The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 174: Old Hatred Demon
Zhao Ti got up in the morning, packed up, and went to see Huo Linglong.

Huo Linglong and several others were detained in Suzhou Prison and kept under strict guard.

When I went inside, I saw Huo Linglong tied up with iron chains, sitting in the corner with a dazed look on her face.

Zhao Ti asked, "How is the Dragon King?"

Huo Linglong looked up at him and gritted her teeth, "You devil, you lied to me!"

Zhao Ti smiled slightly: "How can I lie to the Dragon King? Dragon King, please don't talk nonsense."

Huo Linglong said angrily: "You guys are clearly officials of the Song Kingdom, but you pretend to be Ming Cult members. You have ulterior motives. Ming Zun will definitely punish you!"

Zhao Ti shook his head: "I never said it was not the government, and you never asked. Besides, the government and the Ming Cult may not necessarily have conflicts. I remember that during the Sassanid period of Persia, the Ming Cult received strong support from the ruler of Shapur."

Huo Linglong was shocked when she heard this: "How do you know this?"

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "Of course I know everything. This is all because of the wisdom and power bestowed upon me by the Ming Zun because of my piety."

Huo Linglong's face turned pale: "You are talking nonsense. Ming Zun will only punish you heretics. The Persian General Church will settle accounts with you!"

Zhao Ti said, "Dragon King, don't think that I don't know. Now that Ming Zun has entered into a state of meditation and has not yet awakened, the Persian Ming Cult is in decline and is being chased and blocked by the pagans. It is possible that it will be destroyed in an instant. Even if it is not destroyed, it will just hide and linger on."

Huo Linglong's expression changed drastically: "You..."

Zhao Ti continued, "The Mingjiao of the Uighurs in the northwest is also in a disadvantageous position. Although the Uighurs have been constantly at war with the Karakhanid Khanate to resist the invasion of foreign religions, Buddhism is flourishing in the Uighur country, and there are also Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism and other sects. How many believers can we win over?"

Huo Linglong trembled: "Why are you..."

Zhao Ti said calmly, "That's why Persia values the Ming Cult in the Central Plains. They even plan to move the church eastward to the Central Plains once the church is destroyed. They have sent people here several times. Last year, the Ming Cult in the Central Plains was wiped out, so they sent you and three envoys to rebuild it this year."

There was a hint of fear in Huo Linglong's angry eyes: "You, stop talking!"

Zhao Ti looked at her and said, "Is the Dragon King afraid? Dragon King, please stop trying to cover your ears and steal the bell."

"Who said I'm afraid? Once Ming Zun finishes his meditation, the holy light will shine upon the earth, and paganism will be reduced to ashes, burned by the raging fire, and shattered into the void!" Huo Linglong shouted.

"Haha, judging from the current situation, I'm afraid we won't be able to wait until that day. When Ming Zun wakes up, all the believers will be gone, and the training grounds have been destroyed for who knows how long, and the incense has been cut off." Zhao Ti smiled and said, "But..."

Huo Linglong looked quite nervous: "But what?"

Zhao Ti sighed softly: "It is true that I am a member of the imperial court, but I am also the 23rd generation of the Ming Cult in the East and the 6th generation leader of the Ming Cult in the Central Plains. Naturally, I have the obligation to prosper the Ming Cult."

Huo Linglong rolled her eyes, said nothing, and looked at Zhao Ti, not knowing what she was thinking.

Zhao Ti said: "The situation of the Persian Grand Master is not even as good as that of the Huihu Mingjiao. From now on, the Persian Grand Master will be removed from the list, and the Central Plains Mingjiao will take the lead. The remaining Persians who come to surrender will all join the Central Plains Mingjiao."

"You, you..." Huo Linglong was stunned when she heard that, and then rushed forward, causing the iron chains to rattle.

"I have said that there will not necessarily be a conflict between the Ming Cult and the imperial court. The Ming Cult will be incorporated into the imperial court of the Song Dynasty, and the remnants of Persia will be incorporated into the Ming Cult in the Central Plains. As the leader of this generation of the Ming Cult, I will lead the Ming Cult to prosperity." Zhao Ti said leisurely.

Huo Linglong's eyes widened with anger as she struggled forward desperately: "You devil heretic, I want it, I want it..."

Zhao Ti looked at her like a tyrannosaurus, smiled and said, "By the way, there is something I forgot to tell the Dragon King. I have practiced the Dragon Elephant Prajna Sutra to the ninth level."

"What?" Huo Linglong stopped moving immediately after hearing this, her face full of astonishment: "You have reached the ninth level in these few days? Impossible, this is impossible, you must be lying to me again!"

