The immortal is beside me

Chapter 115 Where did you go six hundred years ago?

It was an ordinary afternoon on the autumn grassland.

On some yellowed grasslands, flocks of sheep with yellow fur were walking forward, picking up some relatively fresh grass roots from the soil.

A few lambs that couldn't dig up the ground were anxiously circling among the big sheep. Suddenly they looked up, bleated happily as if they had discovered something, and ran towards the distance with all their might.

In the direction they were heading, there seemed to be an oasis-like grassland on the horizon, emitting bursts of mist under the sky. It looked like it was right in front of them, but no matter how the lambs ran, the green grassland was always just a step away from them.

Experienced herdsmen call this phenomenon a ghost scene, modern science calls it a mirage, and in the eyes of extraordinary people, it is generally called an illusion array.

If you pass through the formation, you will find that it is not an oasis, but a group of white felt tents of different sizes.

Figures shuttled between the tents. Most of them wore brocade leather robes, which were common attire of the Wala tribe hundreds of years ago. It is not very common in the mortal world nowadays, but these grassland monks with a lifespan of thousands of years still continue the old traditions.

For them, these felt tents and robes are equivalent to the sect caves and Taoist robes where the monks in the Central Plains live, and have been the default custom for hundreds of years.

At this time, all the figures gathered in front of the central altar, kneeling and chanting hymns with strange tones.

On the stage, a priest wearing a tall hat was standing in a brazier, with a strange light in his pupils, as if an alien soul had possessed him. After a while, he suddenly blinked, and the light in his eyes disappeared, and his expression immediately became a little strange.

"The Supreme Heaven has sent down an oracle"

He took a deep breath and said, "In two months, a new round of conquest will begin. The tribes of the grasslands should unite and march south to spread the faith of Heaven throughout the Central Plains."

The figures stirred. This was the oracle they had long awaited. Every conquest by the grassland peoples required the permission of heaven. In their minds, any people who refused to accept their conquests were defying divine will and deserving the harshest punishment. This was the pattern of their conquests over the past millennia.

"This expedition will gather the strength of all tribes, led by twelve Heavenly Agents, to penetrate the hinterland and control the spiritual veins of the four realms."

".In addition, the oracle has another instruction."

By the lake, a shaman wearing a Jurchen sheepskin coat tapped the ground with an animal bone crutch, and his voice reached the ears of every tribal monk in front of him.

".All tribes should make every effort to search for and kill those who betrayed Heavenly Father, Shaowa."

"As a former child of Heaven, she abandoned Heaven's blessing and faith. This is unforgivable. Any tribe that finds her will be killed on the spot."

In the golden tent, the old man standing in the center finished relaying the last oracle and looked at the people in front of him.

The people before him were all wearing robes made of velvet or brocade, the traditional attire of the Mongol Empire. They sat in a circle in the tent, each with a thoughtful expression on their face.

Compared with the oracles I had heard before, Changshengtian’s will this time was indeed a bit weird.

In the thousand-year history of the grassland, there have been dozens of large-scale conquests, each of which expanded in all directions, which is also in line with Changshengtian's authority of "conquest".

But this time the oracle pointed out that all the people of the grassland should be gathered to attack the Central Plains. Such a clear purpose and such a precise target are rare in history.

What is even more suspicious is the specially added instruction at the end.

"Shaowa. I've heard of this name before."

The tribe leader sitting at the head of the group rubbed his chin and said, "He was a chosen one from the Khitan tribe. He betrayed Changshengtian and fled the grasslands. It is said that he escaped to the Central Plains."

These words also made the people around them fall into deep thought.

The betrayal of the tribe by the agent of Heaven was indeed a major event for the tribal monks, but it was not serious enough to cause the supreme Heaven to send down an oracle specifically for this purpose.

Not only within the Khitan, but now all the tribes know about this. It can be said to be a thousand-mile hunt order issued to all the people on the grassland. There must be other reasons behind this.

"Did she achieve a breakthrough? Reach the upper three realms, causing Heaven to notice her?"

"Impossible. Over the years, anyone who has achieved a breakthrough on the grassland has done so with the blessing of heaven. Heaven will not allow a traitor like Shaowa to make further breakthroughs."

"Could it be that she has found another faith besides Changshengtian? Does she have another supporter?"

The last sentence made the whole audience silent for a moment. This was indeed the biggest possibility at the moment - the people of Changshengtian threw themselves into the arms of other beings and in turn became a threat to the grassland.

"When Shaowa abandoned the Eternal Heavenly Queen, she seemed to have wandered around for two hundred years before finally fleeing south to the Central Plains. Could it be that she had taken refuge with some powerful figure in the Central Plains?"

