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

Chapter 189 The hero has great powers and is feared by the world
Li Qiushui looked at Zhao Ti after hearing this: "So it's this matter..."

Zhao Ti smiled faintly and observed Li Qiu Shui's expression. If Li Qiu Shui had evil intentions and intended to take action or call for help, he wouldn't mind getting rid of him directly.

"I think it was the donor's doing that Helian Tieshushen disappeared from Song territory without anyone noticing?" Li Qiushui shook her head. "But the delegation returned to Daxia because of the spy's replacement, leaving the court with nothing to say. The donor is really good at this."

"It's better to say that the Queen Mother is good at planning than to say that I am good at using tricks." Zhao Ti said calmly.

Li Qiushui said quietly: "A slight mistake will lead to a huge loss. It's all in vain, just looking for fish in a tree..."

Zhao Ti remained silent, waiting for Li Qiu Shui to explain.

After a few breaths, Li Qiushui said, "Helian Tieshu sprinkled agarwood powder in front of Song Ling, which is a method of witchcraft."

"Wu Cult?" Zhao Ti raised his eyebrows: "Da Si Cult?"

"That's right." Li Qiushui said slowly: "Before Helian Tieshu went on the mission, the witch cult gave me advice, saying that I could use witchcraft to destroy it before going to Songling."

"What can ordinary agarwood powder destroy?" Zhao Ti said.

Li Qiushui said, "It is indeed just ordinary agarwood powder, but there is a set of spells that Helian Tieshu recited silently in his mind when he performed the spell. The witch cult master said that it can have some effect of dispersing spirits and blocking luck. It is witchcraft."

The Western Xia called witches "Si", the witch religion was called Da Si religion, the wizard was called Si Ji, and Da Si Ji was the great wizard.

"Does the Queen Mother believe this?" Zhao Ti said expressionlessly, "If this is useful, why would the two countries have to go to war so hard? If they use this method more often, as long as they can slightly influence the battlefield, I'm afraid the balance of victory will be tilted."

Li Qiushui said: "But it's better than nothing. Tangut witchcraft has been around for a long time, and the court and the people are accustomed to it. Even if you don't believe it in your heart, why not give it a try."

Zhao Ti sneered and said, "I didn't expect the Xixia witch cult to have such an influence."

Li Qiushui shook her head slightly: "There are many people studying Buddhism in our country now."

Zhao Ti looked at her for a long while and asked: "What kind of Buddhism is the Queen Mother learning?"

Li Qiushui said: "Naturally learn what the master taught."

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes. It seemed that Li Qiushui really regarded the sweeping monk as his master. "Do you know what sutra the sweeping monk read that day?"

Li Qiushui said: "After I returned to Daxia, I asked Master Bo Zhao of Chengtian Temple, and he said it was the supreme secret Dazhidu Sutra."

Zhao Ti asked, "Have you, the Queen Mother, learned this scripture?"

Li Qiushui looked at him and smiled calmly: "Master didn't tell me the whole story when he was in Shaolin. I came back to learn it, but apart from Master Bo Zhao who knew a few sentences of this sutra, no one else knew it."

Xixia Bozhao is extremely famous, and is also known as the Six-Directions State Master of Xushan, the Terrifying Immovable Vajra.

Traditionally, the Buddhist sects in the Western Regions have been called Bo Zhao in the North and Da Lun in the South.

The northern Potashao refers to the terrifying Vajra Potashao of the Chengtian Temple in Western Xia, and the southern Dalun refers to the Mahakala King Jiumozhi of the Dalun Temple in Tubo.

Zhao Ti asked, "What did the Queen Mother learn?"

Li Qiushui said: "Although Master Bo Zhao does not know the text of the Great Wisdom Sutra, he said that the Lotus Sutra has a deep origin with the Great Wisdom Sutra and they are closely related, so he asked me to study this sutra."