Zhao Ti shook his head: "It wasn't these few days, it was the night after the Dragon King told me about the technique. I reached the ninth floor overnight. What does the Dragon King think of this speed?"

Huo Linglong looked at Zhao Ti with a dull look in her eyes: "I don't believe it, you heretic are lying to me!"

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "In fact, I still think it's a bit slow. Without ten levels in one night, it's really not worth mentioning. I'm embarrassed to speak up."

As he spoke, he raised his arm and struck out towards the prison door, then he heard the sound of explosions in the air, the sound of powerful energy surging, and the sound of thunder rumbling in his ears.

Huo Linglong's face turned pale and she was filled with shock. She murmured, "You are indeed a demon. Who else but a demon can practice the Buddhist skills so quickly? The Buddhist skills are gradual and only a demon can disguise his state of mind and can..."

Zhao Ti looked at her and shook his head: "Dragon King is wrong. As the saying goes, the devil sits in the Buddha. Ming Zun also came from the Buddhist sect. You don't understand at all... You still understand too little of the meaning of the scriptures."

"I, I have understood too little of the meaning of the scriptures?" Huo Linglong muttered to herself and looked at Zhao Ti.

Zhao Ti said: "It is indeed too little, not even the tip of the iceberg. However, for someone as dull as the Dragon King, it is not good to pursue too high. This is probably it. Forcing it is useless and... it hurts the brain."

"You... are you saying that I'm brainless?" Huo Linglong was furious after hearing this and rushed forward again, the iron chains rattling.

The corners of Zhao Ti's mouth slightly raised: "There is one thing I forgot to ask the Dragon King. Since he is a Persian, why does the Dragon King look like a Central Plains person and does not have many Hu people's features?"

Huo Linglong was stunned for a moment, then stopped moving forward and took two steps back without leaving any trace: "What does this have to do with you? My mother is from the Central Plains, so naturally I look like someone from the Central Plains."

Zhao Ti glanced at her and asked, "Dragon King, do you think I will believe it?"

"Whether you, a heretic, believe it or not is your business." Huo Linglong cautiously took another half step back and said in a low voice.

Zhao Ti smiled, shook his head, turned and walked out the door.

After leaving the cell and returning to the provincial government, the commander of the water camp came to report that the boats were ready.

Zhao Ti called upon his fellow martial artists, more than 200 in total, and marched out of the city toward the shore of Taihu Lake.

There were dozens of boats parked by the lake at this moment, with three hundred soldiers from the water camp leading the way. Including the people from the martial arts world, there were more than five hundred people in total, and they were heading towards Yanziwu Chanhe Manor in a mighty manner.

At this moment in the morning, the breeze is blowing gently over the lake, the water is rippling slightly, and the scenery is picturesque.

Zhao Ti stood at the bow of the boat with his hands behind his back, feeling the vastness of the sky and the water, and feeling relaxed and happy.

Ah Zhu, who was holding a crystal pot, whispered softly, "I wonder what happened to the Tingxiang Pavilion..."

Zhao Ti asked, "Do you like the scenery of the waterside pavilion?"

Ah Zhu nodded, then shook her head, and lowered her eyelashes slightly.

Zhao Ti turned around and looked at her and said, "Go back to the palace and build a temple on the lake inside the palace. If you think it's too small, there is a river in front of the manor house given by the government outside the city. You can draw water from the river to build a temple there."

"Your Highness, I didn't mean that. I, I..." Ah Zhu lowered her head and hugged the crystal pot tightly in her arms. The little silkworm was jumping inside, looking extremely happy.

Zhao Ti saw that her profile was as delicate as jade, so he stopped talking and continued to look into the distance.

Not long after, the boat arrived at Qinyun Cottage, passed by it, and arrived at Tingxiangshui Pavilion after a while, but did not stop. Instead, it continued forward and headed straight for Yanziwu.

After a while, they sailed into Yanziwu. The Canhe Manor in front of them came into view. The navy commander came over and said, "Your Highness, do you want the troops to advance directly into the manor?"

Zhao Ti groaned for a moment and said, "Don't force it for now. Let's go over and take a look first."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhu Chuyi behind him and said, "Mr. Zhu said before that he could break this village. Now that we have plenty of time, we might as well ask someone to cooperate with us and treat it as a practice, so that we don't lose our skills over time and become useless in the future."

The last time he came back to Chanhe Village, he asked Zhu Chuyi. Zhu Chuyi said that if he broke through it slowly by himself, it would take seven days or more, but if there were many people to help him, it would only take one day.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Chuyi hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, what you said is very true. I was just thinking of volunteering. This place will allow me to display what I have learned and learn from it. I will benefit a lot."

