Chapter 198: Entering the Forest Late at Night

Demon Fox!

Li Yan's expression froze, and vigilance rose in his heart.

He could clearly smell the cold evil aura on the old fox from far away, comparable to some temple Yin gods.

Foxes, as long as they develop spirituality and have cultivation, can be called demon foxes.

But demon foxes are also divided into good and bad; generally speaking, they are divided into three types:

Wild fox, ghost fox, and heavenly fox.

All fox demons with cultivation can be called "wild foxes"; wearing skulls on their heads and worshipping the moon at night is called wild fox Zen.

As their cultivation increases, they not only can cast spells to bewitch people but also, like humans summoning troops, can collect a large number of Yin objects and demon ghosts as subordinates, which can be called "ghost foxes".

At this point, it is basically the peak of fox demon cultivation.

As for the legendary heavenly fox, it needs great opportunity, is very spiritual, and its wisdom is far beyond that of ordinary people.

In ancient times, it was sometimes seen as an auspicious sign.

Of course, if it takes an evil path, it can also wreak havoc on the world.

The one in front of him was clearly a ghost fox.

Li Yan could smell that there were at least dozens of ghosts around the other party.

Such a situation naturally alarmed the Commandant's Office. They were vigilant and bent their bows and set their arrows one after another.

"Don't move around!"

Lu San suddenly shouted, full of tension, staring fixedly ahead and whispering: "Leave it to me to handle."

After saying that, he slowed his pace and walked toward the ghost fox.

Halfway there, he stopped and mimicked the fox's cry, seemingly wanting to communicate with the ghost fox.

However, unexpectedly, the ghost fox opened its mouth, but it wasn't a fox cry, but a "cluck-cluck-clatter," making a strange sound.

Upper Language!

A sharp glint flashed in Li Yan's eyes.

Upper Language is the language of communication between spirits.

This ghost fox could command many ghosts, cast spells, and speak Upper Language, able to communicate with various existences; it could be called a local tyrant in the mountains and forests.

Even tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves had to hide and walk away.

With its help, many things became simple.

The people of the Commandant's Office also held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

"Cluck-cluck-clatter-clatter..."

Lu San's Upper Language was very proficient, going back and forth with the ghost fox, seemingly negotiating; for a while, swords were drawn, and for a while, the atmosphere eased...

Finally, the ghost fox stopped communicating, looked at everyone deeply, leaped up, and disappeared into the jungle.

The surrounding cold wind and thick fog also disappeared accordingly.

The bright moon shone, and the previous events felt like a dream...

"How is it?"

Company Commander Huang Wenzhong couldn't wait to ask.

He was also extremely anxious in his heart; this case involved new-style gunpowder, which was a task that could cost him his head.

But the opponent was cunning, and all clues had been broken.

If it weren't for this, why would he compromise with Li Yan.

Lu San was not good at communicating with people and had no good feelings for the government officials, so he ignored him, but looked at Li Yan and said: "This old fox really has news."

"The monk who escaped is hiding in a stronghold in the mountains, but the old fox said there is a god in the stronghold, and they can't get close at all."

"Also, there is a person in the stronghold who can cast thunder fire; this forest originally had a fox immortal with deep cultivation, protecting all the fox clans nearby, but was killed by that person with thunder fire, and its heart was dissected to practice sorcery."

"That stronghold is extremely secret; the old fox agreed to lead the way, but there is a condition: the person who killed the fox immortal must die."

"And, the fox immortal's heart must be returned."

"This matter is easy to handle!"

Company Commander Huang agreed without hesitation; he turned around and ordered in a deep voice: "Company Commander Wang, immediately gather all the manpower; we will enter the forest tonight to take the person!"

Li Yan frowned and reminded: "Lord, don't forget, the old fox said the stronghold is protected by a god; there must be a sorcerer helping..."

"Don't worry, Little Brother Li."

Company Commander Huang didn't seem to care and said coldly: "Knowing that there is a sorcerer causing mischief, how could this official be unprepared? We will just enter the forest; the people from the Law Enforcement Hall will arrive later."

Hearing this, Li Yan didn't say more.

