On the Avenue

Chapter 148 Collecting Baby Dolls

"Is Mazu also a deity who came from China?"

Chen Shi stood in front of the temple gate and looked out. The sea was blocked by the cracked mountain peaks. He could only hear the sound of waves and could not see the sea.

However, he observed that the peak on the opposite side did not look like it had been cracked in recent years, because there were many rocks on the opposite side of the mountain, as if they were drilled out of the sea.

The peak where Mazu Temple is located seems to be integrated with the peak opposite, but the cliff shows signs of being beaten by wind and waves.

"The two mountains are actually not one. In fact, the peak where Mazu Temple is located faces the sea."

Chen Shi speculated, "It was just that one day, a mountain peak rose from the sea, blocking the mountain where the Mazu Temple was located, and merged into one mountain. The Mazu Temple and the mountain were silent together, until one day an earthquake shook the two mountains apart. , Mazu Temple appeared.”

This temple is extremely dilapidated. It is still on top of the original Tiger Temple. The Tiger Temple only has many broken bricks and broken tiles. The front and back halls are basically intact. There are also ancient apricot trees that block the sun, so that the true god outside the sky cannot see it. There.

The Mazu Temple seemed to have experienced a battle, and most of the temple collapsed. Chen Shi recalled that he saw the earth melting and solidifying on the top of the cliff. The Mazu Temple should be the center of the decisive battle!

"I just climbed up from below."

Empress Hongshan came to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

Chen Shi also came to the edge of the cliff and looked over. Even though many years had passed, he could still see the traces left by the giant creature crawling on the rocks.

"Empress, do you have any impression of Mazu Temple?" Chen Shi asked.

Empress Hongshan shook her head: "The mountain cracked, and I woke up. My mind was blank, without any memory. After I climbed out, I was exposed to the moonlight, and then I turned into an evil spirit."

Chen Shi was even more confused and said, "How do you know how to refine Yuehua?"

The empress of Hongshan refines the moonlight, and she obviously has a unique way of doing it, which is a profound method.

Empress Hongshan shook her head: "I don't know either. Xiaocheng made me become Empress Hongshan. With the incense, I naturally knew how to practice in my mind."

Chen Shi didn't know if she had something to do with Mazu Temple. When he walked into Mazu Temple, the place was in ruins, but there was still a strong extraordinary power floating around. The mountain gate, ancestral temple, incense burner, fish pond, altar, and collapsed main hall were all... There are clouds formed by extraordinary power.

I think the incense here must have been extremely prosperous back then.

However, this temple, like the original Tiger Temple, is already empty. There is no statue of the god, and there is no image of the god condensed with extraordinary power.

Chen Shi tried to find something valuable, but failed.

He found the shrine in Mazu Temple and was slightly startled.

This shrine faces the sea. It seems that the statue that stood here also faced the sea!

"In other words, the Chinese gods enshrined here need to resist the invasion of monsters in the sea and protect the fleet of ships on the sea. In this way, Mazu should be a god who protects the ocean."

Chen Shi suddenly thought that when the Three Treasures Eunuchs were ordered by the Ming Emperor to lead the Ming fleet deep into the Sea of ​​Darkness, how could they have sailed safely for seventeen years without a Chinese god who could guard the sea?

And later on, immigrants from the Ming Dynasty came to Xiniu Xinzhou in an endless stream, and they also needed a god to suppress the storms and waves of the sea, as well as the monsters in the sea!

Therefore, Sanbao Eunuch built her temple on the coast so that her divine power could protect the passing ships and migrating people.

That's why the incense in this temple is so prosperous.

"They built a Mazu temple on the coast of Xiniu Xinzhou, and Mazu's avatar appeared in this new continent. It stands to reason that her power will only get stronger and stronger. Why did the mountain temple close down later?"

Chen Shi was puzzled.

He glanced at the Hongshan Empress beside him. The Sanbao eunuch should have enshrined the Mazu statue on the ship here. The statue was not made of flesh and blood, but the Hongshan Empress was clearly a blood Tai Sui made of flesh and blood, so she was obviously not a statue.

"No matter what, since I'm here, I'll burn a stick of incense before I leave."

Chen Shi took out the incense, lit it, put it in the incense burner that had been extinguished, and bowed to the empty shrine.

Seeing this, Empress Hongshan also bowed to the empty shrine.

The two left.

Three sticks of incense burned, and the scent of incense curled up into the shrine.

Empress Hongshan felt something in her heart and turned to look at Mazu Temple. Chen Shi asked doubtfully, "What's wrong?"

Empress Hongshan said: "I think there seems to be some movement in the temple."

Chen Shi didn't notice anything strange, and the two of them climbed all the way to the top of the cliff. It was getting late and they were preparing to return.

In the hanging temple under the cliff, Chen Shi's three sticks of incense were like pebbles thrown into a flat lake. The scent of the incense attracted the extraordinary power that filled the surroundings, and flowed towards the empty shrine bit by bit.

The divine power is quietly condensing and changing in the shrine.