"Then she's truly foolish," one of them snorted. "The historical records state that her betrayal occurred eight hundred years ago. History at that time already proved who was the master."

This remark caused a response in the tent.

Eight hundred years ago, it was the era of the grassland.

First, the Jin people marched southward and took the heart of the Central Plains, where they destroyed many monks in the Central Plains with ease, abducted the two emperors Huizong and Qinzong from the mortal world, and made most of the northern region the base of grassland forces.

Then, Mongolia expanded and took over the entire Central Plains. Both the cultivation world and the mortal world were suppressed and could not raise their heads. This situation lasted for a hundred years.

No matter which powerful man in the Central Plains Shaowa turned to, at that point in time, that person could only be one of the many losers conquered by the people of Changshengtian, and would eventually either die under the iron hoofs of the grassland or submit to Changshengtian and become his slave.

"No problem. The oracle has already been given, and we are only to carry out the will of Heaven."

The chieftain in the main seat rubbed his armrest. "There are still two months until the expedition begins. This time, at least ten tribes will participate, and the scale will be even greater than the one eight hundred years ago. We must make all-out preparations within these two months. By then, we will not only execute the traitor Shaowa, but also let the entire Central Plains witness the might of the grasslands."

These words seemed to ignite the atmosphere in the tent. Everyone nodded in agreement. Amidst the discussions, another person spoke up.

"Since the divine decree for the expedition has already been issued, why wait two months?"

The man said, "More than a dozen tribes are participating in this expedition. If we eventually conquer the Central Plains, disputes between the tribes will inevitably arise. We should seize this opportunity to strike first. We can gain the upper hand and stay one step ahead of the other agents."

"Conquests must be made at the right time, not in haste."

The leader shook his head. "A few days ago, our clan's sorcerers observed the sky and discovered that the energy in the Central Plains has recently changed. Within a few days, many disturbances will occur within that region. Both the cultivation world and the mortal world will need to allocate manpower to deal with them. When they are exhausted from responding, we can take advantage of the opportunity and attack them in one fell swoop."

"As for the matter of taking the initiative, I have also made arrangements."

The leader said this with a barely perceptible smile on his face. "A few days ago, I sent someone to infiltrate the Central Plains. Judging from the current situation, we should be able to hear news from them within a few days."

Within a day, the oracle from Changshengtian spread throughout the entire grassland. Countless tribal monks received the same will, and countless speculations and discussions arose.

But all this only happened in the unknown depths of the grassland. Thousands of miles away in Yingzhou, China, modern urban life continued.

A car with the Environmental Sanitation Bureau logo sped across the road, heading toward the outskirts of Yingzhou City. In the passenger seat, Xue Duo clutched her phone tightly, her expression as hard as steel. For the past few hours, Yingzhou had seemed calm, but only she knew the depths of the undercurrent beneath the surface.

After the conversation on the rooftop that night, the strategic-level Divine Eagle lost contact with the Environmental Sanitation Bureau. Satellites showed that the Hulun Grassland where it was heading had a strong spiritual reaction, and several nearby counties also issued thunderstorm warnings and high wind warnings one after another.

Under normal circumstances, Xue Duo would not have doubted Shen Ying's ability to settle things, but the divination she had obtained from Tianji Academy showed that Shen Ying's trip was a bad omen. Considering her strength and status, her bad omen was almost a bad omen for China.

What kind of existence can bring bad luck to the most powerful divine eagle?

This problem is really torturous, but ordinary people cannot interfere in the battle between top powers. In addition, Shenying has personally ordered that no one should interfere. The Environmental Sanitation Bureau dare not go against her will and can only block the news in a small range and wait anxiously.

But just a few hours ago, Xue Duo suddenly received news: Shenying, who had been out of contact for dozens of hours, suddenly returned to the base in Yingzhou, and another man came back with her.

Any one of these two pieces of news is explosive enough on its own, but putting them together is even more explosive.

So after receiving the news, she immediately put down all the work at hand, sent a letter to Shenying to request a meeting, and after getting permission, she rushed thousands of miles to Shenying's residence.

This is a single-family villa located in the mountains on the outskirts of the city. It is situated on a high ground surrounded by grass and trees. Standing by the window, you can overlook the entire city in the distance.

Xue Duo stopped the car in front of the villa. As soon as he got out of the car, he saw two figures sitting at a table in the villa courtyard with several wine cups on the table.

One of the figures was a woman with a beautiful face, who was the familiar "Divine Eagle" Xiao Yao.

