Chapter 125

Holding the protective talisman in his hand, Li Yan examined it carefully.

He knew what this thing was; it was made by selecting chicken claws, removing the tendons and membranes, and leaving only the bones, which could be played with in the hand.

The one given by the monster catcher was naturally even more extraordinary.

The chicken bone in his hand was thicker than a human thumb, yellow on the surface, presenting a glazed color, with an evil-repelling talisman engraved in intaglio and filled with cinnabar.

Li Yan could smell the scorching incense aura it emitted.

It felt quite heavy in the hand, and when tapped lightly, it even made a metallic sound.

Ordinary chickens couldn't have such large bones.

Could it be that it was left behind by something with Daoist cultivation?

Li Yan rubbed it, feeling it was quite interesting.

Unknowingly, night had fallen again.

This time, it was Wang Fu's turn to build the building.

He was familiar with the road, so naturally, there was no need for everyone to worry.

After Li Yan sealed the aperture with stones, he and Sha Lifei and the others lit a campfire and kept watch outside.

That night, the mountain wind blew especially fiercely.

Nearing midnight, everyone was already feeling a bit sleepy.

Suddenly, Li Yan's eyes widened.

He saw that the ground behind Sha Lifei was slowly sinking, and a pair of tentacles as thick as a little finger quietly probed out...

"Careful!"

Li Yan shouted loudly and leaped out.

He used the darting footwork, the hidden strength in his left leg exploded, and as he opened his mouth, his body had already darted out like a sharp arrow, while simultaneously drawing the Guanshan saber with a clanging sound.

Clang!

The saber had just left its sheath, and he had already arrived before them.

Sha Lifei was also alert; sensing something was wrong, he didn't look back at all, but lunged forward, performed a lazy donkey roll, and had already drawn his saber when he got up.

However, that thing was faster.

The tentacles shook and suddenly retracted into the ground.

Pfft!

Li Yan's saber followed closely, stabbing downward while simultaneously activating the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin.

His expression changed; he felt as if the tip of his saber had touched smooth iron, the blade deflected, and it was completely unable to pierce in.

Clatter!

Immediately afterward, dust splashed behind him, and an arm-thick, clawing centipede had already darted out, opening its massive pincers to attack him directly.

At such a close distance, even though the monster had completely concealed its scent, Li Yan had long since sensed the opponent's movements based on the changes in the soil's scent.

He dodged backward, held the Guanshan saber across his chest, and simultaneously condensed his left palm, preparing to use the Soul-Snatching Chain.

This was his strongest killing move at the moment.

The opponent's body was as hard as gold and iron, but no matter what kind of monster it was, as long as it had a soul, the Soul-Snatching Chain would be effective.

But a sword light beside him was faster.

It was the little Daoist Dian Shu who had made a move.

His reaction wasn't as fast as Li Yan and the other, but he also understood what had happened; he took a talisman from his bosom, formed a seal to ignite it, and his long sword pierced through the talisman and whistled out.

Pfft!

He didn't know what kind of talisman Dian Shu had used.

Li Yan could smell that as the talisman burned, an incense Gang Qi attached to the long sword, actually piercing into the centipede's body without any obstruction.

He was somewhat speechless; the little Daoist still lacked experience.

Why stab in this situation? Slash!

Sure enough, the long sword's stab wasn't fatal; instead, the centipede felt pain, twisted frantically, and sprayed venom from its mouth.

"Careful!"

Li Yan was quick-witted and grabbed the little Daoist to retreat.

Sizzle!

The venom splashed on the ground, emitting bursts of white smoke.

Li Yan could smell that this white smoke carried a cold, corpse-like stench, and it made one dizzy before even getting close; clearly, it wasn't ordinary venom.

And the earth centipede retreated from the two and took the opportunity to burrow into the ground.

Whoosh!

Just at this moment, a short spear flew over.

This short spear was forged from pure iron, the front tip had a row of wolf-tooth barbs, a burning talisman hung in the center, and there was an iron chain connected to the tail end.

Only a pfft sound was heard; the short spear pierced into the centipede's body without any obstruction.

Clatter!

The iron chain tightened, and the earth centipede, which had already burrowed into the ground, was actually dragged out again, rolling toward the rear.

Despite being pierced and dragged, the thick centipede still twisted frantically like a wild beast, chattering and spraying venom everywhere.

The one who made the move was none other than the monster catcher Red Yecha.

She wasn't far from the group; hearing the sound, she rushed over and had already made a move halfway there.

