novellaaa Chapter 219 Xu Xiao and Wang Cheng'an, the Iron Triangle is back in place!
Chapter 219 Xu Xiao and Wang Cheng'an, the Iron Triangle is back in place!
Chapter 219 Xu Erxiao and Wang Chengan, the Iron Triangle is back in place!
Li Guanqi handed the oilcloth booklet to Lu Yuan and explained in a deep voice, "Fifteen days is far too short a time."
"The area outside the pass is vast, and the Liu family has been operating for hundreds of years. Their henchmen are spread all over the place, and they are extremely secretive."
"Although our two families have mobilized all their resources, this first batch of investigations only covers the 37 largest, most clearly identified, and most urgent locations."
Fu Yuanshan added from the side, his voice hoarse yet carrying a chilling certainty: "The rest are either deep in the mountains and forests, in places with complex terrain, or they are hidden by multiple formations. We will need to spend more time verifying and deducing them one by one."
"However, these first batch of thirty-seven locations are enough for you to take action."
Lu Yuan took the booklet; it felt heavy in his hand.
He turned to the first page, where he saw not only a precise map of the location, but also annotations in vermilion ink indicating the nature of the strongholds.
The scale, and the types of speculations.
Some are labeled "Gathering Yin Pool", some are labeled "Corpse Raising House", and some are directly labeled "Evil God Altar".
"Thirty-seven places —"
Lu Yuan frowned, his fingertips tracing the shocking pages of records.
"This is only the first batch?"
Li Guanqi immediately nodded and said, "Therefore, we suggest that you do not wait for all the intelligence to arrive."
"And we will take advantage of your operation to continue digging deeper, and try to sort out the second and third batches while you clear out the first batch."
Crane-Patrolling Celestial Venerable stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm, as if everything was within his expectations.
He said calmly, "Li Guanqi is right; speed is of the essence in war."
"By the time all the intelligence arrives, those outposts will probably have already started causing trouble again."
Shen Shulan listened quietly from the side, her cool gaze sweeping over the records in the booklet, and nodded slightly: "Thirty-seven strongholds, widely distributed. If we want to clear them all at the same time, we need to divide our forces into multiple groups."
"The allocation of manpower needs to be carefully considered."
Lu Yuan closed the booklet, took a deep breath, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes: "Fine!"
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable's gaze swept over the crowd, his voice steady and powerful, carrying an unquestionable determination: "Since that's the case, then let's do as Li Guanqi says."
"Thirty-seven outposts require a three-pronged approach to balance efficiency and security."
He paused, his sharp gaze falling on Lu Yuan and Shen Shulan respectively: "Although my Tianlong Temple only sent a little over a hundred disciples this time, they are all elites."
"I will personally lead the team to eliminate the most troublesome and threatening 'evil god altars' in this first batch."
Lu Yuan and Shen Shulan had no objections.
Tianlong Temple is the strongest, and the Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable personally took action to deal with the most dangerous evil god altar, which is what everyone hoped for.
"The rest are divided into two categories: 'Yin Gathering Pools' and 'Corpse-Nourishing Tombs'."
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable continued, "Celestial Venerable Shen, your Wuqing Temple is skilled in thunder magic. The seven locations in this Yin Gathering Pool with the heaviest Yin energy, which may give birth to high-level corpse kings, will be entrusted to your Wuqing Temple."
After saying that, Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable looked at Lu Yuan and said, "As for the remaining Corpse-Nourishing Tombs, they will be the responsibility of True Dragon Temple."
Lu Yuan knew that this was a reasonable arrangement made by Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable considering the current situation of True Dragon Temple, and that he did not mean to belittle it.
Although there are many corpse breeders, they are generally less of a threat than the Yin Pool and the Altar of the Evil God.
Currently, Lu Yuan is the sole leader of Zhenlong Temple, while the old man remains in a coma. Compared to Wuqing Temple and Tianlong Temple, the other disciples in the temple are far inferior.
The original intention of this purge of the Liu family's remaining influence was also for the sake of the people outside the Great Wall.
It's not for showing off, and there's no need to choose the most difficult option to showcase our Taoist temple. So, this is the best and most reasonable way.
Lu Yuan immediately bowed and said, "Disciple obeys."
Shen Shulan nodded slightly: "I will obey the Heavenly Venerable's decree."
Now that the Heavenly Venerable Crane had set the tone, everyone wasted no time and immediately gathered around the oilcloth book to begin devising a specific action plan.
Li Guanqi spread the booklet on the stone table, pointed his finger at the locations circled in vermilion ink, and said in a deep voice, "He Xun Tianzun, of these three evil god altars, one is located in an abandoned mine deep in Old Black Mountain."
"A mass grave hidden in the 'Great Northern Wilderness'."
"The last one is in the mass grave in 'Wild Man Gully'."
"These three places are notorious for being dangerous, and they are far apart, so you need to travel in three different ways."
