Just as Shi Buquan was gushing about various speculations and corresponding countermeasures, Zhuang Mengzhou secretly asked Ding Qi with divine thoughts: "The lotus flower you tinkered with in the Five Heart Valley this time is much more clever than the peach pit in the blessed land, the realm is obviously different, when did you make such a big progress?"

Ding Qi replied with a divine thought: "I didn't get the secret method of the blessed land, but I got the secret method of the Five Heart Valley, and of course the things I got out were different. And as you know, this time I came back from the Divine Dragon Frame to retreat, and the cultivation of the secret method outside the square has indeed gone to a higher level, and it has broken through to the Spirit Rhino Realm. ”

Zhuang Mengzhou shook his head and said: "No, no, I don't think it's just as simple as breaking through the Spirit Rhino Realm, every time I see you recently, why do I feel that your diligence is fast?"

Tintzy: "I don't feel anything, isn't that natural?"

Zhuang Mengzhou: "That's right, you have never pursued any supernatural powers. This is the feeling of sudden enlightenment, you have finally found that path, no longer groping forward, the outside world is no longer mysterious and unknown, just looking at a flat river. ”

At this time, Shi Buquan looked at Zhuang Mengzhou and said, "Mr. Zhuang, why do you always shake your head, do you have any different opinions?"

Zhuang Mengzhou waved his hand and said, "No, no, Ah Quan, you go on." ”

A week later, Ding Qi and Xian Hao appeared in the Taiji Gorge Scenic Area on the border between Hubei and Henan provinces. In ancient times, Danzhu, the son of Emperor Yao, was enshrined here. The river that flows through its fiefdom is called Danshui, and in modern times it is called Danjiang, and in the sixties of the last century, the famous Danjiangkou Reservoir was built.

The Danjiangkou Reservoir was the largest water conservancy project in China at the time, and now it is also the hub of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and its dam is built at the confluence of the two main tributaries of the Danjiang River, so the reservoir area extends to the left and right. There is a mountain range between the two tributaries that stretches into the reservoir area, which is the Taiji Gorge Scenic Area.

When the reservoir was first built, many villages along the river were submerged, residents were relocated, and only the towering mountains still lay in the middle of the reservoir area, and now there are few outsiders in other places except for the open route of the scenic area. Ding Qi and Xian Hao walked along a country road, but they didn't expect that in this kind of place, the village to village project also paved the road.

When I saw such a road, I knew that there should be a village at the end of the road, and the mailing address provided by Tian Zhongluo was in this area, called Jianzi Village. But since Tian Zhongluo's letter can be sent and the road to the village has been built, it means that it is not an isolated place and is also within the coverage of China's postal service.

The road winds through the mountains, enough for a minibus to pass by, but it is a bit troublesome when the two cars meet, and you need to find a spacious place on the side of the road to stagger it. But they didn't see any vehicles along the way, Xian Hao also deliberately studied the traces on the road, there are cars here on weekdays, but the frequency is not too high, and there may be only a few days before vehicles come and go.

The scenery along the way is very beautiful, walking through the mountains in autumn, you can pick a lot of well-known or unknown wild fruits, when the mountain road winds to the outer slope of the mountain, you can also overlook the charming lake of Danjiangkou Reservoir. There were no other vehicles or pedestrians on the road, and the two of them were walking quickly, and when they turned a corner, Xian Hao suddenly raised his finger and said, "Look, that mountain is so special!"

A cone-shaped mountain appeared in front of him, with strange rocks and trees, and when he turned a corner, a village appeared in the valley below. Ding Qi nodded and said, "No wonder it's called Jianzi Village." ”

Xian Hao: "It costs a lot to build such a long mountain road just to lead to such a small village." ”

Ding Qi: "In my hometown, many villages are in a similar situation here, but not as remote as Jianzi Village. ”

This is a village with only a few dozen households, not only connected to roads, but also connected to electricity and mail, there are telephone poles to pull the lines into the village, and there are signal towers standing next to the village, and mobile, telecommunications, and Unicom share such a transmission tower. The two took out their mobile phones and saw that the 4G signal was full, even better than the signal in some places in the city of Jinghu.