Zhao Ti pondered for a moment, the Lotus Sutra does have some connection with the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra.

The Lotus Sutra reveals the truth through expedient means, saying that all living beings can become Buddhas. It guides them with various convenient methods, in accordance with the meaning of the Buddhist scriptures as described in the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra. It explains the principles of reality with conventional truth and ultimate truth, so that living beings can gradually transcend the conventional world.

Based on the three parts of the Great Wisdom Sutra that he knew, he believed that if the two were one sect, then the Great Wisdom Sutra would be the main purpose, and the Lotus Sutra would be its extension. It contains the three views of one mind, the wisdom of the path, the all-knowing wisdom, and the all-knowing wisdom, which expound the true nature of all dharmas.

Moreover, the Lotus Sutra also mentions the stories of the eight heavenly dragons several times. The story of the dragon girl who presented a precious pearl to the Buddha, became enlightened instantly, flew into the sky, and rode auspicious clouds to the pure world in the south to manifest as a Buddha and save sentient beings is from this sutra.

He thought for a while and said, "In that case, the Queen Mother should concentrate on her cultivation." After that, he turned and walked out of the Yunyingshuiyue Courtyard. After passing through the Moon Gate, his figure quickened and he left this place like a wisp of light and smoke.

Li Qiu Shui stood in the hall, watching Zhao Ti's back disappear, without moving or saying a word.

After a long time, a purple-robed girl walked out from the back of the hall. It was Ah Zi. She had a pair of dark, bright and lively eyes, revealing cleverness and cunning. She walked carefully to Li Qiu Shui's side.

"Master, is that man gone?" Ah Zi's tone was a little timid, which did not match the agility in her eyes at the moment.

Li Qiushui asked: "How did you offend this person?"

Ah Zi said, "Master, it's not really an offense. I went out to catch snakes and bumped into this guy by mistake. Seeing how skilled he was in martial arts, I was scared and ran away. I didn't expect him to follow me."

She neither said that she went into the Qingsong Inn, which was set up by Xixia to receive foreign envoys, nor did she say that she threw a handful of poison powder when she left.

Li Qiushui said, "If you meet this man again, don't be rude and offend him. I have already talked to him. Today's matter is over. I estimate that he will not stay in Xingzhou for long. You'd better try to avoid him."

Ah Zi blinked: "Master, who is this person?"

Li Qiushui frowned and shook her head when she heard this: "Don't worry about it, it will do you no good."

Ah Zi's eyes rolled around, and she was thinking in her heart why the poison powder didn't work? Was it because the opponent's martial arts were too high and he avoided it, or did he have some treasure that could detoxify and be immune to all poisons?
She thought again of the light green snake that was attracted into the room. Even if the Divine Wood King Cauldron did not have that ability and could not attract it to that room, there must be a treasure there.

When she thought of the treasure, a half-smile appeared between her brows, making it difficult to understand her thoughts, revealing her inner tricks and schemes.

When Zhao Ti returned to the posthouse, Tong Guan and others had already returned. He hurriedly reported the situation of the banquet, and Li Qianshun indeed showed up.

Zhao Ti didn't think there was anything unusual after hearing this. Li Qianshun was only twelve or thirteen years old at the moment. He didn't talk about state affairs at the banquet, and even barely mentioned the buying and selling of horses. He just drank and had fun. In the end, he got drunk and was carried back to the palace.

He returned to his room and thought about what Li Qiushui had said about witchcraft. It seemed that although Buddhism was the state religion and the largest religion of Western Xia, its influence on state affairs was actually not as great as that of witchcraft.

Witchcraft practices are mysterious and secretive. Regardless of whether it is true or false, useful or not, it always makes people feel dark and eerie. As for the big monk who brought up this matter, he has already met his death.

Zhao Ti observed over the past few days that there were a total of thirteen Wu Courts in Xingzhou City, spread all over the city, and the largest one was located in the northeast direction of the city.

