Chapter 147: The Japanese Art

The fissure was massive; it was clearly not the work of human hands.

"It's that ancient Zhou sorcerer's tomb."

Li Yan understood immediately upon seeing it.

Their recent magical skirmishes, including this affair with the Du family, had all stemmed from this ancient tomb.

A group of grave robbers had located the ancient Zhou sorcerer's tomb, but because the mechanisms inside were formidable, they had used a large quantity of explosives to blast it open.

Looking at that pitch-black hole, one could tell just how massive the commotion had been at the time.

Sha Lifei looked on with a glint of greed in his eyes and chuckled, "With so many people digging, and even Red Sister's master dying inside, there must be some good stuff. How about we go take a look after we finish our business?"

"Don't even think about it."

Li Yan shook his head and said, "After the incident, both the Commandant's Office and the Law Enforcement Hall came here. Even if anything was left, it would have been cleared out long ago."

"Let's go. Finishing our real work is what matters."

Li Yan glanced at the cave entrance and turned to leave.

His "Northern Emperor Scripture" and "Luo Feng Scripture" were, in themselves, world-shaking legacies; the further one progressed, the greater their power, and they even held the opportunity to ascend to the divine.

Even if that tomb contained a legacy, it held no attraction for him.

The three of them continued forward, braving the wind and snow.

In this area, the terrain became much more complex.

Their torches had already been blown out and could not be relit. Everything around them was pitch black; fortunately, Li Yan activated his divine ability to lead the way, otherwise, they surely would have become hopelessly lost.

Before long, they circled around to the base of a cliff on the side.

This was the entrance to the Du family tomb. Many years ago, a large number of trees had been planted here, and now they had formed a forest, sealing off the entrance.

If an outsider saw it, they would only think it was a wild forest.

The three entered the woods, seeing along the way some branches that had just been cut, clearly left by Squire Du when he came to inspect the site a while ago.

Following the traces to the base of the cliff, the wind and snow were significantly lighter here. They relit their torches, and a jagged fissure appeared right before their eyes.

It was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, shaped like the character 'ren' (human).

"The layout of the yin dwelling has been broken; no wonder trouble arose."

Wang Fu shook his head slightly and looked at the funeral register in his hand. "Let's go. According to the records here, no mechanisms were set inside the tomb."

"Wait..."

Li Yan reached out to stop the two of them, sniffed, and frowned. "Daoist, didn't you say that the monster was conceived within the coffin? Why is there no scent of it here?"

Wang Fu said thoughtfully, "Monster-calamities are very rare. As for methods to artificially conceive them, I have never heard of such things. Perhaps there is another mystery; we will know once we take a look."

"It's better to be careful."

Li Yan immediately pinched a seal and chanted a spell, his little finger hooking lightly. "Nuogao! Taiwei Straw Spirits, forge armor and weapons, drive away evil and assist the righteous, spread the harmony of yang through the body, by the order of the Northern Yin Emperor, suppress blades and weapons, Command!"

*Clatter, clatter! *

As soon as he finished speaking, a swarm of paper straw spirits flew out from the leather pouch at his waist, drilled into the mountain crevice, and vanished into the darkness.

After a long while, Li Yan slowly opened his eyes, a trace of doubt flashing across them.

"What is it?" Sha Lifei asked hurriedly.

"Nothing." Li Yan shook his head and frowned. "I didn't sense any danger inside, it's just that the tomb is built a bit strangely."

"Let's go, you'll know once you go inside and see."

The mountain crevice only allowed one person to pass sideways. The three of them squeezed through, and fortunately, it grew wider as they went. After about seven or eight meters, a cave tomb chamber appeared before their eyes.

Wang Fu touched the bricks and stones nearby. "Zhou tombs are mostly vertical pit burials. This place was excavated by the Du family, and it connects to an abandoned Zhou tomb in the back."

Sha Lifei looked ahead and asked in confusion, "There's no difference, is there?"

The tomb chamber ahead was sealed by a stone wall with a relief-carved archway, and there was a stone door that had already cracked open.

"It's inside."

Li Yan said, then signaled for Sha Lifei to help him.

