Chapter 268: Who Is Not Afraid of Life and Death

Li Yan's small movements were not detected at all.

Because at this moment, Liu Gang was defending with all his might.

Seeing that on the altar, as Tongtian Tongtian San Niang chanted the incantation, the green light of the Dharma artifact Rhinoceros Horn Lamp grew increasingly intense.

That area had all turned green, and more ghost things revealed their forms, looking ferocious, like the Nine Nether Hells.

Even more terrifying was that above the pitch-black "Lengzheng God" statue, a mass of black mist also rose, as if black flames were burning, manifesting a ferocious phantom in the air.

Demonic flames surging—it was nothing more than this.

But Tongtian Tongtian San Niang was not in a hurry to make a move, instead continuing the resurrection sacrifice, muttering non-stop in his mouth, with Yin winds howling all around and array flags flying fiercely.

Whether it was thrall ghosts or fierce tigers, as long as they approached the green light range, they would be entangled by various ghost things and die instantly, their appearances extremely miserable.

Above that still-intact stalactite coffin, a visible white Yin mist rose, actually forming a vortex.

"Kid!"

Liu Gang suddenly spoke, and without turning his head, said in a low voice, "Kid, this Tongtian Tongtian San Niang has two protective Dharma treasures."

"One is this 'Rhinoceros Illumination Lamp,' which can make ghosts and gods reveal their forms; combined with Ghost Sect secret arts, a hundred ghosts accompany and protect her."

"The second is a 'Necklace Bead,' which is a state sacrificial vessel of the Liao Kingdom; it can capture human souls and is also her treasure for evading Yin Office investigations."

"I will force the two treasures out; you take the opportunity to get close and cast the Summoning Order."

Li Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said guardedly, "There are too many people, and my cultivation is low; I fear it will be difficult to get close."

"At this point, how can it be up to you!"

Liu Gang finally revealed his ferocious face, let out a low roar from his mouth, and then spat out a straw doll.

And Li Yan only felt a tightness in his chest; his spirit seemed to be connected to that straw doll. As Liu Gang's tiger claws hooked onto the straw doll, he also felt as if an invisible blade had appeared in his chest.

It was the Straw Doll Curse!

At this point, Li Yan finally knew Liu Gang's methods.

Whether it was the previous "Jade Stone Night Owl Claw" or the newly obtained "Living Yin Official Secret Manual," he had not smelled anything unusual.

But when Liu Gang took out the straw doll to cast the spell, evil qi immediately rose from both items, extracting a wisp of his vitality and falling into the straw doll.

This kind of cursing technique was simply unheard of.

At this moment, as long as those tiger claws exerted force, he would likely be disemboweled, just like the sorcerer in the secret passage of Sanshan'ao Village.

"Don't!"

Li Yan pretended to be panicked. "This junior will go."

Having said that, he unloaded the Demon Gourd and the Rat Skin Pouch from his body one by one, as if he were putting down burdens to travel light.

"Hmph! Follow behind me!"

Liu Gang snorted, then began to chant in his mouth again: "Nogao! Ascend to Heaven to save people, strictly capture the Northern Feng, the Divine Duke receives the order, sweep away all inauspiciousness. Eight powers spit poison, fierce horses spread in four directions..."

The incantation finished, followed by a tiger roar.

The Northern Emperor Calamity-Removing Technique was unleashed, combined with the "Mystic Yellow Heavenly Talisman" on his chest where thunder light circulated; a surge of martial evil qi immediately sprayed out.

Those Ghost Sect followers along the way, because of the Yin evil qi they were contaminated with, were immediately attacked, clutching their heads and screaming, rolling onto the ground.

And the remaining fierce tigers immediately stepped forward, biting them to death.

Although this surge of martial evil qi was invisible, its range was extremely wide, directly colliding with Tongtian Tongtian San Niang's ghost domain.

Crackle, black smoke filled the air, and immediately several fierce ghosts turned into black smoke and dissipated.

"Go!"

Liu Gang let out a tiger roar and pounced out suddenly.

Li Yan, cursed, had no choice but to carry the Broken Dust Blade and follow closely behind.

And behind them, Lu San suddenly felt his stomach surge, vomiting, and spat out a large amount of filthy matter from his mouth, all of which was yellow tiger fur.

His eyelids trembled slightly, and he woke up faintly.

However, hearing the sounds of fighting all around, he immediately realized something was wrong; he did not move, keeping his eyes narrowed into a slit to observe outward.

