Chapter 39 Chapter Seven: The Journey to the Temple of Heaven

When I woke up, it was just dawn. Hongyue curled up in my arms like a sleepy lamb, and couldn't help shaking her head and smiling bitterly. When I was sleeping last night, I deliberately avoided a corner of the big tent and didn't touch any of them. This little girl got into my bed at some point Li, I really can't do anything about her. I originally planned to sit up immediately, but the hot and greasy body in the thin nightgown, and the charming sleeping face, have the charm and temptation that people can't let go of.I just wonder if she can find what she lacks in reality in sweet dreams?

I reach out and hold the Witch Blade under the pillow, she is not cold.A strange warmth came into my heart from her, but I was not surprised because I was used to it.Ever since I knew how wonderful she is, I have to sleep with her pillow every night. Because of her, my physique is constantly changing. The healing speed of the wound was three or four times faster than before; my physical strength continued to increase, and it was more than enough to cope with Cai and Niya; Can know the danger is coming.There are other less clear but wonderful tactile sensations that I can't articulate now, but let me know that some wonderful potential is happening.

Hongyue suddenly whimpered softly, twisted her body, opened her small mouth, and shouted: Uh!Great swordsman!Great swordsman!It turned out to be a dream. I couldn't help tightening my arms around her, and my pity grew. The primitive impulse of men that came naturally like a sea tide after a full sleep made me feel more intimate with her. But I have no carnal thoughts in my heart. Although my body enjoys the friction and contact with her, my mind has been elevated to a level beyond the lust of men and women, and I am peaceful, calm and satisfied. As if feeling something, the sleeping Hongyue couldn't help twisting and trembling, whispering vague dreams.

Assuming she is really Xiqi, I will pour all my love into her body. The sky is getting brighter, and the outside of the tent is gradually lighting up. The neighing of healthy horses from time to time reminded me that I was in a foreign land.When I first left the Witch Country, whenever I dreamed back in the middle of the night or woke up in the morning, I would feel lost without knowing where I was!But since Cairou came into existence, this feeling of self-pity and self-pity has disappeared. Caressing the blade body under the pillow, embracing the scorching body of the red moon, my thoughts gradually condensed. Suddenly, I strongly felt that I was flying over the vast plain, across the undulating mountains like a dragon, across the The endless ocean is heading towards a strange place.

Startled, I woke up. The illusion is shattered. still in the account. But why was the feeling just now so continuous and real? I'm sure it wasn't a dream just now. Is it the magic of the Witch's Blade?Did she connect me to the foreign body in the ruins? The sound of footsteps approached from far away. I gently pushed away Hongyue who was tightly entangled with me, sat up, and said: Who! One of Niya's close female guards said respectfully outside: Great Sword Master, Grand Duke Redstone welcomes you. I smiled slightly and thought to myself: Tianmiao finally responded.

Niya and I rode our horses to the side of the horses of the three priests, Hongshi, Yonov, Hongqing and Tianyan, and looked towards the direction of Standing Stone Fort together. The gate of the fort opened wide, and slowly spit out two teams of more than a hundred people each, holding the flag representing the Temple of Heaven, fluttering in the morning wind, and their horses were all specially dressed, shining golden, gorgeous and imposing. Hongshi smiled mysteriously at me before saying: This is the guard of honor for welcoming guests at the Tianmiao Temple, usually led by at least one priest, I don't know who is here this time.

After the sound of the drum, eight people from each of the two teams walked out, holding horns made of ox horns, and started tooting. Their movements were consistent and very disciplined. Three long and three short horns followed by a trombone. Two riders rode out from the fort. With my sharp eyes, I saw that one of them was the Grand Duke Zhuolian whom I met yesterday, and the other was a big fat man, who weighed heavily on his horse like a mountain of meat. Mole, wearing a plain yellow priest robe. I said: That big fat man with a mole on his mouth is that priest? Everyone around me startled and looked at me.

I wondered to everyone on the left and right: What's wrong? Redstone couldn't believe it: God!From such a long distance, I can't even see his face clearly, why can you see the mole around his mouth? Hong Qing murmured: It really is the Holy Sword Knight, it really is My mind was shaking, and I screamed in my heart: I am indeed changing!I can't help being both happy and surprised. Niya replied quickly: That's Priest Mingyue, who is in charge of the military in the Pure Land. It can be said that he is the commander of the Seven Grand Dukes of the Pure Land. Hongshi snorted coldly and said, "It's not the high priest who came, but also a priest who came to welcome us. Doesn't this show that we don't take us seriously?"

