At noon on the 18th day of the first lunar month, there was wind in the mountains deep in Shennongjia. It was blocked by the trees and turned into countless tiny wind whirlpools, and it whizzed coldly into the bones. It was drizzling in the sky, as if it was very poetic, but if you look closely, the rain was actually countless tiny ice crystals.

There is still snow in the shade and low-lying areas. The temperature should be a few degrees above zero, but the humidity is relatively high, and there is an indelible chill everywhere you go.

Zhuang Mengzhou was wrapped in a marten buckle and strolled through the forest with a demon king wooden stick. The road was very difficult to walk. He exhaled white steam from his mouth, and it was already a little hot. He took off his hood connected to the buckle, and his silver hair was swept up by the shattered wind in the forest.

Shi Buquan beside him felt bored when he was rushing, and said, "Mr. Zhuang, your sable fur is a bit incorrect now!"

Zhuang Mengzhou wondered, "What's wrong?"

Shi Buquan: "The animal welfare organization will protest. If there is no such thing, there is no such thing. Have you never heard of that slogan?"

Zhuang Mengzhou: "Cold wind and wet rain, cold and soaking bones, what should we wear in this kind of weather?"

Shi Buquan: "Of course it's down jackets, which are good and cheap... There was a news from the winter of last year that El Niño caused the cold waves in the Arctic to move south, and North America cooled down on a large scale. Many robbers changed their careers and robbed down jackets on the road!"

Zhuang Mengzhou: "That's not called changing careers, it's called changing the subject matter! What is the down jacket made of?"

Shi Buquan: "It's down."

Zhuang Mengzhou: "Be more specific!"

The sound of stone incomplete sounds became lower: "Goose down or duck down."

Zhuang Mengzhou: "Minks are animals, and geese and ducks are not animals. They are now artificially raised. Buddha said that all living beings are equal, so you cannot discriminate! It is not enough to pull out other people's velvet to make clothes. I haven't seen you eat less of roast ducks, roast gooses, etc. every time?"

Shi Buquan smiled: "It seems that he can only wear cotton jackets. That old-fashioned yellow military coat is quite suitable, both keeping warm and windproof."

Zhuang Mengzhou: "Where did cotton come from?"

Shibuquan: "It was planted in the fields, and it was picked by the cotton farmers."

Zhuang Mengzhou: "Cotton is also a creature."

Xian Hao, who was walking in front, couldn't help but interrupt and said, "According to Buddhist teachings, plants and trees do not have Alaya consciousness, and they will not enter sentient beings."

Zhuang Mengzhou: "How do you know that there is no Alaya consciousness in plants and trees, and what if you practice it to become a spirit?"

Xian Hao: "This is not what I said."

Zhuang Mengzhou: "Who said that?"

Xian Hao said in a somewhat uncertain tone: "It should be what Buddha said."

Zhuang Mengzhou raised his argument and said, "Did you hear it with your own ears? Let me tell you the truth. If animals cannot be eaten and plants cannot be eaten, wouldn't everyone starve to death? That would become anti-human!"

Shang Ni behind him also spoke, "The Buddha said he would not eat meat, Mr. Zhuang always knows it."

Zhuang Mengzhou: "Don't talk nonsense! Wuliangguang has never said that Buddhists are not allowed to eat meat. This is the rule set by Emperor Wu of Liang. I think this rule was well set. At that time, those monks were not engaged in production, did not serve, and did not pay taxes. If they had to eat meat every day, how could they afford it?"

Shang Ni: "Who is Wuliangguang?"

Zhuang Mengzhou: "Infinite Light is Infinite Light. Do you have any good readings of the novels I recommend?"

Shangni: "Oh, I remembered... Hey, this area is a ruin of an ancient village."

They walked in the deep mountains and dense forests. The vegetation in this area was lush. The primitive jungle was covered with thick humus layers, and there were many dead branches and leaves. There was snow in many places, so there was no trace of any remains. But Shang Ni said there was, then there must be.

Ding Qi kept walking in front, smiling and listening to the crowd chatting. At this moment, he stopped and dug out something beside a small mound, turning around and said, "This is really a ruin of an ancient village, which should have been left by ancient Ba people."

The Ba people were a tribe living in the Shennongjia area in ancient times, and were also distributed in the Sichuan Basin and Huguang Plain. The mound that Ding Qi just turned over was actually a house that had collapsed for many years. It had weathered and collapsed and was covered with vegetation, and there was almost no trace, but he dug out a piece of broken pottery.