Seeing the Demon Gourd and Rat Skin Pouch placed nearby, as well as Li Yan holding his blade and going away in the distance, he immediately had a guess in his heart.

"Cluck cluck cluck..."

He spoke in the Upper Language in a low voice.

Grandpa Li Gui Gourd also vibrated slightly, responding in the Upper Language.

This Demon Gourd was a demon with extraordinary intelligence; although it had been brought along by Li Yan pretending to be stupid, it knew exactly what had happened.

Hearing that Li Yan was cursed and had to take risks, Lu San, although anxious in his heart, remained calm, and his mouth once again emitted a "squeak" sound.

The pouch squirmed, and Rat Big and Rat Two drilled out; although their eyes were full of terror and they were shivering, they still turned back quickly, arrived in the tunnel behind, pushed away the floating soil, and each dragged an explosive package back...

And the Demon Gourd was not idle either; dense swarms of poisonous bees howled out, drilled into the cavern passage, and landed on those venomous centipedes and toads, devouring the poisonous gu crazily...

Lu San knew that Li Yan leaving these two things behind was not for him to mess around, but to wait for an opportunity to act.

Of course, the bone mace at his waist was also secretly held in Lu San's hand; he pushed the mechanism, and the front of the mace immediately bloomed, revealing a pitch-black gun barrel...

And on the other side, Liu Gang did not notice his small movements because he had already approached the altar.

The green light was gloomy, and the entire altar was like a ghost domain.

And above that intact coffin, Yin mist swirled, vaguely converging into the face of an old man, ferocious and blurry, struggling in pain, as if wanting to break free from the Yin mist.

Huang Liushi was about to resurrect!

Seeing this situation, Liu Gang was also somewhat anxious; he let out another tiger roar, fully urging the "Mystic Yellow Heavenly Talisman," martial evil qi overflowing, thunder light crackling, beating the surrounding fierce ghosts until they vanished into ashes.

Not only that, he also grabbed with all his might; under the huge force, that bronze platform filled with offerings was immediately overturned.

The sacrifice was interrupted, and the phantom of Huang Liushi formed by the Yin mist faded again.

"Seeking death!"

Tongtian Tongtian San Niang was immediately enraged, directly picked up the "Rhinoceros Horn Lamp," chanted in his mouth, and then blew fiercely.

Whoosh~

A green flame sprayed out.

And Liu Gang did not hesitate, spitting black mist from his mouth.

Just as Li Yan had guessed, Liu Gang was after all a human soul in a tiger body; although he had practiced hard, it was difficult for his cultivation to recover.

Relying on his own sorcery, he was still no match for Tongtian Tongtian San Niang.

Green fire and black smoke collided, and the former was clearly superior; not only did it suppress the black smoke, but the green flames splashed onto the giant tiger, burning like phosphorus fire, scorching flesh and revealing white bones.

However, Liu Gang still endured the pain and continued to move forward.

Seeing him getting closer and closer, Tongtian Tongtian San Niang on the altar also felt some unease in his eyes; after a slight hesitation, he pulled a string of beads from his neck.

This string of beads was all strung with pearls the size of pigeon eggs; not only were there Tibetan silver pendants connected, but it was also interspersed with several rubies and turquoise, looking ancient and even luxurious.

This kind of Necklace Bead was originally transmitted from the Western Regions; Master Xuanzang's "Great Tang Records on the Western Regions" mentioned that the nobles there "wore flower garlands on their heads and necklaces on their bodies."

Later, this Necklace Bead was transmitted to the Divine Land; because it was too luxurious, only some people liked it, but the Liao and Jin nobles loved it very much, and it became a Dharma artifact for Shamanism and Esoteric Sect sacrifices.

This one of Tongtian Tongtian San Niang's was clearly extraordinary.

After he took off the Necklace Bead, he chanted and scattered it, and it actually landed directly on the giant tiger's head.

As if a Body-Fixing Spell had been cast, Liu Gang was immediately unable to move, his whole body burned by the green flames, the pain unbearable.

But he still held Li Yan's straw doll in his mouth, gritting his teeth and roaring in a low voice, "Still not making a move!"

And just as Tongtian Tongtian San Niang took off the Necklace Bead, Li Yan also had no more obstacles and obtained the Yin Office Wanted Order.

Although it was only for a brief moment, he saw it clearly.

This Tongtian Tongtian San Niang was originally a weaver in the Song Dynasty, who had suffered all kinds of bullying and was even raped by a local bully; his nature changed drastically, he awakened divine abilities, and joined the sect of Huang Liushi.

