Chapter 340

"Flying Wooden Magpie?"

Lu San frowned, his face full of doubt.

He grew up with the village guardian and later drifted in the martial world; he was okay at reading, but he really hadn't read many books.

He naturally didn't know this allusion.

Li Yan stroked the hard rattan, "This thing is recorded in 'Chong Mozi'; Lu Ban carved bamboo and wood into a magpie, which could fly in the sky for three days without landing. It is rumored that Chong Mozi also debated with him to stop Chu from attacking Song."

"It's just that this thing is a bit different from what I imagined."

He originally thought it was something like an airplane, but he didn't expect it to be a hot air balloon; after being ignited and taking off, it indeed looked like a torch.

Lu San had no interest in these allusions, looked at the sky, and frowned: "The rain is about to stop, can this thing take us away?"

"Let's try."

Li Yan said, directly pulling open the door on one side of the rattan wooden grid, and took Lu San inside.

This black bamboo rattan should also be some kind of spirit material, and he didn't know what method was used to process it, but it was extremely tough and light in weight.

The rattan was woven into the shape of a pavilion, about the size of a gazebo.

The inside was also covered in mud and sand, and there were two corpses lying there, a long knife and a sharp sword piercing each other, dying together.

Li Yan couldn't spare the time to care, directly looking up.

No matter what the principle of this thing was, it must be ignited from above.

Sure enough, there was a circular opening above, with several bronze chains hanging a copper basin, which was also filled with mud and sand.

Without time to explain more, Li Yan leaped up, grabbed the frame with one hand, and carefully cleared the mud and sand in the copper basin with the other.

As the mud and sand were pushed aside, a peculiar fragrance wafted over.

Under the mud and sand was a layer of white solid paste; after so many years, the color was still snow-white, looking like some kind of paraffin.

And in the center, there was a peculiar copper pillar, densely covered with holes, with velvet thread stuffed inside; it should be the wick.

"Did you bring a fire starter?" Li Yan lowered his head and asked.

Having been buried in the lake for so long, he didn't know if it could still be used, but he had to try first.

"Yes."

Lu San hurriedly took the fire starter from his waist and handed it over.

Li Yan blew the fire starter until it ignited, carefully aiming at the copper wick.

However, the velvet thread inside had been soaked for too long, and no matter how hard he blew, it couldn't be ignited.

Just at this moment, the heavy rain outside became smaller and smaller.

Looking at the appearance, it was about to stop.

Rumble!

The ground actually began to shake.

Lu San suddenly felt dizzy and had tinnitus; all kinds of shrill sounds, even without opening his divine ability, he could clearly hear.

"Quick, the ghost city is sinking!"

At the same time, on the stage on the shore of Shenjiaba.

Although the actors of the opera troupe were still performing with all their might, their faces were all pale, their glabella was blue, and their eyebrows and beards were all covered with white frost.

The yin energy here was thick to the extreme, worthy of being called a ghost realm.

They were just ordinary people, and being able to persist until now was not easy; they were all supported by a single breath, and their bodies were already trembling.

Hu~

Just at this moment, a wild wind howled around.

The gongs and drums of the opera troupe actually started to strike themselves with a ding-ding-dang-dang sound, scaring the musicians of the opera troupe until their bodies were stiff, not daring to move.

Fortunately, the thick fog below retreated rapidly, and those densely packed shadows also dissipated in large numbers.

Within a few breaths, the thick fog disappeared completely, the surrounding air suddenly became refreshing, and one could even vaguely hear the sound of insects.

The heavy rain didn't know when it had stopped.

The members of the opera troupe all breathed a sigh of relief, but still didn't dare to break the rules, honestly finishing the curtain call, sounding the gongs, and only after getting off the stage did they collapse to the ground with weak legs, hugging each other and crying bitterly.

The experience of tonight was something they would never forget in their lives.

And Wang Wang Daoxuan under the stage had a drastic change in complexion; he couldn't care about packing up his evil-suppressing treasure coins, hurriedly leaped out of the protective formation, and ran to the lake to watch.

Only to see the thick fog and ghost fires constantly shrinking toward the center.

"Oh no!"

Wang Wang Daoxuan was burning with anxiety, but didn't know what to do.

On the other side, the movement in the ghost city was even greater.

The ground rumbled and began to sink slowly, and the lake water spread from all directions, soon submerging their feet.

At the same time, figures appeared on the street, men and women, old and young, all covered in mud, with pale faces.

Li Yan and Lu San were living people; in the eyes of these wronged souls and fierce ghosts, they were simply like furnaces.

That warm yang energy attracted them to approach continuously.

"It's too late, let's go!"

Even though Lu San was calm, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Just at this moment, a flash of inspiration struck Li Yan's mind; he hurriedly took out a magazine, pried out the iron pellets and oil paper, and poured all the gunpowder onto the copper wick.

Boom!

As soon as the fire starter touched it, fire and thick smoke exploded.

Li Yan was almost sprayed in the face, hurriedly dodging, and then turned his head to look; the copper wick was already emitting a raging fire.

Moreover, the flames passed through those honeycomb-like fine holes, spraying in a twisted shape, while the white paraffin-like substance around it did not melt.

