Mechanical Pioneer Under One Person

There is curling smoke and flickering candlelight all around, Taoist murals and reliefs on the walls, and in the middle of the hall, there are two cushions for sitting facing each other.

One of them was a guest seat and was empty.

And on the cushion that could be considered the main seat, naturally, sat the old Taoist priest.

Liu Ke glanced around and saw the old Taoist priest waving at him. So he took a few quick steps, walked to the empty cushion, and sat down cross-legged.

"Old Heavenly Master, I feel sorry for you."

Seeing that the old Taoist priest's expression was less calm than yesterday and contained a hint of indescribable determination, Liu Ke spoke first.

After hearing this, the old Taoist priest's expression also relaxed, and he said: "It can't be called a sorrow. For Old Tian, ​​it might be a good thing."

"While practicing..."

"I've been through so much trouble my whole life, and I've finally reached a state of being [full of energy and not wanting to sleep], but I really can't sleep."

After saying this, the old Taoist priest sighed and said, "It really makes people laugh."

Liu Ke was silent after hearing this and said, "I didn't expect them to be so crazy. If I had known earlier, I would have..."

After hearing this, the old Taoist priest shook his head and said, "That's fine. I'll go down the mountain myself in a few days."

After hearing this, Liu Ke raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you going to..."

Seeing that the old Taoist priest opposite him did not deny it, Liu Ke said, "In that case, I will also help you. If you want to find someone, I still have some means."

After hearing this, the old Taoist priest shook his head and said, "That's not necessary. We can handle the affairs of Longhu Mountain on our own. We have to maintain some dignity."

Having said this, the old Taoist priest's body shook slightly, and golden light emanated, covering the entire Taoist temple.

After closing his eyes and sensing for a while, he said, "Let's get down to business. If you have any questions, just ask. I'll answer them if I can, but if I can't, I can only watch you with my eyes and nose, and then with my nose and heart."

Chapter 146 What is it?

For Liu Ke today, there is probably nothing in this world that can be truly considered strange.

After all, if one must rank them in terms of rarity, even the 'Eight Wonders' and 'Immortality' would not rank as high as his 'Time Travel' and 'System'. As the saying goes, once you have seen the ocean, you will never be impressed by the puddles.

But then again, not finding the things around us "strange" doesn't mean we're not curious. Humans are a complex and diverse species, and some individuals find joy in exploring the "unknown," and Liu Ke, in a sense, is one of those people.

In Liu Ke's opinion, the fact that the 'it' mentioned by the old Taoist priest could issue a warning to him meant that it had will.

And at the moment, it seems that apart from himself who was being "admonished", the only one who can hear what he says is the old Taoist priest.

The title of 'Longhu Mountain Heavenly Master' is special enough in itself.

Not only that, according to the old Taoist priest, this "it" also specially blessed Liu Ke with a powerful "BUFF" "above the earth" that does not consume mana, making Liu Ke feel like he has become "Gaia O*man".

In fact, Liu Ke had seen similar states before. A month ago in Myanmar, while besieging the gluttonous mountain, he had also experienced that state of 'unlimited firepower' and 'free use of Qi'.

According to the "Glutton" at that time, the mountain was found after years of searching, and it became so magical because it attracted the energy and transformed the feng shui.

And this...'it', provided powerful and long-lasting 'help' without any cooperation from Liu Ke.

What exactly is "it"? Is the identity of "it" something that the old Heavenly Master can discuss, or something that he cannot discuss?

Liu Ke really wanted to know the answers to these questions. Therefore, when the old Taoist priest said, "Ask anything you want," Liu Ke immediately thought about what he would ask.

He didn't intend to beat around the bush. After all, even if the old Taoist priest chose to remain silent after hearing these questions, they could still explain a lot.

Liu Ke narrowed his eyes and pondered for more than ten breaths, then he exhaled seriously and asked, "Old Heavenly Master, the 'it' you're talking about shouldn't be 'people', right?"

