Chapter 267: Calculating Against Each Other

Clatter!

The last "Blood Tomb Beam" rolled onto the ground.

A thrall ghost tore open a Netherfire Musket; amidst the scorching burn of phosphorus fire and kerosene, this piece of wood oozed large amounts of fresh blood, emitting thick smoke as it was incinerated.

This kind of wicked contraption was difficult to refine; not to mention that the specific methods had already been lost, even the spirit wood used for refining was extremely rare.

Even Liu Gang had only managed to gather enough after excavating the tomb of the King of Dian.

With this, the "Blood Tomb Beams" were completely extinct.

Li Yan turned swiftly and ran toward the depths of the cavern.

He did not care about Liu Gang's life or death, but Lu San was still in his hands; if there were any slip-up, regret would be useless.

And just as he destroyed all the "Blood Tomb Beams," all the blood ghosts besieging Liu Gang dissipated rapidly.

When Li Yan ran over, the ground was already covered in corpses.

These were all physical bodies controlled by thrall ghosts.

To conserve his strength, Liu Gang had treated the thrall ghosts as consumables as well.

Every corpse was not only covered in dark blue handprints, but the thrall ghost souls within them had also vanished into thin air.

Just passing this first hurdle had cost over a hundred thrall ghosts.

Li Yan saw Lu San being protected in the center and finally let out a sigh of relief, while secretly remaining vigilant in his heart.

Do not be fooled by the fact that this old ghost had given him quite a few benefits; his nature was cold and indifferent, and if the need arose, he would treat Li Yan as cannon fodder at any time.

The only thing this old ghost cared about was Lady Fan.

By this point, it was all underground karst caves; the surrounding light was dim, with only a few torches burning fiercely on the stalactites.

The only man-made trace was the staircase carved into the ground.

"Let us go."

Liu Gang looked toward the depths of the cavern and said in a deep voice, "Further inside are the tomb-guarding beasts I captured from the royal mausoleum."

"That was the tomb of a King of Chu. Sorcerers of the Square Immortal Dao found exotic centipedes and toads and cultivated them using secret methods."

"These two exotic species can both hibernate for long periods, usually suppressed by pottery made with realgar and cinnabar. Once an intruder breaks in, the centipedes will awaken to eat people and lay eggs, and the corpses left behind can then become food for the toads."

"Both are highly venomous, and after being refined, they can sleep for a hundred years each time, falling back into slumber once the intruders are all dead."

"Tongtian Tongtian San Niang must have tampered with them as well."

Having said that, he let out a low roar.

Immediately, two thrall ghosts darted out and entered the depths of the cavern.

Before long, a dense rustling sound came from within, like raindrops, and then it returned to calm.

"Hmm?"

A trace of surprise clearly flashed in the eyes of the giant tiger Liu Gang had transformed into, and he said in a deep voice, "Tongtian Tongtian San Niang only broke the pottery—no, this person is cunning; there must be a trick."

After speaking, the blood-red light in his tiger eyes grew even brighter.

Clearly, this old ghost had used some kind of eye-based divine ability.

"Hmph!"

After a round of investigation, Liu Gang sneered, "Sure enough, there is a problem. Gunpowder is buried underground; I fear that once we enter the cave, they will detonate the gunpowder—even if it cannot kill us, it can block the passage."

Li Yan asked, "Senior, how should we break this hurdle?"

He circulated his divine ability and also smelled the scent inside.

Aside from the fishy stench of numerous venomous insects, there was also the smell of gunpowder underground.

The troublesome part was that the cavern ahead was not spacious, and it was over a hundred meters long, with countless arm-length centipedes surging within.

As long as they were blocked by the venomous insects, the opponent could detonate the explosives and bury them alive directly.

Even if they dodged it, the collapsed cavern could still block the road.

Li Yan was very curious about how this old ghost would respond.

Who would have thought that Liu Gang's huge tiger head would slowly turn around and say in a deep voice, "Here, I need your help."

"Even if we pass this second hurdle, there are still a few old zombies inside, wrapped in iron armor, which are very difficult to deal with."

