Chapter 199: Undercurrents Emerging

"Careful, don't move around!"

Li Yan gave a low shout, protecting Sha Lifei and Lu San behind him.

The orthodox troops were coming in overwhelming numbers; Wang Daoxuan naturally knew how to deal with it, but Sha Lifei and Lu San had no experience and had to be reminded.

At such a time, the most taboo thing was to move around randomly.

Li Yan smelled the aura; the ones coming should be the Society Command troops.

Although this kind of troop was relatively stable and wouldn't mess around, they were, after all, a large area of Yin ghosts; if not controlled properly, it was very likely they would collide with people.

"Don't move around!"

On the other side, the Daoist of the Taixuan True Sect also reminded loudly.

At this moment, a violent wind was already blowing around, and leaves were flying everywhere.

Thick Yin fog surged, obscuring the moonlight, making it impossible to see one's fingers, and one could only hear all kinds of strange rustling sounds in the violent wind...

All the soldiers felt a chill surging in their hearts.

They stood trembling on the spot, not daring to move around.

Fortunately, they didn't light torches, otherwise, seeing white frost spreading on the ground and countless footprints appearing out of thin air, they might have been scared into running around everywhere.

Within a few breaths, the violent wind had already gone far away.

The enemies opposite them had already stopped moving.

And on the hillside in the distance, the firelight was constantly extinguished, as if the entire village stronghold was gradually swallowed by darkness.

Li Yan looked into the distance, his face solemn.

No wonder the troops were so valued; this overwhelming momentum, without sufficient protection, couldn't be blocked at all.

The stronghold opposite clearly didn't have this ability.

"Company Commander Huang, it's okay."

Seeing that there was no movement on the mountain, the Daoist turned around and nodded slightly.

"Light the torches, take the people!"

Company Commander Huang gave an order, and countless torches were lit instantly.

The firelight was raging, dispelling the darkness, and also making the soldiers' fear disappear.

Everyone walked forward holding torches, and before long, they found quite a few people lying on the ground, all wearing coarse cloth clothes, covered in patches.

Looking at them, although they looked like ordinary down-and-out refugees, everyone was holding knives and weapons, their web spaces between thumb and index finger were full of calluses, clearly all practitioners.

Caught a big fish!

Company Commander Huang's face was slightly happy, and he hurriedly stepped forward, found several people at random, pulled their collars, and all had a fierce beast tattooed on them, resembling a tiger, and also had a pair of wings.

"Sure enough, it's the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect!"

Fierce light appeared in Company Commander Huang's eyes, and he turned around and shouted sternly: "Tie them all up, don't let a single one go!"

Even the Taixuan Orthodox Sect wouldn't use troops for large-scale slaughter, so as not to be backlashed by blood energy and cause the troops to lose control.

Therefore, these people were all unconscious due to the impact of the Yin evil aura; they looked motionless, but they hadn't lost their lives.

The garrison soldiers immediately stepped forward, took out hemp ropes, and tied everyone up tightly, everyone beaming with joy.

This was simply a merit picked up for nothing, and the rewards in the army wouldn't be lacking.

Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect?

Hearing this, Li Yan's expression changed slightly.

He naturally had heard of the name of the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect.

The most recent large-scale refugee riot in Jingsiang occurred decades ago, organized by a martial world hero named "Lord Lord Tian Sheng King".

It was rumored that the other party was not only a master of Gang Strength but also possessed strange arts, could summon gods and drive ghosts, and command demon troops to fight, which was very powerful.

After his death, an organization called the "Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect" rose in the Jingchu area; although its momentum was not as good as the Mile Sect, it entrenched itself in the mountains, often opposed the imperial court, and committed quite a few cases.

Just last year, they even organized an attack on Shangyong County City.

He had thought these people were tattooed with winged tigers, but if it was the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect, then what they were tattooed with was another fierce beast: Qiongqi!

The Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect also had its eyes on new-style gunpowder?

Li Yan and Sha Lifei looked at each other, both with solemn expressions.

This pool of water was terrifyingly muddy...

Thinking of this, Li Yan quickened his pace.

His goal was to use the Commandant's Office's hand to find the old monk who practiced the Fox Heart Art and complete the Yin Office mission.

It was better to stay away from this muddy water as soon as possible.

The relationship between refugees and the imperial court was a mess.

For refugees, they just wanted to farm peacefully, not be bullied and exploited by the government and local gentry, but someone insisted on making them bow their heads...

But for the imperial court, this was simply a big thunder in the heart of the Divine Land; if it wasn't solved for one day, they wouldn't be at ease for one day.

Li Yan truly didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing...

Just as that ghost fox said, the stronghold here was very secret, located on the hillside, covered by high mountains and dense forests, and surrounded by formations.

Li Yan walked past and saw that in the dense forest around, many tree trunks had been hollowed out, with shrines and tablets placed inside, and traces of incense offerings.

This was to worship Yin gods for protection; if outsiders approached, they would encounter ghost walls and subconsciously avoid this place, and wild beasts wouldn't dare to approach either.

