Thunder roared, and rain poured down.

On this day, Hong Wei, the official in charge of sending and receiving official documents in the headquarters of the Exorcism Division, was much busier than usual.

Every few minutes, someone would come up to him and ask, "Is the latest Di Bao here?" Is there any news from Longmen Academy? ”

In this regard, Hong Wei responded with a straight face: "No, I haven't come yet!" ”

However, don't look at Hong Wei's calm face on the surface, but in fact, he is more panicked than anyone else in his heart.

Because one night a few days ago, he got drunk, and then, at the instigation of a group of fox friends and dogs, he bet on two months' worth of money in a gambling house.

The merchants of Luojing never miss any opportunity to make money.

They offered odds early on today's much-anticipated battle to attract the lively public to bet.

It can be seen from the changing odds that at the earliest, the most optimistic person among the residents of Luojing was Zhao Xinran, a long-famous Fu Dao master, and the least optimistic person was Gu Xu.

The reason is simple.

Although Gu Xu is in the limelight, he is just a young man who has not yet been crowned after all.

In the eyes of the layman, he is like a brilliant "other man's child" - perhaps he has achieved a little in the way, but there is still a big gap between him and the real "authority figure".

For a young person like him, it is almost the same to go to Longmen Academy as a student, and it is a bit outrageous to do teaching.

However, later, with the news of some things like "the national teacher strongly recommended Gu Xu", "Luo Chuan, the head of the Exorcism Division, personally went to the academy to see Gu Xu draw talismans", and "Gu Xu had already improved the talisman seal a few months ago", coupled with a group of officials of the Exorcism Division who admired Gu Xu to support him, it quietly affected the wind direction of the gambling house, and Gu Xu's odds began to gradually decrease.

Until the closure this morning, Gu Xu's odds were only higher than Zhao Xinran's, much lower than Mo Li and Shen Qiu.

On this rainy day shrouded in black clouds, Hong Wei has been paying close attention to this competition, and his mood may be much more nervous than Gu Xu himself.

After all, once Gu Xu wins, Hong Wei can also take this opportunity to get rich overnight - well, "getting rich overnight" sounds exaggerated, but at least the money won can allow him to go to the restaurant a few more times, buy his wife her dream rouge and incense powder, and buy a few catties of meat for his son to eat.

But if Gu Xu loses...... Then for the next two months, he will have to cut back on food and drink the northwest wind.

"Master Gu, my next fate will be decided by you," Hong Wei said over and over again in his heart while sorting out the documents on the desk, "You must let the group of people in Longmen Academy have a good look at your true skills, but don't show mercy to your subordinates!" ”

…………

The different atmosphere in the yamen naturally infected Shi Xiaohan.

This morning, after watching Gu Xu's carriage drive into the distance, she had planned to go back to her room to cultivate quietly, striving to climb a few more steps on the "Homesick Ridge".

Up to now, Shi Xiaohan had already stood on the 338th step - although her speed of climbing the ladder was not small compared to Gu Xu's kind of demon, but among the monks of the same realm of the Great Qi Dynasty, she was already outstanding, almost reaching the top 20% level.

Although she did not deliberately experience the smell of fireworks and feel her emotional fluctuations like Gu Xu, her mountaineering process was beyond imagination and was not hindered too much.

She had asked Shangguan Jin about this with a confused heart.

In this regard, Shangguan Jin smiled meaningfully and explained: "Because you are already in the mortal world, your heart has long been quiet. ”

That sounds a bit mysterious.

Shi Xiaohan still hasn't been able to fully understand what it means.

But today, amid the rumbling thunder and the roaring rain, her heart really couldn't be still.

She sat cross-legged on the mat and swallowed a "Doerdan", but she could not settle down and enter the dim netherworld.

As long as she closed her eyes, the scene of Gu Xu calmly boarding the carriage would appear in her mind.

"The competition of Longmen Academy...... Is it almost over now? ”

"How is that guy Gu Xu doing?"

"I've heard that his opponents are very good."

"Although I believe in his rune level...... But now that the monks in the entire capital are paying attention to him, even the national teacher, the head of the division, and the annoying princess are running to the Longmen Academy to watch him, will his pressure be a little too great? ”

“……”

Shi Xiaohan's mind was full of chaotic thoughts.