"We have no time to waste. If Huang Liushi occupies my wife's Earth Immortal body, he will be able to use sorcery immediately, and that will be a big problem."

"You summon the Yin soldiers and flatten the road ahead completely."

Li Yan's pupils constricted slightly. "Senior previously said that you were responsible for clearing the path, and I only needed to cast the Summoning Order."

Liu Gang shook his head. "Things have changed, so the plan must naturally change. Did I not pass the usage of the Soul-Snatching Rope to you in advance?"

"Or could it be that you want to accompany me to be buried here?"

Li Yan hesitated. "This... I have only captured one Yin criminal, and twice encountered strong enemies; I only have one Order of the Five Thunders left."

Liu Gang said impatiently, "Why so much nonsense? Once you capture that Tongtian Tongtian San Niang, won't you be able to get three more Orders of the Five Thunders? Or do you want to save them to deal with me?"

"To tell you the truth, Yin Office ghost soldiers are fine for dealing with ordinary people; whether it is me or Tongtian Tongtian San Niang, we both have ways to evade them. That thing is useless against us."

As he spoke, his belly surged, and he spat out a small oil-paper parcel from his mouth. "Inside are the notes of a senior and myself, recording information obtained from the Yin Office."

"Have you ever seen the blood water of the Black Well?"

"Do you know how to use the Summoning Order to actively communicate with ghosts and gods?"

"Inside is all the experience we have groped for."

"This... alright."

Li Yan did not hide his greed at all, gritting his teeth and agreeing.

At this moment, he was certain that this old ghost's motives were impure.

The reason was simple: given this old ghost's status and nature, even if he had a request for Li Yan, he was being far too amiable.

Along the way, he had not only patiently given pointers but also directly given away treasures with a grand gesture; even a biological master would not be this good.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

These methods were all to make him lower his guard. It was just like hunting; after eating a few fragrant baits, a deadly poison arrow would follow.

Li Yan naturally pretended to fall for it, immediately took out the Summoning Order, pinched the incantation, and chanted, "Qingjia! Ascend the Black Heaven, descend the Black Earth... I serve the Northern Yin Luo Feng, act with the speed of the law!"

Clatter!

Whether it was the fierce tiger or the thrall ghosts, all were scared into retreating.

Yin winds howled, and a vast expanse of darkness accompanied by the sound of armor spread forward; wherever it passed, the torches on the walls extinguished, and those venomous centipedes all lost their breath.

In the blink of an eye, the entire passage was deathly silent.

Although these tomb-guarding venomous insects were ferocious, their souls were too weak; the Yin soldiers merely passing by was enough to make them vanish into ashes.

Of course, the attack was still ongoing.

On the opposite side of the cavern passage, over a dozen Ghost Sect followers were hiding, pulling on gunpowder fuses, ready to ignite them at any time.

However, before they could react, they were swallowed by the darkness. After the darkness passed, only corpses with expressions of terror and frost-covered bodies remained.

"Roar!"

Immediately following, a bloody and tyrannical roar sounded.

In this cavern, five bronze coffins were parked; accompanied by crazy roars, the coffin lids were flipped away one by one.

Zombies wrapped in black smoke leaped out one after another.

These were all old zombies.

Zombies were an important category among evil spirits.

Yin evil qi, gu insects, poisons, and sorcery—all sorts of reasons could form zombies, so their specialized abilities were also different.

But the process was basically the same.

Walking corpses, hairy zombies, old zombies, flying zombies.

Walking corpses could be eliminated by ordinary people with proper methods, so the most common ones were hairy zombies and old zombies.

These old zombies in the Earth Immortal Cave had all been dug up by Liu Gang from old imperial mausoleums; not only were they ancient, but they had also been specially fitted with armor.

One was for restraint and control, and the second was for defense against sorcery. It could be said that any one of these placed outside would be a treasure that those zombie-raising lineages would fight over.

The Yin soldiers and the old zombies collided almost head-on. The old zombies, covered in armor, were swallowed directly by the darkness.

However, the battle did not stop.

The darkness surged, and ferocious, bloody roars continued to come.

