The Ascension of Ghosts

The young man is like a statue carved from white jade, his expression has not changed at all, his opened eyes are dark and deep, endlessly dark, he seems to be staring at the bronze mirror, and he seems to be dazed and unfocused, and he does not know how much time has passed, the frozen face Only slightly loosened, lowered his head slightly, and laughed softly.

When the laughter started, the chains were slightly pulled, followed by his hoarse voice, which still sounded like a qin rhyme, and made a soft colliding sound, "Sima Yu has a very bad reputation, but his nature is fair, he is not stupid, and he is also a good person." The luck is endless, even worse than that of his father. This trip seems to be on a whim, and the lives of these two thousand Yulin soldiers may not be said, but in the end it is just to achieve the reputation of the prince."

He then said with a smile: "If the crown prince goes to Jingyezong to destroy demon vines, exorcise demon monks, calm the turmoil in the Western Regions, and win the hearts of the world, how will His Majesty deal with himself when the teacher returns to the court? Do you want to follow the example of Wei Xiandi and abdicate with a smile?" Is it done?"

Huang Di said: "The crown prince hastily left Beijing, not only did he not subtly serve and keep a low profile, but instead made a big fanfare, which is really too hasty. If the emperor of the Jin Dynasty did not change frequently, the crown prince would be mass-produced everywhere. I am afraid that the assassins will kill him one after another. Afterwards, it’s fast, and if you are ordered to leave Beijing, you may not be ordered to come back. It’s just..." Huang Di sighed, "Xie Rong, your focus is definitely wrong."

Xie Rong's lips were still slightly hooked, calm and unhurried, as if he was not a prisoner bound by iron chains, but an honored guest on the high and respected throne, with a hint of arrogance in his indifference, he snorted and said: "Since Your Excellency said that I Why should I worry about others in vain when the mortal relationship is cut off."

The Yellow Emperor smiled and sighed: "If this is the case, why do you have a little obsession with Ruo Si, and you still take root in the sea of ​​consciousness, and compete with me for life, making this fleshy body overwhelmed?"

Xie Rong laughed mockingly, and said: "Your Excellency used to pacify the world, subdue the barbarians, and achieve the glory of the Central Plains human race for thousands of years. What a hero, stalwart and invincible in the world. But now he is at a loss for the human-shaped magic weapon he made... After all, time is driving people. "

The Yellow Emperor closed his eyes and sighed: "There is no limit to the vicissitudes of life, so I am... old."

His beautiful face, which is the same as that of Xie Rong, does not appear old at all. His eyebrows are thick and soft, and his eyes are deep and clear. He sighed like an ancient god, sinking into people's hearts, and then he suddenly showed his face and smiled: "Xie Rong , you and I should be of one mind, regardless of each other, why I couldn't see through from the beginning to the end, why did your obsession arise, and why did you refuse to die?"

The iron chain slid along with the words of the Yellow Emperor, twisted around Xie Rong's arms and torso, and became tighter and tighter. If it was a flesh and blood body, I'm afraid it would have fallen into the flesh and blood, strangled bloody, and the joints were broken. Now The outline of the young man's body was also somewhat blurred, but that was all.

Xie Rong still had a sneering smile on her face, without any sign of wavering, her eyes fell back to the bronze mirror.

The tragic scene of Sanhezhuang was once again shown in the bronze mirror. The flock of birds attacked and tore the flesh and blood of more than ten people who were too late to hide. The blood and bones were scattered all over the ground.

"Of course you can't see through." Xie Rong whispered, "It's just because I can't see through either."

In Sanhezhuang, the long night still has no end.

The screams of misery have already weakened, and the more than ten civilians and several Habayashi soldiers who were still in the open air when the flock of birds attacked had already been torn into flesh and blood, lost all breath, and fell to the ground in a pile of bones.

Several shacks built with thatched branches were even more overwhelmed, and they were crushed by countless flocks of birds. The pigs, cattle, sheep and other domestic animals hidden in the houses were pecked and bruised, and they fled in all directions while howling. .The cowhide is so strong that it is easily torn apart by the claws and beaks of these red-eyed crows like tearing cloth.

It's just that the flock of birds can only eat human flesh, but only hurt the domestic animals, so they let them scatter and escape.

Now outside the stone house of the ancestral hall, except for the flock of birds surrounded by black clouds, there is no living thing. The stone wall is solid, and the birds are temporarily helpless. They tend to disperse after flying around the stone house for a few times.

However, at that time, there was a sudden cry of a baby, and it turned out that the baby in the arms of the village woman who had been called Da Niu's wife woke up.

