The appearance of Bai Jin undoubtedly made us desperate, after a day of rest, we began to turn back in the direction of Red and White Mountain, Bu Dongyuan is extremely familiar with the terrain here, presumably because he has been here many times to find the reason, the location of this oasis is what he discovered, it is a supply point on the way, I didn't expect them to meet us who are isolated and helpless.

After five or six days of tossing in the vast desert, the heat and wind and sand were gradually wearing away our will, the only thing that could support our persistence was the red and white sacred mountain that Bu Dongyuan described for us, since Bai Jin appeared, Zhuo Mingfeng was even more reluctant to walk with us, he was far behind, and even the food provided by Bai Jin, he didn't eat a mouthful, all relying on the water brought from the oasis to satisfy his hunger.

I always used to look back after a while, and for five or six days I didn't eat a mouthful of anything, and only drank water, which was undoubtedly suicide in this desert, and I was really worried that the next time I looked back, I would no longer be able to see the person on the camel at the back.

But Zhuo Mingfeng will always appear in my sight, I didn't even notice that he was a little weak, it is completely impossible for a normal person to persist until now, not to mention that I can't see that Zhuo Mingfeng is insisting, on the face covered by the sweat towel, the sharp eyes still reveal an energetic and arrogant gaze.

I only hope to be able to get out of this death hum as soon as possible, because of the supplies brought by Bai Jin, there is not much left now, every time I climb over a sand dune, I look forward to it in my heart, there is the red and white mountain behind it, but when we try to climb over, there is still a sand ridge under our feet, and there is still a sea of sand around us.

It wasn't until noon on the eighth day of leaving the oasis that when we climbed over a towering sand dune, I finally vaguely saw a mountain range in front of me.

That's the destination of our trip, Red and White Mountain.

How many times have we looked forward to this place in our eyes, but when we really see it, maybe the mountain range that has suddenly risen up all the way has made everyone a little stunned, and seeing the red and white mountains means that we have finally walked out of the sea of death

But I didn't dare to fully believe my eyes, for fear that it was a mirage in the desert, and after walking a few kilometers with a heart hanging up, the mountains in the distance gradually became larger, and with it, the barrenness that we had long been familiar with began to slowly fade, the sand dunes gradually became smaller, and sparse but full of life plants dotted the desert.

We can finally be sure that we have crossed the desert's most difficult central mobile dune belt and entered the paleochannel on the east side of the Hotan River.

When we arrived at the Hotan River, we saw that the reed flats, shining with a silvery white light in the reverse sunlight, came out of the desert, and saw that the water was so kind, the water was waist-deep and very turbulent, we didn't care.

From the clues left by Ling Xuan, the Vientiane Divine Palace is at the foot of the Red and White Mountain, and now it seems that this place is not chosen at random, Ling Zhihan told us, but the indispensable thing in the land of the dragon vein is water, and for the dragon vein, it is the blood of the dragon.

And most importantly, judging from the design sketches of Vientiane Shrine, water is an indispensable thing for such a huge project to be constructed in the desert, and it is quite convenient to get water because it is close to the Hotan River.

Hongbai Mountain is in front of us, the fatigue of nearly half a month is all swept away by excitement, we did not stop, and finally arrived at the foot of Hongbai Mountain in the evening.

Bu Dongyuan tells us that the red and white mountain is also called Mazatag Mountain, the east and west stretch for more than 100 kilometers, the highest elevation of the peak is nearly 2,000 meters, and it is separated by the oblique valley in the middle, because the east and west are held in red and white, so it is called the red and white mountain.

The east side of the mountain is composed of dolomite and gypsum layer, the color is silver and white, people call it the white mountain mouth, the south column of the mountain is composed of sandstone and mudstone, the color is brown and red, people call it the red mountain mouth, the red and white mountain is like a red and white double-headed dragon swimming in the desert hinterland, and it is in the yellow Taklamakan Wanqing Hanhai Golden Wave and the water of the Tian River.

After thousands of years of wind erosion on the red and white mountain, a variety of strange shapes and landforms have been formed, such as camels, mushrooms, peacocks and other all-encompassing stones, which are breathtaking.

Climb the Red Mountain Mouth and look out under the moonlight, the landscape in front of you is breathtaking, the sand sea with the sand dunes cascading on top of each other, like the golden waves of the Hanhai Sea, and an ancient fort full of devastation and ruins is on the top of the towering Red Mountain Mouth.

The dilapidated walls made of brown-red mud and poplar branches seem to remind us of the glory and vastness of this place, which was once the key point of north-south transportation, witnessed the rise and fall of the Silk Road, and stood here for thousands of years.

On the west side of the ancient castle, we saw the towering beacon tower, about seven meters high, standing on it, the neighing of war horses, the sonorous sound of soldiers, as if echoing in the sky above the ancient castle.

Ye Zhiqiu excitedly called us over in the distance, and on the north side of the ancient castle, she found a Buddhist temple with a semicircular statue base and square pedestals on both sides.

