Fu Shifeng

Chapter 344 Accepting the Truth

"Phew - it's so dangerous, so dangerous."

In the lanes of residential houses in Luoyang City, Afu patted her chest repeatedly, then lowered her head to look at herself, looking at the burnt hem of her clothes, and said to herself: "Kang Yaluo is no longer a human being."

Relying on her ability to escape from the real world and use the narrow space in the void to avoid attacks, Afu was able to escape intact even though she failed to assassinate him. This was the reason why she came to assassinate him.

After this brief battle, Afu was certain that Kang Yaluo now possessed the power of Taotie.

But unlike those monsters that were transformed into dependents by Taotie, Kang Yaluo did not grow sheep's hooves and horns. Although he was obscenely fat, he still looked like a normal human being.

And compared with the first time she met Cheng Sanwu, Afu felt that Kang Yaluo was closer to a glutton. The greedy thoughts seeping out of every pore on his body almost had the words "unsatisfied desire" carved on his forehead. On the contrary, Cheng Sanwu Five is more like a normal person.

Afu already knew how Fu Shifeng transformed Taotie into a human being. This process was indeed bizarre, but she had heard Cheng Sanwu's story, and had also secretly checked with Master Wen a while ago, so she understood that it was indeed feasible.

Since Fu Shifeng can do it, it means that this method can be imitated. Even if it is lacking and cannot be completely reproduced, it is not impossible to settle for the second best and create an inferior product. Kang Yaluo may be like this. Inferior results resulting from imitation.

"Kong Fangfang, it seems that this is your masterpiece again." Afu was so meticulous and scheming that she could guess that Kang Yaluo was secretly cultivated by Kong Fangfang.

In fact, when Afu was lurking on the top of Yaoguang Hall, she discovered that Kang Yaluo was not an ordinary person, but she couldn't fully see through it. After doing it myself, I realized that he was no longer a human being. Taotie's immortality was vividly demonstrated in him. Even if he was chopped into dozens of pieces, he could quickly recover as before.

What's even more troublesome is that after Kang Yaluo withstood his attack, he was able to adapt quickly, making it difficult for him to use his slashes fully. I'm afraid it would be difficult to deal with him using the same method in the future.

Of course Afu would not risk another assassination, but this time he tried to test Kang Yaluo's ability in advance.

"It seems that Changqing kid is busy." Hearing the sound of soldiers' armor, Afu quietly rolled into the house and disappeared. However, those rebel soldiers were not here to search, but to arrest people. Do hard labor.

"As for the flames he cast, they are a bit strange..."

Afu gently twisted the charred hem of her clothes. This was not because she didn't escape quickly enough. It was because the flame offensive directly penetrated the world inside and outside. Even if she escaped into the narrow space, she would still be burned. It can be seen that it was not ordinary fire, nor was it relying on fire. The flame energy activated by the Yuan Gong Qi machine was like the holy fire that he had seen in the far west a long time ago.

"If I hadn't attained the innate realm, even a tiny bit of that fire would have really burned me." Afu sighed with emotion and shook his head repeatedly: "That's it, I will never do such dangerous things again, Kang Yaluo Just leave it to Chang Qing and Master Wen to worry about."

Thinking of this, Afu secretly geared up. Compared to Kang Yaluo, she was more concerned about Kong Fangfang who was hiding behind the scenes. This guy who liked to stir up troubles must be unwilling to be lonely now and would definitely take action.

Whatever you do, you must leave traces. If Kang Yaluo was easily killed, causing the rebels to collapse and allowing the Great Xia court to easily put down the rebellion, it would not be in line with Kong's intentions.

And since Kang Yaluo was related to Kong Yifang, then the rebellion was launched, and Kong Yifang must have contributed a lot behind the scenes, especially in terms of property, money, and personnel arrangements. There must be traces to follow. By following the clues in this way, we can grasp the specific location of Kong Fang.

"I'm curious how long you can hide."

After saying this, Afu disappeared on the spot, and no one could stop her from coming in and out.

……

At the top of the Ziwei Palace and the Wanxiang Palace, Cheng Sanwu slowly lowered his raised hand.

On the side, Chiyang poked his head out and watched the smoke rising in the direction of Yaoguang Palace. He was shocked by the movement. Standing on top of the Wanxiang Palace, he could naturally see everything clearly.

"She escaped?" Chi Yang twitched his lips: "This dominatrix is ​​really insidious. It seems that she can escape safely without your help. This good show of a hero saving a beauty is no longer worthy of me."

"It's best if I don't need to save him," Cheng Sanwu said.

Chi Yang smiled disdainfully: "Look at you, you said you wanted to test all living beings in the world, but when your woman was in danger, you rushed to save her. Don't you think it's awkward?"

Cheng Sanwu looked down at his hands: "Now I can at least tolerate some selfishness."

Chiyang knew that this was related to Taiyi Ling, so he scolded: "This Taiyi Ling is really not a good thing, it has turned you into a human and a ghost!"

