After the horse team passed through the dense forest, the terrain ahead suddenly opened up.

The temple is built on a bare hill with countless stone brick steps and plazas that stretch from the front of the temple to the Toli River in the distance.

In the center of the square was an altar more than three feet high, and when we arrived, the priest was presiding over a grand ritual.

But seeing the incense of the Buddha and the sound of the trumpet, the altar was surrounded by monks and believers kneeling in unison.

The whole scene is solemn and solemn, quite the artistic conception of the ancient temples and famous mountains in the eastern soil of the Western Regions.

I can guess without asking Miss Tian Lu that this should be the main altar of the Brahmanical sect in the North Tianzhu area.

The square is dotted with many shady ancient Bodhi trees, and dozens of horned cattle are strolling leisurely in them.

And the mountain monkeys that jumped on the backs of the herds, and sometimes climbed to the edge of the wooden fence above the altar, without anyone disturbing the frolicking of the creatures.

The pure land on earth, which is so happy with the whole world, can't be connected with the cruel priestess.

Looking at the scene before us, we couldn't help but fold our hands and pray to the Brahmin gods to forgive us for the sins that disturbed us.

"Young master, look! Their giant elephant battle array! ”

Qin Chong has always been astute and keen on warfare.

After coming here, he didn't sink into the worship and devotion to the gods like Duo'er, Uncle Su, and me.

Instead, he and Shamihan looked around the audience like eagle dogs and discovered the potential crisis.

This time they came to Tianzhu Buddha to do business, and they and Liu Zhen'er, as well as the three brothers in the original Canaan Righteous Army, took the initiative to take on the role of guarding the caravan and our brothers and sisters from the beginning of their journey.

Following Qin Chong's direction, in the northwest corner of the square, a battle formation composed of dozens of giant elephants and divine beasts was lined up.

On the back of each elephant sat four or five soldiers with spears in their hands.

They're already waiting for us to throw themselves into the net.

It is said that the spears of these monks are soaked in poison, and once stabbed by it, there is almost no cure.

Coupled with those giant elephants that can trample down a city wall with one foot, the combat power is definitely not to be underestimated.

We are now in danger, and we need to be very careful.

Sure enough, as soon as our horse team stepped into the square, these behemoths with ears like canopies, driven by the soldiers on their backs, spread their hooves and galloped wildly, and let out a human howl.

When had our mounts seen such a formation, they retreated in terror.

Without the reins, they would have fled in all directions.

"Young master! What to do? ”

Shamihan shouted as he removed the iron bow from his saddle.

At this time, Qin Chong's feather arrows had already left the string, and a sharp whistle whistled past the head of the giant elephant in front of him.

A mountain monkey playing on the Bodhi tree was shot by an arrow and fell heavily on the stone floor in front of the altar, drawing an exclamation from the worshippers.

This is a warning that if the Priest's Elephant Clan dares to outflank us, our Iron Crossbow and Strongbow are not vegetarians.

"Qin Chong! You protect Uncle Su! Old man, Duo'er! Let's play it by ear! Separate retreats to the river! ”

I also bent my bow in my hand, and the fifty feathered arrows in the quiver had not seen blood for a year.

The murderous nature that had been dormant for a long time on my body was instantly resurrected, and I didn't care too much about how much killing it would cause with a single cup of tea.

"Don't be afraid, Mr. Young Master, the priest is greeting his noblest guest with the bowing of a group of elephants, which is also the highest etiquette of our Tuoli tribe! Last year, the holy monk Oda of the Buddha Kingdom of Jiandra came to Daliluo River, and this is such a ceremony! ”

Miss Tian Lu and Uncle Hemu, who are usually used to seeing elephant groups, are not as panicked as we are.

to the frequent retreat of the frightened herd

Let, to the horror of these old people of Kushan.

A few people couldn't resist the violent bumps of Dawan Wuqing, and they fell off their horses one after another.