These old zombies were strong in their physical bodies; not only were they impervious to blades and spears, but they were also clad in iron armor. Even if a martial arts master came, they would have to turn and run.

Their weakness was that they only had fierce souls.

Suppress or hook away the fierce soul, and the zombie would stop moving.

However, Li Yan, who was currently controlling them, had cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

These few old zombies were still resisting; their armor had protective power, and even the sharp claws crafted on their hands emitted Yin evil martial qi, which could still cause damage to the Yin soldiers.

Liu Gang, transformed into a fierce tiger, stood at the rear with calm eyes, as if he had expected this long ago, and his gaze toward Li Yan also became ferocious.

!.

The Yin soldiers and the old zombies fought each other; in the end, the Yin soldiers were a cut above, destroying the armor and hooking away the fierce souls of three old zombies.

However, the time for summoning the Yin soldiers had also passed.

Accompanied by the howling of a wild wind, that expanse of darkness disappeared rapidly.

Li Yan only felt dizzy and nearly fell backward.

During the previous two summonings, the opponents had no precautions and were vulnerable; the Yin soldiers came and went in a hurry, making him think that summoning Yin soldiers had no cost.

However, he discovered he was wrong.

Summoning Yin soldiers indeed did not require storing divine mana, but the whole person was plunged into darkness; that Yin qi from the Netherworld would rapidly erode and suppress the soul, forcing him to store his spirit to resist.

In this way, it was also a kind of consumption.

This old ghost was playing dirty!

Li Yan secretly remained vigilant and guarded in his heart.

At the same time, the remaining two old zombies, also covered in black smoke, roared and rushed toward the cavern passage.

"You rest first."

Liu Gang instructed in a low voice, then let out a tiger roar, his massive body suddenly exerting force, rushing out directly.

Bang bang!

Accompanied by two loud bangs, sparks flew in the air; the armor of the two old zombies was torn apart directly by the tiger claws, and they flew backward simultaneously.

And the giant tiger Liu Gang had transformed into, after only landing twice, passed directly through the hundred-meter passage, landing on the ground with a boom, splashing gravel all around.

At this moment, the giant tiger's muscles were knotted, like those divine Buddha mounts carved in temples.

Li Yan saw this, and his scalp immediately went numb.

The tiger fetus Liu Gang had invested in was originally an exotic species, and plus this old monster was also proficient in martial arts, not only bringing the giant tiger's strength to the extreme but also knowing how to use hidden force.

This old thing definitely had bad intentions!

With his strength, he could completely suppress the old zombies easily, yet he insisted on making Li Yan do it; he did not know what plans he was harboring.

Li Yan felt vigilant in his heart, yet his face wore an expression of relief; he remained where he was, sitting cross-legged to meditate and recover his spirit.

Crack!

By the time he had rested well, the giant tiger Liu Gang had already completely smashed the two old zombies, followed by a low roar.

The remaining thrall ghosts and fierce tigers all rushed out together.

Li Yan also stood up slowly, drew his Broken Duan Duan Chen Dao, carved a few marks on the ground, and followed, rushing through the cavern passage.

Before they even got close, the sounds of shouting and killing had already sounded from afar.

Ahead was a huge cavern space; the stalactites on the ground had all been chopped off, creating a large flat area.

In the center was a stone platform, on which two stone coffins were parked; their texture was delicate, and by the looks of it, they were actually crafted from huge stalactites.

One of the stone coffins had already cracked.

And around the other one, it was covered with yellow talismans, along with complex array flags, forming a Dharma altar, on which stood a pitch-black statue two people tall.

That statue had no head on its neck, and its body was covered with infant skulls, each with a ferocious face; it was precisely the "Lengzheng God" worshipped by the Ezhou Ghost Sect.

In front of it was a bronze platform, covered with livers, the bloody smell pungent, and blood flowing along the bronze platform...

In front of the bronze platform was an ancient tripod, square with beast ears and three legs, ancient in age, filled with human heads.

Li Yan knew that the bronze platform was called a "Zu," a ritual vessel from the Shang Dynasty.

Since they were already enemies with the Ghost Sect, he had naturally inquired about their roots.

