Chapter 270 Candidates

"Two people from the Central Plains?"

Because more and more Gu Masters were constantly going out to fight in the battlefield, the population of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave had been reduced by more than half, and it was no longer as lively as before.

Because at this time, the battlefield area at the border of Raojiang and Nanping has become an excellent place for batches of Gu Masters to test their Gu. It is hard to say whether the Gu technique can be improved, but it is definitely possible to test the Gu on living people, and they can do it without any scruples, just unleash the maximum power of the Gu worm. For many years, has there been such a good thing?

That would be fine. If it was an ordinary war, so many Gu Masters should not be mobilized. After all, the Gu King Chi Li and the Witch King Chi Li established the Ten Thousand Poison Cave in order to restrain the various tribes in Raojiang from fighting each other, and then to unite them to build Raojiang together and isolate the war in the Central Plains from the outside.

However, after the Witch King Chi Li threw all the dirty water of the corpse monsters on the Nanping Kingdom, the resentment of everyone in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave instantly exploded, and the hatred towards the Nanping Kingdom and the Central Plains was easily mobilized. It can be said that the war against the Nanping Kingdom was exactly what the people wanted.

In addition, under this circumstance, the long-standing "Maple Leaf Humiliation" was suddenly brought up again, so the call for advancing into the Central Plains was not small throughout the Wandu Cave.

According to the legend in Raojiang, the so-called "Maple Leaf Humiliation" was that after Chiyou's clan was defeated by the Yellow Emperor, Chiyou himself was put on wooden shackles and escorted to walk nearly 2,000 miles. His hands and feet were worn out by the shackles, which was a horrible sight. After Chiyou was killed, the blood-soaked shackles were abandoned in the mountains and took root, growing into a blood-red and fiery maple forest. This is the "Maple Leaf Humiliation" in history.

Chiyou's people originally lived on the banks of the Yellow River, with a total of 81 villages. After Chiyou was defeated and killed, they were also driven by the Yellow Emperor to the poor and mountainous Raojiang. After experiencing thousands of years of war and generations, most of the Rao people gradually forgot their origins and took root in this mountainous area.

But for the true descendants of Chiyou, this humiliation is impossible to forget.

It is said that three hundred years ago, the co-leader of Raojiang, the Twelve Dong, planned to send troops to the Tang Dynasty to seize the Central Plains. Unfortunately, the plan was leaked in the end, and before the Twelve Dong were fully prepared, Raojiang was razed to the ground by a man named Yuan Tiangang, and the Twelve Dong disappeared afterwards. Raojiang became leaderless and there was chaos and strife for hundreds of years. It was not until more than ten years ago that the two brothers Gu Wang founded the Ten Thousand Poison Cave that Raojiang had a co-leader again and ended the century-long fighting.

Going back to the source, the reason why the people of Raojiang were trapped in these ten thousand mountains was precisely because of the Central Plains. First, Emperor Huangdi launched the war for hegemony, and then Yuan Tiangang of the Tang Dynasty led his troops south. How could people not hate him?

Therefore, after the so-called corpse monsters began to wreak havoc in Raojiang, the entire Wandu Cave instantly shared a common hatred of the enemy, and it was only natural for them to obey the Witch King as their leader. There was even no need for the Witch King to order a war with the Nanping Kingdom, as the various tribes under him spontaneously requested to go to war.

It's a little difficult to covet the Central Plains, but isn't it easy to destroy your small country of Nanping?
There was a constant loss of personnel in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, but countless dead bodies were transported back, whether they were the bodies of the Nanping Army or the people who died in the battle of Raojiang, all of them were transported back to the Ten Thousand Poison Cave together with the wounded. The Witch King did not give the specific reason, but no one would doubt the Witch King's purpose. Even if this project was not small, no one would complain.

At this time, the war between Raojiang and Nanping Kingdom had entered a white-hot stage. Intelligence from the front continued to arrive, but the Witch King Chi Li did not pay attention to the various military reports submitted on file. Instead, he came to meet with several people and listened to their stories about Chi Meng's movements in killing corpse monsters along the way.

"They are two people from the Central Plains, one man and one woman. The woman should have the strength of a minor heavenly rank, and the man is a close follower, so he has not been tested out."

A middle-aged man in a black robe leaned on the armrest of the chair, his face somewhat gloomy, and said: "Witch King, you don't know, for this mission, I sent a total of seven priests. The weakest one is an old maid at the Great Star level, and the strongest one is a veteran master close to the Middle Heaven level. They are all people with good witchcraft and martial arts. Even with this combination, they were defeated in the Huailiu Village. It can be seen how strong the Central Plains man is."

At this point, the middle-aged man looked even more miserable, and gripped the armrest even harder: "Even if it's my son, I..."

"Master Tong, please accept my condolences." Du Gong comforted him in a light tone. Two oil lamps stood behind him, making his face shrouded in darkness, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.

The middle-aged man sighed softly. In fact, it didn't matter whether the eldest son died or not. Tong Le was not a gifted person, but he learned a lot from him in handling family affairs. Without an eldest son, he still had a dozen children to choose from.

