Nanli City, the southernmost city of the Firmament Empire, there are relatively few people here, after all, across a strait is the gathering place of the demon clan, and it is also a forbidden place for human beings, a cursed place.

Many people have lived here for generations, although it is barren and backward, few people have arrived here, so there are less than 10,000 people in the whole city, which is indeed a small number for a city.

The people in the city basically know each other, and in their lives, except for the occasional adventurer who has to cross the city and want to go to the gathering place of the demon clan to find the legendary demon element. For the demon clan, the demon yuan is their core, as long as the demon yuan is there, they can almost live forever.

The demon clan has the same appearance as a human, the only difference is that the eyes will turn scarlet in the dark night, full of the smell of killing.

In Nanli City, adults often say to disobedient children, if you don't obey, you will be thrown across the strait and eaten by the demon clan.

Yes, in the legend, the demon clan is a cannibal.

Those children, obediently, became very docile.

In fact, the demon clan ravaged the world many years ago.

It was more than 3,000 years ago, the demon clan was a disaster to the world, killing people when they saw them, extremely ferocious, and it was difficult to kill, and many masters in the city died under the fangs of the demon clan.

At that time, this city was not called Nanli City, when the human race was defeated on all fronts, and the demon clan was about to use this city as a springboard to attack the human race in an all-out way, a hero was born.

This hero's name is Xu Nanli, he is a powerful martial artist, and I don't know what method he used, since he appeared, the elites of the demon clan have died under his sword, and the demon clan is terrified when they see him.

Xu Nanli led the masters of the human race to a comprehensive counterattack, and expelled the demon clan to the land across the strait. But when they landed on that land, the masters of the human race were infected with strange diseases, and countless people died in that land. Xu Nanli was also seriously injured and could only give up chasing the demon clan.

Since then, the land has been known as the Land of the Damned.

In order to prevent the demon clan from attacking again, Xu Nanli cast a statue on the edge of the strait and left a last word, in this statue, there is a mysterious weapon to deal with the demon clan. After Xu Nanli died, people renamed the city Nanli City in order to commemorate his contribution to the protection of mankind.

Time has changed, the vicissitudes of life, maybe this statue has played a role, the demon clan has never come to the territory of humans again, at least not blatantly.

Now that three years have passed, not only have the people who left the city in the south never seen the demon clan, but even the records of the demon clan in the city chronicles have become blurred with the update from generation to generation.

The demon clan on the other side of the strait, since being expelled to the cursed land, has also explicitly forbidden the demon clan to go to the territory of humans. But there are still many demon clans who want to see where humans live, so they secretly run to Nanli City, so humans have the legend of Demon Yuan.

Legend has it that if you get the demon element, you can add another Jiazi's lifespan, and you can also improve the realm, and more importantly, you can get the ability of the demon clan. At that time, Zhao Hongxiang told Yue Huairen about the demon yuan, and Yue Huairen was so excited.

Although this incident is a legend, there are still people who have indeed obtained the Demon Yuan, and this person is also a prince of the Firmament Empire.

A hundred years ago, the prince came to Nanli City by chance and met a woman, and the two hit it off at first sight, and they both fell in love after only a month of acquaintance.

Just when the prince took her back to Shenwu City to get married, the woman was recognized as a demon clan, and the emperor at that time naturally did not allow his prince to marry a woman from the demon clan. So he vetoed this family affair, and set up a bureau to kill the woman and get her demon yuan.

Even if the prince knew that the woman he loved was a member of the demon clan, he would not change his infatuation with her. When he learned of his father's plan, he begged the emperor to spare the woman, and voluntarily gave up the throne he wanted to pass on to him.

The emperor was furious and sent someone to imprison him, and the demon woman got the news and wanted to rescue the prince, but she was limited by herself.

Although one person withstood the attack of most of the people, he was still attacked by the archers hiding in the shadows, and the prince saw the archers who attacked and sacrificed himself to block the deadly arrow for her.

The demon woman was very sad, and when the prince was dying, she took the initiative to take out her demon yuan and give it to the prince. What is very shocking is that this prince came back to life after getting the demon yuan. And the woman of the demon clan was naturally killed by random arrows.

And although the prince is alive, his beloved is dead, and it was his father who killed her, and he can't kill his father to take revenge. I was disheartened and left in a daze.