The village woman's face was pale, and she coaxed and clapped in panic, but she couldn't stop crying for a while, it was like a stone stirred up a thousand waves, the house was crowded and everyone was in danger, the atmosphere was tense.The children were able to restrain themselves before, but now someone took the lead, and they burst into tears one by one.

Immediately shouts of cursing and crying came one after another, and it clearly came out of the stone house. The flock of birds was originally a kind of ghost car, the most pleasing children in the world, they were so hungry before, so they ate whenever they saw people, and now they heard the most plump and tender children crying , Hulala all flew back and surrounded the stone house again.

First, they rammed into the stone house like headless chickens, but they were all brave and fearless. When they hit the stone wall, their bodies were smashed to pieces, bloody and bloody, and they landed on the ground with a thud. It fell to the ground with a thud, killing dozens of crows.

Immediately, a small flock of birds escaped from the huge black cloud and surrounded them not far away. Suddenly, all of them exploded and turned into black feathers scattered all over the sky. In the center, black air lingered and gradually condensed into shape , turned into the image of a woman in black with a baby in her arms.

The woman looked at the stone house for a moment, then slowly stretched out her hand, pointing at the gate.

The flock of birds seemed to have been ordered to gather in mid-air, forming a shape like a hammer.The huge hammer made of feathers was like a pendulum, swung from top to bottom, and smashed hard on the wooden door of the stone house with the momentum. With a deafening noise, countless dead birds were left behind. The rest of the flock of birds could not see any wear and tear, they gathered together again, and slammed into it fiercely.

The wooden door of the stone house is made of three-inch thick hundred-year-old alpine oak, covered with copper skin, stronger than gold and iron, but the door has a fatal weakness—the hinge.

After being hit twice by a flock of birds, the joint between the door and the wall has already dropped plaster, making people even more frightened.

Commander Zhao hastily issued an order, and ordered people to move the tables and shrines placed in the lobby to block behind the door. In the panic, the ancestor's spiritual throne fell to the ground and was trampled on the ground, but no one took care of it at this time.

Lu Sheng and the others removed the door and wall panels as shields, and relied on Linghu Feiyu's demonic power to cover them. When they arrived from a distance, they saw a flock of birds crashing into the door.When his eyes fell on the woman in black, he suddenly realized, and he gave Linghu Feiyu and Commander Bai such instructions.

Commander Bai was still a little hesitant, but Linghu Feiyu smiled with his original expression: "As expected of Xie Fu...it's General Lu, this plan is feasible."

Lu Sheng nearly called him wrong again, frowned slightly, and was about to speak when the woman in black over there noticed it, turned her head slowly and smiled and said, "So it's an old friend. After 15 years of separation, my brother Rong has been taken care of by you." gone."

With Linghu Feiyu covering it up, Xingzang was still exposed, the young man only frowned, and sighed in a low voice: "The hanging pot is too powerful...it can't be covered up, but luckily the rest of the people haven't been exposed yet."

Lu Sheng said: "Very good." He told all the guards to leave first, followed orders, and came out from behind the farmyard wall alone, and said in a deep voice, "Emperor Heli has a good eye, she fell in love with the Yellow Emperor at a glance back then. Be righteous."

The face of the woman in black is still somewhat similar to the stone statue in the Songzi Niangniang Temple back then, with a duck egg face, distant mountain eyebrows, kind eyebrows and kind eyes, and a gentle look, but who would have thought that behind this dignified face of this treasure, what is hidden is A fierce ghost who eats the flesh and blood of the living in the world?

Hearing this, Empress Heli giggled and said, "Thanks to Mr. Lu's compliment."

Then he sighed again: "It's a pity that Brother Rong has become a treasure that everyone is vying for now. I'm afraid I can't protect him anymore. Even though I can't... it's good to have a bite. However, he hides in the tortoise shell It’s really not easy to dig it out.”

On the woman's gentle face, the black and ferocious ghost face with protruding teeth flashed away. Even though Lu Sheng had experienced many battles, he felt a chill in his back for a moment. He clenched the handle of the hanging pot and took two steps forward. He shouted sharply: "Mother Hari, when you tried to get your hands on Xie Rong, you were killed by the two of us together. In just 15 years, who is so holy and has great supernatural powers that can revive you?"

Mother Hariti stretched out her white and soft fingers, gently stroked the ghostly face of the child in the swaddling clothes in her arms, and said softly: "I am the mother god of ghosts and mothers. He just slept for hundreds of years. Now he wakes up early... naturally he was summoned by my Buddha Tathagata."

The Tathagata in the mouth of Hori Dimu is naturally the pharmacist Liuliguang Tathagata.There are twelve Dharma protectors under the seat of Medicine Master Buddha, Hari Dimu is one of the Dharma protectors, and there are also twelve Yaksha generals, Zhaoduluo and Andilao seen by the Yanzijing are two of them.

