Before dark, Xia Qing and his entourage finally returned to the Shanren Inn.

The ancient mountain man inn seems to have remained unchanged for thousands of years, but the people are no longer there, aunt Yu Qiniang, Tang Banbei and Zhao Dazui have all gone down the mountain, and only the Lu madman is still tinkling the iron.

After settling the one-armed angel Hai Beili, Xia Qing cleaned it inside and out, then sorted out Tang's half-cup wine cabinet, poured a glass for the old shopkeeper and himself, and tasted it slowly.

In the past, Xia Qing didn't drink alcohol, and always felt that the taste was weird and not good at all, but I didn't know what was going on, but after returning from Yan Kingdom this time, he could drink it slowly, and he no longer felt the smell of wine. It was a little astringent at first, but slowly, I felt a long momentum and liked the feeling.

The old shopkeeper did not blame for the first time, and tasted wine with Xia Qing.

The wind gradually became stronger, and Wuzhou at night was shrouded in poisonous fog rolling up and down.

The two of them sat quietly at the door of the inn and tasted wine.

After a long time, the old shopkeeper finally broke the silence, "Qing'er, what are your plans next?"

"Explore the ruins of the Immortal Kingdom, break through to the realm of life and death as quickly as possible, and then go to Xiahou Xuanfeng!" Xia Qing did not hide or hesitate, and said his plan.

The old shopkeeper was a little surprised, "Aren't you going to find your mother?"

"Of course I'm looking for it, but not now. ”

Xia Qing paused and said, "Before my father died, I asked someone to transfer a calligraphy painting to me, which was a portrait of my mother. Before I could open it and see it clearly, the calligraphy and painting were snatched away by Xiahou Xuanfeng's female disciple Ren Qingmei. ”

"That is, you still don't know what your mother looks like?" asked the old shopkeeper again.

"I don't know, so I have to take the calligraphy and painting back first!" Xia Qing paused word by word.

He had a hunch that the calligraphy and paintings left by his father Xia Changkong were likely to be the key to whether he could find his mother. If you want to regain the calligraphy and painting, you must challenge Xiahou Xuanfeng.

The battle in the desert is just the beginning, and the real challenge is far from coming!

In order to find his mother, he must challenge Xiahou Xuanfeng, and he must win!

Xia Qing secretly swore in his heart that he was not very interested in worldly things, and he did not care about what Heavenly Court would become in the future, but he must take back the calligraphy and painting and find his mother. The old lady is dead, his father Xia Changkong is no longer alive, there are fewer and fewer relatives, and the idea of finding his mother is getting stronger and stronger.

"From the realm of heaven and man to the realm of life and death, this is a huge gap, and many people can't break through it even if they struggle for a lifetime, it's difficult!"

The old shopkeeper shook his head, and then said: "Even if you break through to the realm of life and death and want to challenge Xiahou Xuanfeng to regain the calligraphy and painting, it can be said that there is little hope. A great master at the peak of the realm of life and death is far from being Xiahou Xuanfeng's opponent, this person is beyond the scope of genius, he is a genius who has not been met in ten thousand years! More than a hundred years ago, Xiahou Xuanfeng came to me, saying that he wanted to see my pastoral swordsmanship, at that time, he was just a small person in the realm of fire, wandering around, although his cultivation was weak but ambitious, saying that he wanted to challenge the masters of the world; ten years later, he worshiped under the Heavenly Dao Sect, practiced the Heavenly Master Step and the Heavenly Dao Sword Technique, and broke through to the Heavenly and Human Realm; twenty years later, he broke through to the peak of the life and death realm and became the head of the Heavenly Dao Gate; thirty years later, he broke through to the half-step Yang Divine Realm and became a cultivation giant in Zhongzhou, and came to me again to challenge. ”

"And then, who won that battle?" Xia Qing asked, he didn't expect such a past.

Xiahou Xuanfeng smiled but did not answer, took a sip of wine, swallowed it slowly, and then said faintly: "After that battle, Xiahou Xuanfeng began to retreat, and it was a full twenty years before he came out, and successively killed the Ghost Piano King, the Thousand-Eyed Buddha and the Snake Devouring Heaven, the three super masters of the half-step Yang God Realm, and officially ascended to the peak of Zhongzhou cultivators, known as the first person in Zhongzhou, and then began to create the Heavenly Court, annex the major vassal states and cultivation sects in the world, and declared that he wanted to create a new heavenly world to replace the immortal kingdom in history in all aspects. ”

"Killed three half-step Yang God Realm super masters in a row, or fifty years ago?" Xia Qing couldn't believe it, and cold sweat flowed down his body. Originally, he was also going to challenge Xiahou Xuanfeng to regain the calligraphy and painting after breaking through to the realm of life and death, but now he knows how ridiculous this idea is.

