Chapter 551 Underground Shrine
Refining entry-level elixirs is actually not a particularly difficult task.
And it is mainly due to the fact that Yingzhou and Xiaobeihai are both fragments of the Earthly Immortal Realm.
So while the types of herbs that can be found in the two lands may be different,
But in terms of medicinal properties, they have many similarities, with only subtle differences.
This feature undoubtedly greatly reduced the difficulty of refining alchemy, allowing Xie Que to use various medicinal herbs more flexibly even when he was in Yingzhou.
Regarding the choice of flame, entry-level elixir refining does not require any special exotic fire.
Ordinary mortal fire is enough to meet the needs of alchemy.
This undoubtedly provided Xie Que with great convenience, as he did not have to go through all the trouble of finding a special flame.
In the surrounding villages, there are many hunters who collect herbs and can easily identify some herbs.
After careful consideration, Xie Que entrusted his father to buy a huge copper tripod in the city of Dongshan Road, making full preparations for alchemy.
In order to make elixirs, Xie Que also purchased a large amount of meat and corn from hunters.
He was not in a hurry to directly refine high-level elixirs, but chose the Bigu Pill as his first try.
Bigu Pill has been improved several times in Xiaobeihai Realm, making it more suitable for the needs of warriors.
After all, warriors are different from those who practice Taoism. Before they reach the realm of gods and humans, if they do not eat for a long time, their physical bodies will become weak.
Xie Que quickly mastered the art of alchemy by virtue of his extremely terrifying control.
For Bigu Pills, which are made from meat, corn, and a large amount of sugar and salt, he can successfully refine hundreds of pills at a time.
Each of these bigu pills is enough to meet the needs of an entry warrior for three days of activities.
Its unique medicinal effect allows warriors to maintain sufficient physical strength and energy for a long time without worrying about hunger.
For those hunters who travel around the mountains and forests all year round and make a living by hunting, this Bigu Pill is undoubtedly an extremely convenient supply.
Compared with carrying heavy dry food, Bigu Dan is not only light and easy to carry,
The satiety and stamina it provides are far superior to ordinary dry food, making their hunting activities easier.
However, for Xie Que, these Bigu Pills were not used for trading ordinary items.
He insisted on accepting only medicinal materials in exchange and was not interested in anything else.
This kind of transaction also attracted many hunters to bring the precious medicinal materials in their hands, hoping to exchange for this magical Bigu Pill at Xie Que's place.
After going through the refining process of more than 3,000 Bigu Pills, Xie Que was full of confidence in his alchemy skills and was ready to start refining those pills that were truly high-grade.
Although he was only refining first-grade "Qi and Blood Pills" at first, Xie Que relied on his super skills and insight to successfully refine a large number of high-quality Qi and Blood Pills.
He even swallowed these pills like jelly beans to improve his cultivation.
This extravagant practice method made his cultivation improve by leaps and bounds, and he could light up a new acupoint every few days.
Such an astonishing cultivation speed is also rare in the world of Xiaobeihai. Ordinary warriors can only hold back such a speed and find it difficult to match.
In half a year, Xie Que had ignited more than half of the acupuncture points in his body with the light of qi and blood.
As his cultivation level continued to improve, Xie Que gradually realized that the opportunity was coming.
So, one day, he found his father Kurokawa Ichiro.
The statue in the main hall of Aoki Shrine no longer exists and was solemnly taken away by the Reishi Division.
However, there are secrets hidden deep underground in this shrine, and only Ichiro Kurokawa knows this.
He has been guarding this secret carefully and has never revealed it to outsiders.
Regarding his son, Kurokawa Ichiro has always been tight-lipped and did not tell him this important secret.
However, what he didn't expect was that Xie Que would directly mention this matter to him.
"Father," Xie Que got straight to the point, "Is there a statue of His Highness Aoki hidden beneath the shrine?"
When Kurokawa Ichiro heard this, he suddenly felt a storm in his heart.
He was stunned and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
What he was worried about finally happened, and his son actually knew the secret.
What makes him even more uneasy is that if his son knows this secret, does it mean that others have also noticed something?
