Chapter 2 The Withered Old Monk

Yan Xiazi came here in accordance with the sect's decree to arrest the traitor He Muqing, and at the same time retrieve a supreme secret treasure of the sect. But this treasure is really extraordinary. When Yan Xiazi took over the task, he already had the intention to kill people and silence them and steal the treasure.

At this time, He Muqing's body was dead, and everyone in the town was transformed into wooden puppets by him, leaving no one alive. Blind Yan no longer had any scruples, and came to the place where the treasure was hidden in He Muqing, where he had searched for souls. He muttered something in his mouth, used the magic formula with his right hand, and a crystal clear bead flew out from under the dilapidated house. The bead was half black and half white, and the two colors of energy inside it were connected end to end and flowing slowly, which looked quite extraordinary.

"This is the Tianji Bead." When I thought about the mystery of this bead, even the sect leader didn't have time to investigate it carefully after getting it. Now that it fell into his hands, I felt extremely comfortable.

However, at this moment, Blind Yan suddenly frowned and sighed softly: "It seems that there is still one living person left to die."

Under the night sky.

A teenage boy was walking on the street of the small town. It was Liang Yan who had returned from Wenliang Mountain. Liang Yan felt strange just outside the town. Huaiyuan Town was too quiet tonight. After entering the town, the strange feeling became even stronger. After walking a little further, Liang Yan already had a look of disbelief on his face.

I saw large and small houses around them, as if they had been hit by thunder, their roofs were in tatters, and there was no one in the house.

Liang Yan felt nervous and hurriedly ran to his father's house. When he arrived in front of his house, his hands were trembling and he seemed afraid to push the door open.

Finally, he took a deep breath and gently pushed the small wooden door open. His whole body felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and he stood frozen on the spot.

I saw only one person in the room, a man in green clothes and a straw hat, sitting slumped on the ground. His whole body was wilted, as if his flesh and blood essence had been taken away, leaving only a piece of skin sticking to the bones. His eyes were wide open. He had obviously been dead for a long time.

"Dad!" Liang Yan's heartbreaking voice made him walk towards the corpse in a daze as if he had lost his soul.

He and Liang Xuan have been dependent on each other since he can remember. When he was eight years old, Liang Xuan told him that he was not his biological child, but picked him up from a bamboo basket in the river.

But despite this, Liang Xuan treated him as his own son, and Liang Yan had already regarded him as his biological father. Liang Xuan never married, so he only regarded this precious son as a treasure. As long as he is raised up, gets a good name, gets a wife and has children, his life will be full of regrets.

But now, fate has played a trick on people. He just went out for a trip, and his family suffered such a huge change. Recalling every detail of his life with his father, Liang Yan suddenly burst into tears. The pain of losing a loved one made him feel hopeless, as if the sky had collapsed.

At this moment, a soft sigh suddenly came from behind,

"Everything in the world is unpredictable, and fortunes and misfortunes are unpredictable. There is no need to worry too much."

Liang Yan turned around and saw a blind old man standing outside the door. It was the same man he had met on the mountain road before.

At this time, Liang Yan was confused and didn't think about why the old man was here. He just asked: "What crime do we people in Huaiyuan Town have? We have lived here for generations and have never done anything harmful to nature. Old man Why is God so cruel to let the people in this small town suffer such a disaster?"

Blind Yan was silent for a moment, and then said slowly: "Have you ever heard that a common man is not guilty, but he is guilty of carrying a jade? The residents of Huaiyuan Town are not guilty at all, but their fault is that the devil stole the treasure and hid it."

Liang Yan was restless at first, but suddenly woke up after hearing these words. Looking at Yan Blind Man, he smiled bitterly and said: "I see, that's it. Compared with the immortal family's treasures, the lives of us mere mortals are really not worth mentioning. Don't you know who did it to my father?"

Blind Yan seemed to be stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then gave Liang Yan a meaningful look and said:

"Hey, little kid, don't worry, I've already taken care of the person who killed your father."

Liang Yan nodded and said, "So I can go on the road with peace of mind now?"

Blind Yan didn't say anything, he just put his hands behind his back and smiled.

