Chapter 102: Sudden Appearance of the Divine Tiger Token

Not good, it's the Soul-Detention Art!

Wang Fu cried out in his heart that it was bad, but it was already too late.

He only felt a tightness in his chest and lost contact with the yin soldier.

Wang Fu's expression was ugly; he knew the opponent had used some kind of sorcery to detain and suppress his yin soldier.

Although that little yin soldier was relatively weak and could only scout for information, it was the first yin soldier he had recruited and carefully cultivated, so he naturally had feelings for it.

He hadn't expected that just by checking for information, it would be gone.

Although he felt miserable, Wang Fu knew this was a critical moment. He bit his middle finger, pointed it at the forehead of the Spring Breeze Troupe's statue, and then bowed respectfully.

"Heavenly soldiers, earthly soldiers, sun soldiers, moon soldiers, Six Ding and Six Jia follow my path, Dharma flags unfurl to invite divine soldiers, evil spirits be gone, winds rise and mists gather, divine soldiers hurry, hurry, like the law!"

After speaking, he waved the Dharma flag and spat out a mouthful of water.

"Decree!"

With a pu sound, water mist surged and enveloped the statue.

In an instant, cold winds whistled all around, and the burning paper in the fire basin on the ground swirled and rose, then quickly dissipated.

It had to be said that the mobilization of this yin deity soldier spirit had an even more extraordinary momentum.

But at the same time, cold sweat broke out on Wang Fu's forehead, and the peach-wood sword in his hand felt as heavy as a thousand jun, trembling non-stop.

Having suffered a loss in the first round, he had roughly figured out the opponent's background.

The opponent's cultivation should be the same as his, both at the First Floor, but they were skilled in using evil sorcery and curses, which were quite powerful.

The West Mystic lineage he practiced was an orthodox Dharma lineage, focusing on divining fortune and misfortune, warding off disasters, and suppressing evil spirits; they were not skilled in fighting and harming people with sorcery.

Or rather, the inheritance he received was incomplete.

Since that was the case, Wang Fu immediately changed his strategy, temporarily mobilizing soldiers, using the power of the soldier spirit to stir up yin mist and disrupt the bandits' line of sight.

Near the graveyard in the dark night, it was often filled with yin energy and mist.

This was because the yin souls themselves absorbed yin-evil energy, and combined with the damp and dark surroundings, it was easy for mist to rise. Yin souls wandered within it, and could confuse people's minds and possess them.

Therefore, many people who encountered ghosts often discovered mist rising around them, then heard calls from within the mist, their minds becoming confused, and thus were possessed.

This method was formed because of this.

This could be considered a more advanced Dharma altar sorcery. With Wang Fu's cultivation, it was very strenuous to perform, and combined with driving the soldier spirit, it was naturally even more difficult.

But Wang Fu knew he had to create an opportunity for Li Yan.

Sure enough, as the soldier spirit wrapped in cold wind blew past, white mist soon rose in the place where the hundred bandits were lying in ambush, hazy and obscuring their vision completely.

The autumn rain had just passed, the air was moist, and the effect of this method was even more obvious.

"What happened?"

"Strange, how did mist rise out of nowhere!"

The ambushing bandits were immediately thrown into a panic.

"Sir, what's going on?"

In the bandit crowd, one person asked in a deep voice.

He was tall and sturdy, bald and browless, with a fierce appearance and an extremely robust build. He wore chainmail that, although worn, was genuine military armor.

And in both hands, he carried thorn-studded maces.

This person was called Bai Yanhu, a notorious bandit on the Green Forest path in Shanzhou. He was originally a military captain, but because he was cruel by nature and killed innocents to claim merit, he was dismissed and sentenced to military service on the frontier.

But this fellow was also fierce; he actually used tricks halfway, killed the officials escorting him, and sneaked back home to take the privately hidden armor and go to the mountains to become a bandit.

After all, coming from the military, he understood some tactics, and combined with learning martial world methods, he had easily dodged several government encirclements. He even imitated the bandits of the Northern Frontier, built Bai Hu Village, and established the Lin Siliang and Eight Pillars, making him the largest bandit on Niubeiliang.