Three years later, there was a rebellion of the prince in the Firmament Empire, and tens of thousands of rebels surrounded the palace, and this prince appeared again, resisting tens of thousands of rebels with one person, shocking the world. When the emperor knew that it was his son who had such a strong strength after obtaining the demon yuan, he wanted to pass on the throne to him.

But he was already disheartened, saying that this shot was to repay the emperor's nurturing grace to him, and then the two did not owe each other. Then it vanished again, never to be seen again.

Later, someone saw him in Nanli City, and guessed that he might have returned to Nanli City, because this was the place where he met and fell in love with the demon woman after all.

The strength of the demon yuan can be seen from this prince, so over the years, many people want to come over to try their luck and see if they can get the demon yuan. It's only when people return in vain that people's enthusiasm gradually fades.

And now, it has been five years since Nanli City has not had anyone who wants to try his luck.

Outside the city gate, a group of people appeared, the leader of whom was dressed in a white trench coat and rode a red horse, looking very heroic, and behind him was an old man and a young woman in a white brocade robe, a middle-aged woman in a light scarlet shirt, and two carriages behind him.

The soldier defending the city rubbed his eyes, he was sure that he was not mistaken, and he did not know any of the people who had come over. That is, they all

It is not from the south that leaves the city, but from outside. He gently poked his dozing companion with his right hand: "Pony, wake up!

The companion impatiently pushed his hand away, still closed his eyes, chewed on the leaves that remained between his teeth in the morning, and said, "Go, go, go!

For a city where few people come, the gate is guarded by two people, and it is redundant. And they just made a show, came every day, with their backs to the city wall, and slept soundly.

"Pony, someone's coming, wake up! The soldier continued to push him on the shoulder, trying to wake him up.

"Come on, what's the big deal!" he continued to hold his rusty knife and continued to sleep.

"It's not us who leave the city in the south, you get up and take a look. ”

The person who was still sleeping just now, hearing his words, suddenly opened his eyes and stood up, Xu is sleeping position is not very good, he felt that his legs were a little numb, he was a little unstable, and he was almost about to fall, but fortunately, his companion supported him and stood his body firmly.

He looked out of the city, saw the group of people who had left the city facing south, and said, "Hey!

The man in the white trench coat reined in his horse and looked up at the top of the city gate, where he saw three large characters written on it: "South Leaving the City".

"Master, Master, we have left the city in the south. The man said to the other two.

At this time, the carriage also stopped, and the curtain of the first carriage was lifted, and a woman in a blue gauze skirt stepped out of it, and she glanced at the city gate, and then said to the man in white: "At last we have arrived, the road has been really bumpy." ”

"Qingxiao, after entering the city, your master and I are going to visit a senior, you first find an inn in the city and wait for us. The woman in the shallow scarlet shirt said.

These people were Zhan Qingxiao and the others who came over after the spirit beast riot ended. The woman in the blue gauze skirt is Bai Zhi who was taken away by Zhan Qingxiao, but now she should be called Qiwei. And the girl in white is naturally Baili Lingju who promised to serve him for a year, and the other two are Zhang Xueqing and Xiang Qing from Deer Hunting Gate.

The carriage behind also walked down with three children, and it was Zhang Wan'er and others.

"Where are you from?" the soldier asked Zhan Qingxiao with a smile.

Zhan Qingxiao tidied up the clothes of the dusty servant, and then replied, "I'm from Shenwu City. ”

"Oh, Shenwu City, I don't know why you have to come south and leave the city?" the soldier asked again.

"We're here to play. Baili Lingju stepped forward and showed a lovely expression, looking like a rich daughter who was not deeply involved in the world and was full of curiosity about everything.

"Come and play? Nanli City is not as fun as Shenwu City. How many of you are going into town?"

"Yes. ”

"That's right, when you come to our south and leave the city, you have to pay a tael of silver to enter the city. A few ......"

Zhan Qingxiao took out a tael of silver from the money bag, and then handed it to the soldier, but the soldier did not answer. Instead, he said: "This son has misunderstood, it is one tael of silver for each person, and you have a total of ten people, and you want a total of ten taels of silver." ”

He also pointed to two horsemen who were driving the car, this horseman was hired by Zhan Qingxiao in the previous city, and when he heard the soldier say this, the two horsemen hurriedly said: "We don't need to go through the process, and then we have to return to Jiangchuan City." ”

Although this trip was easy for these two grooms, including the package and the carriage rental, they were only a hundred taels of remuneration, and spending one tael of silver to enter the city was undoubtedly too luxurious. Other cities have to charge for entering the city, but at most there are two or three copper plates, and this south leaves the city to enter the city for one or two silvers per person, which is simply too much.

