Chapter 34: The Secret of the Great Qiang and Ge War

  It seemed to be in sync with Keksi's sigh, the dark clouds finally struck down the first bolt of lightning after a long time of brewing, accompanied by a loud rumble.

  Everyone looked out, only to see the flashing white light, like a ghost, slanting from the cloud to the top of the distant mountain, thick and wild, connecting heaven and earth, as if announcing to the world that we are the sons of God, we are the masters of nature.

  Although everyone was mentally prepared, but seeing such a flash of lightning that seemed to be close at hand but was actually far away and endless, they were still shocked.

  After the thunder, a torrential downpour poured down, and in the lightning, the raindrops were as big as crushed ice sugar, intersecting and flying in the air, rushing to merge with the red sand dust in the air, and then falling to the ground. In a short while, this piece of red sandy land accumulated into a small red river, flowing towards the direction where Liu Yi and others were about to advance.

  Everyone stood at the entrance of the cave and looked out for a long time, and they all understood what Liu Yi's father meant by that sentence. The torrential rain combined with the red sandy beach formed a river of water, wasn't this a red river? If it continued to rain like this, in less than half an hour, this place would become a vast ocean, wouldn't it be "Red Sea" then?

  "Sailing across the Red Sea, under the guidance of God, arrived at the land of sacrifice......" Liu Yi furrowed his brow and muttered: "What guidance of God, isn't it just following the will of heaven?"

  "Stop watching and come over to eat something first!"

  Malacca was savoring the dried beef from the Red Pupil Snow Ape's warehouse, drinking "Flower and Grass Wine", and said with relish.

  He was carefree and indifferent to the scene before him, thinking: "Having crossed the underground dark river, the land of white bones and the black swamp, what's there to fear about crossing this Red Sea?"

  Everyone sat down again by the fire and ate while letting Korksi continue speaking.

  Kekesi withdrew his gaze from the outside, where the heavy rain was pouring down incessantly, and tossed a piece of dried meat into his mouth. After swallowing it, he slowly said: "It's said that our ancient Qiang people have a secret organization, which is the highest deliberative body in the Western Queen Mother Country, aside from the hereditary position of the Western Queen Mother, known as 'Erma Teach'."

  Professor Zhou said on the side: "Erma, nowadays Qiang people pronounce it as 'Qiang Zu', which means Qiang ethnic group. In that case, this Erma teaching is the most primitive religion of your ancient Qiang ethnic group!"

  Keksi nodded and continued, "The main members of the cult are composed of the leaders of the twelve tribes of the Western Queen Mother's country, which was formed by the ancient Qiang ethnic group. Of course, it is still led by the great Shibi of the Lingyang Qiang tribe, because she is the highest ruler of the Western Queen Mother's country and a centralized ruler with divine power. It is said that she can communicate with the Sun Holy Mother. Therefore, even if it is a 'sect', it cannot surpass her authority. The main members of the Erma cult read the scriptures left by the Sun Holy Mother who saved their people day and night, and then discovered one of the secret techniques, which is the resurrection technique!"

  "Resurrection technique?" Malacca exclaimed with wide eyes: "When a person dies, they're dead, how can they be resurrected?"

  Lu Zonghan's eyes sparkled silently as he thought, "This is getting more and more interesting! Not only do we have the Longevity Holy Water, but also a resurrection technique!"

  Korksi rolled his eyes and ignored Ma Liuji, saying to himself: "Wang Mang usurped the throne and was eventually killed, with his body and head separated. His subordinates, in order to revive Wang Mang, somehow learned that the Western Queen Mother's country had a resurrection technique, and came to collude with the leader of the 'Ge Ji Qiang' tribe, a certain Geji, who was hiding in the Death Valley, attacking the Holy Land and trying to seize the Erma Shibei Scripture which contained the resurrection technique!"

  Professor Zhou said: "It is said that Wang Mang's tongue was cut off and his head was cut off, which is indeed recorded in the unofficial history..."

  Liu Yi asked in puzzlement: "Erma Scripture? What is this thing? Is it the 'Queen Mother's Scripture' that Ma Bufang spoke of?"

  Professor Zhou stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The meaning of Erma Shibei Jing should refer to the ancient religious scriptures of the Qiang people. It's not necessarily that Ma Bufang knew as much as Kekexi, and it's also possible that he mistakenly thought the scripture was the Scripture of the Queen Mother!"

  Liu Yi thought for a moment and said: "There is another possibility, this 'Queen Mother Scripture' may be the remaining volume of the Erma Shibei Scripture!"

  Keke Xi smiled and continued: "At that time, Wang Mang's subordinates led tens of thousands of troops through the Valley of Death to get here, joined forces with the rebellious Geji people, and started a massacre."

  He looked out with a sorrowful expression, the sky remained unchanged, still black, lightning continued to roar, and faintly, red lightning flashed down.

  "Ah!" The young Korky sighed like an old man: "That great war was not only a war between men, but also a war between beasts, both sides not only mobilized all their forces, but also brought the war beasts they raised to the battlefield!

  "Could it be that in this land of white bones, what we see are the skeletons of those giant beasts, the war beasts?" asked Malacca.

  Lu Zonghan was skeptical on the side: "Joking, from Eastern Han to now thousands of years, what bones would have been buried by wind and sand long ago, how could there be any traces left!"

  "Ah, you're right!" Malacca scratched his head awkwardly.

  Keksi continued, "Those skeletons are definitely not those of the war beasts, but the White Bone Ground was indeed the first battlefield at that time. Although our ancient Qiang tribe had fewer people than Wang Mang's army of 100,000, they were individually powerful in their magical abilities and managed to hold off Wang Mang's troops with just a few thousand elite soldiers at the White Bone Ground. Although I didn't witness that battle personally, imagining it must have been like flying sand and walking stones, covering the sky and blocking out the sun, with mad demons dancing wildly..."