Liang Yan said no more, turned his head, knelt down towards his father's body, and silently kowtowed three times.

A strong wind roared from behind, and suddenly a hot breath penetrated his body, as if all the muscles, bones, flesh and blood had been evaporated.

"Is this how you die?"

This was the last thing Liang Yan thought of. The last moment he closed his eyes, Liang Yan seemed to hear a compassionate call from the Buddha outside the house, and then a golden light flashed before his eyes, and he lost consciousness.

I don't know how long it took, but Liang Yan felt that he was in darkness. His whole body felt like tearing pain, but then a warm and moist current traveled through his limbs, making the pain subside. Suddenly a gust of cool wind blew, and Liang Yan slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing you see is a simple room, a square table with a corner missing, and a set of ceramic teapots and teacups on it. There is a scroll hanging on the wall, which seems to be a picture of a traveler in the mountains. The whole room looked a bit worn, and many places were covered in dust, obviously it had not been cleaned for a long time.

Another gust of cool wind blew by, and it was late autumn. Liang Yan turned around and saw that the window was wide open, with blue sky and white clouds outside. It was the time of crisp autumn, but the scene of his father's tragic death came to mind again at this moment, and he couldn't help but feel... Heart-wrenching.

"Alas, the world is so big. I don't know where I will go from now on."

Liang Yan sighed softly, got out of bed and walked out of the house.

After leaving the room, I realized that this was a teahouse, open on the official road outside. Just now, I was in the inner room on the first floor.

"Why is there no one in this teahouse, not to mention the tea guests, not even the waiters? It's really strange!"

He muttered in his mind as he walked out the door. After exiting the gate, I saw an old monk sitting cross-legged on a huge stone at the door. The old monk had a haggard face and a shriveled figure, as if he were a dead tree. His gray monk's robe seemed to have not been washed for many years. If it weren't for his eyes that slowly opened at this moment, he would have looked like a dead man.

The old monk seemed to know what Liang Yan was thinking, and said calmly: "There was a locust plague here in the first half of the year, and the nearby villagers had no harvest, and the bandits came again to do evil, so this teahouse can no longer be opened, and the shopkeeper and the waiters ran away. .”

Liang Yan was silent for a long time and then asked tentatively: "The boy encountered a great disaster. He should be in the underworld at this time, but the master came to the rescue?"

The old monk didn't say anything. He just put his hands together and whispered the Buddha's name with a look of pity on his face.

Liang Yan knew that what he had expected was right. He took big steps and walked to the old monk. He knelt down on the ground with a thud and kowtowed three times in a row. These three times were solid and his head was broken and bleeding.

The old monk's expression changed and he hurriedly said: "Little donor, you don't have to be like this."

Liang Yan kowtowed three times and said loudly: "Master, who can save this boy from that monster must be an immortal and holy monk. Please accept me as your disciple and teach me the immortal method."

The old monk sighed and said, "You want to become an immortal. What do you mean?"

"Of course, after I succeed in cultivation, I will avenge the blood feud for the more than 300 innocent people in Huaiyuan Town and my father!"

"The person who killed your father is dead."

"The chief evildoer is dead, but the remaining evildoers have not yet been punished!"

The old monk frowned and said, "Remnants?"

"Hmph, the reason why my father and the townspeople died tragically was because the Immortal family seized the treasure. Although the blind man did not directly kill my father, he was responsible for this incident. Moreover, when the Immortal family seized the treasure, mortals suffered. Even if my father is not dead, as long as this blind man successfully seizes the treasure, he will definitely kill people and silence him, and my father will still have no way out."

After hearing this, the old monk looked at Liang Yan again and said to himself: "This little kid looks like he is only in his early ten years. How come he has such an extreme personality? But he is not as thoughtful as an adult. Difference!"

What the old monk didn't know was that Liang Yan had been weird since he was a child, and was even said to be a little too smart. When he was in Huaiyuan Town, he often caused trouble to the surrounding residents. The townspeople were simple and saw that his life was pitiful, so they usually didn't care about him. He only occasionally made public outrage, and when he returned home, he still had to give him a slap in the face.

