Longevity begins with slaying demons and eliminating demons

Chapter 289 The Phoenix and the Immortal

"Of course they couldn't have written it." Shangguan Jin replied.

"I think so," Zhao Yan said, "this poem is full of literary talent and grand momentum, and it is definitely not the work of mediocrity."

Having said that, she paused for a moment, then looked seriously into Shangguan Jin's eyes and said, "Let me guess... Is this the work of the owner of the 'Jinghong Brush'?"

"Sister Zhao is really smart!" Shangguan Jin praised with a smile.

"Is he in the Yamen today?" Zhao Yan asked.

"Yes," Shangguan Jin nodded, "Sister Zhao is interested in him, and wants to compete with him?"

"No, I'm just asking casually," Zhao Yan shook her head lightly, "You should know that I usually don't bully people who are weaker than me."

After a moment of silence, she asked again: "Is Mr. Pang Wanzhen in the yamen today?"

Pang Wanzhen is the guest secretary of the Exorcist Department and a fifth-level monk, famous in the capital for his superb marksmanship.

Ten years ago, he defeated talented opponents from all over the country, and successfully won the first prize at the "Luoshui Conference", and was highly praised by many big figures.

If one were to make a list of monks who specialized in marksmanship in the Great Qi Dynasty, then Pang Wanzhen would definitely be at the top.

"Mr. Pang was sent to the western frontier to perform a mission by the head of the department," Shangguan Jin replied, "I'm afraid you haven't had the chance to see him recently."

When speaking, Shangguan Jin was deeply moved.

Because for them, Pang Wanzhen is undoubtedly a senior figure.

But now, Zhao Yan has regarded him as an opponent and included him in the list of "whetstones".

After hearing Shangguan Jin's answer, Zhao Yan smiled regretfully, and without even saying "farewell", she jumped lightly onto the back of "Dahong".

Accompanied by the neighing of the steed, she left the headquarters of the Exorcism Division along the way she came.

The cool breeze is rustling, and the red dress is hunting.

Her long hair fluttered wildly behind her like black flames.

Shangguan Jin stood beside the statue of Shi Suanni, watching her back disappear into sight.

"This 'Luoshui Conference' is really exciting!" She murmured to herself with her lips curled up.

Then she also turned around and climbed the steps and walked into the yamen.

…………

"What are you doing, Gu Daoyou?"

"Character."

"But the talisman you drew this time is not the same as the talisman I have seen before."

"This is an improved version of the 'True Flame Talisman', which is slightly more powerful than the original version," Gu Xu explained, "Just now I saw the battle between Chu Fengge and Miss Zhao's family by the window, and a thought came to my mind. I got a little inspiration about talisman seals, so I wanted to practice it. I didn’t expect this idea to be really feasible.”

Shangguan Jin was sitting on a desk next to him, resting his chin with his hands, resting his arms on his knees, looking at the talisman paper in front of Gu Xu with interest.

I saw Gu Xu using golden ink to outline obscure runes one by one, and finally formed a complicated pattern.

From a distance, the shape of this pattern looks like a phoenix in flight.

Just looking at it, it seems that you can feel a burst of scorching breath rushing towards your face.

"Gu Daoyou is really extraordinary," she commented with a smile, "Today, [-]% of the officials and government servants watching the battle are here to see the fun, and [-]% are to see the beauties. At most, [-]% of them can tell from this. A little way.

"But Gu Daoyou can not only get a glimpse of the doorway, but also comprehend his own things from it. He is worthy of being the most highly valued genius monk by the chief minister."

"Fellow Daoist Shangguan, you're overwhelmed," Gu Xu responded with a modest smile, "I was just lucky enough to be favored by God, and accidentally entered a state of epiphany."

While speaking, he raised his head and saw Shangguan Jin's delicate and elegant face at a glance.

Although Gu Xu is now forced to devote himself to Taoism due to his lifespan, he is still a common man who likes money and beautiful girls in his heart, and he once quietly evaluated the appearance and temperament of women in the world just like ordinary men.