The broken pottery fragments in the plains are almost everywhere as long as they are dug into the ground. They are the traces of artificial activities from various historical eras. However, this kind of thing can be found in the primitive jungle deep in Shennongjia, which means that there were villages here a long time ago.

Their foothold is relatively flat, which can avoid floods during the rainy season and be close to the water source. It is indeed a good place to build villages. At this moment, it has become a dense forest, and many trees may have grown for thousands of years.

The fashionable girl wondered again: "Mr. Zhuang, what are you doing?"

I saw Zhuang Mengzhou used the long stick in his hand as a shovel, spreading away the dead branches and leaves, and then picking the soft humus layer to continue digging downwards, then taking out something from under the soil layer and saying, "I have picked up the treasure of Xiaoyang Kingdom's control world, do you believe it?"

He was holding a string of necklaces with very original styles, a rope rubbed from fine gray-yellow thread, and a bone decoration the size of a one-yuan coin was hung. The decorative patterns on the surface were like a walking man.

Ding Qi walked over and took the string of hanging decorations, wiped the black soil on it and said, "I don't believe it, how can I pick up the treasure of the world control everywhere... But this thing is really a trick. Ordinary ropes have probably rotten for so many years... Hey, it is really the treasure of the world control!"

Ding Qi, Xian Hao, Zhuang Mengzhou, Shi Buquan, and Shang Ni five ran to Shennongjia to visit Xiaoyang Kingdom in the first month. The original plan was that Ding Qi and the three of them came to explore the way first, but when they went to Cuiraozhuang last time, Shang Ni was not caught up because of the school's problems, and Shi Buquan also stayed in the Nanxi Community to guard the house, so the two of them must come with them this time.

The location of this village ruins is only five kilometers away from the site where Ding Qi was attacked last time, and it can be said to be very close.

Ding Qi took the ornament and used his cultivation to sense that it contained a world's information. He was discovered here. It should be the treasure of Xiaoyang Kingdom's control world. The portal of Xiaoyang Kingdom had not been found yet, but he dug out the thing first. Shi Buquan asked: "Mr. Zhuang, to be honest, did you buried this thing here in advance?"

Zhuang Mengzhou: "Your little girl is an expert. Look at that pit, don't you know if it was buried by me?"

Shang Nizhen ran over to study the soil pit that Zhuang Mengzhou dug out, shook her head and said, "From the traces of the soil burial, no one has moved it for at least a thousand years, and there are no traces of newly dug out."

Xian Hao said to Ding Qi: "It's nothing strange. Think about how we found Yaoguang Zhen back then?"

Ding Qi: "Yes, it was also dug out from the riverbed outside Qingaotai."

Zhuang Mengzhou: "Teacher Ding, what is this thing called?"

Ding Qi: "It seems to be ground from a skull, called Xiaoyangding."

How did he know the name of the treasure of the Control Realm? He didn't find any written records. However, the treasure of the Control Realm itself contains a lot of information. He can only observe the method of sensing. Ding Qi said that's it.

Shi Buquan looked around: "The key has been found, but where is the door?"

Zhuang Mengzhou asked Ding Qi: "Teacher Ding, do you still remember the Qianzi Village outside Cuirao Village?"

The situation is indeed a bit like that, there is a village in the deep mountains. The difference is that Jianzi Village is still there, and only a piece of remains that ordinary people are difficult to discover. Ding Qi nodded and said, "It seems that our path is not wrong. You may find a portal by passing through here, but the village here has disappeared for thousands of years, and the inheritance of Xiaoyang Kingdom has probably been cut off."

Shi Buquan: "Maybe they have moved away?"

Ding Qi shook Xiao Yangding in his hand and said, "People may move away, but the treasure of the control world has been left behind, which means that the inheritance has been lost."

Zhuang Mengzhou: "Little girl, please observe carefully. Are there any traces of ancient roads behind the village?"

Shangni: "Yes, come with me."

The gateway to Xiaoyang Kingdom is easy to find. When you walk through the dense forest and look up, you can find it. There is a huge arch-like mark on the cliff ahead, which is about four meters high and more than two meters wide, like a natural relief. When you walk closer, you will see that it is actually an artificial remains. It has been eroded over the years and the chisel marks from that year are hard to identify.

This is actually the portal of the secret realm of heaven and earth, or its location coincides with the portal of the secret realm of heaven and earth. In ancient times, some people carved out the shape of the portal on the cliff and specially marked it.

Ding Qi put away Xiaoyang's head and said, "From this posture, this portal has not been opened for thousands of years, but maybe there are still people inside. We should not use the treasure of the control world, just sneak in like this, try not to alarm the people inside."