Empress Hongshan was a little tired, so she hid in Chen Shi's small temple, climbed up to the shrine and sat down.

The true energy in Chen Entity's body grew quietly and breathlessly, and the golden elixir seemed to be breathing, growing larger and smaller at times, tempering the physical body.

As he sat in the car, his breathing stopped and his heartbeat stopped beating before he knew it. His essence condensed like a rose, his bones turned into red jade, and his marrow turned into black frost. Waves of celestial music seemed to be coming from his ears, as if he were in a paradise. among.

After a long time, a dog barking woke him up. Chen Shi opened his eyes, his heartbeat resumed, and he started breathing again, only to see that they had returned to Gongzhou City.

"This time I entered samadhi, and I actually realized the subtleties of seven returns, eight transformations, and nine returns. It is really extraordinary that Empress Hongshan is my divine fetus!"

Chen Shi stared and realized that he came to the small temple, only to see Empress Hongshan sitting on the shrine, looking at her nose and heart, entering a mysterious state, and it was difficult to wake up for a while.

The moonlight in the small temple was like a tide, constantly flying from the sky of the ancestral land, flying one after another, and falling into her body.

It seems that Empress Hongshan is in a higher state. She meditated just now, which made Chen Shi unknowingly enter the Great Perfection state of the nine turns of the golden elixir, so he entered a very deep state of concentration.

This is a benefit he could never imagine before!

"Do other monks' divine fetuses also have this effect?"

Chen Shi was quite curious. He didn't have a real divine fetus, so he could only regard the Hongshan Empress and other evil spirit beings as divine fetuses. He didn't know what the real divine fetuses were.

"Empress Hongshan is practicing, I'd better not disturb her."

Chen Shi exited the small temple and said to Heiguo: "There is no need to go to Hongshan Hall. Let's go back to the east post office in the city."

He once again entered the state of seven returns, eight transformations, and nine returns. His own energy and blood were steaming, and his cultivation level was constantly improving. At the same time, the fragrance of the Lantai Palace in the dantian was overflowing, and the golden elixir was tempered. The golden elixir became as if it were made of platinum, exuding Blazing white light.

But a white light was seen faintly coming out of his lower abdomen. When Chen Shi woke up, it slowly dimmed and disappeared.

After Chen Shi returned to the post, he ate some dinner and continued to sit there. In the middle of the night, the other scholars in the room were awakened by the white light. The white light in their room was as bright as day and was blinding.

After some time for the scholars to adapt, they saw white light shining through Chen Shi's dantian, and they couldn't help but be surprised.

Everyone came forward and touched Chen Shi. He had no breathing or heartbeat, and a strange fragrance came from his body.

They looked at Chen Shi carefully, but saw that the light was shining, and Chen Shi's internal organs were clearly illuminated, and even Chen Shi's bones could be seen.

But Chen Shi's bones were glowing red, like jade.

His blood flowed, filled with huge spiritual power, and his blood was milky white.

"Has Chen Xiucai turned evil?" Everyone was shocked and confused.

Chen Shi was awakened by them, and all the strange phenomena in his body dissipated. He thought to himself: "Living in a post house is not suitable for practice. I wonder if I can stay at Hongshan Hall?"

He opened his eyes and scanned around. There were four scholars in the same room with him. One of them had his calf eaten by a woman from Tianmuhui. The scholar wanted to come and treat his injury, so the post arranged for another scholar to come in. , is an unfamiliar face.

Zhao Kaiyun was not in the room, and the bed was empty.

Chen Shi simply stopped delaying, picked up a pen and wrote a note, stuffed it under Zhao Kaiyun's pillow, telling him that he was going to Hongshan Hall to stay for the night, then packed up his things, called the black pot and wooden cart, and rushed to Hongshan Hall.

Gongzhou City was quiet late at night, with only the barking of dogs and the sound of clappers knocking at the clock.

This city was guarded by general soldiers, and there should have been military equipment and soldiers patrolling at night, but Chen Shi didn't encounter any of them along the way.

It was a bit cool at night, and the breath I exhaled glowed white under the moonlight.

Xiniu Xinzhou has this kind of climate everywhere. There is no seasonal alternation of spring, summer, autumn and winter. There is one climate all year round. When the sun rises during the day, it is like spring described in books, and at noon, it is like summer. At night, the temperature is like late autumn or early winter, except it won't snow.

Chen Shi has never seen what snow looks like in his whole life.

He was walking on the empty street, thinking about something, when he suddenly heard a voice coming from the corner of the street: "Are you Chen Shi and Chen Xiucai? I heard that you are the new head coach of Hongshan Hall. I originally planned to go to the post office to find him. You, I didn’t expect you to come out on your own.”

Chen Shi stopped and looked around. He saw a man wearing a scholar's robe standing against the wall. He was standing in the shadows. His face could not be seen clearly, but he was estimated to be in his thirties.

"My Excellency, Chen Shi. Who is your Excellency?"