What he awakened was the Intent Yi Shentong, most proficient in communicating with ghosts and gods, so his status rose step by step, becoming the High Priest of the Ezhou Ghost Sect.

Later on, he became a vicious old woman who killed people like hemp.

Hearing Liu Gang's urging, Li Yan knew he had no choice.

The opponent was still biting his straw doll; whether he bit down or was burned by Tongtian Tongtian San Niang's ghost fire, he would lose his little life.

Moreover, capturing a Yin criminal could not be missed. Without the slightest hesitation, Li Yan immediately flashed out from behind the giant tiger, hidden force erupting under his feet, swooshing onto the altar, simultaneously taking out the Summoning Order, pinching the incantation, and chanting: "Heaven has records, Earth has laws, the Yin Office captures souls, mortals avoid!"

Tongtian Tongtian San Niang was immediately terrified.

He truly did not expect that Liu Gang, this Yin Office fugitive, would actually find a Living Yin Official to deal with him.

Even more troublesome was that he was currently maintaining his sorcery, dealing with Liu Gang with all his might; once he dodged, Liu Gang would also attack.

Facing Li Yan who flew over, Tongtian Tongtian San Niang also had a flash of ferocity in his eyes and suddenly opened his mouth.

Shoo!

A black light howled out, directly piercing through Li Yan's heart, clattering as it fell to the ground; it was a coffin nail.

Tongtian Tongtian San Niang naturally possessed three treasures.

Rhinoceros Illumination Lamp, Necklace Bead, Heart-Loss Nail.

This Heart-Loss Nail was taken from a coffin that suppressed a Drought Demon; it had many functions and could usually be held in the mouth with a bit of force, sprayed out to kill the enemy in a crisis.

It was similar to the flying sword technique, but it was not the same thing.

!.

Liu Gang had deliberately concealed it, fearing that Li Yan would hesitate.

Li Yan in the air only felt intense pain in his chest, but he still swung the Summoning Order and slapped it fiercely on Tongtian Tongtian San Niang's forehead.

In an instant, Yin winds howled across the entire altar.

"Ah—!"

A shrill scream issued from Tongtian Tongtian San Niang's mouth.

The sound of clattering chains arose, as if iron locks were rising from the ground, binding him; he struggled crazily, his eyes full of fear. "No, I don't want to, Sect Leader save me!"

Being captured by the Yin Office was different from before.

Their resurrection methods were all pre-arranged rituals, similar to smuggling; after death, they would fall into specific areas, hide within them, and wait for resurrection.

And after being captured by the Yin Office, they would be directly suppressed, and perhaps even subjected to torture, beaten until their souls flew away and scattered.

To put it plainly, there would be no more chance to escape.

In fear, he begged the Ghost Sect leader for help.

At the same time, the sorcery was also interrupted; Liu Gang struggled suddenly, ignoring his full-body wounds, and held the Necklace Bead in his mouth.

This was his true purpose.

Killing Tongtian Tongtian San Niang was only secondary; the most important thing was to obtain this treasure to protect his wife, so that after resurrection, he could evade the Yin Office's capture.

As for Li Yan's straw doll, it was thrown to the side.

He saw Li Yan's chest oozing fresh blood, with a thumb-thick crater; he was breathing out more than he was breathing in, clearly not going to survive, so there was no need to pay attention to him anymore.

Hearing Tongtian Tongtian San Niang's cry for help, Liu Gang was immediately startled, hurriedly turning to check; seeing no one at the distant cave entrance, he cursed coldly, "That dog thief Zhang Huaisu, I don't know where he is hiding to heal his wounds; if he dares to come, I will still take his little life..."

But as soon as he finished speaking, his whole body stiffened.

Only to see a figure rushing over from the distant cave entrance, Daoist robes fluttering, while cursing, "Whoa, it's really lively, and you didn't even wait for this poor Daoist to sit down before starting the feast."

Before the words fell, the person had already arrived at the cave entrance; it was a Daoist with a full beard, drunk, carrying a large sword on his shoulder.

He picked up his gourd, drank the last drop of wine, threw it to the side, and said with a thick tongue, "Immortal Liu Gang... this poor Daoist is sending you on your way!"

"Quick, stop him!"

Liu Gang's pupils constricted, and he let out a tiger roar.

There were still quite a few thrall ghosts in the cave, which had crawled up after death by possessing the corpses of Ghost Sect followers, plus the remaining fierce tigers, all pouncing toward the Daoist.

