Chapter 323

Severed limbs, broken wood, smoke... a scene of devastation met the eyes.

The ground looked as if it had been plowed once, pitted and uneven, filled with mud and water, and the Barbarian King's Tomb had already collapsed.

The pottery jar used for human sacrifice had been shattered by a cannonball, with blood and severed limbs flowing everywhere; even the garrison soldiers felt nauseous in their stomachs at the sight.

Several old monks stood in front of the Barbarian King's Tomb, turning a blind eye to the misery around them, only staring fixedly at that large grave-robbing hole.

Soon, a monk crawled out covered in mud, didn't bother to tidy up, and put his hands together, "Reporting to the Elder, they have already run away."

Hearing this, the faces of several old monks became ugly.

Zen Master Tongxuan was also among them; hearing this, his brows were tightly locked, his face solemn, "I'm afraid we've been tricked; the White Tiger evil energy was only one part, the Xiao Shixian inside probably also has problems..."

"Caught a live one!"

In the distance, a loud shout came from the Commandant's Office, and then a man covered in mud was dragged out from the mound.

"Ah! Ah!"

That man was precisely the Miao person from the Jiangxia Man earlier, screaming and struggling frantically, his face full of fear, looking like he had seen a ghost.

Zen Master Tongxuan frowned, changed the preaching seal in his hand, and opened his mouth to chant: "Om!"

This was the Six-Syllable Mantra; "Om" is the light of equality wisdom, representing the heart of the Buddha department, and chanting the mantra can awaken the pure original heart.

As soon as the mantra was cast, it sounded like a bell roaring.

That man who had been frightened crazy seemed to be struck by lightning, standing still on the spot, and then his eyes gradually regained their luster, but the fear on his face had not dissipated.

The people from the Commandant's Office hurriedly stepped forward to interrogate.

"Who are you?"

"Jiangxia Man Protector... Li Hai..."

"What did you see?"

"Zombies, zombies, people from Tusi City, and Elder Elder Ge Lai, letting that hairless zombie eat people..."

"Hairless zombie, what did it look like?"

"Smooth and hairless, white and terrifying..."

"How did you survive?"

"The cannon fired, I was thrown away, they were in a hurry to leave, so they didn't kill me?"

"Where did they go?"

"I heard them say they were going to the ancient mine pit."

"What are they going to the ancient mine pit for?"

"Heard, to get some blood jade cong..."

After an interrogation, everyone obtained a lot of information.

"So it was an Undying Bone."

Zen Master Tongxuan's eyes were full of regret, looking at the surroundings, "The evil people's blood sacrifice interfered with our investigation; if we had known it was an Undying Bone, why would we have been so timid."

The biggest difference between an Undying Bone and a Xiao Shixian or Drought Demon is that it cannot accumulate massive amounts of disaster energy in its body.

It is precisely this difference that makes the treatment methods completely different.

If you encounter an Undying Bone, you can directly suppress and burn it.

But for a Xiao Shixian and Drought Demon, you can only suppress them, borrowing the gang-sha energy of the mountains and rivers to grind away the disaster bit by bit; otherwise, once destroyed, it would mean plague spreading everywhere and poison flowing for a thousand miles.

The enemy had long anticipated this, setting up a false formation to make them timid, and the number of people on the mountain was far fewer than imagined.

The old monk sent by the Shaolin Chan sect shook his head, "Zhao Changsheng is cunning and good at calculating the human heart; otherwise, he wouldn't have eroded the entire Great Song back then. It is already a great fortune that we can eliminate the disaster in Wuchang this time."

"Let's go, it turns out that the blood jade cong is hidden in that ancient mine pit; it must be one of the key points of the Nine-Headed Phoenix Vein and cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the evil people."

Zen Master Tongxuan frowned, "With the Ghost Sect's cruelty and caution, how could they leave a live one? I'm afraid it's deliberately luring us to go."

"That is natural."