Miss Tian Lu had the care of me and Duo'er, so she barely sat down on the horseback, and turned her head to me panting.

Between the words, the originally galloping elephant herd has slowed down.

As if driven by the gods, the giant elephants were scattered and gathered and knelt down on the ground in front of the altar.

With a long, high-pitched Sanskrit prayer, the ritual ended.

The priest slowly descended from the altar, supported by two young monks with bald heads and bare feet.

Thank you for the blessing of the Buddha and Bodhisattva, the feather arrows on the string of the pool will shoot out in a moment, all the good intentions will be lost, and I will leave a lifetime of notoriety in this Tianzhu Pure Land.

The originally frightened Wusun Qingma has also returned to normal, and it is no longer as struggling as just now.

"Oh, there's such hospitality! What an eye-opener! Hahaha! ”

Uncle Su smiled on his horse, he had never seen such a formation in all the world, and the old man couldn't help but take off the wine bag and drank two sips to suppress the shock.

"Young Master, Miss, the three of us have gone to meet the priest. Qin Chong, Lao Sha, you two take good care of the horses, as a warning! ”

After Uncle Su finished explaining, everyone dismounted.

Shamihan handed over the five horses of Handi silk as a greeting gift to Duo'er, and Miss Tian Lu and the nine old people of Guishan also returned the horses to us.

There were no trees or stakes around to tie the horses, so they were left to graze grass and feed.

Qin Chong and Lao Han were both masters of the imperial horse, and with just a whistle from them, these brotherly horses could quickly return to the team.

Escorted by several monks and soldiers, Tian Lu and the others walked to the priest with their hands folded.

Without anyone's order, they all knelt down on the ground and waited for the fate of the supreme tribal being.

Ignoring their presence, Lord Anandu greeted us with a smile on his face, and I was able to see the true face of this Brahmin priest.

As Miss Tian Lu said before, her body is thin and her skin is dark.

Dressed in a maroon kapok monk's robe and half-naked right arm, all the Tianzhu monks are basically dressed like this.

Barefoot with short hair, with a Roman legacy.

There was a striking cinnabar on his forehead, which I later learned was a characteristic sign of Brahmanism.

This man was full of energy and his eyes were like electricity, perhaps because he had just smelled the fragrance of forgetfulness on the altar.

"Honorable priest, we are merchants from the Eastern Han Kingdom, and we have come to meet you when you pass by!"

The two sides soon met, and I held the silk in both hands and led Uncle Su and Duo'er to bow respectfully to the priest.

"Today's sacrifice, the gods told me that there is a messenger of all gods who came down the mountain and waded the river, and it turned out to be the gentleman of the Great Han Kingdom! Fortunately, I will be glad to meet you! ”

The priest folded his hands and bowed, and his voice was warm and beautiful, and he had the style of a high-ranking monk.

His attendants took our gifts, and chose a scarlet Yue brocade and placed it on the priest's body, which made the monk instantly radiant.

"Messengers, please speak to my elephants!"

The Anandu priest rubbed the silk on his chest and raised his hand with joy on his face.

"Uncle Su, what is Xiangyu?"

I asked a little curiously, wondering in my heart whether this old man of Tianzhu was asking us to go to the back of the giant elephant to have a drink with him?

"Look, young master, that male elephant is the mount of this priest." Uncle Su whispered in my ear.

Only then did I realize that under the shade of the Bodhi tree in the lower right corner of the altar, there was a behemoth standing, and several servant-like natives were waiting for this mythical beast to drink and eat.

On the back of the giant elephant, an open car made of nanmu is placed, which can accommodate four or five people to sit comfortably.

It seems that this priest was also a greedy person for pleasure, and he was also obsessed with silk and sedan chairs, which were mundane in the red dust.

Since he is not a transcendent, self-disciplined and ascetic monk, you can negotiate with him on terms, and you can use gold beads and silk to attack him.