It was not surprising that the Law Enforcement Hall would participate in such a big case involving fierce evil arts.

Soon, a large number of people gathered at the city gate.

The Commandant's Office attached great importance to this case; this time, two hundred people were sent, all elite experts, plus the garrison soldiers here, which was more than enough to attack a bandit stronghold.

Seeing that everyone had gathered, Lu San didn't talk nonsense and walked straight toward the dense forest, with Li Yan and the others following closely to protect him.

They had already reached a deal with the Commandant's Office, so naturally, they had to be attentive.

They walked at the very front, Company Commander Huang followed closely with two Company Commanders, and experts scattered around to scout the way.

As for the large number of troops, they followed a hundred meters behind.

This was the formation for entering the forest, with scouts and support, so they wouldn't be wiped out if they fell into an encirclement.

Once something happened, they could also close in quickly.

However, facts proved that they were doing something unnecessary.

Along the way, not even a wild beast was seen in the forest; it seemed that all living things were deliberately avoiding them, with only a few ghost fires floating ahead, guiding the way.

Seeing this, Company Commander Huang couldn't help but feel secretly alarmed.

The Jingchu mountain area had always been a major concern for the imperial court.

This vast mountain area starts from Mount Zhongnan in the west, reaches Mount Tongbai and Mount Dabie in the southeast, Mount Funiu in the northeast, and Mount Jing in the south... the range is extremely astonishing.

Not only that, but here the mountains are continuous, the rivers are winding, the forests are deep, and it is sparsely populated, with fertile soil; the southerners are good at water farming, and the northerners are good at land planting.

It can be said that refugees can survive once they come here.

Is this a good thing?

It's a good thing for the common people; every time there is war, drought, or locust plague in the world, or when the government's exploitation is harsh and people can't make a living, they just need to escape to these mountains to survive.

Planting a few acres of good land without the government's control can be called happy.

But it's not a good thing for the imperial court.

Throughout the dynasties, refugees swarmed in; just the surface statistics alone reached millions, and they were not under the imperial court's control.

If used by someone with ulterior motives, one order could shake the Divine Land.

Therefore, successive dynasties often forcibly drove away and sent refugees back to their hometowns, causing the contradictions between the two sides to intensify, leading to several large-scale refugee uprisings in Jingsiang.

The Great Xuan Dynasty established Yunyang Prefecture to deal with this matter.

Although Yunyang Governor Yuan Jun had governed effectively over the years, and under various preferential policies, many refugees had moved out, it still couldn't be eradicated.

Whenever there was a disaster in various states, refugees would always drill into here.

Many wanted people from the martial world, evil sorcerers, and even many secret sects would choose to take root in this mountain area.

Moreover, this is also a place where ancient Chu witchcraft prevails, and remnants of the ancient Sanmiao tribe still exist, and strange and bizarre things often happen.

Whether it was the Taixuan Orthodox Sect or their Commandant's Office, they couldn't completely infiltrate their power into the mountain area.

Sometimes he even felt.

This mountain area itself had a deep hostility toward the imperial court.

Several times when people were sent deep inside, they would inexplicably encounter ghost walls.

Being this relaxed was the first time.

Thinking of this, Company Commander Huang couldn't help but look at Lu San, his eyes gradually softening, as if looking at a treasure...

Walking in the forest at night was very difficult.

Even if all the wild beasts avoided them and there was no disturbance from Yin objects, the complex terrain and difficult roads also made the soldiers secretly complain.

Plus, Company Commander Huang forbade lighting fires, so it was pitch black, and people were tripped by tree roots from time to time, and some even rolled down slopes.

Finally, after walking for an hour, Lu San raised his hand abruptly.

"Stop!"

Deep in the dense forest, there seemed to be the cry of a fox.

He listened intently, then turned around and said: "It's on the hillside ahead, but the other party not only has secret sentries but also deployed Yin ghosts to guard."

"That's enough, finding the place is fine!"

Company Commander Huang's eyes lit up with joy, and he smiled kindly: "Brother Lu San has worked hard; leave the rest to us." Before he called him Lu San, now he directly became brother.

