The Ascension of Ghosts

It seems to be long and it seems to be but a moment, the song ends and the dance stops, and everything is silent.

Like a dream, there is suddenly thunderous cheers and praises, and countless green vines rise gracefully into the sky, with different thicknesses, branches and vines, like a forest of vines, and then flowers of various colors bloom on the vines, either bright red like fire, or It is orange like gold, or white like snow, or blue like the sky, with different colors, big and small, and the fragrance of flowers is overflowing.

It took only a few breaths of time for the vine forest to turn into a sea of ​​flowers. Lu Sheng watched helplessly on the vines above his head in all directions. The fruit grows to the size of a loquat as if blown by air, and is the same color as the flower. It looks like a string of golden fruits, coral beads, emerald balls, and agate strings hanging above the head.

A cluster of auspicious clouds floated above the Baiyu Terrace, on which eight Taoist boys were encircling an eight-legged tripod, and the ivy stretched out, stopped over the tripod and shook gently, and the fruits of various colors fell like rain, An invisible hand gently held those delicate and precious spiritual fruits, and carefully stored them in the tripod.

Going back and forth like this, the cauldron is gradually filled up, as if a pile of gold and jade is piled up, and the glow of the sun is shining, which is really moving.

Because everyone sent green vines and piled spiritual fruits to the tripod, the unmoving behavior of Xie Rong and Lu Sheng was particularly conspicuous. Unknowingly, surprised and suspicious eyes gradually gathered around, and the people around subconsciously moved away a few steps. , leaving the two of them in place.

Xiangyun moved, and slowly drifted towards the two of them. The dissatisfaction in the eyes of those Taoist boys looked over, but it made Lu Sheng feel dumbfounded that "going to the show for nothing, not giving money, deserves to be condemned" However, looking at the surroundings, in the gradually quiet environment, a sense of vigilance gradually rose.

A Taoist boy has stood up, standing on the cloud and beating the head. He is only ten years old, but his demeanor is calm and sophisticated, quite fairy-like, and his crisp voice is neither fast nor slow: "Dare to ask the two benefactors , why don't they produce pearls?"

Lu Sheng is not from Wu Xian, so naturally he can't make beads, he didn't know how to respond, and subconsciously wanted to touch the hilt of the sword, but Xie Rong held his right hand and prevented him from touching the hanging pot, while calmly looking at the auspicious cloud and Baoding Approaching, he calmly said, "Ask Li Ying to come and see me."

In an instant, the expressions of the eight Taoist boys and the countless people from Wuxian Kingdom gathered beside the Baiyu Terrace changed.

When Li Ying walked in the world, he used countless aliases, such as Shaojun and Shaoweng, to name a few.

According to the records of Ban Gu Han, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty once had a favorite concubine, Mrs. Li Zhongshan, who was beautiful and good at dancing.

However, Mrs. Li was young and died early, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty missed her very much.

Fortunately, a young man from Qi, a alchemist, recommended himself to be able to summon souls, so he lit up lamps and candles at night and set up curtains, so that the emperor could live in a separate tent and look out.

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty saw it, he was full of lovesickness and sorrow, so he wrote "Ode to Mrs. Li" to express his condolences.

This "young man" is exactly Li Ying whom Xie Rong wanted to meet by name at this moment. As for the silhouette dance that made everyone crazy before, it seems to be his usual trick.

Although Xie Rong explained as concisely as possible, Lu Sheng was still dizzy, like falling into a cloud, and when he came back to his senses, he had entered a luxurious palace surrounded by Taoist boys and became a distinguished guest on the seat.

A young Taoist dressed in a fiery red Taoist robe and a gauze inlaid jade crown walked into the hall with a smile. He seemed to be about the same age as Lu Sheng. Ji Shou smiled, and his hearty voice echoed in the hall, like chime bells: "Unexpectedly, there will be a distinguished guest, and Feng He will not say a word, but it will hurt the poor and never greet him, disrespect and disrespect!"

This person has been recorded since the former Han Dynasty. So far, he is more than five hundred years old. However, not only does he look like a young man, but he also exudes vigor and vitality like a young and middle-aged man, and he does not look tired at all. This is true. The real "not old".