The Ghost Sect killed people to sacrifice to ghosts, and their sorcery came from two sources: one was the witchcraft left behind by ancient human sacrifices, and the second was absorbing the corpse sorcery of the Esoteric Sect, along with some methods that were transmitted from Shendu (ancient India) due to ancient trade.

In short, the sources were complex.

Due to local history, the ghosts and gods sacrificed to were also different.

At this moment, the entire hall had fallen into chaos.

This was originally the main altar of the Ezhou Ghost Sect; the followers hidden inside numbered at least two hundred, plus the helpers from the Heavenly Saint Sect, totaling nearly three hundred.

They were originally holding a sacrifice, attempting to resurrect Huang Liushi, but they did not expect Li Yan to summon Yin soldiers, directly breaking through two defenses.

The original sacrificial ritual was interrupted, and they fell into chaos in an instant.

These followers mostly knew some fisticuffs, and there were quite a few priests who, because of killing people to sacrifice to ghosts, had mastered curse spells.

Facing the thrall ghosts that swarmed in first, they were not afraid at all.

Some drew their weapons, directly slashed their palms, chanted the fierce name of the "Lengzheng God" in their mouths, and fought directly with the thrall ghosts.

And some shook flags made of human bones, cut their foreheads, and muttered crazily with faces full of fresh blood.

A cold power spread with the "Lengzheng God" as the center, and those thrall ghosts that attacked were immediately suppressed.

However, the dozen or so fierce tigers that followed closely were unaffected, their eyes blood-red, nearly crazy, rushing into the crowd to wreak havoc.

They either smashed a person's chest with one claw or bit a person's head off directly, not caring at all even if blades and swords hacked at their bodies.

For a time, the entire cavern was flowing with blood.

On that stone platform stood a Daoist with fair skin and a handsome appearance, but he was wearing lipstick, possessing an air of feminine charm.

It was precisely the current leader of the Ezhou Ghost Sect, Tongtian Tongtian San Niang.

His expression was gloomy as he looked at the giant tiger in the rear and said coldly, "Liu Gang, today I will make your soul fly away and scatter, never to reincarnate again!"

As he spoke, he took an oil lamp from the altar.

That oil lamp was crafted from rhinoceros horn and looked like some kind of palace funerary object; the oil contained within presented a dark red, blood-like color.

Following the incantation in his mouth, the original dim yellow light of the oil lamp gradually turned green, reflecting the surroundings in a miserable green.

And Li Yan also saw that around this Tongtian Tongtian San Niang, there were actually fierce ghosts with strange appearances standing.

One in black robes, with only a pale face and pitch-black rotten teeth under the hood, was a Soul-Absorbing Ghost, capable of sucking the souls of the living...

One covered in black hair, pot-bellied, and greasy all over, was a Filthy Lane Ghost, bred in filth, capable of releasing plague poison...

There were also Hanged Ghosts and Water Ghosts, a wide variety.

Ordinary people could not see these things; Li Yan usually used his olfactory divine ability and did not feel they were scary, but seeing their appearances with his own eyes still made a chill rise up his spine.

No wonder Liu Gang did not make a move immediately.

Around this Tongtian Tongtian San Niang, there were actually a hundred ghosts accompanying her!

And Li Yan finally found an opportunity.

Those thrall ghosts were busy fighting, the unconscious Lu San was thrown directly on the ground not far away, and Liu Gang was also tense all over, facing Tongtian Tongtian San Niang in the distance.

Without any hesitation, Li Yan pretended to be panicked, drew his Broken Duan Duan Chen Dao, arrived in front of Lu San, and killed a Ghost Sect follower who rushed over with one blade.

Liu Gang's spiritual sense was astonishing, and he had been secretly paying attention to Li Yan; seeing that he was merely protecting his companion's physical body and had no intention of running away, he stopped paying attention.

And Li Yan helped Lu San up, patted his face, and pretended to call out anxiously, "Brother Lu, Brother Lu."

Secretly, he had taken the opportunity to stuff a small piece of dried Feiyi corpse into his mouth...

The second update will be later.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 268 =====