The woman sighed again: "Although I got the mercy of my Buddha and sent down nectar to revive me, it was really too hasty. The twelve guardians and the twelve yakshas were hard to gather in a short time. The manpower was stretched. It’s really hard work to beat the east and the west, and to defeat each of them... So far, I can’t have a full meal.”

Hearing her soft complaint, Lu Sheng frowned for a moment.

Empress Hari rolled her eyes, landed on Lu Sheng's face, and laughed softly, "Young master Lu, guess why I know everything and tell you the truth?"

Lu Sheng said: "Mother Hari is sure that the dead will not reveal the secret."

Empress Hari smiled sweetly, nodded again and again and said: "After all, Brother Rong is the one he likes, with a clear mind, I really like it."

As soon as the word "like" was uttered, the sleeves of the black robe turned up, and the woman stretched out her right hand and grabbed Lu Sheng.

The white and slender jade fingers suddenly swelled in the middle, turning into a huge black ghost hand as tall as a person, like a net under the hood.

Lu Sheng had been prepared for a long time, he drew his sword to meet him, and slashed down between the ghost's hand and middle fingers. Unexpectedly, the ghost's hand quickly split in the direction of the sword, splitting into two and turning into two smaller halves. The ghostly hand grabbed his arm from left to right.

Lu Sheng exerted all his strength, leaped up and managed to avoid the ghost's grasp, pulled a sword flower and slashed with his backhand, cutting off one of the black air connected to the ghost's hand.When he slashed down with a sword, he felt as if he was cutting on a vine. He noticed something in his heart, but the sword became more and more fierce and swift, as if connecting into a long river of bright silver light, twisting all the ghost hands into pieces, and the green juice It sprinkled the ground like raindrops.

Mother Hariti wailed in pain. Her right hand, which was restored to its original shape, was covered with scars and flesh turned out. Countless thick green juices gushed out and dripped from the wound. She stared at Lu Sheng fiercely, and sneered sharply: "If you have made progress, I really want to leave you alone." Terrible!" She suddenly raised her hand and threw the swaddle at Lu Sheng.

The swaddling clothes suddenly unfolded in mid-air, revealing the ghost-faced baby wrapped in it. The black face is like a stone sculpture, the limbs are as dry as sticks, the blue and white fangs are turned out, and the pair of round protruding ghost eyes are lifeless. Behind the ghost boy was a pair of bat wings, and with one wing, there was a strong wind, howling ghosts and howling wolves.

Hariti's mother carefully held her crippled right hand, and said softly, "My good boy, this young man has pure energy and blood, and it is a great tonic. My mother will let you eat it."

The little ghost squeaked and screamed, his hands and feet were shaped like bird claws, covered with sharp thorns, he swung his claws from mid-air, and swooped down towards Lu Sheng.With the jug in his hand, Lu Sheng was not afraid at all, he swung his sword obliquely from bottom to top, and slashed at the brat's arm.

Unexpectedly, the little ghost was far more flexible than his mother, turned over and dodged with a kite in the air, jumped in mid-air, then screamed and swooped down again, going like lightning, and grabbed it down with one claw.Lu Sheng couldn't change his sword move in time, and he was a step too late in dodging. A deep scratch was scratched on the corner of his forehead, and it exploded in fiery pain.

Lu Sheng hurriedly wiped the blood from his face, and hurriedly retreated a few steps.

The little devil let out a triumphant scream, and landed on Hariti's shoulder, licking his blood-stained claws one by one, but the woman frowned and said: "Silly boy, you should take advantage of the victory and pursue it at this time."

Before she finished speaking, she grabbed the brat again and threw it towards Lu Sheng. The brat took advantage of the force of the throw and flapped his wings, as if turning into a sharp and sharp arrow, and rushed towards Lu Sheng with lightning speed.

However, Lu Sheng got a chance to breathe, so he just jumped up, raised his legs sideways, and the moccasin boots popped out of the corner of his robe like shells, like steel colliding, kicking the little devil into the distance, smashing the mud brick wall of the farmhouse. It cracked and fell.

Shocked and anxious, Hariti let out a piercing scream, and one-third of the birds that hit the door continuously separated from the army while making piercing chirps, forming a vast net that covered the sky and covered the earth. Lu Sheng swept forward, and if he surrounded him, even if he had a hanging pot in his hand, he would not be able to escape the fate of birds devouring his body.

However, in the inevitable smile of Mother Hari, Lu Sheng just smiled calmly and said, "Catch up."