The so-called infiltration means entering with secret methods outside the square, without the need to use the treasure of the control world to open the portal. If the outside world has been isolated for thousands of years, ordinary people may be in danger of entering, and they may be infected inexplicably. If there are still people living and thriving inside, they may even bring a plague to the local tribe.

So Ding Qi was very cautious. Only five people came to explore the road for the first time, and there was no problem with the five of them. After passing through the portal, everyone was a little stunned. They were in an abandoned temple.

Why is it called a temple? The surrounding buildings are very tall and made of stone. Each piece of stone is chiseled and grinded very exquisitely, but it has obviously been abandoned for a long time. Many places have collapsed, carrying traces of the weathering of time. And their location seems to be an altar on the central square of the temple.

Shi Buquan: "It turns out that people have lived here. The ability to build such a building means that the ethnic group is still quite large and the level of productivity is also very high."

Zhuang Mengzhou added: "The organizational level is also good! I don't know if this tribe is still here."

Ding Qi looked up at the distance and said, "It should be still here, but things have changed, otherwise how could this place be abandoned?"

Shi Buquan exaggeratedly and exaggeratedly said, "Oh my God! There are so many gold and silver here. Have we come to the gold mine?"

There are many gold and silver ornaments in the remaining buildings, and many of the patterns in the reliefs are made of gold, as well as gold statues of animals, plants and birds and beasts. Some of the collapsed houses were originally inlaid with a layer of gold roof, which was not just a layer of gold foil, but a large piece of gold shell.

In addition to gold, there are also silver products here, but the surface of silver products has become dark and black after so long, and it is not as conspicuous as shiny gold.

Xian Hao: "It seems that the gold and silver left behind are not easy to remove and move, so I just threw it away."

Shangni: "I don't think it takes much time. Are the locals too lazy to do such things?"

Shi Buquan: "Maybe there are no one here for a long time, or there is no shortage of these things here. If you can take it away, you can take it away. If you can't demolish it, leave it behind."

The temple is relatively desolate, with sparse trees growing densely covered with rocks. Walk down the mountain along the ruins of an ancient road. Standing on the slope, you can see the fields ahead. There are villages, rivers and fields on the fields, and you can also see the people who are moving. Xian Hao frowned and said, "It looks a bit like Cuirao Village, but I always feel that the atmosphere is not right and I lack a little bit of anger."

Although Ding Qi's impression of Xie Jingzhi was not very good, the secret realm of the world in Cuirao Village gave people a feeling of vitality. But this place seemed to lack that kind of vigorous vitality. Ding Qi also frowned and said, "There seems to be a kind of intoxicating atmosphere in the world... No, it is like there is a similar component in the air."

There is indeed a fascinating atmosphere in the air here, which is very, very light. Ordinary people cannot detect it at all, but they cannot escape Ding Qi's sensing. The five people came to the field but did not alarm anyone in the local area. They were just secretly observing what kind of world this place was. The more they looked, the deeper the brows became...

Three days later, five people gathered on a hill next to the field. You looked at me and I looked at you, and you couldn't hide your disappointment. The situation in Xiaoyang Kingdom was basically clear. The outside world has a large area, but it is still impossible to catch up with Xiaojing Lake. More than 2,000 people live a life of isolation from the world, but it is obvious that the civilization here has declined or obviously deteriorated.

There is also a temple in the center of the plain. It is not only different in shape from the abandoned temple in the deep mountains in the distance, but also the scale of the buildings and the construction technology adopted. If the abandoned buildings in the distance are real temples, then the temples of the tribesmen now are simply clumsy illegal buildings.

Most of the houses in the village are dilapidated and simple, mostly with earthen walls and grass roofs, and some stone materials. However, many of these stones are obviously some ancient architectural remains, with many exquisite patterns remaining on them, piled up into various foundations and wall foundations.

What is strange is that in such a primitive and backward village, there are up and down water systems, along the ditches dug from both sides of the road and front and back of the house. Many places are covered with stone slabs to divert live water into the outside of the village. People's daily water and sewage discharged are carried through two canal systems.

Having such a plan is already a sign of a very developed civilization, and it is a bit abrupt when it appears here. This may indicate one thing: the productivity and agricultural civilization here were very developed in ancient times, and some traces are still preserved.

The clothes worn by locals are also very simple, they are thick gray cloth woven with plant fibers. Looking from afar, no matter men, women, young and old, it is like everyone wearing a rag bag. The local staple food is a barley crop, which basically relies on wild planting to harvest. The farming method is a bit like Wuxin Valley. The harvested wheat grains are not ground into powder to make cakes, but are cooked directly.

