A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 373 Between Reality and Illusion
A shabby horse-drawn carriage was swaying along West Street.

At this time, the sky was just getting light, and there were only a few people at the breakfast stalls on the street. People saw the shabby carriage and the young man driving it in a felt coat, but they didn't pay much attention to it. Because both the young man and the old horse and the shabby carriage were too ordinary.

The young man in the felt coat sighed and parked the old carriage at the dismounting stone beside the county office gate.

The curtain of the old carriage was already covered with dirt. At this moment, the curtain was opened and two figures, one burly and the other slender, walked out of the carriage, one in front and one behind.

Both of them look to be in their forties.

The burly man had a square face and brown skin. He was wearing a dark blue silk robe and had a calm and peaceful expression. At first glance, he looked like a well-traveled businessman. This man was Wei Ziyang, one of the five chief altar envoys of the Filthy Blood Cult.

The other tall man was wearing a moon-white silk shirt. His face was slightly sinister, and his eyes were bright and reserved. Judging from his clothes, he looked like a scholar. This man was the head of the Yuanyang Hall of the Filthy Blood Cult, Ge Qinglei.

Duan Rong was hiding in an alley not far from the county office before dawn. He knew that Wei Ziyang and Ge Qinglei would arrive today.

But he still did not move, nor did he go to the city gate to check, because Duan Rong had used his spiritual sense to investigate very clearly. At this time, Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan were in the flower hall in the backyard of the county government office. Both of them looked nervous and rubbed their hands from time to time.

Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan were obviously waiting for Wei Ziyang and Ge Qinglei to arrive. He only needed to keep an eye on these two people.

When the carriage passed by, Duan Rong also scanned it with his spiritual sense, but he didn't pay much attention to it. It was just an ordinary old horse carriage, and Duan Rong was not nervous. Whenever a carriage passed by, he would use his spiritual sense to penetrate and check it.

But this carriage still aroused Duan Rong's vigilance, because he soon discovered that the temple keeper Xu Dongyang was riding a horse half a meter behind the carriage, following slowly.

Not long after, the carriage stopped next to the county office gate.

If it was really an ordinary carriage, how could the temple priest Xu Dongyang follow it? That night, at the dinner in the secret room of the altar in Wei Yutian's old house, the temple priest Xu Dongyang was also there.

Moreover, why would such a shabby cart pulled by an old horse be parked in front of the county office for no reason?
Just as Duan Rong was getting suspicious, a clerk waiting at the gate of the county office saw two people getting off the shabby carriage, and the temple priest Xu Dongyang was standing not far away. He immediately walked over quickly and said to the two people respectfully, "Mr. Wei, Mr. Ge! The county magistrate is waiting in the flower hall. Please follow me to the flower hall to meet him!"

Duan Rong huddled there and pretended to be asleep. Under the cover of his spiritual consciousness, he "heard" clearly what the clerk said.

His heart moved.

Mr. Wei? Mr. Ge?
It seems that the big fish has arrived!
Duan Rong raised his head slightly and took a look at the sky which was already getting brighter.

He was a little worried, wondering if the people from the sect could arrive in time.

Wei Ziyang and Ge Qinglei had already followed the clerk into the gate of the county office.

Duan Rong withdrew his eyes from the sky and refocused his attention on Wei Ziyang and Ge Qinglei who were entering the gate of the county office.

Duan Rong's spiritual consciousness instantly penetrated the bodies of the two people.

Soon, he could clearly see the ball of true qi lingering in the dantian of the two people.

Wei Ziyang has reached the state of great perfection in the realm of true qi.

It seems that Ge Qinglei is still a little short of reaching the great perfection of the Qi realm, but he is at least at the fourth level of the Qi realm.

After finding out and confirming the realms of the two people, Duan Rong was slightly disappointed.

Ge Qinglei was fine. The head of the Yuanyang Hall of the Filthy Blood Sect was at the fourth level of the True Qi Realm, which was not bad. As far as Duan Rong knew, the head of the Yuanyang Mansion seemed to be only at the third level of the True Qi Realm.

Calculated in this way, Ge Qinglei is slightly better.