The old Taoist priest looked unsurprised when he heard this question, but he did not say anything. Instead, he closed his eyes and nodded in the standard Five Qis Converging to the Origin meditation posture.

Seeing the old Taoist nod, Liu Ke breathed a sigh of relief. After some thought, he continued to ask the old Taoist, "Then, is 'it' some kind of will? Something like... the so-called [Heavenly Way]?"

After a few breaths, Liu Ke, who thought the old Taoist priest would not answer, actually saw the other party open his mouth.

The old Taoist priest said in a mysterious tone, "I don't know."

Hearing this answer, Liu Ke was also a little confused and asked back: "I don't know? You... don't know?"

The old Taoist priest kept his expression, laughed vigorously, and asked, "Why do you think I would know?"

Liu Ke blinked for a moment and stammered, "You are... the Heavenly Master."

"And... you told me what 'it' said, and you also told me the abilities 'it' gave me."

After hearing this, the old Taoist priest nodded and said, "Mr. Liu Ke, perhaps you have misunderstood something."

"The fact that I can hear it speak may indeed be related to my identity. However, this does not mean that I understand it very well."

At this point, the old Heavenly Master's expression became somewhat bewildered, and he said, "Don't say I don't know. My master, my ancestors, and even the Heavenly Masters before me, all don't know what it is."

After hearing this, Liu Ke's expression was also extremely confused. He was quite puzzled and said, "Then... but if it's completely unknown, then you shouldn't just believe whatever it says, right? And then you relayed it to me."

After hearing this, the old Taoist priest smiled again and said, "Having said that, even though I don't know what it is, it doesn't affect my judgment of 'it'."

"My lineage of Heavenly Masters from Mount Longhu has been passing down the Dao since the Eastern Han Dynasty, so we can be considered knowledgeable. Besides me, there are three other Heavenly Masters who have also seen 'it'."

Seeing that Liu Ke still had a puzzled look on his face, the old Heavenly Master didn't want to keep him in suspense. He changed his meditation posture, lightly shook his Heavenly Master robe, and said directly: "The ancestor of my sect's Heavenly Masters - the first generation Heavenly Master Zhang Daoling - had heard of 'it'."

"In addition, I have also seen the tenth generation Heavenly Master Zhang Dunxuan and the forty-first generation Heavenly Master Zhang Zhengyan."

At this point, the old Heavenly Master's eyes narrowed, and he said, "According to the records of my lineage of Heavenly Masters, every time 'it' appears, it is often related to 'people'."

"The first person involved was Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, the second was Master Xuanzang, and the third was Liu Bowen."

"Now, you are the fourth."

After saying these words, the old Taoist priest opened his eyes and stretched out his hand to stop Liu Ke who was about to ask another question.

Then, the old Taoist priest's eyes flickered for a moment, and he said, "Mr. Liu Ke, as I mentioned before, I will say what I can say, and I will not say what I cannot say."

"You, on the other hand, were quite straightforward. With just a few questions, you managed to get everything I could say out of me."

"So, for the remaining questions you want to ask about 'it'..."

"I can only tell you, no more."

"Hey, it's a secret that can't be revealed..."

……

Liu Ke, who had only received some answers in the Taoist temple, felt that something was wrong when he saw the old Taoist priest suddenly open his eyes and stand up to see the guest off.

But he was completely confused. Even though he felt that the old Taoist priest's "sending off guests" had some kind of implication, he didn't have the time to think about it...

"Okay, uh, thank you very much for helping me clear up my confusion. I'll... leave first."

Liu Ke tried to discern something from the old Taoist priest's expression, but to no avail. He politely acknowledged the situation and then left the Taoist temple.

After he left, the old Taoist priest was the only one left in the Taoist temple. After meditating for a long time, the centenarian suddenly shifted his gaze to the right and began mumbling to himself...

"Hey, it's true... As long as there's even the slightest bit of it, there will be a flood of rules."

"Using people is the way forward, and not using them is the way backward. This really proves the saying, 'Heaven and Earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs.'"

"He's over a hundred years old, and he's still in so much trouble."