He visited all these places, but unlike Buddhist temples, he did not enter them and just looked at them from the outside.

Da Siji is a great wizard. Si means wizard and Ji refers to divination and asking questions.

The common practice of using special means and methods to let the so-called gods or ghosts write on media such as sand tables to answer questions or predict good or bad luck is called Fuqi.

There are five great wizards in the Xixia witch cult. Four of them are distributed in four parts of Xixia, and there is another most powerful great wizard sitting in the capital at the headquarters. This is the one that Zhao Ti was thinking of giving advice to Li Qiu Shui.

In addition to the great wizard, there are many wizards under him, and under the wizards there are some people who are instructors of the witch cult.

It is not easy to kill a great wizard without anyone noticing and causing any disturbance, because the other party has a different identity and his martial arts skills must be extraordinary.

Zhao Ti thought for a while and decided that he must focus on discussing the purchase of horses and prioritize things. He could not delay military and national affairs because of the elimination of the great wizard and arouse suspicion from Western Xia.

We should wait until the negotiation on buying horses is over before taking action. Otherwise, once the other party dies, it would be redundant for Xixia to suspect the envoys. However, we can investigate first.

The next day, Zhao Ti went out again, headed northeast of the city, and came to the headquarters of the Dasi Sect.

At first glance, it seems to be a manor-like place, covering a large area. All the buildings inside are black, and even the window frames of the buildings are painted black.

There are believers walking around and patrolling in front of the door. Those who come to worship gods or ask for divination need to verify their identity and hand over a certain amount of silver or valuable items before they can enter.

Zhao Ti walked around the place, looked at the terrain, then went to a remote place, found a big tree, jumped on it, and stood on the high place to look around and observe.

In the center of the main garden, there is a three-story palace standing abruptly. It is long and wide, and as black as ink all over, as if drenched in endless darkness. Even in the daytime, from a distance one can feel that every brick and stone exudes a cold breath and a hint of chill.

At this time, the wind blew from the garden, and the black bells hanging on the eaves of the palace made a strange sound, which came from afar, like the cry of a ghost, which made people shudder.

This narrow and wide palace has the same status in shamanism as the main hall in a temple. Most worship and divination are done here. In addition to this place, there are many small black palaces in the garden. I don't know whether they are dedicated to other gods or have other purposes.

Zhao Ti hid above the big tree and observed for an hour or two, including the time when the believers in front of the garden changed their shifts and where the pedestrians inside went. After watching, he quietly came down and returned to the inn.

In the blink of an eye, a few days passed and Zhao Ti had already gotten a general idea of the daily situation in the witch cult's headquarters, so he wanted to find some time to go in and take a look.

That night, Li Qianshun suddenly had an idea and held a banquet in the palace and invited the envoys to attend. He once again asked Cai Jing to find a reason to decline the invitation, and then planned to go to the Great Witch Cult to investigate after dark.

After having a simple meal, he practiced martial arts in the room. He practiced the Huanyin Meridian once, then practiced the Sunflower Manual, and then mobilized the ice qi with the Shenzu Meridian.

After performing several Shenzu Sutra movements in succession, he leaped up on the couch, with his legs hanging horizontally on the hollows of the railings on both sides of the couch frame. His body was like a piece of paper, tightly pressed against the top of the couch, with his head slightly raised forward.

Then the icy true energy in the body began to rotate rapidly, and cold air emerged, visible to the naked eye, and a layer of translucent thin ice gradually condensed.

Zhao Ti kept using his internal energy to transfer his energy to the Shenzu Meridian, and the icy true energy rushed through places in the meridians that were originally unable to flow quickly.

These meridians were originally connected in a narrow, tortuous, or weak way, but they were all twisted by the Shenzu meridian with strange movements, allowing the true Qi to move forward smoothly, and the speed of circulation was more than doubled or tripled.