It was like countless little insects flying around in her head, making it impossible for her to empty her mind and enter the cultivation state at all.

So she shook her head and chose to give up.

Then she walked out of the room and found that the officials of the entire yamen were just like her—whether it was the "Meditation Pill", "Changming Pill", "Du'e Dan", or even the special magic circle in the ashram room, they could not calm down and cultivate.

They all gathered in the corridor and discussed this battle of runes far away in Longmen Academy.

"If Master Gu can win, I will go to Qianqian's house tomorrow to propose marriage!"

"I can't calm down my cultivation at all today, so in order to prevent myself from going mad, let's reward myself for relaxing a little...... If Master Gu can defeat those powerful opponents, then I will go to retreat tonight, and I will never leave the level without breaking the second realm! ”

"You may not know that I bet a full fifteen taels of silver on Master Gu...... If he loses, my wife will kill me tonight!" Tomorrow, I'm afraid you'll never see me alive again. ”

“……”

…………

At the same time, Longmen Academy.

After Zhao Xinran left, the remaining three candidates were still sitting in the "Siqi Hall", silently thinking about the design plan of Fu Seal.

The sound of the wind, the rain, the thunder and lightning, and the chatter of the people outside the house did not seem to have anything to do with them.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and Shen Qiu also began to write.

In the past few moments, more than a dozen ideas have popped up in his mind, but he is not satisfied.

However, as time passed minute by minute, coupled with Zhao Xinran's "early submission" gave him a strong stimulus, Shen Qiu took a deep breath, gave up his plan to continue the pursuit of perfection, and chose a plan with bright spots and flaws.

"Shen Qiu, Shen Qiu, if you don't start writing, I'm afraid it's too late," he laughed at himself, and said to himself silently in his heart, "Anyway, you definitely can't win against a genius like Gu Xu who transcends common sense, and there is a high probability that you can't compare to an experienced rune master like Zhao Xinran...... Even if you try your best, what's the use? ”

As a concubine of the gate, Shen Qiu often feels like a superfluous person and feels that his life has no meaning.

The clansmen had high hopes and strict discipline for his brother-in-law Shen Hua, but they did not have any requirements and expectations for him, and allowed him to grow up freely and fend for himself...... Only when he is in trouble, will he be used as a tool to fight fires.

Whether it's practice, drawing talismans, reading, or doing business...... In the early days, it was all about rising for him, not a career. Because he found that no matter how good he did, it was difficult to get the recognition and attention of his clansmen. Over time, interest is lost.

This time, he traveled thousands of miles from Jinling to Luojing City, because after he was completely disappointed in his family, he tried to find a new way out for himself and a stage where he could display his talents.

However, when he first arrived, he found a high mountain in front of him, blocking the way ahead.

The name of this high mountain is called "Gu Xu".

Shen Qiu originally thought that he was quite talented in the art of runes and seals - after three years of first stepping into the runes, he had already been able to break away from books and create a new rune seal.

But Gu Xu was only eighteen years old, and he was already able to sit and discuss with the national teacher; And he can only get an understatement of praise from the mouth of the national teacher.

This once made Shen Qiu feel extremely frustrated.

But after resting for half an hour, his mood had calmed down a lot.

"Fu" is not his dream, nor is it his most proud skill.

One path doesn't work, but another way is.

He glanced at the rain outside the window, and then looked at Gu Xu, who was thin and handsome not far away, with a straight waist, and couldn't help but sigh lightly, and then thought about it: Actually...... Isn't it a lucky thing to meet such a character in your lifetime? If you look at it from another angle, maybe this majestic mountain is also a potentially smooth road?

Immediately, the tip of his pen fell on the white paper, and the pen was full of ink, like a dragon and snake leaping, playing in the sea, and dancing cranes in the sky.

After his mind was unblocked, his brushwork also became swift and arbitrary, its shape, its color, its shade and dampness, its intermittent tossing and turning, the thickness and thickness of the concealment were all variable, and the weather was myriad.

…………

After another period of time, Mo Li also began to write.

Compared to Shen Qiu, his speed of drawing talismans was much slower, and his brushwork was much stiffer.

