Chapter 1: The Missing Criminals

With a sharp roar of an eagle, the silence of the mountains was shattered, and the sound pierced the entire mist-shrouded valley. The eagle circles around the mountains, seemingly waiting for its prey to appear. It wasn't until it flew to the clear pond in the middle of the valley that it realized that the eagle's wings were so large that it left a black shadow that obscured the sky and the sun wherever it flew.

The clear pond at the bottom of the mountain is surrounded by mountains. The mountains are arranged in a staggered order from low to high. At the foot of the mountain, next to the clear pond, the peach blossoms of a tree are lush, and along the way up the mountain, both sides are paved with purple unknown flowers. Between the streams and between the mountains, there are many arch bridges of different sizes made of bricks and stones, and the large ones that link the mountains can accommodate two horse-drawn carriages side by side; It's small enough to cross a stream, but it's big enough for pedestrians to walk around. On the largest arch bridge of the main peak, the word "Apocalypse" is written on the road flag that hunts in the wind.

At this moment, the giant eagle that was still hovering just now rushed towards the highest main peak at an extremely fast speed, stretched out its sharp claws, and cut through the sky like a sword array falling from the sky. Only a dull "click" sound was heard, the thick branches of the bowl shook violently, and the cracked bark fell to the ground covered with stone slabs. Immediately, the giant eagle landed on the pine tree in the Taoist Square.

In the center of the square, there was a group of white-robed teenagers practicing swords. These teenagers are all handsome and heroic. The teenagers were not surprised by the arrival of the giant eagle, and continued to practice on their own.

Behind them, there stood a huge stone pillar towering into the clouds, carved with many totems, the most conspicuous of which was a circular symbol with a triangle embedded in the middle, staring at the crowd like an eye. At the top of the stone pillar, four black iron cables burst out of the sky, connecting the four giant stone unicorn statues in the corner of the square, as if they were an arranged magic circle.

At this time, inside the main entrance of the Taoist temple, an old man walked out with a light gait, with a lofty and radiant face. The old man was about fifty years old, wearing a Taoist robe and holding a magic weapon. The artifact is ingenious and delicate, the base should be made of some kind of metal, and the middle handle is slender, just enough to be easily held by one hand. The most important top of the ritual artifact is made of a kind of jade, but it looks warmer and more lustrous than jade, and the whole body of the ritual vessel is full of soft and non-dazzling light.

The fifty-year-old Taoist is like a master of cultivation. He raised his head slightly and stroked his long white beard. Looking at the giant eagle, he shook the magic weapon in his hand. A circle of white light appeared around the magic weapon, and a pair of eagle eyes suddenly appeared on the jade of the magic weapon, which seemed to have the ability to control thoughts, and then the metal base began to rotate at high speed, emitting a pleasant mechanical low sound.

The giant eagle tilted its head, as if it understood the old man's call, and instigated its wings to fly towards the old man. Standing beside the Taoist, the eagle was much taller than the old man. The giant eagle "babbled" and rubbed his head against Lao Dao's shoulder, this babbling sound did not seem to come from its huge body at all, well-behaved and even a little coquettish.

"Harrier, did you find him?" The old way is like a bell.

The giant eagle responded with a grunt from its throat.

When the white-bearded Taoist heard this grunt, he seemed to understand something. said: "This kid is not good at learning, he can only play smart." In order to sneak down the mountain, he actually stole the water beads, and jumped from the backmountain waterfall to the Tianlong Stream! ”

"Find him, come back and punish him for reciting the "Yin Kui Mantra" a hundred times." The old man muttered words with an angry expression.

The giant eagle flipped its wings and purred twice, sounding like it was laughing.

The old man is not popular, and even this brute knows to gloat like watching a play. He put away the magic weapon, took out the dust on his waist to relieve the embarrassment of the moment, gently flicked it on his arm, and turned around violently to enter the Taoist temple.

