Chapter 262

"Good fellow!"

That old man from the Commandant's Office hurriedly squats down, measures with his hand on the ground, and checks the broken branches around, trembling: "This Mountain Lord is too big; it's at least two meters tall!"

Everyone gasps.

Yang Chengzi of the True Martial Palace has a bitter face: "This tiger demon is afraid of being a natural alien species; there are at least three or four hundred people in the village, all turned into Chang ghosts..."

"Fellow Daoist Li, we can't deal with this thing!"

Li Yan looks at the messy footprints deep in the forest, also nods solemnly: "Find the Dharma altar in the village, destroy it, and then leave."

After saying this, he immediately leads the group to turn back and head straight for the ancestral hall in the village.

Unlike other places, this old ancestral hall is a brick, stone, and earth building, also burned down, with the roof beams collapsed, leaving only messy charred wood emitting blue smoke.

For the group, it is naturally not a problem.

The men of the Commandant's Office wave iron hooks, pulling away the charred wooden beams one by one, and a dark door is revealed on the ground.

The dark door is wooden, also burned charred.

Li Yan kicks it to pieces, pinches the Dharma formula, smells it, murderous intent rising in his eyes, and walks in directly.

Everyone looks at each other and follows closely behind.

Just entering the tunnel, the smell of rot and stench hits their faces.

This tunnel looks very old; there are even mold spots and moss on the surrounding earth walls, and there are some earth holes on both sides, neatly arranged and connected to each other.

Battalion Commander Zheng takes a look and says in a deep voice: "It's an ancient hiding-soldier cave; this place should have been a military fort before."

Along the earth cave forward, a circular cave soon appears, and the rich smell of blood hits their faces.

The group lights torches and looks, all changing their expressions.

They see that in the center of this cave stands a god statue, wearing a commander's robe, wearing a sky-piercing crown, with raised brow bones, deep facial features, and a long beard hanging over his chest, looking somewhat like he has foreign blood.

Li Yan has seen this god statue; it is the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Duke.

And in front of it stands a Dharma altar.

On the Dharma altar, more than a dozen human heads are placed in order, and beside them lies an old man with disheveled hair, eyes wide open, full of horror.

What is strange is that his chest and abdomen are neatly dissected, and it seems that some kind of power erupted, causing his internal organs to spray out and scatter on the ground.

Wang Daoxuan takes a look at the Dharma altar, on which is also enshrined a small black god statue, headless, but full of infant heads.

It should be that Lengzheng God.

Beside the god statue are also small green paper clothes, paper armor, paper horses, and paper Guan sabers; if worn by the god statue, it would be exactly the appearance of the headless knight!

"This is the method of a paper-craftsman!"

Wang Daoxuan shakes his head: "This poor Daoist traveled the martial arts world and once learned this craft from an old man; that master's cultivation was average, but he was also a Mystic Sect person, and the paper-crafted people he made could collect Yin souls."

"He said that powerful paper-crafting magic arts are called large-scale illusion arts, can turn into immortals and Buddhas, can turn into palaces and temples, like a dream, lifelike."

"It seems the one causing trouble is this person."

Li Yan looks at the neat split in the other party's chest and abdomen, full of wariness, turns his head, and asks: "Fellow Daoists, have you seen this kind of magic art?"

"It's a straw-man curse method."

The Bamboo Ge Ge Shan Jiao disciple's eyes are full of disbelief: "Using a straw man to cast a curse, either hurting the soul or making people sick, at most casting a Gu."

"This curse can open the chest and break the abdomen; I have indeed never heard of it."

Li Yan ponders for a moment: "It seems to be the work of that tiger demon's magic art; let's not provoke it for now and wait until the True Martial Palace experts arrive."

This tiger demon's strength is even more powerful than he imagined, and with so many corpses missing, there are mostly Chang ghost legions.

Relying on having many people is useless.

To avoid accidents, it is better to leave first.

Anyway, the layout of the Purple Canopy Mountain Grotto and the "headless knight" has already been destroyed by them, and it is estimated that the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect's conspiracy will also be difficult to succeed.

Others are not fools either; seeing this terrifying curse, even the disciples of the True Martial Palace and Bamboo Ge Ge Shan Jiao agree to withdraw.

They don't talk nonsense, destroy the god statue in the cave, light a fire, and then leave Sanshan'ao village.

Along the way, everyone is extremely vigilant; Lu San releases the falcon, constantly circling in the sky to monitor all directions.

Perhaps because it is daytime, until they leave the mountain forest, they don't encounter any obstruction and successfully return to the official road.

They had just left when mist rose in the mountain forest.

It became thicker and thicker, shrouding the entire mountain top.

In the thick fog, one figure after another drilled out.

They are all dressed as mountain villagers, in tattered clothes, covered in filth and blood.

These are clearly no longer living people, scattered in various parts of the mountain forest, their backs hunched, heads hanging low, hair disheveled, more like lonely ghosts in the fog.

"Roar!"

A dull roar comes.

A pair of blood-colored eyes appear in the thick fog, as big as lanterns.

