Chapter 111

The thunderous murderous intent was stimulated, and the power of the divine drum was manifested.

Thunder is the change of yin and yang, the nemesis of all yin objects, demons, and evil spirits in the world, so the Thunder Method is also the strongest method in the Mystic Sect.

Luo Luo Mingzi had practiced Daoism since childhood and was an elite of the Law Enforcement Hall, but even he had only initially learned the Palm Thunder, and its power could only shake away energy.

Li Yan using this method was naturally very strained.

Even with the help of magic artifacts, it was a case of hurting both the enemy and himself.

"Hum!"

The drum sound turned into a thunderous roar; Li Yan only felt a buzzing in his brain, his eyes were filled with white light, and he almost fainted.

His body swayed, and the smell of blood surged up from his throat.

Good heavens!

Li Yan was secretly shocked and hurriedly used the Great Luo Dharma Body to recover.

The power of this method was astonishing, and the backlash was even more beyond his imagination.

Just one strike, and he had already suffered internal injuries.

Fortunately, this thunder drum sound also scattered most of the yin objects.

The people in the ancestral hall were also shaken until they were dizzy.

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei covered his ears, baring his teeth, and just as he was about to speak, he noticed that Master Yue Master Yue Bala beside him was acting strangely.

He looked as if he had suffered a stroke; the muscles on his face twitched constantly, and combined with his fierce face, he looked extremely ferocious.

"Old Master Yue, you..."

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei was just about to ask when he saw Master Yue Master Yue Bala's eyes change abruptly—previously dull, they were now filled with resentment and madness.

Clang!

Master Yue Master Yue Bala suddenly drew the dagger from his waist, leaped up, and stabbed at Li Yan's back.

Li Yan had just driven the divine drum, his spirit was shaken, and his divine ability hadn't recovered yet, so naturally, he didn't notice the attack from behind.

"Watch out!"

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei was quick-witted; he tackled Master Yue Master Yue Bala, gripped his wrist holding the knife, slammed it hard against the ground, and knocked the dagger away.

"Old Master Yue is possessed! Help me pin him down!" Sha Hearing Sha Lifei roared while pinning Master Yue Master Yue Bala down.

He wasn't a fool.

Although Master Yue Master Yue Bala looked fierce, he was an honest man who cared for his family, and he respected Li Yan even more; how could he have murderous intent?

The only possibility was that he had been tricked.

However, before he could finish his sentence, Sha Hearing Sha Lifei felt a massive force coming from Master Yue Master Yue Bala, which almost flipped him over.

Fortunately, the other palanquin bearers were also alert; hearing this, they immediately stepped forward and pinned Master Yue Master Yue Bala down with their hands and feet.

Even so, everyone was red-faced and straining.

For some reason, Master Yue Master Yue Bala's strength had increased out of thin air; they felt like they were pinning down a wild beast that could break free at any moment.

"Impossible..."

Wang Wang Daoxuan's expression also changed abruptly; he looked at the five grains on the ground that showed no movement, and the talismans on the pillars, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Although he didn't understand the reason, he still took out another exorcism talisman, pinched the magic seal, activated the talisman, and prepared to stick it on Master Yue Master Yue Bala's forehead.

Talismans like this were mostly one-time use, unless they were precious talismans that formed a situation of their own; once stuck on, they couldn't be moved recklessly.

Therefore, he could only consume another one.

The exorcism talisman Luo Luo Mingzi had given him was written by a proper talisman master of the Tai Da Xuan Orthodox Sect, with the brush and ink consecrated, evil energy bound, and the name entered before the ancestral altar, and it even required incense offerings.

Counting them all up, there were only ten in total.

Although Wang Wang Daoxuan felt the pinch, he couldn't care about that now.

However, before he could act, Master Yue Master Yue Bala, who was lying on the ground, rolled his eyes and fainted.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, they saw another palanquin bearer who was pinning Master Yue Master Yue Bala down start to tremble, his eyes also becoming fierce.