The ambush plan tonight was arranged by him personally.

Beside him was Yu Laosi, who was in a flurry. Hearing this, he hurriedly grabbed bone powder mixed with pine resin, chanted a spell, and suddenly flung it at the incense candles.

Boom! Boom!

Two balls of fire scattered, scorching heat rose, and the surrounding mist dissipated a little, but soon enveloped everyone again.

Cold sweat broke out on Yu Laosi's forehead, and he gave a dry laugh: "This, the opponent doesn't know where they got the soldier spirit, and it has even received incense, so it's not easy to deal with."

"But the Great Chieftain can rest assured, the opponent doesn't have the ability to control the yin deity soldier spirit, they can only raise mist, they can't harm anyone."

"And after using this method, he must be exhausted; we just need to find him and kill him..."

Yu Laosi's string of explanations was all because he was panicking in his heart.

He had witnessed Bai Yanhu's methods—skinning people alive, gouging out bones and digging out hearts—he was a living evil ghost in the mountains; Zheng Heibei wasn't even fit to carry his shoes.

Beside Bai Yanhu came a disdainful voice, "Big Brother, I told you these martial world sorcerers couldn't be trusted. At critical moments, they aren't sharp at all, what's the use of them."

The speaker was a short, sturdy man with a face as black as charcoal, a lion nose and wide mouth, with a Guanshan blade at his waist.

This person was called Lu Heizi, originally a Guanzhong blade-wielder who later killed a peddler in the street while drunk and was wanted by the government, so he went to the mountains to become a bandit.

He was the "Support Treasure Pillar" among the Lin Siliang and Eight Pillars of Bai Hu Village.

This position was equivalent to Bai Yanhu's personal bodyguard chief, a trusted confidant.

Bai Yanhu had suffered a loss from a sorcerer at Old Dragon Village, so he abducted Yu Laosi from another village to put him in the "Support Heaven Beam" position, which was the advisor and yin-yang master's seat.

Having achieved no merit but suddenly gaining a high position, it naturally drew dissatisfaction from the village elders.

"Sigh~"

Bai Yanhu waved his hand, "We're all brothers, don't say such things. If it weren't for Master Yu, how could we have discovered that person hiding in the dark."

Although he said that, Yu Laosi became even more panicked. He gritted his teeth and hurriedly said: "Just a small trick, Chieftain, watch me break his Dharma method!"

As he spoke, he took out a white token from his bosom. It was tiger-headed, exquisitely carved, and densely engraved with talisman scripts on the back.

A young man with narrow eyes nearby saw it and hurriedly lowered his head to hide the hatred in his eyes.

Yu Laosi didn't notice, just held the token, pinched a magic seal, stepped out the Big Dipper pace, and chanted: "Nuogao, carry three stars on the left, carry three prisons on the right, heaven turns and earth flips, all nine paths are blocked, make you lose your mind, take east as west, take south as north..."

Li Yan, using the thick mist as cover, had just arrived near the bandits. Hearing this spell, he was stunned in his heart.

Isn't this the Thousand-Gold Protective Body Spell?!

Before he could think carefully, a divine aura rose in the thick mist.

Like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, with beasts crouching, the yin deity soldier spirit was shaken, and accompanied by cold wind, it retreated rapidly, all falling into the statue.

Wang Fu, however, was unlucky; his mind was also damaged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, but he gritted his teeth and quickly took out a red rope, winding it left and right around the statue.

Having the driven soldiers and horses broken wasn't just a simple retreat, especially since this soldier spirit was fierce; if one wasn't careful, it would backfire and explode the altar, and everyone around would be unlucky.

After doing this, Wang Fu closed his eyes and fainted.

"Daoist!"

Sha Lifei was startled and hurriedly supported him.

On the other side, near the ambushing bandits, the white mist also dissipated completely.

"Hahaha!"

Bai Yanhu laughed loudly, "Master Yu has done well!"