Zhao Ti was immersed in the comfort and pleasure of the ever-increasing true energy when suddenly a rustling sound was heard outside the window.

He couldn't help but look and saw a small light blue snake crawling in from the windowsill.

This little snake was the same one that had come a few days ago. It was later caught by A Zi and taken away into the Shenmu Wang Ding. However, it was not as cheerful as before and looked a little weak. It climbed onto the windowsill but did not try to get down. Instead, it fell directly with a "click".

Zhao Ti took a look. Was the poison in his body… taken away by the Divine Wood King Cauldron? But why did he come here again?
The Shuiyue Temple where Li Qiushui lived was far away from the Qingsong Inn. Even if the little snake could escape from the Divine Wood King Cauldron, it should not be able to find this place at such a long distance, unless...

His mind turned slightly. Unless Ah Zi was driving him, he had not yet decided how to deal with this little girl. Logically, regardless of the friendship with the Duan family in Dali or for Ah Zhu's sake, he should bring her back to the Central Plains, let her reunite with her family and live a normal life. But this little girl grew up in Xingxiu Sea since she was a child, and developed a stubborn and vicious character. She was lawless in her heart, never distinguishing between good and evil, and only acting on her own preferences. She had a lot of evil thoughts. If she was brought back, it would be a disaster.

If someone heard about my life story and sent me to Dali, I'm afraid I would turn Dali upside down.

If she stayed in Tokyo, she was afraid that Ah Zhu would worry about her and get tired. This little girl was not the type to be disciplined. She said one thing and meant another, and was full of tricks. It was really inconvenient for her.

So he is still thinking about how to deal with it, whether to tell his background, whether to take him away or not, nothing has been finalized.

But I didn't go looking for her, but she was so bold as to come here again. What was she planning?
Zhao Ti glanced at the little snake and understood instantly. Since it drove the little snake over here, could it be that after seeing the scene in the house that day, it thought that there was some treasure here that could gather poisonous insects and resist all poisons, and was even better than the Divine Wood King Cauldron, so it coveted and wanted to steal it?

The little snake now felt the breath of cold ice internal force and crawled towards the couch, but it was not as strong as it was that day, and its body was limp. No matter how hard it tried, it could not climb up to the couch.

Zhao Ti took a look and heard a noise outside. The sound was so light that ordinary people would not notice it at all, but it was extremely obvious to his ears.

He saw the flowers and trees not far from the window parted, revealing a purple-clothed figure, somewhat petite and delicate, who tiptoed to the window. Zhao Ti took a look and saw that it was Ah Zi.

I saw Ah Zi's eyes were as bright as stars and her face was full of cleverness and intelligence. She looked around the room and then jumped in.

She first looked up at the beam. It was on this beam that Zhao Ti was hanging that day. She was startled. Although she had seen from the window that there was no one there, she had to confirm it again to feel at ease.

"Hmph..." With a light snort, Ah Zi patted her chest and looked at the little snake beside the couch. It was obvious that the little snake wanted to get on the couch but was unable to. She guessed in her heart that the treasure was most likely on this couch.

She first drew out a dagger and moved the pillows and quilts on the couch to see if there was any mechanism. Then she found no response, so she started to search, but after searching for a while she found nothing.

She was puzzled and took a look at the little snake. There was clearly something on the couch that attracted it, so it lingered there. So she reached out and grabbed the little snake over, wanting it to find it.

Unexpectedly, the little snake was not looking for any treasure on the couch, but wanted to move upwards. After a few breaths, it crawled to the wall and continued to climb upwards.

Ah Zi had a bad feeling in her heart, and suddenly she remembered that there was a place she had not looked at. Last time she had not looked at the beams of the house, and this time she had not looked at the top of the bed.

She did not look up immediately, but said to the little snake: "Let's go, let's go, if you can't find anything, just come home with me."

