Chapter 196: Plague

Hong Changbao smiled when he heard this and nodded.

To put it bluntly, it is to fight against the demonic sect together, leaving Red Wood Ridge as a nail in the Miao Border.

This is a good thing for Red Wood Ridge.

Next, he has to tell the righteous path the value of Red Wood Ridge,

"Daoist friend, look at this Lost Trace Lake, how is it? I occupy the lake and guard it, and the demon sect has been besieging it for three years without breaking it."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, "Occupying the natural danger of the middle reaches of the Wu River, with natural mist as a barrier, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is located between the Immortal Cave and the Green Dragon Cave. It is an excellent position."

Hong Changbao smiled slightly.

"However, please forgive the poor Daoist for speaking bluntly. As far as the current situation is concerned, if the Wu River is taken as the boundary, the north of the river can be called the last pure land of the Miao Border. If Hong Jiaozhu Hong has the intention to restore the sect and avenge, he should not have the idea of being content with a corner."

Hong Changbao's face changed, "Definitely not!"

As if afraid that the few Daoists would not believe it, his face was extremely solemn,

"Sitting and guarding Lost Trace Lake is just an expedient measure, only for recuperation. When the time comes, I will naturally walk out and counterattack the south!"

Hong Changbao understood, and he also knew in his heart that if he led the Red Wood Ridge remnants to settle in Lost Trace Lake, not to mention whether they could survive under the siege of the demonic path, just talking about the utilization value to the righteous path would be much smaller. Of course, the hatred of breaking the door and losing the master also did not allow him to be content with a corner. Otherwise, he could have chosen to join the demonic sect when he broke the door.

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, it is good that Hong Changbao has not lost his spirit.

"This time the few Daoist priests came, whose decree was it?"

Hong Changbao asked. He also had to figure out the degree of support from the righteous path for Red Wood Ridge. If it was just a few young people who came here on a whim to kill demons and monsters, then he might as well continue to guard in Lost Trace Lake and wait for the opportunity.

Cheng Xinzhan smiled when he heard this,

"Hong Jiaozhu Hong, look, the people from Mount Sanqing and Wan Shou Palace are already here. Hong Jiaozhu Hong should have seen the movement outside just now. Those are the high disciples of Mount Bingfeng, Mount Juqu, and Mount Gezao. Every family that came has a Golden Core. Hehe, this is not the decree of any one True Person, but the will of the Righteous Path Alliance."

Shen Zhaoming and Huang Miaoluo nodded on the surface, but thought in their hearts that Xinzhan is really good at speaking. An order arrow from the alliance can actually raise the tone so high.

Hong Changbao was overjoyed when he heard this. It's not bad. With Daoist seeds from various families, he is not afraid that the righteous path will not look toward here.

Both sides expressed their positions, and the following words were easy to say.

"Hong Jiaozhu Hong, can you tell me in detail about this Lost Trace Lake?"

Hong Changbao nodded and explained to the three righteous path people.

It turned out that this Lost Trace Lake was originally one of the backhands of Red Wood Ridge. This is also normal. Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows. Which big sect would not have such a backhand? Moreover, Cheng Xinzhan dared to assert that Red Wood Ridge's backhands were not just this one place, and like the Four Masters and Two Ge and the three mountains of talismans, big sects that have stood for thousands of years would only have more backhands.

This Lost Trace Lake is extremely deep. The two words "Lost Trace" not only refer to the mist on the lake that makes people unable to distinguish directions, but there are countless water caves crisscrossing underground, with dark currents surging.

In the past, this was the territory of a Third Realm Black Water Mysterious Snake. This black snake offered its inner elixir every night to ingest moon essence and release mist. Over time, the elixir mist and mountain water miasma mixed together, and it became this Lost Trace Lake.

The black snake grew up in the Wu River, could raise mist and make waves, and ordinary people couldn't hurt it. Even if a person with high magic power came to catch it, the black snake would drill into the lost caves under the lake, and then escape into the Wu River, and no one could do anything about it.