"Xuanzang recorded in the scriptures that he went to a Buddhist temple in an ancient castle to rest, presumably this is where Xuanzang stayed." Ye Zhiqiu said.

"Xuanzang said that on the top of the mountain, I saw a huge palace group of golden splendor appearing in the flying sand and stones, just like the temple of the Buddha Kingdom in the West Heaven, and the Vientiane Divine Palace should be near here." I looked around and found that I could see it in a radius of more than ten miles. "However, the terrain here is open and unobstructed, and the Vientiane Shrine is built here, and you can see it clearly from a distance, but why hasn't there been the slightest rumor about the Vientiane Shrine for thousands of years."

"The Vientiane Shrine was built in the early Tang Dynasty, and it was not what it is now." Bu Dongyuan walked to the side of the mountain and said calmly. "The ancient river of Hotan meanders through it, and it is described in the literature that this place was once full of life, because it was moistened by the river, and the trees were lush and lush for a hundred miles."

"How did it come to be?" The person who is most familiar with Hongbai Mountain is Bu Dongyuan, and the palace lord turned his head and asked seriously.

"In the cave of the Tibetan scriptures discovered by Shigong, there was a volume of literature about Khotan, where a large number of trees were cut down in the early Tang Dynasty, and the strangest thing is that the countries around Khotan had different beliefs, but in the early Tang Dynasty, the people here believed in Buddhism."

Bu Dong looked at the distance and told the story, he said that it is recorded in the literature that the gods and Buddhas of the heavens sent one of the eight heavenly dragons to fly here, and revealed their true body, although there has never been a record of the Vientiane Shrine in the Western Regions, but the description of this flying sky is extremely detailed.

"However, unlike the Buddhist Feitian in the Dunhuang murals, this manifest Feitian is not holding a musical instrument in his hand."

"What's that?" I asked, confused.

"Scepter!"

"Skull Scepter?!" Ye Zhiqiu looked anxious.

Bu Dongyuan nodded, this is a magic weapon that has never appeared in Buddhist classics, under the instructions of this flying sky, believers from all over the countries around Khotan began to cut down trees near the red and white mountains on a large scale, and it is said that in a flying heaven has boundless power, can control death and control life and death.

"Cutting down trees should be made of local materials, and it takes a lot of wood to build the Vientiane Shrine, but is this flying heaven a mythical person or does it mean something else?" Ling Zhi said coldly.

"It doesn't matter whether the gods and Buddhas of the heavens appeared or used the name of the gods and Buddhas to drive believers, but I am very sure that this flying heaven did exist." When Bu Dongyuan said this, his eyes fell on me.

"Why?" The general's face was grim.

"Not only is there a written record of all this in the documents about ancient Khotan, but I also saw a portrait of the flying sky, which was a flying sky shrouded in black mist, with a solemn and cold expression, condescending to look down on all beings, because of the ability to control life and death, it was worshiped by believers at that time as the flying sky." Bu Dongyuan's gaze never left me. "I used to speculate that this Stygian Flying Heaven might be a fabricated belief, but it wasn't until I met you in the Oasis that I was sure of the reality of this Stygian Flying Heaven."

"Me? What does Stygian have to do with me? "I was taken aback.

"Because in that portrait, the necklace you're wearing is exactly the same as the one you wear around your neck now."

……

"Ling Xuan!" The palace lord blurted out.

This necklace should belong to Ling Xuan, I still haven't figured it out, how it ended up in my father's hands, when he handed it to me, he repeatedly told me not to lose it, presumably this necklace is extremely important.

According to the time when Bu Dongyuan told the story, it just coincided with the time when Ling Xuan entered the Western Regions, but Ling Xuan was just an ordinary person who was proficient in occult arts, I really couldn't figure out how she could have the ability to control life and death, and she could also be believed by so many people from different countries.

She took a large number of craftsmen to the end of the Red and White Mountain, but to build such a huge Vientiane Divine Palace, it is obviously far from enough, she has transformed from a Tang Dynasty teacher to a Flying Heaven with tens of millions of believers, all for the purpose of building the Vientiane Divine Palace.

"Ling Xuan is just an ordinary person, no matter how great his ability is, he can't drive so many people?" Even the field chicken thinks this is unlikely.

"Stygian Feitian should not be an ordinary person, it is recorded in the literature that at that time, almost all believers spared no effort to build a temple for her in the desert in order to worship her, and these believers are like walking corpses, there is no communication between each other, no voice, and no questioning." Bu Dongyuan shook his head and said quietly. "And this temple was built at night, and after dawn all the people involved had no idea what they were doing, and no one could remember what the temple looked like and where it was built, I don't think this should be something that ordinary people can do."

We looked at each other dumbfounded, and now it was also night, and I tried to sketch out the things that Bu Dongyuan described for us with my thoughts, just somewhere in this red and white mountain, countless people went out day and night, shuttling through the night without the slightest sound, quietly building a mysterious palace, the scene was no longer spectacular, but creepy and weird.