It was late at night, and there were no people on the ancient street.

A black cat jumped from an eaves and rummaged through a trash can for food.

Behind the carpentry shop, the lights flickered.

Chen Tao and Li Hao sat quietly at the small table, their eyes flashing with inexplicable brilliance from time to time.

Li Lao talked about a lot of things today, and many of them made Chen Tao a little in a trance.

Chen Tao didn't know what Li Lao said meant.

But what he understands is that this incident has completely changed all his views on the world.

It was the spring of 1958, and the whole country was quietly engaged in the vigorous "elimination of the four evils" movement.

At that time, the Lingmeng had just stabilized, and under the leadership of his grandfather Chen You, the strength of the Lingmeng gradually grew, although it was not enough to confront the Liu family head-on, but it already had a certain ability to protect itself.

At that time, Li Lao was still the son-in-law of the Zhou family, his wife Zhou Linglong was pregnant with Liujia, and the principal of the Zhou family was still Zhou Yaoting, a famous mouth in the capital who was called "Tiezui Zhou".

It was at this time that Zhou Yaoting received a letter.

It was an ordinary-looking envelope, unsigned, undated, and not even printed on the envelope.

There are only four large characters written in red ink on it.

Zhou Gong personally opened.

The ink is unique and has a strange fragrance.

No one knows how it ended up on Zhou Yaoting's desk.

When Zhou Yaoting saw the letter, his whole face changed.

Simply because, that envelope.

The material used to make envelopes is not ordinary paper.

Rather, Huo Guang paper.

This kind of paper was created by Huo Guang, the minister of the Western Han Dynasty, and has a thin texture, which is not afraid of insects and ants, and is not wet when it enters the water.

The ancient books made of Huo Guang paper, even if they were buried in the ancient tomb for thousands of years, are still well preserved, and even the handwriting on the paper is as if it has just been written.

The only regret is that the cost is too high, and the cost of each page of paper will reach three stone grains.

Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty felt that Huo Guang paper was too wasteful, so he ordered a ban on its use, and Huo Guang paper was lost because of this.

For Li Lao, what makes him excited is not Huo Guangzhi, but the meaning behind Huo Guangzhi.

Huo family.

In 68 BC, Huo Guang died, after which his entire family was wiped out due to rebellion.

However, the Huo family was not completely wiped out because of this.

With the gradual weakening of the Han Dynasty, the Huo family, who had been in obscurity, finally reappeared in front of the world.

Only this time, they've gotten smarter.

For many years, the Huo family has been hiding in the dark, waiting for a chance to take revenge.

For the Spirit League, to a large extent, the Huo family is an ally that can win over cooperation and a powerful backer.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

As the sworn enemies of the Liu family, the Huo family has fought with them for thousands of years, and no family and force can be like them.

The hatred of the exterminating clan is not shared.

It's just that Li Lao didn't understand why the Huo family suddenly found Zhou Yaoting.

The envelope opened, and inside there was only a piece of paper with only one sentence on it.

"The willows under the moon, the fragrance of cinnamon. The calyx shines into Chang'an. ”

It's an invitation, and it's in secret language.

April 21, Xi'an Calyx Building.

What does the Huo family want to do? Li Lao didn't have any confidence in his heart, but he understood that if the Huo family did this, something big would definitely happen.

At that moment, Zhou Yaoting immediately sent Li Lao to the ancient city of Shanxi to find his grandfather.

As expected by Mr. Li, the Chen family also received invitations, and more than that.

This time, the two of them were heavy-minded.

For so many years, the Huo family has been hiding in secret, and now they are blatantly sending invitations to major families, no one knows what kind of calculation Huo Yuanshan is making.

Xi'an, Calyx Building.

The so-called calyx building is actually a restaurant.

Everyone in the industry knows that this is the Huo family's territory.

As soon as Mr. Li and his grandfather arrived downstairs, a waiter in a Tang costume walked over.

"A few distinguished guests, the head of the house has been waiting for a long time, please come with me." The waiter was neither humble nor arrogant, and he didn't look like an ordinary person in his words and deeds.

Li Lao understood that these people were all well-trained, even the most inconspicuous cleaners, they were the elite of the Huo family.

In the calyx building, the decoration is luxurious, antique, and there are all kinds of precious flowers and plants in the building.

It seems random, but there is a secret mystery.

Looking at the dozen or so people on the table, Li Lao nodded secretly.

The Huo family made a lot of noise this time, and they actually invited most of the good players on the road, and almost all of them who could be called famous came.

"All the people are together." Huo Yuanshan sat on the main seat, not angry and arrogant.

"Thank you for rewarding me Huo someone with a few thin noodles, everyone here is one of the best people in the road, this glass of wine, I will salute it first."

"Everyone understands people, I won't go around that circle, I invite you to come over today, there is a big deal to discuss......

A few days later, on an inconspicuous Gobi in Buruntai, a large number of people quietly gathered in the afterglow of the morning glow, and the largest tomb visit in modern times began.

They were going to a place, a place where even the Huo family was not sure that they would retreat.

Everyone who comes here is prepared for the worst.

The wind was cold, and it blew on the face like a knife.

Although it is now summer, the temperature here in the morning is still a little cold, and in the evening, the temperature will plummet, and the temperature difference between day and night is really not small.

Elder Li glanced at it a little blankly.

Here, is the Kunlun Mountains, the ancestor of China's dragon vein.

At the bottom of the mountain is the desert Gobi, and on the mountain is a glacier that does not melt all year round. There are a lot of myths and legends here, but Li Lao really doesn't understand what Huo Yuanshan wants to do here at the expense of making such a big move.

The team walked on the Gobi for two whole days and finally stopped in front of a valley.

