A Scroll of Infinite Glory

When Eunuch Chen and his entourage came up from the tunnel, they were in a manor hidden among green trees. There were people guarding the entrance to the tunnel, who seemed to recognize Hua Mi. After exchanging a few words, they led the way.

They met the important figure in a magnificent living room where the tables, chairs, cabinets, and pillars were all painted red.

Behind the man stood guards, dressed in a crimson robe with a round collar and wide sleeves, embroidered with dark patterns. His hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, his cheeks were slightly sunken, his eyes were large and beardless, and his eyebrows were silver-white.

When Hua Mi and the others came in, this person was examining a letter in his hand with an extremely cautious and solemn expression. After a few breaths, he folded the letter between his fingers, placed it on the table, and looked up.

Old Eunuch Chen could tell at a glance that this was also a eunuch.

"This is the military supervisor from Jiaozhi, Lord Ma Qiang!"

Hua Mi introduced them, "This is Eunuch Chen from the Jurchen capital."

Ma Qiang's expression shifted: "Jianyi?"

The old eunuch Chen remained expressionless, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and chuckled, saying, "I never expected that such an important figure as the military supervisor would be secretly supporting Chief Hua Mi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Ma Qiang remained silent with a somber face, staring at the old eunuch Chen for a long time before sighing and turning his gaze away: "So be it. These people in the court are truly heartless. Over the years, they have eliminated the late emperor's trusted confidants and some kind and appeasement-oriented ministers one by one, and now it's finally my turn. They have forced me to this point, so even if I associate with the Jianyi, they cannot blame me for being unjust."

Hua Mi sat down on the other chair and, upon hearing this, asked with some surprise, "Oh, Lord Ma's resolve seems even stronger than when we last met. Could it be that he received some news?"

The last time they met was after they successfully surrounded and killed Jiuhe, and Hua Mi sent a message about it.

Jiuhe was not only Hua Mi's sworn enemy, but he had also offended Ma Qiang long ago.

When Ma Qiang wanted to forcibly collect the peacock's tail, Jiu He brought a peacock into the mansion and made a bet with him: if he put the peacock in the mansion's treasury, the treasury would be full of peacock feathers overnight.

Ma Qiang naturally didn't believe it and made a bet with him, ordering his recruited sorcerers to guard the mansion tightly. The next day, when they opened the treasury, they found thousands of peacock tails created by illusion magic, standing on the ground and swaying like flowers. After the illusion was destroyed, there was a sharp sword hanging on the wall, its warning self-evident.

Wudang had powerful backing, and if the matter were to be reported to higher authorities, Ma Qiang would be in the wrong and would have no choice but to accept the breach of contract, harboring resentment for a long time.

Ma Qiang was naturally pleased with Jiuhe's death.

Ma Qiang said, "Tell me why you've come today."

Hua Mi said, "The plan to fight for the token has been ruined. If things had gone smoothly, we could have assisted them during the ceremony, used some tricks, and then let the one who successfully seized the token take the opportunity to destroy the ritual. We could have sacrificed our own serious injuries to leave all the mages present in a predicament, causing them to lose their magical power."

"This move is no longer viable. We must work on another front. We need to ask Lord Ma to use your connections to place my subordinates within the defenses of the Cheng Yin Palace Dharma Assembly."

If such a master could disguise himself as a defensive soldier and suddenly attack at close range at a crucial moment, the people at the Dharma assembly would definitely not be able to handle him.

Unfortunately, the venue for the ritual must have been frequented by numerous sorcerers surveying the feng shui, so methods like underground tunnels couldn't be used; otherwise, this whole trouble wouldn't have been necessary.

"So that's what it was about. Hmph, let's put aside the arrangements for the Dharma assembly for now. As for the assassination of the King of Yue, an opportunity has now come knocking on our door."