The old monk remained silent and put his hand on Liang Yan's head.

"This boy does have immortal roots, but his qualifications are really average. However, my magical powers do not necessarily require extraordinary qualifications to practice. Moreover, this boy is smart and has a lot of wisdom. He can also pass on my mantle. His life experience It's miserable. If no one takes care of him, he may die soon." Thinking of his tragic experience, I felt compassion for him for a moment.

"No! I don't know how to recruit a disciple. I have already taught a devil in the world, so what qualifications do I have to accept another disciple? Moreover, this kid is extremely violent and will kill many evildoers in the future."

When he thought of his scoundrel disciple, the old monk couldn't help but feel discouraged.

So he said calmly: "If I accept you as my disciple, I have to make a three-part agreement. Follow me to the sect and cultivate for a hundred years. You will not seek revenge on that person in the future."

"Then what's the point of me cultivating immortality?"

"The purpose of cultivating immortals is to gain immortality and to cut off the cause and effect in the world."

Liang Yan's eyes suddenly widened and he said: "You must avenge your father's murder. I'm sorry, kid. I thank the monk for saving my life today. If there is a chance in the future, I will be shattered into pieces. There is nothing I can do to avenge you! Farewell!"

After saying that, he bowed deeply to him and turned his head towards the east of the main road.

"This boy"

The old monk clasped his hands together, smiled bitterly, and did not hold back, but watched his back go away.

Liang Yan was walking alone on the official road, thinking of the tragic death of his adoptive father, and felt sad in his heart.

"Alas, the sky is so vast and the traces of immortality are so dim and invisible. How can I, a mortal boy, find this trace of immortality? Let alone seek revenge in the future. I used to listen to the wandering old Taoist brag about the immortals in the world. I didn't believe it at first. This When I saw it with my own eyes, I didn’t expect it to be such a tragic thing.”

As I was thinking about it, there was a growling sound in my stomach. It turned out that I had been walking for a long time, and it was already noon before I knew it.

"It seems that we should solve the problem of brother belly first."

Liang Yan had learned kung fu from the martial arts instructor in the town since he was a child, and he had quite a lot of martial arts skills. He decided to go to the forest to hunt some game first.

Not long after, somewhere in the forest, a steaming hare was sitting on top of a bonfire. A young man in gray clothes was holding a rabbit leg and chewing it up. This person was Liang Yan.

After eating half of the hare, Liang Yan was feeling satisfied when he suddenly heard a small sound. He has practiced martial arts since he was a child, and he knew that this was the sound of weapons being handed over, and someone was fighting nearby. Not caring about the hare at the moment, he hurriedly put out the bonfire, covered it with soil, and then tiptoed towards the direction of the sound.

Not far away, he faintly heard the sound of scolding. Liang Yan pushed aside a corner of the bushes and looked into the middle.

I saw a blue-shirted swordsman holding a dragon-patterned sword, fighting four black-clothed bandits alone. Although the blue-shirted swordsmen were one against four, they were not at a disadvantage. A long sword flew up and down, creating afterimages in the air. The left arm of one of the bandits was dripping with blood. He was obviously injured. Not a minor injury.

Liang Yan was secretly shocked. With his skills as a swordsman, he was considered a first-rate master in the world. He was being hunted down for some unknown reason.

At this time, the swordsman in blue swung away the four people with his sword, turned over and backed away, and said lightly: "Is that what you scoundrels have? Why do you want to plot against my lady?"

"Haha, Lightning Sword Zuo Feiquan is indeed well-deserved. It's a pity that you know something you shouldn't know. You will definitely die this time!"

It was not the four bandits who said this, but two more people walked out of the forest, one tall and one short, and it was the tall man who spoke. The four bandits before were vaguely headed by these two.

The blue-shirted swordsman couldn't help but secretly become anxious when he saw two more masters. Without waiting for anyone's reaction, he made a lightning move and headed straight for the tall man. He wanted to advance while retreating, to catch him off guard first, and then take advantage of the chaos to escape.

The tall bandit snorted coldly, turned his hand and drew out a long knife and went forward, while the short bandit also drew out a copper hammer and joined the battle group.