Zhao Ti nodded, and the boat docked. He brought people to the farmer's door, and the commander of the water camp went forward and knocked on the door.

After a long while, there were sounds of scattered footsteps coming from inside, and then the old servant was seen opening the gate of the manor and looking at everyone with a dull look in his eyes.

Zhao Ti saw that the old servant looked flustered and somewhat distraught, which was very different from when he saw him last year.

He thought to himself that although he was old, he did not look confused due to aging, but rather seemed to be a little confused after being frightened.

At this moment, the old servant saw Ah Zhu and suddenly asked in surprise, "Miss Ah Zhu, why are you back? Didn't those people go to the waterside pavilion to tell you? Something happened at the farm, you'd better leave quickly, it's best not to come to the farm."

Ah Zhu was stunned and looked at Zhao Ti, who nodded.

Ah Zhu asked, "Uncle Qin, what happened at the farm? Where are the others?"

The old servant's voice was trembling: "They ran away, all scared away, no one dared to stay..."

Ah Zhu asked in confusion: "Qin Bo, what exactly is going on?"

The old servant looked confused and frowned, "What's the matter? I, why can't I remember it? Let me think about it carefully..."

Zhao Ti made a slight gesture to Ah Zhu, who said, "Uncle Qin, let's go inside and talk."

"Okay, okay, let's go inside and talk..." The old servant didn't even look at anyone else, turned around and walked into the manor.

Seeing this, Zhao Ti asked everyone to follow, and then asked Zhu Chuyi and others to find the mechanism in the manor and break it.

The old servant entered the hall and looked around: "Miss Ah Zhu, I will go and make tea for you." Ah Zhu said: "Qin Bo, don't be busy. Sit down and take a rest, and think about what's going on."

The naval commander beside him also said, "Yes, Steward Qin, I noticed something was wrong with you when I came last month. You should think carefully about what's wrong."

The old servant glanced at the naval commander and said in a rambling voice, "I recognize you. You are the leader of the government army. You have come here many times, and I have given you a lot of money. Well, just give it to me. It is better than letting those people run away with it..."

The naval commander said awkwardly: "That's right, Steward Qin, if you encounter any difficulties, I can help you."

The old servant suddenly asked, "What did the leader just say? When did you come?"

The navy commander said, "I came here last month and the month before last. Last month it was around Qingming Festival, and it seemed to be either the second or third day of Qingming Festival. At that time, I saw that you looked strange, butler Qin. I asked you what was wrong, but you didn't tell me."

"Qingming..." The old servant's eyes suddenly widened: "Qingming, I remember, there is a ghost, there is a ghost in the village, everyone is scared away..."

"Is it haunted?" Ah Zhu asked in surprise, "Uncle Qin, why is there a haunted manor?"

The old servant's face changed drastically at this time: "It's not inside the manor, it's behind the manor... I, I remember that day I went to the back of the manor with a few people to burn incense and offer sacrifices to the young master's ancestors, and I heard someone talking in the grave, and there was also a sound like coffins colliding..."

"Someone is talking in the grave?" Ah Zhu was stunned: "Uncle Qin, could it be that you heard it wrong? How could someone talk in the grave?"

"Miss Ah Zhu, you heard it right. There are so many of us, how could we all be misled?" The old servant shook his head. "The noise was very loud, and later we heard some banging noises, right under the cemetery."

After hearing this, several people looked at each other. Zhao Ti frowned and said, "Is it just on Qingming Festival? Could it be that someone in the village is joking and hiding to scare you on purpose?"

"No, no." The old servant shook his hands. "Not only that day, I also heard loud noises coming from the cemetery at night. Later, there were noises every few days. Someone ran to check it out. The sound was sometimes close and sometimes far away underground. When it was close, it seemed to be close to the grave and was about to come out..."

"Oh?" Zhao Ti asked, "Could it be that someone came to rob the tomb? Didn't you think of looking around to see if there were any holes dug by robbers?"

The old servant shook his head vigorously: "I checked everything and found no robbery holes. There are also mechanisms in the cemetery, and it has not been damaged. It was the noise coming from the tomb that scared me at first. Then someone sneaked away first, and then more and more people left, and finally I was the only one left..."

Ah Zhu said, "Is there any movement now?"

The old servant said, "Maybe I'm old and my ears aren't very sharp. I haven't heard it for a long time. But last night, the sound came again, and it was very loud, like a shout of resentment. I didn't dare to go out and fell into a deep sleep. I don't know how long it took for the sound to disappear..."