Dealing with these things was her specialty, and even the weapon in her hand was specifically crafted for this purpose.

Seeing the centipede rolling and struggling, Red Yecha hurriedly took a leather pouch from her waist and threw it out, while simultaneously brandishing her long sword and slashing fiercely.

This person was also a martial arts expert and had already stepped into the peak of the hidden strength.

The leather pouch in the air was directly split open.

The pouch was full of red chicken blood, which splashed onto the centipede with a clatter, and like acid corrosion, bursts of white smoke immediately rose up.

And the centipede also seemed to have swallowed a sleeping pill; its struggling became slower and slower, and it no longer sprayed venom from its mouth.

Clatter!

Red Yecha shook it again, and under her powerful force, the centipede was immediately dragged close.

And this female monster catcher just flicked her long sword sideways; the centipede's head immediately fell to the ground, its body twisted and struggled for a while, and soon it stopped moving.

Red Yecha didn't pay attention to the group either; she shook her long sword and split the centipede's head in two, and seeing that there was nothing inside, she was immediately full of disappointment.

Sha Lifei was scared out of his wits, but his mouth wouldn't stop; remembering what the little Daoist Dian Shu had said earlier, he couldn't help but ask, "Heroine, are you looking for a centipede pearl? Isn't it only found in large centipedes?"

Although Red Yecha was disappointed, she had completed the mission, and her mood was clearly not bad; she shook her head and replied, "Small ones sometimes appear too; although they are only the size of a soybean, they have miraculous effects in treating all kinds of snake venom."

The group also gathered around to watch.

It had been too tense earlier, and it was a chaotic mess, so they hadn't seen clearly; now, borrowing the firelight, they could see it very clearly.

This earth centipede was as thick as a bowl; if its body were straightened, it would probably be taller than an ordinary woman, and its dense insect legs flickered with a cold light under the firelight.

Unlike ordinary centipedes, this one was not only large, but its color was also strange; its insect limbs were dark red, but its body presented an earthy gray color.

If it were mixed in the mud, it would sometimes be truly difficult to detect.

"Good heavens..."

Sha Lifei poked it with his saber and said in surprise, "What does this thing eat to grow this big? No wonder the little Daoist said it could eat python brains."

Red Yecha said in a deep voice, "If this thing is born in a place where innate yin-sha gathers, and then eats some heavenly and earthly treasures, strange phenomena will occur."

As she spoke, she looked around somewhat strangely, "Even if it's a monster, it has its own temperament and preferences; this place is high in the mountains and freezing cold, completely unsuitable for insects to breed, so why did it run here?" The little Daoist Dian Shu also breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The Qin Ling dragon veins gather, there are many strange and peculiar things, sometimes it's really hard to tell."

"Anyway, this monster has been eliminated; Layman Luo, don't stay by yourself, come over here to roast by the fire, and we can go down the mountain together tomorrow morning."

Red Yecha hesitated slightly and nodded, "Alright."

Since the monster was dead, everyone sat down again, and their moods became much more relaxed.

Sha Lifei's eyes rolled, and he served tea and water to Red Yecha diligently, inquiring about things regarding monster catchers.

Red Yecha was not good at conversing with people, but she couldn't help it when she encountered such a thick-skinned person, so she told some anecdotes.

"Our lineage, I heard from the Patriarch, originated at the end of the Tang Dynasty; at that time, the world was in chaos, monsters and evil spirits were everywhere, and high-ranking masters of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect summarized the arts, united with the Meishan Dharma Sect, and several martial arts grandmasters to jointly train monster catchers..."

"The Meishan Dharma Sect has many hunter believers and is also skilled in training Chang Soldiers; we mainly focus on capturing monsters and suppressing zombies, and we are skilled in killing, without the orthodox rituals of the Mystic Sect..."

The little Daoist Dian Shu said, "Layman Luo is too modest; you travel the world, capturing monsters and suppressing demons, I don't know how many people you've saved; in terms of merit, you're much stronger than us who only know how to chant scriptures..."

As the conversation opened up, everyone gradually became familiar with each other.

!.

Li Yan only then learned that this monster catcher Red Yaksha's surname was Luo, and her name was Yihong; she was a native of Chang'an.

Her name was very gentle, but the things she did, even Li Yan had to give a thumbs up and praise her as a truly outstanding hero!

The other party had no children, but she had adopted several orphans.

These were all orphans who had become so because of monsters and zombies.

They were already quite old and hadn't read much, and even if some had awakened spiritual roots, they were not the targets for recruitment by orthodox sects and Dharma lineages.