At this moment, his hidden arrow strategy had failed, and he couldn't be bothered to hide anymore. A fierce light rose in his eyes, and he shouted: "Brats, fire arrows, herd the sheep!"

"Kill! Kill!"

The bandits had long been bursting with impatience.

Their Great Chieftain was good at everything, but he had one bad habit: he liked to imagine himself as a famous general and wanted to use tactics for everything.

Those who went to the mountains to become bandits were all lawless people. The military style was simply restrictive to them; how could it compare to the thrill of a direct charge?

Since they wanted to kill, they couldn't avoid setting fires.

The so-called fire arrows were fire arrows. The bandits lit their torches one after another, bent their bows and set arrows, and after lighting the arrowheads on the torches, they shot them diagonally into the night sky.

Xiu xiu xiu!

For a time, fire arrows pierced the sky like falling rain.

The biggest target was naturally the Long Wind Inn.

Although the Long Wind Inn was also a martial world establishment, how could they use good materials when opening in such a remote place? They only sought to shelter from wind and rain.

Therefore, the inn was made of yellow earth, with charred wood for beams, and the roof didn't even have tiles, all covered with dry grass to prevent rain.

With the wind aiding the fire, the inn was immediately ignited.

In the dark night, it looked like a giant torch.

The teams camping around saw it and weren't surprised.

This was martial world experience: although one could shelter from wind and rain and live comfortably in an inn, once bandits used fire, it was completely impossible to defend against, which was why they camped outside.

Some who were greedy for comfort were unlucky.

!.

When the fire first started, they rushed out in a panic and were immediately hit by arrows, scared back into the inn...

Some were quick-witted and worked together to lift a square table to use as a shield to rush out, while others were burned into fire people, screaming and rolling on the ground...

For a time, firelight blazed, and people screamed and horses neighed.

"Brothers, keep your eyes peeled, don't let the fire points (wealthy targets) run away!"

Bai Yanhu shouted, and then charged forward with his thorn-studded maces.

After all, they were bandits, and this run immediately turned into a chaotic mess.

Behind a tree trunk by the road, Li Yan pinched his magic seal and didn't move.

He had originally approached, but Wang Fu's sorcery was broken, and the white mist dissipated, so he had to hide behind the tree again.

No way, his Mount-Climbing Art of the Embracing Simplicity was to isolate his aura so he wouldn't be discovered by sorcerers and yin souls; it couldn't be counted as true invisibility.

It was rumored that when Master Ge performed this art, he would truly become invisible, and outsiders would only see a stalk of yarrow floating by, passing right in front of people without being discovered.

Li Yan naturally didn't have that cultivation.

Fortunately, after the bandits lit their torches, the contrast between light and dark made it impossible to see the surroundings, let alone discover him behind the tree.

"Quick, quick! Help me pack up the Dharma altar!"

Seeing this, Yu Laosi was also in a hurry and hurriedly ordered the people around him.

As the "Support Heaven Beam," and a sorcerer who wasn't good at martial arts, Bai Yanhu naturally assigned a few bandits to be his protectors.

But even though everyone was quick, they were already lagging behind.

It's now!

Killing intent rose in Li Yan's eyes, and he immediately sprinted out.

With this movement, his Mount-Climbing Art of the Embracing Simplicity also ended, and he was immediately discovered by Yu Laosi, who said in terror: "Quick, stop him!"

However, Li Yan had been prepared for this charge.

His legs exerted hidden strength, his body lowered, his Guanshan blade held horizontally, and mud splashed under his feet as he charged out like a sharp arrow.

Less than a hundred meters, and he arrived in two breaths.

Those protecting bandits lit their torches; although they couldn't see Li Yan's form clearly, they could feel someone approaching rapidly.

Qiang qiang qiang!

They drew their blades one after another, blocking in front of Yu Laosi.

Pu!

Someone had just raised their blade when they saw a black shadow charge in the firelight, blade light flashing, and the throat of the bandit in the very front was cut halfway, fresh blood spraying.

