Chapter 333

Liu Liu Xiaolou did not understand the golden snake gu technique, but he was very curious about how to combine soul shadows with flames. If he could learn this method of combination, would it mean he could also combine the leopard soul with flames, thereby giving it a physical form?

After only a moment's hesitation, he agreed to Shaman Xia's request. After all, Shaman Xia had only seen him use the bone flute to extract souls and had not seen the full set of secret techniques for soul extraction, soul nourishment, and soul strengthening. What she was asking for was only the soul-extraction method, so he would not lose out in the exchange.

Since Shaman Xia was the one who proposed it, she naturally taught it first: "My golden snake gu is gold within fire. Use fire to refine gold, use gold to shape the soul. With gold and fire mutually aiding, the soul shadow enters the enclosure, with one breath as the root, and the eight directions encompassing..."

The golden snake gu technique places the greatest importance on the intensity of the fire. The fire pit in Shaman Xia's wooden building, which looked unremarkable, was actually fueled by a thunderous heavenly fire from thirty-eight years ago, which was why it could be so spirited.

Refining gold with fire does not mean actually refining gold, but rather tempering the gold hidden within the fire and then shaping it into a vessel to carry the soul shadow. Only a vessel refined in this way can merge with the fire and achieve the mutual aid of gold and fire...

There is no logic to explain in gu techniques; the most important thing is the practical method. Regardless of whether one understands it, one simply follows the steps. Therefore, it is not difficult to teach; the difficulty lies in the perseverance required to raise the gu.

After she finished her explanation, Liu Liu Xiaolou taught her the soul-summoning song from the "Secret Method of Snake Gu."

How to craft the musical instrument for soul summoning, how to play the soul-summoning song, how to extract the soul, and so on... similarly, there was no logic to explain; it was just a method.

The two of them, having each obtained the secret method, sat quietly by the fire pit to ponder it. When they encountered something they did not understand, they would raise it on the spot for the other to explain.

After spending a night like this, by the afternoon of the next day, more than half of Feng Yuanfa's injuries had healed, and the rest was just a matter of time. Shaman Qiu brought him back to the wooden building. Seeing Liu Liu Xiaolou, he immediately asked: "Fellow Daoist Li Mu, how did it go?"

Shaman Xia said from the side: "I have lost. From now on, I will obey the orders of Qingyuan Mountain."

Liu Liu Xiaolou cupped his hands: "I won by a fluke. If it weren't for Brother Feng consuming most of Senior Shaman Xia's magic power beforehand, I really might not have been able to win by this half-move."

Feng Yuanfa remembered Shaman Xia admitting defeat yesterday, but he had been in a hurry to heal his injuries and hadn't asked for confirmation. Now that he had the news, he breathed a huge sigh of relief, his heart full of joy, and he was also grateful to Liu Liu Xiaolou for saving him some face. He immediately cupped his hands to Liu Liu Xiaolou: "It is all thanks to your efforts, fellow Daoist."

Then, Shaman Xia informed Feng Yuanfa and Liu Liu Xiaolou that a deacon from the Maling Sect had arrived in Nanshui a few days ago: "The one who came was the inner sect deacon Ma Ma Kunpeng. He did not make us obey orders like your Qingyuan Sect, but only inquired whether any Qingyuan Sect disciples had appeared in the vicinity, and then left."

Feng Yuanfa said: "I have heard of this deacon, but it is hard to judge the specifics."

Liu Liu Xiaolou advised: "In any case, it would be better for Shaman Xia to hide for a while. It is best to relocate the villagers and return after three or five months. Otherwise, when disaster strikes, you won't even be able to run."

Shaman Xia shook her head and said: "Thank you for your kindness, but my Yao village has been established for a thousand years. Our ancestors have all been born and raised here. King Pan will naturally protect his people. Moreover, now that we have the protection of the Qingyuan Sect, the masters of Qingyuan Mountain will surely not watch the Yao village suffer disaster, right?"

Feng Yuanfa took full responsibility: "That is natural, Shaman Xia, you can rest assured. If there is any news, send someone to inform me immediately. I will be at Yunmen Mountain over there!"

Shaman Xia asked: "Master Feng is stationed at Yunmen Mountain... does that mean the masters of the Qingyuan Sect are about to arrive?"

Feng Yuanfa smiled: "In any case, Shaman Xia, you can set your heart at ease. We will definitely not let your Yao village be bullied by the Maling thieves!"

