Chapter 27: Five Fierce Ghost Assembly (Requesting Monthly Votes, Requesting Follows)

"The River of History truly has no martial virtue."

Jiang Yan rolled his eyes; although he also looked forward to new scenery, could he be allowed ten days or half a month to prepare more?

The cases written in Zhao Zhao Yinman's notes stated that a History Walker's entry into a Disease Domain Cycle is not fixed; generally speaking, if one abandons the use of abilities, the time can be extended to one or two years, or even longer.

With frequent use, the interval period is also one month.

Yet he has only passed one week, at most reaching ten days.

That is one-third of other people's cycles.

"This is not only because I have many offspring, but also because my skill proficiency improved too fast, right?"

Jiang Yan glanced at the skills he had mastered.

Vajra Hayagriva Seal (Proficiency Level 40%)

Form-Shifting Shadow (Proficiency Level 10%)

Blissful Land Earth Millet Charm (Entry Level 99%)

Raining Lamp Fire Prison Visualization Method (Entry Level 18%)

Although the Pig Brothers' physical bodies were gone, Jiang Yan did not waste their souls either.

They were made into the lamp oil of the Ashes Lamp, which can increase wisdom.

Now, under the shining light, he no longer needs sleep.

Plus, being a naturally born spiritual body with astonishing talent, and with the diligent practice of his skill offspring, Jiang Yan's progress was naturally advancing by leaps and bounds.

Grind it!

Especially the 【Form-Shifting Shadow】 skill; to control body changes, Jiang Yan kept it activated at all times, causing proficiency to skyrocket.

It became the first skill he cultivated to Proficiency Level on his own.

Even the Coffin Spirit was dragged by him into grinding, and the coffin surface became increasingly crystal clear.

Every time Zhao Zhao Yinman saw it, her eyes went straight, and she simply could not walk away.

This high-intensity practice naturally deepened the connection between Jiang Yan and the River of History to a great extent.

It was equivalent to jumping back and forth in front of the River of History, provoking it crazily, and then...

Getting caught!

"Without a hundred percent win rate, there is indeed no sense of security."

Jiang Yan, carrying this worry, found Ba Lie.

As a leader, if not helping, at least he should drop some gold coins, right?

In the office,

"Truly a genius; the efficiency of entering a Disease Domain is so much faster than others." Ba Lie sat in the chair, his expression complex.

According to reason, the River of History should not drain the pond to catch the fish like this; instead, it should be especially lenient toward newcomers.

After all, Jiang Yan had not caused large-scale destruction to the present world.

Could it be...

Jiang Yan was strengthening at a terrifying speed unknown to them, and the River of History felt his strength was already sufficient?

'How is that possible? I must be overthinking it; he hasn't even cultivated the Practice Method yet.'

Ba Lie muttered in his heart and spoke aloud:

"The headquarters held a separate meeting because you are an S-Class newcomer; they upgraded the High-Level Practice Method to Top Tier, went through some procedures, and the certificate is being made; it should be done in about these two days."

"No need to worry too much; with your strength, ordinary Disease Domains cannot stump you; the more times you experience Disease Domains later, the longer the interval duration will be."

Speaking to this point, Old Ba also blushed a bit, feeling he had said some completely unnutritious nonsense; after thinking back and forth, he made a decision, lowered his voice, and said:

"I remember your companion spirit pet needs to bury corpses, the stronger the better; I actually have a way..."

"The Southeast Asia way?"

Jiang Yan hesitated a bit, "Old Ba, this isn't very good; those people over there are also people; I can't get past that hurdle in my heart; just spit out some gold coins for me instead.

But if you force me to go, there's no way; after all, my strength is low, everything is for the Historical Correction Bureau, and I am willing to make a sacrifice."

"Don't think of me as an evil villain, think of yourself as a white lotus, and besides, Old Ba's family has no surplus grain either."

Ba Lie rolled his eyes and said speechlessly:

"Aren't you very interested in the black market? I happen to have an invitation to the Five Fierce Ghost Assembly."

