Chapter 23: That Knife (4300 words, is it a big chapter?)
He saw golden light!
From all the blurry portraits on the walls inside the temple.
Each of them is a small light source. At this moment, the light converges, making the entire temple extremely bright, but the biggest light source is not them.
It's... the main statue enshrined in the temple, the stone sculpture holding a stone knife!
Xu Qing's mind was shaken in this golden light. He also saw a black mist figure standing there at the gate of the temple. He couldn't see clearly. He could only see a vague human shape, twisting in the golden light.
Behind the other party, outside the temple, there were figures in the black mist that looked like vague human shapes, hundreds of them densely packed, with humanoid and animal shapes.
At this moment, everything was emitting an astonishing coldness, gathering together and turning into a monstrous coldness, as if they were invisibly connected to the black mist entering the temple.
The only dark figure that entered the temple, under the golden light, slowly raised its head, let out a roar that seemed to shake the soul, and took another step.
This step seems to be offensive, seems to have touched a taboo!
The moment it fell, Xu Qing was horrified to see the dazzling stone sword-wielding statue walking down from where it was as if it was alive.
With supreme majesty and indescribable holiness, it was like a god descending to earth, taking long strides towards the black shadow amid roaring sounds from the ground.
He raised the knife in his hand and cut it down with one stroke.
This knife is unpretentious and very simple, but in this simplicity it seems to contain some kind of Taoist charm, which is earth-shattering.
A shrill sound that could not be heard by the ears, but could be sensed by the soul, suddenly emitted from the black shadow.
The mist evaporated instantly, revealing a rotten body inside with tattered clothing.
It can be seen that he is an old man with empty eye holes.
The next moment, his body collapsed and evaporated like mist.
The black shadows outside were also affected one after another, and the black mist outside their bodies was blurred, allowing Xu Qing to use the spread of golden light to see a familiar person among those figures.
That's... Captain Blood Shadow!
At this moment, he was in the group of dark shadows, with no expression on his thin face. As the golden light filled the air, his entire body seemed to be purified and dissipated.
Until half a while later, in the dark night outside, those figures that did not disappear slowly retreated, and finally disappeared completely.
The golden light in the temple also gradually decreased. The astonishing figure of the divine warrior turned around and returned to its original position with the light. As the light on his body completely dissipated, he seemed to have reappeared as a stone sculpture. Standing there, looking in the direction of the gate, it seemed that
Waiting, seemingly guarding, motionless.
After a long time, everything returned to normal. Only Xu Qing, who saw all this from the cracks in the stone, was breathing rapidly and his eyes were filled with disbelief.
Captain Blood Shadow, who apparently died in the mist of singing and turned into dust before his own eyes, still exists.
It's obviously just an ordinary temple, but it's actually filled with golden light at night.
The stone sculpture was obviously motionless, but it stepped down like a god descending from the earth. That sword strike was unparalleled.
At this moment, the sun appears in the sky outside, and a new day has arrived.
It took Xu Qing a long time to calm down the shock in his mind, and he silently crawled out of the crack in the stone.
He looked at the light outside, then at the figures on the surrounding walls, and finally his eyes fell on the stone statue holding a knife.
He didn't know what kind of existence the other party was, whether he was alive or dead.
I don’t know how old this temple complex is and how glorious it is.
But what happened last night shocked him greatly.
Especially the momentum contained when the vast sword fell, Xu Qing was deeply shocked, as if it was engraved in his soul, and he could not forget it.
He couldn't imagine that in this forbidden area full of dangers and crises, there was such a dark and unreachable area.
But Team Lei didn't tell him about this, maybe... even Team Lei didn't know about it.
Obviously, the scene like last night did not happen very frequently. At the same time, there were no people in the camp who could stay in the restricted area for such a long time as him.
Therefore, even if there are people who have seen it, they are very few, and most of them have slowly turned the matter into an unverified legend.
Xu Qing remained silent and bowed deeply to the stone sculpture holding a knife and the figures around it.
After thinking for a while, he took out a candle from his leather bag, placed it in front of the stone sculpture, lit it, and then bowed again.
Turned around and left the temple.
Until he walked out of the temple complex, he still looked back from time to time, as if to remember this place firmly in his heart, and at the same time, the image of the falling knife kept reappearing in his mind.
This image was so clear in his mind that even Xu Qing, who had left the temple complex and walked in the jungle, raised his right hand, instinctively trying to imitate it.
And every time he copied it, he felt deeply.