How could the little snake understand? She reached out to grab the little snake, but suddenly raised her hand upwards, and black poisonous smoke came out. Her other hand flashed with green light and made a slight "whoosh" sound.

Black smoke is a kind of poisonous skill, which is activated by internal force and can also be considered a special weapon.

As for the green light, it is the Xingxiu Sect's unique hidden weapon, the Green Phosphorus Needle. As a disciple of the Xingxiu Sect, she has mastered the use of this needle to perfection, and can catch the enemy off guard whether by sneak attacks or long-range attacks.

There was no movement from above. Ah Zi's eyebrows showed a half-smile, and her snow-white face revealed the tenderness and purity of a young girl. She said to herself: "Humph, I thought he would hide on the top to scare people like last time, but I thought too much..."

As she spoke, she looked up and saw a human-shaped piece of thin ice stuck to the top of the bed, a pair of eyes looking at her without any emotion.

"Ah..." Ah Zi was immediately frightened and cried out. She took a few steps back and lost her balance, eventually sitting on the ground.

At this moment, there was a loud "crash" sound, and all the green phosphorus needles and hidden weapons fell down from the ceiling along with the broken ice.

Zhao Ti stood on the couch, patting his clothes gently. The little snake wrapped around the corner of his robe, making a cheerful "hissing" sound.

Ah Zi's face turned pale, and she sat on the ground with her dark eyes rolling around. Suddenly she stood up and ran to the window.

Zhao Ti raised his hand and two gusts of wind hit the window first, and the window was slammed shut with a sound.

Ah Zi gritted her teeth and tried to crash through the window. Zhao Ti said calmly, "Do you think you can be faster than my finger strength?"

Ah Zi froze when she heard that. She turned around cautiously and forced out a flattering smile: "You, you just listen to my excuse..."

"What?" Zhao Ti's face suddenly darkened.

"Ah, no, I said it wrong." Ah Zi uttered a cry and quickly changed her words: "You, please listen to my explanation."

Zhao Ti glanced at her. She had fair skin and a sweet face. There was a hint of cleverness and cunning in her eyes, but she was trying hard to hide it and appear honest, but he could easily see through it.

He pointed at the stool next to the table. Ah Zi looked over there, then moved over there cautiously, but did not dare to sit down.

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes slightly. Seeing this, Ah Zi immediately sat on the stool and placed her hands on her knees, looking extremely honest.

He got off the bed at this time, leaving the little snake hanging on his legs, but he didn't care and paced twice in the middle of the floor. Ah Zi looked at him secretly, then carefully looked at the door.

"What's your name?" Zhao Ti stopped and asked lightly.

"My name is A...Zi." A Zi said in a low voice.

The corners of Zhao Ti's mouth raised, and he paused, obviously wanting to lie, but maybe because he was talking to Li Qiu Shui that day and she found out, he felt that he would be exposed, so he changed his words.

"What are you doing here?" Zhao Ti said coldly.

"I..." A Zi glanced at the little snake hanging beside Zhao Ti's leg, thinking to herself that this man's martial arts were too high, and even the master might not be his opponent. The master was so polite that day, and she must not offend him. It would be unfair to say that she came to steal his treasure, otherwise it would be unfair to slap him to death.

"I, I was chasing away little snakes to find poisonous things to practice, but it ended up here..." Ah Zi said, "I thought I'd find some poisonous insects and leave, but for some reason it came back into the house, and then..."

Zhao Ti sneered: "You can't make up any more stories? This is all the little snake's fault. The little snake brought you here, and you listened to its orders?"

Ah Zi waved her hands hurriedly and said, "No, no, it probably knows that you are a master of extraordinary skills and have practiced strange and poisonous skills, so it came here to seek refuge..."

"Unparalleled magical power?" Zhao Ti had a blank expression on his face.

"That's right, that's right..." Ah Zi observed his expression and flattered him, "Your Majesty, you have great magical powers and boundless power. You are feared by the world. Not only have I never seen anything like you, I have never even heard of anything like you..."

