The copy has 0 error tolerance, and the last words on the ground are all wrong for me.

Chapter 39: New Year
The gate of Huaigu Village was wide open, and almost all the villagers, led by Liu Shan, were waiting at the entrance to welcome Wu Chang.

Wu Chang turned over and got off the horse, and the palace lantern in his hand went out the moment he landed.

He unnoticedly put the remaining lamp oil into his personal space and came to Liu Shan holding the lamp.

"Fortunately, I did not disgrace my life."

Liu Shan took the palace lantern and exclaimed: "Master Wu is truly a god. He can complete a week's journey in less than two days."

Liu Jinfu placed the palace lanterns on the altar in the center of the valley. Nourished by the Elimination of the New Year formation in the valley, no lamp oil was needed and the four-sided New Year fire lamps began to burn with red flames.

As the fire of the year burned, the dampness and coldness brought by the evil spirits in the valley suddenly weakened a little.

Because Wu Chang returned early, the original discussion about the New Year's Eve sacrifice turned into a celebration banquet.

At the banquet, everyone was curious about why Wu Chang could come and go so quickly, and whether he met the lantern delivery person from Chenjia Village on the way.

When the villagers learned that Wu Chang did not meet anyone from Chenjia Village, but instead crossed several dangerous mountainous areas, they exclaimed in surprise and praised his great skill and courage.

Some of those who were more thoughtful immediately advised their own young people not to imitate dangerous actions, and that good children should never learn from Wu Chang.

If you keep walking on the mountain road like this, you will lose more than ten lives.

Since Wu Chang was traveling on a normal mountain road, it naturally raised the next question for everyone.

Liu Wei couldn't help but asked first:

"Master, has Chenjia Village encountered any difficulties? Why are the lights on so late?"

Wu Chang sighed and recounted what he had seen and heard in Chenjia Village with lingering fear.

When they heard that the monsters had united to attack the village, slaughtered all the villagers in Chenjia Village, and stored the dead as food for the winter, everyone's faces turned pale.

Some timid ones were even scared to tears by this description.

Although Chenjia Village has become a bandit stronghold, the two villages are old friends after all, and the villagers often interact with each other, and can even be considered distant relatives.

Chenjia Village was gone, and the originally festive atmosphere of Huaigu Village instantly cooled down.

It took the villagers several confirmations before they dared to believe this fact.

However, the villagers had no time to mourn for Chenjia Village, because they themselves would be the next to face the threat of the monster.

As soon as the meal was over, the villagers didn't even bother to sleep and gathered the whole village to prepare for the New Year's Eve festival.

The sounds of labor continued all night long.

Early the next morning, when Wu Chang opened his eyes, a giant bonfire and a wooden altar had been built in the center of the village.

He asked the villager guarding the door for a basin of hot water for washing, and Liu Shan came over right after him, invited him to walk around the village and explained to him how to cancel the annual sacrifice.

The New Year's Eve Festival is the core of many problems in the serial copy planes. Only by clarifying the process of the New Year's Eve Festival can the next step of action be facilitated.

He had mentioned the New Year's Eve sacrifice countless times, but he had no idea how it was actually carried out.

I only know that there are many overlaps in the names of the Chinese New Year in real life, but the steps are more complicated and I don’t know the details.

Seeing that Liu Shan took the initiative to deliver the information to him, how could he not take it?
Liu Wu once said that when he saw the core of the New Year's Eve sacrifice with his own eyes, he would know what the evil spirit was.

Originally, he was worried about how to trick Liu Shan so that he could see the core of the New Year's Eve festival, but who knew that Liu Shan had no intention of hiding anything.

The first stop of the New Year's Eve Festival visit is the forbidden area of ​​Huaigu Village, which is also the core of the New Year's Eve Festival.

The formation for the New Year's Eve festival was set up in the hollow mountain at the deepest part of Huaigu Village.

The name Hollow Mountain comes from a natural cave inside the mountain, which occupies nearly 30% of the size of the mountain, as if someone hollowed out the heart of the mountain when it was growing.