Elder Li followed behind his grandfather, roughly calculating the location of this valley in his heart.

It is located in the middle and upper reaches of the Nalengrad River, with Kunlun Mountain in the south and Qilian Snow Mountain in the north blocking the cold wind in the north.

The snow-capped mountains are majestic, but beneath them are endless lush valleys, and the two different natural landscapes are intertwined in the view, making it feel a little unreal.

Huo Yuanshan walked to the front of the team, took off his gloves, and pulled out a map from his arms.

The map is made of leather, but unlike ordinary cattle and sheep animal skin, the texture is softer and more delicate.

Grandpa told Li Lao that the map was a human skin.

Both were a little surprised.

Let's not talk about where Huo Yuanshan came up with such a human skin map, that map alone already makes people feel a little incredible.

What kind of place will make a map of human skin?

After comparing for a moment, Huo Yuanshan put away the human skin map and looked at the valley in the distance with burning eyes.

"Let's go, into the valley!"

"Wait!" Grandpa suddenly stopped everyone, "There is something strange about this valley. ”

Back then, Grandpa was known as the Golden Pupil Ghost Eye, and no trap could escape his eyes.

Chen Tao also realized later that his grandfather's golden eyes were not just as simple as looking at traps.

Hearing his grandfather's words, Huo Yuanshan didn't have any expression.

"Master Chen, what do you see?" One of the young men in a power suit asked.

This person is tall, with bright eyes and bright teeth, and his eyebrows reveal a heroic and capable, he is Chu Yuxuan, the third daughter of Chu Zhengtian, the head of the Chu family.

However, at this time, she disguised herself as a man, and she also used a secret method to change her voice, and no one present recognized it, thinking that it was a young descendant of the Chu family.

Behind her, there were seven or eight elites of the Chu family.

Among the five major families of the Spirit Alliance, the Chu family was the last to join.

In the capital, the Chu family has a huge power, whether it is Panjiayuan or Liulichang, no one dares not to sell Chu Zhengtian a face.

This time, Chu Zhengtian sent Chu over, firstly, to find out what kind of medicine was sold in Huo Yuanshan's gourd, and secondly, to take this opportunity to contact Chen You.

After all, at that time, although the Chu family's power was not as strong as the Huo family, it was far from being the opponent of the Liu family.

For the Chu family at that time, it was impossible to be neutral, and Chu Zhengtian had only two choices.

Or, rely on the Liu family.

Or, join the Spiritual Alliance.

No matter which way it is, Chu Zhengtian is not willing to compromise.

And the Huo family's sudden action made Chu Zhengtian, who was already sensitive, feel nervous.

If the Spirit Alliance can cooperate with the Huo family, it will be enough to confront the Liu family head-on.

At that time, some of those small families who are as uncertain as the Chu family will inevitably join the Spirit Alliance.

After all, having been ruled by the Liu family for so many years, if they can break away, no one in these families will hesitate.

Therefore, this time, Chu Zhengtian wanted Chu Yuxuan to test whether this so-called Spirit Alliance leader was a partner worthy of reliance or a jackal in sheep's clothing.

"It is said that the golden eyes of the leader of the Chen League can see what ordinary people cannot, and I don't know what I think." Chu Yuxuan smiled at the corner of his mouth, and there was a little provocation in his playful eyes.

She is a proud woman, even if there are many capable people present, who are above her in terms of seniority and qualifications, she will not lower her eyebrows.

"Dead air." Grandpa's expression was serious, this group of people had their own ghosts, and Chu Yuxuan's trick was directly ignored by him.

"Thousands of years of dead air, pent-up, it's really a bit strange"

"Dead air? Heh......" someone in the team scoffed.

"Chen Youmeng Master can really laugh, what else should I be, dead air?"

The one who spoke was Hong Laojiu, known as the Northwest Red Three Knives.

This person used to be a swordsman in Guanzhong, and when he was a broadsword, he picked a mountain alone, and since then he has fallen into the grass.

During the Anti-Japanese War, Hong Laojiu took a nest of bandits to rob the Japanese army of three trucks of supplies, but was surrounded and suppressed by the Japanese army.

This person is a character in the northwest realm, especially the gangsterism of that body, which makes people dare to be angry and dare not speak.

Hong Laojiu rubbed his face, and his voice was rough.

"Which of the people present didn't crawl out of the pit of the dead, the old pit masters of thousands of years have all been lying down, what are you afraid of?"

"On the way here, I heard from the locals that this place is called the Valley of the Dead, whether it is a human or an animal, few of them come out alive when they go in, it is very weird."

"Puppet family, Murong Bo." Looking at the young man who spoke, Elder Li whispered in his grandfather's ear, "I didn't expect the people of the Murong family to also get involved." ”

Murong Bo is the leader of the younger generation of the Murong family, with sword eyebrows and starry eyes, his face is like a knife, his appearance is very handsome, and he has an indescribable temperament on his body, which attracts several women in his peers to frequently look sideways.

It is really rare for a person to do this kind of business, and his appearance can be like Murong Bo.

The Murong family is the best at puppet plays, and they can even manipulate living people with their puppetry.

In the tomb, the people of the Murong family will first use puppets to explore the tomb, and only after the mechanism inside is triggered and destroyed will they enter.

"It's normal for the tomb to be closed and the dead air to be difficult to dissipate, but the terrain here is open, so it shouldn't be like this." Grandpa looked into the distance, "Although it is not enough to be afraid, it is better to be careful." ”

"Could it be that the leader of the Soul Alliance is actually a coward?" Chu Yuxuan looked at his grandfather half-jokingly.

"Chen is just a kind reminder, as for whether to listen to it or not...... grandpa smiled indifferently: "That's your business." ”