But Wei Ziyang is one of the five great envoys of the Filthy Blood Sect! His status is second only to the leader Fu Yi. The leader of the Filthy Blood Sect, Fu Yi, practiced the Filthy Blood Divine Art and trained a portable blood infant, known as the number one in the Cave Netherworld Realm. No one below the Nascent Soul stage can stop him!

And Wei Ziyang, one of the five great magicians, has only reached the great perfection of the True Qi Realm, and has not even achieved the Yuan Qi Realm, let alone the Cyclone Realm and the Cave Nether Realm!
It seems that although the leader of the Filthy Blood Sect, Fu Yi, has some strange magical powers, the sect's members are strongly suppressed by the sect and lack resources, so their cultivation level is not very high.

Although Wei Ziyang's cultivation level was not very high, Duan Rong did not dare to underestimate him.

Because there is also the Dirty Blood Divine Art! Duan Rong had only experienced the Dirty Blood Divine Art at the first and second levels, but its power was already very mysterious.

Duan Rong had no idea of the level of Wei Ziyang's filthy blood magic as the chief altar envoy.

The Divine Art of the Filthy Blood is the same as the Taizang Sutra, in that it is a method of practicing the spirit and soul. The spirit can only explore the body but not the spirit space.

Wei Ziyang and Ge Qinglei were led by the clerk into the gate of the county office, and then Xu Dongyang rode away on his horse.

A young man in a felt coat was sitting in the shabby carriage parked next to the county office gate. He leaned his back against the edge of the carriage, took out a handful of melon seeds from his pocket, and slowly ate the seeds while basking in the sun.

He ate very slowly, with his eyes half closed, and seemed to be enjoying it very much.

Duan Rong noticed the young man, and his spiritual sense instantly penetrated the young man's body.

Duan Rong frowned slightly under his dirty and greasy hair. The young man driving the car was actually at the third level of the True Qi Realm.

The flower hall in the backyard of the county government office.

As Wei Ziyang and Ge Qinglei walked into the door, the clerk closed the door of the flower hall behind them, and he himself stood guard by the door to prevent anyone from entering and disturbing them.

The moment the door of the flower hall closed, Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan knelt down and prostrated themselves before the two people at the door!
"Your subordinate greets the Lord of Law!"

"Greetings, Master Ge!"

Wei Ziyang said: "Please stand up, both of you!"

Ge Qinglei stood there, silent. According to the etiquette of the sect, he was only the head of the hall and was not qualified to receive such a great gift. Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan actually performed this gift for Wei Ziyang.

For all the members of the Filthy Blood Sect, seeing the five great Dharma Envoys at the main altar is like seeing the Sect Master in person, so Wei Ziyang is qualified to receive this great gift.

Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan were still prostrating themselves on the ground, shouting, "May the lord of the law be well! May the leader of the sect be well! May the incense of our sect last forever and benefit all living beings!"

After Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan finished shouting, they kowtowed three times and then stood up!

As soon as the two stood up, Wei Ziyang smiled and said, "Are you Sun Qian?"

Sun Qian was thin with high cheekbones. He immediately said, "That's me!"

Wei Ziyang patted Sun Qian on the shoulder and said, "Don't be so formal! Although the rules in the sect are strict, this is not the main temple, so we can be more casual."

Sun Qian was slightly stunned, but when he saw Wei Ziyang, his smile was as bright as spring breeze and he was totally unpretentious.

But Sun Qian glanced at Ge Qinglei, who had a sinister look on his face, and politely invited the two to sit down.

Wei Ziyang and Ge Qinglei each sat on a throne, while Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan stood in the middle of the flower hall.

Wei Ziyang looked at the ginseng tea in a silver cup on the table, picked up a cup, took a sip, looked at Sun Qian, and said with a smile: "Some time ago, you submitted a proposal to the hall. Hall Master Ge sent the proposal and comments to the main hall."

Upon hearing this, Sun Qian looked at Ge Qinglei with gratitude.

"The five Dharma Envoys of the main altar all attach great importance to the Tiao Chen and the stronghold in Xiangu County. This time I came here to learn more about the situation in Xiangu County and the direction of its construction and consolidation in the next few years."

After Wei Ziyang made his opening remarks, he went straight to the point.