The seriousness of the situation lies in the fact that seven priests died in Huailiu Village, and later on their subordinates went to seek revenge and killed another group of them, causing the strength of the Tong Family, which was once considered a dominant force in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, to be greatly reduced. At this time when the Ten Thousand Poison Cave was being revived, such a serious injury would obviously make the Tong Family fall behind.

At the side, another middle-aged man with purple tattoos on his face narrowed his eyes and said, "Witch King, these two Central Plains people are still easy to deal with. Even if the Central Plains man is really a powerful dragon, the Ten Thousand Poison Cave has a way to suppress him. The trouble is that the two Central Plains people helped the Saint to eliminate disasters in various places and assisted many villages. As a result, all the villages know the Saint's name. Outside the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, the Saint's reputation is now rising..."

As he spoke, he glanced at the Tong family head and another middle-aged man sitting opposite him, and continued, "In this way, not only did the Saint not leave the Central Plains, but she regained her reputation, and the charge of colluding with the Nanping Kingdom was also refuted. What I am worried about is that if the two Central Plains people use this opportunity to promote the Saint to the position of Gu King, and the people outside are all stupid... If so, wouldn't the Wu King's plan be ruined in an instant?"

After this person finished speaking, everyone in the room except Du Gong was shocked, and then they all went into deep thought.

The Ten Thousand Poison Cave was able to be created in the past thanks to the poison techniques and sorcery that were unrivaled in the entire Raojiang region by Chi Li and the other two. However, at that time, Raojiang region was divided into pieces, with many mountains rising up one after another. It was impossible for the power of just two people to subdue the entire Raojiang region. If it were not for the Poison King Chi Li who persuaded several powerful villages to put aside their prejudices, there would be no way to reunite Raojiang region after hundreds of years of chaos.

And those villages that were persuaded were later regarded as the right-hand men of the Gu King, and they worked together for the construction of Raojiang. Naturally, their status in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave became higher and higher. They were known as the Five Venerables, and the families behind them also became stronger and stronger. Except for the two kings, basically no one could match them.

However, even so, although the Five Venerables have a high status, because they share the same interests as the Gu King, they have never disdained to do things that bully others by taking advantage of their power. They also have a good reputation in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, so they have always been superior to other families. In addition, these Five Venerables are very powerful, so in front of the Gu King, others will basically always be inferior.

Especially the Tong family, a tribe that had made a great reputation in Raojiang in the early years by relying on its ruthlessness. After the establishment of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, they wanted to enslave other Raojiang villages by relying on their transcendent status. However, due to the suppression of the Gu King, they have never achieved their wish. Instead, their status has become lower and lower, and they are almost suppressed by the up-and-coming ones.

Under such circumstances, the Tong family and other tribes naturally felt resentful towards the Gu King. Although the Gu King knew it clearly, he adhered to Rao Jiang's idea of ​​stopping the killing and did not intervene directly, but only slowly suppressed their power.

So naturally, several families of the Tong clan secretly surrendered to Lord Du, and did a lot of under-the-surface things for the latter over the years, so that they were able to maintain the power of their respective tribes. Otherwise, Tong Le would not have had the opportunity to enjoy a life of debauchery in Raojiang, and even be bold enough to covet the saint Chi Meng.

As for why the Gu King has been seriously ill in recent years, and even so ill that he cannot see anyone now, although they do not know the inside story, they naturally will not ask too many questions about such a good thing that they are happy to see happen. They just work hard for the Poison Lord. Apart from anything else, they also want to fight for the status of one of the Five Venerables.

As for the so-called Five Venerables mentioned above, they have been missing since their last mission to Southern Xinjiang. While the Tong family heads were gloating over his misfortune, they were also terrified of Du Gong's skills and strength, and became even more respectful to him.

Having said that, if Chi Meng gained fame outside and turned around to expose Du Gong's plan, wouldn't all their efforts and preparations over the years be wasted?

According to the rules of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, the Saint is the successor to the Gu King. If the Gu King is really no longer capable, Chi Meng should take over. It is not the turn of the Du Lord to make the arrangement anyway, so the Du Lord framed her with the crime of "colluding with the Nanping Kingdom". Isn't his purpose to legitimately remove Chi Meng's title of Saint?
“Hehehe…” Poison Lord laughed hoarsely, and suddenly said, “It’s a good thing that the Saint is willing to come back. Why not? As for those two people from the Central Plains…”

He tapped his knees, hiding his face in the darkness, and remained silent for a long time. After a moment, he slowly said, "Raojiang, people from the Central Plains are not welcome."

Several people looked at each other, and then praised: "The Wizard King has a good plan."

Because the "Maple Leaf Humiliation" was brought up again, Raojiang, which was already isolated from the Central Plains, has become even more hostile to the people of the Central Plains. Since those two people from the Central Plains are willing to reveal their tracks in Raojiang today, they should be prepared to lose their lives in Raojiang.

At this point, a family head pondered for a moment before saying, "Witch King, do we need to send someone to contact the Junior Sacrifice Officer? After all, it's the Golden Silkworm Gu, and it's a serious matter. If the Junior Sacrifice Officer really hands it over to someone outside the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, especially someone from the Central Plains, then..."