Whoosh!

He snatched up the dagger that had fallen on the ground and stabbed directly at the chest of the unconscious Master Yue Master Yue Bala.

Bang!

Before he could stab him, he was kicked away by Li Yan.

The palanquin bearer rolled twice on the ground, stood up smoothly, and didn't rush to attack again, but stared blankly at the crowd.

Under the firelight, he wore an eerie smile.

Especially his feet—he was actually standing on tiptoe, stepping on the exorcising five grains without any reaction.

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei swallowed hard. "Master Dao, what kind of demon or monster is this?"

"Not a yin object, but a living soul."

Wang Wang Daoxuan stared fixedly at the opponent and said in a deep voice, "A sorcerer's living soul has left their body to possess someone and kill."

"Fellow Daoist, who exactly are you?"

The palanquin bearer didn't pay attention to Wang Wang Daoxuan's questioning, but his eyes rolled abnormally, and he suddenly turned his head to see the coffin in the ancestral hall and the temporary spirit tablet of Wu You Laosi on the offering table.

The muscles on his face twitched, and he suddenly roared, "Wu You Laosi is dead? How dare he die, what right does he have to die!"

His speech was incoherent, and his eyes became increasingly manic, panting like a wild beast. "Where is the soul-hooking order? Where is it? Where did he hide the soul-hooking order?"

"Are you looking for this?"

Li Yan took a token from his bosom; it was precisely the False False Yin Si soul-hooking order.

His divine ability had already recovered, and he could clearly smell that there was an extra scent on the palanquin bearer, but it was a bit strange.

It resembled a living soul, yet carried the coldness of a rotting corpse.

He already had a guess in his heart; this person was likely one of the sorcerers who had come to find Wu You Laosi back then. He hadn't expected the other party to be so patient, waiting for so many years.

Could there be some hidden secret to this soul-hooking order?

Sure enough, after he took out the item, the person's breathing became rapid, staring fixedly at the soul-hooking order, his eyes filled with both fear and desire.

Whoosh!

He suddenly raised the dagger, pressed it directly against his own throat, and said with trembling, rapid breaths, "Give it to me, quickly, otherwise everyone here will die!"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, and a fire of anger rose.

To some extent, he was in the wrong for this matter. After all, Wu You the Fourth's entrustment was to return the soul-hooking order to the ancestral altar of his sect, before the statue of the Great Emperor of Fengdu of the Northern Yin.

However, he had stumbled into becoming a living underworld messenger.

Thinking that the other party was likely Wu You Laosi's fellow disciple, and that they had attacked out of a misunderstanding, Li Yan took out the soul-hooking order, wanting to explain the situation.

He hadn't expected the other party to threaten him with human lives.

One look and you could tell they weren't good people!

Although murderous intent had already risen in his heart, facing this eerie method, Li Yan really didn't know how to deal with it, so he had to hand over the soul-hooking order.

"Wait!"

Seeing Li Yan about to toss the soul-hooking order toward him, the possessed palanquin bearer seemed startled and roared in a panic, "Don't play tricks, throw it on the ground!"

Hmm?

Li Yan's heart stirred, and he had a plan.

Wu You Laosi had mentioned vaguely back then what was going on with the living underworld messenger.

The criminals they had to catch were of many kinds: those who had accidentally returned to life, evil ghosts, living dead who practiced sorcery... some were extremely powerful.

Wu You Laosi's cultivation was at the second level, and although he wasn't ordinary, compared to these criminals, it was clearly not enough.

So he had said that when hooking a soul, one only needed to strike out the soul-hooking order, and it could send the opponent directly into the underworld.

Could it be that this guy was also a prisoner...

But the other party was staring at him; if there was any unusual movement, they would likely harm people immediately.

Thinking of this, Li Yan slowly squatted down, placed the soul-hooking order on the ground, and kicked it over.

He used a clever force in that kick.

Whoosh!