Ma Qiang sneered and said, "Originally, the Yue King's inspection tour of Jiaozhi was supposed to follow the established procedure: he would first go to Jiaozhou Prefecture, inspect the three prefectures in turn, and then arrive at Chengyin Prefecture on July 12 to prepare for the Ghost Festival ceremony. But he pulled a surprise move and came to Chengyin Prefecture more than ten days earlier."

Hua Mi narrowed her eyes: "Oh? Using such methods, it seems this prince doesn't quite trust Lord Ma either."

"It's more than just worry..."

Ma Qiang paused for a moment, then continued, "None of my trusted confidants from Jiaozhou Prefecture sent word about this matter; I suspect their fates are already quite grim."

Hua Mi glanced at the letter and asked, "Where did you get your information from?"

Ma Qiang stood up and said with emotion, "I must say, Heaven has not forsaken me. Although the King of Yue brought his most precious team, he could never have imagined that some evil spirit would interfere and attack them midway."

"I have secretly planted some spies in the Commandery. They suddenly received orders to search for and rescue the Prince today, and only then did they realize that something was amiss. They sent me a secret letter."

He handed the letter to Hua Mi.

"The King of Yue should have been protected by his remaining followers and fled into the Guangyu Ridge, which borders Dongning and Chengyin. This king is much bolder than we thought, and his actions are more compact and secretive than our plans."

"We must eliminate him before he is received by the military, otherwise he may launch a major operation as soon as he arrives in Chengyin."

Ma Qiang paced back and forth in the hall, his hands behind his back, his fingers clenched, and his eyes flashing with a sinister glint.

"A demon is at work! It's truly heaven's help! Hua Mi, if heaven grants us an opportunity and we don't seize it, we'll suffer the consequences. Our plans must change accordingly. He's far more astute than we are, his schemes are deeply intricate, and he's likely involved in all aspects of the situation. He's also more important than we realize. His death will bring even more turmoil than the originally planned July 15th. We must use all our strength—you, me, and even those in Jianyi's faction—without holding back!"

………………

Zhenwu Temple, in the Medicine King Courtyard.

Crunch, crunch, the sound of chewing never stopped.

When Qiu Shi and the others arrived after hearing the news, Guan Luoyang had already been eating for almost half an hour.

A rough estimate suggests that he has already consumed more than 20 kilograms of medicine.

"What exactly happened?"

"I don't know, he suddenly asked me if he could take these medicines? Before I could figure it out, he had already picked them up and was about to chew on them. I had no choice but to point out the herbs I was going to use for his medicinal bath and tell him to eat those first. At least those shouldn't cause any adverse drug interactions or poisoning, right?"

"It's unlikely to be poisoning, but without the magical cultivation of a master or uncle to oversee the process and regulate the medicinal effects, it would be completely useless for him to just take it like that."

Qiu Shi looked worriedly at Guan Luoyang, who was chewing on a basket, and said, "He seems to have been acting strangely after the duel. Could it be that someone attacked him in the arena?"

After thinking it over, he carried a lantern and walked around Guan Luoyang, reciting the Six Jia Secret Incantation, saying one word with each step he took.

The so-called Six Jia Secret Incantation is recorded in the "Inner Chapters of Baopuzi, Chapter 4: Ascending and Crossing": "When entering the mountains, one should know the Six Jia Secret Incantation. The incantation is: 'Lin Bing Dou Zhe, Jie Zhen Lie Qian Xing.' Repeat it nine times. One should always recite it secretly, and nothing will be able to escape. The essential way is not complicated, this is what it means."

This kind of magic is good at dispelling evil curses and false energy, and restoring a person's mind to a state of tranquility and clarity. Although it cannot be said to ward off all evil, as long as someone is truly entangled by an evil curse, they should react under Qiu Shi's recitation and probing.

After Qiu Shi walked around a few times, Guan Luoyang actually raised his head, stopped chewing, opened his mouth as if to say something, and showed an uncomfortable expression on his face.

Qiu Di quickly stepped forward: "Could it really be a curse?"

