Chapter 86: Tianyuan Dharma Assembly (Part 3)
On an unknown hill where the main family of the clan is located.
As non-humans, the mountain ghost and the unicorn cub certainly wouldn't feel tired just because of a small hill. On the contrary, they were in high spirits because of their outdoor outing. The two of them had already climbed up the higher steps with Ah Bing in their arms, and were jumping and urging him, "Ah Ren! Ah Ren! Hurry up!"
Because the two were quite far away from Zong Yi and Lu Ren who were lagging behind, they needed to shout loudly to convey their voices to Lu Ren.
After hearing the two people's urging, Lu Ren also hurriedly responded with a voice: "Right away!" Then he looked down at Zong Yi who was bending over and gasping for breath, reached out and patted his back to help him breathe, and asked: "Are you okay? If not, let's sit down and rest for a while."
At this moment, Zong Yi put one hand on his waist, opened his mouth and breathed deeply, and had to close his mouth and swallow a few mouthfuls of saliva from time to time, and he could see that he was breathing out more than breathing in. However, a man can't say no.
So he said breathlessly: "Okay! Why not?!" Then he took the lead and walked up the mountain, leaving Lu Ren standing there watching his staggering back.
It was so obvious that he was trying to show off that Lu Ren had to deliberately fall behind him to prevent him from rolling down the hill due to lack of breath.
Fortunately, after walking for another ten minutes, they reached the halfway point of the mountain, and Zhong Yong and others who had set out before them also happened to be here. It was not that they were waiting for Zong Yi and others, but that the mountain road they used to take disappeared for no reason, and was replaced by a dark cave.
The entrance of the cave was as high as several stories and as wide as a truck. It didn't look like a cave, but more like the mouth of a mountain, waiting for ignorant travelers to fall into its trap and become victims.
Zhong Yong and his companions hesitated here for a long time because they were hesitant about whether or not to enter the cave, and unexpectedly they met up with Zong Yi and his companions who set out later.
As soon as Zong Yi saw Zhong Yong, he started to sneer: "Hey, this... isn't this the wax spear head Zhong Yong? How come... you can't climb anymore?" Although Zong Yi's tone was the epitome of sarcasm, because he had just finished climbing the mountain and was still breathing heavily, his momentum suddenly weakened a bit.
Zhong Yong was about the same age as Zong Yi, and was also still in his prime. He couldn't bear to hear Zong Yi insulting him like that, so he couldn't help but retort, "Get lost! You're only good at talking, if you have the ability, go and try the levels first. Don't blame me for not telling you, these three levels this year don't look normal!"
After hearing Zhong Yong's words, Lu Ren couldn't help but look forward. He didn't know what the "Three Passes" in previous years looked like, but he thought this cave looked very scary. He took the opportunity to look at the dark cave: the entrance was rocky and there was no light coming out from inside. It looked gloomy and terrifying, just like the entrance to hell.
But Zong Yi, who was competing with Zhong Yong, obviously did not realize that there was anything wrong. He just glanced at the cave entrance and snorted coldly, "Oh, you coward, you are afraid, so let your grandfather show you a trick."
Then, Zongyi unzipped the camera bag on Lu Ren's back, rummaged around for a while and took out a book. Then, with a confident smile and the book in his hand raised high, he headed towards the cave.
Lu Ren looked carefully and saw the words "Marxist Philosophy" clearly written on the cover of the book.
Lu Ren finally understood: "No wonder, I was wondering why this bag is so heavy." Then he changed his mind and thought, "Zong Yi brought this book... is he planning to teach the feudal superstitious forces a good lesson?"
Lu Ren didn’t know, and he didn’t dare to ask. He could only sigh that the family of metaphysics was really advancing with the times.
But after taking two steps, Zongyi was a little discouraged by the abyss-like cave. He couldn't help but stop and stood at the entrance of the cave, looking inside, muttering: "Strange, I haven't seen a cave here before. Is it an illusion?"
Because in previous years, the Zong family liked to use a trick to create a frightening illusion in the first stage, and then scare off some timid juniors. So Soichi kept telling himself in his heart, "Don't be afraid, this cave must be a trick": "Who am I, Soichi? The first person in the proletariat to fight against superstition, can I be defeated by this trick of feudal remnants?"
Thinking of this, Zongyi swallowed and took two steps forward.
But when he got one step closer to the cave, he clearly felt a cool breeze blowing out of the cave. It was this moment of cool breeze that made Zongyi hesitate again. He couldn't help but mutter, "It's not right."
Can sleight of hand deceive even the body's perception?
The answer is no. Smudge is a kind of illusion handed down from the folks. It being put on the stage, because it can be immediately exposed with a little rational thinking. Because it is not a perfect magic, it cannot deceive the five senses at the same time. At most, it can only deceive idiots who only rely on their eyes to see things. It is like a bubble, which will burst if it is poked.
But the cool breeze blowing from the cave suggests that this cave is not just an illusion.