In tomb chambers like this, there were usually stone bars inside the stone door that would fall and lock it tight when the tomb was sealed, making it very difficult to open.

But now, the tomb chamber inside had collapsed, and the stone bars had snapped as a result, so with a bit of effort, the two of them slowly pushed it open.

*Whoosh~*

Sha Lifei lit a torch and shone it around, looking at the sides in confusion. "Why is there an archway? It wasn't written in the funeral register."

Wang Fu was also full of confusion. "What kind of burial style is this?"

They saw that behind the tomb door was another stone archway. Its form was very simple: two upright pillars with an 'I'-shaped top, and thick straw ropes hanging from it.

"This isn't called an archway..."

Li Yan frowned, his expression somewhat strange. "This object is called a torii, a structure found outside temples in Yingzhou."

He had felt it was strange just now, having a sense of familiarity, but he couldn't quite place it.

Now, looking carefully by torchlight, long-buried memories surfaced, and he immediately identified the object.

"Eastern Japan?"

Sha Lifei was stunned. What kind of place was that?

Wang Fu shook his head. "It's just the Japanese."

"Oh~" Sha Lifei suddenly realized, scratching his head. "That's strange, why have the Japanese popped up again?"

"Let's go, perhaps the answer is inside."

Li Yan's eyes were also filled with curiosity.

The further they went inside, the stranger the layout became.

Moreover, that putrid stench appeared once again.

Li Yan turned his head to look at the torii.

This thing was likely used to prevent the stench of the monster-calamity from leaking out.

The tomb passage along the way was in the style common in the Divine Land today, but it had some strange stone pillars added, all hung with straw ropes and white paper talismans.

However, most of the straw ropes had snapped, and the paper talismans were twisted and blackened.

The two styles were mixed together, looking very awkward.

Sha Lifei asked curiously, "What kind of thing is this? Could it be a Japanese talisman? Why is it still white? It's really bad luck..."

Finally, the three arrived at the central tomb chamber.

It was not large, octagonal in shape, corresponding to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams. The coffin was made of stone, carved with complex patterns, and there was a huge bronze mirror on the tomb ceiling.

However, the bronze mirror had already rusted, eroded by something, covered in black spots, and had a huge crack running through it.

More importantly, there were huge straw ropes outside the stone coffin as well, already decayed beyond recognition, mixed together with the white paper talismans hanging above, emitting a rotting stench.

This stench was very similar to the one at the Du family's home.

Li Yan was completely certain that this matter was related to the Japanese.

In his past-life memories, straw ropes and white talismans seemed to be methods used by the Japanese for sealing.

"Brother Li Yan, look here!"

Sha Lifei moved to the other side of the stone coffin, seemingly having discovered something, and hurriedly called the two over to look.

Li Yan went over upon hearing this, and Sha Lifei shone his torch.

They saw that the patterns on the coffin were actually many strange-looking monsters. One of them, with a bird's head and human body, was exactly the same as the monster-calamity they had seen at the Du family's home.

Next to it were also carved Chinese characters: Yinmoluo Ghost.

Li Yan frowned. "Daoist, I remember you once said that the monster-calamity had two other names, Rakshasa Bird and Yinmoluo Ghost?"

"Yes."

Wang Fu's expression was solemn. "Yinmoluo Ghost is the name used in Buddhist scriptures. Sure enough, there is a problem. To painstakingly lay out a plan for twenty years, it was actually to cultivate this evil creature."

As he spoke, he looked at the dense array of monsters above, killing intent rising in his eyes. "And what are these?"

Tree Spirits, Great Tengu, Mountain Children...

Looking at the names, one by one, that seemed familiar, past-life memories surfaced. Li Yan shook his head and said, "I have vaguely heard of these things. The Japanese call them the 'Hundred Ghosts Night Parade Scroll'."

"Hmph!"

Wang Fu's face looked grim. "A small barbarian nation, daring to cast spells and harm people in my Great Xuan! When I return, I will certainly report this to the Law Enforcement Hall and raze their mountains and destroy their temples!"

With that, the three of them pushed open the stone coffin lid.