If [-] is the full score and [-] is the average level, then Lu Shiyao from Qingzhou can get [-] points—she has a very fairy beauty, like a lotus emerging from the water, independent of the world, almost impossible to pick. What a flaw.

Princess Xiao Wanjun of Zhaoning and Miss Zhao Yan can get 85 points.They have beautiful faces and graceful postures, which are extremely eye-catching and unique among the crowd. They belong to the great beauties who can't be forgotten at a glance.

For example, Shi Xiaohan and Shangguan Jin scored about 75 points, which belonged to the category of "little beauties".

Shi Xiaohan's girl, although her height was not more than 1.5 meters, and her figure was not convex in front and back, she had a young and childish face and a pair of beautiful almond eyes that seemed to be able to talk.

If the beauty of Princess Zhaoning and Zhao Yan is oppressive and aggressive, many people will inadvertently stay away.

Then Shi Xiaohan is like the neighbor's little sister, who is easy to make people feel close, wants to bully her, and wants to take care of her in the palm of his hand.

As for Shangguan Jin, she can be regarded as a typical "light-faced" beauty - a palm-sized oval face, smoky eyebrows, willow eyes, a small nose, and light-colored lips.It's not amazing at first glance, but it's very attractive when you look closely.

And she also knows how to use makeup to give full play to her advantages and make up for her shortcomings.

In addition, she has a high emotional intelligence and is very good at observing words and expressions and praising others. Getting along with her will have a spring-like experience.

After talking with her, many people feel that she is a "confidant", "a considerate friend", and even "an ideal gentle and virtuous lover".

However, the first time Gu Xu met Shangguan Jin in "The Realm of Discourse on Dao", he was attacked by her "not talking about martial arts", so naturally he would not be confused by her appearance.

"By the way, Gu Daoyou, the chief executive gave me a task early this morning." After a short silence, Shangguan Jin withdrew his smile and said seriously, "He said that there are signs of ghosts and ghosts near the north gate of Luojing. , I hope I go over there to find out the situation."

"The north gate of Luojing? Isn't this the area covered by the 'Dragon Formation'?" Gu Xu frowned slightly, "Could it be that some ghosts broke into the formation?"

"It's sneaking in," Shangguan Jin replied, "but it may be because the ghost has some magic techniques to hide itself, so the chief executive can't see the specific situation clearly.

"The chief executive also said, Gu Daoyou, you have a very special divination technique, and you can calculate some things that he can't see - he suggested that I come to seek your help."

"How much is the meritorious reward for this mission?" Gu Xu pondered for a moment, then asked lightly.

He asked such a question not because he was greedy for meritorious service, but because he wanted to estimate the difficulty of the task through meritorious rewards.

"It's not sure yet, because the strength of the ghost has not been calculated yet," Shangguan Jin said, "but the chief said that it should be roughly equivalent to the reward you can get by killing an 'evil spirit' level ghost."

Gu Xu nodded.

Since this is the task Luo Si asked him to do by name, it is not convenient for him to refuse.

In addition, his cultivation base has grown rapidly recently, and he has also researched and improved some talismans. He really wants to find a lucky ghost to be his guinea pig.

"Then when are we going to leave?" He put away the pen and paper on the table, stood up and said.

"Can I do it now?" Shangguan Jin lightly jumped down from the desk.

She is tall, at least 1.7 meters, standing beside Gu Xu, she can reach his ears.

There was a refreshing fragrance faintly exuding from her body - Gu Xu knew that this fragrance was not the so-called female body fragrance, but came from the small sachet hanging on her waist, and the ingredients were carefully carefully prepared by her. Deployed, it smells fresh and not greasy.

"Please allow me to go to the public kitchen to buy two steamed buns."

At this moment, Gu Xu suddenly realized that he was so busy watching the battle and drawing talismans that he forgot to go to the public kitchen for breakfast.

It's just that the battle of the monks in the fifth realm was too exciting.

There is also the thing of epiphany, which is simply too late!
So he used the "Meteor Walking the Moon" movement technique and disappeared into the library in an instant.

