Chapter 209: The Black Hand Emerges

"It's that person from the Meishan Sect!"

Wang Wang Daoxuan squatted down and looked around, saying in a low voice, "Before hunting, the Meishan Sect often performs pre-hunting sacrifices, burning incense to invite spirits. The powerful ones will even have 'Chang' soldiers following them to perform hunting techniques."

"This is a pre-hunting sacrifice; the other party should have discovered something."

Li Yan pinched the Yang-Jue, took a deep breath, frowned, and said in a low voice, "It rained continuously for the past two days, and the scent has been washed away. I will go down to scout the path; you all follow later."

With that, he leaped and jumped down the steep slope.

His eyesight was extraordinary, and his movement technique was agile, moving left and right, every time stepping on exposed rocks to borrow force.

It looked like he was moving fast, but he was surprisingly steady.

Before long, his figure disappeared into the dense forest.

At the same time, accompanied by a falcon's cry, the falcon on Lu San's shoulder also soared into the sky, circling above the dense forest as a guide.

The falcon's eyesight was extremely sharp, far surpassing even occultists who had awakened the Eye-Opening supernatural ability.

If Li Yan encountered danger or fought with someone, the falcon could warn them immediately, allowing the others to provide support.

By day, there were Lu San's poisonous hornet swarms,

By night, there were Wang Wang Daoxuan's 'Chang' soldiers.

No matter the situation, they had countermeasures.

This was no longer just about tacit understanding; along the way, whenever they gathered during leisure time without outsiders, they would always discuss various tactics.

Each had their own strengths, plus Li Yan's various ingenious ideas, the power of their cooperation far exceeded fighting alone.

Lin Yu on the side watched with secret shock.

Although he lacked experience, his natural aptitude was amazing, plus his master was also an extraordinary person, so naturally, he couldn't be viewed with common sense.

If it weren't for this, he wouldn't have had the guts to travel alone.

But compared to these people, he was far behind.

Many things he considered dangerous, such as forest scouting, these people could minimize hidden dangers with simple cooperation.

Looking at it, it was naturally invincible.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel envious, but then his eyes dimmed, and he shook his head.

This solo trip was already willful.

The family had already exerted their influence. Unless he intentionally messed up this imperial examination, at worst, he could be a county official near his hometown.

At that time, there would be no more room for willfulness...

The others naturally didn't know what he was thinking. They found a relatively flat hillside, helped each other, and headed toward the mountain hollow.

After all, their physical skills couldn't compare to Li Yan's, and Wang Wang Daoxuan hadn't practiced martial arts, so they could only slow down.

Half a stick of incense later, they finally met up with Li Yan.

"Who did this?"

The scene before them surprised the group.

What they didn't expect was that although this wealthy young master Lin Yu was fat, he was unusually agile, jumping over slopes without slowing down at all.

It looked extremely bloody.

"This is a method to lure prey."

Lin Yu looked around and felt murderous intent rise in his eyes, "Judging by the clothing, it's a local mountain person. It was mostly likely done by that Meishan Sect person!"

This was his first time seeing such a bloody scene.

They didn't treat human life as anything at all.

"This person was already dead before being used as bait."

Li Yan was lost in thought. He picked up a stone from the ground, dark strength erupted, and he flicked his hand. The stone whistled out.

Bang!

The hemp rope was broken, and the body fell heavily.

Li Yan covered his nose, stepped forward, squatted down, and twisted the body's head to the side, immediately revealing the wound on its neck.

It was tattered, as if something had torn off the skin.

"It was bitten by a zombie!"

Wang Wang Daoxuan's expression was solemn, "There are many types of zombies, and their ways of attacking people are different. Some suck souls, some devour energy, and others live on blood qi."

"This kind feeds on blood qi. Being able to bite like this shows it is extremely bloodthirsty and has already gained a climate."

As he spoke, he took a yellow talisman from his bosom, pasted it on the zombie's forehead, pinched the Dharma-Jue to ignite it, and then used the flame to light three sticks of incense in his hand.

Green smoke curled, drifting toward the depths of the dense forest.

This was a tracking technique of the Western Mystic lineage.

Whether it was Yin ghosts, evil spirits, or zombies, it could track them all.

Li Yan didn't talk nonsense, pulled out the Dust-Severing Blade, and walked in front. Sha Hearing Sha Lifei and Lu San each pulled out their weapons to protect Wang Wang Daoxuan.

And that Lin Yu also took out his weapon.

It was a meteor dart, with a refined steel spearhead at the front and a metal chain at the back, covered in runes and faintly glowing with gang-qi—clearly also a type of Dharma artifact.

It was already afternoon, the sun was setting, and coupled with the towering trees in this shaded mountain hollow, it looked even more gloomy and terrifying.

Before long, Li Yan suddenly raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.

They saw an open space under the forest ahead, with weeds and rotten leaves piled up, vaguely showing a human shape.

At the same time, the green smoke from Wang Wang Daoxuan's incense also drifted in the air, swirling and slowly falling into the withered leaves.