Looking at his gaze, Lu San was clearly uncomfortable and hurriedly lowered his head to hide behind Li Yan.

"Hmph!"

Sha Lifei snorted, took off his water bottle from his waist, and laughed: "Come, Brother Lu San, drink some water; sit here, it's cleaner."

He was an old slicker and saw at a glance that Company Commander Huang had ill intentions.

Lu San was a treasure of their team; how could he let others pry him away.

"Old Sha, you... don't be like this."

Lu San felt more and more uncomfortable.

Li Yan laughed dumbly and couldn't be bothered to care.

The Commandant's Office wanting to pry people away was really looking in the wrong place.

They were nothing more than using benefits and official positions to lure people, but they didn't understand at all that these things had no attraction to some people.

!.

Seeing the reaction of the few, Company Commander Huang was not embarrassed, smiled slightly, turned around, and his expression became serious, "Get ready, wait for the people from the Law Enforcement Hall to come!"

Just as he said, the people from the Law Enforcement Hall had already set off, and everyone waited for less than half an hour before three Daoists arrived floating.

These three didn't talk nonsense when they came; one climbed high to look at the Qi, one listened intently, and then began to set up the Dharma altar.

As for the leading Daoist, he stood in front holding a sword.

Li Yan knew that the three were going to summon troops.

He watched secretly alarmed; he didn't expect them to make such a big scene as soon as they arrived, without any hesitation.

Clearly, the situation in Yunyang Prefecture was very severe.

Two Daoists cooperated, stepping on the Big Dipper and walking the steps more rapidly, lighting talisman paper, waving the Dharma sword, and three Gang Commands soared into the sky instantly.

There were sorcerers in the stronghold on the mountain; such a big movement naturally couldn't be hidden from the other party, and soon firelight lit up, accompanied by noisy human voices, and a cold wind howled over.

"Hmph!"

The leading Daoist took off a bamboo talisman from his waist, stepped on the Big Dipper, pinched the Dharma seal with both hands, and chanted: "Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing!"

This sorcery was naturally familiar to Li Yan.

This was the Mountain-Clearing Ghost Method, which Luo Mingzi had used before; it required chanting the Six Jia Invocation for Entering the Mountain and also required the Dharma artifact "Upper Mysterious Bamboo Envoy Talisman" to cooperate.

The troops of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect hadn't arrived yet; this spell could drive away Yin ghosts and block the other party from making trouble.

Whoosh!

In an instant, a violent wind blew around, but there was no sense of eeriness, and a deterrent aura also rose from the Daoist.

The soldiers watched in fear, only feeling a sudden wind, and from the dark dense forest in the distance, many strange rustling sounds came.

Li Yan had already secretly pinched the Yang Seal.

He could smell cold, bloody auras circling around, not driven away by the Daoist's Mountain-Clearing Ghost Method, but constantly probing, circling from the side, wanting to attack those soldiers.

All are Chang troops!

Li Yan instantly knew the background of these Yin objects.

Chang troops are brave and fierce, wanton and rampant; clearly, the Mountain-Clearing Ghost Method didn't scare these things away.

Seeing this, the Daoist's face was clearly somewhat unable to hold up, and he snorted angrily: "Monsters and demons, you don't know what's good for you!"

He took out a yellow talisman from his bosom, pinched the Dharma seal, wiped it on the long sword, and the talisman paper ignited instantly, and the long sword was also attached with a layer of Gang Sha.

Leaping up, he slashed and killed.

Seeing this, Li Yan was speechless.

The Law Enforcement Hall generally had two types of Daoists.

One had opened the body root, specializing in close-quarters combat, assisted by sorcery.

The other mainly focused on setting up Dharma altars.

This Daoist had good skills; looking at the situation, he was almost at the peak of Dark Strength, his sword technique combining hardness and softness, which should be Wudang sword technique.

His cultivation was also about two stories high, much inferior to Luo Mingzi, and dealing with the current situation was also somewhat strenuous.

Waving and slashing with a sword... the speed of Yin objects is far faster than humans!

"Daoist, do it and help!"

