The gate of Huaigu Village was wide open. Led by Liu Shan, almost all the villagers were waiting at the entrance to welcome Wu Chang. Wu Chang turned over and dismounted, and the palace lantern in his hand went out the moment he landed. He put the remaining lamp oil into his pocket without leaving a trace, and held the lamp in front of Liu Shan. "Fortunately, I did not disgrace my life." Liu Shan took the palace lantern and exclaimed: "Wu Daxia is really a god. A week's journey can be completed in less than two days." Liu Jinfu placed the palace lantern on the altar in the center of the valley. It was nourished by the New Year's Eve formation in the valley. No need for lamp oil, the four year-old fire lanterns lit up with red flames. As the Suihuo ignited, the dampness and coldness brought by the evil spirits in the valley suddenly weakened a bit. Due to Wu Chang's early return, the original discussion about the New Year Festival turned into a celebration banquet. At the banquet, everyone was curious about why Wu Chang could come and go so quickly, and whether he met the lantern deliverer from Chenjiacun along the way. When they learned that Wu Chang had not encountered people from Chenjia Village, but had crossed through several dangerous mountainous areas, the villagers repeatedly exclaimed, praising the bravery of the skilled man.
Some people with delicate minds turn around and advise their children not to imitate dangerous moves, and good children must not imitate Wu Chang. If we walk on the mountain road like this, we won't lose ten lives. Since Wu Chang was walking through the mountain road normally, it naturally aroused everyone's next question. Liu Wei couldn't hold back and asked first: "My hero, what kind of difficulties did Chenjia Village encounter? Why did it take so long to turn on the lights?" Wu Chang sighed and told what he saw in Chenjiacun with lingering fear. Everyone's faces turned pale when they heard that the monsters had united to attack the village, killing everyone in Chenjia Village, and storing the dead as food for the winter. Some were timid and were even frightened to tears by this description. Although Chenjiacun has been turned into a bandit village, the two villages are family friends after all, and the villagers have many contacts with each other and can even become distant relatives. Chenjia Village just disappeared, causing the originally festive atmosphere in Huaigu Village to instantly cool down. The villagers dared to believe this fact after repeated confirmations. However, the villagers have no time to mourn for Chenjiacun, because they are the ones who will face the threat of monsters next. As soon as the meal was finished, the villagers didn't even bother to sleep and called the whole village to prepare for the New Year's Eve festival. The sound of work was heard all night long. Early the next morning, when Wu Chang opened his eyes, a giant bonfire and a wooden altar had been built in the center of the village. He asked the villagers guarding the door for a basin of hot water to wash up, and Liu Shan rushed over, inviting him to take a look around the village and explaining the New Year's Eve ceremony to him. The New Year's Eve Festival is the core of many problems in the series of copy planes. Only by clarifying the process of the New Year's Eve Festival can the next step be facilitated. He had recited the New Year's Eve prayer countless times, but he didn't understand how to actually perform it. I only know that there are many names that overlap with the Chinese New Year in real life, but the steps are more complicated and I don’t know the details.
Seeing Liu Shan take the initiative to deliver the information to his door, how could he not follow it up? Liu Wu once said before that when he sees the core of the New Year's Eve Festival with his own eyes, he will know what evil spirits are. Originally, he was worried about how to deceive Liu Shan so that he could see the core of the New Year's Eve Festival, but who knew that Liu Shan had no intention of hiding it at all. The first stop when visiting the New Year Festival is the forbidden area of Huaigu Village, which is also the core of the New Year Festival. The formation for the New Year's Eve Festival is arranged in the hollow mountain at the deepest part of Huaigu Village. The name Hollow Mountain comes from a natural cave in the mountain, which occupies nearly 30% of the mountain. It seems that when the mountain grew, someone hollowed out the heart of the mountain. There is only a narrow mountain path in and out of the cave, just big enough for three people to walk side by side. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and it is difficult for monsters to enter. It is perfect for being used as a forbidden area. In the center of the Hollow Mountain cave, there is a huge stone. The stone is round and smooth, in the shape of a slender trapezoid, with a full belly in the middle. It has not been carved in any way, but it has a somewhat humanistic feel. Like Maitreya with a big belly, and like a woman expecting to give birth. "This is it?" Wu Chang asked doubtfully. Liu Shan said: "This is Shifo Gong. When Huaigu Village was first established, when looking for the spring, someone found this Shifo Gong underground. When the Shi Fo Gong was removed, the spring water gushed out from the hole. Now it has passed through the hole. A small river passing through the valley.” "Shi Fo Gong is born with a certain ability, which is very effective. The warlock who originally arranged the formation used it as the cornerstone to suppress evil spirits and maintain the core of the New Year's Eve ritual formation." Wu Chang walked around Shi Fo Gong twice and looked at it very carefully. It's not that he believed Liu Shan's story, but there was something strange about this stone Buddha. When he approached the stone Buddha, the mortal poison in the space he carried around him stirred. It means that the erosion core produced after the copy is contaminated is nearby. But it was not the Shi Fo Gong mentioned by Liu Shan that caused the mortal poison to be induced, but came from beneath the Shi Fo Gong. Exactly how deep it was, he couldn't feel for the time being, but the distance wouldn't be too shallow. He stepped on the ground under his feet and said, "This mountain is hollowed out by stepping on it, but what else is there underground?" "There is a bottomless cave at the bottom of the mountain. It was sealed when the New Year's Eve formation was arranged. Don't worry, heroes, as long as the New Year's Eve formation is not broken, there is no need to worry about the ground collapsing." Liu Shan said. Wu Chang nodded quietly, but secretly felt troubled. The side mission he accepted required him to find the source of the evil spirit in Huaigu Village. The erosion core of the dungeon was formed in the crypt. It doesn't take much to know that the source of the demonic energy in Huaigu Village must be inseparable from the crypt. To enter the cave, the New Year's Eve formation must be destroyed, which conflicts with the main task. At present, it seems that we can only find a way to complete the main task first, and then find a way to complete the side task after the dungeon stays for the time after the task is completed. Liu Shan didn't know what Wu Chang was thinking, and took him to the small cave next to the Stone Buddha.
As soon as he entered the door, Wu Chang was shocked by the scene in front of him. There was a group of strange beasts in the cave. There were two big and five small strange beasts, a total of seven. The big beast was about or meters long, with a slender body, like a tiger or a leopard, but covered with scales, and was extraordinary. The small beast was only 70 to 80 centimeters long, still in its infancy, and very shy. As soon as it saw someone coming, the small beast quickly hid behind the big beast, and the big beast's eyes showed sadness and anger. Wu Chang had never seen a beast with such complex emotions and such human nature. Seeing Wu Chang's surprised expression, Liu Shan was slightly proud and proudly introduced it. "This beast is called the Mountain Guardian Beast. It is rumored to be a dragon species. It only lives in the deepest part of Baili Huaishan Mountain and is very rare." "What a coincidence. The child who was taken in by the village by accident before was born with the ability to communicate with wild beasts. Liu Wei took the child into the mountain and caught this nest of mountain guarding beasts." It must be said that the villagers of Huaigu Village really know how to use the young mountain guard. But what Wu Chang couldn't understand was that in the face of such a useful tool man, why did the wealthy Huaigu Village be so stingy with even a cotton coat and a hot meal. Even the toughest cattle and horses would die if they were beaten like this. "Why do you catch these mountain guarding beasts?" At this point, Liu Shan got to the point of today's tour with Wu Chang. "Wu Daxia, the New Year's Eve Festival is divided into four steps, and the first step - welcoming the New Year, requires this mountain guarding beast."