Then, a huge tiger slowly crawls out from the thick fog, its fur mottled, forehead white-eyed, eyes blood-red, emitting cold murderous intent.

What is even stranger is that on its neck, there is actually an amulet hanging by an iron chain, shaped like a court tablet, yellow jade texture, covered with golden silk threads, as if it were gold-inlaid jade formed naturally.

Not only that, the gold threads also vaguely form cloud-thunder patterns.

Its eyes flicker with blood light, as if it can see through the thick fog and mountain forest to Li Yan and the others who are gradually moving away on the official road below.

Beside it, there is another figure stumbling forward, but it is a middle-aged Daoist, his crotch full of the smell of urine, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing constantly, trembling: "Great, Great King, spare my life!"

Until Li Yan and the others' figures completely disappear, the tiger demon slowly turns its head, and its mouth actually speaks human words: "That rebellious disciple, in the end, couldn't wait, right?"

The Daoist is scared to the point of trembling all over, kowtowing repeatedly: "Tongtian Tongtian San Niang, no, that demon woman was originally the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Duke's master; worshiping the Great King as a master was just to plot for the Earth Immortal body."

"That demon woman has already opened the secret cave and has been preparing for Dharma rituals these days to let her master Huang Liushi return to life!"

"As long as the Great King spares my life, the little one is willing to lead the way..."

"Roar!"

Before the words were finished, the giant tiger was furious, and with a sudden bite, it bit off his head directly.

Plop, the headless corpse falls to the ground spraying blood.

The tiger demon's ferocious fangs make the skull crunch, its eyes full of fierce light, and it growls low: "That is this old man's grotto, and you still want to lead the way?"

As it speaks, it looks into the distance, its eyes full of hatred.

"A living Yin messenger, Heaven helps me!"

…………

"That's how it is."

Li Yan and the others return to the city and explain the general process.

County Magistrate Zhang breathes a sigh of relief, but his heart is still uneasy, and he bows and begs: "Everyone broke the 'headless knight' case, and Dangyang County is deeply grateful."

"But those demon and evil spirits are still..."

Sha Lifei on the side hears this and shakes his head directly: "County Magistrate, it's not that we didn't try our best, but our ability is really limited."

"We can't provoke those old demons; the True Martial Palace has already sent experts, and subsequent matters can be left to them."

Li Yan also nods in agreement, not refuting.

Originally, he thought that with the soldiers and horses on Purple Canopy Mountain, plus his own Yin soldiers, he could kill any demon or monster.

But this Dangyang County might hide Earth Immortals, a tiger demon whose cultivation depth is unknown, and that Liu Gang.

The other party is a living Yin messenger from the Eastern Jin period and has practiced the "Northern Emperor Sutra," so his understanding of Yin soldiers must be deeper than his.

Perhaps there is some way to avoid it.

The risk is really too great.

They have already over-fulfilled the City God Temple mission by doing this, and the rest can be left to the True Martial Palace. "This..."

County Magistrate Zhang is still relentless, begging: "Then can you stay for a few more days until the True Martial Palace reinforcements arrive?"

Li Yan ponders for a moment and nods: "That's fine."

County Magistrate Zhang is overjoyed, hurriedly orders a banquet to entertain everyone, and also invites Guan Peide to accompany them.

After days of rushing and not sleeping all night last night, everyone is exhausted, and after eating and drinking their fill, they return to the Guan family courtyard to rest.

As for Battalion Commander Zheng, he leads the Commandant's Office troops to continue being busy.

Interrogating prisoners, searching for Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect spies in the city, writing letters to report to Yichang... their errands are far from over.

…………

Unknowingly, the sun sets at dusk.

Li Yan and the others wake up, and the sky is already dim.

!.

They ask the servants of the small courtyard to prepare some dinner at will, and they chat while eating, discussing the next steps of action.

"Thief."

Sha Lifei drinks a mouthful of wine and curses: "I haven't heard so many strange things before; why are there more and more demons and monsters as we go along?"

Wang Daoxuan shakes his head and sighs: "Human path change is like this; the red dust luck flows, various forces fight, and the murderous aura rushes to the sky."

"Even the orthodox Mystic Sect cannot stay out of it and can only participate in it; the demons and monsters hidden in various places will also take advantage of the situation to cause trouble and seek opportunities for themselves."

"Many of the current events are hidden dangers left by the previous dynasty; as long as we can pass through smoothly, the Divine Land can be stable for a few more decades."

Sha Lifei shakes his head upon hearing this: "Anyway, for this kind of thing, let the tall ones go to the top; we should prioritize saving our own lives."

Seeing the atmosphere is dull, his eyes roll, and he changes the subject: "Brother Yan, when are we going to the ancient mine pit of Western Zhou?"

Li Yan smiles: "Wait for the True Martial Palace people to take over, and we will leave immediately. Wuchang Prefecture is far from the war, so it should be much more stable."

"Yes."

Sha Lifei is also happy: "The Commandant's Office people follow us often, and I don't dare to use the Divine Fire Gun; this time, find a good craftsman to cover it up, so I won't be afraid of being recognized in the future."