Zhao Ti pondered and said, "Since I have heard it many times, it seems like someone is talking in the tomb. Did you hear what they said clearly?"

The old servant was stunned and said, "I didn't know what was going on before. I was just trembling with fear. The voices sounded like mumbling. Only last night they were so loud that they echoed throughout the island. It sounded like someone was shouting, 'Who am I? ? '"

"Who am I?" Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes. Could it be that someone from the Murong family was still alive and hiding underground? Murong Bo faked his death and built a tomb, then changed his identity and walked around. No one knew about it except Murong Fu's mother. Is there a tradition for this kind of thing?
But if the ancestor of the Murong family faked his death and hid underground, why would he say something like "Who am I?"

As for outsiders entering, that is also possible. The fact that the servants of Chanhe Manor did not find the tunnel does not mean that it does not exist. It is hard to say whether the tunnel is underwater or not. These servants either have no martial arts skills or their martial arts skills are very low, so it is unlikely that they will find the entrance to the tunnel under the island.

But even for an outsider, it is unreasonable to say "Who am I?" Whether it is tomb robbery or other intentions, how can he not know who he is?
He looked at Ah Zhu, who said, "Sir, it's not someone from outside. The cemetery is surrounded by bluestones and watered with lime and glutinous rice. There are ambushes all over the island near the water. It's impossible to sneak into the tomb without making any noise. Besides, the manor has been burying the dead with a briefcase. An outsider must have some purpose in entering the tomb. He wouldn't stay there for such a long time without leaving..."

"There is nothing to gain. Why hasn't he left for such a long time..." Zhao Ti nodded. It was indeed true. It seemed that it was not an outsider who sneaked in. Then...

"Sir..." The commander of the water camp said with a trembling face, "Is it really haunted?"

Zhao Ti asked, "Have you ever seen a ghost?"

The commander of the water camp said, "Your subordinate, I have never seen a ghost, but when I was young, I was a naval officer in Dongting Lake in the south of Jinghu Lake. Once, I followed the commander to chase a group of Dongting Lake pirates and went to the west of Jinghu Lake. I saw someone driving zombies over there. Could this be the ancestors of the Murong family turned into zombies?"

"Oh?" Zhao Ti looked at the Water Camp Commander and said with a smile, "Have you ever seen corpse-driving? What's it like? Tell me about it."

The commander of the water camp twitched his lips as he said, "At that time, I and my comrades saw many corpses strung together with straw ropes, seven or eight feet apart. They were covered with wide black shrouds and had tall felt hats on their heads with yellow paper with talismans drawn on them. We couldn't see their faces. They walked with their feet together and their hands stretched out in a hop..."

"Is it evening?" Zhao Ti interrupted him.

"Yes, it was at night. The commander of Dongting Lake hurriedly called me and others to let the zombie drivers go first, but they missed the best opportunity to catch up with the pirates."

Zhao Ti nodded. The practice of corpse-driving has indeed existed since then, or even earlier. However, those driven away might not be zombies. It was probably due to the custom of returning to one's roots. In Jingxi, there was a special profession of corpse-drivers who used various methods to transport corpses back to their hometowns.

As for why it appears at night and the face cannot be seen clearly, and it seems to be jumping stiffly, it should be a trick of the corpse driver. He is afraid of scaring people during the day, so he adds a sense of mystery at night to make people awe-inspiring. As for the stiff jumping, there are many theories that the corpse is carried on a bamboo pole, and there is also a theory that it is fixed and transported. These are all methods used by the corpse driver. It is dark at night and it looks specious.

He said: "As an official soldier, you must not be superstitious about such things. Don't say that they don't exist, they are just tricks to deceive people. Even if they do exist, I have the order of the heavenly family and the knife of life, so what is there to be afraid of!"

The commander of the water camp bowed his head and said yes. Zhao Ti said, "Don't worry about it for now. Let's go to the Huishi Water Pavilion and take a look. Ah Zhu, do you know what the mechanism is over there?"

Ah Zhu said, "I only know the mechanisms outside the pavilion, but I don't know the inside."

Zhao Ti thought about it, and asked Tong Guan to call Zhu Chuyi over, and told him to go and break into Shi Shui Pavilion first. Zhu Chuyi obeyed the order and went.

The number of people they brought was far more than he could crack alone. When they came back to report about an hour later, all the mechanisms had been broken.

Zhao Ti asked the commander of the water camp to stay and talk to the old servant, and then led his men straight to the water pavilion...