But there is a crop that is artificially grown, with convenient local irrigation conditions. Almost all of the land that is artificially reclaimed is planted, which Ding Qi calls it a cotton tree.

Through the past few days of secret investigation, Ding Qi can also draw many inferences. The birth rate of people here is very high, but the premature death rate of babies is also very high, and the total population is slowly decreasing. Judging from various traces, the total population in history may have exceeded 10,000 at the peak, but now there are only more than 2,000 left.

As for the medical level, it would be fine if you don’t mention it. The only medicine in the local area is the kind of cotton leaf, and the only way to cure the disease is to pray in the simple temple, and the soup given by wizard-like figures gave the cotton leaf to the crushed soup.

In fact, there are cotton trees everywhere here, and every family has cotton leaves. Why do you still have to go to the temple to ask for it? Because it represents God’s blessing, and for local residents, it should also have a placebo effect.

Cotton trees are evergreen shrubs. Wild plants can grow up to three or five meters high. They are not kapok. The flowers on the trees look like cotton boa. There are many light yellow fibers, which are used by locals to process fabrics. However, the main purpose of artificial cultivation of this species is to chew and eat. In the fields that are cultivated and irrigated, branches are inserted to allow them to grow to one meter high, and pick the tender leaves on them to eat.

Fresh tender leaves can be eaten directly or dried into tea leaves. Dried leaves can be ground into powder and washed with water. It is also OK to chew them directly. Almost all local adult men love to chew cotton leaves, and they carry a bag with them when they go out. Neighbors are used to entertaining guests with this item.

There is no wine produced here, and of course people do not drink alcohol. Their diet is extremely simple, and life is equivalent to poverty. Chewing cotton leaves is the most important entertainment. Men have to pray to God several times a day, and at other times they chew cotton leaves to enjoy themselves, or gather together in groups of three or two, or find a comfortable place to lean on at home alone.

Women took on more work, including farming, cooking, taking care of children, and harvesting grains, while men only occasionally did some work when they were excited after chewing cotton leaves. However, women rarely chew cotton leaves because in the locals' concept, this is a gift from God to men.

Only a few elderly women of some age and status usually chew some cotton leaves, while other women only take them as medicine when they are sick. Of course, some women will secretly chew a few slices when men are not paying attention, but this situation is rare after all, and it is difficult to form habits.

Ding Qi and his team found the native plant of this cotton tree in the mountains that are difficult for locals to enter. They also did some research and found that its juice has a special effect on people. It can make people excited, feel clear in their thinking, and even temporarily forget hunger and fatigue, keep them full of energy, and bring people a sense of pleasure and satisfaction.

Ding Qi is not an ordinary person, so he will of course study the more special uses of this kind. The native plants found in the mountains and fields are very strong in medicinal properties, and when they reach a certain level, they are considered a magic medicine in a certain sense. If used properly, it can help you to enter the meditation and maintain clearness without drowsiness, and even experience a more sensitive perception. However, if you use it without properly, it will be harmful and useless, and it must not be used frequently.

As for the cotton trees artificially grown in the local dynasties, the medicinal properties have been greatly weakened. After chewing, ordinary people will also feel energetic, active thinking, and inexplicably excited. However, after the medicinal properties fade, they will feel frustrated and confused, and they will not be able to lift their energy in anything they do.

Needless to say, it is also known that chewing this kind of thing for a long time is harmful. It is not only harmful to personal physical and mental health, but also has the greater harm in the entire society. Just look at the current situation of Xiaoyang Kingdom.

Surprisingly, such a place is full of gold and silver products. There are many gold and silver products in the area. Even ordinary people use potholes in the broken houses to cook wheat. There are large gold mines here. Ding Qi and the others have also discovered relics of mining and smelting in ancient times. As for silver, they are the companion creatures of smelting gold mines.

However, the local area no longer smelted gold mines. Those ancient mines were abandoned many years ago, but there are still many gold and silver objects left behind. Now there are still craftsmen who can remel ready-made gold into new utensils with regular shapes. As for the production of silverware, it is still preserved in the local area and has the highest level of handicrafts.

There is more gold here than silver, and the texture of silver is harder and suitable for processing into various knives. Here are better things than gold. Ordinary tribes use gold tools, while the status leaders use silver tools.

Such a world makes people wonder what to say. Ding Qi and the others came to investigate the situation in Xiaoyang Kingdom, not to make a special trip. Several people sat there and remained silent for a long time before Shang Ni spoke first: "Are they savages?"

Ding Qi smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, they are also humans."
Chapter completed!