Therefore, Luo Yihong took these people as disciples, both allowing the means of the monster catchers to be inherited and allowing these children to have a proper way to make a living in the future.

Of course, supporting a large group of disciples also cost quite a bit.

Before the disciples grew up, she could only rush about everywhere to support the whole family...

As they chatted, things gradually became wrong.

Everyone's emotions became increasingly low, and a sense of fatigue constantly surged up. Their upper and lower eyelids were fighting frantically.

"Not good, we've been tricked!"

Luo Yihong gave a low shout and fell to the ground in a faint.

Li Yan was also shocked in his heart, but just as he wanted to get up, thick fog rose before his eyes, and the surrounding scene also became dim.

It was an False False Yin Si mission again.

Damn it, and at a time like this!

Li Yan cursed in his heart, but he couldn't afford to think too much and ran frantically toward the front.

He was already very familiar with this thing.

It was impossible to recover through techniques; the only way was to quickly check the False False Yin Si mission and choose to refuse and leave.

Sure enough, that well appeared again in front.

Li Yan didn't say a word and placed his hands on it; the well water changed accordingly, appearing as a vortex, with thick fog churning and various light and shadows appearing.

It was still that cave.

It was still that old Daoist in the pool...

Still this mission?

Li Yan was just about to refuse, but suddenly his eyes widened.

He saw that two centipedes suddenly burrowed from below the black jar containing the old Daoist, stuck their heads into the hole at the bottom of the jar, and sprayed streams of blood.

The blood quickly seeped in as soon as it touched the old Daoist's body.

At the same time, the deathly gray color on the old Daoist's face became heavier and heavier.

So it was this guy playing tricks!

Li Yan gritted his teeth and chose to accept directly.

He knew that there was probably no choice at this moment!

After accepting the mission, the surrounding fog instantly dissipated, and Li Yan woke up accordingly.

Just as he opened his eyes, he discovered something was wrong.

A massive earth centipede had already burrowed out from the soil beside him, opened its pincers, and was biting toward his neck.

"Seeking death!"

Li Yan's eyes revealed a murderous intent; his left hand reached out fiercely and grabbed the centipede's head.

Clatter!

The sound of chains rang beside his ear.

The Soul-Snatching Chain extended, directly burrowing into the centipede's body, and as Li Yan dragged it backward, he pulled out a mass of cold, bloody aura.

No matter how formidable the earth centipede was, it was ultimately a living creature.

Its soul strength was not even as good as a child's, but it had a bit more spirituality, and it was soon shredded by the Soul-Snatching Chain.

The earth centipede's soul left its body, and its torso also softened and fell down without moving.

Li Yan looked around again and saw that everyone had fainted on the ground, their eyes closed tightly, and a centipede had burrowed out beside each of them, biting toward their necks.

And below the campfire, a centipede had also burrowed out, enduring its fear of the fire, and was spraying faint poisonous smoke into the fire.

Cunning beast!

Li Yan leaped out, his hidden strength erupted, and he performed three consecutive kicks.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He was extremely fast and kicked the centipedes on everyone away.

Subsequently, he took out the Divine Tiger Token and performed the Thousand Gold Protective Curse, "Nugao, the left carries three stars, the right carries three prisons, heaven turns and earth flips, all nine paths are blocked, causing you to lose your mind..."

"Roar!"

Once the curse was completed, it seemed as if a tiger's roar came from beside his ear.

Those centipedes were frightened and burrowed into the ground again.

Li Yan knew that this curse could only temporarily scare them away.

He hurriedly squatted down, pinching their philtrums and slapping their faces, waking everyone up one by one.

The poisonous substance the centipede sprayed into the fire was colorless and odorless, and although it made everyone fall into the trap without noticing, the toxicity was not great.

Once they woke up, they could quickly recover their clarity.

"How come there are so many!"

Seeing the holes one by one on the ground, the little Daoist Dian Shu's face changed drastically, and he muttered, "Impossible, this is a monster nest; how could the soldiers searching the mountain not have discovered it?"

"Naturally, someone tampered with it!"

Li Yan's expression became gloomy, and he quickly ran to the entrance of the Grotto-Heaven spiritual aperture where Wang Fu was.

The bricks and stones were only temporarily piled up and could not be absolutely airtight.

Through the cracks, he could see Wang Fu sitting cross-legged, with the silver lotus soul-attracting lamps burning around him, his expression very calm.

Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice:

"Old Uncle Sha, take my Cloud Thunder Divine Drum!"

(End of chapter)