"That's why I want to destroy this thing." Cheng Sanwu said with a smile: "If we hope to rely on the Taiyi Order to control our minds to create a humane world, it will not last long. Not to mention the harsh conditions required to shoulder the Taiyi Order, gathering one person The body is tantamount to placing the fortunes and blessings of the world on one person's shoulders, which is inherently contradictory."

"Stop it! I don't want to listen to your big talk." Chiyang stopped him in time: "This bullshit human world is meaningless to me."

In this case, Cheng Sanwu didn't say much.

"By the way, what's going on with this Kang Yaluo?" Chiyang turned to ask: "He was chopped into dozens of pieces, but he can actually come back from the dead. He is somewhat similar to you."

"Of course it's similar." Cheng Sanwu saw clearly: "He is a monster that Kong Fang imitated by imitating the method of changing substances, planting the gluttonous evil blood into the mother's womb, and supplementing it with evil magic. This is also a method, but it cannot be compared with I compare."

"Of course, your 'mother' is Taiyi Longchi." Chiyang teased: "Since it is Taotie evil blood, why don't you take it back?"

Cheng Sanwu replied: "It's not necessary now, I want to see how Changqing will deal with this monster."

"Can you deal with that little kid from Changqing?" Chiyang didn't quite believe it: "Also, the flames emitted by Kang Yaluo are different from your Yanfeng Sword Technique."

"That is the sacred fire of Zoroastrianism. If An Quti was here, he would definitely recognize it. Zoroastrianism in the Central Plains was banned and destroyed its temples, and its believers were dispersed, which naturally gave Kong Fang an opportunity to take advantage of. And he did have it in his hands. Zoroastrian cauldron.”

Cheng Sanwu turned his head and looked towards the west: "As for Changqing, he has now entered the innate realm."

"So fast?" Chiyang was also surprised: "With such a level of cultivation at his age, he is probably unparalleled in history." In the Taoist sect, it is already possible to enter the innate realm. If he can be guided by the ancestors of the upper world, it would not be a bad idea to seek help from a corpse that has transformed into a dead body, and that his soul can be lifted up easily.

"When I asked the chamberlain to refine a Baiqiao Nazhen elixir, it was not for my own use." Cheng Sanwu smiled lightly and said, "They are sensible enough to know who this elixir is most useful for. If Chang Qing If you want to stand in front of me, you must personally kill Kang Yaluo to sharpen your edge."

……

Kang Yaluo's assassination was just an insignificant episode in the war.

Ten days later, the construction of the high platform of Ziwei Palace in Luoyang was completed. Kang Yaluo, the governor of Youzhou Jiedu, was recommended by hundreds of officials and people. He worshiped heaven and earth on the high platform, ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, naming the country "Yan".

Since he chose to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, there was no room for resistance from both sides in the Central Plains, so Kang Yaluo officially ordered a westward expedition.

But before the Yan army could advance westward, news came from Hebei that more than a dozen counties suddenly rebelled, responded to the Chang'an court, and quickly cut off the key road from Youzhou to Luoyang.

Due to the long period of peace in Daxia, many prefectures and counties in Hebei collapsed without a fight in the face of the Youzhou rebels moving south. State and county officials either surrendered directly and joined the rebels, or they abandoned their duties and fled, only to be caught up and killed by the rebels.

However, many wealthy families in Hebei were unwilling to submit to the rebels. They were deeply rooted in the local area and communicated with each other, secretly urging some state and county officials to cooperate and immediately surrender and rebel again, trying to disrupt the logistics transportation of the Youzhou rebels.

Youzhou is the place where most of the barbarians of the Yan army made their fortune. Once it is lost, it will have a serious impact on morale. Fortunately, there are still some soldiers and horses left in Youzhou town, just to deal with this unexpected situation.

The Yan army did not waste much effort, and conquered several cities in one fell swoop, slaughtering all those who resisted, leaving rivers of blood flowing, and restored the Zoroastrian fire worship custom in various parts of Hebei.

However, Yan Jun's actions made the people of Hebei more and more unstable. In order to ensure that the army had enough money and food, Kang Yaluo deliberately sent people to lead troops along the canal to attack the southeastern Jianghuai area.

After Xiang Xiang implemented the New Deal, the Jianghuai tax revenue gradually became abundant, and it could be continuously transported to the east and west capitals through the canal.

Fortunately, Luoyang, as a canal hub, had abundant warehouses, enough to support the army for a period of time. For this reason, many staff and generals wrote letters requesting Kang Yaluo to attack westward. As long as Chang'an can be captured and Daxia can be completely replaced, other places can only be determined through propaganda and there is no need to divide the troops.

After determining the strategy, most of the Yan army set off westward, with almost no obstacles on the way until they arrived outside Tongguan.

