chu Man. His surname was Mi and he lived in Danyang, which is now Zigui County.

"According to the legend of Chu, Zhurong was the incarnation of the Fire Phoenix, so the Chu people 'respected the Phoenix and worshipped red, worshipped fire and worshipped the sun, and liked witches and ghosts', and many of these customs have been passed down to this day."

"But the relationship between Zhou and Chu has never been good."

"When King Cheng of Zhou appointed Xiong Yi as a vassal, he not only refused to treat him with courtesy, but also humiliated him many times, not even allowing him a seat to eat."

"From then on, the people of Chu refused to submit to Zhou!"

"During the Spring and Autumn Period, the vassal states held more than 90 alliances, but Chu was recorded to have participated in only three of them. These were because the purpose of the alliances was basically to discuss how to attack Chu..."

"King Zhao of Zhou attacked Chu three times, and died on the way the third time. It is said that he was killed by the Chu witches and knights. In short, the hatred became deeper and deeper."

"During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Zhou Dynasty was in decline. King Zhuang of Chu took the opportunity of the northern expedition against the Luhun Rong and marched to the city of Luoyang. He reviewed the troops in front of the Zhou emperor and asked how to forge the sacred artifact Nine Cauldrons. This is the origin of 'asking for the world'."

"Look."

Taoist Feng pointed to the mural and said, "There are nine tripods behind this person, which means he represents the royal family of Zhou at that time, and he shot down one of the ten-headed birds, which means he is Duke Zhou Dan."

"In the early Zhou Dynasty, although the Shang Dynasty was destroyed, the Shang people were still alive. King Wu appointed Wu Geng, the son of King Zhou of Shang, as the capital of Shang. He was ruled by Guan Shu, Cai Shu and Huo Shu, members of the royal family, to monitor Wu Geng. They were called the Three Supervisors."

"After King Wu died, King Cheng was still young, and Duke Zhou became regent. The three supervisors were dissatisfied, and they joined forces with Wu Geng and the Dongyi to rebel. Duke Zhou led his army to the east to quell the rebellion, and later he enfeoffed the princes, formulated the Zhou Li, and was revered as a saint by Confucianism."

"The dispute between Zhou and Chu began with King Cheng of Zhou. It is said that Duke Zhou hated the ten-headed bird. When he heard the bird's cry, he ordered his men to drive it out of the nine states and shoot it. After shooting three arrows, he failed to hit it. So he sent a heavenly dog ​​to bite it off. It bit off one of the bird's heads, leaving nine heads. This is the saying 'bleed one head, and there are still nine heads left.'"

Li Yan nodded and said, "I have heard of this before, but judging from the murals, it is far from that simple."

"Yes."

Taoist Feng's breathing was a little rapid. "The Nine-headed Bird was originally a sacred bird of Chu. When it grew ten heads, it represented its ambition to conquer the world. When Duke Zhou shot down one head, it was clearly an attempt to sever the dragon vein of Chu."

"No, it should be called Phoenix Vein!"

"No wonder. The nine-headed bird was originally a sacred bird of the Chu people, symbolizing good fortune. But after the Zhou Dynasty, it became the 'ghost car', implying bad luck. It is said that it can absorb people's souls and likes dark and obscure places."

"Later, the people of Chu were superstitious. The Jingchu Sui Shi Ji records that on the night of the first month of the lunar year, many ghost birds flew over, and every family would hammer the bed, beat the door, twist the dog's ears, and extinguish the lights and candles to ward off the ghosts."

Sharifei became more and more confused as he listened, "Master, you have been talking so much, what exactly do you want to say?"

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "The national sacrifice ceremony, the Xuanmen fight!"

"Yes."

Taoist Feng's eyes became more and more excited. He looked around and pointed at the slope at the entrance of the cave and said, "That is the corridor, the ritual of the Zhou tomb. This round sky and square earth pattern must be the tomb of a Zhou Dynasty sorcerer!"

"It turns out that Duke Zhou had already made some arrangements and ordered people to cut off the Phoenix veins in Chu. One out of ten heads is missing, and the whole country is filled with tears and blood."

"Hahaha, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Chu was the overlord, but in the end it was Qin that destroyed Zhou, and it was Chu that overthrew Qin."

"It's just a difference of one head, a difference of one head!"

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "The past events of the pre-Qin period are no longer important. What is the purpose of the Ghost Cult's search for these blood jade congs?"

Taoist Feng took the blood jade cong and examined it carefully, then said in a deep voice: "In ancient times, the jade bi was round for offering sacrifice to heaven, and the jade cong was square for offering sacrifice to the earth. But there are some rules for this, the jade bi was blue, and the jade cong was yellow."

