The distance from Taiyuan to Guangling County, Datong is not very long. We set off at 5 pm and drove along the highway. We arrived at the destination at about 12 o'clock in the evening. At this time, there was basically no one on the road in Guangling County. The small county town closed early for rest and rest, and basically there was no hustle and bustle of neon lights in big cities late at night. After we arrived, we couldn't find anyone to ask for directions for a long time. We wandered around the county town for a long time before finally finding a small hotel.
It is not safe to go into Hengshan in the dark late at night, so we rested in this small hotel for a night and set out to enter the mountain at about 7 o'clock the next morning.
The location of Baiyangyu is less than 100 kilometers from the eastern foot of Hengshan Mountain. It is a small village located in the valley. In fact, I discussed the whole thing with Zhang Zhenlin through the intercom a lot during the journey, but unfortunately, I couldn't get any useful information, because the incident in Baiyangyu came too suddenly. Apart from the situation told by the Baiyangyu villager who called, we had no further information. The Yinsha sealed the mountain, and people could only enter but not leave. Several groups of people sent there never returned, and they couldn't bring back any news. It's unknown what the situation there is now. Maybe it has become a ghost village without people. After all, it has been a while since the villager disappeared. Baiyangyu has run out of food, and it's hard to say whether the villagers can survive for such a long time. It's possible that they all starved to death!
We discussed for a long time without a conclusion, and even agreed that - in terms of emotion and reason, Baiyangyu should not be a place where such a thing can happen!
Why?
Because Baiyangyu is in Hengshan, which is one of the Five Sacred Mountains in the world and the territory of the Quanzhen Sect, the mainstream of Taoism. The leader Yin Zhiping once practiced here for many years. Before the Republic of China, the incense here was always very prosperous, but it gradually declined in modern times. Now there are basically no real Taoists. Even if there are, there are only one or two real Taoists living in seclusion in the depths of Hengshan.
However, it is true that countless incense is gathered here.
Wherever incense gathers, all evil retreats!
This Baiyangyu is next to the Quanzhen Sect's Taoist temple. It is really strange that such a thing can happen!
Finally, we stopped driving because we couldn't come to any conclusion. We rested in the car to recuperate. I was particularly exhausted because my injuries had not yet fully healed. I even fell asleep in the passenger seat after the car entered the mountain. At about noon, I was awakened by a noisy voice in the intercom. It was Zhang Zhenlin's voice. His voice sounded a little hoarse: "Okay, stop, we're here!"
Are we here?
After being awakened by Zhang Zhenlin, I sat up from the passenger seat and looked out the window with sleepy eyes. I found that a thin layer of white fog had spread around us without us noticing, just like a heavy rain in late autumn. The mountains and forests were full of fog. Looking back, the grass and trees were withered, and the distant mountains were all rippling with a thin layer of white fog, which was so misty and ethereal!
At this time, Zhang Zhenlin and Team Zhou's people had already gotten off the car.
After thinking about it, I called Zhou Jing and Lin Qing to open the car door and followed them.
Whoosh!
A gust of cold wind blew in my face, sweeping up a layer of yellow leaves on the ground. As soon as I got off the car, I shivered from the cold and squinted my eyes slightly.
A cold wind?
It is now December in the northern solar calendar. It is normal to be cold and windy in the mountains, but this wind is a little different. It blows on people's skin but not their flesh. It's like ice rubbing against the skin at a very fast speed. It is clearly a cold wind, an evil wind!
I couldn't help but raise my hand to rub the goose bumps on my arms, took a deep breath, felt an unusual dryness in my throat, and finally understood the unusualness of this white fog.
Ordinary fog enters the throat, moist and fresh, but this fog enters the throat like haze, which makes people's throats uncomfortable. I guess this should be the Yinsha that Zhang Zhenlin said!
"Look over there!"
At this time, Duan Teng, one of the four policemen, suddenly pointed to the southwest. I hurriedly looked in that direction and was also shocked. In a valley next to the mountain where we were, there was a dark evil rising into the sky, covering the sky and the sun. The scene was extremely terrifying, just like the billowing smoke from a mountain fire. The surrounding mountains were all affected and completely covered by the dark evil. Moreover, these dark evils were still spreading, and obviously began to spread in the direction where we were. Presumably, wherever there was mist, it would not take long for it to be completely covered by the mist!