At this time, a handsome young man in a white robe and a little older walked out of the main entrance, with a graceful demeanor. I saw a gourd-shaped magic weapon hanging from his waist, with a big word "medicine" written on it, and a long sword diagonally behind him.

The young man came to the old man and bowed respectfully, and shouted, "Master Tianzun." "The old man is not angry and arrogant, and the young man has never dared to raise his head. It seems to be - already know that I have made a big mistake. When the old man saw that the young man was coming, he frowned slightly, raised his dust angrily, and pointed to the back mountain.

"Qingshu, the harrier just found out, this kid ran from the back mountain. I was afraid that he would mess around and never taught him the art of volleying, the mountain behind Tianqi Peak is steep, and the waterfall is also dozens of zhang high, and his courage is fat enough. Lao Dao was so angry that he gritted his teeth at what he said.

Qingshu lowered his head and listened carefully, not daring to respond.

"You go to Tianlong Stream to take a look, this kid is afraid that he will jump down and die unpredictably." Lao Dao immediately changed to a sad expression, blinked his eyes that couldn't even see tears, and continued in a weird manner: "For the sake of the teacher, you two study hard and practice hard so that you can inherit the unification in the future, but I didn't expect your junior brother to be so stubborn and ignorant." It's sad and sad for the teacher. ”

Come to think of it, this master usually does the majesty of the teacher, but in private, he is an old dramatist. It's just that his exaggerated expression makes people with a discerning eye think it's fake, but he frightens the pure Qingshu.

"Master, junior brother, he is usually a little naughty, but Master, please don't worry too much. When he was a child, he also ran out so many times, and he came back safe and sound. Even this time, he stole away from the back mountain, and he brought the water-containing beads of Baolin Courtyard. Speaking of this, Qingshu cautiously raised his eyes and looked at the master, until he saw that the master's face did not show embarrassment, and then continued: "This water-containing bead will release a protective barrier across the water when it encounters water, even if you jump off the cliff of dozens of zhang and fall to the Tianlong Stream with the waterfall, you can also keep yourself safe." Master doesn't have to worry too much, the little junior brother is smart and alert, and he will definitely not do stupid things that hurt his life. Presumably, Xiaotian just wanted to go down the mountain to have a look, looking for clues about his mother, and he would be back soon. However, the loss of this magic weapon is due to the poor supervision of the apprentices, and the Baolin Academy was handed over to the apprentices by the master, and the master is also asked to punish and admonish. ”

Yao Qingshu, who usually speaks little, doesn't know why his mouth is so sharp at the moment, could it be that he was infected by that trouble-breaking junior brother? The mouth just crackled and set off firecrackers. He was bowing his head and preparing to receive the master's scolding, as well as the ring ruler that had scared him and his junior brother when he was a child that he would bite human flesh until now.

"Hahahaha......" Tianzun Dao Leader, who was still angry just now, laughed inexplicably. In fact, the little abacus in his heart was satisfied, and he thought: "You have protected him since you were a child, and when you are punished, two people advance and retreat together, which is also a blessing." Xiaotian is clever and intelligent, Qingshu is diligent and kind, and the two are indistinguishable from each other. Having such a beloved disciple is also a blessing for my Apocalypse Palace! ”

"I'll talk about the loss of the water beads until I get that kid back. The two of you are indispensable to show your ugly appearance in front of all the disciples, lest outsiders say that I am Zhang Qingyuan and disrespectful to the elderly! There is no way for the cultists! Discipline is not strict! ”

"You take the harrier with you now, and immediately find Xiaotian and bring it back quickly. This boy left the big bird behind every time he went out, regardless of leaving it to us to take care of. When something happens, he moves with a look and a whistle, and we have to use magic spells to make it move, and it can be eaten so much! Tianzun Daoist blew his beard and scolded and scolded.

"It's too dangerous outside, so many pairs of eyes are staring at my Apocalypse Peak, bring him back immediately!"

Speaking of this, the eyes of the Tianzun Daoist became worried...... Unspeakable uneasiness.