  Liu Yi asked: "In the end, did your ancient Qiang people win or retreat in defeat?"

  "If the twelve tribes of the ancient Qiang were united and worked together, they would certainly be able to defeat the outsiders. Unfortunately, however, it was not just the Geji Qiang people who rebelled; unexpectedly, all the other tribes except for the Lingyang Qiang people joined forces with the Geji Qiang people in the war. Perhaps they had long been dissatisfied with the hereditary position of the Western Queen Mother held by the Lingyang Qiang people and were unhappy with this centralized rule. Taking advantage of the outsiders' attempt to revive the Wang Mang affair, they launched a campaign to kill or bury alive the Lingyang Qiang people. The only tribe among the twelve that did not rebel was the Lingshu Qiang people, who had always been notorious; however, their fate was miserable - it is said that they were cursed and transformed into mice, imprisoned in an unknown place."

  Kekexi paused for a moment and continued: "At that time, the Qiang people were in a state of emergency, so they sought help from General Liu Heng, who was stationed in Qinghai..."

  He said this and looked at Liu Yi: "It's actually the same surname as you, could it be that your ancestors aren't up to par?"

  Liu Yi chuckled and said: "You're kidding, our family tree has only been recorded since the Republic of China era, and there's no official on it, a genuine grassroots family!"

  "Liu Heng sent troops to rescue the ancient Qiang people and led them in a breakout, engaging in a fierce battle with the enemy in this very place. Countless people died here, having already steeled themselves for death before the battle began, applying the 'Revenge Blood Wasp' technique to their bodies. Even if they died, they would transform into avenging blood wasps to gnaw at the souls of the dead enemies and the bodies of the living ones!" Kekesi continued: "Legend has it that those who use the Revenge Blood Wasp technique turn their bodies into powder after death, while their souls become crimson avenging wasps, coexisting forever, never parting ways!"

  Liu Yi thought to himself, "No wonder the red desert we passed through earlier was like flour underfoot. Could it be true what Kexi said, that it's the powder of dead people? If so, then the eerie aura emanating from the red sand would make sense!"

  Koksi let out a sigh and continued, "I also only believed it after seeing the blood ants. Perhaps we, as a collateral branch of the ancient Qiang people, rushed here in a panic after hearing about the great war and then decided to guard this place for generations? My father said that the hereditary king of the Western Queen Mother's country, the Great Liberation of the Ancient Qiang, would know a unique technique called 'Rebirth Technique' that could be used when facing a major disaster. Although General Liu Heng came to rescue us, he was also at a disadvantage. In times of crisis, the Great Liberation of the Ancient Qiang used the Rebirth Technique, and suddenly the area within a radius of ten miles around him transformed into a black swamp, where countless giant black rebirth fish appeared."

  "Liu Yi exclaimed: 'Could it be that the big black fish that carried us across the Black Water Marsh is actually...? How is this possible? This is too absurd!'"

  Keke smiled and said, "The reincarnation fish is too powerful, it has eaten all the evil people, but also caused countless deaths and injuries. Fortunately, as long as the Dashi Bifa's power exists, the reincarnation fish will continue to regenerate. Dashi Bifa's Zhuo Mu Pearl was also exhausted due to excessive consumption of her powers, almost losing her life. Her sacrifice, combined with the help of General Liu Heng, resulted in barely escaping from the siege and fleeing to Sichuan!"

  Professor Zhou Tao interrupted: "Could it be that the legend of the Qiang people's great war originated from this?"

  "It's almost there. The Qiang people of the Lingyang tribe, while fleeing, also launched a major battle with the Geji Qiang people near Riyue Mountain in Qinghai. The seriously injured Lingyang Qiang leader, Biqiong Muqu Zhi, once again used his heavenly-defying magic to stick the fragmented rocks on Riyue Mountain onto sheep's wool, transforming them into an army of stone goats, defeating the 'Hellish Magic Soldiers' summoned by Geji Qiang leader Geki. In the end, they escaped towards Sichuan, perhaps where there are still direct descendants of the ancient Lingyang Qiang people!"

  Liu Yi asked: "Did Wang Mang's subordinates finally get the Erma Shibei Jing?"

  Kekexili said vaguely, "I'm not clear. My father told me that when the great Chiya of the Qiang people broke out of the siege, he ordered his core followers to take all the sacred objects and scriptures of the Erma teachings and flee, disappearing without a trace."

  Professor Zhou Tao also heard this legend for the first time, and it was a good material for his research on ancient Qiang culture. He smiled and said: "You know so much, why didn't you tell us earlier?"

  Kexi discontentedly muttered: "You didn't ask me, did you!"

  ... Everyone was speechless.

  Malacca suddenly let out a loud cry, pointing at the stone wall and shouting: "The blood-colored avenging ants have come to take revenge!"

  Lu Zonghan was digesting what Keke Xi had just said, and had just imagined a picture of soldiers dying and turning into blood ants in his mind. Suddenly being called by Ma Liya, he was startled and shouted: "Scared me to death, stop messing around!"

  Professor Zhou turned around and looked at the wall that Ma Liuji pointed to, only to see a red ant poking its head out of a small hole on the stone wall.

  Liu Yi exclaimed: "Damn it! Didn't we escape from the place where the blood ants lived? How come there are also here?"

  Korksi's face was also shocked, and he screamed: "The omnipresent bloody revenge ants, these angry souls will gnaw us to the point where not even dregs are left, let's escape quickly!"