Accompanied by a heavy grinding sound, the coffin lid was slowly lifted. Inside, there was actually another wooden coffin, but a large hole had been broken in the center of its lid.

Not only that, the coffin lid was also full of decay, but the inside was completely empty. Even the funerary objects had been ransacked and left in a mess; not a single valuable one remained, and the remaining porcelain pillows had all been smashed.

"Oh no!"

Sha Lifei exclaimed, "The grave rats got here first!"

Wang Fu also felt a headache. "What do we do now? The corpse is gone; it's impossible to perform the ritual to suppress the monster-calamity."

"It wasn't grave rats." Li Yan shook his head, looked around, and said in a deep voice, "The register Squire Du gave us didn't mention these arrangements. Since it concerns the fate of the Du family, he couldn't have messed around; he must have inspected it before sealing the tomb."

"These were all arranged later!"

As he spoke, he pinched a yang seal, took a deep breath, and the various scents in the tomb chamber flooded into his nostrils. Li Yan suddenly turned around, went to the Xun position of the Eight Trigrams, unleashed his hidden energy, and kicked out.

*Boom! *

Accompanied by a loud noise, the stone wall there shattered into pieces; it was only an inch thick. Behind the stone wall was a pitch-black cave.

Li Yan used the paper straw spirits to scout again, and after confirming there were no traps, he went ahead to lead the way, with Sha Lifei and Wang Fu following closely behind.

The cave was very long, and many footprints could be seen on the ground.

After walking about several hundred meters, a wooden board appeared at the end of the dirt cave. Li Yan went up and gave it a kick.

*Clatter, clatter! *

Mud, sand, and snow fell, and cold wind poured in.

Outside was actually a mountain hollow on the other side of the hills.

Looking out, everything around was pitch black, a vast expanse of snow.

!.

Sha Lifei said helplessly, "The snow is too heavy, it has already covered the tracks. Brother Li Yan, can you smell anything?"

Amidst the howling wind and snow, Li Yan shook his head slightly. "The wind is too strong; even if there was any scent left, it would have long since been blown away."

The three stood there for a long while, unable to think of a solution.

Wang Fu sighed. "Forget it, let's go back first and see if there's any other way to suppress the evil curse."

"So it was the Japanese playing tricks. Let's ask Squire Du if he ever had any grudges with anyone; maybe we can find the corpse..."

Since things had come to this, the three of them didn't delay any longer, returned to find their horses, and headed toward Guo-Du Town overnight...

…………

The Hour of the Rat arrived, and the Du family members had all left.

They held torches, looking from afar at the pitch-black mansion.

The winter night was cold, but the fear in their hearts was even more hair-raising.

*Whoosh~*

In the dark courtyard, in the area where the main hall was located, a sudden gale arose, accompanied by the sound of tables and chairs shattering.

After a long while of commotion, it gradually calmed down.

The Du family members were terrified, while Luo Faqing had long since set up a ritual altar, with flags inserted upside down into the ground.

Looking at the surrounding darkness, killing intent flickered in his eyes.

What he had awakened was the Will Yi Shentong. This ability had advantages in communicating with ghosts and gods, and many powerful shamans and spirit mediums also possessed this type, but his ability to scout was relatively weak.

Even so, Luo Faqing was very confident.

He could command three ghosts and gods and had reached the Third Floor of the Building; even among the disciples of the Shangshan Dharma Lineage, he was an outstanding talent, which was why he had been sent to Chang'an to assist Yue Fachong.

He wasn't good at warding off disasters or praying for blessings, but he was very confident in killing.

Unknowingly, the Hour of the Rat finally passed.

Everyone was shivering from the cold, but they didn't dare return to the Du mansion, waiting until after the Hour of the Tiger (03:00 to 05:00) before returning to the Du mansion with Luo Faqing's permission.

Arriving at the main hall and lighting the candles, everyone's eyes widened.

They saw that those paper figures had all turned charred and rotten, their heads, chests, and abdomens all torn to pieces.

Looking at the scene before them, a chill rose from their hearts.

Steward Wang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, trembling. Suddenly feeling a chill on his back, he turned his head and was stunned on the spot.

"Young... Young Master..."

Hearing his voice, everyone turned around hurriedly.