The old monk of the Shaolin Chan sect nodded, "This poor monk heard that there are nine blood jade congs in total; to trigger the Nine-Headed Phoenix Vein, not one can be missing."

"The evil people want to make a feint to the east and attack the west to leave Wuchang; Junior Brother Tongxuan can return to Baotong Zen Temple to perform dharma assemblies to find their tracks, and we will divide our forces into two paths, one path to the ancient mine pit to get the blood jade cong."

"The rest will be responsible for tracking, preferably killing them before they leave Wuchang!"

"Yes, Senior Brother Shiyuan."

After setting the plan, everyone searched for a while and divided their forces again.

Some went to the ancient mine pit in the west, some returned to Baotong Zen Temple, and others cooperated with the Commandant's Office to intercept at various important roads in Wuchang...

Thunder roared, and the rain poured down.

The "Knife-Grinding Rain" of previous years was relatively gentle, drizzling for at most half a day, but this year it was abnormally violent.

By the second half of the night, it even became a heavy rainstorm.

In the ruined temple in the mountains, the wild wind howled, blowing the temple door to creak; the candlelight inside was dim like a bean, seemingly about to go out at any time.

Inside the ruined temple, it was precisely Protector Wang of the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect and the others.

Tan Yuner of Tusi City was also there; she looked at the heavy rain outside through the window, her eyes full of impatience, and said coldly to the Meishan brothers, "What's going on with your Ghost Sect?"

"Didn't you say that even if the Four Symbols formation failed, you could release the Xiao Shixian and trigger chaos? Why is there still no movement?"

Protector Wang's face was also a bit ugly, "We have already done what we promised, and the item has been sent to the Barbarian King's Tomb, but there is no movement at all; all the important roads have been blocked by the imperial court, and we can't even leave."

"What the hell are you playing at?"

The Meishan brothers looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.

The eldest, with bitterness in his eyes, said, "The two of you, don't be angry; to tell you the truth, the Ghost Sect's rules are strict, and we joined just to resurrect our master."

"We brothers are only responsible for running errands; the real plan is only known to Liu Niang, Elder Ge Lai Chong, and Poliu Han Baling."

"Hmph!"

Tan Yuner let out a cold snort, "Protector Wang, it seems we've all been played."

Protector Wang was silent for a moment, then shook his head, "Princess Tan, don't be angry; being angry won't help. All those who return to life must be prepared in advance. For those who die violently, only Zhao Changsheng has a way to fish them back."

"Just this point alone means we can't fall out with the Ghost Sect."

Tan Yuner gritted her teeth fiercely, "What kind of person is this Zhao Changsheng? Could it be that he really has someone protecting him in the Netherworld as the world rumors?"

"Who knows?"

Protector Wang shook his head, "Only he can return people to life at will, which is why the Ghost Sect has grown so strong; it's best not to offend him too much..."

As they were talking, both of them looked up at the same time, their eyes full of vigilance.

"Someone is here, grab your weapons!"

At the order, everyone in the temple drew their weapons one after another.

Soon, footsteps sounded, and then an aged voice rang out, "Everyone, don't misunderstand, it's this old man."

"It's Elder Elder Ge Lai!"

The Meishan brothers' eyes lit up, and they hurriedly opened the door.

Outside the door was indeed Elder Ge Lai Chong, in a black robe, drenched like a drowned rat, followed by several people, precisely the experts sent by Tusi City.

Protector Wang was about to speak, but suddenly felt his hair stand on end, staring fixedly at a strange person in the crowd wearing a wide black robe and a hood.

"Who are you?"

Although the other party covered his face, he could feel the cold and decaying aura emanating from him.

That person slowly raised his head and lifted the hood.

Rumble!

Thunder exploded, and a ferocious, ghost-like face appeared before everyone.

"Zombie!"

Everyone was shocked. And Elder Ge Lai Chong hurriedly opened his mouth, "Everyone, don't be alarmed, this old man will introduce him; this is our Ghost Sect's Ezhou Hall Master, Lord Huang Liushi."