Zhuo Lian and the priest Mingyue had already rode their horses to about ten paces away from us. They reined in their horses and gave a welcome ceremony with their arms in their arms. The three priests, Grand Duke Hongshi, Lady Niya, Great Swordsman and warriors from the south. Everyone's expression changed. His words clearly did not recognize Niya and I's identities, and deliberately ranked me behind Niya. His disrespect was obvious. On the contrary, Zhuo Lian respected me much more, and specially bowed to me again, saying: "Hello, Great Sword Master!" Priest Mingyue showed a cold smile and said: I have brought the high priest's apology. The Heicha's defeat was so sudden that we couldn't grasp the situation for a while, so we didn't dare to act rashly. Mistake, after setting up for one night, Standing Stone Fort has enough facilities to entertain the respectable soldiers in the south, please enter the fort immediately.

Hongshi's face was as cold as ice, and he said: Priest Mingyue, Hongshi is unclear about something and wants to ask Gao Ming for advice. Mingyue's slender and gloomy eyes narrowed into a line, then opened again, shooting out a sharp light, she looked at Hongshi without retreating, and said, "Grandpa Hongshi, please tell me." Hongshi spat out word by word, and said: I want to know if Priest Mingyue has received our Blue Bird letter, requesting Tianmiao to send troops to chase after the black fork ghost's retreating army. Mingyue's eyes became sharper, but her tone was still very calm, and said: Received.

