(21) July 15th Midyear Festival

"July 15," the prodigal son cried out violently. Isn't it, everyone, today is the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. The fifteenth day of July is commonly known as the "Midyear Festival". Legend has it that this day is the main day of Halloween, and it is also the day when the door of ghosts is opened. This day is the heaviest day of the year, and according to legend, it is best not to go to those desolate wilderness on this day, so as not to be invaded by the ghost energy inside. Generally speaking, on this day, there will be very few people visiting scenic spots like Lotus Mountain with primeval mountain forests. Although this is just folklore, people generally care about it. Especially on this day, it is almost always a semi-cloudy or rainy day like today. As soon as the prodigal son shouted like this, everyone suddenly realized.

At this moment, Xiao Maitreya, who had always been timid and afraid, muttered tentatively: "I said brothers and sisters, let's forget it today." Why is it that as soon as Ah Lang mentions this 'July 15', my heart is pounding. Why don't we leave first, anyway, we've just started going up the mountain, let's go back to our villa, I just got a few bottles of old wine there, can I treat everyone to have a good drink?"

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at the little Taoist priest, and continued to say timidly: "Besides, the old brother of the Heavenly Remnant is just having a strange dream, I don't think we need to take it too seriously, it's not ......."

The little Taoist priest snorted, and was so frightened that Maitreya quickly closed his mouth, not daring to say a word more. He knew that this little Taoist priest with a strange temper and a perverse temperament would definitely not be able to be provoked. Among their Nine Immortals, in addition to Xiao Qingfeng's words, the others including his senior brother Mengshan Turtle from the same division did not buy it much.

The prodigal son saw that Maitreya was deflated, and said with a smile: "I said Brother Maitreya, you really don't have to be so scared today, what kind of Ghost Festival and Demon Festival, it is all to scare the faint of heart." We have Master Hou and Young Master Nangong, Brother Turtle, Brother Tiancripple, plus our judge brother who continues to pretend to be dumb, what else are you afraid of. Haven't you heard the saying that even evil spirits are afraid of the true God? Don't worry, there will be something going on in a while, I will cover you and keep you safe. Besides, let's get away with the Nine Immortals, brothers are one, and the matter of Brother Tiancripple is the matter of all of us. Don't say what Halloween is today, even if it is a sea of swords and fires, our brothers can't blink an eye. As soon as the prodigal son's words fell, everyone responded in unison, and even the little Taoist priest who had a cold face all day long smiled slightly.

At this time, the doll was behind the laughing Maitreya, slapped him heavily on his fat buttocks, and teased him in a weird way: "I really convinced you, my fat brother, just your little 200-pound lump, why are you still so timid, there are really demons and monsters that you can support and kill them." I'm not wearing a skirt today, but if I wear a skirt, I'll hide you under my skirt, fat brother, hehehe......"

When the prodigal son heard this, he turned his face to look at the doll, and said with a wicked smile: "That relationship is good, this time the fat brother can also take a look, what is the blessed land of Sun Monkey's cave - the water curtain cave, hahaha......"

The doll realized that she had said the wrong thing, and kicked and beat after the prodigal son.

As soon as they made such a fuss, Xiao Maitreya really didn't seem to be afraid anymore, and straightened his chest and strode up. It's just that he still got closer to the lone wolf little by little, and he knew in his heart that the prodigal son and the doll were just going to live well, and if there was really something, he might not be able to protect himself.

Everyone stepped up and continued to walk rapidly for more than twenty minutes, almost halfway up the mountain. Seeing that the laughing Maitreya, the prodigal son, and the doll were sweating a little, Xiao Qingfeng beckoned everyone to take a temporary rest, and prepared to climb directly to the top in one go. There is a delicate stone pavilion called "Duyu Pavilion" next to it, and everyone can take a short rest here.