Hu~

Hot air billowed, and the leather bag above first stood up, then actually began to expand, getting bigger and bigger, like a giant lantern.

"Quick, clear away the things that are in the way."

Li Yan jumped down, kicked fiercely, kicking the entangled remains on the ground away, and Lu San also didn't care about the filth, reaching out to push the mud and sand away.

And the countless ghosts around had already roared over.

"Nuogao, left with three stars, right with three prisons, heaven and earth overturned, all nine paths blocked... Decree as fast as the law!"

Li Yan was already holding the Divine Tiger Order, using the Northern Emperor's Protective Spell.

"Roar!"

With a roar of a fierce tiger, a wild wind blew around; those ghosts and fierce ghosts that rushed up were either directly scattered or dizzy, bumping around everywhere.

With Li Yan's cultivation level rising, the power of the Protective Spell also increased greatly.

However, his use of magic arts alarmed the ghost city.

Only to see outside the city walls, corpse after corpse broke out of the water, with long flesh tentacles trailing behind them, like jellyfish, rushing toward them from all directions.

Lu San only then knew that Li Yan's words were not false.

If they had left the city just now, they would probably have been entangled by this thing immediately; whether sinking the boat or swimming in the water, they would have been at a disadvantage.

And at the same time, the air bag above was getting bigger and bigger.

Finally, the two felt their feet sink, and the entire pavilion woven from black rattan began to rise slowly.

And those tentacles also roared over.

"Sit tight!"

Li Yan gave a low shout, suddenly leaped out of the rattan pavilion, climbed the rattan window with his right hand, and raised his left hand.

Clang!

A Soul-Severing Flying Knife at his waist roared out.

Under the control of the Soul-Hooking Rope, the flying knife made a shrill sound, directly cutting off several tentacles, and together with the corpses in front, they fell to the ground with a bang.

His flying knife had the power to sever souls; all the tentacles that were cut off and fell to the ground twisted crazily and gradually stopped moving.

Boom!

Lu San also fired fiercely.

Flames splattered in front of the bone mace, directly breaking several tentacles.

And in this short time, the rattan pavilion flew higher and higher; after rising dozens of meters, those tentacles could no longer reach them. Looking down from high altitude, the scene before them was even more astonishing.

Centered on the ruins of Gaochang County, the surroundings were densely packed with tentacles, like a giant sea anemone.

With the heavy rain stopping, Gaochang City was sinking rapidly, and the ghosts and fierce ghosts in the city stopped chasing and all looked up.

Face after pale face, black eyes, were gradually swallowed by the lake water, and the thick fog on the lake surface dissipated along with it.

Lu San and Li Yan looked at each other, both breathing a sigh of relief.

And on the shore of the lake, Wang Wang Daoxuan, the members of the opera troupe, and Wu Ba were all dumbfounded, looking at the sky.

The torch-like fire was exceptionally obvious in the night sky.

Looking from a height, the night wind blew, Li Yan's hair fluttered, and even though he was covered in mud and a bit disheveled, he felt exceptionally happy, laughing loudly.

And Lu San clung to the window, his legs a bit weak.

He finally understood Wu Ba's feelings.

!.

"Stop laughing!"

Lu San was tense all over, saying with difficulty: "How are we going to get down?"

Li Yan was stunned, "Ah, this, I don't know."

Lu San: "......"

…………

In the land of Jiangxia, a river was wide.

This river was named the Jinshui River, passing through Jiangxia, reaching Xianning and Chibi; since ancient times, it had been a strategic thoroughfare, accessible in all directions; during the Battle of Chibi, the Eastern Wu navy had practiced ambushes here.

On the river surface, a Jiujiang boat was moving forward at high speed.

The boat was densely packed with garrison soldiers, all wearing armor, holding knives and guns, their eyes sharp, scanning the surroundings.

"The rain has stopped!"

Sha Sha Li Fei walked out of the boat pavilion, his eyes full of worry.

Behind him, not only were there martial monks from the Law Enforcement Hall like Master Chengjue, but also an old monk with white eyebrows, who was none other than one of the people Li Yan had seen at Baotong Zen Temple.

This old monk's dharma name was Master Tonghuan, and he had come specifically to handle this matter.

His complexion was also bad at this moment, and he couldn't help but pick up the thangka again to look at it, a flash of killing intent in his eyes.

This thangka was exactly what was found on the foreign monk Li Yan had captured.

On it were painted two deities, both with ghost faces and fangs, pitch black all over, six arms each holding a ritual implement, entangled with each other.

Seeing this, Sha Sha Li Fei hurriedly asked: "Master, is it really that troublesome?"

"Hmm."

The old monk sighed, shook his head and said: "The person you encountered belongs to a rare sect in Tibetan Buddhism, the 'Sky-Walking Sect'."

"This sect had already defected to the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom during the previous dynasty; because of sectarian disputes, the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom's State Preceptor, Phagpa, couldn't tolerate them and ordered their pursuit."

"To protect themselves, they threw themselves under the command of Shamanism, seeking protection. After the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom was destroyed, they had been secretly sowing discord in Tibet, inciting rebellion."

