Chapter 2646: An ant in the world, a poor scholar

A large fireball hangs in the distance in the wasteland at dusk. The red light it emits carries endless heat and brightness, and slowly but surely spreads, bringing a touch of warmth to this place covered with snow all year round.

The moss that grew up after the snow melted in the wilderness was scattered around like scars after burns. It was very ugly, but it added a bit of green to this place that was only white, so that it would not make people feel extremely boring. The surroundings were quiet, and only Occasionally, you can hear the cry of eagles from above and the sound of yawn jumping in the distance.

Three people appeared in the open wilderness. They gathered under a small tree that was rarely seen in the wilderness. They did not say hello, but bowed their heads in unison. It seemed that there was something interesting under the tree that was worthy of their careful study and consideration. .

Two nests of ants are fighting over the light brown tree roots exposed in the cold soil. It is very bloody. Food is rare in this wasteland. The light brown tree roots are hard to see. Neither nest of ants is willing to give up. It was a very rare food. The war was extremely fierce. After a while, thousands of ant corpses were left. It was bloody and tragic. But even with so many ant corpses, in the eyes of the three people, it was just a small piece, not as big as a piece of cake. , so small.

The weather was very cold, and the clothes on the three people under the tree were very thin. They were all leaders of the younger generation. They had advanced cultivation and had already reached a state where they were immune to cold and heat. They were not afraid of the cold wind in the wilderness and just lowered their heads. He watched the ants on the ground fighting for the roots of the tree intently, as if this was the mortal world and the whole world.

Just watching intently like this, I don't know how long it took, one of them suddenly spoke, his voice was very low, with an emotional tone.

"What's the road like in this earthly ant country?"

The man who spoke had green eyebrows and a thin figure. He was still a young man. He was wearing a thin, moon-white shirt without a collar. He carried a simple wooden sword without a scabbard on his back. His dark hair was fine and neatly combed into a bun. There is a wooden hairpin crossing it. The wooden hairpin is not stable, but it is shaky, making people anxious to see it, but unexpectedly it is as unshakable as the green pine rooted in the rock wall.

"During the first sermon, I saw countless flying ants rising from the light."

The person who spoke this time was a young monk, wearing a tattered kapok cassock. A black spot appeared on the top of his originally bald head, which was sharp and prickly, matching his resolute expression and appearance.

The wooden sword boy shook his head, with a bit of pity on his face, and said very firmly.

"Flying ants will eventually fall, and they will never reach the sky."

"If you always insist on thinking like this, you will never understand what Tao Mind is."

The young monk closed his eyes slightly, as if he didn't agree with the wooden sword boy's words, and looked at the ant colony under his feet that was throwing away the body parts, and said.

"I heard that your temple master recently admitted a new child named Chen. You should understand that you will never be the only genius in a place like Zhishou Temple."

The young man with the wooden sword raised his eyebrows slightly, and there was a flash of fluctuation in his eyes, as if he had been stabbed in a vital point by the young monk, and he responded with some annoyance.

"I've never understood how a guy like you who can't be unruly has any qualifications to walk the world on behalf of the Xuankong Temple."

The young monk did not respond to his provocation. He looked at the ants scurrying anxiously under his feet, showing a bit of Zen, and said firmly.

"Ants can fly and fall, but they are better at climbing and building ladders for their companions. They are not afraid of sacrifice. If they are piled up one by one, as long as there are enough, they will definitely be able to build an ant pile that can touch the sky. .”

There was a sharp hawk cry in the dusk sky, and he looked very panicked and frightened. He didn't know whether he was afraid of the three strange people under the tree, or the non-existent giant ant pile rising into the sky, or something else.

"I'm scared."

The young man carrying the wooden sword suddenly spoke, his thin shoulders shrinking inwards. The young monk nodded in agreement, his Zen heart shaking, although the expression on his face remained calm and determined.

The third boy under the small tree has a strong body, wrapped in clothes that look like animal skins. His bare legs are as hard as rocks. Under the rough skin, you can clearly see the muscles with infinite explosive power and raised veins. , he was as silent as a rock, not saying a word, but the goosebumps on his skin finally exposed his true feelings at this time.