The Taoist scholar's voice was full of sorrow and anger: "Master Tianmuhui, Han Mingyu. Coach Chen, how could my disciple be so virtuous and capable that you actually let Coach Chen kill her yourself?"

Chen Shi was slightly startled and said, "Why did Coach Han say this? I first came to Gongzhou to take part in the Qiu Wei Examination. I have always been kind to others..."

The scholar in Taoist robes interrupted him and sneered: "You took part in the Qiu Wei Examination. My disciple Qiu Yingying also took part in the Qiu Wei Examination. You two are classmates. I didn't expect that Professor Chen would kill him."

Chen Shi suddenly woke up and lost his voice: "Your disciple is the bear girl who has practiced the art of making animals?"

Han Mingyu sneered and said: "Do you remember? My disciple is also a scholar, and she is going to take part in the Qiu Wei Examination. She practiced hard and finally achieved something. She won the exam out of ten, but she didn't expect to die in your hands! Grandma! Let you go, Han will not let you go!"

Chen Shi quickly explained: "Your disciple was practicing the art of making animals. She must have been eager to make progress. She absorbed the moonlight and was contaminated by the moonlight and turned into an evil spirit. She was eating people in the post, and I took action..."

Han Mingyu said coldly: "Even if my disciple turns into an evil spirit, I will deal with it personally, and it is not your turn to deal with it for Hongshan Hall. You are the leader of Hongshan Hall, and you have already broken the rules."

Chen Shi has always respected rules and knew the role of rules in Qianyang Mountain. Hearing this, he said: "I only became the instructor of Hongshan Hall later. I did not kill your disciples after becoming the instructor. Don't misunderstand me, instructor Han."

Han Mingyu shook his head and said: "It doesn't matter. Today, I want to avenge my disciple."

He clapped his hands softly, and rapid footsteps came from the other street. Under the moonlight, at the corner of the dimly lit street, more than a dozen people ran towards him, stopped a few dozen feet in front of him, each put down a jar, turned around and left.

Those earthen jars are about one foot three or four tall and about one foot wide, slightly larger than the jars used to hold wine.

Chen Shi was puzzled.

Suddenly, there was a pop sound, and a head popped out of one of the earthen jars. It was a seven or eight-year-old baby. It stuck its head out of the jar, with a pigtail on its head, looking around curiously.

The doll was a boy, with a pale face, and a circle of red powder on both cheeks. When he saw Chen Shi, he burst into laughter.

"Evil!"

Chen Shi was shocked. The boy in the jar exuded a strong evil aura. It was obviously an evil spirit!

However, he immediately denied his opinion. The boy in the jar was still breathing, and he was clearly a living person!

Then the sound of "bop-bop-bop" was heard, and heads came out of each of the other eleven jars. Some were boys, some were girls, but only one head came out of them.

"Gulu."

A jar rolled gently, very light, hidden in the shadows.

Hee hee laughter came from the shadows, erratic.

The other jars also rolled away. The jars obviously had no legs, but they were more agile than people with legs. They rolled around Chen Shi, getting faster and faster.

"careful!"

The voice of Empress Hongshan suddenly came to Chen Shi's mind, "This is the birth-picking doll of the Tianmu Society, also called the Waidan doll. It is the most sinister!"

She had been practicing at Chen Shi's shrine, but she was awakened by the evil spirit. When she came to the temple gate, she saw the scene outside, so she warned her.

"Shengsheng doll? What is it?" Chen Shi asked.

Empress Hongshan thought for a while and said: "I heard from the incense master of Hongshan Hall that picking a baby is to select a seven-year-old or eight-year-old child born at a certain time, cut off the limbs, and raise it for forty-nine days. If it does not die, , seal his three souls and seven souls, and then fight The stomach is opened, the internal organs are taken out, some medicines and spices are stuffed in the stomach, and the child is planted in a jar using a secret method. In this way, the child is between life and death, and can be used to refine the human elixir, which is called a birth doll. , also called Waidan doll.”

She added: "On weekdays, people from the Tianmu Society use these dolls to perform on the street, perform tricks, and exchange for some money. But if they encounter enemies, they will sacrifice the dolls. These dolls have good teeth and can bite anything. Extremely awesome!”

Chen Shi was furious: "Are these dolls made from living people?"

"yes."

The Queen of Hongshan said, "Those who practice the art of making animals will go to the countryside and pretend to be salesmen or passers-by to ask for directions, and then they will turn the children they like into lambs and take them away, or they will turn them into geese and put them in cages. , and brought them to the city to cultivate the Shengsheng Doll. I heard that it would be good if three children could make a Shengsheng Doll..."

Chen Shi interrupted her and said, "If I kill another Tianmu Hui leader, can the empress help me fight against Tianmu?"

Empress Hongshan hesitated and said: "It's not impossible, it's just that I have an agreement with Cao Laohui and Yanlaohui, so we can't go too far..."

"I'll take you out to play tomorrow!" Chen Shi said flatly.

"Deal!" Empress Hongshan said happily.

"Okay! I'm going to kill someone!"