No wonder the ghost fox said it was difficult to enter; with so many Yin god tablets, if there were no troops to charge, they would also fall into it.

And now, these Yin gods had probably all been captured by the Society Command troops and taken back to the City God Temple for training to replenish their troops.

Along the way, quite a few people were lying unconscious on the ground.

Just like before, they were all Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect followers.

But entering the stronghold, it was another scene.

This stronghold was not small in scale, with crisscrossing fields, all rice paddies, and small bags hanging around the pond.

This thing is called a "hanging bag" in the folk, which is wrapping seeds in straw and hanging them by the pond to sprout.

Besides that, there was a small Earth Temple at the entrance of the village, with bags of seeds placed in front of the statue, which was asking the god to look after the seeds.

Unfortunately, even the Earth god they worshipped had been captured...

Outside a wooden residential building, an old man was lying unconscious on the ground holding a child, the look of terror on his face still not dissipated, and they were all tied up by the soldiers.

Wang Daoxuan sighed, not knowing what to say.

Even Lu San's face turned ugly.

Company Commander Huang on the side seemed to guess what they were thinking and said calmly: "Don't worry, except for the remnants of the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect, the elderly and children will be fine and will be arranged to go to a refugee village specially opened."

"The land there is fertile, and the environment is much better than here; as long as they farm peacefully and don't mix with the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect, they can live in peace until old age."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head slightly, "Although it is dangerous in the mountains, there is no one to control them; the common people are not livestock, and it's not enough just to have something to eat. Moreover, if their fathers are beheaded, the hatred will only be buried in their hearts."

"No matter how much hatred there is, it will be dispersed by time!"

Company Commander Huang's expression didn't change, and he said coldly: "Under the whole heaven, is it not the king's land? If they had peacefully hidden in the mountains, it would be fine, but someone insisted on not being peaceful and would eventually be used as pawns."

"If they had peacefully stayed in the mountains, the case in Shangjin City wouldn't have happened!"

Wang Daoxuan sighed and stopped talking.

Lu San hesitated for a moment and asked: "Can't we just catch the ones who did evil?"

"No."

Company Commander Huang shook his head directly, "Some evil people are best at using ghosts and gods to bewitch people; this place must be a stronghold of the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect."

"I only came to catch people; if things blow up in the future, the army will come, and the entire village will be razed to the ground, leaving not a blade of grass!"

Seeming not wanting to talk more with the few, he quickened his pace and ordered in a deep voice: "Release the mountain-guarding dogs, search carefully!"

The Commandant's Office had brought mountain-guarding dogs when entering the mountains, but their mouths were muzzled, and they had been trained, so they didn't make any sound.

Woof, woof, woof!

As soon as the muzzles were removed, they barked wildly.

They were leading the fierce dogs to search everywhere in the village.

Soon, there was a discovery.

"Lord, there is a secret passage here!"

"The people inside are unconscious!"

"Bring them all out!" Near a large mansion by the pond, the people from the Commandant's Office found a secret passage; the inside had been completely hollowed out, and quite a few people were working inside.

As the things inside were moved out one by one, not only Li Yan but also the others had their expressions change drastically.

Charcoal, saltpeter, sulfur, animal fat...

This was clearly a gunpowder production point; although it was just ordinary black gunpowder, the quantity was truly astonishing, and it would be enough to blow up the entire Shangjin City.

And in the mansion on the other side of the pond was the area for making firearms; besides ordinary explosive bags, there were also some extremely precise firearms, such as fierce oil carts, fire caltrops, and so on.

"Good, it's actually here!"

Company Commander Huang's eyes were full of surprise, and even Company Commander Liu next to him was trembling with excitement, saying excitedly: "Lord, gunpowder has been flowing out from the black markets in Shaanxi, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan, but the source could never be found; I'm afraid we've touched a big fish..."

Li Yan and the others exchanged glances when they heard this.

The people from the Commandant's Office could never find the source of the gunpowder case in the ancient tomb in Chang'an; it turned out to be in this Jingchu mountain area.

This matter had blown up.

You have to know that making gunpowder wasn't easy; manpower was just one of them, and many materials had to be transported back from other states.

!.

Selling them to other states also had to pass through many checkpoints.

How many people were involved in this?

Thinking about it made one's scalp tingle...

Seeing this, Li Yan made a firm decision.

This pool of muddy water absolutely could not be waded into again!

He pinched the Yang Seal and walked around the village.

Finally, he stopped in front of the village ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall was full of raging torches, and quite a few soldiers were searching, and the people from the Commandant's Office were also turning around everywhere with mountain-guarding dogs.

Here, Li Yan's supernatural powers couldn't smell half a scent.

However, the Hook Order became somewhat scorching.

He walked in calmly.

"Mr. Li, hello!"

Immediately, several soldiers and people from the Commandant's Office nodded and asked.

Li Yan was only cooperating with Company Commander Huang temporarily, and there were some small frictions in between, but everyone had seen his skills, so they were very respectful.

"Did you find anything?"

Li Yan pretended to be calm and asked casually.

