Knife splashing

Chapter 661: Deciphering the Secret Code, the World's Flood

"Oh?"

Li Yan glanced at Kong Shangzhao, somewhat surprised.

Of course he had seen the young man's abilities, but he had never expected that he could decipher Xu Fu's scrolls.

This "Seeking Immortality Chapter" is somewhat different from the "Qin Palace Chapter" obtained before.

Although it also uses the "Golden Magpie Book", it incorporates a large number of esoteric secret words.

The history of Xuanmen's secret language is very long. After all, the Dharma cannot be passed on lightly.

In ancient times, the knowledge of Xuanmen was monopolized by priests. Later, for various reasons, it could not be easily shown to others, so many Xuanmen classics used secret languages.

The Book of Han, Yiwenzhi, records that books on medicine and medical techniques such as Shenxian and Huangbai contain "many cryptic words, and should not be passed on to anyone other than the right person." The remaining fragments of Taiping Jing also mention that "the spiritual diagrams and talismans are written in cloud characters, and ghosts and gods cannot read them."

There are many types of secret codes.

There are "Cloud Seals" and "Dragon Seals" that outsiders cannot understand, but they are also the key to performing magic.

There are some hidden esoteric terms, such as "lead and mercury" and "dragon and tiger", which may refer to something completely different. If those who get the scriptures practice them rashly, they will inevitably go astray.

In addition, there are various secret spells, some of which are even hidden by esoteric techniques.

The changes involved are as numerous as the stars. Without a formula, it would be like a blind man touching an elephant.

The beginning of this book "Seeking Immortality" is fine, telling some things that happened at that time, but the key information involved in the latter part is all hidden in secret codes, and even Wang Daoxuan has never seen it.

Li Yan was really surprised that Kong Shangzhao could solve it.

Kong Shangzhao seemed a little unaccustomed to being stared at by everyone. His face turned slightly red. He cupped his hands and said, "Master Wang, you are too kind. It's just a coincidence that I know this secret language."

"Not urgent."

Li Yan smiled slightly, raised his hand and said, "Let's go in and talk."

After that, he led everyone into the room.

Wang Daoxuan had a flash of inspiration and immediately took out the Ruyi Pearl from his bag and hung it above the beam. A faint silver glow shone down, isolating all the aura and fluctuations in the room.

Linqing is the first customs port on the canal and is extremely prosperous.

They entered the city at dusk, and although they did not meet any of their fellow practitioners, there must be many sorcerers in the city.

"Seeking Immortality" is very important, so we must be careful and cautious.

"This is called Taixu Hidden Text."

Kong Shangzhao didn't understand why, but he didn't ask any more questions. He sat down and said directly, "I have an uncle who loves books like crazy. He likes to collect all kinds of strange and bizarre books. He even spent all his family wealth for this and was often scolded by the elders in the clan."

"He was not well-received in the tribe, and his behavior was somewhat crazy. It was only when I was a child catching cicadas that I ran into his house and was attracted by his miscellaneous arts. From then on, we became close friends regardless of age..."

As he spoke, the corners of his eyes turned red, as if he was remembering something sad. Then he forced himself to cheer up and continued, "Among his collection of books, there is a book called 'Yunji Qiqian·Waibian'."

Wang Daoxuan frowned slightly, "As far as I know, there is no extra edition in the Yunji Qiqian."

"The Taoist priest is right."

Kong Shangzhao nodded and said, "The book is falsely attributed to Dongfang Shuo, and we also believe that it was compiled by later generations. However, some of the things mentioned in it are very interesting, such as a kind of alchemist secret language, 'Taixuwen'."

"The text of Taixu is performed by Zou Zi, who uses the stems and branches to control the stars and transforms the cloud seals into the pivot. When Jiazi moves, the Fang constellation turns, and when Bingwu is still, the Pleiades constellation hides. If you don't understand the secret, even ghosts and gods cannot detect it."

"It contains the method to decipher the Taixu text. It is complicated and tedious, but because I have a photographic memory, I still remember it after reading it at that time. The Taoist priest just asked about it, and I took a look and it just happened to match."