After resting in the Duyu Pavilion for about five or six minutes, everyone got up and continued their ascent. As soon as he walked a hundred and ten meters, Mengshan Turtle suddenly pretended to be casual and came to Xiao Qingfeng's side, and whispered in a low voice: "How come I have been feeling as if someone is following us since I came out of the pavilion." ”

Hearing him say this, Xiao Qingfeng didn't speak immediately, but just hinted with his eyes that he continued to walk normally and kept quiet. Then, pretending that his laces were loose, he stopped, crouched down and straightened his laces. At the same time, he had been paying attention to the meditation and mute people who had been around, and saw the abnormality of the two of them. Jing Xin walked a few steps tightly, and walked to the side of the doll and the prodigal son, chatting with them with laughter and laughter. The mute man secretly held the giant python bead he had just gotten in his hand, and slowly reached the last position, vigilantly doing the task of the palace.

Xiao Qingfeng and the others had gone far beyond him, and he was still there slowly arranging his shoelaces. A simple action of tying his shoes can make him think about it repeatedly for so long, making people see that he is a man with a certain paranoid obsessive psychology.

At this moment, a tall, thin single tourist followed from behind. The tall, thin man had long hair, and even his face was completely obscured, making it impossible to see his face clearly. He moved slowly, not feeling like a normal person walking step by step, because Xiao Qingfeng couldn't see his knees bent at all, as if he was floating in the wind. When he walked to Xiao Qingfeng's side, he seemed to have deliberately stopped for a moment, and a barely audible sound came from inside his body. If it weren't for Xiao Qingfeng deliberately observing him, he really wouldn't have heard this subtle sound. I saw him, after a short pause, and then continued to float up, instantly catching up with the people in front, and disappeared in a flash.

After he drifted away, Xiao Qingfeng also caught up with everyone. He quietly conveyed his discovery to Jingxin, Mengshan Turtle, and Little Daoist priest, reminding the three of them to pay attention to everything around them at any time. At this time, in addition to laughing Maitreya and the prodigal son and the doll, even the mute and the lone wolf also felt that there was something wrong with the tall and thin man who had just passed, but everyone saw that Xiao Qingfeng didn't say anything.

Everyone climbed up for more than ten minutes, and on the way, they did not find the tall, thin man with long hair, and no other tourists saw another one. Everything was quiet and terrible, as if in this vast mountain, there were only nine people wandering. Although Laughing Maitreya doesn't say it now, he is getting closer and closer to the lone wolf's side.

At this time, the lone wolf cheered everyone up, saying that it would take at most twenty minutes to reach the top of the mountain, and everyone would increase the code to hang the high-speed gear, and soon you could see that the thousand-year-old cypress god tree that could bring infinite blessings to everyone. When they reach the top of the mountain, after completing the so-called important things entrusted to him by the little Taoist priest's teacher, everyone can quickly go down the mountain and return, and then gallop to the villa where the laughing Maitreya is located. At night, you will definitely be able to drink the treasured old wine of the laughing Maitreya, which is also what everyone has been looking forward to, and the "alloy (iron) rooster" of the laughing Maitreya is a rare treat.

Hearing the lone wolf say this, everyone suddenly came to their senses, and even seemed to have vaguely seen the huge canopy on the top of the mountain, and they couldn't help but speed up the pace of their ascent.

Everyone was walking, and they entered a dense forest in front of them, and suddenly they felt that the sky seemed to be more cloudy. The light was also noticeably dimer, and the dense foliage above the head was barely visible. All of a sudden, it felt like it was suddenly evening.

At this moment, Xiao Qingfeng suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him was very weird, as if there was something indescribable that was slowly surrounding and oppressing it. He immediately asked everyone in code words to gather their formation and pass through this strange dense forest carefully and quickly.

However, at this moment, something even stranger happened, and all of them suddenly went dark. Just now, it was just a little bit of the feeling that it had just entered the evening, but now it was all dark all of a sudden, and it simply turned into a dark night. The little Taoist priest hurriedly sacrificed his Pure Yang Mixed Yuan Flag, and the pure Yang Bead on the top of the flag emitted a faint light, so that everyone's eyes would not be blackened. In addition, everyone also took out strong flashlights, but the effect was not obvious in this strange fog. The lone wolf hurriedly checked the number of people, but fortunately everyone was there. According to the meaning of the lone wolf, the nine people were close together, everyone held hands, and slowly advanced in the original established direction.