"The Five Fierce Ghost Assembly takes its name from the Five Fierce Ghosts and Gods; it is a kind of benevolent deity personality that punishes evil and promotes good, dispels disease and eliminates disasters, and helps people become wealthy; later it merged with the Five Thoroughfares, a kind of licentious and evil deity personality, forming a special composite deity personality."

"It belongs to the characteristic black market of the south, mostly in Huizhou, also scattered in Jiangnan, Gusu, and other places; it is held once a month, and invitations are sent to guests one week in advance to invite them to attend."

"A while ago, someone sent an invitation to the Five Fierce Ghost Assembly within the scope of Jinhu City, but I am short on funds recently and must keep an eye on the Ram's Eye at all times, so I have no time to go.

You can go to broaden your horizons; inside, they will sell a large amount of gains that History Walkers obtained from Disease Domains, including some corpses of Disease Domain creatures."

Midnight, twelve o'clock, the building rooftop.

Jiang Yan recalled the words Ba Lie had spoken during the day in his mind and took out the so-called "invitation."

A stick of incense printed with black gilded patterns.

Lighting it can summon the Five Fierce Soldiers and Horses to take people to the market.

Speaking of Soldiers and Horses... General Lu also said that the Rat Guards are low-level Soldiers and Horses.

Asking Old Ba, he was told that this thing either requires money to go the mob fight route, or to go the ancestor-pitting route.

Have nothing? Then go to Pinduoduo.

Otherwise, where does your altar come from? What do you feed the Soldiers and Horses with?

Ba Lie also emphasized that these people only used miscellaneous fish, because only those at the Old Record level could create truly powerful troops.

Even immortals and gods existed among them.

But they were not called troops; they were known as Immortal Citizens, Buddhist Congregations, and Attachments, possessing partial traits of immortals and gods, ascending together to become immortals and achieving eternal life.

"Why does this sound like minions of an Evil God..."

Jiang Yan complained, then stuffed two yellow paper talismans into his robe; these were what he had taken from Zhao Zhao Yinman.

One was a Talisman Snake Binding Talisman, and the other was a Celestial Master Golden Light Talisman.

Their functions were control and defense, respectively.

Of course, they cost money.

One hundred thousand per sheet!

Do not let the fact that it was a mechanical zombie fool you; when quoting prices, it was not vague in the slightest, and haggling was not allowed.

Even though Jiang Yan exhausted his breath trying to persuade, the other party merely stared at him silently.

In the end, for the sake of personal safety, Jiang Yan could only grit his teeth and buy them, though he put it on credit for now, planning to pay when next month's salary arrived.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Jiang Yan used 【Shape Shifting】; the muscles under his skin writhed, directly transforming him into the image of a tall man standing one meter ninety, with a stern countenance.

"From now on, I am not Jiang Yan, but Sima Sima Luoshui."

Having said this, he ignited the Five Fierce Incense.

Wisps of red smoke rose and gathered, constantly weaving and changing in the air, finally forming five ferocious patterns of ghosts and gods.

After waiting in the cold wind for about half an hour, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came to his ears.

Turning to look, an ancient black carriage traveled through the air, drawn by horses of five colors: green, red, yellow, white, and black; they were majestic and sturdy, yet their original heads were replaced by five ferocious ghost-god masks, clad in battle armor, with command flags of corresponding colors on their foreheads.

They looked like envoys of the Netherworld.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Yan recalled information about the Five Fierce Gods in his mind.

Rumor had it that it originated from Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang sacrificing soldiers who died at Poyang Lake; since soldiers were grouped in fives, it was named Wu Chang, or perhaps it meant flourishing military fortune.

In different regions, the Five Fierce had different interpretations; for instance, in a certain city in Jiangnan most famous for yellow wine, five types of animals served as the Five Fierce for holding events.

Driving the carriage was a man wearing a white-based mask with the character "Four" patterned on it, dressed in a gray long robe, with long hair, looking like a coachman who had walked out of ancient times.