"Don't move, I'll do it!"

Li Yan had already smelled the rich corpse qi, bloody and nauseating, so how could he hesitate?

His legs erupted with dark strength, and he leaped out, raised his left hand, and swung his blade down fiercely with his right.

Zombies were very difficult to deal with.

"Don't move, I'll handle it!"

But they also had a weakness.

Zombies were souls scattered, but their 'Po' (corporeal soul) had not left the body, so they could absorb Yin-sha qi to cause trouble. Various zombie-suppressing talismans worked because they suppressed the corpse-Po, making it difficult for them to move.

The so-called soul and Po—soul is Yin, Po is Yang.

The Soul-Hooking Lock could also suppress them.

Bang! Withered leaves scattered.

Before the zombie hidden in the withered leaves could react, its neck was severed by the Dust-Severing Blade, and a hideous head rolled out.

Its skin was purple-black like rotten leather, muscles shriveled, revealing fangs, and its eyes were already shriveled, the eye sockets becoming black holes.

Whoosh~

The dark, gloomy qi inside the corpse spilled out immediately.

Wang Wang Daoxuan hurriedly stepped forward, waved his gold coin sword, stepped on the gang-steps, lit a yellow talisman, and chanted the Disaster Elimination Curse.

Very quickly, this foul stench gradually dissipated.

This was the trouble with dealing with zombies; the corpse qi in their bodies was intertwined with Yin-sha qi, and if there was any resentment, it became the "Yang-qi" mentioned in folk legends.

Once collided with, one wouldn't be able to get out of bed for several days.

If it had been a long time and it became something terrifying like a drought demon, it could only be suppressed; otherwise, the corpse qi would scatter, leaving poison for thousands of miles and even causing droughts.

"Fortunately."

Wang Wang Daoxuan breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the sky, "The sun is about to set. At night, this thing won't be so easy to deal with."

Lin Yu was dumbfounded.

"This... this is an old zombie."

No matter what kind of zombie, when it first forms, it will chase people according to blood qi, moving fast and running on two legs like a living person. It looks terrifying, but its flesh and blood are no stronger than an ordinary person's. Not to mention experts, even commoners working together could chop off its head.

But after a long time, Yin-sha qi gathers, and hair grows on its body, which is called a hairy zombie. Depending on the area where it hides, the color of the hair is different.

There are white zombies, black zombies, red zombies, and green-haired zombies.

The color is not a distinction of strength, but related to the local environment.

The truly terrifying ones are old zombies.

The hair fades, the zombie flesh becomes hard as refined iron, the joints are no longer flexible, the whole body is stiff, it moves by jumping, and Yin-sha qi gathers. It is invulnerable to blades and spears and is very difficult to deal with.

And this old zombie before them was chopped off its head before it could show its might, so how could Lin Yu not be shocked?

Seeing his gaze, Li Yan calmly retracted his blade, "My treasure blade is sharp; what's strange about killing a zombie?"

I'd only believe you if I were a ghost!

Lin Yu secretly slandered in his heart.

Although it wasn't noon, in this gloomy dense forest, the old zombie should have been able to sense and attack people, so why was there no reaction?

There must be other reasons.

Of course, he didn't dare to ask more.

!.

Li Yan couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this fat man. He strode forward and kicked, and the zombie's body rolled out of the grass pile.

His eyes changed slightly, and he rubbed his foot calmly.

This old zombie, even after using dark strength, felt like kicking a large stone, making his toes numb.

It was because the Yin-sha qi had dissipated.

If it were in its normal state at night, ordinary people really couldn't deal with it...

Afterward, the group was attracted by the zombie's clothing.

On this zombie's body,

it was actually wearing armor!

It wasn't the tattered armor from burial, but the mountain-pattern armor of the army, and although somewhat rusty, it was the standard issue of the Great Da Xuan Dynasty.

"Thieves..."

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei's eyes widened and he cursed, "This zombie was raised by someone and placed here to harm people. What are they trying to do?"

Lin Yu saw this, and his mouth felt somewhat dry, "The armor worn by the zombie is the White Tiger Mountain-pattern Armor of the army. Only a Mobile Corps Commander has the qualification to wear it. It is forbidden to leak it; privately hiding it is rebellion!"

The crowd looked at each other upon hearing this.

Li Yan shook his head, "It seems the matter of Mount Qinglong Mountain is not that simple. Lin Li, you said that thing appears when?"

Lin Yu answered honestly, "My master said, at midnight on the first and fifteenth of the month, on the night of the full moon, there is dragon qi rising."

"According to his calculations, today is the time for the treasure to appear."

Li Yan nodded, "It seems there is another group of people on the mountain who hid the zombie here. I don't know what they want to do."

Just then, the falcon flapped its wings and landed from the sky, standing on Lu San's shoulder, chirping a few times.

Lu San's expression changed slightly, and he said in a low voice, "A group of people has come up the mountain; there are about ten of them."