In the petty bourgeois feelings of many modern people, they yearn to escape from the urban jungle and yearn for idyllic scenery. But if they really let them stay in the so-called paradise where there is no water supply and bathroom system, no electricity supply, no mobile phone signal, and no various public service facilities, it is estimated that they will not be able to stay.

I am afraid that it is only in contemporary China that we can see such large-scale infrastructure construction. In such a remote mountain village, the investment in these projects to improve people's livelihood is unprofitable, and no private capital is willing to get involved.

Ding Qi informed the group of men who were following behind, and then walked side by side with Xian Hao to the village. The plan finally decided by the Fangwai Alliance did not have more than 200 people to come together, and there had to be a division of labor and cooperation and mutual response, and he and Xian Hao got off the bus and walked first twenty miles away.

Before they entered the village, a man in his thirties ran out of the village, stretched out his hand to stop them, and said, "Who are you and where are you from?" A big beauty like Xian Hao suddenly appeared in the deep mountains, and the man also deliberately looked at her several times. The two of them are also dressed strangely, like visiting the park on a holiday, and they come on foot.

Ding Qi replied with a smile: "I said we are tourists, do you believe it?"

The man shook his head and said, "We are not a scenic spot here, and there is no farmhouse in the village, most of the people have gone out to work and do not receive visitors." Where did you park your car?

Ding Qi looked into the other party's eyes and said in a very abrupt tone: "We are here to find people, a total of seven people, divided into two groups, the first group of four, the second group of three, they are all missing in this area. They came to find a place called Cuiraozhuang, do you know how to get there?"

The man was stunned, and stood there in a daze for several seconds without responding, until Xian Hao coughed lightly, he suddenly came back to his senses, and said in a somewhat hesitant tone: "Cui Rao Zhuang, I don't know! You wait, I'll go find someone to ask!"

Ding Qi said to Xian Hao with a divine thought: "Wait and see, he will find an old man with a dry tobacco stick in his hand, and the old man will ask us what we are doing in Cuerao Village, and then he will take us to the village." ”

Xian Hao covered his mouth and smiled: "What spell have you cast again?"

Ding Qi: "It's just a small trick, you've actually seen it." But this person is a bit cultivated, he should be a disciple of Cuirao Zhuang and has cultivated the secret method of Cuirao Village, so he also feels that something is wrong with him. ”

Xian Hao: "If he has never encountered your method, it is indeed not easy to react, he should be very confused." ”

What Ding Qi had just used was a method similar to instantaneous hypnosis, which he used when he encountered a tracker in Hongping Town, Shennongjia, and entered the other party's subconscious, and saw the man's next reaction as if he were there.

But the man himself didn't notice it, he was in a trance for a moment, but he didn't remember what happened, he just didn't feel right, but he couldn't see anything abnormal in Ding Qi, and the other party was no different from ordinary people.

Xian Hao's cultivation is not low, he is good at stealth, of course, he is also good at snooping, even if he concentrates on the movements in the village. The man ran into a courtyard in a little panic, and shouted in a low voice: "Owner, it's not good! Someone came again, just to find the two groups of people last time, and they also asked Cui Rao Zhuang how to go." ”

This title is very strange, if it is called the leader of Jianzi Village, it should be called the village chief in the past, and now it should be called the village director, what the hell is the owner?

An old voice said, "I said a long time ago that if you detain people, you will get into trouble." They know the address, and they deduct a batch and come again, when will it be a head?"

A woman's voice said: "But Cuirao Village has been like this since ancient times, if someone accidentally enters the secret realm of heaven and earth, they will leave the person behind to prevent the secret from leaking." ”

Old man: "But people either broke in by mistake or came to visit." ”

The man said: "This shows that they know the secret of Cuirao Village, and they specially found it, and it is safe to stay there." ”

Old man: "Let's take a look at the situation first, how many people are here this time?"

Man: "There are only two people, a man and a woman, and the woman is beautiful!"