"This blood jade cong ritual site is considered inauspicious!"

"Whether it is the dragon vein or the phoenix vein of Shenzhou, they are auspicious for the world. If they are destroyed, they will be retaliated against, and even the dynasty may collapse because of them."

"From the murals, it can be seen that Duke Zhou used nine blood jade congs to suppress the nine heads and then killed the last head to minimize the backlash. But even so, the Zhou royal family was humiliated by Chu many times later."

"The Phoenix Vein has been sealed, and the Nine-headed Bird has been ominous ever since. Thousands of years of resentment have been accumulating. Once the seal is broken, Shenzhou will inevitably be in turmoil. Zhou Gong left this item, probably hoping that future generations will have a way to crack it."

"I never thought that the Zhou Dynasty would collapse and the secret would be buried along with it, but it was discovered by the Ghost Cult."

"This ghost cult wants to overthrow Daxuan!"

"Are there any other clues about the Blood Jade Cong?"

“It’s not mentioned in the mural.”

Sharifei's lips went dry after hearing this. "Oh my goodness, so cruel?"

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "No matter whether this is true or not, we must not let the Ghost Cult succeed, otherwise I don't know how many people will die."

"Let's go quickly. We must leave Zigui tomorrow and report this matter. Without a blood jade cong, they won't be able to succeed!"

"Yes, let's go!"

This conspiracy that spanned thousands of years made the three of them feel a little uneasy and they hurried out.

Of course, Sharifei didn't forget to sweep away all the gold and jade objects on the ground...

…………

When we came out of the well, it was already dark.

The mist and rain were hazy, and the surroundings were dark and silent.

The three of them were still somewhat dazed by what they had seen before, but when the cold wind of the rainy night blew, their heads finally calmed down.

"Let's go early."

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "The Ghost Cult has secret techniques. When we killed someone before, they noticed it and used a spell to silence us."

"Be careful, the person might be on the way."

Sharifei also knew that the situation was serious, and he didn't bother to hide. He directly took out the flintlock rifle from his arms and loaded the ammunition in advance.

Taoist Feng was very slick. He pretended not to see it and pulled out a dagger from his waist, hiding it in the sleeves of his Taoist robe.

There was still deathly silence in the temple.

Several bodies fell to the ground, and the blood around them had turned black.

Naturally, the three of them ignored them and quickened their pace, pushed open the temple gate, and headed towards Guizhou City.

It is only three miles away from here to Guizhou City.

Although the city gates were closed, given Master Feng's status as a Taoist priest, it would not be a problem for him to order the soldiers guarding the city to lower the hanging basket and let them in.

However, after taking a few steps, Li Yan realized something was wrong.

"Stop!"

He raised his hand and stared straight ahead.

I saw that on the mountain road ahead, thick fog had risen at some point, spreading out from between the woods and mixed with drizzle, making people feel cold.

Soon, the fog became thicker and thicker. With the sky gloomy, you couldn't see your hand in front of you ten meters away.

"Hee hee hee…"

Suddenly, a strange laugh was heard in the thick fog.

It looks a bit like a woman, and also a bit like a child. It seems that it is laughing with its throat pinched, which is chilling.

Squeak~squeak~
A strange sound came from far away.

I saw a few red shadows looming on the mountain road in the distance.

They were four strange sedan bearers.

They were dressed in shrouds, their eyes were wide open, their faces were powdered and snow-white, their lips were blood red, and their cheeks were also painted red.

Dressed like a paper doll.

This is the attire of the spirit children in the drama. The male paper figure is called "Erbaiwu" and the female paper figure is called "Sanbaisan". They were originally good characters, but when they appear at this time, they are particularly creepy.

And these four are obviously not living people!

They were carrying a large sedan chair and their steps were neat and strange, a bit like the sedan bearers in a drama, with stiff bodies and stretched legs as they walked.

And that strange laughter became louder and louder.

It sounded like all the pearls on her body were shaking.

"A sedan chair in the middle of the night, a ghost bride."

Taoist Feng swallowed his saliva and felt his scalp tingling.

"Don't be afraid!"

A trace of murderous intent flashed in Li Yan's eyes. He pinched the Yang Jue, took a deep breath, and whispered, "There are still many people hiding in the forest. Close your eyes and turn around."

Sharifei immediately understood.

The person who came to stop them was undoubtedly Hongnu, a subordinate of Zhao Changsheng.

The enemy who killed my father finally showed up, and he was very powerful.

Li Yan naturally had to control the ghost soldiers to kill them.

Although Taoist Feng didn't know the reason, he nodded quickly.