However, the world didn't know that this black snake was actually the adopted son of the Red-Haired Old Ancestor, named Wu Xuanmiao. His cultivation was all passed down by the Red-Haired Old Ancestor, and under the guidance of the Red-Haired Old Ancestor, he turned the mist on this Lost Trace Lake and the water caves below into a formation. Whether it was a strong attack from the water or a dark dive under the water, it was not easy to use. It was a backhand of Red Wood Ridge, and only Hong Changbao knew about it alone.

And the few people talked until now, and didn't see Hong Changbao have the intention to introduce this Wu Xuanmiao, it seems he still wants to hide this backhand again.

Cheng Xinzhan heard this and asked,

"Hong Jiaozhu Hong, the Red-Haired Senior had foresight, and this Lost Trace Lake is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack. However, the daily cultivation of nearly ten thousand people, and resisting the outside offensive, is it a bit difficult to sustain?"

Hong Changbao smiled bitterly. Worthy of being a disciple of a big sect, this sentence asked the point. Maintaining the cultivation of nearly ten thousand people is not an easy task. In the past, the cultivation of fifty thousand disciples of Red Wood Ridge had to have the output of spiritual objects from a mountain of more than a hundred miles plus the labor supply of thousands of Miao villages around to maintain it. Now nearly ten thousand people are squeezed into this Lost Trace Lake. Just the daily Qi-eating cultivation has almost squeezed Lost Trace Lake dry.

Moreover, Red Wood Ridge is a side sect, practicing blood Qi like the sea. Besides eating Qi and taking elixirs, they also need to supplement with meat. Now they haven't eaten meat for three years and have to resist foreign enemies. Now everyone is a bit listless and the essence blood is empty.

"Can still hold on for a year or a half."

Hong Changbao didn't elaborate, just one sentence stated the current predicament. He also understood that the demon path outside attacked fiercely at the beginning, and basically just surrounded and didn't attack later, just sending people to harass every day to let the people inside tighten their strings, which should also be seeing this point.

"Then what was Hong Jiaozhu Hong's original plan?"

Hong Changbao hesitated for a moment, but thought, what can these big sect disciples covet from their group of stray dogs? So he told the truth,

"My sworn brother went out to contact. The Green Dragon Cave and the Immortal Cave had friendships with my Red Wood Ridge before. This time, the friendship was used up, hoping to have some harvest. In addition, the Eighteen Demons of the Wu River, my sworn brother can also speak, see if we can find some help to come back to help us get out of trouble."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, but didn't make a sound.

"I don't know what high opinion the Daoist priest has?"

Hong Changbao saw that Cheng Xinzhan was just asking around and didn't say a good plan, so he took the initiative to ask.

Cheng Xinzhan didn't rush to answer, "Can Hong Jiaozhu Hong allow us to walk around and look at the terrain?"

Hong Changbao didn't know what medicine Cheng Xinzhan was selling in the gourd, just nodded dullly,

"Then I will excuse myself. Several Daoist priests don't run outside the mist, and don't enter the water. Only my sworn brother knows the path there, and even if I go down, I can't find the direction."

The few people nodded, and Hong Changbao hurried away. It seems there are many things waiting for him to be busy.

After Hong Changbao left, the three of them strolled around on their own. Cheng Xinzhan first took out the sound transmission talisman and briefly explained the situation inside to the outside, reporting safety. Then Shen Zhaoming asked,

"Xinzhan, what are your thoughts?"

Cheng Xinzhan kept the sound transmission talisman open and said at the same time, "According to the information collected by the alliance before, it felt like Red Wood Ridge was in danger, struggling in the siege of the demon path, and it seemed that the casualties were heavy. But after coming in, I found that it was not the case. The Red-Haired Old Ancestor is worthy of being a generation of demon sect masters, and Hong Changbao is worthy of being valued by the Red-Haired Old Ancestor. The situation is actually not as bad as we thought."