His mind contained thousands of sigils from books—they seemed to be engraved in his soul, and as soon as he lifted the pen, they would appear in his field of vision, and he couldn't even leave them.

There are many kinds of talismans in the book that can help the weak deal with ghosts.

But now, the national teacher is asking him to get rid of books and design his own.

His mood at the moment is like a copyist suddenly asked to write an original work, or a painter who is accustomed to copying is asked to put aside the reference and draw out of thin air.

This overwhelmed him for a moment.

"Or will I make some changes on the basis of my predecessors?" Mo Li thought silently in his heart, "This should be regarded as a reference, not a copy...... As long as I can incorporate some of my own ideas......"

Just now, in the second link, he has already handed in a blank roll.

If he handed in the blank paper again, I am afraid that his cousin Dean Li would be so angry that he wanted to expel him from the house.

Mo Li borrowed the talisman seal, called "the town of the new house sneaky talisman", the book on its description is "where the newly built house, if there are ghosts and ghosts, it is appropriate to use this talisman town".

Of course, under normal circumstances, it only suppresses ghosts at the level of "geisman".

After Mo Li's modification, this talisman has become the "Evil Ghost Entering the House Disturbance Talisman" - compared to before, it can not only deal with "geist", but also against weaker "wild ghosts"; It's no longer just about "suppressing" ghosts, but also destroying ghosts that invade people's homes.

As long as it is attached to the house, it can largely avoid ghost attacks on people's houses - after all, even after the arrival of the long night, the most common ghosts in the Great Wilderness are still "wandering spirits" and "wild ghosts"; And higher-level "evil spirits" and "fierce gods" cannot be dealt with by just one sigil.

However, with Mo Li's modification of the "Zhenxin Mansion Sneaky Talisman", the complexity of the talisman seal has increased significantly, and the amount of true elements required in the process of drawing the talisman has also increased significantly.

If the original rune seal only needs a beginner in the first realm, it can be easily drawn.

Then, after improvement, you need a talisman cultivator with at least the second realm and a certain amount of experience to draw it.

Mo Li narrowed his eyes slightly.

He holds the thinnest brush and carefully dips it in ink, making every stroke with great care.

It's like walking on thin ice, and if you're not careful, you'll step through the ice and fall into a bottomless lake.

But his hand still shook and he drew the wrong line.

So he tore off the paper in his hand and began to draw again.

The second time, he dipped the tip of his pen in a little more ink, and without paying attention, he threw two drops on the paper.

So he tore it up again and redrew it.

The third time, one of the arcs he drew was half an inch away from what he had expected, causing the runes to not take effect.

So he tore it up again and repainted.

……

After drawing a total of fifteen times, Mo Li finally succeeded in designing his "Demon Entering the House Disturbance Charm".

On the white paper in front of him, a brilliant golden light burst out.

At this moment, there are about less than five minutes left before the time set by the national teacher.

Mo Li's right hand holding the pen was stiff and numb, and his palm was full of sweat.

He put down his pen and shook his hand hard, trying to ease the pain in his wrist.

At the same time, I look up and look left and right to see how the competitors are doing.

Shen Qiu's seat was already empty—the ugly-looking dwarf had already drawn the talisman seal before him and left the "Siqi Hall".

Gu Xu was still sitting at the desk, contemplating.

Mo Li stood up quietly, walked to Gu Xu's side and took a look, and found that the paper in front of him was still blank, and the tip of the brush was also dry.

This obviously proves that Gu Xu has not yet started to write.

"The time is coming soon, isn't he in a hurry at all?" Mo Li felt a little strange, "Hasn't he come up with a solution to the problem yet?" ”

Mo Li was silent on the surface, but there was a little joy in his heart.

Gu Xu's performance in the first two links was too good and incredible, like a god shrouded in aura, which brought Mo Li great psychological pressure.

But now, the aura on Gu Xu's body seems to have been extinguished-he will be like an ordinary person, facing Fu Seal, helpless.

The most popular thing for people to see is the fall of genius from the altar.

"You hand in a blank paper, I hand in a blank paper, and the two of us are standing on the same starting line again." Mo Li looked at the handsome young man in front of him who was as motionless as a clock, and secretly thought, his mentality was instantly balanced.

However, at this time, Gu Xu suddenly lifted the brush.

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