Chapter 135

Li Yan had naturally collected some information about the Fire Bear Gang.

Not only because of this magical duel, but also because of Lu San's matter, these people had also colluded with Qiao Sanhu, and they might clash in the future.

The leader of the Fire Bear Gang was named Xiong Baodong.

He came from outside the pass, and like his family, he was a descendant of an old general from that battle, but not from the batch that invaded the ice plains.

His father was a frontier general in the north, originally coerced into rebellion, but when the imperial army arrived, he suddenly changed his banner and opened the pass.

The rebellion was quickly quelled, and this was one of the reasons.

Of course, for these people, although the imperial court had rewards, it was more about precaution. As soon as the war subsided, their troops were scattered.

Some retired to their hometowns, and most were sent to serve in garrisons in various states.

Although they were military officers, they were idle positions, not only with no chance of promotion in the future but also making it extremely difficult for their descendants to get ahead.

Xiong Baodong was born in this atmosphere.

Chang'an is a difficult place to live. His father's salary was only enough for the family to eat and drink without worry, and he spent his days depressed, dying drunk on a winter night not long after.

Xiong Baodong was not a good thing to begin with. He learned his family's martial arts, and coupled with no one to manage him, he soon became a young villain in the Chang'an streets, bullying men and women, and doing all kinds of evil.

Originally, someone like him was destined to be executed in the autumn.

But although his family was down and out, Xiong Baodong had been influenced since childhood, knowing both the martial world and the rules of officialdom.

After some maneuvering, he made the Fire Bear Gang flourish.

He looked reckless, but was actually as cunning as a ghost...

"Xiong!"

Tie Shigu spoke very impolitely, cursing directly: "As soon as you stick your butt out, I know you haven't laid a good egg. If you have something to say, just say it, stop playing dirty!"

Xiong Baodong opposite sneered, "Old mud-legs, at your age and still so hot-tempered. If you die of anger one day, I'll personally send you a coffin."

"But today, we are just onlookers. The Mystic Sect's affairs have their own rules. I advise you to stay out of it, lest you meet with disaster one day and end up in the grave!"

Xiong Baodong was also cunning. After a round of cursing, he looked to the side, "Brother Liu, what should we do today? You decide."

Tie Shigu was choked twice and felt angry, but seeing that the other side wanted to set the rules, he could only hold back his anger first.

Only then did a man walk out from beside Xiong Baodong, wearing a black military robe and bamboo talisman armor, with a gold coin sword and an iron sword on his back, looking somewhat similar to Red Yecha's attire.

He was well-proportioned and looked very gentle, but he had a pair of triangular eyes, his gaze was not upright, and coupled with that triumphant smile, he looked disgusting.

Li Yan knew that this person was Liu Wenchen.

"Gang Leader Xiong is righteous!"

Liu Wenchen cupped his hands and said heroically, "But some things must be said first, lest someone fish in troubled waters."

"As the saying goes, treasures belong to those with virtue. Take the Imperial Seal, for example—the old Qin Dynasty is gone, so when the Han Emperor got it, did he have to return it to the descendants of the Qin Emperor?"

"Things dug out of someone else's grave, I spent a lot of money to buy, and it's already changed hands twice. What does it have to do with you, Red Yecha?"

"Giving it to you is a favor; not giving it to you is normal!"

"I am not a greedy person..."

"But this logic must be made clear!"

"Well said!"

Xiong Baodong clapped his hands in applause, and a pile of people beside him also nodded, cursing and swearing continuously.

Red Yecha was so angry that her eyes turned red, but she didn't know how to refute.

"Well said!"

Just then, another cheer sounded.

But when everyone looked, they were stunned, because the one cheering was none other than Li Yan.

Before they could ask, Li Yan strode out, clapping his hands and nodding, "This Liu guy, although he looks a bit ugly, what he said is correct."

"That's right, treasures belong to those with virtue."

Li Yan's eyes were cold, and he smiled, "But I see you lack virtue, so can I take your family's magic artifacts?"

"Fart!"

Liu Wenchen sneered, "Where did this little brat come from, spouting nonsense here? That's called robbery!"

"Her master is already dead, so the magic artifact naturally belongs to me."

"You also know it's robbery?"

Li Yan was amused, "Then why don't we just forget it today? You go back, and I guarantee you'll die suddenly within three days, and then I'll take it back. Isn't that belonging to those with virtue?"

Liu Wenchen was furious, "You are purely quibbling!"

He was about to speak, but was blocked by Xiong Baodong beside him.

Xiong Baodong glanced at Li Yan, shook his head and smiled, "This little brother is sharp-tongued. No need to say more, let's see the truth in our hands!"

Liu Wenchen suppressed his anger, nodded, looked at Red Yecha, and said in a deep voice, "Since you want to take the item, I'll set the rules."

Saying this, he pointed to the palace ruins beside them and sneered, "Today we won't play any tricks; we'll decide the winner here."

"Both sides will send five people, one by one, life and death are up to fate. Whoever wins three rounds first gets the item."