Huang Liushi?

Protector Wang and Tan Yuner looked at each other.

They naturally knew who Huang Liushi was.

When the Great Song Ghost Sect was rampant, Huang Liushi was a nightmare in this land of Ezhou; countless Mystic Sect people had died at his hands.

The Ghost Sect really played tricks!

Although this Huang Liushi in front of them was notoriously fierce, Protector Wang still gritted his teeth, "Everyone, wasn't it said that you would release the Xiao Shixian and disrupt the imperial court's grain and grass? This doesn't match our original agreement!"

Huang Liushi glanced at them indifferently, opened his fanged mouth, and snorted coldly, "It's still raining, have some manners."

After saying that, he entered the temple directly; his naked feet stepped on the ground, water droplets dripped, and frost immediately condensed after landing.

Whoosh~

As he entered the temple, everyone felt a chill all over, and the wild wind and rain mist surged in, blowing the candlelight to sway unsteadily.

Huang Liushi flicked his black robe and sat directly in the main seat, his face cold, scanning the circle before opening his mouth, "Our Ghost Sect will naturally do what we promised."

"Although the Four Symbols formation failed, this seat knows a few fellow Daoists; with their help, disrupting the Yangtze River grain transport will not be a problem."

!.

"Also, the matters of your Lord Lord Tian Sheng Duke and the Great Priest of Tang Ya Tusi City returning to life will all be presided over by this old man."

Protector Wang and Tan Yuner's faces changed upon hearing this.

"Sect Leader Zhao isn't coming?"

Although they didn't dare to offend this monster in front of them, both couldn't hide their dissatisfaction.

"Hmph!"

Huang Liushi said coldly, "The Divine Land is vast, how can it be just the Southwest? The Sect Leader has other important matters; from now on, all affairs of the Southwest Ghost Sect will be fully responsible by this old man."

As he spoke, he suddenly frowned and said in a deep voice, "Elder Ge Lai Chong, hang the Bagua mirror on the temple door, blow out the candles, everyone, don't speak."

Although everyone didn't understand why, this Huang Liushi had controlled the situation as soon as he arrived, so they could only obey.

Soon, the candles were extinguished, and a Bagua mirror was hung at the temple entrance.

Rumble!

Outside, there was thunder roaring again.

Protector Wang and Tan Yuner widened their eyes.

They clearly saw that the Bagua mirror suddenly lit up.

Huang Liushi's blood-red eyes looked outside and said coldly, "The gods and Buddhas worshipped by Baotong Zen Temple can use the Buddha Eye supernatural power to find people."

"Now that the Four Symbols formation has been broken, they have no more obstacles and are currently performing dharma assemblies to find us."

"Let's go, we don't have much time; they will find us again in three sticks of incense, and then our cover will be blown."

After saying that, he stood up and left the ruined temple directly.

Although everyone didn't understand why, they followed closely behind.

This place was not far from Donghu Lake; everyone crossed a mountain ridge, passed through layers of dense forest, and a vast lake suddenly appeared before their eyes.

Protector Wang guessed something and asked cautiously, "Is the fellow Daoist the Elder of Donghu Lake mentioned by the senior?"

Huang Liushi nodded slightly and said coldly, "This old thing doesn't know the number of Heaven; how can one escape the great calamity of the human world."

"Hmph, you took the Sect Leader's things, and still want to run?"

After saying that, he pinched a dharma seal, chanted strange incantations, and at the same time, Yin cold energy surged from his body; white frost appeared from under his feet, spreading toward the lake surface.

"Roar!"

Soon, white fog surged on the lake surface.

A huge toad broke through the water, howling in pain in the rain and water mist, its entire body covered in flesh tentacles turning into insects and drilling out...

"Master Lu, thank you for your hard work."

Li Yan held an umbrella and sent Master Lu back to his room with everyone.

The final step of all dharma artifacts had to be assembled and consecrated by Master Lu himself; he was busy from morning till night for a whole day.