Kurokawa Ichiro's face turned pale instantly, and his expression was extremely nervous.
He was afraid that this secret would be leaked and bring disaster to the shrine and the surrounding villagers.
However, Xie Que could see his worry from his father's expression. He hurriedly said before Kurokawa Ichiro spoke:
"Father, don't worry, I am the only one who knows about this matter. I won't tell anyone."
Hearing his son's assurance, Kurokawa Ichiro finally breathed a sigh of relief. But his expression was still tense, and his voice trembled slightly as he asked:
"I know...but Wu Si, how did you know this secret?"
Xie Que had already prepared his words. He took a deep breath and said slowly:
"Father, I... dreamed about it when I was dreaming. In the dream, I saw the statue of His Highness Aoki hidden underground."
"After I woke up, I remembered that there seemed to be a lot of weirdness in this dream, so I asked you about it."
Ichiro Kurokawa listened to his son's explanation, and the tension in his heart gradually eased.
He knew that once the secret possession of the idol was discovered, the punishment from the Lingshou Division would be extremely severe.
He didn't dare to make any mistakes and had to ensure that this secret was not leaked.
"Ah? If you dream of these, it means that His Highness Aoki has not been killed by the Lord God..."
Hearing this, Ichiro Kurokawa felt a huge wave of emotion in his heart.
He began to pace uneasily in the courtyard, frowning.
Suddenly, he stopped, turned around and pulled his son directly into a secret room.
He carefully closed the doors and windows to ensure that there was no possibility of any outside disturbance in the room.
Then, he couldn't wait to ask: "What did you dream about? Do you have any specific information about His Highness Aoki?"
Xie Que shook his head, and under Ichiro's disappointed eyes, he began to slowly describe his dream:
"I dreamed about the time when the shrine was not yet established. There was a towering tree growing here. It was towering and straight, with lush branches and leaves."
After hearing this, Ichiro Kurokawa nodded and said affirmatively:
"Yes, this is indeed His Highness Aoki's hometown. That giant tree in the sky is His Highness Aoki's true form."
Xie Que continued to describe his dream:
"However, then two suns suddenly appeared in the sky. They were extremely hot and shone on the earth like a furnace. Under the burning of these two suns, the giant tree gradually withered and eventually died, leaving only the tree buried deep in the ground. of roots.”
Having said this, Xie Que paused for a moment, as if he was recalling every detail in his dream.
Then, he continued: "Later, the shrine was built on this land. And the roots that grew out of the ground were eaten by me..."
Before Ichiro Kurokawa finished listening, he immediately stood up and slapped the table: "Absurd, how could you blaspheme His Highness Aoki like this..."
"Father, this is just a dream." Xie Que faced his father's anger without any mood swings.
After hearing this, Ichiro Kurokawa reacted immediately, with a hint of apology on his face: "I'm sorry, I'm a little too sensitive."
He grew up in a shrine, and his father was the former owner of the shrine.
The education he received since childhood was how to worship gods.
Therefore, he has maintained respect for the great god Aoki for thousands of years.
As the only believer of His Highness Aoki, he does not allow others to blaspheme God.
So after hearing my son's rebellious words, I became extremely angry.
But after thinking that this was a dream, he immediately calmed down: "Did you dream of anything else?"
Xie Tiao nodded: "After eating the roots that grew out of the ground, I seemed to have regained my onmyoji and became stronger. I felt that in my dream, my strength was comparable to that of the Great Onmyoji." "
The so-called Great Onmyoji is a powerful person in the divine realm.
After hearing this, Ichiro Kurokawa frowned for a moment: "What... does this mean?"
Xie Que leaned directly into his father's ear and whispered, "Perhaps this is His Highness's oracle."
"Oracle?" Kurokawa Ichiro did not become happy, but the sorrow between his eyebrows deepened.
In his opinion, even His Highness Aoki is only at the level of the Great Onmyoji.
If you can reach the realm of the Great Onmyoji by eating the roots,
The only possibility is that His Highness Aoki took away Wu Si's body.
Although faith is valuable, he will not sacrifice his son casually to achieve the gods he believes in.