However, Tongguan is bordered by the roaring Yellow River to the north and the towering Qinling Mountains to the south. It is surrounded by loess plateaus with deep ravines and undulating valleys. Among them, the pass is densely populated with forts and watchtowers, making it one of the most dangerous places in the world. land.

At the beginning of the Youzhou rebel rebellion, Prime Minister Lu immediately ordered people to repair the Tongguan fortifications, strengthen the city defenses, and build deep ditches and high fortresses. Now, Jiedushi from three towns returned to defend Chang'an and led sufficient troops to garrison Guancheng. The Yan army continued to attack Tongguan for three or four months and suffered many casualties, but still could not conquer Tongguan.

The setting sun is like blood. Even though the summer solstice has passed, the Tongguan area does not feel hot, but makes people feel strangely cold.

Changqing was wearing Mingguang armor, wearing a dagger on his head, holding a jade-handled windlass sword in his hand, and being escorted by a group of imperial soldiers, he slowly climbed up the tower and looked towards the east.

Looking around, it can be said that the land is in a mess. The plain wilderness between the mountains and rivers is several miles wide. There is no vegetation on the ground and it has been burned black everywhere by the fire.

The three trenches dug in advance before the city was closed were two feet wide and more than one foot deep. At this moment, there was no river water in them. Instead, they were filled with corpses of men and horses, all accumulated during the Yan army's charge to attack the city. The rest of the broken arrows, city-bombing stones, and waving flags were scattered everywhere, attracting crows to come and eat the carrion of the corpses, making sad and weird cries, indicating how brutal the previous fierce battle was.

Now that the war has subsided, the Yan army has retreated to the camp more than ten miles away. In order to prevent the enemy from following up on the city, the Tongguan guard ordered people to clean the battlefield outside the pass, recover arrows and armor, burn corpses, clean trenches, and repair walls. At the same time, Scouts were sent out to closely monitor the movements of the Yan army in the distance.

Changqing looked at the battlefield and was speechless. When you are here, you can hear countless sounds of fighting echoing in your ears. The fighting spirit, power, and hostility of the soldiers of the two armies fighting desperately, and even uneasiness, fear, and fear, all kinds of emotions are like real things. , rushing towards the Evergreen Sea of ​​​​Consciousness.

"Are you going to Tongguan?"

Not long ago, Chang Qing and Lu Yan had a private conversation. After the other party knew what he was thinking, he shook his head and said: "The son of a rich man cannot sit down in court. Now you are the son of the Great Xia Dynasty, how can you take risks? The matter of fighting in the battle formation is left to those It's good for the soldiers, Tongguan is a dangerous place, as long as it is properly defended, we can delay the fight against the rebels and buy time for the two towns of Shuofang and Hedong to leave Taihang eastward."

"You don't understand." Chang Qing said sternly: "If I just stay in Chang'an and wait for the report from the front, then the great catastrophe of heaven and earth will come in the future, and no matter how brave the soldiers are, they will not be able to withstand it. And the war in the near future will also need me. You have to show up in person to deal with it.”

Lu Yan frowned slightly. Now he no longer teaches Chang Qing as an elder: "Is this also your destiny?"

Chang Qing admitted: "Ever since I took the Baiqiao Nazhen Pill and broke through the innate realm, I have often had feelings and can predict the future. Including the news brought back by Miss Afu, it has been repeatedly stated that the rebel leader is now Kang Yaluo is no longer a human being. Moreover, the rebels cannot conquer Tongguan for a long time, so they must take extreme measures."

"What do you mean?" Lu Yan was confused.

"Kang Yaluo has shamans and Zoroastrian priests from all ethnic groups in the north under his command. I have a hunch that they will follow the example of Tule when he invaded Chang'an in the early years of this dynasty." Chang Qing said: "There was news earlier that said The rebels are performing a blood sacrifice in Luoyang, and if I guess correctly, they should be planning to summon the gods to help."

Although Lu Yan was once a member of Fu Shifeng, he himself did not have advanced cultivation. He knew very well that there were some things that no matter how smart he was, he would not be able to deal with them. Especially this kind of ghosts and gods still have to rely on magical powers.

"Forget it, I won't stop you." Lu Yan made a decision in a flash: "You don't have to worry about paying and providing food and grass. I am sitting in Chang'an and I will be able to ensure smooth logistics. But when you get to Tongguan, be sure not to act impulsively and don't Relying on his identity, he forced the army to leave the border."

"Of course I understand." Chang Qing said: "Once you abandon the fortified city and rashly fight with the rebels in the field, you will be in danger."

"Go ahead, I have nothing more to teach you." During these days, when Lu Yan and Chang Qing were alone, they mainly taught various strategies for governing the country. The two of them did not look like monarchs and ministers, but like real father and son. .

Chang Qing was about to leave when he suddenly saw Lu Yan looking tired. He was much thinner than before, and his hair was almost completely white.

"You...you have to cherish yourself." Changqing felt mixed emotions in her heart. After saying this, she walked towards the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)