"Although the disciples of Tianlong Temple are elite, their manpower is limited, and it may be difficult to take care of everything at the same time."
Lu Yuan's eyes flashed like lightning as he scanned the map. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I think it would be better if Senior Uncle He Xun took charge of one of them, and Senior Sister Shu Lan and I each took charge of one."
Since the evil god altar is the most powerful among them, there's no need to give it all to Uncle Crane Patrol.
If we delay, things may change. If Uncle Hexun comes one by one, it may be too late.
Therefore, it would be better to separate them directly, and have the three people share the responsibility of offering sacrifices to the three most vicious evil gods at the same time.
The disciples of each temple continued with the arrangements made by their senior master, Crane Patrol: those who were to go to the Gathering Yin Pool went to the Gathering Yin Pool, and those who were to go to the Corpse Nourishing Ground went to the Corpse Nourishing Ground.
This way, nothing is delayed, and we can do it together.
After all, given the current situation, a swift resolution is necessary.
Liu Xuanyin is already dead, and the Ghost-Controlling Liu family is gone. No one can say for sure which of these remaining poisons will explode at this time.
Once an outbreak occurs, the surrounding people will suffer.
Therefore, a swift and decisive battle is essential; delay could lead to unforeseen complications.
After a moment's thought, Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable immediately agreed to Lu Yuan's suggestion.
As the one who most needs prestige to suppress the internal strife of Tianlong Temple, Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable naturally hopes that he will be in charge of all the most difficult places of offering sacrifice to evil gods.
After all, this is the greatest credit.
However, as Lu Yuan's senior master, Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable would naturally not steal Lu Yuan's credit or the fame of True Dragon Temple.
Moreover, this matter was not originally intended to gain any merit.
It is also for the greater good of "protecting all living beings".
If Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable were to take over all the lands offered by the evil gods, he would not be able to eliminate them all in a short period of time.
Instead, if the evil god's ancestral land were to suddenly erupt while the Heavenly Venerable Crane Patrol was leading the team to eliminate them one by one, who knows how many people would be harmed?
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable naturally couldn't do that.
Lu Yuan's suggestion is the best.
Each of the three leaders would lead a group to the most dangerous place where evil gods were worshipped, while the rest would be sent by their respective disciples.
Next came the tense task of route planning.
Lu Yuan and Shen Shulan sat around the stone table, while Li Guanqi offered pointers from time to time.
For example, which places have special feng shui layouts that need attention?
Fu Yuanshan remained silent, grinding specially made ink on the side and occasionally adding a few ominous marks on the map to indicate danger.
Looking at the densely packed marks of corpse-raising families on the map, Lu Yuan pondered how to rationally allocate the existing, uneven disciples of the True Dragon Temple.
Lu Yuan must ensure that every force has sufficient combat power and that there are no weaknesses.
Time slipped by unnoticed, and night fell. The lights on the back mountain of Zhenlong Temple shone brightly in the twilight.
"alright."
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable stood up, stretched his limbs, and spoke in a loud voice.
"The route is set, let's depart immediately."
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable went to Old Black Mountain!
After speaking, Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable rushed down the mountain path like a whirlwind and disappeared into the deep night in the blink of an eye.
His decisive and efficient style earned the secret admiration of both Lu Yuan and Shen Shulan.
Watching the departing figure of Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable, Shen Shulan turned slightly to look at Lu Yuan: "Uncle-Master, the disciples of Wuqing Temple have been traveling day and night for the past few days and are quite exhausted."
"I plan to let them rest well at the temple for one night and set off again at dawn tomorrow."
Lu Yuan naturally had no objection to this and nodded earnestly, "Senior Sister is right."
"The disciples of Wuqing Temple are all elites. After conserving their energy and setting off again, they will be able to unleash an even more thunderous force."
The disciples of Wuqing Temple hadn't had a proper rest on their way from Wuqing Temple to Zhenlong Temple.
As the saying goes, "sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood," so no matter what, we should let them get a good night's sleep and a hot meal today.
As for Lu Yuan's arrangements—
He planned to discuss it with Zhou Shouzhou later.
Let's make some more arrangements.
After all, Lu Yuan no longer recognizes all the people from Zhenlong Temple.
These people were all under Zhou Shouzhou's responsibility, and how to arrange them was up to Zhou Shouzhou.
After making the arrangements, Lu Yuan prepared to set off that very night.
Lu Yuan was going to the mass grave in "Wild Man Valley".
After Crane Celestial Venerable disappeared into the deep night, Lu Yuan, Shen Shulan, Li Guanqi, and Fu Yuanshan discussed the details of the allocation of new disciples of True Dragon Temple with Zhou Shouzhou for a while.
By the time everything was arranged, the moon was high in the sky.
No one said anything more, and they all turned and went down the mountain.
Li Guanqi and Fu Yuanshan parted ways and headed towards the guesthouse in the front courtyard of Zhenlong Temple.