Zhan Qingxiao naturally didn't care about this little money, so he gave eight taels of silver, took off the luggage on the carriage, and walked into this rather deserted city.

Zhang Xueqing and Xiang Qing came to the south and left the city to visit a master, so as soon as they entered the city, they separated from Zhan Qingxiao and them.

There weren't many pedestrians on the street, and the shops were rarely frequented, and the guys selling at the counters were dozing.

Zhan Qingxiao walked into an inn with a handwritten "Xiangyunlou" sign hanging crookedly at the door of the house, because it was just after noon, people had basically eaten. Therefore, there is only one shopkeeper in the inn who is cleaning up the dishes and chopsticks, and there is a white-bearded old man who counts the accounts on the ground one by one.

There were almost no more guests in the inn, except for an old man in shabby clothes in the corner by the window, who looked to be a hundred years old, with gray hair and beard. On the table in front of him was a pot of old wine and a stack of peanuts.

He casually held a peanut with chopsticks and put it in his mouth, then picked up the pot of old wine, raised his head and drank it, making a sound of chirping in his mouth.

Seeing someone walking in, the shopkeeper put down the dishes and chopsticks he had cleaned up, and said with a thick smile on his face: "Yo, a few guest officers, do you want to eat or stay in the hotel?" ”

Zhan Qingxiao found a clean big table and sat down, "Bring us some food first, and then help us arrange five upper rooms." "

"A few guest officers look very faceless, not like our people who left the city in the south. The shopkeeper took his rag, wiped the table again, and then wiped it and said.

"Hmm. Zhan Qingxiao replied, "You have something to eat here, let's hear about it." ”

Although Zhan Qingxiao didn't have any requirements for food, but Qiwei and Baili Lingju, he naturally couldn't be casual, so he wanted to get some delicious food for them, after coming out of Jiangchuan City, they were basically deserted, they were all dry food, and their mouths were very tasteless.

"Would you like to try the fish from Qionghai in our southern city? This fish is very large, delicious and sweet, it can be braised or steamed, no matter how you do it, it is delicious. The shopkeeper began to recommend.

"Okay, let's do the same!"

Haole, braised Qionghai fish, steamed Qionghai fish, a total of five taels of silver. Do you need anything else? For example, this brown sugar cabbage is also a specialty, and it only costs one or two silver per plate. Charcoal roasted lame legs, only five taels of silver. How about giving you a copy?" After speaking, he looked at Zhan Qingxiao cautiously, as if he was afraid that the guests would find it expensive.

"Little bolt, which taught you to cheat others like this. Qiong Haiyu is obviously only two hundred yuan, this is more than ten times higher than you are! This cabbage is even more excessive, it is obviously ten yuan for something, you have to charge one or two silver!" Zhan Qingxiao was about to nod in agreement, when the old man in the corner suddenly said.

The shopkeeper was slightly embarrassed, his face flushed, Zhan Qingxiao looked at him with surprised eyes, making him a little proud, he tried his best to explain: "Old man Yue, what do you say! These guest officers are the most honored guests who have come to our Nanli City, so naturally they want to invite our master master to cook these dishes, and the price is naturally different from the ordinary master who cooks these dishes for you!"

"Oh, yes, I've been eating in your Xiangyun Building for more than ten years, and it's the first time I've heard of any masters!"

"You are embarrassed to say that if you come every day, you will give five yuan, and the cost price of your jar of wine alone will be one hundred yuan. I don't know if the shopkeeper, how can you be allowed to come so nonsense, if we have a few more guests like you in Xiangyun Building, it will collapse sooner or later!" said the shopkeeper in pieces, as if he was dissatisfied with this old man.

And the old man didn't say anything more, so the shopkeeper stopped talking and continued, looking at Zhan Qingxiao with a smile, as if waiting for him to order these dishes that he recommended, or whether he thought it would be expensive and reasoned with himself.

Zhan Qingxiao didn't feel that it was expensive, after all, the money seemed to be nothing to him, so he took a silver ingot of twenty taels, put it on the table, and said, "According to what you said, let's get all of it!