Lord Du waved his hand and said, "I have already sent people to look for him, but this rebellious son disappeared as soon as he entered Nanping State. How can I persuade him? The Golden Silkworm Gu is indeed the Gu King's top secret holy Gu. I also know that this is a serious matter, but now that things have come to this, regret is useless."

He glanced at the few people, but suddenly said, "But since Patriarch Tu has brought it up, I must take it seriously. So, if someone from the Ten Thousand Poison Cave captures my rebellious son, I will give him the golden silkworm Gu to use for a month, and I will not ask about the Gu techniques he has learned. How do you think?"

Several people suddenly fell silent.

What is the golden silkworm Gu?
Everyone in Raojiang knows that this is the holy Gu of Gu King Chi Li, which can cure all the poisons in the world. However, this Gu is the most poisonous of all the Gu insects. It is made of twelve of the strongest Gu insects through secret techniques. It is called "medicinal Gu", but "it can also make people sick and die, and it can kill people with just one touch."

But everyone knows that this golden silkworm Gu is not the companion Gu of the Gu King, but comes from a cave master of the Twelve Caves. It can save people from life and death. According to rumors, if someone is on the verge of death, as long as he still has a breath, this holy Gu can bring him back to life instantly.

This function alone can make a person immortal, not to mention that it is the only thing in the Twelve Caves that has been passed down to the outside world. If the secret is studied out, it will be enough to improve a person's witchcraft skills to countless levels, and it is possible to even achieve the achievement of a King of Witchcraft. How can one not be excited and envious?

For the people of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, the best martial arts in the world are inferior to Gu Shu. Even the great Witch King is slightly inferior to the Gu King in status because his Gu Shu is not as good as the Gu King.

Several people were envious, but on the surface they remained calm. They just responded and said goodbye to each other and left.

After the few people left, Du Gong sat alone for a long time. He still ignored the military reports on the table. He just stood up, walked back through the hall for several miles, and walked to a thatched cottage with his hands behind his back.

He straightened his sleeves and bent over with his hands folded outside the thatched cottage.

"Marshal, the fish has joined the game, what's next..."

"Just as you arranged."

From inside the thatched cottage, there was the sound of chess pieces falling softly.

Poison Lord nodded slowly and left quietly.

More than ten years ago, he and the Gu King Chi Li followed the order of this great commander and went to the Twelve Caves to search for ancient Gu techniques and witchcraft, in order to save the Tang Dynasty's doomsday foundation with the secret art of war and gods. However, when they returned, Chang'an had been burned down, the Bad People had completely disappeared from the world, and the Bad Commander was nowhere to be found.

The Central Plains had been at war for many years and the people were living in misery. The Gu King Chi Li felt this way and discussed with him to end the century-long chaos in Raojiang together. So they spent several years together to establish the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, thus separating themselves from the Central Plains and devoting themselves to the management of Raojiang.

If he had not learned the witchcraft of the Twelve Caves, perhaps Poison Lord would have stayed in Raojiang with Gu King and never left the world. However, he did not expect that after learning the Art of War, Chi Li would still be willing to stay in the Ten Thousand Mountains. Poison Lord naturally refused, and after years of unsuccessful persuasion, he secretly practiced the witchcraft of Withering Art, and slowly applied it to Gu King over the years. Everything was kept extremely secret, and even Gu King himself was not aware of it. His purpose was only the Art of War.

It is said that the God of War's Strange Altar is a forbidden secret method created by Chi You, the Lord of War. It has been lost for thousands of years and only twelve caves remain. It is extremely powerful, capable of defeating ten enemies at once and is invincible.

In order to open the God of War's Strange Altar, both Gu and witchcraft are needed. Du Gong has devoted himself to research for many years, but he can only barely produce some semi-finished products. Moreover, the real God of War's Strange Altar can refine living people. He can only rely on witchcraft, but cannot erase the consciousness of the living and then control them. Therefore, he can only settle for the second best and refine corpses, first build up their muscles and bones, and then use the Ten Thousand Spider Gu to control their movements. However, this is extremely troublesome, and the finished product is far from reaching the true power of the God of War.

Those corpse monsters that wreak havoc on the border are products of this kind, but they are too weak, and their lifespan is extremely short. The instructions they convey are also very simple, which is far from enough.

However, even if Du Gong dreamed of mastering the Art of War, he did not dare to take any big action. Although Yuan Tiangang disappeared that year, he was not really dead. It was impossible for Du Gong to master such a forbidden technique. This was also the reason why he wanted Du Gong and Chi Li to practice the art of witchcraft separately.

However, unexpectedly, after Yuan Tiangang appeared in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, he asked the Poison Master to start refining the God of War Altar.

Although Du Gong had no idea of ​​the reason behind this, he didn't care. However, he knew that he could not get the secret method from Chi Li, and even Yuan Tiangang might not be able to do anything about it now, so he had to place his hopes on Chi Meng.

And if one wants to break through Chi Meng, there is naturally only one candidate.

He carefully prepared candidates for Chi Meng and the Central Plains man.

(End of this chapter)