After that, he took the "Seeking Immortality" from Wang Daoxuan's hand, pointed to a strange symbol on it that was a combination of a tree branch and water patterns, and said, "The basis of Taixuwen is the combination of heavenly stems and earthly branches, that is, with the ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches as the skeleton, the five elements are mutually generated and restrained to reorganize the characters, forming twenty-two secret symbols."

"For example, this one represents the mutual generation of wood and water. Wood is Jia and water is Zi, so it is Jia Zi. This symbol has two fires intertwined, with a sun wheel embedded in the center, which is the positive fire. It is the combination of Bing Fire and Wu Fire, so it represents Bing Wu..."

"But deciphering these twenty-two secret symbols is only the basis. We also need to encrypt them by shifting the stars."

"Refer to the directions of the twenty-eight constellations in the "Records of the Grand Historian: Book of Celestial Officials". Each symbol is rotated according to the position of the main constellation of the night. For example, if the 'Fang' constellation is on duty, all symbols are tilted to the right by 30 degrees. If the 'Pleiades' constellation is on duty, then they are tilted to the left by 45 degrees..."

"Besides that, there is also the missing word method..."

Li Yan felt overwhelmed and shook his head, saying, "Mr. Kong, just tell us straight away. We won't understand these things even if you explain them to us."

"Ah."

Kong Shangzhao stopped explaining the method and said, "The first part of this book is all to deceive people. The secret code at the end is difficult to decipher. I didn't have enough time, so I only deciphered a few words, but they are also very shocking."

As he spoke, he looked at the bamboo slips in his hand, pointed at a few lines of secret words, and read them word by word:
"Your Majesty, Xu Fu, bows again: Your Majesty is on an eastern tour to offer sacrifices to the gods, and is here to control the Nine Gai. I have observed the stars, and the nine places of Taizong, Yishan, Zhifu, Langya, Kuaiji, Yunmeng, Jiuyi, Jieshi, and Yingzhou correspond to the Nine Stars of Ziwei. We should set up the 'Nine Extremes Ascension Array'. When the array is completed, the gate to the immortal world will be opened, and Your Majesty can ride a dragon to the heavens and rule the land of China forever..."

Hearing these words, Li Yan's eyes flashed.

Kong Shangzhao said it was absurd, but he was sure that the deciphered code was correct.

This is the "Seeking Immortality" chapter. With the power that Xu Fu could mobilize at that time, what he could do was limited. He must have borrowed the power of the First Emperor. The search for the immortal mountain overseas might just be a cover.

The gate of immortality opens...

Could it be that they want to open the Daluo Dharma Realm?

This idea even made Li Yan feel incredible.

Thinking of this, he continued to ask: "What happened next? What else did you say?"

Kong Shangzhao was a little embarrassed, "Time is too tight. If I want to solve all of them, it will probably take more than ten days."

"It doesn't matter."

Li Yan said solemnly, clasping his fists, "Please help me, sir. Once this is done, I will return the money I paid to you in full, as your reward."

"Also, remember to keep this matter confidential!"

"what?"

Kong Shangzhao was obviously a little surprised, his face flushed, "This... this is too much."

In order to ask the Twelve Yuanchen for help, his father emptied out most of his fortune.

I never thought that these random things I wrote down could be worth thirty thousand taels.

“It’s not much, but it’s worth it to us!”

After Li Yan comforted him for a few words, Kong Shangzhao finally felt relieved and nodded in agreement.

The young scholar returned to the room and quickly lit a candle.

The reflection of the candlelight showed that he was sitting at the table translating all night.

Li Yan gave a wink and everyone immediately set up defenses.

Lu San summoned a swarm of rats to monitor the nearby streets. Long Yan'er waved her hand and poisonous insects flew out and hid in every corner of the courtyard. Even Wang Daoxuan placed talismans at several entrances to give warnings.

In a short period of time, the whole yard was filled with murderous intent.

Linqing City is prosperous and full of hidden talents. Even if you are only staying there for one night, you must not be careless.

After all, the mastermind behind the murder and treasure-stealing in Zhangqiu Town is still hiding behind the scenes.

They took away the "Seeking Immortality", and the other party would definitely not let it go...