Thinking of this, I was relieved, and it seemed that the matter of saving Miss Mai Tianlu and the nine old people of Guishan was no longer so tricky.

The priest of Anandu seemed to see our doubts, so he stepped forward and took a step forward, easily climbed onto the elephant's back with the help of the servants, and sat cross-legged in the middle of the car.

The guest is as he pleases, and since the priest has treated us like this, it is better to be respectful than to obey the order.

We followed his example, and climbed up with a hum, and sat on either side of the elephant's back.

"Three hundred years ago, tens of thousands of horses of King Alexander of Rome built a bridge over the Toli River to conquer the northern kingdoms. Today, your eastern envoys are building ships and wading south, and the cycle of cause and effect is reincarnated, and the prophecy of Lord Shiva has finally come true! Let's go! Let's go to the Toli River and see what your longboat looks like! ”

The priest folded his hands and spoke, and the groom in front of the car raised his long whip and shouted loudly, and the beast slowly opened its four hooves and roared away in the direction of the river beach below the mountain.

Dozens of other giant elephants carrying monks and soldiers also stood up and followed the priest's mount, rolling up a cloud of dust on the way down the mountain.

"Duo'er, big brother, if I have two hundred such giant beasts, and those soldiers who rebelled in Canaan back then, why can't I calm the world! Ha ha! ”

Such a spectacular scene is the first time we have encountered it in our lives, and there is a magnificent posture of His Royal Highness the Emperor of the Eastern Tuhan Kingdom leading hundreds of officials out of the city to hunt, and I can't help but sigh with pride.

"Young master, the most important thing at the moment is to talk to this old man about the conditions, how to save Miss Tian Lu!"

Uncle Su said with a smile on his face, but it was difficult for the little sister Duo'er who was translated from the side.

Fortunately, this girl was very shrewd, and she said a lot of kind things to the priest of Anandus, and then she prevaricated the matter.

"Lord Priest, this time I am here mainly for Miss Tian Lu of your department. My caravan met her at the foot of Buzhou Mountain, and when she saw that the woman was very pitiful, she persuaded the old people who had sent the sacrifice to bring them back. I hope that the mercy of the adults can open the net and forgive this woman! ”

After listening to Uncle Su's reminder, I finally talked to the priest about business and bowed to him as a sign of awe.

"The method of female sacrifice is an agreement between my Tuoli tribe and the gods of the snow-capped mountains, and it has not changed for thousands of years. This request does not correspond to the identity of Mr. Messenger, and I ask you not to interfere in the family affairs of this sect! ”

After listening to Do'er's translation, the priest's face changed suddenly, and he folded his hands and said solemnly to me, as if there was no room for negotiation.

Miss Tian Lu said that this Anandu priest only came to their Dali Luo River ten years ago, but this gentleman said that the method of female sacrifice has existed here for thousands of years.

It was clear that the priest was telling a lie, but it was still incomprehensible why he was so attached to the priestess that he had to mercilessly throw a woman as delicate as a flower into the valley of snow.

"Lord Priest, I am willing to give ten horses of silk and five hundred Sassanid gold coins in exchange for the life of the Tianlu woman, and I hope that your Excellency will fulfill it!"

Priest Anandu was so obsessed that I was so angry that I hated to wield this Tianzhu wizard with a sword.

But grandpa's words of "businessmen and people are kind" always echoed in his ears, so he suppressed his heart and talked about the conditions with the priest.

"The rainy season is approaching, and if a flood breaks through the valley of the Toli River, I, as a chief, will not be able to meet the 100,000 people of the tribe in the face, and the foundation of my religion's faith on the Daliluo River will be destroyed! Therefore, I admire the compassion of the gentleman, but it is really difficult to obey his fate! ”

There was some loosening in the priest's words, and it showed me the key to convincing him.

That is to control the water, restraining the monstrous flood demons that occur once a year on the Daliluo River.