He secretly groaned in his heart. He thought it would be safer to follow Li Yan and the others, but he didn't expect it to be even more dangerous.

Seeing the sedan chair getting closer, Li Yan no longer hesitated.

"Turn around!"

He shouted, took out the certificate immediately, stepped on the steps, pinched the spell, and chanted: "Qingjia! Above is the black sky, below is the black earth, the black sky has no light, the black earth has no door..."

As the spell was chanted, a strong cold wind suddenly blew around.

But at this moment, Li Yan suddenly felt a warning in his heart, a feeling that death was approaching.

"Get down!"

Li Yan retreated fiercely and knocked the two men over.

Bang!
There was a loud bang in the distance, and fire and smoke spread everywhere.

Li Yan only felt a huge force coming at him, followed by a sharp pain in his bones. He flew backwards with a huge bloody hole on his chest.

It's a new type of musket!
He didn't have time to think about it and immediately activated his Daluo Dharma Body. As he rolled on the ground, his wounds healed immediately.

"Brother Yan!"

Salifei roared, his eyes bloodshot.

Taoist Feng's scalp was tingling, but he was able to remain calm. He thrust the blood jade cong from his waist to Sharifei and said, "Stop them first!"

Sure enough, those strange sedan bearers suddenly quickened their pace.

It was as if the distance could be shortened to an inch, and the bridal sedan chair was coming at a rapid speed.

Although Sharifei was furious, he reacted quickly. He picked up the flintlock rifle and pointed it at the blood jade cong, "Back off!"

The sedan chair suddenly stopped.

"Hee hee hee…"

A strange woman's laughter was heard.

The bearers all bent down and put the sedan chair down.

A pale hand slowly opened the red door curtain, and finally a woman walked out of the bridal sedan, wearing a phoenix coronet, a bridal veil, and a blood-red wedding dress.

It was the "Red Girl" who was feared in the Taoist world and was rumored to have turned into a demon.

She did not reveal her true face, but stretched out her fingers and covered half of her face with a gorgeous red handkerchief with a dragon and phoenix pattern.

The skin is pale, the pupils are bloodshot, and the eyes are breathtaking.

"Sir...am I beautiful?"

A soft female voice sounded, making people feel pity.

It's clearly some kind of powerful spell to hypnotize someone.

Taoist Feng was the most alert. He quickly closed his eyes, reached out and took out two yellow talismans, and retreated tremblingly.

As for Sharifei, his eyes became dull and he smiled foolishly:
"Hehe... beautiful."

"Hongnv" took two steps forward and said softly, "Sir, how about handing the things in your hand to me?"

"Hehe...Okay!"

Sharifei smiled foolishly and raised his flintlock rifle.

Bang!
The air was filled with fire and smoke.

Sharifei retreated quickly and reloaded his ammunition at the same time, his eyes were cold, and there was no sign of being confused at all.

He got Xiong Baodong's Six Ding and Six Jia Talisman and wore it all the time.

Although the "Red Girl"'s bewitching technique was powerful, Sharifei was only slightly confused and immediately regained consciousness, and simply pretended to be stupid to lure the enemy.

"Yeah~"

The "Red Girl" screamed and red smoke exploded around her. She actually used a method of escape to avoid the attack and appeared in another area.

Sharifei had retreated to Li Yan's side, and once again pointed his gun at the Blood Jade Cong, cursing, "You old bitch, if you dare to come one step closer, I will destroy this thing immediately!"

"Yeah, break this thing!"

Taoist Feng also breathed a sigh of relief and started shouting as well.

"Red Girl" paused and stopped.

There was no longer any charm in her eyes, her pupils were bloody and cold, she turned her hand, shook the dragon and phoenix handkerchief, and held it in her hand.

Seeing his true face, Sharifei couldn't help but tremble in his heart.

This "Red Girl" had the outline of a beauty from her nose up, but her mouth was torn to her ears, her lips were as red as blood, and her mouth was full of sharp fangs. She didn't look like a human at all.

"It has indeed become a demon!"

Taoist Feng looked bitter, feeling that his life was in danger today.

Although Sharifei was afraid, he was more angry.

At this moment, Li Yan, who was lying on the ground, seemingly uncertain whether he was alive or dead, exerted force with his fingers and pressed the heel of his foot in the sand.

not dead!

Sharifei was ecstatic in his heart, but his face became more alert.

He knew that there must be a reason why Li Yan pretended to be dead.

Sure enough, many people walked out of the dense forest.

One of them, holding a magic gun in his hand, showed a kind smile on his face, "Brother Sha, long time no see..."

(End of this chapter)