Behind Chanhe Village, in the cold and gloomy place of the island mountain, under the tomb behind Murong Longcheng's stone tablet.

The person on the coffin then returned to his shriveled appearance, motionless, like a dead body.

After an unknown amount of time, a "gurgling" sound was heard coming from his body, followed by a sigh. The man took a deep breath like before, and then used his internal energy. Gradually, strong wind blew around his body, and his clothes rustled.

His body gradually swelled up and he became a tall old man with silver hair draped over his shoulders and a white beard hanging down to his chest.

At this moment, the old man's expression was still confused, but there was a hint of anger in his confusion.

He seemed to be thinking, muttering to himself: "Did I die before? Otherwise, why am I here? But I was just faking my death and recuperating from my injuries. How could people think I was really dead and buried?"

As he spoke, he stretched out his hands and violently tore open the front of the bright red shroud, revealing a deep indentation at the sternum, with a fist mark clearly imprinted on the skin, as if it was engraved into the bone under the skin, as if it would never disappear.

"Did I fake my death because of the injury from this punch? This punch is so powerful and domineering, but... who hurt me like this?"

He put his hand on his chest, lost in thought, and after a long while, he murmured, "I can't remember, I really can't remember, I can't remember who I am, where this place is, who buried me, who hurt me..."

There was a deathly silence. The old man closed his eyes, then opened them again: "Why do I have such great hatred in my heart? It's as if the hatred has penetrated into my bones and soul? What do I hate..."

"It seems that life and death don't matter, I just hate the injustice and resentment. What am I hating?"

The old man's face gradually turned red, and his body began to make a "gurgling" sound again. He waved his hand, and his hot internal energy burst out, instantly lighting up the lights in the stone chamber.

Looking at the flickering fire, he suddenly put his hands on his head and shouted loudly: "Get out, I want to get out..."

His expression was distorted, becoming extremely ferocious in an instant, but then became confused, and then the two expressions kept switching, and finally one face was ferocious and the other was confused, two expressions coexisting on the same face.

He raised his head and let out a long, angry roar, and the entire stone chamber began to shake, as if it was about to collapse. The sound rushed out of the ground and echoed throughout the outside world.

His body did not move, but his shadow flashed and appeared in front of the stone chamber door, and then flashed again and went upwards...

Zhao Ti walked around the Huanshi Water Pavilion and asked Jiumozhi to fill a large cloth bag with the secret books and carry it on his back.

Jiumozhi's face was full of excitement, and his solemn appearance disappeared at all. He felt indignant inside, thinking that when he went to the Langhuan Jade Cave in Mantuo Villa, he did the same thing, but was accused of stealing books and ended up with a tragic end.

But what the other party is doing at this moment is really not much different from what I do. However, I still do it quietly for the sake of my reputation, while the other party is swaggering and has no scruples, clearly treating it as their own home. It's really infuriating!

The more he thought about it, the more upset he felt. When he walked out of the water pavilion, he suddenly heard a long, angry howl coming from behind the village, echoing throughout the entire island.

The sound seemed to pierce through gold and split stone. The strength of the internal force was unprecedentedly unheard of and unseen. Jiumozhi's expression was filled with horror, and his body shook involuntarily.

Zhao Ti was walking in front when he suddenly stopped. His expression changed and he looked towards the back of the village, narrowing his eyes.

Ah Zhu was trembling beside him, her face was stunned, and she whispered, "Sir, yes, it's the direction of the cemetery."

Zhao Ti nodded and said calmly: "Go over there and watch!"

People from the martial arts world gathered together and followed behind, heading towards the back of the village.

When they arrived in front of the cemetery, they heard a loud noise coming from underground. Zhao Ti's eyes slowly swept over and finally landed on the largest tomb.

The outside of the tomb is made of large pieces of bluestone, and the gaps are sealed with lime and glutinous rice paste. It is extremely solid. There is a stone tablet in front of the tomb. The small words on both sides are blurred, and the four big words in the middle are obvious. They are engraved with Murong Longcheng.

Zhao Ti frowned. Murong Longcheng? The voice came from under this tomb.

At this moment, the tomb suddenly shook violently, and then there was a noise as if a bolt of lightning broke through the sky. With a loud bang, the tomb stones exploded and debris flew everywhere.

They saw rocks outside the tomb breaking and splattering far in all directions like cannon arrows, and everyone hurriedly stepped back to avoid them.

Then a majestic roar was heard coming from the tomb, and a figure rose into the sky surrounded by billowing smoke and dust.

This figure was extremely fast, rushing straight up into the sky, with vigorous energy surrounding it, making clanging and crackling sounds...

(End of this chapter)