If the practice of Haishan Jue is to visualize and imitate the mandrill diagram, then Xu Qing at this moment replaced the mandrill diagram with the picture of the knife in his mind.
During this imitation, his cultivation level unknowingly broke through, and Haishan Jue was promoted to the fourth level!
Perhaps it was due to the copying of that sword, so this improvement not only doubled the strength and speed, but also seemed to have a spiritual breakthrough.
This breakthrough made Xu Qing's thoughts sharper. At the same time, when he raised his right hand and lowered it, there was a faint smell of the falling sword of a god.
This surprised Xu Qing.
Two days gradually passed. Perhaps because he was on the outskirts, or perhaps because of the shock of the temple that night, he no longer encountered strange footsteps on his way back.
Xu Qing encountered some strange beasts here.
However, the improvement of his cultivation level has improved his ability to save his life, so he can still go smoothly despite being cautious.
Although he didn't find the Destiny Flower and the Scar-Repelling Stone, he gained a lot from the seven-leaf clover. When he went back and sold it, he could also get a lot of spiritual coins.
At this moment, when dusk was approaching, Xu Qing also saw the world outside the jungle. He was about to walk out, but his footsteps suddenly stopped. He lowered his head and looked at a grass beside him.
The appearance of this grass is somewhat similar to the Destiny Flower, but even with his meager knowledge of plants and trees, upon careful inspection, he can tell that this is not the Destiny Flower.
However, Xu Qing thought about it, looked around a little guilty, hesitated, and finally picked it and put it into a leather bag.
I ran quickly and got out of the jungle. It was already night when I returned to the camp.
It was not late at night, and the campground was still very lively, especially in the area with feathers on the tent, where there were frolics and frolics mixed with the sound of wild breathing.
Xu Qing didn't pay attention to this. When he returned to his residence, he just opened the courtyard door and saw Team Lei walking out of the house.
After noticing that although Xu Qing was in a mess, there was nothing wrong with him, Captain Lei felt relieved.
"Why have you been gone so long?"
"Went to the temple." Under the moonlight and the lights of the house, Xu Qing saw the redness in Captain Lei's eyes and the fatigue on his expression.
It was obvious that he had not rested well during this period, and for some reason... he had realized it, and felt a little warm in his heart.
"Temple?" Captain Lei was a little surprised. He didn't expect Xu Qing to run so far. At this moment, he greeted him into the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and brought out the prepared meals while Xu Qing was waiting.
The food was still hot and there were no signs of being touched. Xu Qing was stunned.
He knew very well that Captain Lei didn't know when he would come back, so being able to have hot meals and dishes just after he came back only meant one thing.
The other party... has prepared meals every day and is waiting for me.
Xu Qing stood up silently and took the bowls and chopsticks, three sets of them, two side by side, and then sat down to eat.
It is very fragrant, with a special taste that cannot be felt by the taste buds but can only be experienced by the heart.
Captain Lei ate very little and spent most of his time either drinking or looking at Xu Qing with a smile on his face.
"Eat more, you are still growing. If you don't eat more, you might be this tall."
This sentence made Xu Qing lower his head. After a while, he hummed and ate more obediently. Then he told Captain Lei about what he had seen in the temple.
Captain Lei was originally drinking his wine in sips, but he was quickly attracted by what Xu Qing saw. When Xu Qing finished speaking, he took a deep breath and spoke slowly.
"I've heard people talk about this before, but it was a long time ago. Some people seemed to have seen a similar scene, but like the song, it eventually became a legend."
"Now that I think about it, it seems that it happened not long after the singing appeared." Lei Dui murmured, suddenly thinking of something, and the memory in his eyes gradually became sad.
Looking at Captain Lei, Xu Qing knew what he was thinking, and suddenly felt a little guilty. He felt that he shouldn't say this, so he fell silent.
After a while, Captain Lei regained his composure and seemed to see the reason for Xu Qing's silence, so he smiled.
"You kid is too sensitive. I'm not as fragile as you think."
Captain Lei said, took a big sip of wine, changed the topic, and talked to Xu Qing about interesting things in the camp recently.
He was talking while drinking, and Xu Qing was listening while eating.
It's like they are each other's family.
Late at night, sitting there drinking wine, watching Xu Qing clean up the dishes, Captain Lei got up with a smile and returned to the room.
Xu Qing also returned to his room. When he entered, he saw that the bedding had been replaced with new ones and had been laid out from the rolled-up state before. It still smelled like it had been sunburned.
Xu Qing looked up at Team Lei's room next door. After a while, he walked over and wanted to sit on it, but when he looked down at the dirt on his clothes and hands, he rolled up the quilt and sat on the bed.