Li Yan returned to the room and did not take off his clothes to sleep. Instead, he sat cross-legged in meditation, placed the Dust-Breaking Sword on his legs, and practiced in a state of concentration while keeping alert at the same time.

In the visualization space, Luofeng Mountain has just been reshaped and needs to be continuously stabilized.

The good thing is that nothing happened overnight.

……

The next morning, disciples from the Cao Gang came to greet them.

"My fellow heroes."

The Cao Gang disciple looked very apologetic. "The customs clearance procedures are a bit complicated. Brother Liu said that it will take a whole day, and we can only board the ship and leave at dusk. Linqing City is prosperous, how about I take you for a walk?"

"no need."

Li Yan shook his head and refused. "The time is too short. We have been traveling for days and there is no rush. Just order some food and send it over. Thank you for your trouble, brother."

"What are you talking about, Mr. Li?"

The Cao Gang disciple nodded quickly, clasped his fists and left. After he left, Li Yan said to everyone in a deep voice: "I heard that the people were complaining at the shore before, and Zhao Wanfang also came, accompanied by a master. There must be something wrong in Linqing City."

"We have already wasted a lot of time on the road, so it is better to avoid trouble."

"Brother Yan is right."

Wang Daoxuan turned his head and looked towards Kong Shangzhao's room, his face solemnly saying: "The prosperity of Linqing City is nothing but court struggles, fame and fortune, and murder. Protecting the "Seeking Immortality" and finding out the plot of 'Jianmu' as soon as possible are the most important things!"

What the Taoist said was right, but the undercurrent in Linqing City was far more ferocious than they thought...

……

At the customs, inside the tax supervision office.

Eunuch Ma, who has been pampered and grown fatter over the years, no longer has the humble appearance he once had in the palace.

But there was no smile on his face, and the people below didn't dare to breathe.

Eunuch Ma leaned against the armchair, his fingertips tracing the edge of the celadon cup, flipping through the "Secret Account of Grand Canal Taxes" without even looking up, and shrilly in his hoarse voice:
"The daughter of the shopkeeper Wang of Satin Shop has been sent to the Music Bureau?"

"My dear father-in-law, that girl bit her tongue and committed suicide..."

"unlucky!"

He suddenly became furious and threw the expensive teacup in his hand.

The porcelain cup was smashed on the tax collector's forehead, and blood mixed with tea foam splashed onto the "Linqing Merchants List".

"Tomorrow we will impose a levy of 'fire consumption silver' to tell those peasants that what is flowing in the canal is not water, but the royal silver!"

As he spoke, he seemed to still be unsatisfied and cursed: "People say that scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans are the four major classes. These merchants are cunning and treacherous. If we don't teach them a lesson, they will really rebel against the heaven!"

"How dare you go to the capital to sue me? You don't even consider how much I have done for the emperor!"

His words were harsh, but the worry in his eyes did not diminish.

Since the opening of the sea in the Daxuan Dynasty, the national treasury has become increasingly full. Last year, the tax revenue of Fujian and Guangdong provinces exceeded that of Linqing Customs. Suzhou, Hangzhou, Tianjin and other places followed closely behind. I am afraid that they will be on par this year.

Eunuch Ma has sensed the crisis.

If his wisdom for surviving in the palace is no longer useful, he may be discarded.

Therefore, he intensified tariff exploitation in the past two years, and coupled with the benefits he and his subordinates took, he inevitably offended many people, and many people in the court complained to him.

The people who were talking about revenge just now were a businessman who went to file a complaint.

In the past, this method could always keep the merchants behaved for a while.

But now, he felt inexplicably uneasy.

"Have those people from the capital who sent gifts returned?"

"Replying to Father-in-law, not yet."

"Go and do it, prepare some more, and send it to the palace..."

……

In the east of Linqing City, there is the Shanxi Merchants Guild Hall.

"I can't stand it anymore!"

Zhang Mingyuan, a cloth merchant from Jinzhou, smashed his abacus to pieces. The brass beads rolled into the charcoal basin, emitting sparks.

His face was grim. "This moonlight 'inspection silver' has swallowed up 30% of our profits. This is going to cut off our trade routes!"

