Chapter 105: In Fengyang

"This... what happened?"

Sha Lifei was first confused, then his expression turned ugly, and he cursed: "Damn it, it couldn't be that the old man just now deliberately pointed us in the wrong direction!"

The carter Old Meng shook his head: "It shouldn't be. This old man has traveled north and south, and the naming of villages across the Shenzhou isn't done randomly."

"This place should have originally been backed by mountains and facing water, an excellent place to live. Perhaps something happened..."

As he spoke, he looked around, came to a pile of wild grass by the road, pulled it a few times, and dragged out a rotten wooden sign.

By the moonlight, one could see the three characters "Wu Family Ditch" on it.

"You all stay here, I'll go take a look!"

Li Yan waved his hand to signal the team to stop, then flicked the reins and rode his horse slowly into the village.

In a desolate village in the middle of the night, one naturally had to be on guard.

Li Yan pressed his left hand on the blade hilt, ready to activate the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin at any time, while his right hand pinched the Yang seal and took a deep breath.

In an instant, the smell of rotten wood, green grass, and the fishy smell of various small animals flooded into his nasal cavity, and the vigilance in Li Yan's eyes dissipated slightly.

Although he didn't know what had happened here, at least there were no yin souls causing trouble.

Li Yan rode his horse around once, then quickly came to the village entrance and shook his head: "It's fine, the people in the village have already moved away. Let's go in, we'll rest here tonight."

Everyone immediately drove the carriages into the village.

Sure enough, in the farmhouses along the way, everything had been moved out, let alone pots and pans, even the door frames had been dismantled.

And where the door frames connected to the brick and stone, they were covered with mottled moss, indicating that the village had been moved for quite some time.

In the center of the village, there was a fairly large building.

Like other places, it was also empty inside, and even the plaque on the door had been removed.

Wang Fu lit a torch, burned some dry mugwort, turned around inside and out a few times, touched the altar, came out, and shook his head: "This should have been the village ancestral hall. The ancestral tablets were moved by people using formal methods, not in a rush."

"People of the Shenzhou cherish their homeland; it seems something major happened that forced them to move."

Sha Lifei scratched his head upon hearing this: "This is troublesome. We don't even know where Senior Wu's home is, let alone his wife and daughter's grave. This is..."

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "Let's stay and rest for a night first. Such a big thing as a village moving, someone must know. I'll go inquire tomorrow and find an elder in the village to ask."

Things had reached this point, so everyone had to settle down first.

Chopping wood and lighting fires, setting up stoves and cooking, and feeding the mules and horses, before they knew it, it was late at night.

The encounter at Niubeiliang had left the porters exhausted, and although this was a desolate village, it was a safe place.

With their minds relaxed, one by one they snored like thunder.

Li Yan and Wang Fu still took turns focusing their minds and guarding the night for each other. The battle at Niubeiliang made them realize that the martial world road was dangerous, and they were still far from enough.

In the second half of the night, Wang Fu finished his meditation.

Opening his eyes, he saw the bonfire blazing, the night wind outside the ancestral hall was moist, and he didn't know when a light drizzle had started.

Li Yan was not by the bonfire, but stood at the door of the ancestral hall with his back to him, looking outside without moving.

In this situation, an ordinary person would probably be startled.

But Wang Fu vaguely guessed something and came to Li Yan's side, asking in a low voice: "Saw it again?"

Li Yan nodded, his expression solemn, "The direction has changed."

In the rainy night outside the ancestral hall, the Cold Altar Wandering Master appeared again.

He was in rags, covered in blood, but the direction he pointed was already offset.

Wang Fu looked at the area Li Yan pointed to, "The direction has changed, it seems it's not far. Where is the Dharma lineage Senior Wu mentioned?"

Li Yan replied: "Mount Tianzhu."

"Oh..."

Wang Fu pondered for a moment, then turned to take out a geography book and looked it up, "No wonder, this place this poor Daoist has vaguely heard of. Although it's not listed as a cave heaven or blessed land, it is a place for Mystic Sect practitioners to live in seclusion."

"It is rumored that the Patriarch Cave, Jiao Zan Cave, and Meng Liang Cave are all in this mountain. Senior Wu's ancestral altar should also be there."

Seeing Li Yan still frowning, Wang Fu smiled: "No matter, there will be a way when the car reaches the mountain. After burying Senior Wu, we will go."

"No matter what is there, it will be clear."

Li Yan nodded, but felt inexplicably uneasy in his heart.

Looking at the blood-stained wandering master whose body was pierced by chains, he had a vague premonition.

I'm afraid things won't go so smoothly...

…………

"Everyone, rest easy."

Sha Lifei put on a straw raincoat, wore a bamboo hat, and laughed: "I'll go with the Daoist and be back soon, and bring you some good wine and food on the way."

The carter Old Meng laughed: "Then this old man won't be polite. This place is close to Ezhou and has a water and land wharf, so there's plenty of good wine."

"According to Ezhou custom, yellow wine is made on the ninth day of the ninth month. It's less than a month until the ninth day, so I guess the yellow wine from this time last year has just been opened, and the flavor is just right..."