Upon hearing this, Sun Qian immediately unfolded a roll of drawings on the table next to Wei Ziyang.

This roll of drawings was made to meet the inspection of the chief altar envoy. Sun Qian specially found three clerks to work day and night, and finally finished it the day before.

Sun Qian said: "Master of the Law! Master Ge! Please look, this is the regulation map of Xiangu County!"

Wei Ziyang's eyes moved and he looked at the drawing. It was a detailed sketch, densely packed and strictly planned, marking out all the major streets and houses in Xiangu County.

Sun Qian immediately pointed to the drawings and introduced them to Wei Ziyang.

"This is Xiangu County's weapons shop. It originally belonged to the Tao family, but the current owner is Xu Dian!"

Sun Qian talked about it in great detail, mentioning almost all the major forces one by one. When it came to some places, Ruan Fengshan took over the discussion. After all, this stronghold was built by the two of them together, and there were some places where they had their own division of labor. As Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan talked, Wei Ziyang would ask some questions from time to time.

The spring-like smile on Wei Ziyang's face was gone. At this moment, his eyes flashed with deep contemplation, and his face was as stiff as a stone.

After nearly two hours, Sun Qian had already given Wei Ziyang a detailed introduction to the entire situation of Xiangu County.

Wei Ziyang looked at the blueprint, suddenly raised his head and said with a smile: "Come on, show me the secret passage you mentioned!"

Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan looked at each other. They didn't expect that Wei Ziyang would come to check the secret passage first. Bai Rong's body was still in the secret passage.

Wei Ziyang looked at the two people's expressions and asked, "What's the matter? Is it inconvenient?"

"No. It's convenient!" Sun Qian said, "My two lords, please!"

As Sun Qian spoke, he winked at Ruan Fengshan. Ruan Fengshan understood and immediately pretended to open the door for the two of them, then slipped out first.

Wei Ziyang naturally saw it, but he didn't care. He came to investigate the situation at the Xiangu stronghold, not to find out the secrets of his subordinates.

When Sun Qian, Wei Ziyang and Ge Qinglei walked into the secret room from their beds, Ruan Fengshan had already hidden Bai Rong's body.

The four of them walked in the secret passage, and Wei Ziyang looked around from time to time.

They followed the secret passage and first came to the secret mandala next to the sealed warehouse of Yuanshun Escort Agency. Wei Ziyang looked at the statue of Wutong God, which was very lifelike and full of charm, and was immediately amazed!

Then, the four of them walked from the secret room mandala to Wei Yutian’s old residence.

Before this, Sun Qian had already pointed out to Wei Ziyang the locations of the beginning and end of the secret passage on the map.

After the four of them walked out of the stone gate at the rockery, Wei Ziyang looked at the secluded house in front of him, and his evaluation of the Xiangu stronghold rose to a higher level.

He felt that Xian Gu's experience could be replicated everywhere!

From a stronghold, it turned into a place full of smoke!

Wei Ziyang was in a good mood and said, "It's getting late. I think it's time for lunch!"

Sun Qian said: "I have already prepared a banquet at the county government office, just in time for you two to welcome us!"

"No need!" Wei Ziyang waved his hand and said, "We can just eat something on the roadside!"

Sun Qian was slightly stunned and said, "Master Dharma Envoy, how can this be done?!"

Wei Ziyang smiled slightly and said, "Eating a meal is so complicated!"

The four of them actually sat down at a street stall. Wei Ziyang ordered two bowls of beef noodles and three sesame cakes.

The other three people walked beside Wei Ziyang with somewhat awkward expressions. Sun Qian had been in Xiangu for three years and had never eaten on the roadside.

Wei Ziyang suddenly said, "Oh, right! My little boy Wei Tian, who drives the car, please ask him to come over and have some noodles."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Fengshan immediately stood up and waved his hand. A man came to him. Ruan Fengshan whispered something to the man, and the man jumped out.

Wei Tian was still eating melon seeds in a carriage not far from the county office gate. The sun had already set and he was getting a little impatient. Suddenly, a figure stopped in front of him. It was a short boy.

The young man said, "It's noon. Let's go have a bowl of beef noodles!"

Wei Tian glanced at the young man and felt that he was a little puzzled.