There is only a narrow mountain path in and out of the cave, which is just wide enough for three people to walk side by side. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and it is difficult for monsters to enter.

It is absolutely suitable to be used as a forbidden area.

In the center of the Hollow Mountain Cave, there is a huge stone.

The stone is round and smooth, in an elongated trapezoidal shape, with a full belly in the middle. It has not been carved in any way, but it has a bit of human image meaning, like a big-bellied Maitreya Buddha, or a woman about to give birth.

"What is this?" Wu Chang asked puzzledly.

Liu Shan said: "This is the Stone Buddha. When Huaigu Village was first established, someone found this Stone Buddha underground while searching for a spring. When the Stone Buddha was moved away, spring water gushed out of the hole, forming the small river that now runs through the valley."

"The Stone Buddha was born with some ability that is very effective. The sorcerer who set up the formation used it as the cornerstone to suppress evil spirits and maintain the core of the New Year's Eve formation."

Wu Chang walked around the stone Buddha twice and looked at it very carefully.

It’s not that he believed Liu Shan’s story, but that there was something strange about this stone Buddha.

When he approached the stone Buddha, the mortal poison in his personal space began to move.

This means that the erosion core caused by the contamination of the copy is nearby.

However, what makes mortals sensitive to the poison is not the Stone Buddha mentioned by Liu Shan, but the one below the Stone Buddha.

He couldn't sense how deep it was at the moment, but the distance wouldn't be too shallow.

He stepped on the ground and said, "This mountain feels hollow. What else is arranged underground?"

"There is a bottomless cave at the foot of the mountain, which was sealed when the New Year's Eve formation was set up. Don't worry, hero. As long as the New Year's Eve formation is not broken, there is no need to worry about the ground collapsing." Liu Shan said.

Wu Chang nodded calmly, but thought it was a tricky situation.

The side quest he accepted required him to find the source of the evil spirit in Huaigu Village.

The erosion core of the copy was formed in the crypt. It goes without saying that the source of the evil spirit in Huaigu Village must be related to the crypt.

However, entering the crypt requires destroying the New Year's Eve sacrifice formation, which conflicts with the main quest.

At present, it seems that we can only find a way to complete the main task first, wait until the copy stay time is up after the task is completed, and then find a way to complete the side task.

Liu Shan didn't know what Wu Chang was thinking, so he took him to a small cave next to the Stone Buddha.

As soon as he entered the door, Wu Chang was shocked by the scene before him.

There was actually a group of strange beasts kept in captivity in the cave.

There are seven strange beasts in total, two large and five small.

The beast is about 1.6 or 1.7 meters long, with a slender body, resembling a tiger or a leopard, but covered with scales, and is extremely majestic.

The little animal is only about seventy or eighty centimeters long. It is still young and very shy.

As soon as it saw someone coming, the little beast quickly hid behind the big beast, while the big beast's eyes showed sadness and anger.

Wu Chang had never seen a beast with such complex emotions and so much human nature.

Seeing Wu Chang's surprised expression, Liu Shan felt slightly pleased and began to introduce him proudly.

"This beast is called the Mountain Guardian Beast. It is rumored to be a dragon species. It only lives in the deepest part of Baili Huai Mountain. It is very rare to see it."

"What a coincidence! The child that the village accidentally took in before was born with the ability to communicate with wild beasts. Liu Wei took the child into the mountains and captured this nest of mountain-guarding beasts."

I have to say that the villagers of Huaigu Village really know how to use the young mountain guards.

But what Wu Chang couldn't understand was that, faced with such a useful tool man, why was the wealthy Huaigu Village so stingy in giving him even a cotton coat and a hot meal.

No matter how tough a cow or horse is, it will die if it is beaten like this.

"Why do we capture these mountain-guarding beasts?"

Having said that, we get to the main topic of Liu Shan taking Wu Chang on a tour today.

"Master Wu, the New Year's Eve ceremony is divided into four steps. The first step - welcoming the New Year - requires the use of this mountain guardian beast."

(End of this chapter)