"Master!"

The accountant's face was pale. He hurried into the hall, shook out the blood-stained letter from his arms, and said in a trembling voice: "Mr. Chen from Pingyang Prefecture jumped into the Wei River last night. When he was fished out, he still had the tax bill in his arms..."

Zhang Mingyuan's eyes instantly flushed with blood, "Go, invite other chambers of commerce to come!"

In the shadows of the corridor outside the door, Jin Yanmen's spy lowered his head and left...

……

In the east of Linqing City, Houpong Lane.

Clang! Clang!
Wang Chaozuo, a bamboo craftsman, squatted on the bluestone slab where the dew had not yet dried, and the bamboo knife made a harsh scraping sound.

"Master Wang, all the cloth from Yuan's cloth shop was taken away by the tax dogs..."

"Old Yuan hanged himself on the flagpole of the tax office. It was said that he committed suicide because of his resistance to taxation."

The bamboo strips suddenly broke, and Wang Chaozuo stuffed the bloodstained towel into the apprentice's palm:

"Tell Lao Liu at the blacksmith shop to make thirty cable-cutting machetes tonight."

At the entrance of the alley, white smoke rose from a steamed cake stand. A lame beggar knocked on his broken bowl and hummed:

"The Grand Canal is muddy, the Wei River is turbid, and the God of Wealth is squatting in the Ninth Heaven..."

Linqing City is still prosperous, but a storm is brewing.

Of course, Li Yan and others didn’t know about these things.

They stayed in the small courtyard, busying themselves with things, and a day passed in the blink of an eye.

When it was almost dusk, the Cao Gang disciples finally came to notify us to get on board.

Everyone set out immediately. When they arrived at the dock, it was almost dusk. They moved the boxes onto the ship and had to work for a while. Fortunately, all the customs documents were ready and they left the port smoothly...

In the city, on the second floor of Baixiang Tower.

Zhao Wanfang stood in front of the window, looking quietly at the river bank.

Behind him, the door creaked, and a cold-faced man walked into the room and placed a bunch of secret reports on the table.

"Girl, this is new."

Zhao Wanfang nodded, turned around and went to the table to check.

But there were seven secret letters on the desk, including the Shanxi merchants' strike manifesto, the artisans' weapons list, the garrison camp's rotation time, and the movements of the tax supervisor Ma's subordinates...

After Zhao Wanfang finished reading them one by one, she shook her head slightly and chuckled:
"I'm afraid this eunuch Ma will not survive the Waking of Insects..."

"Send the things away quickly. The people in the capital are still waiting."

"Yes!"

The cold-faced man put away the information, clasped his fists and left.

After he left, the round-faced maid said gossipingly, "Miss, Master Li just left, are you really not going to see him off?"

"What to send..."

Zhao Wanfang shook her head calmly, "The situation in the capital is even more turbulent, so I won't cause any more trouble for him."

"We are all rootless duckweed in the torrent of the world, just live your life well..."

After saying this, he picked up the wine jug and took a few sips, then leaned against the vermilion railing and watched the white sails of the canal boats in the distance disappear into the sunset.

The southeast wind brought the sound of stringed instruments, and the tanci group below was singing the newly composed "Jingyanggang":
"What do you mean by acting on behalf of heaven, what do you mean by loyalty and righteousness? Grandpa's sword can only kill tigers in the mountains, but it cannot kill all the wolves in the world..."

……

The Grand Canal starts from Linqing and goes to the capital city through four main sections.

The first is the Hebei section of the Huitong River from Linqing to Dezhou, the second is the South Grand Canal section from Dezhou to Tianjin, and the third is the North Grand Canal section from Tianjin to Tongzhou. After crossing the Tonghui River section in Tongzhou, you can reach the capital.

The Cao Gang merchant ships traveled day and night, and after several days, they reached the South Grand Canal section.

"Young Master Li, we have arrived in Cangzhou!"

The Cao Gang disciples on the deck shouted loudly.

Li Yan and his companions walked out of the cabin, but saw a huge iron lion gazing at the river on the distant shore...

(End of this chapter)