After talking for a long time, the old Taoist priest fell silent again. After a long while, he blurted out:

"Come to think of it, it's all that big-eared thief's fault..."

Chapter 147 Landing

When Liu Ke came out of the Old Heavenly Master's Hall in a daze, he met up with Zhang Chulan, Gao Yushan, Xu Si and others.

When these people returned to the temporary base, they packed their luggage and prepared to go down the mountain.

It is worth mentioning that due to the recent "update" of Liu Ke's abilities, his self-protection ability has also been greatly enhanced, and the demand for the three large iron boxes that were previously mailed has been infinitely reduced.

Therefore, Liu Ke directly handed over the three iron boxes containing the "genuine greyhound", the armor, and the replacement prosthesis to the company for mailing to the capital to be sent to the elites of the internal research for research.

Therefore, Liu Ke, who had thrown away the three boxes, was really traveling light. He and the Nadutong team walked towards the front mountain of Longhu Mountain, and then retreated to the entrance of the scenic area.

But when he reached the mountain gate and left the "scenic area", he couldn't help but look back and take a closer look at Longhu Mountain.

Thinking about the overly fulfilling "experience in the circle" over the past week, Liu Ke couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Then, he said with a hint of emotion, "Is this the true 'alien circle'? Life in this circle is indeed more 'intense' than I imagined."

Hearing Liu Ke's words, Xu Si's eyes twitched. He took out the cigarette box from his trouser pocket and picked out a Furong King cigarette.

Then, he put the cigarette in his mouth and said as he lit it, "Although it can make you have a 'warned' understanding of the alien world, it is indeed a good thing."

"But I have to say, the conclusion you just came to is a bit too outrageous."

At this point, Xu Si's expression paused, his brows furrowed. He said, "Anyway, I've been listening to my father talk about Quan Xing's madness since I was a child. But even so, this time the scene is a bit too big."

"An incident of this magnitude isn't what you just described...an ordinary, everyday life for an alien."

"On the contrary... this kind of thing is probably something that will only happen once in a hundred years."

Having said this, Xu Si finished smoking his cigarette in one breath, leaving only the cigarette butt.

After he extinguished the cigarette, he threw it into the trash can beside him, and then continued with a worried look on his face:

"I have a feeling that from this incident on, the alien world will become less peaceful..."

"Although Quan Xing's purpose is still unclear, it is definitely not small. After all, no matter how cunning they are, they must know what killing Elder Tian means, but they still did it..."

"I'm afraid they will stir up even bigger storms."

Xu San nodded upon hearing this. He then glanced at Feng Baobao, who seemed a little off today, and wanted to say something, but ultimately, he kept silent.

After that, Xu San changed the subject, turned to look at Liu Ke, and said, "It's all over. Let's review this matter when we get home."

"Xiao Ke, aren't you going back with us?"

After hearing this, Liu Ke nodded with a slightly red face, then reached out and patted his head, saying, "Well, as for me... I plan to go to the Northeast first, then to Beijing, and finally return to Tianjin."

After saying that, he looked at Feng Baobao, whose expression was the same as usual, but who seemed to be in a bad mood, and said, "Sister Baoer, when I come back, I'll bring you and Chu Lan some local specialties like Harbin red sausage and Shenyang fried chicken racks."

Upon hearing this, Feng Baobao simply turned around to look at Liu Ke, nodded slightly, and then had no further reaction.

Seeing her like this, Liu Ke raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Zhang Chulan. Seeing the embarrassed look on Bilian Zhenren's face, Liu Ke didn't say anything, but just patted the other person's shoulder.

Although he didn't know why Zhang Chulan gave up the position of Heavenly Master, he was sure... Zhang Chulan was not a fool and there must be a reason for doing so.

But then again, giving up on the Heavenly Master's successor also meant that this all-encompassing "Longhu Mountain Journey" also came to nothing, and Feng Baobao's longed-for truth was also gone.

Zhang Chulan must have had a hard time in front of Feng Baobao these days, which is why Liu Ke patted him on the shoulder.