Li Yan shouted in a deep voice, and immediately took out the Divine Tiger Command from his waist, stepped on the Big Dipper, and chanted in a deep voice: "Nuo Gao, left carries three stars, right carries three prisons, heaven turns and earth flips, nine paths are all blocked, making you lose your heart... quickly as the law commands!"

What he used was exactly the Northern Emperor Body-Protecting Spell.

"Roar——!"

In everyone's ears, it seemed they all heard the sound of a tiger roar, and many people from the Commandant's Office turned their heads abruptly, looking at Li Yan, their eyes full of suspicion.

They felt that the person in front of them seemed to have turned into a fierce beast.

However, the "Northern Emperor Body-Protecting Spell" was far from just scaring people; its true power lay in hurting the soul, causing dizziness in the light, and falling into illusions in the heavy.

When Li Yan first saw the Tiger Daoist, he was shocked by the other party's sorcery because he moved the Dharma artifact recklessly, almost falling into a faint.

Before, his cultivation was not deep, and he could only use it to scare wild beasts.

And now, he could already hurt the divine soul.

Sure enough, the tiger roar rose, the surrounding cold wind became chaotic, and those few Chang troops lost their footing, bumping left and right.

"Good method!"

The Daoist cheered, rushed straight to a Chang troop, slashed and stabbed with his long sword, beating the other party until its soul flew away and scattered.

Subsequently, he pinched the Dharma seal again, his fingers changed continuously, and he slapped his palm to the right, accompanied by a muffled sound, and the cold wind howled.

It was exactly the Mystic Sect Palm Thunder, which shook away a Chang troop.

Seeing Li Yan's sorcery was sharp, he secretly harbored a desire to compete, so he directly used Palm Thunder.

But secretly peeking, he was secretly alarmed.

Li Yan on that side didn't even draw his blade, also pinched the Dharma seal, his palm crackled, and with a light slap, he directly beat a Chang troop away.

Yin Thunder Palm?

Not a traveling sorcerer; ordinary Dharma paths wouldn't know this!

But something even more speechless happened to him.

The long-bearded Daoist, who originally looked unremarkable, drew a copper coin sword from behind, pinched the Dharma seal, and wiped it lightly; a heart-stopping Gang Sha aura rose instantly.

The Daoist pinched the Dharma seal, waved left, and slashed right.

The Chang troops more than ten meters away directly had their souls fly away and scatter.

Cellar-stored flower money, Evil-Warding Ghost-Fighting Sword!

The Daoist's eyes turned red with envy.

This level of Dharma artifact could already be turned into a small situation, borrowing the Gang momentum to slash ghosts; he traveled everywhere performing tasks and accumulated Yin merit, but he couldn't afford it.

And the Dharma artifact used by the young man just now was also extraordinary.

Where did these guys come from?

How come they are so rich...

After Li Yan beat away the nearby Chang troops, he stopped and watched Wang Daoxuan show off his power, feeling emotional in his heart.

Back at Li Family Fort, one Chang troop almost cost him his life.

And now, he could suppress and kill it with a wave of his hand.

On Mount Huashan, many Mystic Sect experts gathered, and he felt like a small fry, completely insignificant.

Only now did he truly feel the growth...

Suddenly, he twitched his nose, turned around abruptly, and said in a deep voice: "Someone is coming, be careful of hidden arrows!"

Swish, swish, swish!

As soon as the words fell, sounds of breaking through the air came.

The other party was still far away, just listening to the wind and identifying the position, shooting arrows randomly; when the arrows arrived, they were already weak.

Li Yan drew his precious blade with a clang, slashing left and right, and the incoming arrows were all blocked, protecting Wang Daoxuan and the others tightly.

For him, the dark night was no different from broad daylight.

The Commandant's Office side suffered, and several people groaned after being hit by arrows, while the rest bent their bows and shot arrows back randomly.

Whoosh~

Just then, the wind rose around them again.

The troops of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect finally arrived.

Soon, cold winds howled between heaven and earth, and sand and stones flew...

The third update will be released a bit later

Also, recommending a book with the same folklore theme.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 199 =====