"Master, the apprentice will go back as soon as possible and bring the junior brother back safely." Yao Qingshu looked at the master who was frowning, and bowed down to say goodbye.

After speaking, Yao Qingshu spun around and jumped up. In an instant, he jumped into the air a few feet away. Then he froze in mid-air, clasped his hands into fists, raised his index and middle fingers, and said something in his mouth. This one-breath action is a common posture used by Taoists in casting spells.

The harrier is also full of agility and human nature, and when he heard the mantra, he immediately flew towards Yao Qingshu.

Seeing the momentum, Yao Qingshu exerted a slight force on his heels, jumped up lightly with the help of his strength, and stepped on the back of the harrier. After standing firmly, he fell down and meditated, and flew out of the Taoist temple with the harrier.

Tianzun Daoist looked at the apprentice who rode the giant eagle away from the wind, slowly disappeared into the clouds and mist in the distance, sighed lightly and shook his head.

"Old man—"

Tianzun Zhang Qingyuan was confused and heard a voice coming from behind him.

"What? Can't even your most beloved apprentice protect you? A black figure in a black robe suddenly appeared behind Tianzun. The black shadow stood tall and tall, holding a round, sheathed sword with a black body in his hands, and his hands crossed in front of his chest. His entire head was covered by a black metal mask, and the sound emanating from within the heavy mask became dull and terrifying.

"Back then, I said, hand him over to me and let him live an ordinary life."

The arrival of the dark shadow does not seem to have any malice.

"Qianji, you and I both know that he has some memories in his head, which are not his own, which dooms him not to become a mortal, and he rarely mentions taking him away from me." Tianzun seemed to have long been accustomed to the existence of this black-clothed man named Qianji, and did not look back at him.

"Twenty years ago, although you rescued him from the chaos, you couldn't teach him, you have a murderous nature, do you want him to become bloodthirsty like you? You're just a stinky, hard, emotionless stone. Even his mother wouldn't say yes. "In the reflection of the Heavenly Venerable Daoist, the thousand machines in front of him are a murderous demon. It was impossible for him to entrust his beloved apprentice to a cold-blooded murder weapon.

"Old man, I'm younger than you, and I can protect him for a few more years. He's only the two of us left, and it's just that I didn't protect his mother back then. Otherwise, I can make him a mortal as I wish. Although Qianji's voice was terrifying and cold-blooded, he could feel his concern for Luo Xiaotian.

"I'm going to get him back now, and then I'm going to take him away again! With you, he can't even catch my tricks and a half. Qianji's words were very firm, and the voice came from inside the mask, which made it even more oppressive.

"No one has been found yet, but the conditions have been said first, why are you still the same as before, arrogant and rude!" Tianzun smiled coldly and snorted lightly.

Qianji also sneered, glanced at Tianzun Dao Elder contemptuously, and turned away.

The two were back to back, and neither was convinced. It's like two children, jealous because of grabbing the same toy.

The first to break the deadlock was Qianji.

"I'll go first, I know him better than you, I know where he is. Do you understand what is going on in his heart, except for distancing him all day long? Know what he needs? ”

After speaking, I saw Qianji jump up from the flat ground, easily jumped over the wall of the Taoist temple, and turned into a black shadow in the sunlight, and the speed was very fast.

"Thousand Machines...... Tianzun wanted to explain something more, but when he turned around, he found that he had already jumped out of the high wall. I could only see a black shadow shuttling between the clouds and mist of Apocalypse Peak, getting farther and farther away.

"I do my own thing, I come and go without a trace, after so many years, I haven't changed!" Tianzun Daoist sighed and said to himself.

However, it was precisely because of the appearance of this person that he fell into a long thought.

Tianqi Peak, originally just a Taoist temple practiced by ordinary Taoist disciples, was located in the suburbs far from the north of Lingyang City. Standing on the top of the peak and looking south, you can vaguely see the whole picture of Lingyang City.

Lingyang City - just a small southern city near the sea in Nanyu Country, a corner of peace. Even 20 years ago, years of war in the north did not bring much damage to the region.