Qiu Shi glanced at the lantern in his hand; the flame was steady, and he felt no feedback. He shook his head and reminded him, "He probably wants a drink of water."

Qiu Di quickly turned around and fetched a bucket of well water. Guan Luoyang held the bucket and poured the water directly into his mouth.

He had already eaten all the medicinal herbs the Taoist priests had prepared for his medicinal bath, and the taste was nothing short of bizarre.

The textures of hay, wood, and even stone are secondary, since with his chewing ability, he could easily crush and grind even a real stone into powder.

However, the bitterness, spiciness, stickiness, and the viscous texture with a fishy-sweet smell make it quite difficult to tolerate when all these flavors are mixed together.

Guan Luoyang gulped down half a bucket of water, then took another mouthful before he felt the smell had lessened slightly.

He pressed his stomach and could clearly feel the muscles in his abdomen trembling. He could even hear the sound of blood flowing through his veins, rapidly transmitting streams of heat.

He endured that strange taste and ate it all in one go until now because he experienced real benefits.

The restlessness that stimulated his mind gradually subsided after he swallowed the medicinal herbs, and the Azure Bird's vital energy, feeling full, extended downwards and forwards between his chest and abdomen.

Having had time to think things through calmly, Guan Luoyang, through a combination of conjecture and speculation, roughly understood the source of the agitation in the Azure Bird's vital energy.

This growth of vital energy, spreading from one part of the body to the whole body, may require a long process. Like that foreigner whose entire body can grow scales, it must have been achieved through persistent effort, overflowing naturally and effortlessly.

Guan Luoyang received this vital energy for a very short time. It was under conditions of conflicting yang energies and external attacks that the Azure Bird's vital energy spread from his shoulder to his spine, which was almost like pulling up seedlings to help them grow.

A more efficient and forceful approach is needed to rebuild the foundation.

He's not so much digesting the herbs as the Azure Bird's vital energy is directly extracting the beneficial substances from them to replenish him, and the speed is simply unbelievable.

Twenty-odd kilograms of medicinal herbs may not sound like much, but you should know that these are all dried. Just looking at the volume, they are almost the size of half an adult, enough to support multiple medicinal baths.

After Guan Luoyang swallowed it all, his stomach didn't feel too bloated, precisely because the Azure Bird's vital energy began to be extracted and condensed from the very first bite he took.

Qiu Shi and the others were relieved to see Guan Luoyang sitting there quietly with water in his mouth, his expression becoming increasingly peaceful, not like he had any health problems.

"Huh?" Qiu Shi suddenly realized that the temperature around Guan Luoyang seemed to be higher than in other places.

He took a few steps outside, but the sensation was still not very obvious, so he quickened his pace and walked outside the courtyard, then went back inside to carefully sense it.

Sure enough, the temperature inside the courtyard was higher than outside.

The climate in Southeast Asia is hot enough by itself. Even if you light a fire in the yard, it may not cause such a significant difference in temperature throughout the yard.

He quickly walked over to Guan Luoyang and touched his shoulder.

Fortunately, although his body was warm, it wasn't too hot. The heat seemed to be coming from the outside rather than emanating from his body.

Is it the effect of some kind of spell?

Once Qiu Shi thought about it this way, he felt that everything made sense. It was strange for someone who practiced martial arts to suddenly eat a lot of medicinal herbs, but seven out of ten people who studied magic had strange habits. Not to mention eating raw medicinal herbs, it was perfectly normal for them to swallow glass beads or chew pages of books.

Guan Luoyang was, after all, a person with magical powers, not just a boxer.

Although Qiu Shi stumbled upon the truth by accident, he almost guessed it correctly.

Goo!

Guan Luoyang swallowed the water, pressed his stomach, and his serene expression gradually furrowed again.

The heat from the Azure Bird's vital energy would also be reflected back, making his whole body feel warm. But it was this warmth that made him feel a little empty in his chest and abdomen.