Shen Zhaoming nodded, "Not bad, I thought I was going to have a big fight after coming in."

"So this matter doesn't have to be so urgent. Red Wood Ridge has gone to find foreign aid. Jishu, I think you don't have to guard outside. It's better to turn around in the Miao Border. You can also talk to the Immortal Cave and the Green Dragon Cave. After the demonic chaos, they have always shown a shrinking attitude. What does it mean? If you are worried about the Green Robe Old Ancestor, you can form an alliance with us. At the same time, you can express our attitude toward Red Wood Ridge.

"Mount Ziwei attacks the south and defends the north, and there are many things. Don't bother the alliance. See if you can mobilize the local Daoist forces. With more people, you can do big things. Don't just think about saving Red Wood Ridge. It's the Eight Great Vajras. Let's see if we can eat one or two."

The voice of Song Jishu came from the sound transmission talisman, "Xinzhan, don't worry, we know what to do. You three be careful inside." The outside cut off the sound transmission talisman. It seems they are going to act.

"How do you want to eat them? Now the Southern Sect is unified, and there are not a few Third Realm experts, but only the Eight Great Vajras have been selected. These eight, each of them is a famous figure for a long time, it is not easy to eat them."

Huang Miaoluo asked.

"For battle, one must consider the timing, the terrain, and the people. As for timing, the only opportunity we can exploit now is the summer flood season. It is currently late spring, and the summer flood is not far off; we can wait for that time. As for terrain, it is naturally the river water and the mist. With the summer flood and the river water, Shen Zhaoming should like this."

Shen Zhaoming smiled when he heard this, "I won't let Xinzhan down when the time comes."

"As for the people, there are two places. On our side, naturally, the more people who can make a move, the better. This also depends on how many people Jishu and the others can pull. On the demon path side, they are not together, which is our harmony. The three families are obviously pregnant with ghosts. Yao Kaijiang is the most unwelcome. Just chase him and fight."

Huang Miaoluo nodded. She is good at one-on-one fighting, but she is not very interested in planning these things. She summarized,

"That is to wait for the summer flood to arrive, borrow the power of the river water and the cover of the mist, attack Yao Kaijiang together, and catch him off guard?"

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, "That's about what it means."

"The time and place here are easy to say, but the people are the most difficult. Xinzhan, look at these people in Red Wood Ridge, each of them is weak, I'm afraid only Hong Changbao and Wu Xuanmiao can contribute, the rest, I'm afraid it's difficult to be of much use!"

"And how to cooperate inside and outside, and use the strength of all parties in one place, Yang Xuanla and Long Youpo naturally understand the truth of lips and teeth cold, we must severely damage Yao Kaijiang before they react."

Shen Zhaoming added a sentence.

"The key is here."

!

Cheng Xinzhan affirmed Shen Zhaoming's statement, "Hong Changbao has goodwill toward us, but he has not reached the point of full trust. Counterattacking the demonic sect is just an act of killing demons for us, but for the Red Wood Ridge remnants, it is a matter of life and death and even the continuation of the lineage. With our current friendship, he will not easily listen to us. Walking around now is to find an opportunity to make them trust us more."

Shen Zhaoming and Huang Miaoluo nodded, learning to look around aimlessly like Cheng Xinzhan.

"Look at those people in Red Wood Ridge, whether they are injured or not, their faces are so yellow, could it be that they are poisoned?"

Huang Miaoluo voiced her doubts after watching for a while, thinking she had found a clue.

The demonic path in the Southern Border is good at poison, which is not a secret.

Shen Zhaoming had also long seen that the state of these people in Red Wood Ridge was wrong. After hearing this, he pinched a formula, and a water ball appeared out of thin air on his fingertips. He looked at it and smelled it, then said,

"The water mist and river water are all fine."

"Then what is the reason?"

Huang Miaoluo felt that there was still something tricky. Cultivators, even if they are besieged, have no life worries. As long as there is Qi-eating, they can fast. If the spiritual energy is insufficient, at most the cultivation is slow. Why would their faces be sallow and their bodies thin?