The people here live and work in peace and contentment, and have been fishing for generations. The large number of deep-water ports also makes it a few more ports than other seaside towns. And it can also produce forty percent of the fish glue in the entire continent, and even most of the jewelry worn by the nobles of the Southern Yu Kingdom and the Northern Patriotic Kingdom come from Lingyang City. The crown of the emperor of Nanyu Kingdom, the largest pearl in the entire continent, was produced here. I heard that because of this pearl, there was a family of pearl divers of three generations who were eaten by the kraken, and only one child who was only thirteen years old and went to sea to dive pearls together escaped death and brought back this priceless pearl.

However, twenty years ago, the south was peaceful, and the north was fighting to the death.

The Southern Yu Kingdom in the south of the continent and the Northern Defender Kingdom in the north had the most tragic battle in history because of the ownership of the Iron Furnace Holy Mountain, and both sides suffered heavy casualties in this battle.

It was not until the later stages of the war that there was a turning point on the battlefield.

Because Nanyu was visited by the goddess of the holy mountain, the emperor then ordered the withdrawal of troops from the front. And signed an armistice agreement with the Northern Defenders, and the whole army retreated to the area of the Iron Furnace Holy Mountain, and the goddess was escorted back to Kyoto by elite soldiers.

At this time, after learning the news of the Holy Mountain Priestess, the Northern Guardian vowed to take back the Holy Mountain Priestess regardless of the agreement at the time of the armistice.

When the Nanyu State was still preparing to retreat, the Northern Weiguo took advantage of its cavalry advantage to take the opportunity to pull out the camp overnight and raise troops to encircle and suppress the pursuit of the Nanyu army.

Due to the short distance between the two fronts, the Northern Defenders were no longer afraid of the Nanyu Northern Army, which had lost its artillery superiority. The cavalry of the Southern Yu State was small, and it was difficult for the artillery to play a role during the retreat, and the mobility was far inferior to that of the Black Feather Army of the Northern Guard. The Black Feather Army of the Northern Guard, which had the advantage of a large number of cavalry, quickly attacked the retreating Nanyu Army on the plain, and this scene could be said to be a massacre.

During the entire retreat, about 300,000 Nanyu troops died under the iron hooves pursued by the Black Feather Army of the Northern Guard, and since then the northern army of the Wubian of the Nanyu State has existed in name only. The important military force guarding the northern gate was also gone.

At the beginning of the war, Nanyu regained a large part of the northern territory, but because of this crushing defeat, he could not reorganize himself to continue to resist the Northern Guard, and once again sent the northern frontier back. Since then, the river has been divided, and the Iron Furnace Holy Mountain has also been divided into two.

That is, in that battle, Luo Xiaotian, who was still a baby, fell to the ground.

In the face of the encirclement and pursuit of the Black Feather Army, the troops of Nanyu were defeated, and the remaining remnants were scattered in every corner of the battlefield.

At night, the moon is bright and the stars are scarce. In a ruined temple in the north, a baby cry shattered the rare tranquility of the battlefield. At this time, there were only 100 elite soldiers left in the escort team to guard the broken temple, protecting the goddess and her party.

The baby's cry alarmed the Black Feather Army who were scouting everywhere. It didn't take long for the Northern Guard to surround the ruined temple. Outside the ruined temple is the torches of the Northern Guard, illuminating the sky and the earth red.

A melee with more than too little to do is ensued. After the Northern Guard was assembled, they began to attack the ruined temple. Although the hundreds of elite soldiers of Nanyu Kingdom were not afraid of life and death, they resisted desperately, and even the men who accompanied the army picked up iron weapons and joined the battle. However, after a fierce fighting and scuffle, they still couldn't resist the numerically superior Northern Guard cavalry, and most of the escort team of the Nanyu Army was killed and wounded, and the remaining soldiers broke out separately in several groups.

In the chaos under the dark night, I don't know when, in order to avoid the pursuit of the Black Feather Army, Luo Xiaotian and his mother were separated.