When the Taoist entered, the accompanying Taoist boys all bowed to greet him, calling him "Dao Jun", but Xie Rong was sitting like a mountain, and even leaned on the back of the grand teacher's chair, lazily waiting for the man to approach, so overbearing, tired Lu Sheng felt restless, so he simply imitated his arrogant posture and sat still.

When they were still more than ten steps away, Xie Rong suddenly tapped with the tip of her left finger on the armrest of the seat.Li Ying's forward foot suddenly froze, and he couldn't get over it no matter what.

The smiling face of the young Taoist finally changed color. This time he paused for a few breaths, and then took a step forward. When he lifted his foot, Xie Rong tapped lightly on the armrest again with his fingertips. Li Ying's figure froze again and stepped forward The left foot that came out fell back to the original place, Li Ying's expression became a little more dignified, and he forced a smile: "Your guest really likes to joke."

Xie Rong said, "Li Ying, what are you doing collecting so many elixir?"

Every time Li Ying tried to take a step, the knocking sound suddenly sounded, like a sharp knife piercing the knee joint, and the knees were numb immediately below the knees, so no matter what, he couldn't step out.He exhausted all means, but he could neither defend nor attack. He felt that the person more than ten steps away seemed to be sitting on a throne, and the abyss behind him was vast and boundless.

Li Ying's smile gradually dissipated, and dense sweat oozes from his forehead. He couldn't maintain his smile any longer, and when he heard Xie Rong's soft-spoken question, it seemed as if a thunderbolt struck his head. spend a few.He was terrified in his heart, he didn't know how many secrets the other party knew, so he gritted his teeth and dared not speak.

Instead, Lu Sheng turned his head and asked, "An immortal medicine?"

Xie Rong then explained to him: "People in Wu Xian live with spirit vines. After they grow up, the vines will bloom and bear fruit every ten years. The fruit is called elixir. Taking it regularly can make you immortal. It's just that the batch of elixir that Li Ying just received, Poor in color and small in stature, I'm afraid it came from birth, the last time this Taoist received the medicine of elixir, it must not have been more than a year."

Lu Sheng half-understood, but recalled that the dancing silhouette had the effect of confusing people's minds. Li Ying thought it was used to confuse the Wuxian people and give birth to the elixir.He looked at the handsome appearance of the Taoist who was only in his early twenties, and pondered: "If you take too much medicine of youth, can you still be young again? Is it possible that Daoist Li thinks he is too old now?"

Li Ying didn't say a word, he was still weighing and speculating in his heart, Xie Rong was also unpredictable, but Lu Sheng was left talking to himself, which was quite boring.

Seeing that he was extremely cautious, Xie Rong said again: "Haste makes waste, Li Ying, you are too impatient."

Suddenly, a little Taoist came hurriedly outside the door and whispered something in Li Ying's ear. Li Ying's hidden tension relaxed slightly, "So it's from Kunlun...Mr. Xie."

Xie Rong withdrew his hand, and Li Ying breathed a sigh of relief. This time, there was no hindrance in his step, and he walked smoothly to the opposite side of the two. He bowed deeply and gave a long salute, "I have offended you a lot earlier, please forgive me, Mr. Xie." .”

Before Lu Sheng was aware of it, a murderous disaster disappeared. Naturally, he didn't know that when Li Ying learned that there was an outsider breaking in, he only wanted to kill the two of them to silence them, and he didn't want to do anything else.

It's just that Xie Rong downplayed the crisis, but he couldn't claim credit in front of Lu Sheng, so he was inevitably depressed. Seeing Li Ying apologizing, he just raised his eyebrows and said coldly, "No, I'm willing to answer now, Li Ying, you collected so many things. What does the elixir do?"

A bitter smile suddenly appeared on Li Ying's face. He carefully took out a stack of white silk from his bosom. The creases had turned yellow over time, but overall it was well preserved. As if under a thousand weights, he said in a deep voice, "For...her."

The white silk is unfolded, about three feet square, and there is a dancing silhouette of a woman on it, which is lifelike and graceful.