The more the blue-shirted swordsman fought, the more frightened he became. In a one-on-one battle, the martial arts of any one of them was no longer inferior to his. At this moment, he was one against two, and he was already defeated in less than thirty moves.

"When did such a powerful bandit appear on the rivers and lakes?" He wondered in his heart, but did not dare to think too much and was eager to think of countermeasures to find a way to escape.

At this moment, a blue knife flew out from the forest, with a dazzling blue light, cutting off all the trees it passed, and headed straight towards the blue-shirted swordsman without losing any momentum.

The swordsman was horrified and hurriedly swung his sword to resist, but the long sword with dragon patterns was cut into two pieces by the blue knife as if it were made of paper.

With a bang, the blue knife was inserted into the swordsman's throat, leaving only the handle outside. The swordsman in blue had a look of disbelief on his face, stared at the handle in front of his throat, and slowly fell down.

At this time, a young man walked out of the forest, wearing a purple robe and gold and silver, just like a city official.

When the other gangsters saw him, they immediately looked respectful, lowered their heads and clasped their fists, shouting: "The gang leader is so powerful that no one can defeat him!"

The young man in purple seemed to be enjoying it very much. He squinted his eyes and snorted:

"You are a few losers, and you can't do anything if you ask them to. This person is a worshiper of their house, and he is here to explore the road. He learned of our plan by chance, how can we let him get away?"

The bandits were sweating profusely: "My subordinates are not doing their job well, please be kind to me, Lord, and let us make atonement for our sins!"

The young man in purple waved his hand and said: "That's all, it's important. If we do this job well, I don't know how much real money is waiting for us."

He paused and asked again: "Have you checked around everything?"

The tall bandit immediately replied: "We have found out everything. There is a teahouse not far ahead. It has been abandoned for a long time. We can pretend to be gangsters and ambush them as planned."

"Well, it's okay if there's no one in the teahouse now. If there are any, we'll kill them all. We can't leak any information about us. Cheng Laoer, you go collect the horses and set off immediately after dinner. When you get there, follow the plan."

"My subordinates understand!" the tall bandit responded, and then revealed a lewd expression, and said with a smile: "Boss, there are a few pretty girls in that gang, and we brothers will have to enjoy them when the time comes. "

The young man in purple robe also had a lustful look and nodded to him knowingly.

The short bandit seemed to have doubts in his heart and asked: "Boss, I'm actually confused. Why go to all the trouble to plan an ambush? With your immortal methods, just make them come back and never come back."

"Hmph, Shi Laosan, how lenient are you now?"

"I don't dare." Shi Laosan hurriedly lowered his head.

The young man in purple snorted and said: "There is a master among them. His martial arts is very strong. He has reached the stage where his inner strength is released. He can even fight against immortals like us. You must not be careless."

In fact, this young man in purple is the concubine of a cultivating immortal family, named Chen Lin. His spiritual abilities were extremely poor, and he had no intention of cultivating since he was a child. Instead, he was greedy for worldly enjoyment, especially gold and silver women. He was kicked out of his home when he became an adult, so he became a bandit here. With his first-level Qi refining skills, he was able to get along well. Except for some insider masters, it was difficult to pose a threat to him in the world.

I saw these bandits taking out their luggage and lighting a fire to cook. Liang Yan stepped back cautiously.

"No, these people are going to the teahouse later. I wonder if the old monk will be okay there?"

Although he knew that the old monk was not an ordinary person, Liang Yan had never seen an immortal fight, let alone the old monk, Yan Xiazi and others.

In his opinion, the swordsman in blue shirt just now was already a first-class master, but he couldn't make a move in front of this young man in purple clothes. He was very worried, and he guessed that this old monk was no match for him.

"Well, although the old monk refused to accept me as his disciple, he saved my life after all. If I know about it and don't report it, wouldn't I just watch him die?"

"Although this group has horses, they need to cook and eat now. I may not be able to arrive before them. When the time comes, I can persuade the monk to leave, which can be regarded as saving his life. From now on, we will not owe each other anything."

Liang Yan had made up his mind, and immediately put forth all his strength and ran towards the teahouse.