He took out a black jade pendant engraved with a one-legged crane, and snapped it into two pieces with his fingers. Immediately, a crimson flame the size of a fist shot up into the sky, burst and scattered in all directions.

The crows first sensed the majestic evil energy in the flame, which was better than the hanging pot, and fled in shock. However, they soon discovered that although the flame was of a high rank, the power contained in it was very weak. Sparks are scattered, nothing to fear.

Empress Hari was also surprised first and then delighted, and said with a sneer, "I thought it was some kind of divine and sacred object. It turned out to be one of the four holy beasts lingering on its last legs. Back then, Bi Fang was the driver of the Yellow Emperor's chariot. How majestic, but now there is only a little bit left. It is embarrassing to see so few sparks. Mr. Lu, are you out of your mind and want to rely on this little gadget to save your life?"

The crows had already rushed to the front, showing the tendency to gradually surround the young man. Lu Sheng looked calm, raised his sword and dropped it. When he lifted the sword, black feathers flew wildly, and when he dropped the sword, blood spattered everywhere, breaking up the noisy and chaotic crows repeatedly. , while calmly said: "Doesn't it mean that a single spark can start a prairie fire?"

As soon as the voice fell, the northeast corner, southwest corner, southeast corner, and northwest corner of the village were ignited with raging fires, burning the wood in the fire beeping, bursting out sparks from time to time, and rising into the air with the heat, as if Countless golden and red stars danced and flickered in mid-air.

The doubt on Hariti's face turned into anger in the blink of an eye, and she said sharply, "Lu Sheng! You are so despicable!"

The unformed ghost cars all over the sky also seemed to know that the end was approaching, and they didn't care about attacking, flying in all directions, squeaking and screaming, but turned into balls of flames in the blink of an eye, burning to only a few wisps of green smoke, and were swept away by the night wind , immediately disappeared without a trace.

From the time when the crows caught fire, the sky and the earth were as bright as day, until the fire was extinguished and the smoke disappeared without leaving any traces, but it only took a few breaths of effort.

The little ghost also burst into flames. He was in pain and fear, crying heart-piercingly, and his voice was completely inhuman. Her whole body was on fire, and her beautiful face was engulfed by the flames, but she still roared hoarsely: "Lu Sheng! Lu Sheng! Hello—how cruel—"

The human-shaped flame rushed towards Lu Sheng, Lu Sheng avoided it sideways, pierced the vest with his sword again, stirred and twitched, and cut a huge and hideous wound on the back of the ghost mother goddess, green juice gushed out of the wound, When it encounters fire, it will burn, and the burning will become more vigorous.

"Yeah—my son—hateful—!!" The human-shaped neighing sound pierced the eardrums, with inexplicable sadness.The flock of birds all over the sky were burnt clean without leaving any traces, and even the baby ghost was only left with a little indistinguishable residue.

Lu Sheng watched the ghost struggle calmly, neither joy nor sorrow in his eyes, he just said coldly: "I don't understand why Empress Hari chose Sanhe Village, but I will understand after seeing the pomegranate grove outside the village. Pomegranates are used as offerings, so naturally they can rely on the pomegranate tree to snatch vitality and turn them into ghost cars—"

So he ordered his subordinates to cut down all the pomegranate groves around Sanhezhuang, pile them up, pour tung oil on them and burn them.In the deep winter, the trees were dry, and with tung oil as a guide, and Bi Fang's help from the ancient fire, the pomegranate trees piled up in four dead corners were easily ignited and burned into a skyrocketing flame.

Hariti was burnt beyond human form, prostrate on the ground struggling and screaming, the stench of burning was nauseating, and the sound of spitting in her throat was almost the same as that of a beast.Commander Bai and others hurried over holding torches made of pomegranate branches, their expressions excited after killing the huge flock of birds, and dimmed after seeing the burning human figure, said in awe: "This is ...is this... the ghost mother god?"

Lu Sheng said, "It's just a foreign evil spirit."

He looked down and sighed again: "Even if you do a lot of evil, you deserve to be tortured more... Forget it, I'm only to blame for being soft-hearted, let's make a deal early."

He took two steps forward, and was about to raise the hanging pot to cut off the dying ghost mother god's head, but a young voice suddenly stopped him, and the man hurriedly called out: "Lu Sheng, save someone under the sword!"

Immediately, a shower of rain fell suddenly without warning, as if someone was holding a pouring ladle in the clouds. Everyone was caught off guard, and their clothes were drenched, and the cold was biting. .

However, Lu Sheng's face was colder than the wet clothes soaked in the cold winter. His eyes seemed to be frozen on the face of the visitor, and he said word by word: "So...it's you."