Seeing that Wei Tian didn't respond, the young man asked, "Aren't you hungry?"

Wei Tian said: "I'll wait for my master."

"Your master is eating noodles over there. He asked someone to come and call you. Your name is Wei Tian, right?"

When Wei Tian saw the young man calling out his name, he turned over and jumped off the carriage. His eyes moved and he thought that there might be a secret passage in the county government office.

Afterwards, Wei Tian followed the young man to the somewhat remote noodle stall, and sure enough, he saw his master sitting there.

Wei Tian sat quietly beside Wei Ziyang without making any movement.

Wei Ziyang saw bubbles forming at the corners of Wei Tian's mouth, so he said, "Eat less melon seeds!"

"Ah."

Not long after Wei Tian sat down, the shop owner brought up the two bowls of noodles and three sesame cakes that Wei Ziyang ordered.

There were two bowls of noodles, one for Wei Ziyang and one for Wei Tian. There were three sesame cakes, and Wei Tian ate two.

Wei Tian just concentrated on eating, but Wei Ziyang was eating while paying attention to the passers-by, with the thoughtful look in his eyes becoming more and more intense.

After they finished their meal, Wei **** said he wanted to go to the top of the city to take a look.

Sun Qian and the others had no choice but to accompany them.

Not long after the few people set off, a shivering little beggar walked out tremblingly from outside the three alleys where the noodle stall was located.

It was Duan Rong who had followed all the way.

After Wei Ziyang and his companions entered the secret passage, Duan Rong followed them all the way to Wei Yutian's old residence and then to this noodle stall on the street.

Duan Rong maintained a sufficient distance, as long as Wei Ziyang and the others were within the range of his spiritual sense.

Because Duan Rong discovered that there were many spies nearby, and more than a dozen people who attended the dinner that night were also following nearby in disguise.

Duan Rong watched Wei Ziyang and the others climb up to the top of the city wall from afar. He glanced at the sun above the city wall and sighed slightly in his heart.

Wei Ziyang has been in the city for such a long time, but the people from the sect have not arrived yet!

If Wei Ziyang was about to leave and the people from the sect had not arrived yet, would he stop Wei Ziyang and his people? Or would he wait until they left and then shoot the remaining bloody remnants in the city?
Duan Rong was speechless for a moment. The person at the contact point even swore to him, "Do you think the Tongzhengshisi is a vegetarian?"

Wei Ziyang stood on the top of the city wall, looking at the mountains surrounding Xiangu County, and sighed: "The mountains and rivers are solid all around, it is really a place with unique advantages for defense!"

Wei Ziyang suddenly turned his head and looked at Ge Qinglei beside him, saying: "Qinglei! You said that we should build a stronghold in these mountains to echo the city here! If the encirclement is too strong, we can retreat into the mountains! Wait until the defenders are weak and then attack the city. Isn't there more room for maneuver between the real and the fake?"

Ge Qinglei frowned, looking at the rolling hills around him, his heart was astonished. He had to admit that what Wei Ziyang said was a grand move between offense and defense.

Ge Qinglei thought for a long time before he said in a deep voice: "Master Fashi's words are like a thunderbolt!"

Sun Qian was also shocked. He thought about Wei Ziyang's words and was speechless for a long time.

Ruan Fengshan was worried when he left Wei Yutian's old house. After a few days, Duan Rong and Xiao Yu seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. How could he not be afraid? However, he noticed that all the brothers were in disguise and followed around to protect the Dharma Envoy, so he felt relieved.

Wei Tian was also behind the crowd, following from a distance. He was not interested in what they were talking about. If Wei Ziyang had not told him to eat less melon seeds during the meal, he would have started eating them by now.

Wei Tian walked and lay down on the battlement on the top of the city wall bored. He looked around and was suddenly stunned.

He saw a little beggar cowering at the entrance of the alley several feet away. He remembered that he seemed to have seen this little beggar not far from the county government office.

Wei Tian's heart moved, and he recalled carefully, confirming that the little beggar did not follow him, because when he left the gate of the county government, the little beggar was no longer there.

Wei Tian retracted his head and sighed in his heart, maybe it was just a coincidence!

(End of this chapter)