Practice with your eyes closed.
In the early morning, Xu Qing opened her eyes.
He was about to leave the room, but after thinking about it, he went to the bathroom and endured the discomfort and washed his hands.
After making his hands clean and white, he took a deep breath, walked out of the room and went straight to the tent where the team leader was.
He knew he couldn't go too early, and he didn't want to go too late.
In the former case, Master Bai has not attended class yet, in the latter case... he was worried that he would not be able to hear the previous content.
In this way, under Xu Qing's calculation, when he arrived outside Master Bai's tent, it was the moment when the sound of assessment came from inside.
Xu Qing was very happy in her heart and stood there silently, listening carefully.
"Green Lotus Dew, also known as Green Lotus Dew, is the bud of the lotus plant of the Nymphaeaceae family. It is a fragrant water obtained by a special method of warming fire. It has the function of calming the lungs and treating fire and coughing up blood..."
The girl's voice in the tent remained the same as before. Xu Qing listened slowly and ecstatically, unaware of the passage of time. More than an hour passed quickly, until the tent suddenly opened, and Master Bai stood there, looking at him.
"What's the matter?" Master Bai's eyes were not sharp, but he was also majestic. Xu Qing was very nervous. He took out the herbs he picked on the way back from his leather bag, lowered his head and spoke softly.
"Master Bai, I...I want to ask if this is the Destiny Flower."
As soon as these words came out, Master Bai was stunned for a moment.
There was something strange in his expression as he glanced over, and then looked at the young man's hands which were much cleaner than before. After a while, as Xu Qing became more and more nervous, he slowly spoke.
"This one is not."
Xu Qing bowed quickly and left quickly. He breathed a sigh of relief on the way, but he was still a little uneasy. So he looked back at the tent and found Master Bai standing there.
Noticing the young man's gaze, Master Bai nodded.
When Xu Qing saw this scene, he stopped and bowed deeply before leaving.
Watching Xu Qing's figure go away, Master Bai turned around and walked into the tent. At this moment, the guards and the young girl who were originally in the tent seemed to be petrified and motionless.
Where Master Bai was sitting, a table was placed at some point, with some food and wine on it. Next to it was an old man in purple robes, and behind him was an old servant in gray.
Seeing Master Bai walking in, the purple-robed old man laughed.
"Master Bai, how are you?"
"How about what."
Master Bai seemed not at all surprised by the sudden appearance of the purple-robed old man, nor was he worried about the motionless people around him. He sat opposite the purple-robed old man, picked up the wine bottle and took a sip.
"I'm talking about that kid. As I told you last time, I found a good seed while waiting for you." The old man in purple robe said with a smile.
"What a good seedling? It's just the first time this kid came here to eavesdrop. This time, in order to eavesdrop, he actually found a random herb and asked me if it was the Destiny Flower. If this continues, I guess he will have to take it every day.
He used the excuse of asking about herbal medicine to eavesdrop. If you hadn't told me about him, I would have driven him away long ago."
Master Bai glared and snorted at the purple-robed old man.
The old man in purple robe laughed.
"You are a talkative person with a bad temper. If you don't really think that he is a talented person, it will be useless for anyone to say hello."
Master Bai snorted coldly and asked instead of defending.
"Are you planning to bring him back to Qixuetong? Your place is so messed up and it's a waste of a scholar's seedlings!"
"Why waste it? What's the use of scholars? Cultivation is the only principle in this world!" The purple-robed old man raised his eyebrows and responded.
"A scholar is useless? Why are you here waiting for a mortal like me, asking me again and again to get your Seven Blood Eyes?" Master Bai said angrily.
"You are different..." The old man in purple robe smiled sarcastically.
"Why am I different!" Master Bai glared at the purple-robed old man with a bad temper.
The old man in purple robe had no choice but to slap his forehead.
"Oh, I remembered that I still have something to do. Master Bai, I'm going to leave now. I'll come see you for a drink tomorrow."
After saying that, the purple-robed old man stood up and was about to leave, but before leaving, he looked back at Master Bai and said something seriously.
"Master Bai, if you really think that boy is a talent, teach him more knowledge and give him a chance to become a skilled scholar in Seven Blood Eyes."
After saying that, the old man in purple robe left with the old servants around him. When he left, everything in the tent was restored to stillness, but no one noticed the abnormality just now.
The guards are still standing guard, the boy is still upset, and the girl is still proud.
Only Master Bai looked up at the direction where Xu Qing left before, with deep thoughts in his eyes.