Another woman's voice said again: "The first time there were four people, the second time there were three people, and this time only two people came, which means that there are not many people on the other side. ”

Old Man: "Big Goose and Fluttershy and I will go over and ask first, and Xiaomang will inform the rest of the village to be prepared not to show any flaws, and act when the opportunity comes." ”

Xian Hao heard this conversation, and of course Ding Qi also heard it, if they came to investigate the case, the case would have been solved. The group of people in the top village were the people of Cuirao Village, and Yuan Bichuan, the elder of Baiyun Cave, and his disciple Yuan Yunzhi were all detained by them in the secret realm of heaven and earth.

Ding Qi didn't wait for the group to come out, and Xian Hao took the initiative to enter the village and walk towards the courtyard. This village is indeed a bit abnormal, there are dozens of families in the distance, but except for the man named Xiaomang who I saw at the entrance of the village, there is no one so far. Ding Qi said with a divine thought: "There are twelve people in the village, seven men and five women, they should all be masters, guarding the gate outside. ”

Ding Qi said that they were masters, but in fact, they were elevated, referring to those who were equivalent to the cultivation of the three realms or above, and who could enter and exit the secret realm of heaven and earth without hindrance. Xian Hao whispered: "The village is built outside the secret realm of heaven and earth, and those who have learned the secret method are on duty in the village, which is a bit interesting, but they don't want others to discover their secrets." ”

Ding Qi: "Since they have this attitude, I don't want to bother. But Boss Tian is a little anxious, they have already detained the people from the Fangwai Alliance, so we have to come to the door to ask for someone. ”

Xian Hao: "Don't worry, let's see what they will do to us." ”

As he spoke, the old man opened the courtyard door and walked out, followed by two women, one of whom was about forty years old, presumably a goose, and the other who looked to be less than thirty, named Fluttershy. The old man had a white goatee and gave the impression that he was very old, but his complexion was not bad, there were no age spots on his skin, and he held a dry tobacco stick in his hand.

This dry tobacco stick is very beautiful, the smoke pot is made of white copper, the pipe seems to be made of cow bones, and it is hung with an embroidered purse containing tobacco wire, and it is inlaid with a very beautiful agate cigarette holder.

When the group of three people meet Xian Hao and Ding Qi, the young woman named Fluttershy shouts, "Why did you enter the village?" and looked Xian Hao up and down with a slightly hostile look.

Ding Qi: "We are here to find someone, just now I met a little brother outside the village, saying that he helped us to ask, but after waiting for a long time and not seeing him come back, we went into the village by ourselves." ”

Fluttershy: "Our village has never been visited by outsiders, and we don't accept tourists, so go back!"

Xian Hao: "I haven't said who I'm coming to, why are you in such a hurry to ask us to go back, it's not too late to make it clear." ”

Ding Qi nodded to the old man and said, "My name is Ding Qi, you are the owner of the village here, may I ask your surname?"

The three people on the other side were stunned, judging from their reactions, they should have heard the name Ding Qi, especially the woman named Big Goose was even more shocked after hearing this. The old man sighed and said, "What do you call me the owner, I am the village director of this village, my surname is Xie, my name is Xie Jingzhi, what do you two do?"

Ding Qi: "The owner of the village is the owner of the village, and everyone has to call it that." We're here to find people, seven of us. Four of them came here for more than half a month, the leader was named Yuan Bichuan, and the other three came for ten days, and the leader was named Yuan Yunzhi, may I ask if the owner of the village has seen them?"

Xie Jingzhi: "You are in the wrong place, they are not in the village. ”

Ding Qi: "I know they are not in this village, they are here to find a place called Cuirao Village, but after arriving in Jianzi Village, they suddenly lost contact, the owner of the village knows how to get there, right?"

The big goose changed color and said: "What are you asking about Cuiraozhuang for? That place is not for outsiders, and if you go, you can't come back, it has been like this since ancient times, haven't you heard the legend?"

Xian Hao smiled: "Listening to your tone, it is obvious that you know the place of Cuirao Village?"

Xie Jingzhi said helplessly: "I have lived here for many years, and I have indeed heard of the place of Cuirao Village. Legend has it that whoever goes there will never come back, and whether you believe it or not, this legend is true, so I advise you not to look for it. ”

Ding Qi shook his head very dryly and said, "No, if we can't find anyone, we won't go back." ”

The goose said with a sullen face: "Why should we help you find someone?"