The three young people under the tree came from the three most mysterious places in the world. They were walking around the world under the orders of their masters. They were as dazzling as three stars that traversed the world. But even they felt that they were in this wilderness today. Overwhelming fear.

The eagle will not be afraid of ants. In its eyes, ants are just black spots. Ants will not be afraid of eagles, because they are not even qualified to be food in the eagle's mouth. Their world is too small to even come into contact with something as powerful as the eagle. There is no chance for living things to make any contact at all.

However, over thousands of years, I believe that there are always a few mavericks in the ant colony. For some mysterious reasons, they decide to temporarily break away from the rotten leaves and rotten shells, and look towards the high and ethereal nine heavens, just for a moment. , and then their world is different. The ant and the eagle have a connection that can no longer be severed.

The three young men stood under the tree like this. Because they saw the scenery above the nine heavens, they were extremely frightened. They could no longer fight for the tree roots like other ants.

The three young people under the tree raised their heads and looked at a shallow ditch on the ground dozens of meters away. The shallow ditch was naturally not deep, and there was nothing but black inside. It looked particularly clear on the mottled wasteland surface.

This ditch suddenly appeared two hours ago. It suddenly appeared and reached the sky. It seemed that there was an invisible being wielding a giant ax and it was cut out. It made people shudder, puzzled and afraid.

The young man with the wooden sword on his back stared straight at the black line, with a bit of fear and solemnity on his face, and his voice was trembling as he said in surprise.

"I always thought that the Immovable Pluto was just a ridiculous legend."

"Legend has it that Pluto has 70,000 children. Maybe this one only occasionally lives in the world to experience the world of mortals!"

"Legends are legends."

It is said that Pluto was born at the beginning of time and ends at the end of time. He shines with the light and shadow of Haotian. He has supreme power and cannot be moved or destroyed, so he is called Immovable Pluto. It is also said that Pluto lives outside the space and holds the infinite world, so he is also called the True Lord Guangming. However, what he wants to do most is to turn the human world into the underworld.

In order to deal with the invasion of the underworld, Haotian created 69,999 false worlds in the infinite space after the previous catastrophe, and then mixed the real world into them. No matter how powerful Pluto is, he cannot In the radiance of Haotian, it is possible to tell which world is the only reality.

So, at the cost of sleeping for thousands of years, Pluto released 70,000 breaths and spread them to the 70,000 worlds. These were the legendary 70,000 children of Pluto. Those 70,000 children grow up in their own worlds and will eventually wake up one day. Once they wake up, Pluto will be able to sense the rules of the world where their children live and confirm whether it is a real or false world.

At this point, Master Qishan was silent for a long time, softly pronounced a few Buddha's names, suppressed his fatigue, and continued: "If the son of Pluto in this world wakes up, Pluto will know that the world is in the glory of Haotian. The specific location, and then the son of Hades will be used as the coordinates to descend into the world."

The young man carrying the wooden sword had an expressionless face, with endless coldness and determination in his eyes. He turned to look at the other two people and said sarcastically.

"Legends also say that saints appear every thousand years, but in these thousands of years, who has really seen a saint?"

"If you really don't believe it, why don't you dare to cross that black line?"

The young monk clasped his hands together, with a hint of fear on his face, which pierced the fear in the boy with a wooden sword, and his eyes were fixed on the black line.

No one dares to step across that black line. Even the proud and powerful people dare not take a step beyond that shallow ditch. They can only stop in front of the black line. Ants can crawl across it, gazelles can jump over it, and eagles can fly over it. , only people can’t pass it.

The three young men were naturally human, so they did not dare to cross the black line. They could only stand under the tree and look down at the ants, as if some kind of being was looking down at them.

The young man with the wooden sword on his back looked up to the horizon, his eyes empty and confused, as if he was talking to himself or asking the two people beside him.

"If that child really exists, where is he now?"

At this time, more than half of the setting sun has sunk into the ground, and night and darkness are coming from all directions. The temperature in the wasteland has dropped sharply, and a palpitating atmosphere has begun to envelope the entire world, making these three young people who are immune to the cold and heat. I couldn't help but shudder, and my heart felt cold.