Li Yan nods: "We will detour to Xiangyang later; there are many ancient battlefields and graves there, and I need to practice."

Wang Daoxuan's eyes light up upon hearing this: "Brother Yan is about to break through?"

"Hmm."

Li Yan is in a good mood and nods: "Traveling in the martial arts world is dangerous, but there are many insights; after the summer passes, we can build a building on Mount Wudang."

"This poor Daoist is almost there too."

Wang Daoxuan strokes his beard and smiles: "At that time, we will build a building together and can also practice on Mount Wudang for a period of time; with the cultivation of a three-story building, many magic arts can also be used."

Lu San says muffledly: "Me too."

"Good, good, good!"

Sha Lifei is full of joy: "With your cultivation improved, what is there to fear from these few demon-people."

As he speaks, his expression changes again, and he curses: "These guys from the True Martial Palace are a bit stingy; we risked our lives, but the reward is not much, and I don't know if the money will be enough."

"Don't worry."

Li Yan shakes his head and smiles: "Didn't you notice that those spiritual materials and magic tools, although rare, are clearly overpriced?"

"This is also the method of the orthodox Mystic Sect; later, find a way to let them pay with spiritual materials, so that we won't be exploited."

"Building a good relationship with the True Martial Palace is also for this point..."

After chatting for a while, everyone returns to their respective rooms.

They slept during the day, so they have no sleepiness.

Sha Lifei lights a candle, checks the "Thunder Fire Classic" by the candlelight, writes and draws, and occasionally laughs foolishly...

As for Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan, they store their spirits and enter meditation to practice.

Only Lu San stays in the room, occasionally feeding the demon gourd, occasionally watching the little fox chase Rat Big and Rat Two, full of smiles.

His practice method is a bit special, needing to borrow various spirit beasts in the mountain forest to realize the wonders of heaven and earth.

Back then, the village-guarding person who passed on the Dao, although crazy most of the time, would sometimes be clear-headed.

Lu San followed his instructions, doing things for the Pai Sect, earning some silver, and ran to Mount Zhongnan to build the first floor.

Unfortunately, his cultivation method is incomplete, so his practice speed is slow; it was only after controlling the Rat Immortal to patrol the city that night that he had insights, and his cultivation improved slightly.

After a while, the night is deep.

Lu San yawns and lies on the bed, and the little fox immediately rushes into his arms and curls up.

As for Rat Big and Rat Two, they are afraid of this little fox and climb onto the table, eating the pastries Lu San bought.

These two little guys' only shortcoming is greed; following Lu San, they were originally a bit unhappy, but after eating various pastries from the mountain for a few days, they are already happy and don't want to return...

……

On the streets of the old city, it is also dark and silent.

"Clang! Clang, clang! Prevent fire and theft, be careful with fire and candles."

The hunchbacked night watchman beats the gong and drum and walks past the street.

Whoosh~

Behind him, a Yin wind suddenly blows.

A ball of black smoke flies along the corner of the wall.

The hunchbacked night watchman feels something and turns his head to check.

And just then, the black smoke suddenly pounces on him.

The night watchman stiffens, and then black lines appear on the whites of his eyes, and his expression becomes cold.

He looks around, comes to a dark corner, picks up the yellow jade gold-thread plaque from the ground, hangs it on his neck, and then heads toward the Guan family courtyard.

His speed is fast, and there is not half a sound under his feet.

When approaching the courtyard, he suddenly pinches the formula and says muffledly: "Nuogao, alone open great-grandson Wang Jia, Six Jia Green Dragon..."

It is the Northern Emperor Dengshan Technique!

Whoosh~

The plaque on his chest vibrates slightly, and mist rises around him, making his figure blurry, appearing and disappearing.

His attainment in the mountain climbing technique is already called an escape technique.

The night watchman's figure flickers, shuttling through the mist, coming to the small courtyard, and actually flips over lightly.

In the mist, red light flickers in his eyes.

First, he looks at Wang Daoxuan and Sha Lifei's rooms, shakes his head slightly, and then looks at Lu San's room, a trace of satisfaction appearing in his eyes.

Silently, he comes to the front of the room.

Clang, clang!

Suddenly, he releases the Dharma formula and breaks in directly.

Lu San and the little fox are immediately awakened.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

The demon gourd vibrates, and poisonous bees whistle out.

However, no matter how the poisonous bees sting him, the night watchman doesn't care at all, grabs Lu San regardless, and then suddenly opens his mouth.

Whoosh!

Black smoke whistles out and drills into Lu San's mouth.

Crack!

Li Yan also breaks out of the door, draws his Dust-Breaking Saber with a clang, exerts force with his feet, and jumps into Lu San's room.

Inside the room, it is as cold as ice.

Rat Big and Rat Two are shivering, the little fox is baring its fangs, scurrying around anxiously, and the floor is full of poisonous bees, but they can't fly at all.

And "Lu San" has his back to Li Yan, unhurriedly hanging the yellow jade plaque on his neck, slowly turning around, blood light flickering in his pupils.

"You are a living Yin messenger; did you bring the summons?"

(End of chapter)