Seeing him leaving in a hurry, Shangguan Jin couldn't help but chuckle, and then also used body skills to leave the place.

…………

After leaving the Yamen of the Exorcism Division, Zhao Yan did not delay for a moment, galloping on Luojing Street to find her next opponent.

Soon she arrived at a crimson gate on the south bank of the Luo River.

The top of this gate is covered with green glazed tiles, and on the ridge of the roof there are kissing beasts used to ward off evil spirits.There is also a pair of stone lions in front of the door, one male and one male, looking majestic.

This place is the residence of the eldest prince Xiao Shangyuan.

Three years ago, when Zhao Yan was still in the capital, she once challenged the second prince Xiao Shangheng and the third prince Xiao Shangli. The former was beaten by her for three days and three nights, lying on the bed unable to move, while the latter ran to his mother crying. Sue in front of the concubine.

As for Xiao Shangyuan, since he was already over [-] years old, much older than Zhao Yan, and far ahead in terms of cultivation, the two had never had any experience in fighting.

But now, Zhao Yan has finally equaled the First Prince in realm.

Naturally, she also included the name "Xiao Shangyuan" in her challenge list.

Although the First Prince was already a fifth-level peak monk a long time ago, and he has mastered the "Tianlong Domain" that can fight across borders, his real combat power is even higher than that of ordinary sixth-level monks.

But Zhao Yan will not feel intimidated by it.After all, she also holds a lot of powerful cards in her hands.In her view, bullying the weak is meaningless.Only by constantly challenging stronger people can we truly achieve the effect of sharpening ourselves.

When she jumped off the horse, the red door of the prince's mansion also opened.

Two soldiers in silver light armor stood on both sides of the gate.

They held silver guns and wore silver-white-faced helmets, so that it was impossible to see their features.

These soldiers nominally belonged to the imperial guards of the Great Qi Imperial City, but they were not real people, but metal puppets made with refining spells.

As far as Zhao Yan knew, at least half of the members of the Imperial Guard were puppets of this kind.In a sense, they are equivalent to a part of the "Dragon Formation".

Although they will also obey the orders of the generals of the imperial guards or other members of the royal family, their supreme control is firmly in the hands of the owner of the "Tai'a Sword".

If Luojing City encounters foreign enemies or internal troubles, these puppets, together with the entire "Dragon Formation", will become the emperor's weapon against the enemy.

After a while, the eldest prince Xiao Shangyuan came out from the mansion.

He didn't wear fancy clothes today, only a blue-gray cloth shirt, holding a book in his arms, he didn't look like a noble prince, but an ordinary scholar rushing for an exam.

"Miss Zhao, do you really want to challenge me?" Xiao Shangyuan had a helpless smile on his face.

"Could it be that Your Highness is timid before fighting?" Zhao Yan raised her eyebrows slightly, "This is not a good reputation for the Daqi royal family!"

"I just feel that it's meaningless," Xiao Shangyuan shook his head slightly, and replied, "If possible, I still want to be friends with you kindly."

Zhao Yan didn't speak any more.

In her eyes, Luojing City was a dark, indifferent and cruel place.Here, she never thought she'd be able to find a real friend.

Then the two shot at the same time.

Xiao Shangyuan took a step forward, and a phantom of a five-clawed golden dragon appeared behind him. The brilliant golden light shrouded a range of several meters, exuding a terrible coercion, as if forcing the people around him to bow their heads and kneel and worship him.

The "Tianlong Domain" he used was also used by the Fourth Prince Xiao Shangzhen before.

But Xiao Shangyuan's "Tianlong Domain" is obviously more coercive and more imposing, and the golden dragon looks lifelike.In addition, he also controlled the scope of the domain very precisely, preventing it from hurting innocent people and damaging surrounding items.

Zhao Yan narrowed her eyes slightly.

Accompanied by a clear cry, the phantom of the golden young phoenix appeared above her head.It held its head proudly and spread its immature wings.