The soul-hooking order rolled on the ground, passing right by Sha Hearing Sha Lifei and stopping not far in front of him.

And at this moment, Sha Hearing Sha Lifei was facing away from Li Yan.

Li Yan believed that as an old Some Jianghu hand, Sha Hearing Sha Lifei would definitely discover the flaws in the sorcerer's words.

He had also been present when Wu You Laosi talked about the past.

He just didn't know if he could guess his intention.

As the soul-hooking order stopped, the possessed palanquin bearer's gaze also shifted downward, his breathing rapid, his eyes filled with desire and fear. Even, there was some madness and confusion.

A flash of brilliance appeared in Li Yan's eyes.

He could be certain that this guy's mental state was problematic!

Sure enough, attracted by the soul-hooking order, he actually forgot his environment and slowly squatted down to examine it carefully.

But soon, his expression changed drastically, and he roared in a low voice, "What's going on? It's gone, someone snatched it first...

"It's Junior Brother Fang—no, that's not right, I clearly already slaughtered him..."

"Go to hell!"

Right then, Sha Hearing Sha Lifei's expression changed abruptly; with a curse, he stepped forward, picked up the soul-hooking order from the ground, and slapped it directly onto the palanquin bearer's forehead.

This strike was like a lightning bolt.

The possessed palanquin bearer fell backward instantly.

"Roar!"

!.

He trembled all over, letting out a desperate roar like a wild beast, but the soul-hooking order now acted like a immobilization talisman, making it difficult for him to move.

And Sha Hearing Sha Lifei and the others also stepped forward simultaneously, pinning him down firmly.

"Hiss!"

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei gasped and cursed, "What did this kid do? Why is his body as cold as an ice cube?"

"It's the soul-hooking order!"

Li Yan also hurried forward, his expression solemn.

He could smell that the soul-hooking order had changed the moment it touched the other party; a formless force seemed to overflow, trapping the other party directly.

But this scent lasted only for an instant.

Afterward, he couldn't smell anything.

This situation was extremely similar to what happened when Wu You Laosi died.

Divine ability wasn't omnipotent; if the cultivation wasn't enough, some higher-level forces couldn't be detected by lower-level divine abilities.

This force perhaps came from the False False Yin Si!

Of course, he couldn't afford to think too much now; the key was how to break this guy's sorcery.

"Daoist, any ideas?" Li Yan hurriedly asked.

Wang Wang Daoxuan frowned and shook his head slightly.

And at this moment, the possessed palanquin bearer heard their conversation, first stunned, then ecstatic. "Hahaha... you don't know how to use it, you don't know how to use it! What a joke."

The voice speaking now had completely changed; it was hoarse and carried a sinister tone. "Be sensible and let me go. This soul-hooking order can only trap me for one stick of incense; by then, you'll only die even more miserably."

A flash of murderous intent crossed Li Yan's eyes, but his voice became much gentler. "Senior, we were just entrusted by someone to send a coffin home; we know nothing about the grudge between you and Wu You Laosi."

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei also nodded and said, "Exactly, everything can be discussed. This thing is a treasure to you, but a trouble to us; look at the mess this has caused..."

The possessed sorcerer seemed to calm down; he couldn't move his body, but his eyes darted toward Li Yan. "You became a living underworld messenger?"

Seeing Li Yan nod, anger surged in his eyes again. "The False False Yin Si is blind. First it was Wu You Laosi, then it was you, a fool who knows nothing. We don't accept this!"

"What's the use of not accepting it?"

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei said sarcastically, "The lords of the False False Yin Si just don't look favorably upon you; even if you take the soul-hooking order, it's useless."

This hit a sore spot in the sorcerer's heart, and he roared, "You know nothing! As long as a living underworld messenger breaks a taboo, they can't escape death, and the soul-hooking order will change hands!"

"Hmph, that fool Wu You Laosi—I'm afraid he didn't even know until he died that the method his good friend used to return to life as a fierce ghost was taught by us..."