"Old Meng, I admire you!"

What else could Sha Lifei say? He gave a thumbs up, turned around, and left the ancestral hall with Wang Fu, disappearing into the autumn rain.

This was the plan set this morning.

Sha Lifei had rich martial world experience, and Wang Fu was familiar with local customs; traveling together to inquire about news could also provide mutual support.

And Li Yan had the strongest combat power, so he stayed in the desolate village; if anything happened, he could protect everyone.

After the two left, everyone was idle.

The porters were especially relaxed. The place had been reached, and they were just waiting for Wang Fu to choose a good feng shui treasure cave, carry the coffin up the mountain, and bury it well, and this job would be completely finished.

Because of the danger at Niubeiliang, Li Yan had already promised to add another fifty percent to their wages.

And there was still plenty of time, so finding some small jobs on the road to earn some pocket money meant they could have a beautiful, fat year this year.

With their minds relaxed, some boasted, some listened to the carter Old Meng tell those martial world wild stories, which could be considered carefree.

And Li Yan went alone to a ruined house far from the ancestral hall, set up the drum stand, and lifted the oilcloth used for waterproofing the Cloud-Thunder Divine Drum.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Soon, the drum sound vibrated, and dust fell from the roof.

Because Li Yan was practicing the Cloud-Lei Yin of the Divine Drum, he used hidden strength while simultaneously chanting the "Hum" true word, so the drum sound was unusually loud and could be clearly heard throughout the village.

The porters and the carter were already used to it along the way and didn't care at all, even listening with relish.

The divine drum had the function of shaking the soul. Ordinary people would feel it was noisy at first, but after the drum sound ended, their minds, desires, and distracting thoughts would be eliminated, and they would sleep even more soundly at night.

But what struck them as strange was that the drum sound today was significantly more rapid, and even carried a hint of charm.

Three slow beats, three tight beats, and three beats that were neither slow nor fast.

"This is the Qin-Han drum rhythm!"

The carter Old Meng figured out the flavor, took a puff of his dry tobacco pipe, and explained to everyone: "This Qin-Han war drum is quite famous in our Xianyang, and there are many drum music troupes, but the rhythm is the same."

"The first piece is called 'Setting Out', three slow beats, majestic and heroic; the second piece is called 'Battle', three tight beats, overwhelming; the last piece is called 'Triumphant Return', neither slow nor fast, galloping and joyful..."

"It has to be Old Uncle Meng, with wide knowledge."

"This is nothing, have you ever seen the Chang'an Drum Assembly? That scene, flags like the sea, drums like thunder..."

Not mentioning the crowd chatting and boasting, Li Yan had already entered a state.

Dong dong dong!

The drum sound was rapid and slow, combined with the true word like thunder vibrating.

This force surged through his whole body, like a lightning strike, his whole body felt numb, his pores opened, and sweat flowed like a river.

Li Yan gritted his teeth and persisted, his movements without the slightest deformation.

Through wind and rain, he had never been able to practice with peace of mind. Experiencing several life-and-death situations made him know that although he was young and a genius in everyone's eyes, martial world slaughter didn't care if you were old or young.

His fists needed to be harder,

his blade needed to be faster!

Now that he had free time, he naturally had to find a way to break through.

Learning the Chop-Hanging Fist wasn't something to be rushed, and if there was no famous teacher to guide him, just looking at the boxing manual would probably lead to wrong practice.

But hidden strength had to be practiced every day.

When beating the drum today, Li Yan had a sudden inspiration: the "Qin-Han Drum Rhythm" combined with focusing his mind to drive it could be used to deter and drive away evil.

If used for hidden strength, would the effect be better?

Thinking and doing, this was his confidence.

Having the Great Luo Dala Dala Fa Shen to exchange for injuries allowed him to be bolder than ordinary people, breaking through limits time and time again, which was how his outstanding kung fu was practiced.

Sure enough, the drum rhythm combined with the Cloud-Lei Yin had an amazing effect.

He could feel his muscles and fascia bulging, his whole body seemingly turning into a divine drum, trembling with the rhythm of the drum sound.

!.

Not only that, the Qin-Han Drum Rhythm was a drum for military formations.

The drum sound rhythm was majestic and impassioned, making him enter a wonderful state, as if dreaming back to the Qin Han dynasties, battlefield conquests, dragon blood and yellow earth.

Dong!

Don't know how long it had been, the drum sound stopped suddenly.

Li Yan was trembling all over, his muscles jumping rhythmically, sweat pouring down like rain. Not only was his clothes soaked, but even the ground had two wet footprints.

Pu!

He felt stuffy in his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Taking a breath, he felt a stinging pain in his chest and abdomen.

Li Yan knew he had suffered internal injuries, his muscles, bones, and fascia had reached their limit, and his delicate internal organs couldn't withstand this kind of force's destruction.

The Great Luo Dala Dala Fa Shen turned, and the internal injuries recovered rapidly.

Feeling the bulging, sour, and numb, yet thick and powerful strength all over his body, a flash of joy appeared in Li Yan's eyes.

He bet right!

This method had an amazing effect.

It was worth several days of hard practice.