Shen Zhaoming thought for a while and said, "The side sect of Red Wood Ridge practices blood Qi like the sea, and is good at blood refining. Magic techniques and magic treasures all rely on their own abundant blood Qi to perform, so unlike our Daoist path, which only ingests the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they also need blood food to supplement. I think it should be that they have been trapped in one place for a long time and have to resist the invading demon sect, leading to blood Qi having output but no input, which is why they became like this."

If Hong Changbao were here, he would definitely praise him.

This makes sense, Huang Miaoluo nodded when she heard it.

However, Cheng Xinzhan looked at those listless people, but was thoughtful, and did not immediately agree with Shen Zhaoming's words.

"Xinzhan, what is your opinion?"

Shen Zhaoming asked.

"Zhaoming makes sense, there should be a lack of blood food, but I think, since Lost Trace Lake is a backhand of Red Wood Ridge, and its owner is a Mysterious Snake Great Demon, it should have stored some blood food. And in such a predicament, even if there is less blood food, it should be prioritized to supply a part of the people, at least to resist foreign enemies. I don't think everyone should be so weak, everyone is sallow and thin."

Shen Zhaoming frowned slightly when he heard this, "Xinzhan also makes sense, but I have already tested it, water and mist are non-toxic. Can the demon heads outside poison it out of thin air? If it is a curse, then to cast a curse on nearly ten thousand people, it must be a fast and sacrifice. I think this group of demon heads doesn't have this ability. Even if they have, with such a big movement of fast and sacrifice, Hong Changbao should be able to find it."

"I naturally believe in Zhaoming's magic."

Cheng Xinzhan comforted him.

If there is poison in the water that even a Golden Core cultivator of the Jingming Sect cannot find, then the person who puts the poison doesn't need to be so troublesome, and would have poisoned everyone inside easily.

"Ugh!"

At this time, on a small island next to the three, many wounded were raised here, and one of them suddenly bent down and vomited. But the stomach of the cultivator is full of essence, and there is no debris. The Red Wood Ridge disciples who have been hungry for several years are even more so, so what was vomited was just a pool of blue-green gastric juice.

Seeing this, Cheng Xinzhan's eyes suddenly lit up, then he looked at Shen Zhaoming,

"Zhaoming was right just now, there should be a reason for the lack of blood food. However, I think, since Lost Trace Lake is a backhand of Red Wood Ridge, and its owner is a Mysterious Snake Great Demon, it should have stored some blood food. And in such a predicament, even if there is less blood food, it should be prioritized to supply a part of the people, at least to resist foreign enemies. I don't think everyone should be so weak, everyone is sallow and thin."

Shen Zhaoming also obviously thought of something,

"Plague?"

Cheng Xinzhan nodded.

"How dare they!"

The hand Shen Zhaoming held the whisk tightened suddenly, and the veins bulged.

Putting plague into the water is the greatest taboo in the world, a crime more vicious than slaughtering a city! According to the laws of the Jingming Sect, those who are caught putting plague will be locked in the mirror prison and subjected to the punishment of burning blood and stripping souls!

"Whether it is or not, a test will know."

Cheng Xinzhan knew of the demonic path's audacity, for he himself possessed a type of gu-insect capable of spreading the "sick-blood plague."

Cheng Xinzhan approached a wounded man and, under the man's terrified gaze, released a mosquito-gu, which landed on his shoulder.

The mosquito-gu could not only suck essence-blood and spread the blood plague, but it could also feed on the imperceptible plague-insects within the blood itself; to the mosquito-gu, this was an exquisite delicacy.

Ever since being re-refined by Cheng Xinzhan, these mosquito-gu had gorged themselves on essence-blood overseas, yet under Cheng Xinzhan's control, they had never released the "sick-blood plague," and thus had never tasted the plague-insects within the blood.

But this time, the gu-insect finally caught the scent of the plague-insects and greedily sucked them up.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 197 =====