"Even if he dodges it this time, next time we'll go after his son..."

So that's how it was. Li Yan's murderous intent grew even stronger.

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei also shouted, "You are truly despicable, stabbing your own fellow disciples in the back."

"Fellow disciples? Hahaha..."

The man laughed until tears came out. "I'm better than him in every way; why is it that the stupidest person was chosen?"

Li Yan suddenly said, "You're lying. Since you're fellow disciples, why did the Cold Leng Leng Tan You Shi guide me? The incense of your lineage was cut off long ago."

"What?!"

The man frowned. "You're talking nonsense. I'm still alive, and Junior Sister is still guarding the altar—where did this Cold Leng Leng Tan You Shi come from..."

Hearing this, Li Yan was completely bewildered...

Just as they were entangled with the sorcerer, Zhao Kui and the others guarding outside the village were growing increasingly impatient.

They couldn't feel the yin objects gathering in the village at all.

"Eh, strange, why are they still beating the drum in the middle of the night?"

"Constable, I've seen it; divine shamans often beat drums to exorcise evil."

"What divine shaman? It's clearly a Qin-Han war drum!"

"Shut your damn mouths!"

"Why did the drum stop again?"

"There's no signal from that side either. Constable, something might have happened, right?"

Everyone discussed it in a hubbub, and Zhao Kui's eyes were also flickering with uncertainty. Then, gritting his teeth, he said, "I'm afraid Master Lu didn't succeed, and the target has already been alerted. If they run, we'll all be in trouble."

"Brothers, follow me into the village!"

With the order given, the constables immediately lit their torches.

This was the signal they had agreed upon, and the other groups also lit their torches one after another, charging into Wu Family Ditch from different directions.

At the same time, Li Yan had just asked about the Cold Leng Leng Tan You Shi and realized it had nothing to do with this lineage. Although he had a hundred doubts in his heart, he couldn't afford to ask more now and said in a deep voice, "Someone is coming, and there are many of them. Grab your weapons!"

Everyone grabbed their weapons and looked outside the door.

They saw torches like dragons, accompanied by dense and chaotic footsteps, as forty or fifty constables rushed in front of the ancestral hall.

"Surround them! Don't let a single one escape!"

Seeing there were only so few people, Zhao Kui felt greatly relieved. First, he gave a shout, then glared and shouted, "Who are you people, sneaking around in the middle of the night... Be sensible, put down your weapons, and come to the yamen for a trip!"

Not seeing Lu San, he was already somewhat displeased.

Li Yan ignored this clown and looked at Sha Hearing Sha Lifei.

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei cursed in a low voice, "Damn it, I watched that bastard Brother Qiao Brother Qiao Sanhu take his men to worship the ancestors, how did he come to find trouble again..."

He didn't know that today's events were misjudgments by both sides.

Seeing that the people in the ancestral hall ignored him, Zhao Kui glared. "What's this? You want to rebel?"

In the past, once these words were spoken, most Some Jianghu people would have to endure it.

He didn't know that Li Yan was also having a headache right now.

Even having lived two lifetimes, he was just a mortal; he didn't have divine foresight, nor did he have heaven-defying abilities.

The sorcerer behind him could break free at any moment.

Now, this bunch of idiots had come to find trouble.

Hearing Zhao Kui's threat, a fire of evil rose in Li Yan's heart; he held his Guanshan blade horizontally and glared. "You bastards, so what if we rebel!"

Saying that, he charged out with his blade.

And right at this moment, an eerie whistle sounded.

"Ah, snakes, snakes!"

The constables in the rear were in chaos.

Venomous snakes had appeared at their feet at some point, each seeking a target to ambush, biting over a dozen people directly.

And Li Yan had already charged out with his blade, taking advantage of the chaos to rush into the group of constables; the blade light flickered, and he had already hacked down two people.

Under the firelight, covered in blood, he looked like an Asura...

(End of chapter)