"Kill!"

Two people beside him hurriedly swung their blades down.

However, Li Yan had already raised his blade with his right hand to block, and while blocking the weapon, he turned his body and switched shoulders, raised his left elbow, and slammed it forward.

Peng!

With one heart-topping elbow, the bandit behind immediately had his chest bones shattered, flying three meters away, falling to the ground spitting blood, and losing his life.

With just this one move, the bandits' formation was immediately broken.

Li Yan then turned around, kicked the bandit on the left with a side kick, and at the same time twisted his body and stabbed his blade backward, directly into the abdomen of the bandit on the right.

Puchi!

With a follow-through, the opponent was immediately disemboweled.

In these few moves, the gap in kung fu was secondary, but the ruthlessness of the strikes had already made the surrounding bandits terrified, not daring to step forward.

And Yu Laosi was also panicked, picked up the white tiger-headed token in his hand, and hurriedly performed the Thousand-Gold Protective Body Spell.

Although he wasn't skilled in martial arts, he had practiced his sorcery to perfection.

Once the spell was successful, it could cause Li Yan's soul to be damaged.

Li Yan naturally had precautions long ago, focused his mind, and was about to activate the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin blade tassel, not seeking to injure the enemy, but only to interrupt the opponent's sorcery.

But just at this moment, a young man suddenly rushed out, tackled Yu Laosi to the ground, and bit a piece of flesh off his face.

"Ow!"

Yu Laosi screamed in pain.

"Lin Hui, what are you doing!"

The bandit beside him was also furious and stabbed a blade into his back.

The young man was none other than the rebellious disciple of Daoist Chen Yuan, Lin Hui. After he ambushed Chen Yuan and snatched the Divine Tiger Token, he immediately fled.

The person who bewitched him was none other than Yu Laosi.

However, Yu Laosi's claim that he could help him enter the Mystic Sect was all a lie. After obtaining the Divine Tiger Token and the Thousand-Gold Protective Body Spell, he immediately fed Lin Hui gu-poison, controlling him to become a spirit medium by his side.

Being a spirit medium was never an easy thing.

What Yu Laosi used were all evil arts, and all sorts of messy things were attached to him. Often, when he woke up from a coma, he would be covered in injuries.

Lin Hui had a patient and enduring personality, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed in the Medicine King Temple for two years before revealing his true colors. He lived a life worse than death, but pretended to fawn over Yu Laosi, and now he had finally grabbed the opportunity to act.

Lin Hui?

So it was this guy!

Although Li Yan was surprised in his heart, his figure didn't stop for a moment. Hidden strength erupted, and his Guanshan blade slashed left and right, blood flowers splattering.

The bandits had already mobilized, and he didn't know what was happening over there, so he didn't have time to maneuver and relied on his hidden strength to suppress people with force.

The bandits blocking him only felt a giant force strike, and they couldn't even hold their weapons before being slashed back, some with broken wrists, others with blood flowing like a fountain from their shoulders.

Although they didn't die, they lost their combat effectiveness.

And Li Yan had already approached Yu Laosi. He kicked Lin Hui away, raised his blade and dropped it, directly slitting Yu Laosi's throat, and snatched the token from his hand.

A bone token, tiger-headed in front, talisman scripts engraved on the back.

It was indeed the Divine Tiger Token lost by the Medicine King Temple.

When snatching the token, Li Yan noticed something hidden in Yu Laosi's chest. He reached out and felt it, taking out an old yellowed book with the four large characters "Seven Arrows Secret Spell" written on it.

Too late to flip through it, Li Yan stuffed it directly into his bosom.

Just as he was about to leave, Lin Hui, who had fallen to the ground, said hoarsely: "Save, save me..."

Hearing this, Li Yan immediately turned around, stabbed his blade into his heart with a puchi, and said in a deep voice: "This blade is to repay you on behalf of Daoist Chen Yuan!"

After speaking, he turned and rushed into the darkness.

Opposite, firelight blazed, and shouts of killing were in a mess...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 103 =====