Xie Que also saw Wu Si's worry and said directly: "Father, are there really roots left by His Highness Aoki underground?"
Kurokawa Ichiro hesitated, but considering that Wuji would know these things sooner or later and inherit the shrine, he nodded:
"Underground... there is indeed a section of roots, carved into the appearance of His Highness Aoki."
Xie Que added: "Father, I want to eat it just like in my dream."
When Ichiro Kurokawa heard this, he was not as angry as before. He did not question that his son was deceiving him.
After all, apart from him, it is impossible for anyone to know about the underground palace.
But after his son said it accurately, he knew that the dream must be true.
But after Wu Si's narration, he felt that there were weird things everywhere.
Is it a divine revelation given to Takeshi by His Highness Aoki, or is there another conspiracy?
Whether it was his son or his faith, he was unwilling to harm him.
He was not willing to let Wu Si take such a risk, so he simply shook his head:
"No one can tell clearly what happened in the dream, so don't think about it anymore."
Xie Que immediately said in a pleading tone: "Don't worry, father, I'm sure..."
Having said this, he squatted on the ground again and said with great reluctance: "I understand my talent. If it were a thousand years ago, I would have become a great Onmyoji."
"But now that my Onmyoji has been abolished, the Lingshou Division will not let me re-cultivate it, but I... am not willing to do so."
He beat his chest and looked at Ichiro: "Father, if I have done nothing in this life and can only live in this country, I might as well commit suicide by committing suicide to die..."
"Isn't it good to be a samurai?" Ichiro's tone finally relaxed a little, and he didn't want to see the talented samurai sink like this.
"Samurai...what's the use of a strong warrior? Half a year ago, I could kill a large number of people at will."
Ichiro exhaled, and he looked out the window: "You go back and rest first, let me think about it."
Xie Que nodded. After all, this is a difficult thing for people to make a choice.
Ichiro's character is a bit indecisive, so it's not surprising.
Three days later, Ichiro seemed to be mentally prepared and went directly to Xie Que: "Wu Si, have you thought about it?"
Xie Que nodded: "There is an old saying, called 'A real man does not eat five tripods when he is alive, and he will be cooked in five tripods when he dies.'"
"Since I was born in this world, what should I be afraid of?"
Ichiro nodded: "In that case, then come to me tonight."
After that, he turned and left without saying anything more.
...
The night was gloomy, and the darkness was so heavy that it enveloped the whole world.
Ichiro held a dim oil lamp in his hand, and the weak light swayed in the darkness.
He slowly opened the passage hidden under the grass, and then climbed down.
Xie Que followed behind Yilang silently, and they went down the long ladder and began to go deep underground.
The sound of their footsteps echoed in the empty underground corridor, and the sound kept circling.
Time seemed to stop at this moment, and they didn't know how long they had walked.
Until a green light appeared in front of Xie Que's eyes, which was the light reflected by the square of the underground temple.
The moment they stepped into the square, the whole picture of the temple came into their eyes.
This corner forgotten by time is completely different from the temple on the ground.
The whole temple is carved from huge tree roots. These roots have turned from green to dark green under the baptism of time, and they still maintain their natural texture and shape.
The roots are intertwined and intertwined on the ground or walls around.
These totems are looming in the dim light, exuding an ancient and mysterious atmosphere.
Xie Que stared at these totems and instantly realized that the Great God Qingmu was undoubtedly a totem god.
In the center of the temple, the statue carved from thick roots was even more majestic and solemn.
It wore blood-red armor, a ghost mask, and a sword hung on its waist.
Xie Que's gaze also shifted to the statue. He could clearly feel that
not only the statue, but even the entire underground temple... he could devour it cleanly.
The remains of a tree demon in the divine realm were enough to allow him to raise his martial arts cultivation to the lowest level of heaven and man.
After Ichiro brought Xie Que here, he said, "I'm going up... I'm a little nervous after staying here for too long, but Wu Si... don't do anything you're not sure of, understand?"
Xie Que nodded: "Father, I understand."
After Ichiro left, Xie Que also directly used the blood in his hand like a knife to chop down on the root statue. (End of this chapter)