Zhong Yong looked at Zong Yi, who had just been speaking out loud, and suddenly stopped at the entrance of the cave, not daring to move forward. A sarcastic smile appeared on his face. He opened his mouth and said sharply, "What's wrong? Are you scared? If you are scared, just tell us. We won't laugh at you. Hahahaha."
When Zhong Yong was laughing at Zong Yi , the person next to him pulled his sleeve, signaling him not to add fuel to the fire. Zhong Yong broke away from the person in dissatisfaction. Just as he was about to say something else, he heard Zong Yi, who had his back to him, say: "Who said I was scared? I just felt that this atmosphere couldn't bring out my bravery. I need some background music."
After saying that, Soichi took out his cell phone and played the national anthem on repeat.
The passionate music sounded in the empty mountains, declaring a desperate fight against the enemies of the people. As a good young man of the new era who had received nine years of compulsory education, Lu Ren almost saluted on the spot as if by reflex.
With the background music, Soichi suddenly seemed to have gained confidence. He straightened his back and continued to walk into the cave.
But the mountain ghost, who had been observing the cave carefully and had not spoken, spoke up at this moment: "Wait."
The problem was that Soichi didn't know if he was using a knock-off phone, the background music was so loud that it actually covered up the mountain ghost's voice. As a result, he didn't hear the mountain ghost's call to stop at all, and he walked straight to the entrance of the cave.
Souichi stopped at the entrance of the cave, and he could only stop at the entrance of the cave because he was stuck.
It was not until then that everyone discovered that the entrance of the cave was actually entangled with countless transparent thin threads. These thin threads were very sticky and directly stuck to Soichi, making him unable to move. At first, only Soichi's chest was stuck. In panic, Soichi used his hands to pry the thin threads apart, but his hands were also stuck. Then, as Soichi struggled, the threads became tighter and tighter.
Seeing this, Lu Ren rushed forward to help, but Zong Yi, who was stuck, shouted, "Don't touch it with your hands! You will get stuck!"
After hearing this, Lu Ren took off his coat and wrapped it around his hands, then started to hit the thin wires. Theoretically, such thin wires should have been broken in one go. However, these wires were unusually strong.
Shan Gui and Qilin Cub also followed Lu Ren's example and wrapped their hands with their coats, then joined the team removing the stitches. However, the thin threads were extremely strong, and it was difficult for them to cut them all after working for a long time.
Zhong Yong laughed happily as he watched a group of people frantically rushing about. "Zong Yi, you're such a loser. Hahahaha, you insisted on being the first. You got caught."
But as he was laughing, Zhong Yong also found something wrong. He couldn't help but think: "It's just a few thin threads. Zong Yi and his companions are so many people, how can they not break free?" So he said to Zong Yi, "Are you guys acting?"
Zong Yi used all his strength to suck milk, his face flushed red: " You big head ghost, Zhong Yong you idiot, why don't you come and help me!"
Although these children from the Xuanmen family disliked each other, they grew up together and could be considered childhood sweethearts. Although they liked to compete with each other, they never had any real hatred. Seeing Zong Yi's expression of effort, Zhong Yong immediately called on his friends to come forward and help.
They followed Lu Ren and the others' example and covered their hands with their coats to hit the thin wires. However, after hitting them, they found that these thin wires were not like ordinary silk threads at all, and they felt like steel ropes under their hands.
Zhong Yong asked Zong Yi uncertainly: "Is there anyone in your Zong family who can use such silk thread?"
His question startled Zong Yi, who was originally concentrating on untying the rope. "There should be some." Zong Yi seemed to lack confidence and argued, "I don't know every member of the Zong family. Maybe someone has cracked some new ancient books in recent years. It's normal that there are some moves you haven't seen before."
Zhong Yong expressed complete disbelief at Zong Yi's pale explanation: "Normal?"
One of Zhong Yong's companions was a smoker, and was currently using a lighter to burn these strange thin wires. However, after a burst of burning by the open flame, these thin wires were still intact.
Seeing this, Zhong Yong said angrily, "This thin line is impervious to water and fire. Do you call this normal?"
If anyone in the Xuanmen sect could master this secret skill, he must have already become famous. How could no one have heard of it?
Zong Yi knew in his heart that this was not right, but he could not lose his composure. In his eyes, Lu Ren, Shan Gui and Qilin Cub were all ordinary people who were implicated by him. If he lost his composure first, the matter would be even more difficult to end.
Zongyi slowly stopped struggling, his whole body was stuck in a spread-eagle position by the net woven with fine threads, like a butterfly that could not struggle anymore.
At this moment, the sound of high heels walking came from the cave. In a moment, a tall woman wearing a red windbreaker, red high heels, and flaming red lips appeared in front of everyone.
She glanced at everyone, her bright red lips curled into an exaggerated arc, and said to everyone present: "Good morning, welcome to the first level, I am Peng Ju, the gatekeeper of this level, and I look forward to your performance."
Along with the appearance of the woman in red, a strong wind suddenly blew up on the mountain in December, and everyone who had taken off their coats to save Soichi shivered at the same time.
At this moment, Lu Ren also realized that the so-called "going through the motions" of passing the three levels seemed to be unfolding in a less than ideal way...