Escorting Luo Xiaotian's team, a group of five or six people came to a small mountain village.

In order to get rid of the Black Feather Army chasing behind them, in desperation, several people could only temporarily hide in the house of an old couple, and the old couple also had two eight or nine-year-old children. The Nanyu soldiers gave the old couple some money, and explained to the old couple that they should not make a public statement.

The night passed.

The next morning, a few people were about to get up and leave. The soldiers who explored the way found through the cracks in the doors of the houses that the surrounding area had long been surrounded by the Northern Guards. The Northern Guard sergeants rode tall horses and wore black iron armor.

And the old couple's family hid far away outside the encirclement of the Northern Guard. The old woman had a helpless expression on her face, and her eyes were still full of tears. The group knew that they had been betrayed by the family, so they could only try to fight and break out.

However, a few Nanyu elite soldiers were weak after all. Soon, several people were shot and killed by the Northern Guards, and only the last soldier remained, holding Luo Xiaotian, who was still a baby, in his arms.

Finally the soldier stepped out of the door, sword in hand, protecting the baby in his arms. After last night's fighting, he couldn't tell the difference between the blood of friend and foe on his face. On his whole face, only his fearless expression and glowing eyes could be seen.

The soldier glanced at the Northern Guards around him, and then at the sleeping baby in his arms, with guilt and uneasiness in his eyes. He gently lowered the baby, knowing that his time had come, and blindfolded the baby with his bloodied hand. shouted: "Don't hurt the baby! Then he raised his sword and swung it at his neck, blood spurted out, and the soldier fell to the ground with a thud.

Seeing this heroic scene, some of the Northern Guards present were also moved with emotion.

The old woman in the distance choked up even more.

The generals of the Northern Guard Army, led by him, saw that all the elite soldiers of Nanyu had been exterminated, got up and dismounted and came to Luo Xiaotian, pulled out his sword and shouted: "The remnants of Yibang! ”

At this critical moment. A black shadow suddenly broke through the door in the grass hall behind it, like a spinning arrow. With the cracking sound of the wooden door panel, the black shadow picked up Luo Xiaotian, who was sleeping on the ground, before the Beiwei general made a move.

This man in black is none other than Qianji, he searched for it all the way overnight, and finally arrived in time at this critical moment.

Just as the generals of the Northern Guard Army were still stunned.

Qianji didn't say a word, and gently picked up the round sword sheath in his hand with his thumb, and a slender sword came out with the sheath. He caught the long sword with one hand, followed the sword momentum of the sword out of the sheath, and swung it in front of the eyes of the Northern Guard general.

The general of the Northern Guard didn't have time to react, and his tall body slammed and fell to the ground.

The other Northern Guards who were surrounding were terrified when they saw this, they were afraid that this iron-headed monster was a monster, and they rushed to Qianji with shouts of killing.

Qianji lightly jumped into the air, avoiding the encirclement of the Northern Guard. Frozen in mid-air, he brandished his long sword, which quickly formed a circle of arcs of light.

When the soldiers looked up in surprise, the sword arc cast in Qianji's hand seemed to be enchanted, and it turned into an invisible sword rain and fell towards this group of soldiers. More than 100 Northern Guard soldiers couldn't resist this dense and continuous rain of swords. In an instant, the iron armor on his body shattered and fell to the ground one after another.

Thousands of machines put their swords into their sheaths. In the mid-air of Dingli, he crossed the dead corpses all over the ground, and landed in the clearing, as if nothing had happened, he picked up Luo Xiaotian and walked forward by himself.

Behind him. It was a few Nanyu elite soldiers who had died and fallen to the ground, a hundred or so dead corpses of the Black Feather Army of the Northern Guard, and war horses that had fallen to the ground or were still parked in place. And - the corpses of the old couple and their family of four.

The blood mist dyed the rising red sun into blood, and the dark red sunlight shone on Qianji's body, and the shadow became farther and farther away, longer and longer.