"The situation has deteriorated again..."
Zhang Zhenlin sighed softly and said in a deep voice: "When I came here last time, the situation here was not so bad. The evil spirits had not started to spread. They were all gathered in the valley where Baiyangyu was located. It has only been a short time, and it has spread to this extent. This Baiyangyu is really deep. I don't know what happened, and this thing is getting stronger and stronger. It seems that the things here must be solved as soon as possible. If they are not solved, I am afraid that there will be big problems. When the evil spirits float out of Hengshan, I am afraid that all living things will be destroyed!"
After saying this, Zhang Zhenlin seemed to have thought of something. He squatted down and pulled away the weeds on the ground, revealing the ground. He grabbed the ground hard, rubbed the yellow soil, and then squinted his eyes slightly: "There are walking corpses with Taoism, or... drought ghosts!"
Huh?
I was stunned. Could there be something strange in this soil? I squatted down like Zhang Zhenlin and grabbed a handful of loess. It was a big deal, but I was stunned...
This loess...is dry and cold!
How should I put it? After crushing it, it feels like holding a handful of sand in my hand!
Everyone who has worked in agriculture knows that if there is a little bit of moisture in the soil, it will not feel like this!
Sand is just sand, which is fine stone. It is completely different from soil. Soil is softer than sand. As long as there is moisture in the soil, it feels very delicate in the hand. Although the Loess Plateau lacks water, there is still a little moisture in the soil. Although the soil feels not as soft as the water-rich places in the south, it is not uncomfortable. Otherwise, plants would not be able to survive at all. This place would have become a desert or a barren land long ago. This situation would only occur in a year of severe drought.
The soil here...why is it so lacking in moisture?
After a little thought, I understood what Zhang Zhenlin meant.
If a powerful corpse monster appears, the weather will be dry and cold, and there will be no water in the soil. A powerful one can turn the land into a barren land for thousands of miles!
Of course, it is not necessarily only the corpse monsters with Taoism that can cause this situation, drought ghosts can also do it!
What is a drought ghost?
After a person with the five elements of fire is thirsty to death, the five elements of the ghost will be more incomplete and become pure five elements of fire. Such a ghost is a drought ghost. If a drought ghost is successful, it will also cause the situation we are in now. Within a radius of thousands of miles, all the water will be evaporated, the soil will be like sand, crops will die, and people and animals will die!
It is hard to say whether it is a corpse monster or a drought ghost. However, Zhang Zhenlin believes that it is more likely to be a drought ghost, because it is too difficult for corpse monsters to have a high level of Taoism. Unless they encounter special circumstances or Feng Shui patterns, they can be accomplished in one fell swoop. Otherwise, it takes a very long process for a zombie to become a zombie. As mentioned before, this process requires a breath of Yang Qi to revive the zombie, and then grow white hair to become a white evil. After sucking enough blood from livestock, it will grow black hair to become a black evil. Then the black evil will taste the blood of humans and livestock and become a jumping corpse. After the jumping corpse hurts countless people, it will become a flying corpse. The flying corpse will drink the essence of the sun and the moon for a thousand years and become a drought demon. When we say that there is a Taoism, it must be above the jumping corpse. If the Taoism wants to affect the environment of heaven and earth, it must be above the flying corpse. To put it bluntly, this process will take a thousand years, which is inconsistent with the situation in Baiyangyu.
Baiyangyu is right next to Quanzhen Sect. A thousand years ago, Quanzhen Sect was at its peak. If the zombies appeared here, they would have been destroyed. How could they have the chance to jump around until now? Therefore, the probability of it being a drought ghost is higher. If the drought ghost has enough resentment and kills ten people, it can directly cause the current situation we are in. The incident in Baiyangyu happened recently, so it is possible that it is a drought ghost!
Of course, these are the conclusions we have drawn after discussing it. They are just guesses and we cannot jump to conclusions.
"No matter what, since we are here, we have to go in and take a look!"
Zhang Zhenlin let out a long breath and stood up: "Okay, everyone take your luggage and prepare to go into the mountain. Xiaotian will lead the way, and everyone should follow closely. There are evil things everywhere in Yinsha, and I am afraid it will not be peaceful on our way in!"