Zhao Ti snorted coldly: "Do you have a lock plate on you?"

Ah Zi's expression changed as she asked, "How did you know, hero?"

Zhao Ti asked, "Is there any inscription on it?"

Ah Zi nodded hesitantly: "I carved the words 'bamboo by the lake, green and lush', 'reporting peace', 'more joy'."

Zhao Ti said: "Take it out and show it to me."

Ah Zi blinked and immediately took out the lock plate from under her neck: "How did you know I had the lock plate? It's made of gold. I also have a collar. I'll give them all to you. I... I still have to go back to Shuiyue Temple. My master is still waiting for me. You and my master are old acquaintances. You will definitely let me go, right?"

Zhao Ti frowned upon hearing this and asked, "Why would I need your things? Do you still have a small tattoo on your left shoulder?"

Ah Zi was shocked when she heard that. It was not surprising that someone knew about the collar lock plate. After all, she often wore these two things outside her clothes and had been seen by others.

But the tattoo on her shoulder was very secretive. Except for her own grandmother who had taken care of her when she was a child, how could anyone else know about it? The grandmother practiced poison and became possessed when she was a child and was killed by the backlash. No one else knew about it. How did the other party know about it?

She couldn't help but reach out to touch her left shoulder, and then blurted out: "You, you can't be my father, how could you know this?"

"Asshole!" Zhao Ti said with a sullen face, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Ah Zi gently pulled down her collar to one side, revealing her snow-white and delicate shoulders: "But no one knows that I have words here. Those who know must be related to my life experience..."

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes and said, "Alright, let's go back to Shuiyue Temple!"

Ah Zi heaved a sigh of relief, as if she had been pardoned. Although she was confused, she did not dare to speak. She just thought that if he ran away this time, he would never come back. This man was really scary. Unless she could practice magical skills to seek revenge on him, she must not let him catch her again.

She stood up and walked out the door, her steps were light and silent, when she suddenly heard a cold voice from behind: "Stop."

She trembled, stopped quickly and looked back.

She saw the other party pointing a finger at her. She wanted to dodge, but it was too late. She only felt a stream of icy cold energy instantly penetrate into her body, quickly moving through her meridians, and after a moment entered her dantian, like a steel needle, causing a dull pain.

Her face changed color: "What, what is this?"

Zhao Ti was thinking in his heart just now that he should bring A Zi back to the Central Plains. After all, whether it was to see Duan Zhengchun or A Zhu, it would be better to take her back. As for if she disobeyed discipline after returning, he would lock her up and send her to Dali, and let the Duan family worry about it themselves.

But thinking that she might not behave herself and run away in the next few days, he injected a stream of phantom Yin finger force into her body to let her know how powerful he was.

"The cold poison has entered your body. Report back after seven days, otherwise your whole body will freeze to death." Zhao Ti said calmly, "Except for me, no one can cure this cold poison, not even Li Qiushui."

Ah Zi's eyes widened when she heard this: "Han, the cold poison entered the body, and he died of freezing?"

Zhao Ti said with a cold expression, "Remember to flatter me in your heart every day. If you show any disrespect, the poison will immediately take effect like thousands of ants gnawing at your heart. I will also know about it, and I will not be able to detoxify you then."

"I know, I know..." Ah Zi trembled with fear.

"Go away." Zhao Ti said coldly.

"Yes..." Ah Zi walked out carefully, feeling extremely panicked, fearing that if she moved too much, the cold needle in her dantian would explode, or even break out of her body and kill her instantly.

Zhao Ti watched her leave and sat quietly in the room for a while. Cai Jing and others still did not return.

He took the little snake off his leg and threw it on the couch, then stood up and walked out the door.

It was dark outside with dark clouds covering the moon. He identified the direction, jumped onto the roof, and headed straight for the headquarters of the Witch Cult.

(End of this chapter)