Everyone walked slowly for a while, and suddenly a thicker black mist pressed over them. Xiao Qingfeng hurriedly asked the dumb man to take out his giant python beads again, only to see that the round giant python beads still exuded a faint dark green, and it seemed that there should be no poisonous gases such as miasma, insects, snakes, etc. in the thick mist. It's just that the fog is getting heavier and heavier, and gradually even the light of the pure yang pearl is pressed down, not to mention the headlamp flashlight that everyone carries with them.

As the fog became heavier and heavier, Xiao Qingfeng used code words to ask Jingxin, Mengshan Turtle, and Little Taoist Priest to cheer up their spirits and secretly use Xuangong, and at the same time pay attention to protecting the others around them. After nearly half an hour, everyone almost arm in arm, holding hands, supporting each other to grope forward, and finally walked out of the darkness like midnight. As the light of the pure yang bead above the little Taoist's body became brighter and brighter, the thick mist finally gradually receded, and in the end, everyone was as wet as if they had been drenched in a light rain, and it was indescribably uncomfortable.

Just when everyone regained their sight and breathed freely in the fresh mountain air, the lone wolf suddenly stopped everyone. He noticed that everyone's current position was not quite right, and according to the normal direction of everyone's travel before the dense fog, everyone should be almost at the top of the mountain by this time. But he was surprised to find that his current location was not at all on the pre-determined uphill road. It stands to reason that both sides of the road up the mountain should be full of tall trees and flowers and plants that have been man-made. Because this mountain road is the only main tourist mountain road in the entire scenic area.

But now where everyone is, not only is the neat mountain road paved with uniform stone strips gone, but it is also surrounded by those chaotic weeds and shrubs. In addition, looking at the surrounding mountains undulating and peaking, it seems that everyone has arrived at the location of a canyon. The lone wolf scratched the back of his head in annoyance, looked around in confusion, and did not speak for two or three minutes.

At this moment, the mute on the side suddenly popped out five words: "Wild, wolf, big, gorge, valley!"

When Xiao Qingfeng heard this, he was also taken aback, and he suddenly rose from the ground and landed steadily on a commanding height next to him. After looking around carefully for a while, he drifted back again. Under everyone's earnest inquiring gaze, he nodded slightly, and everyone suddenly became nervous. At the same time, Jing Xin, Mengshan Turtle, Little Daoist, and Dumb didn't need Xiao Qingfeng's orders, so they each stood in the four directions and laid out the Mixed Yuan Four Elephant Array.

It turns out that this wild wolf canyon is the most dangerous place in the mountains of Lotus Mountain. The Grand Canyon is still not officially fully developed due to the possibility of some unknown safety factors. Located directly north of the main peak of Lotus Mountain, this Grand Canyon is surrounded by mountains, with a total length of more than 10 kilometers, which is a long and narrow space. The valley floor is unfathomable, and the forests on both sides are lush and overgrown, mainly primitive natural forests. As far as the eye can see, the blue sea and green waves, the mountains and forests are stacked and green, and the scenery is beautiful. From time to time, you can hear the birdsong of Lin Tao, and there are often rare birds and beasts. On weekdays, visitors can follow the prescribed tourist route during the day to overlook the entire Grand Canyon along both sides of the Grand Canyon.

In addition, according to the local elders, there were often wild wolves in this Grand Canyon in the early days, so it was called the Wild Wolf Grand Canyon, referred to as the Wild Wolf Valley. Later, in order to develop tourism in Lotus Mountain, the local government had specially organized forces to carefully investigate several times, but did not find the traces of those ferocious so-called wild wolves. Just some small wild animals such as badgers, hares, pheasants, mountain scorpions, non-venomous snakes, etc., which are almost not aggressive, were found.

Moreover, in order to develop tourism, the relevant departments also deliberately officially named this Grand Canyon as "Baihua Grand Canyon", and specifically removed the daunting word "wild wolf". Of course, for safety reasons, until now, there are still obvious warning signs that prohibit tourists from entering the canyon without permission. But all along, the old medicine pickers near Lotus Mountain and the professionals who went into the valley to explore are still called the "Wild Wolf Grand Canyon".