It's not as difficult to suppress as before, but ultimately it means the body is still not satisfied.

Guan Luoyang coughed lightly and asked in a low voice, "Are there any more of these medicinal herbs?"

"You want to eat more?" Qiu Di blurted out, looking at Guan Luoyang's stomach with some alarm, as if afraid that his stomach would burst at any moment.

Guan Luoyang said, "If I eat it directly, it seems to have the effect of strengthening my bones, but that's not enough."

Qiu Shi shook his head and said, "There are still some auxiliary medicinal materials. Even if it's pine wood chips, I can extract them from other pills. But none of the junior brothers in Zhenwu Temple have met the standard for bone-strengthening medicinal baths before, and they haven't specially prepared the main bone-strengthening medicine."

Guan Luoyang pressed further, "Is this medicine very rare?"

"It's very rare. The main parts are the bones and gallbladder of the male python. This is a type of python, but the female snake has venom glands and fangs, while the male snake's head is as thick as its abdomen."

Qiu Shi said, "There are only three places in the entire Jiaozhi region where this kind of snake can be found, and they are all dangerous places. The closest one to us is more than 20 miles away, at the border between Dongning Prefecture and Chengyin Prefecture, in a place called Snake Valley. It is said that there are tens of thousands of venomous snakes and pythons in it."

He looked thoughtful. “Going to Snake Valley to catch the male snake is difficult for others, but with your martial arts achievements, ordinary venomous snakes can’t even bite your skin, and you can walk on flat ground in dangerous valleys. Hmm, I’ll go ask Master Zhiyuan for a few bottles of incense pills that can lure this kind of venomous snake. You go there yourself.”

"good!"

Guan Luoyang stood up, looked up at the sky where dawn was just breaking, and said, "It's only about twenty miles. If all goes well, I can make the round trip in a day."

He touched his stomach again.

But before that, he had to go to the outhouse.

After cleansing his stomach and intestines and obtaining the incense pills, Guan Luoyang left from the back mountain.

Qiu Shi and the others still need to go to the front hall to deal with the aftermath of Wei Dinggong's matter.

After having breakfast and resting briefly, the monks from various sects gathered in the hall to discuss the people associated with Leshi Temple and whether the Ghost Festival ceremony should be changed.

Suddenly, someone galloped up to the foot of the mountain and urgently sent word to go up the mountain.

"Master Qiushi, a great man has gone missing after being attacked by a demon. The Commander-in-Chief and the Prefect have offered a great reward. We request that any of you monks skilled in searching for such a man accompany us on horseback."

………………

When the sun became scorching, Guan Luoyang arrived at Snake Valley and uncorked a bottle of fragrant pills.

He held a fragrant incense stick in his left hand and a knife in his right, then stepped into the deep valley.

This valley, which is said to be home to tens of thousands of venomous snakes and pythons, is overgrown with weeds, with small trees scattered about and a few large trees standing sparsely in the distance.

Every corner seemed to bear traces of snakes and insects crawling on it.

But Guan Luoyang couldn't hear anything unusual. He went deeper and deeper, almost crossing the entire valley, without seeing a single snake.

"That's strange, is this a snake-attracting incense pill or a snake-repelling incense pill?"

Guan Luoyang glanced at the few pills in his left hand and wondered if there was something unusual about the Azure Bird Yuan Qi in his body that made the snakes and insects flee far away.

He placed the incense stick on a rock, then leaped to a high place, intending to look down from above to see if any snakes would take the bait.

However, when Guan Luoyang reached the top, he was so surprised by the first scene that came into view that he suddenly stopped.

He saw a winding ravine sweeping out of the woodland, sinking deep into the grass, meandering into the distance, bending small trees and sinking large rocks in its path.

The rough roots of the large tree show obvious damage from being subjected to intense friction.

Countless snakes and insects crawled along this long ravine, from the valley floor to higher ground, and further afield.