The feathers at the tip of the wings all turned into golden-red flames, shining brightly under the blue sky.

It is different from the previous multi-round confrontation with Chu Fengge.

In this battle, the winner was decided in an instant.

The young golden phoenix flapped its wings and penetrated the "Tianlong Domain", and collided heavily with the five-clawed golden dragon, turning into dazzling flames and rushing straight into the sky.

The next moment, both of them turned into golden shards of light, and then disappeared without a trace.

Zhao Yan's face was so pale that it was almost transparent.

She only felt that her eyes were dark and her legs were weak.Only by reaching out to support the trunk of the sycamore tree next to him, he managed to stand still.

Xiao Shangyuan also involuntarily took a few steps back.

But his complexion looked better than Zhao Yan's.

"I lost," Zhao Yan looked at him calmly, "But within three months, I will challenge you again."

"Miss Zhao, in fact, you are already very good," Xiao Shangyuan said to her with a friendly smile on his face, "In less than a month after entering the fifth realm, you can instantly defeat the 'Tianlong' of me, a peak monk in the fifth realm. Domain', few people in the entire Great Qi Dynasty can do it—"

"—If you lose, your skills are inferior to others." Zhao Yan interrupted him lightly, "I don't need this kind of consolation like coaxing a child."

After she finished speaking, she jumped on the horse and galloped towards the end of the street, like a scarlet lightning bolt.

Xiao Shangyuan stood quietly outside the mansion for a while.

After Zhao Yan's figure completely disappeared, he suddenly covered his head with his hands, groaned in pain, and fell down on the steps.

In the short confrontation just now, his soul was actually injured, but he held on and didn't show it in front of Zhao Yan.

The book in his hand also fell to the ground, but he didn't realize it.

Seeing this scene, his confidant—Fan Cheng, an enshrined member of Daqi's royal family and a monk in the sixth realm, hurried over to his side, knelt down, and said to him, "Your Highness, are you alright?"

Xiao Shangyuan took a deep breath, and said slowly: "Uncle Fan, do you think that Zhao Yan's soul strength is really like a monk who just entered the fifth realm?"

Fan Cheng had been hiding by the side and watching the battle quietly just now.

Zhao Yan's divine soul in the form of a young phoenix naturally fell into his eyes.

"It's really not like that," Fan Cheng replied, "'Spirit Transformation', at least it is something that monks in the sixth realm can do. The moment I saw her spirit, I even thought she had knocked on the 'Fengdu Gate' ’, about to enter the ‘Dian Luo’.”

"To tell you the truth, Uncle Fan," Xiao Shangyuan laughed at himself after hearing Fan Cheng's response, and continued, "Although I practiced the Tao earlier than her, and my cultivation base is slightly higher than her, my soul power is much weaker than her.

"In order to block her blow just now, I used my own blood as a medium to mobilize some of the power of Luojing City's 'Dragon Formation'... If it was a fight in the suburbs, I might have lost.

"It's just that I feel that, as Prince Daqi, he must not embarrass the royal family."

"You did the right thing, Your Highness," Fan Cheng replied, "The royal family of Daqi must not lose to the people of Youzhou. This is a matter of principle."

Xiao Shangzhen was silent for a while.

"Actually, I'm very curious as to why Zhao Yan possesses such a strong spiritual power." He thought for a while and then asked, "In my memory, the Zhao family in Youzhou has always focused on martial arts, not on cultivating the soul. "

"There are three possibilities," Fan Cheng replied, "First, the Zhao Clan in Youzhou actually secretly has a method of spiritual cultivation, the level of which is at least top grade, but few people practiced it before.

"Secondly, she has cultivated to the sixth level before, but due to some unknown reason, she fell back to the fifth level. If this is the case, her soul can still maintain the strength of the sixth level."

"It's impossible," Xiao Shangyuan frowned slightly, and said, "She is only in her early twenties, how could she be able to cultivate to the sixth level?"

"I also don't think it's possible," Fan Cheng said with a smile, "but the third possibility is even less likely—she may be the reincarnated body of the ancient mighty, or she may have fallen into the mortal world. Banished immortals.