Hongshi turned violent and shouted: "Why didn't the temple send troops that day? If a fatal blow could be dealt in time, the number of Xiang Qinsheng who could escape to the south would be at least half less than now. Who should be responsible for this?" The atmosphere was extremely tense for a moment. Anger flashed in Mingyue's eyes, and she said coldly: If there is a responsibility, then I will be responsible.I have stood on the front line against the Black Cross for many years, and I have learned early on the painful price to be paid for acting recklessly, so I would rather miss a hundred opportunities than bet the precious lives of soldiers in a trap that may be set by the enemy. Zhuolian said in a side note: We don't understand the reason why the black fork people withdrew, so Hong Shi looked up to the sky and laughed loudly, cut off his words, and said sharply: So those of you who stand on the front line are afraid.Then he said to Mingyue: For many years, I have been asking to lead troops to the front to help in the battle, but whoever refused me is you!Bright Moon Priest.Your soldier's life is precious, isn't the blood of our southern soldiers worth a penny? Mingyue's face can be as ugly as it needs to be. I felt Huayun's pleading eyes falling on me, if I kept silent, even Tianyan and the others would not dare to intervene, because the Hongshi who was in a rage would not betray anyone's favor. Hongshi looked up at the sky, let out a long breath, and booed infinitely: For many years, Lazar and I have swallowed our anger, hid in the south, worked hard every day, cut down on food and clothing, and sent all the supplies and soldiers that could be spared to the Temple of Heaven. Now as soon as Lazar dies, you will also deprive his beloved daughter of his right to inherit. Tell me, whose idea is this? Mingyue was obviously afraid of Hongshi, one of the four great generals in the Pure Land, and she restrained her anger a little, and her tone turned gentle, and said: "This is just a proposal, and everything has yet to be decided by the priesthood. If everyone thinks that Niya should inherit Sir, I have no objection. Although Zhuo Lian was robbed by Hongshi just now, he was surprisingly calm, turned his eyes to my face, and said sincerely: Tian Temple has a welcome feast tonight, and there is still half a day's journey from here to Tian Temple. Will be late.He obviously knows better than Mingyue who is the real leader here. Only then did Mingyue take a closer look at me. I smiled slightly, and said to Hongshi whose face was as cold as ice: Grand Duke!There must be many people in Tianmiao that the Grand Duke wants to meet, why don't we start early. Everyone looked at Hongshi nervously, wondering if he still respected my words as usual when he was furious. Everyone could see that he was going all out, not hesitating to break with Tianmiao. Hongshi was silent for a while, then looked at me. With just one glance, everyone understood each other's intentions at the same time. We did not give in or back down, but just played the game in another form. Hongshi also returned with a smile, and said flatly: The fragrance and dream seen on the Tianmiao Temple are particularly bright, the Great Swordsman must be happy.There are puns in this sentence, which shows the wisdom of Hongshi. I thought of Cairou who was accompanying that sleepy Hongyue, and secretly thought that she should be the one I like. That morning, when the soldiers slowly entered the Standing Stone Fort to settle down, I, the three priests, Hongshi, Yonov, Hongqing, Niya, Cairou, Houyu, Hongyue, and Dahei were selected in the two thousand Under the protection of his masters, he passed through the Lishi Fort and set foot on the way to the Temple of Heaven from the back city gate. Yue Shan, Xiuqing, Zesheng and Tian Zong all stayed in Lishibao, under the name of managing the army coming from the south, but in fact they were required to remain on alert to deal with any sudden changes. Behind Standing Stone Fort is a large valley with ten thousand hectares of fertile land, planted with various edible crops. It is said that this is the design of Huayun, which can provide half of the food needed by Tianmiao, so the fall of Standing Stone Fort made Hongshi and others so nervous . At noon, we climbed over a high mountain, and two mountain fortresses, Pingya and Shougu, appeared in front of us, dotted like two huge boulders, like another not too high but very majestic mountain pressing head-on. The mountain roads were all dug out by manpower, and paved with fist-sized stones, which are beautiful and comfortable to walk on. Both sides of the mountain road are dense rain forests, and the sound of birds and animals walking can be heard from time to time. We passed through the two castles without stopping. Among the cheering civilians and soldiers, some people shouted the name of the Holy Sword Knight from time to time. Except for the three priests, we all deliberately fell to the back of the team. Behind Shougu is another big valley sandwiched by two high mountains. There is a big lake in the center of the valley. Surrounded by mountains, it is peaceful and quiet. It is really a paradise in the world. After exiting the valley, there is a mountain road going around the mountain. On one side is a smooth mountain wall, and on the other side is a steep and dangerous cliff. Looking down, there is a rushing river, which is at least a thousand feet away from the mountain road. It is majestic. It is very spectacular, rolling in and rushing away. Looking to the north from here, a mountain peak stands out from the surrounding mountains and plunges into the clouds and mist. Finally saw Chasing Sky Peak. The team made a big circle around the mountain road, passed a solid big stone bridge, crossed the rapids, arrived at the mountain road on the other side of the mountain stream, and turned north. The mountain walls on both sides are towering, and after turning a corner, the last castle gorges on the South Road stands in front of it, blocking the road like a beast, and the road is buried and widened. Niya said to Caiju: "Finally here, behind the fort is Zhutian Plateau, once you go out of the back gate, you can see Tianmiao." Cairou exclaimed: It's unbelievable that there are so many people and places in the mountains. I caressed Dahei who was