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei had a headache, "Raising an old zombie and daring to hide imperial armor—they are definitely not easy to provoke. What should we do?"

"Not easy to provoke, but there's no other way."

Li Yan said coldly, "Our coming to Mount Qinglong Mountain is something the Grand Void Orthodox Sect, Chen Chen Yuanqing, and those boatmen all know; it can't be hidden at all."

"Raising an old zombie is not that easy. Since the enmity has been formed, there is no need to show mercy."

As he spoke, he looked at Lin Yu, "Lin Li, you are already involved in this matter. Do you want to live, or do you want to die?"

"I want to live, I want to live."

Lin Yu was full of frustration, already regretting it somewhat.

Li Yan's eyes were cold, and he nodded, "If you want to live, then don't tell anyone about tonight's events."

"Old Uncle Sha, it's up to you."

"Alright!"

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei was excited upon hearing this. He immediately put down his luggage, took out a fire-caltrop the size of a watermelon, installed a small copper tube at the opening, and pulled out two lines.

Lin Yu was shocked, "This... is this gunpowder?"

He had heard long ago that people in the martial world were bold and reckless, but he didn't expect them to ignore the imperial court's taboos and use this thing directly.

Li Yan glanced at it indifferently, and Lin Yu hurriedly shut his mouth.

He finally understood what that remark meant just now.

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei held the fire-caltrop and said triumphantly, "The 'Military Preparation General Scripture' is good stuff. During the reign of Emperor Gao Zong of the Southern Song Dynasty, people used this thing to bury underground to blow up horses."

"Using it as a trap will definitely make those people look good!"

In fact, he still had some things he didn't say.

He had stuffed a piece of coal essence obtained in Shangjin Town into the fire-caltrop, and its power would inevitably increase sharply, plus he had added many poison-coated hidden weapons.

Lu San on the side poured a bucket of cold water, "The other party can raise an old zombie, so they must have occultists. What if they have the smell supernatural ability and detect the smell of gunpowder?"

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei was speechless upon hearing this and scratched his head, "There's no help for it; we can only rely on luck."

Lin Yu's eyes flickered, and he gritted his teeth, "This, I have a way."

As he spoke, he took out a small wooden bottle from his leather bag.

The crowd then discovered that all the items in his leather bag were wrapped in oil paper and stuffed in sealed fish-skin bags, naturally not afraid of being soaked in water.

Lin Yu picked up the small wooden bottle and said, "This thing was passed down by my master. Just a little bit can eliminate strange smells. Even if they have the smell supernatural ability, they won't be able to smell it. It is specifically used for hiding in the mountains."

"Oh?"

Li Yan became interested, "Lin Li, please take action."

Lin Yu didn't want to get involved, but everyone was now on the same boat.

Those people dared to hide armor and use zombies to harm people; if they caught him, they definitely wouldn't show mercy, so he could only take out the treasure to deal with it together.

He stepped forward, opened the small wooden bottle, poured some white powder into his palm, and blew gently toward the fire-caltrop.

Whoosh~

As the white powder stained it, Li Yan's eyes narrowed, and he praised, "Good treasure!"

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei knew it worked upon hearing this, and hurriedly carried the fire-caltrop toward the zombie, "Come, give me a hand."

They moved the zombie back into the withered leaf pile, buried the fire-caltrop underneath, tied one end of the rope to the head, and the other to the body.

After doing this, they piled the withered leaves back up.

Afterward, the group moved away quickly and hid in the grass.

To prevent being discovered, Wang Wang Daoxuan set up a small formation, wrapping red ropes and copper coins on tree branches to surround the group.

This formation was simple and could prevent the aura from leaking out.

Of course, if the other party discovered something wrong and used occult techniques to search, it couldn't be hidden.

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei looked at Lin Yu on the side and still couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Young Master Lin, where did you get this treasure?"

They also had treasures that could isolate auras, which was that wonderful kasaya, but obviously, it couldn't be used to cover the fire-caltrop.

If they had this, it would be invincible.

Lin Yu said in a low voice, "This thing is actually easy to make. Just burn mountain demon hair and a kind of 'lichen' that has turned into a heavenly spiritual treasure in equal proportions and collect the ashes."

"But whether it's mountain demons or 'lichen,' they are quite hard to find..."

"Shh, people are coming!"

Li Yan hurriedly spoke, signaling the two to be quiet.

Very quickly, a team of people appeared in the dense forest.

It was the fifteenth, and the bright moon was full.

In the moonlight, it could be clearly seen that these people were all dressed as ordinary mountain people, but some had strong physiques and held sharp weapons, while others had disheveled hair and various tattoos on their faces.

Li Yan saw this, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Those clearly looked like refugees,

How did they get together with the barbarians...

The third chapter is not finished yet, I'll rest for a while, just two chapters.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 210 =====

Those people looked like refugees at a glance,

How did they end up walking with the barbarians...

The third update isn't finished yet, it will be late.

(End of chapter)