The three half-step Yang God Realm super masters all died in the hands of Xiahou Xuanfeng, not to mention the life and death realm, and if they went, they were only sent to death.

And, it was fifty years ago. After fifty years of cultivation, now, what realm has Xiahou Xuanfeng broken through?

Xia Qing was silent, understanding what the old shopkeeper meant, the old man did not directly stop himself from going to Xiahou Xuanfeng, but through simple things, he made himself understand how dangerous and ridiculous it was.

"Qing'er, do you know how many years I've been here?" the old shopkeeper suddenly asked.

"I don't know. ”

Xia Qing thought about it, he really didn't know how many years the old shopkeeper had been in the inn, and he didn't even know how old he was, looking at the old shopkeeper lying on the chaise longue, he couldn't help but feel his spirits, "Old man, how long have you been here? Thirty years, eighty years? There won't be a hundred years, right?"

The old shopkeeper rarely went down the mountain, staying in the inn almost all day and night, and even rarely went out of the inn door. This kind of life is decades, and if it was him, Xia Qing thought that he would definitely go crazy.

"Hehe, it's been eight hundred years. ”

The old shopkeeper smiled and said, "A long, long time ago, I also liked to explore and play everywhere like you, and met all kinds of people and things; ”

Xia Qing blinked, "Old man, I don't read much, and my cultivation is not high, don't lie to me?"

"I'm already so old, Qing'er, who do you think I can deceive? Your words are similar to what your aunt and Zhao Dazui said, especially your aunt, who is the best at deceiving people. ”

The old shopkeeper shook his head, but with a smile on his face, he seemed to remember something. After a pause, he continued: "In the past eight hundred years, I have met many, many so-called geniuses, some of whom have broken through from the Heart Fire Realm to the Heaven and Man Realm overnight, and there are even those who were born with a transcendent personality, who were born in the Heaven and Man Realm, and who have cultivated to the peak of the Life and Death Realm before they reach adulthood. It's a pity that in the end, those who can really become talented can be counted on one hand, and often the higher the talent, the faster they die, and only one person is an exception. ”

"Xiahou Xuanfeng?" Xia Qing asked.

"Yes, it's Xiahou Xuanfeng, he is no longer a genius, but a ghost talent! Once, I was even ready to pass on all the things I had learned in my life to him, so that he could inherit my mantle and protect Zhongzhou for me, but he refused. The old shopkeeper sighed, and seemed to be very sorry until now. After seeing Xiahou Xuanfeng's talent, he found an embarrassment, and he could no longer find a better successor than Xiahou Xuanfeng.

"Ah, he'...... , and he refused?"

Xia Qing couldn't believe it, and then blinked, "Old man, pass on your mantle to me, I think you can let me try." Don't worry, I will protect Zhongzhou for you, and you can rest assured where you want to go. ”

"Go, go, I haven't lived enough, don't curse me to death!" the old shopkeeper shook his head.

"Old man, seriously, why haven't you taught me any exercises after so many years?, is it necessary to be so stingy?" Xia Qing asked, always a little puzzled in retrospect. Over the years, whether it is Aunt Yu Qiniang, Tang Banbei or Zhao Dazui, they can't wait to teach themselves all the exercises they know, even the Lu madman who only knows how to strike iron all day long has taught a few tricks, but the old shopkeeper has never taught any exercises.

"The exercises are not cabbage, of course you have to be stingy, and you can't teach them casually. Gone, slept. ”

The old shopkeeper didn't have any grace, he said he would go, groped and left, and his voice came faintly, "Qing'er, it's not that I don't teach you, but I don't want to harm you." Someday, you'll understand. ”

"I don't understand, old man, don't go, don't do much, just teach me what shepherd swordsmanship. ”

Xia Qing didn't give up, but the old shopkeeper walked away and never answered.

"This old man is so stingy. ”

Xia Qing was so angry that he poured a whole glass of wine into his stomach, wondering why the old shopkeeper refused to teach the exercises, because he was too young and too naughty, or because he was a body of divine punishment, he couldn't practice his exercises?

Xia Qing was puzzled, continued to pour wine, and drank glass after glass.