"The letter mentioned a piece of news: remnants of the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom have entered the Tsarist Russia and have already grasped power. This time he sneaked in to persuade the Maitreya Sect to join hands with them to do something big."

"On this thangka, the two deities are named Ghost-Faced Sky-Walking Mother and Black Heaven Bright King. In their doctrine, the Sky-Walking Mother is a female Bodhisattva, a messenger between mortals and Buddhas..."

The old monk spoke obscurely, but Sha Sha Li Fei vaguely understood something, "They want to bring someone back to life?"

The old monk was stunned, "I forgot, you have a close relationship with Benefactor Li, but this matter is more troublesome than bringing someone back to life."

"It's a descent!"

"The letter says that the Ghost-Faced Sky-Walking Mother and the Black Heaven Bright King have condensed a divine fetus, and they will use this method to descend into the human world."

"This method is similar to reincarnation; during the Daxing years of the previous dynasty, there were people from the 'Sky-Walking Sect' who brought a divine fetus into Ezhou, wanting to use the special terrain of Lake Lake Liangzi to gestate the divine fetus."

"Fortunately, their plan hadn't succeeded yet when the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom was destroyed by the Great Da Xuan Dynasty, and the remnants scattered."

"These people are still stubborn, wanting the Black Heaven Bright King to be reincarnated into the Prince's mansion of the Great Da Xuan Dynasty, and become the Maitreya Sect leader, to subvert the imperial court."

"Descent?"

Sha Sha Li Fei was a bit confused, "Gods?"

The old monk shook his head: "Every sect in the Divine Land is constrained by the 'Heavenly Law'; whether gods or Buddhas, they are all forbidden from descending, and even forbidden from communicating with mortals; violators will face disaster."

"But they dare to do this, so they must be prepared; no matter what the background of this Black Heaven Bright King is, we cannot let them succeed!"

What he said seemed like a lot, but in reality, he was hiding even more.

Primitive Bonism, like Shamanism and Witchcraft, originated in ancient times; later, as the Zhangzhung Dynasty rose in Tibet, it gathered sorcerers from all over, forming Bonism.

Later, Bonism grew powerful, and the struggle between divine power and royal power was endless; after Songtsen Gampo unified Tibet, he introduced Buddhism to balance it, thus the struggle between Buddhism and Bonism appeared again, and the two had a fusion, forming Tibetan Buddhism.

It wasn't until the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom period, at the Liangzhou Alliance, that Phagpa became the State Preceptor, and this long-standing struggle finally came to an end.

The "Sky-Walking Sect" actually took primitive Bonism as its core and Tibetan Buddhism as its skin, worshipping some ancient deities in Tibet.

This Black Heaven Bright King was very likely an ancient deity.

Or perhaps, a successful ascender...

…………

Near Shenjiaba, Water God Temple.

In the underground cave, the candlelight was bright.

Several old men were kowtowing to the black Maitreya Buddha statue; in front were densely packed lotus lamps, circling in layers in a circular shape.

"Wa~ wa~"

The sound of a baby crying came continuously.

Only to see in the center of the lotus lamps, a tender child was placed, wrapped in yellow scripture silk, with blood-colored talismans drawn all over his body.

Hu~

Just when Li Yan took the Flying Wooden Magpie to escape, a wild wind suddenly rose around, blowing the candles in the cave unsteadily.

"Hall Master Bai and the others have made a move!"

An old man's eyes were full of excitement, and he couldn't help but laugh loudly: "That foreign monk is also stupid; with this divine fetus, we can let the Bright King Chen Chen Youliang return to life."

"That's right."

Another old man also sneered: "Their so-called Black Heaven Bright King is just a foreign god, what qualifications does he have to lead our Maitreya Sect? It's a pity that the foreign monk ran away..."

The leading old man said in a deep voice: "Stop talking, focus; after this matter, we will inevitably be exposed, so we will take the Bright King and leave Ezhou, waiting for the opportunity."

While speaking, the yin wind in the cave became stronger and stronger.

Visible black fog surged out from the ground, vaguely forming the appearance of a human face, roaring ferociously, and flying toward the baby.

But just when several old men were excited, their complexions suddenly changed, and they spat blood and fell to the ground, their skin quickly turning black, and blood flowing from their seven orifices.

"Someone poisoned us!"

In their horrified gaze, one of the old men quickly stood up, jumped to the center of the lotus lamps, took a red bead from his bosom, placed it on the baby's forehead, and bit his fingertip, drawing several talismans.

"Roar!"

The black fog on the ground surged, and the human-faced smoke that had just formed quickly collapsed.

At the same time, dots of spiritual light appeared out of thin air, falling vertically onto the baby, and a rich smell of ghee wafted over.

"Elder Wang, you..."

Several old men were full of disbelief.

And that old man looked at the others, his eyes complex as he said: "Gentlemen, my original name is Burgud, of the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom's Dark Eagle Guard; all these years... I've let you down."

After saying this, he kept kowtowing to the baby.

And the baby stopped crying, his complexion turning gloomy, his eyes gradually dyeing pitch black...

The second update will be a bit late.

(End of chapter)