Sitting next to her was a handsome young man dressed in casual clothes. If it weren't for this background, one would even think he was here for tourism.

Is this... the man who came back with the Condor in the news?

Xue Duo stared at the scene with his eyes wide open, almost forgetting to blink.

Why would Condor bring someone to her private residence alone? And a man? Who was this person? When did they meet?

In an instant, at least a hundred question marks arose in her mind, but among the many question marks, there was an exclamation mark that was so thick that it broke through the sky.

Even for mortals, bringing someone into one's personal residence is an extremely private act, and this is even more so for monks who have a stronger sense of boundaries.

If things are really as he thought, then this would be a huge gossip that would alarm the central government!
"Manager Xue, you're here."

Noticing Xue Duo's arrival, Xiao Yao turned around and asked, "Did you bring the wine I ordered?"

".I have brought it according to your will."

Xue Duo nodded in response, and the specialist behind him immediately carried out a sealed wine jar as high as an arm from the trunk.

This is a local tribute wine from Yingzhou, which is said to have been passed down from the Ming Dynasty. There is no production line, and each jar is custom-made and handmade. It is only auctioned in a small range, with a unit price of about 300 million per jar.

Shenying's love of wine was well known to everyone in the Sanitation Bureau's leadership, so the bureau set aside funds to purchase several jars of tribute wine specifically for her use.

Especially this time, as soon as the Divine Eagle came back, he specifically asked them to bring the best wine. Xue Duo then immediately asked someone to get this jar of tribute wine and had it delivered quickly.

"Condor, look!"

"You may all withdraw first." Xiao Yao waved her hand, and the jar of wine naturally fell into her hands. "I will talk to you in detail about grassland affairs later. For now, I want to entertain Brother Zhou first."

As straightforward as ever, Xue Duo had no choice but to agree, put down the wine jar, and left in the car.

After closing the car door, Xue Duo leaned in the passenger seat, stretched out his hand, and rubbed his eyebrows hard.

The Condor was fine, and she should have breathed a sigh of relief at this moment, but the scene she just saw made her suspect that there was something wrong with her eyes.

She had also been dealing with the Divine Eagle for many years. In her impression, while this powerful being wasn't some aloof and cold person who kept strangers away, he could still be described as possessing a powerful aura. Even in casual conversations, she could always feel the pressure of a top cultivator, and even just being in front of him made her extremely nervous.

But at the moment they faced each other, she clearly saw a girlish smile on the face of the Divine Eagle. Xue Duo had never seen, or should I say, never imagined that such an expression could appear on the face of such a powerful person.

Who is that man...

Xue Duo pressed his chest with one hand and felt his heart beating beneath his skin.

Although she only took a quick glance, she immediately guessed the man's identity when she thought of what Xiao Yao had said before, "Brother Zhou."

Is it Zhou Tong? Is he still alive? Why did he suddenly appear at this time?

Having served as the director of the branch for many years, she could remain calm even when facing a god-level enemy, but now she felt her whole head trembling.

Xue Duo took a deep breath, took out his cell phone from his pocket, and dialed an internal number.

".Intelligence Department? Thoroughly check the monk database to see if there are any monks who meet this profile..."

Xue Duo thought for a moment, then asked, "Also, what's the situation with the Fire Saint?"

Earlier, Shenying had heard that "Zhou Tong" was not only connected to her, but was also the Fire Saint's master. Now that he had suddenly returned, he had to confirm the situation there.

A reply came from the other end of the line: "The Fire Saint is still at the border these days. We don't know his specific whereabouts. We only know that he is pacifying the affairs of Fusang and will not be back for a while."

"Is that so?" Xue Duo took a deep breath. "Then, contact the people related to the Fire Saint and tell them the news. They will decide the specific contact information."

She moved her lips and teeth, word by word, telling the other party the information and guesses she had.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard in front of the villa, Xiao Yao sat at the table, tapping her fingers on the two wine glasses in front of her. With a crisp tinkling sound, several streams of wine automatically flew out of the jar and poured into the glasses.

"Brother Zhou, try this fine wine."

Xiao Yao pushed the wine glass in front of Zhou Qing and said, "I've been in Yingzhou for some time, and this wine is the most mellow. Let's try it, Brother Zhou."

She held her cheek with one hand, looked at him with a smile as he sipped his wine, her eyes full of brilliance.

"Where did you go six hundred years ago, Brother Zhou? Why can't anyone find you? Even those around you think you're dead?"

ps. I revised it several times and finally released it orz I’m sorry everyone

(End of this chapter)