riding the snow with me, and said with a smile: If you knew that there would be a catastrophe seven hundred years ago, you could do anything. Hongyue said: Alright!But rest, I'm tired and hungry! Everyone laughed, although the smiles were a bit forced. The gate of the fort opened. A group of people came out to meet them and separated on both sides. The horn sounded and spread far away, and the mountains and valleys responded. Cairou looked up at the blue sky and white clouds, and said in amazement: Look!This is the most beautiful sky I have ever seen. I looked up at the clear sky as I said, and couldn't help but admire in my heart. The sky in Pure Land is the most beautiful sky I have ever seen. The sky is extremely blue and the clouds are extremely white, but compared to the sky on the plateau, it is inferior, especially in that day. The white clouds drifting past seem to be drawn closer suddenly, so close that people can reach out and touch them, exquisite and floating, seemingly imaginary but more like reality. Yonov said: People here are particularly tired, so don't run casually, it's dangerous, after you get used to it, everything will be as usual. The team began to enter the canyon city. The scale of Huxia City is much smaller, there are less than a hundred houses in the city, but two rows of big trees are planted on both sides of the avenue that runs through the front door and the back door. , the girls desperately threw flowers at us, especially me, who was the target of throwing flowers. But no one called me Holy Sword Knight, they just kept calling Great Sword Master. Obviously, Tianmiao has issued a strict order that no one is allowed to call me by that. The people here are more obedient than other three castles. After passing through the back city gate, I was dumbfounded by the scene I entered. No one can imagine that there is such a strange place on the top of the mountain. In front of you is a flat prairie, surrounded by steep mountains, Zhutian Peak stands tall in the distance in front of you, connecting with the end of the plain, and the layers of buildings start from there and continue to extend On the mountainside of Zhutian Peak, the highest place is a long wall, surrounding a huge temple with a dome. The grandeur of the building is no less than that of the palace of the Witch Kingdom. Just this building complex can easily accommodate 200,000 to 300,000 people. There is another group of buildings in the distance on the left, just before a gap, which seems to be the entrance to the North Road.Groups of cattle, sheep, and horses gathered on the grassland, grazing quietly on the grassland. Until this moment, I really understood why the powerful army of the Heicha people still failed to capture the Tianmiao until today. Cairou shouted: Look!It was a waterfall. I looked to the right according to her gaze, and saw a big waterfall rushing down from the place where Zhutian Peak was higher than Tianmiao, converging into small pools and waterfalls one after another; until it reached the prairie, forming a stream. The river, in the middle of the grassland, divides into two, one flows to the mountain pass of the North Road, and the other is in our direction. Hongyue cheered: Oh!I finally saw Tianhe. As we approached, the sound of water gradually became louder and clearer. At this time, Mingyue galloped over and said: "Now I will take you to the Waterfall Pavilion to settle down. Tonight, I will officially enter the Temple of Heaven and meet the priests and grand dukes." The Waterfall Viewing Pavilion is the beautiful house closest to the Tianpu Temple, which is the closest to the Tianpu. On the side facing the Tianpu, several rows of towering giant trees are planted to isolate the rumbling noise from the waterfall. Passing through the forest is a On the Dashitai, the waterfall falls straight down from the sky like a piece of white cloth, arousing thousands of waves below the stage, and the water drops splash and then flow down. There are stone steps next to the mountain on the stone platform, which can be used for people to go up to the source of the waterfall and see the first level of the seven-level waterfall of Tianhe, which is called by the people of Pure Land. In fact, the entire Tianmiao Mountain City is also built level by level. The houses at each level are well-organized, and the streets and alleys are all complete and unique. The levels are connected by stone steps and gravel slopes. The curious Cairou once secretly After counting, there are as many as 18 levels. I really don't know how much time and effort the people of Pure Land spent to build such a great and unique mountain city. As soon as we settled down in the Waterfall Viewing Pavilion, Cairou dragged me and Dahei to climb up to the highest waterfall viewing platform, where we can not only watch the waterfall, but also overlook the beautiful scenery of the entire Tiancheng. Hongyue was still complaining about how tired she was just now, but when she heard that there was something to watch, she was unwilling to be lonely, so she decided to follow, this girl refused to leave me even a step. Niya was going to follow, but Hua Yun dragged her away, not knowing what to say. The sun was setting. Thousands of rays of sunlight dyed the vast sky to the right of Tiancheng red, and the lights of Tiancheng lit up, reflecting each other with the lights of Huxia City and the houses at the north intersection, which is both vast and magnificent. Cairou sighed: There is such a wonderful place in the world? I stretched my arms around the shoulders of the two women, let out a long sigh of relief, and said: Pure Land people are the most imaginative people, only they can turn their dreams into reality. Hongyue said joyfully: "The Great Swordsman described it really well. The sky is what we love the most. The closer to the sky, the more we love it. Tiancheng is the city closest to the sky. , but no one has ever complained. With soft air, she said: Don't people from the Pure Land love to sleep the most?When I wanted to get you up this morning, there was nothing I could do. Fortunately, I finally whispered in your ear that the Great Sword Master was leaving, and you jumped up in fright. Hongyue Buyi said: You promised not to say anything. I laughed out loud, took a sip on each of their faces, and thought of Niya.I secretly