Even though Master Lu was strong and sturdy, he couldn't take it anymore; his face was pale, and the muscles in his arms were trembling slightly.

Seeing Li Yan full of regret, Master Lu shook his head directly, "Don't take it to heart; you have to fight to the death, and we have to exhaust our strength, it's the same on the path of cultivation."

"If it weren't for the fact that my few closed-door disciples need to sit in Zezhou Prefecture, there would be no need for this. But fortunately, I didn't fail the mission; I will rest for two days and then set off to leave."

"Understood, Master, have a good rest."

After Li Yan thanked him again, he returned to the room with Sha Lifei.

Sha Lifei had been busy for several days, his days and nights reversed, and today he had been on tenterhooks for a whole day, also unable to hide his exhaustion.

But his eyes were still excited; as soon as he entered the room, he couldn't wait, picked up the box on the ground, opened it carefully, and touched the long gun with fascination.

Now the Divine Fire Gun had been modified, the gun stock replaced, lengthened, painted pitch black, and inlaid with a white copper tiger talisman on the gun handle.

It was impossible to tell it came from the Commandant's Office.

"Hehe..."

Sha Lifei touched his messy beard, pulled a roll of cloth from the box, put it on the gun easily, and said anxiously, "Little Brother Yan, look, can you smell the scent?"

Li Yan pinched a seal, smiled, and shook his head.

This roll of cloth was a strange cassock they captured from a mountain stockade near Shangjin City, capable of isolating supernatural exploration, and had been remade by the craftsmen under Master Lu into a gun holster.

The biggest problem with the new-style fire-guns was that they were easily explored by various supernatural powers, allowing people to dodge in time.

With this item, the threat would be greatly increased.

Of course, Sha Lifei also had another treasure, taught by Young Master Lin, a treasure-seeker from Jiangzhe, made by burning mountain monkey hair and "earth lichen" in equal proportions into powder, which could also temporarily eliminate the scent.

Sha Lifei's long gun had great power and high precision, suitable for long-distance attacks; with these two treasures, he could act as a sniper.

This was the positioning he found for himself.

He wasn't good at close-quarters fighting, but shooting black guns was absolutely no problem.

Li Yan was also in a good mood, looked at the firearms made for Wang Daoxuan and Lu San, and picked up another box.

After opening it, inside was a set of soft body armor, with the key parts using Earth Dragon bone as the core for steel armor.

The Earth Dragon armor scales were somewhat like snakes, not only smooth but also exceptionally tough; with this item, combined with the Great Luo Dharma Body, he could use it when encountering some critical situations.

Of course, he would collect it carefully on weekdays.

This full-body armor, combined with his previous life's concepts, was after all a bit strange, and it would be too eye-catching to wear out.

With these dharma artifacts, the team's combat power almost doubled.

Just as he was happy, snoring sounds came from the side; it was Sha Lifei who really couldn't hold on anymore and had fallen asleep hugging the box.

Li Yan laughed dumbly, called him awake, and after they packed things up together, returned to his room to sleep.

The night passed without a word, and the thunder and rain outside the window didn't stop at all.

The next morning, it suddenly cleared up, the blue sky was like a wash, and it was another sunny day; the branches and leaves washed by the rain outside the courtyard were all tender and dripping.

Master Lu was still sleeping; Li Yan and the others entrusted the disciples to say goodbye, packed their things, and prepared to return to Wuchang City.

Who knew that before they even went out, Lu San had arrived at Quanquan Temple.

"Brother Lu San, why are you here?"

Li Yan was a bit surprised.

Lu San scratched his head and said in a muffled voice, "Baotong Zen Temple asked me to help with something, and it just so happened I came to find you."

"Hahaha..."

Sha Lifei was amused, "It seems Brother Lu San is our true treasure, loved by everyone; what do they want you for?"

Lu San's eyes were also a bit puzzled, "Said it was to communicate with some Shennongjia savage..."

(End of chapter)