They saw that in the dark courtyard, a child was standing there at some point, dressed in tattered clothes, barefoot, his skin frozen purple and blue.

He stood in the courtyard, silently lowering his head.

"My son!"

Seeing his son in such a pitiful state, Du An and his wife lost control, crying out in grief, and were about to rush out.

"Don't move, he is no longer human!"

Luo Faqing shouted angrily, stopping everyone, while pinching a magic seal, pulling out a paper talisman, and throwing it out violently.

In the eyes of the crowd, the paper talisman was just burning in the air.

However, a scorching blast of energy had already surged out.

*Crack! *

The child's head suddenly twisted in an unnatural posture, and then he crawled on the snow like a spider, dodging Luo Faqing's attack.

At this point, everyone could see that this was not a human.

Du An and his wife went limp, no longer feeling fear, only heart-wrenching pain, and wailed loudly.

Squire Du also clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with tears.

When the child hadn't appeared, there was still a glimmer of hope, but in this state, everyone knew he was completely beyond saving and had even been reduced to a puppet for the monster-person.

*Swish, swish, swish! *

The child moved on all fours, his movements extremely fast. While dodging Luo Faqing, he seemed to be trying to rush into the main hall to harm people.

However, Luo Faqing was at the peak of hidden energy and possessed excellent swordsmanship. He pinched a magic seal and picked up the magic seal at his waist.

He had already seen that the child had become a walking corpse.

It was not appropriate to use ghosts and gods to deal with such evil things, and there was no time to summon them, but the child was still far from breaking through his defense.

*Bang! *

Finally, using the same method again.

The magic seal struck the sword hilt, and the walking corpse was hit as if by lightning, sent flying several meters away.

This technique was called the "Sword of Suppressing Evil by Commanding Soldiers," an ancient method from the Qin Palace, somewhat like Li Yan's Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coins, using the energy of the pole star to suppress all evil.

Suffering this blow, the small walking corpse could no longer bear it, crawled over the wall like a spider, and fled rapidly into the dark, snowy night...

"Stop crying!"

Listening to the weeping around him, Luo Faqing shouted angrily, "If you want to find the real culprit, then be quiet!"

With that, he jumped into the courtyard and inserted the magic flags into the ground.

*Whoosh~*

In an instant, a cold wind rose and flew into the night sky.

After an unknown amount of time, the cold wind rose again around them, and the magic artifacts fluttered violently. Luo Faqing put away the magic flags and looked into the distance, deep in thought.

"Daoist Luo, did you find it?"

Squire Du asked hurriedly.

Luo Faqing shook his head. "Don't be impatient. I already know the location. Don't fall for a diversionary tactic; let's wait for Daoist Wang and the others to return before deciding..."

…………

"Daoist Wang is back!"

Just past the Hour of the Snake (09:00 to 11:00), Li Yan and his two companions, who had traveled all night, finally returned, all shivering from the cold.

"Quick! Quick! Ginger soup!"

Steward Wang hurriedly led people to receive them.

After two bowls of hot ginger soup, the three finally regained their senses.

Sha Lifei cursed, "Damn it, a wasted trip. We rushed back overnight, fearing something would happen."

Luo Faqing frowned. "You didn't succeed?"

Wang Fu nodded and looked to the side. "Squire Du, have you ever had any grudges with the Japanese?"

"The Japanese!"

Squire Du was even more astonished. "This old man has never known any Japanese, and besides, the person who set the trap at that time had a handsome face and an air of nobility; he absolutely could not be a Japanese slave."

"That's strange..."

Li Yan and his two companions were also at a loss.

"The Japanese actually dare to come to Great Xuan to cause trouble? They're courting death!"

Luo Faqing also stood up, slamming the table, not hiding the killing intent in his eyes. "But it doesn't matter. No matter who is playing tricks, it's not important."

"Last night, I tracked and found the monster-person's nest."

Li Yan's eyes lit up. "Oh, where is it?"

Luo Faqing looked into the distance. "It's in a mountain valley near Xiangji Temple. You should have heard of that place."

"South of Xiangji Temple."

"The site of that war from years ago..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 148 =====