A young man from the Commandant's Office stepped forward and cupped his hands: "Mr. Li, this is the village ancestral hall; according to the inscription, they are Lu surnamed people from Henan, who moved here during the chaos of the Song and Jin Dynasties."

"Also, they worship the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Duke."

Saying this, he pointed to the inside of the ancestral hall.

Li Yan looked up and saw a statue standing on the altar of the ancestral hall; its figure was quite tall, with prominent brow bones, deep features, and a long beard hanging over its chest, quite domineering.

Looking at the features, it actually had some foreign bloodline.

More importantly, this so-called "Lord Lord Tian Sheng Duke" was actually wearing imperial robes and a crown, embroidered with the sun, moon, and stars.

This was a specification only emperors had.

"Truly looking for death..."

Seeing this, Li Yan couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

"Truly looking for death!" Company Commander Huang also walked in, and seeing the statue, his face turned gloomy, "I've long heard that this Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect worships dead ghosts as god masters, trying to gather people to rebel again."

"Hmph, they were beheaded while alive, and now they are dead, what's the use!"

"I'm not talking about him."

Li Yan shook his head slightly, and when he walked to the pillar of the ancestral hall, his long blade suddenly shook, and he stabbed it into the pillar with a squelch.

Bang!

The wood shattered, and a figure leaped out, bald and in black robes; it was exactly the Monk Kuxin who had escaped.

The other party was also cunning.

Ordinary people hiding would either be in a cellar or inside a statue, but he hollowed out the pillar of the ancestral hall, and he didn't know what technique he used, but he could actually avoid the investigation of hunting dogs and supernatural powers.

If it weren't for the Hook Order being hot, Li Yan really wouldn't have found this person.

"Little thief, looking for death!"

This monk was found, and he was immediately furious.

He had extraordinary skills, clearly reaching the peak of Dark Strength; with a few palms, he sent the surrounding soldiers flying, hitting the wall, and spitting blood.

"Vajra Palm?"

Company Commander Huang snorted coldly, wiped his hand, and actually drew a soft sword with a clang; the sword flowers were like flying snow and frost, and he was about to rush up to meet the enemy.

Li Yan naturally attacked with his blade already held.

He used a clever force, as if shrinking the ground into an inch.

Just then, Monk Kuxin suddenly took out a copper tube from his bosom and pulled the iron chain behind it.

Damn it!

Li Yan's scalp exploded, hurriedly dodged, and even kicked Company Commander Huang, who was following behind, flying.

It's a Nether Fire Gun!

He had obtained two before, so he naturally knew their power.

After using them all up, he even dismantled them, thinking about restoring them or finding the method of making them.

However, not only were the mechanisms inside ingenious, but the formula for the phosphorus fire and grease filled inside was even more unclear.

He didn't expect to encounter it again here.

As for Company Commander Huang, whether Lu San could get rid of the wanted warrant depended on this person's help, so Li Yan naturally wouldn't let him die.

He kicked with such force that Company Commander Huang flew out directly, hit the pillar, and fell dizzy.

But just as he was about to curse, he was shocked in his heart.

Whoosh~

The scorching flowing fire had already gushed out, grease splattered everywhere, and spraying on the ground, it could actually burn fiercely, with thick smoke rising.

Company Commander Huang was startled and hurriedly hid behind the pillar.

Seeing that several people had escaped, and there were large numbers of troops outside the ancestral hall, Monk Kuxin gritted his teeth, his eyes full of determination.

He took off the incense bag from his waist, took out a shriveled heart from inside, placed it by his mouth, and sucked violently.

In an instant, a cold wind blew around.

A visible purple thick smoke gushed out from the heart and was sucked into his mouth.

"Hee hee... ha ha ha!"

It seemed there was a strange woman's laughter echoing in the wind.

At the same time, Monk Kuxin was also trembling all over, his head swaying back and forth in an abnormal posture, blood vessels in his eyes burst, completely turning into a blood color.

Swish!

His figure flashed, his movements were shockingly fast, and he directly reached the wall, grabbing an unconscious soldier.

With a squelch, he used his hand to break open the soldier's chest and abdomen, grabbed the heart that was beating wildly, and placed it by his mouth to suck lightly.

The blood energy turned into red mist and surged into his mouth, and the strange aura on his body became more and more powerful.

"Demon!"

Company Commander Huang felt his scalp tingle.

And on the other side, Li Yan was already holding the Hook Order, pinching the seal at the same time, and chanting in a deep voice: "Heaven has discipline, earth has rules, Yin Office arrests souls, mortals avoid!"

In an instant, the cold wind around stopped.

An invisible force rose from the ground, the entire ancestral hall instantly became cold and gloomy, and all the firelight extinguished.

The ancestral hall was pitch black, and Li Yan only felt the surrounding sounds disappear instantly, like the state of entering meditation during cultivation.

Clatter, clatter... the sound of chains.

At this moment, everyone could hear it.

At the same time, in the darkness, a sharp woman's voice also came from Monk Kuxin's mouth, and then disappeared along with the sound of chains...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 200 =====