The shopkeeper had a bright smile on his face, and took the silver in his hand, as if he was afraid that he would regret it. "Thank you for the reward! Thank you for the reward!"

After the wine and food were served, Zhan Qingxiao said: "Let's eat them all, after eating, let's have a good rest first, and then make plans tomorrow." ”

At this time, while eating, he secretly looked at the old man. As early as when he came in, he noticed that this old man had a strong immortal power circulating on his body, and he was a super master. Based on Zhan Qingxiao's cognition of immortal power, this old man's strength is definitely not an ordinary realm of heaven and man, and the immortal power in his body can definitely be guided by the ascension of the immortal realm, but he is still in the mortal world, which makes Zhan Qingxiao very curious.

The old man hadn't spoken since the conversation with the shopkeeper, but held the wine jug, looked out the window, drank the wine one by one, and made a smacking sound from time to time. With his head held high, he put the mouth of the jug to his mouth, and when the last drop of wine flowed into his mouth, he knew that the jug was finished.

The old man had a look of displeasure on his face, and he shook the flask, trying to shake out some wine, but the wine in the pot had been drunk completely, and he couldn't shake out a drop.

"Little bolt, another pot of wine!" said the old man to the shopkeeper who was packing up his things.

The shopkeeper put down the work in his hand and said dissatisfiedly: "Old man Yue, you only gave five cents, and it is already the kindness of the shopkeeper to be able to give you a pot of wine, you still want wine, don't talk about it!"

"What's wrong with drinking your pot of wine? Your Xiangyun Building won't go out of business, hurry up and give me a pot of wine!" The old man surnamed Yue seemed to be planning to start arguing with the shopkeeper.

"No way!"

"Eh, Xiao Er, give this old man a pot of good wine, count it in my account!" Zhan Qingxiao suddenly interjected, this old man is full of mystery, and he can't see through it, and he just said that the price of the food that the shopkeeper gave him is different from usual, and he reminded himself, and it doesn't matter if he asks him to drink a pot of wine.

"Guest officer, you ......" Although the shopkeeper was unhappy, he still obeyed the words of Zhan Qingxiao, a generous guest, so he took another pot of wine and put it on the old man's table, making a "bang" sound to express his displeasure.

The old man smiled with satisfaction on his face, and then poured a mouthful into his mouth, which continued to make a chirping sound.

"Ah~ This wine is so beautiful! Ten years later, this taste still hasn't changed!" he let out an exclamation, then put down the wine jug, looked at Zhan Qingxiao, and said, "Little brother, can you come over and have a drink together." ”

"The elders are invited, don't dare not disobey!" Zhan Xiaoxiao said, and got up.

Baili Lingju gently grabbed his hand and shook her head slightly, her eyes did not seem to want to be light, it was obvious that she also felt that this old man was giving her a sense of danger.

Zhan Qingxiao smiled slightly, signaling Baili Lingju not to worry. He walked towards the old man, and with every step, he felt that the immortal power in the old man's body was getting stronger and stronger, and the curiosity in his heart was getting heavier and heavier.

Zhan Qingxiao sat down, and the shopkeeper refilled a pot of wine and prepared a wine glass. Because this generous guest has given himself so many rewards after all. The mouth of this wine jug was put into the mouth of the old man surnamed this month and drunk, who knows if there will be the old man's saliva in the wine? If he is allowed to drink the same pot of wine as the old man, it is not appropriate.

"No need, I'll just drink the same pot of wine as the old-timers. Zhan Qingxiao said as if he didn't care, and then took the old man's pot of wine and poured a glass into his own wine glass.

The old man continued to drink with the pot, touching each other one by one, and each took a sip of wine. The old man surnamed Yue put down the wine jug and said, "Since the old man has got a pot of good wine from you, he can naturally give you some benefits." ”

"Why should the old-timers do this, the juniors don't invite you to drink for any benefit. Zhan Qingxiao said disapprehantly.

"Do you want to go to the demon clan?" the old man said suddenly.

"How did you know?" Zhan Qingxiao blurted out this sentence, and as soon as he finished speaking, he regretted it a little, how could he tell others the purpose of his coming here at will? If it was usual, he would have thought it through, and he would not have been so out of shape at all, but the feeling that this old man had created for him made him not think much about it at all.

The old man smiled lightly, picked up the wine jug, took another sip of wine, and said, "What a beautiful wine!"