Bidding farewell to the Nanshui Yao Village, Feng Yuanfa led his team back to Yunmen Mountain. Halfway there, he couldn't wait to write a letter and had an outer sect disciple of the Qingyuan Sect rush back to report the news. At the same time, he said to Liu Liu Xiaolou: "The Maling thieves are mostly likely going to make a move here in Nanshui, otherwise Ma Ma Kunpeng would not have come to the Nanshui village. This guy has a high status in Maling Mountain and is known for his ability to handle affairs. He is one of the core deacons of Maling Mountain. Although his cultivation is limited by his talent, he is an extremely important administrative talent in Maling Mountain. You must know that Maling Mountain has spent two Foundation Establishment Pills on him, but he failed both times. Since he has been here, it means Maling Mountain has already set its sights on Nanshui!"

Liu Liu Xiaolou asked: "Then what should be done next?"

Feng Yuanfa said: "What else can be done? Try our best to investigate news from all directions and search for the traces of the Maling thieves as much as possible!"

Immediately, the remaining seven people in the team were sent out.

He had been to the Nanshui Yao Village many times and was very familiar with the terrain, which was the reason the sect sent him here to scout. The seven people were assigned to seven key locations, and they agreed on how to report news in normal times and how to report in times of crisis, initially covering this area.

The only ones left were the two main forces, Feng Yuanfa and Liu Liu Xiaolou, who were ready to strike from Yunmen Mountain at any time to support the scouts.

By evening, the two returned to the top of Yunmen Mountain, but almost simultaneously crouched down and crept toward the dirt slope on the southwest side of the summit from the left and right.

This dirt slope was where Feng Jing Qilang and the Feng family's nephew had been hiding before, but now there was a faint scent of blood coming from it.

Creeping nearby, the two simultaneously flanked behind the dirt slope and saw Feng Jing Qilang and the Feng family's nephew lying behind the slope, both unconscious, with a pool of blood-stained soil beside each of them.

Liu Liu Xiaolou jumped onto the dirt slope to look around, patrolled the surroundings, wiped under a few trees, and stepped on several patches of mud with his feet. He turned back to the bottom of the dirt slope and said to Feng Yuanfa: "No traces."

Feng Yuanfa nodded, grabbed the wrists of Feng Jing Qilang and his nephew with both hands, and after a moment, the two woke up leisurely, each spitting out a mouthful of turbid air.

After waking up, Feng Jing Qilang looked ashamed: "Brother, the big goose was snatched away. It should be a few spirit leopards."

"Not the Maling thieves?" Feng Yuanfa was a bit surprised: "Explain clearly."

Feng Jing Qilang said: "I didn't see any Maling thieves. It was a group of spirit leopards. I saw one of them, pitch black all over, and small in size. It should have been a leopard cub that suddenly popped out from somewhere to snatch the big goose. When my younger brother and I were confronting the spirit leopard, the nephew was injured for some reason. When I went to save the nephew, I was ambushed from behind by the spirit leopard..."

The Feng family nephew couldn't explain it clearly either; he only felt a blow to the back of his head and fainted on the spot.

Feng Jing Qilang was certain that before he fainted, he saw a black leopard snatching the big goose and going down the mountain from the east.

Checking their injuries, both had received a heavy blow to the back of the head, a cut about an inch long. Not knowing what blunt object had hit them, Feng Yuanfa thought there should be more than one spirit leopard.

There was another possibility: could it be a spirit beast master who raises spirit leopards? If that were truly the case, the person who did it was mostly likely interested in that white goose.

The most famous for raising spirit beasts is naturally the Weiyu Xianghe Sect, but the Weiyu Xianghe Sect is thousands of miles away, so it certainly wouldn't be them. What other families and sects in Lingnan raise spirit beasts?

Or, was it a wandering cultivator recruited by the Maling thieves?

The few people compared the time and knew that the incident happened an hour ago. Looking at it this way, it was still possible to track them!

Liu Liu Xiaolou volunteered: "Let's split up and track them. I will follow Brother Feng's instructions!"

Feng Yuanfa pondered for a moment and said decisively: "Then please ask Fellow Daoist Li Mu to track in the southeast direction, and I will go in the northeast direction. We will track for three hours."

He gave Liu Liu Xiaolou a talisman: "If there is any discovery, send a talisman to warn me, and I will rush over immediately!"