He spoke respectfully to Jiang Yan:

"Guest, please board the carriage."

Judging by his aura, he possessed strength at the peak of Spirit Opening, yet he was actually used to drive a carriage.

It seemed the faction holding this Five Fierce Dharma Assembly had considerable backing.

"Mm."

Jiang Yan nodded slightly, lifted the curtain, and sat inside the carriage, discovering it was extremely spacious, with several people dressed in black robes sitting inside, maintaining silence.

They were likely hiding their identities; they were probably certain fleeing Historical Walkers, or perhaps members of the Xieshen Sect faction.

They probably never expected...

... that the carriage would be driven straight to the authorities.

Jiang Yan chuckled inwardly, did not expose his identity, and found a corner to sit down.

After confirming that there were no dangerous individuals among the Life Lamps burning all around, he began to close his eyes and rest.

Yet he did not notice that Zhao Zhao Yinman in the room was quietly watching the Five Fierce carriage depart through the window with her crimson eyes.

At the same time,

near Jinhua City, on a remote mountain path.

The night was dark and the wind high, with the bright moon hanging overhead.

A Five Fierce carriage lay overturned; the horses pulling it were already dead, and beside them lay several human corpses, without exception, their bodies gnawed away, exposing bare white bones.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Flies danced, enjoying this feast.

"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

And within the mountain forest, a coachman wearing a mask marked with the number "Ten" was fleeing desperately, occasionally looking behind him, breathing heavily, his gaze filled with terror.

"Reinforcements haven't arrived; the communication talisman was indeed intercepted; I must return and report to the President..."

Just as this thought flashed through his mind, a buzzing sound rang in his ears, and the world before his eyes suddenly turned pitch black.

"Oh no!"

Trembling, he raised his head, only to see that in the sky, countless swarms of flies had already blocked out the sky and obscured the moon.

"By order of the Five Fierce, Fire Soldiers!"

The coachman's eyes were filled with terror; he waved the red command flag in his hand, and flames swept forth, transforming into a fiery soldier who swung his sword down; the flames spread, burning hundreds and thousands of flies to death.

But for the vast swarm of flies, this was merely a drop in the ocean; they formed a giant hand, casually smashing him into pieces, turning him into ash that scattered and vanished.

Then they firmly gripped the coachman, lifting him into the air accompanied by the sound of bones cracking and deforming.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Accompanied by the sound of light footsteps, the coachman struggled to open his eyes and saw a blurred figure in the darkness hopping and skipping toward him from deep within the forest.

Soon, moonlight shone upon it, dispelling the darkness and revealing the delicate, cute face of a child with red lips and white teeth.

He looked to be about seven or eight years old.

His hair was tied in a topknot, his dark green eyes looking around, and his clothes hung loosely, dragging behind him, appearing quite cute.

That was, provided there were no thick bloodstains on those clothes.

The coachman recognized these as the clothes worn by a guest just moments ago; his expression shocked, he spoke with a hoarse voice:

"Who are you? Why did you attack the troops of the Five Fierce Dharma Assembly?"

"Me? You may call me..."

The little boy pointed at himself. Tiny pupils continuously surged from his eyes, one after another, piling up together, eerie and terrifying, like the compound eyes of an insect. He smiled lightly and said:

"Fly Boy!"

"As for the reason... I killed because I wanted to. What does it have to do with you?"

As the words fell, a massive swarm of flies drilled into the coachman's mouth, beginning to lay eggs within his internal organs and flesh.

He was in such agony that he could not even scream; only his body reacted with the instinct to tremble. The whites of his eyes were rapidly covered by dark green insect eggs.

He collapsed to his knees on the ground, a sound like flies buzzing coming from his throat, and he spoke hoarsely:

"... Mas... ter..."

Fly Boy clasped his hands behind his back, his childish voice echoing through the forest:

"How could the Five Fierce Dharma Assembly be so fun without me? I might as well pick a few targets and enjoy it slowly..."

"The wailing of the weak!"

Requesting monthly tickets, requesting continued reading.

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(End of this chapter)