"Fine!"

Red Yecha also felt anger rising in her heart, killing intent flashing in her eyes, "And don't bother other fellow practitioners. Why don't we go first and decide life and death, and see who is the virtuous one?"

Li Yan's words could be considered to have awakened her.

For people like Liu Wenchen, if you reason with him, he plays dirty; if you move directly, he wants to talk about martial world rules.

She shouldn't have fallen for it at the time and should have just moved directly!

"Hahaha..."

Liu Wenchen sneered, "What's the rush? With your ability, I can easily handle you."

"However, several fellow practitioners came tonight, so we can't let them make the trip for nothing, and we can't let others say I'm bullying you!"

"Good fellow!"

Sha Lifei laughed, "If you can't beat her, you can't beat her, and if you're afraid, you're afraid. Still being stubborn—I've never seen someone so shameless."

Liu Wenchen's eyes turned cold, not hiding his killing intent, "What are you? Who gave you the right to speak here!"

He had also read the information on Sha Lifei. He was neither a member of the Mystic Sect nor a prominent figure in the martial world, so he naturally wouldn't give him a good face.

Saying this, he turned his head to the side and cupped his hands respectfully, "Fellow practitioners, who among you will go first to teach them a lesson?"

"I'll go."

A black-clad old woman walked out slowly, hunched over, and wearing a hood, her face unclear, puffing on a large pipe.

She said in a hoarse, strange voice, "It's so cold, this old woman's body is weak, I really can't take it. Let's finish the business early and go back to rest."

Saying this, she raised her head slowly, revealing a face full of scars, and grinned, "At home, there are still a few dolls waiting..."

"Snake Ghost Granny?!"

Red Yecha stared, scolding angrily, "Liu Wenchen, you are also a demon catcher. Don't you know this old ghost woman eats children and has become a monster?"

Liu Wenchen's expression remained unchanged, shaking his head, "You're mistaken. This person is clearly called Black Granny, a fellow practitioner from Tianshui."

Anyone could see he was lying with his eyes open.

"That's right, this old woman is called Black Granny."

The black-clad old woman also laughed strangely, revealing a mouth full of missing teeth, "I heard you have quite a few dolls on your farm. This old woman loves dolls..."

"Go to hell!"

Red Yecha drew her sword and was about to step forward.

This touched her reverse scale. "Don't rush."

Li Yan raised his hand, stopping Red Yecha, and looked at the opposite side thoughtfully, saying in a deep voice, "This old ghost woman is deliberately provoking you to act. I'm afraid she has a method specifically for you."

Feng Feiyan also hurriedly pulled Red Yecha back, her expression solemn, "Sister Hong, there's definitely a trap!"

After Li Yan's reminder, everyone could see something was wrong.

Although members of the Mystic Sect are different from martial artists, they are further classified into different categories—some specialize in Dharma altar rituals, some are good at close-range combat, and some only engage in auxiliary trades.

For example, Mystic Sect craftsmen, or those who specialize in making all kinds of talisman papers, scriptures, and array flags, and are skilled in consecration.

They are equivalent to Mystic Sect artifact refiners.

Red Yecha is a demon catcher, skilled in close-range combat, uses all kinds of sorcery traps and magic artifacts, and specializes in dealing with monsters and zombies.

This old ghost woman looked like she couldn't even walk steadily; I'm afraid before she could use her sorcery, she would have been beheaded by Red Yecha.

Daring to provoke, she must have something to rely on.

!.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and looked at Red Yecha, "Sister Hong, since you know this person, you must understand her background?"

Red Yecha had calmed down by now, "Old Witch of the Qin Mountains, once bewitched by a wild immortal snake demon, her temperament changed drastically, killing her own children to practice witchcraft and ghost-driving techniques."

"She is also a fragrant master of the Swallow Sect in the martial world, often disguising herself as a servant to mix into the homes of employers to steal and eat infants, and has been wanted by the Law Enforcement Hall."

"She must die!"

Hearing that there was such a monster, Li Yan also felt killing intent rise in his heart, but shook his head, "But you can't act, just in case."

Saying this, he looked around, his eyes full of doubt.

"Night-Crying Lang" and another "Shadow" had both promised to help, so logically they should have arrived. Why hadn't they appeared?

And he didn't smell them, so they probably hadn't come.

Could something have happened...

It seems he can only take this first round himself.

Just then, Wang Daoxuan, who had been silent, suddenly looked ahead and said, "Three years ago, in Luo Village, a child was crying constantly. I went to collect the shock, but the next day the child was gone, and their internal organs and heart were all hollowed out."

"Now that I think about it, the old woman serving the mistress had some resemblance to you. Was it you?"

The old ghost woman saw that Red Yecha didn't fall for it, feeling disappointed, and then being questioned by Wang Daoxuan, she felt angry, saying hoarsely, "This old woman is old, I really can't remember..."

Saying this, she wiped her face with her withered palm.

"Are you talking about this one, or this one..."