Xian Hao pointed to the side of the road and said: "They all came by car, although it rained during this time, some traces were still left." I'm an expert on this, and if you want to ask, I can point it out to you. When they arrived at the village, they parked the car where we were talking. And then, the people are gone, where is the car?"

Ding Qi also said: "Master Xie, please give me a way, if we really can't come back, we will find a way ourselves." ”

The old man stared at Ding Qi for a long time, as if he was making some decision, and finally sighed and said, "Okay, please come with me." ”

Goose and Fluttershy remain in the village, and the old man leads Tintze and Xian Hao through the village. Xiao Mang came out of nowhere and said, "Owner, I'll go with you." ”

Master Xie didn't speak, just nodded, looked preoccupied, and lit a pot of cigarettes. Ding Qi also took out a cigarette from his pocket, he didn't take the lighter, just made a lighter movement with his hand, and the cigarette was lit. Xiaomang's attention was mainly on Xian Hao, and he didn't find this detail.

There are not many fields outside the village, and Ding Qi asked while smoking a cigarette: "Master Xie, there are very few people in your village?"

Xie Zhuang owner: "Hey, they all went out to work." ”

Nowadays, there are indeed many remote villages where only the old and weak are left, and the young and strong laborers go out to work on weekdays, but this is obviously not the case in Jianzi Village, except for Xie Jingzhi, the old man, Ding Qi found that the people are actually young and middle-aged, and there are no old, weak, sick and disabled.

Xian Hao: "I didn't see any tobacco anywhere along the way, did you buy your tobacco from somewhere else?"

Ding Qi added: "The cigarette holder is very beautiful, it is a good thing." ”

As they spoke, they had already walked to the mountains outside the village, with hills on both sides and a large valley mouth in the center, and Ding Qi had been holding his mobile phone, noticing that suddenly there was no signal. As they climbed higher and higher, they climbed a ridge of land with a field in the middle of the field and several villages around it.

Xian Hao: "There are still so many families hidden in the sacred mountain. ”

Xiaomang interjected: "This place is Cuirao Village, since ancient times, as long as outsiders come, they will never be able to go out." May I ask what is your name, I'm afraid I will have to stay here to live in the future, my surname is Xie, my name is Xie Xiaomang. ”

Xian Hao: "Why can't you get out?"

Xie Xiaomang: "I don't believe you look back." ”

Standing on the mountain beam and looking back, it is the place where they came, the topography of the mountains and rivers has not changed much, but the village of Jianzi has disappeared strangely. If you were someone else, you might be frightened, but Xian Hao's face did not change, and he took Ding Qi's arm and said, "The world outside the square is different, I have never seen such a portal." ”

How big is the gateway to Cuirao? The entire valley they walked through just now was all over the valley, not to mention being able to drive in, or stuffing in an aircraft carrier. There are also woods and vegetation on the slopes on both sides of the valley mouth, and if someone comes here to coincide with the opening of the portal, it is indeed easy to enter the secret realm of heaven and earth by mistake, so there will be a village outside the valley mouth to intercept the only way through.

What's even more interesting is that the terrain inside and outside the portal is almost the same, only the distribution of vegetation and the slight arc of the mountain are different in detail, if you don't remind you, you may not be aware when you walk in. It doesn't take much eyesight to see five cars, three SUVs, and two pick-up trucks parked in the open space outside the market town in the distance.

Ding Qi had read the information provided by the White Cave Lord and Tian Zhongluo before he came, and two of the off-road vehicles were driven by Yuan Bichuan and Yuan Yunzhi. Ding Qi didn't spare any of them, and asked the old man directly: "Master Xie, is the person I am looking for detained by you in the secret realm of heaven and earth? ”

As he spoke, he introduced the situation of the Fangwai Alliance and his identity with a divine thought. Xie Jingzhi didn't speak, but suddenly sent back a divine thought. Ding Qi had long seen that this old man was not simple, he had come into contact with so many outside worlds, and the other party was actually the third master of the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm with great cultivation after Zong Feixia and Lu Juzi.