"When night falls, it's everywhere. Where can you look for it?"

The young man wearing animal skin broke the silence for the first time. His voice was deep and rough that was inconsistent with his age. His voice buzzed like a rusty sword scratching on the surface of a hard stone, which shocked people.

After saying this, the sturdy young man wearing animal skins left without looking back. The way he left was very special. Several flames suddenly burst out from his two hard and thick legs, covering the young man's lower body. Entering a red fire, the howling wind caused the gravel on the ground to roll rapidly, and then it seemed as if an invisible force grabbed his neck and lifted his body more than ten feet into the sky, whistling through the air, and then He hit the ground hard and the ground shook. He jumped up again and jumped into the distance, clumsily but extremely quickly.

"I only know his surname is Tang, but I don't know what his full name is."

The young man carrying the wooden sword did not respond when he heard the words. He watched the other person leave with a strange look on his face. He recognized the other person's origin and said with deep meaning.

"If we met him at another time or in another place, only one of us would be able to survive. If the apprentice is so powerful, how strong will his master be? I heard that his master has been cultivating these years. The twenty-three-year-old cicada, I wonder if a shell will grow on its back after it breaks through."

There was silence around him, no one answered, and the boy with the wooden sword looked back in confusion. The young monk's eyes were closed tightly and his eyelids were trembling rapidly, as if he was thinking about some troubling issue. In fact, ever since the beast-skin boy said those words about the night, the young monk has been stuck in In this weird state.

The young monk sensed the gaze of the young man with the wooden sword. He slowly opened his eyes and grinned. His firm and calm expression had been replaced by solemn compassion. He opened his mouth, revealing the blood in his mouth. A section of his tongue was actually cut by himself. Bite it off abruptly and leave it in your mouth, which looks particularly scary.

Seeing this, the wooden sword boy frowned, his face showing a bit of solemnity. Without saying a word, the atmosphere suddenly fell into a heavy atmosphere.

The young monk slowly took off the rosary beads from his wrist, hung them solemnly around his neck, and then walked away. His steps were heavy and steady, seemingly very slow, but in an instant, his figure was blurred, as if he had cultivated magical feet. Disappeared into the distance very quickly.

There was no one else under the tree. All the emotions on the wooden sword boy's face disappeared, leaving only absolute calm, or absolute indifference. He looked at the stone in the dust in the north that kept jumping up and down. The figure, with a bit of murderous intent on his face, shouted in a low voice.

"Evil!"

The boy with the wooden sword moved his eyes and looked at the back of the young monk in the west, who was walking silently with his head lowered, and said coldly.

"Heretic."

"Not worth mentioning."

Evil demons and heretics are insignificant!

It seems that the three young people are not in the same group, and they are even incompatible with each other. If they had not seen the black line that they dare not cross, they might have drawn their swords and separated themselves in this cold wasteland. Life and death.

After saying this, the thin wooden sword carried behind the young man vibrated violently, making a strange buzzing sound. It shot out into the air with a hiss and turned into a stream of light, cutting off the small tree in the wasteland without branching. They were all turned into powder by the unparalleled sharp sword energy, and scattered on the ants who forgot about life and death.

“When the mute speaks, put some salt on the bread.”

The young man sang a song and walked towards the east. The simple and rough wooden sword floated behind him, following him silently into the distance.

In the first year of the Apocalypse of the Tang Dynasty, a vision came from the sky in the wasteland, and all the sects of the world gathered here, which made no sense. From that day on, the disciples of Xuankong Temple practiced Qi Nian and closed their mouths and stopped speaking. The descendant of the Demon Sect surnamed Tang hid in the desert and disappeared. Ye Sukan, the descendant of Zhishou Guan, broke through the death barrier and traveled around various countries. Each of the three got something.

But the three of them didn't know that when the night was approaching, at the other end of the dark ravine that they didn't dare to cross, and by a small pond in the direction of the capital, there was sitting a scholar, a man in a uniform. A scholar wearing straw sandals and a torn coat.