"However, the sayings of 'reincarnation' and 'banished immortals' only exist in legends, and there are no real cases in my memory."

Xiao Shangyuan thought for a moment, and felt that the first guess was the most reliable.

"The Zhao family in Youzhou is really hiding something!" He sighed silently.

But suddenly, he remembered the disaster that happened in Qingzhou Mansion last month.

At that time, both Xiao Shangyuan and Fan Cheng were trapped by the Kongxuan Sanren beside the black altar in the depths of Yishan Mountain. Even if they used the "Breaking Kong Orb", they couldn't escape from there, and could only wait for death silently in despair.

He only remembered that Kongxuan Sanren waved his hand lightly, and he fainted without any resistance.

When he woke up again, he found himself lying on a soft bed in Luo Jing's mansion, with a young and beautiful maid standing beside him, serving him medicine.

Then he learned from other people's comments that the young man named Gu Xu in Yishui County, whom he had tried to recruit, was his savior.

In that life-and-death desperate situation, it was Gu Xu who broke the secret blockade of the Kongxuan Sanren and passed the news to the saints in the capital in time.

"How did he do that?"

Xiao Shangyuan has not thought about this question until now.

If Xiao Shangyuan were to say which person in the world is most like a deity who has fallen from the mortal world and reincarnated, then the first person he would think of would definitely be Gu Xu.

Xiao Shangyuan was shocked by his cultivation talent, his comprehension ability, his talisman attainments, and even his literary talents in writing poems and lyrics. With the help of Tai'a Sword".

It's just that now, his feelings for Gu Xu are more complicated, and deep down in his heart, he really doesn't want to meet him again.

It's not because Gu Xu provoked him.

It was because Gu Xu had witnessed him begging for mercy from Kongxuan Sanren before.

Thinking of this, Xiao Shangyuan supported the ground with his hands, slowly got up from the ground, and prepared to return to the mansion to continue practicing.

"Your Highness, your book has been dropped."

While Fan Cheng was talking, Xiao Shangyuan picked up the book that fell on the ground just now, and handed it to the latter.

Inadvertently, he glimpsed the title on the cover of the book.

"Your Highness, why are you interested in books like "The Record of the Great Qi" recently?"

"Da Qi Shi Lu" is regarded as the official chronological history book of the Da Qi Dynasty, which is used to record imperial edicts, legal orders, and major events during the reign of each emperor.

It is not a strange thing for a prince to read such a book.

It's just that Xiao Shangyuan is currently in a critical period of breaking through.

According to his experience, in the process of knocking the "Fengdu Gate" and entering the sixth realm, one should concentrate on it and try not to be distracted as much as possible.

Logically speaking, the First Prince shouldn't be interested in reading such books that have nothing to do with cultivation.

"Uncle Fan, I've just been thinking about a strange question recently."

"what is the problem?"

"A question about the lifespan of the previous emperors of our Daqi Dynasty," Xiao Shangzhen hesitated for a moment, and said, "Under normal circumstances, after a monk becomes a saint and reshape his body, he can have at least 200 years of lifespan, or even live to Three hundred years old is also possible.

"However, the previous emperors of the Great Qi Dynasty were basically the powerhouses of the eighth realm, but their lifespan was almost the same as that of ordinary people. Almost no one could live to be over a hundred years old."

Fan Cheng was stunned for a few seconds.

This is indeed a question worth pondering.

But Fan Cheng found that, as an enshrined member of the royal family, he had never paid attention to this matter before.

PS: 6000 words long chapter, sorry for the lateness.Recently, it is near the end of the volume, and the plot is more complicated. Pudding has no experience in writing a million-word novel before, and his writing power is limited, so it is difficult to master.I also stayed up until four or five in the morning yesterday, wrote thousands of words of waste manuscripts, and deleted them because I was dissatisfied. I didn't find my way of thinking until noon today.

However, I will sort out the follow-up plot as soon as possible, and strive to update it on time every day!
(End of this chapter)