With her words, that face full of scars changed like a Sichuan opera face-changing, revealing one human skin mask after another.

They were all old women, but their faces and temperaments were all different.

Just this skill of disguise was extremely extraordinary.

When Wang Daoxuan saw one of the faces, he sighed slightly, seemingly relieved, "That's right, it's you."

"At that time, I had just entered the sect and thought it was my own mistake that brought the monster, and I almost killed myself..."

Saying this, he looked at Li Yan, "I'll take this round."

"Daoist master, don't be impulsive!"

Sha Lifei saw this and hurriedly stopped him.

However, Wang Daoxuan didn't say a word, just rummaged through his sorcery box for things, clearly having made up his mind.

This old Daoist was easy to talk to on weekdays, but when he got stubborn, he was like a donkey.

Li Yan didn't stop him anymore, secretly pinching the magic formula, came to Wang Daoxuan's side, and patted him on the shoulder, "Daoist master, be sure to be careful."

While speaking, he had already stuffed the commission into his hand.

The commission contained three Geng orders, which could summon the Five Camps of Ghost Soldiers.

He had already opened the commission, and as long as Wang Daoxuan set up the Dharma altar and used the method of borrowing soldiers, he could consume one Geng order to summon ghost soldiers.

This method had been discussed by him and Wang Daoxuan on the road from Mount Taibai to Chang'an.

Wang Daoxuan nodded and didn't refuse, picked up a large bag of magic artifacts, didn't even look at the Snake Ghost Granny, and walked straight toward the left side of the ruins.

The old ghost woman opposite sneered and walked toward the right.

Neither of them was good at boxing or kicking, and the Snake Ghost Granny was even more decrepit. An ordinary person could knock her down with one punch.

Both sides chose to set up an altar for a magical duel.

That Snake Ghost Granny seemed to have small feet and was inconvenient to walk, but her body was surprisingly sturdy, stepping on the ground like garlic, one step faster than the next, actually entering the ruins first.

She walked and shook at the same time.

Clatter!

From her body, several black poisonous snakes actually fell off.

These poisonous snakes didn't know what breed they were, but even in this winter wind and snow, they didn't freeze, swimming quickly toward Wang Daoxuan.

"Despicable!"

When Sha Lifei saw this, he cursed angrily.

This kind of method was clearly to interfere with Wang Daoxuan's altar setup.

Li Yan naturally smelled it long ago but didn't care.

Even Wang Daoxuan was unhurriedly setting up the altar.

But just as the poisonous snakes were about to get close, Wang Daoxuan suddenly took out yarrow stalks, wrapped them left and right, and simultaneously stepped on the Geng steps and pinched the formula, "Nuogao, left with three stars, right with three prisons, heaven turns and earth flips... command!"

It was the Thousand-Gold Protection Curse.

Li Yan had obtained this technique on Mount Zhongnan and naturally wouldn't hide it, teaching it to Wang Daoxuan along with the Baopu Mountain-Climbing Technique.

Wang Daoxuan was already at the second-floor level of cultivation. Although the magic artifact was only yarrow stalks, the power of using this technique was quite astonishing.

"Roar——!"

In the wind and snow, a tiger's roar seemed to come.

Those poisonous snakes were refined by the Snake Ghost Granny using witchcraft, unaffected by cold or heat, and their speed was fast. The snake venom contained witchcraft poison, and one bite could cause witchcraft, which was very vicious.

But precisely because of this, they were deeply affected by sorcery.

The Thousand-Gold Protection Curse came from the Orthodox Law of the Northern Ghost Emperor of the Underworld. Tigers and leopards would flee upon hearing it, and evil spirits would be shocked by it.

With a tiger's roar, several witchcraft snakes froze instantly.

Wang Daoxuan, who was setting up the Dharma altar, immediately pulled out a small short axe, jumped out, and chopped off the heads of all the poisonous snakes with a bang, bang, bang.

When Li Yan saw this, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

This thing was still something he and Sha Lifei had given Wang Daoxuan.

Who said mages can't use weapons?

With this thing, at least he could protect himself. If he encountered a sorcerer who wasn't good at boxing or kicking, he would just pull out his weapon!

He didn't expect it to be used here.

After chopping the poisonous snakes to death, Wang Daoxuan didn't rush to leave, but secretly pulled out a talisman, pinched the magic formula, and rubbed it against the snakes.

With the wind and snow, the Snake Ghost Granny was also communicating with her intention, and she didn't notice Wang Daoxuan's little move at all.

She saw the witchcraft snakes were destroyed, but wasn't surprised, instead setting up the Dharma altar one step ahead of Wang Daoxuan.

She set out several black altars, quickly pinched the magic formula, and began to chant.

And Wang Daoxuan stepped on the Geng steps, sprayed water from his mouth, opened the Dharma altar, and first waved the peach wood sword to open the seal of several Chang soldiers.

With a wave of the Dharma flag, he could drive them.

After doing this, he took out the straw person and pasted the yellow talisman on it...

(End of chapter)