The Daoist laughed, held the sword in his right hand, pinched the incantation with his left, and chanted: "Jade Purity Initial Clarity, True Talisman Announces the Alliance, Pushing and Moving the Two Qis, Mixing into One to Become True. Five Thunders Five Thunders, Quickly Meet at Huangning..."

Following his chanting of the curse, the hand incantations also changed at any time, pressing upward along the sword body in sequence.

Crackle, thunder light immediately flashed on the large sword.

A surge of explosive thunder martial qi also rose from the long sword.

Secret transmission of the True Martial Palace, Five Thunders Demon-Subduing Sword!

Once the Five Thunders Sword was formed, the Daoist immediately swung the sword out.

Although the Daoist's footsteps were staggering, as if he hadn't sobered up yet, he was fierce beyond measure; wherever he passed, sword light and thunder light flashed, severed limbs and broken walls flew, and behind him was a pool of blood.

And Lu San also stood up suddenly, let out a whistle, and numerous poisonous bees buzzed over, helping the Daoist clear the way.

At the same time, Lu San also raised his bone mace.

Bang!

A loud bang, gunpowder smoke scattered.

A blood hole immediately appeared on the giant tiger's head.

However, Liu Gang ignored it, opened his tiger mouth, and suddenly spat out a mouthful of black smoke, which rolled and surged out.

Tongtian Tongtian San Niang in front had already been captured by the Yin Office, leaving only a corpse that collapsed softly to the ground.

Liu Gang's soul drilled into his mouth in an instant.

This was his Earth Immortal body; once he entered it, his soul and physical body would merge, and he would have the power to fight.

However, just at this moment, another voice that made him hair-raisingly terrified sounded, "Heaven has records, Earth has laws, the Yin Office captures souls, mortals avoid!"

It was Li Yan who had already stood up, holding his own straw doll in one hand and the Summoning Order in the other, directly slapping it on his forehead.

Li Yan had pretended to be dead before, all to retrieve the straw doll.

The wound in his heart was healed immediately, but if the curse was not removed, this Liu Gang could still take his little life.

"Little brother, don't!"

Liu Gang had already occupied the body, his eyes full of terror, leaping up suddenly, attempting to retrieve the two protective Dharma artifacts from the fallen tiger mouth.

However, there was suddenly a sound of wind in the air; the bearded Daoist had already leaped down, turned his large sword, and with a squelch, pierced into his chest, then kicked Liu Gang flying with one foot.

"Ah—!"

Liu Gang was currently locked by the Yin Office, his whole body clattering with chains; knowing there was no chance left, he endured the intense pain and struggled to crawl toward the other stone coffin.

Lying on the coffin, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Li Yan, his eyes already filled with despair, roaring, "Kid, for the sake of the Dharma transmission, bury my wife and me together!"

Having said that, he lay on the coffin and lost his breath.

Immediately, the Yin wind stopped, and those thrall ghosts also fell to the ground one after another.

The bearded Daoist immediately turned around, thunder light flashing on the long sword in his hand, and pierced through the "Lengzheng God" statue with one sword.

"Roar!"

The Yin mist of the statue surged, as if some wild beast was roaring.

"Still want to cause trouble, I spit!"

The bearded Daoist spat; it was the statue secretly devouring the Yin souls that had died in the cavern.

Li Yan knew that this must be a master reinforcement from the True Martial Palace, but seeing his drunk appearance, he didn't want to pay attention to him either.

Without a word, he picked up the few treasures on the ground, tucked them into his bosom, and arrived in front of Liu Gang's corpse, silently moving it aside.

Opening the stone coffin, inside was indeed a female corpse, soaked in pale green liquid, dressed in Tang Dynasty palace attire, her appearance still lifelike.

Li Yan did not talk nonsense, directly broke open the stone coffin, placed the two corpses together, and found a Netherfire Musket that had not yet been used.

Beside him, the drunk Daoist frowned and said, "This is an Earth Immortal body; the 'Great Yin Refining Form Technique' is difficult to cultivate, and selling it outside would fetch a high price."

"Kid, aren't you tempted?"

Li Yan said coldly, "What is promised must naturally be done; besides, whoever wants this thing is likely some other old monster."

Having said that, he directly pulled the rope, phosphorus fire and kerosene sprayed out, turning the two corpses into fireballs.

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

The drunk Daoist shook his head. "The affairs of these two are widely circulated among the people; falling into the same grave after death is quite fitting."

"Sigh~ Who is not afraid of life and death? Love and hate have their own divisions..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 269 =====