While Li Yan was happy in his heart, he also had some hesitation.

This method was naturally good, but it was at the cost of consuming the Great Luo Dala Dala Fa Shen, just like exchanging a treasure's durability for cultivation.

Heaven-Spirit Earth-Treasures weren't something you could find just because you wanted to...

However, this trace of hesitation only lasted for a moment.

Li Yan soon made a decision.

Use this method to rapidly increase his power!

Heaven-Spirit Earth-Treasures were ultimately external objects.

If your combat power isn't enough when you encounter danger, you have to exchange your life for it.

Of course, today's practice had reached its limit.

A martial artist's body is like a bowstring; even with the Great Luo Dala Dala Fa Shen, it needs to be relaxed and tense.

After putting away the Cloud-Thunder Divine Drum, Li Yan took out the Divine Tiger Token, held it in his hand, pinched the magic seal, stepped out the Big Dipper pace, and chanted: "Command, open for the great-grandson Wang Jia, the Six Jia Green Dragon, the Six Yi Meeting Star, the Six Bing Bright Hall, the Six Ding Yin Center..."

Hu~

In an instant, wind rose out of nowhere.

Li Yan's whole body aura rapidly converged into the Divine Tiger Token.

The Divine Tiger Token could also be used to perform the Mount-Climbing Art of the Embracing Simplicity, and the effect was even more shocking!

The sky was overcast, and the old house was dim.

Li Yan stood in the room, not only was his aura gone, but even a yin aura enveloped him. If someone looked from outside the window, they would have an illusion, discovering that his whole person had become blurry...

This state was almost the same as when Luo Fengzi used the "Upper Mystic Bamboo Envoy Talisman"!

Of course, the consumption of divine sense was also shocking.

Li Yan only persisted for a while before feeling mentally exhausted, and the white light of his focused mind between his eyebrows began to dim.

Shua!

Li Yan had no choice but to release the sorcery.

It seems he still needs to build a building to view as soon as possible.

Although the Divine Tiger Token is strong, this kind of consumption is unbearable. On weekdays, it's better to rely on yarrow, which won't affect combat power.

Afterwards, he held the Divine Tiger Token again and began to practice the "Thousand-Gold Protective Body Spell," also pinching the seal and stepping the Big Dipper, but the Big Dipper pace was different, and the Dharma spell in his mouth was also different.

"Command, carry three stars on the left, carry three prisons on the right, heaven turns and earth flips, all nine paths are blocked..."

The spell ended, and there was no movement.

Li Yan wasn't discouraged; practicing sorcery was never that simple.

In the old house, he performed it time and time again, silently experiencing the changes between the incantations and the Big Dipper pace...

………………

At the same time, Sha Lifei and Wang Fu also arrived at Fengyang County.

"Old man, do you know Wu Family Ditch?"

"Don't know, don't know!"

"Brother, ask something, Wu Family Ditch..."

"Ask that for what, don't add trouble for me!"

Sha Lifei originally thought it wasn't a big deal and could find out by asking anyone, but he didn't expect everyone to be tight-lipped.

Wang Fu frowned, "It seems the moving of Wu Family Ditch isn't that simple..."

"I don't believe it!"

Sha Lifei was somewhat annoyed, "If they don't dare to say, there's always someone who dares. Daoist, follow me."

After speaking, he took Wang Fu to wander around the city.

The Shangzhou region also belonged to Shanzhou, with Shangluo City as the center.

Because Fengyang County had the Manchuan Pass wharf, it was the former border between Qin and Chu, and trade had been prosperous since ancient times, so its prosperity was second only to Shangluo City.

Autumn rain drizzled, and mule and horse caravans came and went on the street, far more than other county towns.

"Arrived, this one!"

Sha Lifei took Wang Fu to wander around and finally found a tea shop, with auspicious clouds and lotus flowers carved on the door pillar stone pier.

Wang Fu took one look and knew this was a martial world shop.

The so-called martial world shop was different from ordinary teahouses.

To put it plainly, it was a place for various rumors and news to be passed on.

This kind of shop never worried about business. If ordinary people came, they would mostly be confused, not understanding what others were doing, and would be soundly ripped off.

"Guests, please come in!"

As soon as they entered the door, a waiter came to greet them.

Sha Lifei directly pinched his hands, made a gesture, and laughed: "An insider has arrived at your precious place for the first time, not drinking mountain (wine), not gnawing teeth (tea), looking for someone clear (someone who understands martial world affairs), to listen to the wind (inquire about news)."

The waiter understood immediately, flicked his white towel, draped it over his shoulder, and shouted: "Wind character second floor, two guests, Dragon Gate Tea!"

After speaking, he led the two upstairs.

In the hall, some people sat at remote and dim tables, either drinking tea alone or talking in low voices, calmly observing the two, guessing their identities.

Wang Fu pretended not to see, followed Sha Lifei and the waiter upstairs, and immediately saw clearly that on the second floor of the teahouse, southeast, northwest, there were four wooden plaques, each written with one of the four large characters "Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain."

He was also a martial world person, and although he hadn't been to this kind of place, he vaguely knew some rules...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 106 =====