The scholar didn't seem to feel the power and severity represented by the black ravine at all. He held a book in his left hand and a wooden ladle in his right hand. He read when he had nothing to do, rested less when he was tired, and took a nap when he was thirsty. Hold a ladle of water and drink, covered with dust, with a happy face.

It wasn't until the three people left in the distance, and until the shallow black ravine on the wasteland was gradually leveled by the wind and sand, that the scholar stood up, dusted off the dust on his body, tied the wooden scoop to his waist, and carefully hid the scroll in his coat. Inside, he took one last look in the direction of the capital before leaving.

In the seventh year of the Apocalypse of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, was the most powerful empire in the world today. Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, was also known as the most majestic city in the world. It was a place that countless people longed to settle down.

Chang'an, the most majestic city in the world, is certainly not unworthy of its reputation, because this city is so huge that the empire actually opened eighteen city caves in the four directions of east, west, north and south. But even so, the dignitaries who enter and leave the city every day and the common people still blocked these city holes from time to time, and formed extremely long queues on the official roads.

An elegant scholar, wearing a patched Confucian shirt, with a thin and slender figure. He looked like he had no strength to restrain himself. He waited in a long queue until the time was really approaching dusk before he squeezed into the city gate. At the place, looking at the sergeants with serious faces and carefully checking luggage and packages, the crowded and sweaty scholars couldn't help but think of the scene of a big jam in the capital of a certain world, shook their heads and smiled, especially brilliant.

This young scholar seems to be very well-educated. Even after waiting for such a long time, he is still neither arrogant nor impetuous and calm. However, his body is a little weak and he cannot stand the long queue. There is a layer of crystal sweat on his forehead. Pearl, some physical exhaustion.

However, the residents of Chang'an city around the young scholar were not so good at identifying them. Cursing voices could be heard constantly, and the whole air was filled with restlessness and uneasiness. It seemed that everyone had no patience.

The folk customs of the Tang Empire were simple and fierce. Few people were afraid of those seemingly serious sergeants, but no one dared to ignore the strict laws of the empire and just break through.

Fortunately, the young scholar had been waiting in line for a long time, and it didn't take him a moment to finally get his turn. He handed over the relevant documents and directions, and under the strict inspection of the guard sergeant, he unpacked a small baggage he was carrying. He only had two changes of clothes. The clothes seemed to have been worn for too long. They had been washed and turned white. There were still a few patches on them. It was obvious that the life of a scholar was not satisfactory. He was very poor and could even be called shabby.

The Tang Dynasty relied on force to build the country, and the national customs were fierce. The sergeants were a bit irritable. Maybe it was the whole day guarding the gate that made him upset. Anyway, he looked down on such poor scholars the most. He glanced at the scholar's frail body with his strong eyes and shook his head. , threw the package to the scholar casually, and said with a bit of disgust.

"You're not as strong as a girl, and you don't have the strength to tie a chicken. I really don't know what use a person like you is to the country. You're a waste of food!"

The city gate of Chang'an City is long and dark. The exit on the inner side of the city is far away. It looks like a small shining hole. You can vaguely see a sunset setting in the distance, and the red light slants in. However, It didn't get very far before it was swallowed up by the darkness and noise.

The young scholar walked in the doorway with no trace of depression or resentment on his face. He was a cultivated person and did not care about the vulgar sergeant just now. He also understood that the other party was not targeting him. He showed his extraordinary state of mind and interacted with him. Very inconsistent with his young age, he is calm, calm, open-minded and free, just like an old man.

The scholar waited in line all day and entered the capital city almost at night. Even after dark, Chang'an City was still bustling everywhere. The lights on the street illuminate the flat bluestone pavement like daytime, and there are many pedestrians on the street. Some stop in front of the stall or look at the stars. The man and woman who stop in front of the stall should already be together, while looking at the stars may have just begun the process of hooking up. .

The clothes of the Tang Dynasty people, especially those in Chang'an City, were simple and plain. They wore tight sleeves, short linings and flat shoes, which looked particularly neat. Occasionally, there were men with wide sleeves, and the cuffs were cut extremely short, with their hands hanging outside the sleeves, probably for convenience. Drawing out the sword from the sheath at his waist.