Lu Yuan led Shen Shulan along the secluded path behind the mountain toward the mountain gate.
Just after passing the meadow where the Tianlong Temple tents were pitched, and before even reaching the back gate of the Zhenlong Temple, Lu Yuan stopped and raised his eyebrows slightly.
Several people were already standing in front of the two mottled red-painted doors at the back, waiting for him.
Lu Yuan spotted the two small figures standing at the very front of the crowd at a glance.
They were two little girls, about seven or eight years old, with identical pigtails and wearing brand-new indigo Taoist robes.
Although the cuffs were a bit long, they couldn't hide that lively and energetic spirit.
They were Hu Huhu's twin daughters, Hu Yangyang and Hu Tutu, the head of the Xu Deng Hu family.
When the two sisters saw Lu Yuan come down, Tiger Rabbit immediately stood on tiptoe, trying her best to make sure that Lu Yuan could see her little face.
Then, he awkwardly but earnestly clasped his hands in a fist salute.
It looks like he just learned it from a senior disciple in the temple.
Tiger Sheep's calm, deep eyes, like those of an ancient well, gazed at Lu Yuan with a subtle, almost imperceptible dependence in them.
Behind the twins, two figures stood out conspicuously.
The one on the left is a chubby boy of about seventeen or eighteen, with a round face, small eyes, and a simple and honest look when he smiles. He is Xu Erxiao.
He waved vigorously at Lu Yuan, his chubby arms waving like palm-leaf fans.
The one on the right is sixteen-year-old Wang Cheng'an, tall and thin with fair skin, looking even younger than his actual age. He is also staring longingly at Lu Yuan.
"Brother Lu!"
Xu Erxiao had a loud voice, and when he saw Lu Yuan approaching, he couldn't help but shout out, his chubby face full of excitement.
"You've finally figured it out!"
"We've been waiting for ages!"
Wang Cheng'an quickly joined in, his thin face showing a mixture of nervousness and anticipation: "Brother Lu, I heard we're going to clean up the corpse-raising grounds, can we come along?"
"We've made several trips down the mountain these past few days, so we're still quite agile. We promise we won't let you down!"
Xu Erxiao, standing nearby, immediately nodded excitedly and said, "That's right, that's right! We're much better now!"
"Take us with you!!"
Looking at the two familiar faces in front of him, Lu Yuan couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.
All told, from the time I left Zhenlong Temple to deal with the affairs of the Yu Gui Liu family to the time I returned, it has only been about twenty days.
But the two boys in front of him, Xu Erxiao and Wang Chengan, gave him a completely different feeling than before.
In the past, these two boys used to follow me around. Although they were clever, they always had a childish air about them, acting recklessly and speaking with a carefree and honest tone.
But now, although it's still the same two faces, Xu Erxiao's baby fat seems to have subsided a bit.
Wang Chengan's once fair skin had become somewhat tanned, and more importantly, the look in their eyes had changed.
It's a kind of composure that comes from weathering the storms and dealing with difficult situations.
Their faces were much darker and rougher than before.
The carefree spirit of a street kid had subsided considerably, replaced by a nascent air of competence and maturity.
Lu Yuan stepped forward and patted the two men on their broad shoulders, feeling that their muscles had become much firmer.
"Looks like he hasn't been slacking off down the mountain all this time; he's grown into a fine young man."
Xu Erxiao chuckled, scratching the back of his head. His simple-mindedness had turned into a sense of composure: "Brother Lu, we've all led our own teams down the mountain for several trips now. We can't act like we used to."
"These days, checking feng shui and exorcising ghosts have given me a bit of a tan, but my skills have definitely improved!"
Wang Cheng'an, unusually, didn't interrupt, but simply nodded earnestly in agreement: "Yes, Brother Lu."
"We all know now that when we're out in public, we represent the face of Zhenlong Temple, and we can't be careless."
Lu Yuan nodded inwardly. This kind of team, where you lead the team yourself and grow on your own, is incomparable to the previous team that always followed behind him and helped out.
Before Lu Yuan could speak, Xu Erxiao looked at him and hurriedly said, "Brother Lu!"
"Will it work or not?"
"Can you bring me and Cheng'an along this time too?!"
To be honest, Lu Yuan hadn't really decided who to bring to the place where the evil god offered sacrifices.
Or rather, it doesn't matter who you bring.
Just let Zhou Shouzhou arrange a few.
The main thing is to cooperate with yourself.
Now, looking at the familiar faces of Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao in front of him, what else is there to say?
When it comes to perfect teamwork, you really can't find anyone else like Zhenlong Temple.
After a moment, Lu Yuan, having regained his senses, grinned at Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an, who were looking at him expectantly, and said, "What else is there to say!"
"Hurry up and get your things ready, we're leaving late tonight!!"
Got it!
The Iron Triangle is back together!