The location of this wild wolf canyon and the front of the dense fog is exactly the front and back sides of the main peak of Lotus Mountain, which is the so-called front mountain and back mountain. In this way, the question now arises, and what surprises and puzzles everyone is, how did everyone pass through the mountain in the thick fog?

As for the others coming over the mountains or by detours, they are absolutely incredible. Because, even under normal circumstances, it will take at least one and a half to two hours for everyone to climb over the main peak or around the mountain to enter this wild wolf canyon. It is absolutely impossible to reach this location within half an hour, unless it is Xiao Qingfeng, Jingxin, Mengshan Turtle, and Little Taoist Priests who have Xuanmen light skills.

In this case, there is only one incredible possibility left, that is, everyone really crossed the mountain in the dense fog. But how is this kind of reasoning, which seems to everyone to be full of irony and funny?

Just when everyone was puzzled, Mengshan Turtle exclaimed again: "Look, that tall and thin long-haired strange man in front of the mountain has appeared again!"

Everyone looked in the direction of his finger, and under the thousand-year-old cypress tree at the top of the main peak of Lotus Mountain, a tall and thin long-haired strange man was standing alone on the edge of the cliff facing everyone. From a distance, it looks like a bamboo pole with a white dress hanging on it, a long shawl hair dancing in the wind, and a weird smile on his face. His eyes stared straight at the location of the group, although it was obviously far away, but it seemed to be close at hand. In this gray semi-cloudy day, from where everyone is, looking up, it looks even more eerie. Especially the prodigal son, the doll, and the laughing Maitreya are using the telescope, which is really startled.

In front of everyone's eyes, the long-haired strange man suddenly turned upside down and fell straight into the canyon below. When the doll saw this, she couldn't help but scream loudly. Just when everyone was shocked when they saw this strange scene, the strange fog that should have completely disappeared just now suddenly poured out from nowhere. And it was even thicker and heavier than just now, and suddenly it was back in the darkness where you couldn't see your fingers.

Everyone hurriedly rejoined hands and all stood still. About ten minutes later, this sudden strange fog disappeared in an instant. And it's pretty much the same as last time, visibility is back to normal again.

At this moment, Xiao Maitreya suddenly shivered violently, and cried out in a lost voice: "What's the matter, why did it suddenly become cold." As soon as he said this, everyone suddenly realized how the temperature in the Grand Canyon had dropped to the point of even below freezing. Even the lone wolf and the mute man had goosebumps all over their bodies, and the laughing Maitreya trembled directly. Xiao Qingfeng walked over and gently patted the lone wolf and the mute on their vest holes, and the two of them felt a soft flow of heat rush into their bodies, and the biting cold air suddenly dissipated. At the same time, Mengshan Turtle reached out and held Laughing Maitreya's hands, and Laughing Maitreya slowly eased up.

Just when Jingxin and the little Taoist priest were about to go over and help the doll and the prodigal son to ward off the cold, something even stranger happened. The doll suddenly smiled strangely at Jing Xin, who came to help her with her luck. Jing Xin was slightly surprised, and before he could react, he saw the doll's palms rush out and hit Jing Xin's chest hard. Caught off guard, under the sudden blow of the doll, a mouthful of blood spurted out. The doll seemed to be a little afraid of the blood that spurted out of Jingxin, but it was unusual, with a weird smile on her face, she flashed to the far side, and looked coldly at the confused people.

At the same time, the prodigal son also launched an attack on the little Taoist. It's just that because the little Taoist priest has been sacrificing the Pure Yang Mixed Yuan Banner since the strange fog appeared at the beginning, the prodigal son did not succeed with one blow as easily as a doll. But the prodigal son completely ignored the huge power of the Pure Yang Mixed Yuan Banner, suddenly pulled out the manganese steel machete behind his back, and slashed viciously at the hunchback of the little Taoist. Under the natural counterattack of the little Taoist Pure Yang Mixed Yuan Banner, the two of them shouted at the same time, and each quickly dodged. The little Taoist priest was not injured by the attack in a completely defenseless manner like Jing Xin, but instead shook the prodigal son's manganese steel machete out of his hand.