Chapter 85 Great Immortal

The White Lotus Sect once mined here, and judging from the scale of the remains, this mine was definitely not small at the time.

A considerable amount of manpower and material resources were invested, and a simple human-powered mine car was even built, and a "track" was dug and equipped for it to travel in the complex cave environment.

This shows that this mine is by no means simple for the White Lotus Sect, and should be a very important asset.

As for what the mineral deposits here are...

In a pit pool, the light from the lighting lamp reflects bright colors at the bottom, which are some ancient sediments.

Li Heng squatted and reached down to touch the shiny silver powder. Some of it was crushed on his fingertips. Li Heng put it in front of his nose and smelled it.

"Nitrogen..."

He stood up and held the lamp high to amplify its power, illuminating the surrounding environment. Earthen stoves and stone ridges appeared in front of his eyes, like tombs in the darkness, quietly exuding an ancient atmosphere.

"This is a fire and salt mine!"

And it's not just the digging of soil saltpeter ore, but also a series of local saltpeter refining facilities such as earth furnaces for making saltpetre, sedimentation tanks, and flue ducts. Even further away, Li Heng found some piles of saltpetre that had been accumulated for a long time.

The sulfur stone platform turned dark with moisture.

For example, the Qingshui Sect that arose in the east of Taihang, the Tianli Sect that spread across the Central Plains, and other branches of the sect. Although they all belong to the White Lotus Sect, each sect has its own philosophy.

"call--"

Not to mention that one day a "construction accident" will cause the entire family to fly into the sky, even the smoke and dust from the furnace every day will not be easy to bear.

The shrine in front of Li Heng probably belongs to a branch called the Mingshen Sect.

He is a die-hard fan of the Han Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty.

There are stone pillars on both sides that have been simply polished. They are also engraved with hymns of the sect and the gods and Buddhas of the White Lotus Sect. It can be seen that although the workmanship is rough, it is indeed attentive.

There is actually nothing special in the shrine. It is called a shrine, but the items on it are still used by mortals.

Passing through a smelting yard composed of more than a dozen earthen furnaces from a hundred years ago, Li Heng further penetrated into this deep and dark space.

Except for one thing.

The iron coffins that had been hanging for hundreds of years began to sway slightly under the influence of airflow one after another, making a series of tooth-aching friction sounds.

Squeak——

In that chaotic era when national consciousness was barely formed, it was considered a strange flower.

The stone plaque hanging high above the shrine is engraved with four characters - Fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty!

This slogan is familiar to everyone all over the world. It is more or less included in countless martial arts dramas set in the Qing Dynasty. For example, the invincible chief captain Chen Jinnan fell down after shouting this slogan.

In such a depressing and dull environment, ordinary people may suffer from psychological diseases such as claustrophobia or fear of the dark.

The White Lotus Sect is a professional organization that has been rebelling for a long time. Although it also rebelled during the Ming Dynasty, this did not prevent it from using the banner of "anti-Qing and restoration of the Ming" to gain popularity after the Qing Dynasty.

Anyway, it’s just a slogan, don’t use it in vain.

But these are still not what Li Heng cares about. Although this Bailian ruins is amazing, it has little to do with what he is looking for.

The stone chamber in front of Li Heng was covered with two moss flower curtains embroidered with cloud patterns of Buddhas and Laos, and lotus steps made of brass to simulate gold. However, the brass had become covered with patina over time.

Or at least not something for living people to use.

"There are many mineral deposits in the Qinling Mountains. I didn't expect that even saltpeter ore, which is very scarce in China, is found here."

This is really strange. Normally, no one would place their sleeping and living place in a place where gunpowder is refined from morning to night, right?

The gunpowder continuously produced from here became an important fire support to support rebellions in various places, and also overturned a piece of the foundation of the Qing Dynasty that had existed for hundreds of years.

It can only be said that the former White Lotus believers were very determined to rise up in rebellion rather than eat ashes and drink cigarettes in the mountains. This also reflected how much the people under the rule of the Qing Dynasty wanted to overthrow Aixinjue.

Those heavenly kings of the Luo family are like me.

The difference in air pressure between the shrine and the outside created an air current, causing the enclosed air to create a small whirlwind.

Unsurprisingly, the White Lotus Sect entrenched here must have been a serious concern for the Qing court back then.

The coffins are all dark metal coffins made of pig iron, and are hung on the stone beams on the top of the shrine, locked by thick chains.

This kind of shrine is only qualified to be owned by at least the altar leader, or even the leader-level figure.

Squeak—squeak—squeak—

Two rolling curtains cover the doorstep, and white lotus flowers reflect the golden steps.

Because he saw the Shentai House deep in the cave!

The lighting swept across the top of the shrine, and several huge shadows emerged from the darkness, hanging just above Li Heng's head.

"Has a place for people to live been built behind the arsenal?"

However, what Li Heng saw in front of him seemed not to be that simple.

Pushing open the ancient stone door of the shrine that has been closed for hundreds of years, the accumulated dust is flying in the darkness, reflecting like a heavy snowfall under the light of the lighting lamp.

Unlike other branches whose intention is just to make slogans, this branch really takes the revival of the Ming Dynasty as its action plan.

There were a total of eight coffins hanging on it. It was unknown how many years they had been hung. Now an uninvited guest, Li Heng, suddenly arrived and opened the closed stone door of the shrine.

As the exploration and excavation continued, Li Heng became more and more surprised. I am afraid that these residences are not just simple gathering places for the sect. I am afraid that some high-status people in the White Lotus Sect are also here.

There are clear hierarchical divisions within the White Lotus Sect, from the leader, deputy leader, elders at all levels, leaders of various altars, protectors, ordinary believers... the pomp and circumstance of each level is also different.

The White Lotus Sect itself is a complex and vast sect, with many branches within it, and each branch forms its own faction.

Li Heng exhaled suddenly and blew away the large clouds of dust, leaving a way for him to go.

These all indicate that this is definitely not a place where ordinary disciples can live.

This means that this is a complete "production line". It is likely that the saltpeter is refined on site and then made into gunpowder. This is a gunpowder arsenal of the White Lotus Sect.

In addition to inheriting the main purpose of the White Lotus Sect, this branch's most important "guidance" is to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty.

Until he encountered some beings with artificial traces again, a corridor carved out of a stone gap appeared under his feet.

This includes but is not limited to searching for the descendants of the so-called "princes of the former dynasty" among the people, recommending various civilians suspected of having Zhu Ming's bloodline as protectors and altar leaders, and then only accepting Han people in the congregation, all under the banner of "reviving the Han Dynasty"

Chamber, reshape the orthodoxy, the sun and moon reopen, illuminating Kyushu."

The dark underground, the dead shrine, the shaking coffin, the harsh sound and... Li Heng striding like a meteor!

Bang!

In the stone room, he suddenly exerted his strength with his legs and jumped more than ten feet into the air in a standing high jump. He grabbed one of the corners of the iron coffin with one hand, and then with a strong movement of his wrist, he turned over and stood on it.

.

"The position of Great Immortal...Zhang Mingwu..."

He looked down at the coffin at his feet and read the words engraved on it.
Chapter completed!