thought that Huayun would also pull her to talk at such a moment, it must not be for ordinary things, and Huayun's expression was surprisingly dignified, and she avoided my gaze, what is it? ? The sound of footsteps came from the stone steps. When we looked back, it was Redstone. Hongshi winked at me, and I patted the shoulders of the two girls and said: Cairou, take good care of Hongyue, don't let her climb out of the stone fence; A secret conversation between me and the Grand Duke.Then squatted down and grabbed Dahei's furry thick skin and said: You have to keep an eye on Cairou, and don't allow her to indulge herself. Amidst the coquettish voices of the two girls, I laughed and left, and walked with Hongshi to the waterfall viewing platform on the next floor. Hongshi couldn't help smiling, and sighed: You really have a way with women, I've never seen Hongyue so happy. I changed the embarrassing topic and said: How is things going? Hongshi said: Long Teng and Ning Su are both here.Then his face became gloomy, and he said: I am not surprised that Long Teng refused to see me before the banquet; but even Ning Su refused to see me, which made me very uncomfortable. I was stunned and said: The situation doesn't look quite right. Hongshi was silent for a while, showing a little excitement, and said: "On the contrary, Zhuo Lian's attitude has changed a lot, and he told me a lot of things. Although he didn't make a formal statement, it seems that he has bet his all on you. Although he is arrogant, he still has a certain vision, not to mention that between Long Teng and Yan Se, he is still more inclined to Yan Se's side. I said: Suppose we have two votes from Zhuo Lian and Yan Se, plus your vote, it will be three votes. If there are two votes from Ning Su and Xie Wen, we will be able to secure the vote of the princes in the priesthood , as long as you win the support of one more priest, you can win this battle. Hongshi murmured: "But things are not so easy. Xie Wen has always been Mingyue's person. According to Zhuo Lian, Yin Nushi is likely to have an affair with Mingyue, and she is favored by the high priest, and she has preconceived a lot of bad things about us. The situation is really serious." Not optimistic. Then he lowered his voice and said: Zhuo Lian said that Longteng has transferred a large number of elite fighters from Hushibao, so the temple is tense outside and tense inside, and if one is not good, there will be bloodshed. I smiled wryly and said: I hope he doesn't do anything stupid. Hongshi showed a vigilant look, and said, "Long Teng's son, Long Ge, is a brave general known alongside Yonov among the younger generation. He has made countless military exploits. We think that Long Teng's attack this time is also selfish, and he was promoted to Dai Ni." Ya is the Grand Duke who catches fire. This man's scimitar is the most famous in the Pure Land. The great swordsman must not take him lightly. I laughed and said: No matter the opponent is a famous general or a small soldier, I will not be careless, don't worry, Grand Duke. Hongshi also smiled and said: Seriously, I'm only worried about this kid, I've never seen a more terrifying swordsman than you.Looking at the sky, he said: "The sun is setting. We'd better go back to the hall and take a rest. I can't cope with tonight's banquet if I have less energy. I'll take a look at Yan Se and Xie Wen to see if they have arrived, so I can take advantage of it earlier." say hi. I looked at the sky, the sun had already set, and there were only a few pale red clouds left. The cold wind blew up on the plateau, and the temperature dropped sharply, which seemed to represent the atmosphere of this great mountain city, changing from warm to cold. When Cairou, Hongyue, and Dahei and I returned to our special hall in the west wing of the Waterfall Viewing Pavilion, Niya was sitting alone in a chair with a gloomy face. She barely greeted us when she saw us. Cairou was the friendliest to her, walked over and hugged her and said: Niya!are you uncomfortable? Niya shook her head, forced a happy face and said: Don't worry, I'm fine. I was very disturbed and said to Caiju: You and Hongyue go to freshen up first, and let me say a few words to my cute Niya. Cairou and Hongyue went obediently. I sat down on the ground next to Niya's chair, put my arms around her legs, buried my head in her soft body, and said softly: "Tell me, what did Hua Yun say to you?" Niya's delicate body trembled slightly, she closed her beautiful eyes, and said sadly: Great Sword Master, help me! I was stunned and said: What? Niya suddenly calmed down again, with tenderness in her eyes, she said softly: If one day you leave the pure land, but I can't follow you, will you hate me? I let go of the arms around her long legs, stood up, sat on the chair opposite, and said in a deep voice: Is this what Hua Yun asked of you? Niya nodded sadly, and said: Yes!But don't blame her, she's all about the big picture, if she wasn't so selfless, I think she'd abandon the priesthood and follow you to the ends of the earth without being tormented by thoughts, I can see how much she cares about you affection. I raised my head and sighed, and said: No!I won't hate you, and I won't blame her. You both love my rand and the pure land deeply. If you leave this beautiful land, you won't get real happiness. Niya rose gracefully, came to me, sat on my lap, wrapped her hands around my neck, pressed her pretty face against my cheek, and said in grief: I can't leave the Pure Land, because if I If you leave, the title will be vacated, and the northerners will take advantage of it. Once the balance between the north and the south is broken, there will be more unexpected consequences. Therefore, before Huayun and the others fully support me in inheriting the title, they first ask me to promise not to leave pure land. I fell silent because I couldn't find anything to say. Niya said sadly: Please tell me that one day you will come back, even if it is a lie, please say that, let me have a glimmer of hope in my heart, and use this to maintain the courage to survive. I felt my cheeks moisten, knowing that the beauty on my lap was shedding silent tears of love, a strong and irresistible feeling flashed through my heart, I hugged her tightly and said: I will definitely come back, but it is not a lie, but a promise.