Lu Sheng felt a little familiar, so he asked, "Could it be...that Mrs. Li?"

Li Ying said: "I put it away with my own hands, it will be replaced as if it were fake."

Xie Rong's eyes also fell on the silhouette, and she frowned slightly: "So that's it, you want to refine the resurrection medicine."

Li Ying took the white silk, caressed it with his fingers, his eyes were full of tenderness, his Adam's apple rolled, and he said in a hoarse voice: "...Exactly."

Seeing this, Lu Sheng seemed to be aware of it, and asked again: "What is the relationship between Mrs. Li and Taoist priest?"

Li Ying raised his head slowly, with a slight smile on his lips, and fell into the distant memories for a moment.

He was originally an orphan in the early Han Dynasty. He fled to Hanzhong. When he was eight years old, he sold himself into Li's house and became a servant.However, he was thin and weak. When he was ten years old, he had a serious illness and was bedridden. He was almost thrown out of the house by the steward to fend for himself.

Miss Li Jiasan was only 13 years old at the time. She happened to meet him and saw him pitiful. She invited a doctor to treat him and sent someone to take care of him. Only then did he save his life.

Then he gave the surname Li and accepted him as a confidant.

From then on, Li Ying worshiped Li Sanniang as a god and vowed to serve him all his life.Even if you take a glimpse in the mansion, after seeing it, you will feel that this life is complete, and you have nothing else to ask for.

However, the good times didn't last long. Four years later, a Taoist came to the door and took a fancy to Li Ying.

Li Ying refused at the beginning, so the Taoist persuaded him with the benefits of cultivating the truth, immortality, etc., and Li Ying was moved. What a human being can do for Li Sanniang is extremely limited.

However, if one succeeds in cultivating the Tao - prosperity and wealth are just around the corner.He is strong enough to protect Third Miss, what's more, he will take her under his wings...

Li Ying couldn't stop his wishful thinking, so he gritted his teeth and worshiped that Taoist as his teacher, and left Li's residence to practice Taoism.

With a goal in mind, he naturally practiced diligently and did not dare to relax for a day. It took ten years to do so, and he hurried down the mountain with a little success.

After ten years of separation, what I got was the news of Li Sanniang's death.

She was sent to the palace by her father and brother, and died of illness within ten years of being favored.

When the old Taoist priest who was over five hundred years old talked about this festival, he burst into tears and couldn't help himself. The young and middle-aged man's body was slumped and he knelt on the ground tremblingly. Lu Sheng felt compassion and hurried forward Holding her up, I saw tears hitting the green brick floor one by one, soaking them into pieces.

Li Ying stopped crying after crying for a while, then said with a wry smile: "Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was greedy for Sanniang's beauty, and became sick from worry, so I volunteered to summon the soul and enter the palace to cast spells, and luckily succeeded."

Xie Rong said: "You were lucky enough to bring back a wisp of Mrs. Li's remnant soul, trapped it in the silk curtain, smuggled it out of the palace, and kept it until now as your instrument to confuse people's hearts and extract benefits."

Li Ying said angrily: "I——I never regarded her as a tool! It was just a last resort... It took me more than three hundred years to find the formula for the resurrection medicine. It is recorded in the formula that you need to prepare 500 catties Elixir of old age... Even if it is harvested once a year, it will take [-] years to gather the quantity..."

Xie Rong said: "You are wrong."

Li Ying's fingers trembled slightly, and he said blankly, "Where did I go wrong?"

Xie Rong said: "The elixir that bears fruit once every ten years is forced to be born once a year, but its efficacy is less than one-tenth of the original. With this kind of elixir, even if you have 30 jin of elixir, it is not enough. .”

Li Ying seemed to be in a bone-piercing cold, his body was trembling, and even his voice was intermittent, "I... I'm fine, but Sanniang can't wait."

Xie Rong still said: "You are wrong again."

Li Ying said angrily, "Where did I go wrong again?!"

Xie Rong smiled coldly and said, "I'm so stupid, there's not only one formula for resurrection medicine, who made you choose the stupidest one."