Chapter 369

"Young as you are, you certainly have a sharp tongue."

The mist became even denser, the voice drifted unpredictably, and even his shadow became bizarre and unpredictable, appearing in different directions at the same time.

"Hmph!"

Li Yan slowly drew his Soul-Severing Blade, looked in all directions, and mocked without any politeness: "Not young anymore, but all that's left is a stiff mouth!"

Pfft!

Behind him, Sha Sha Li Fei couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Little Brother Yan, the person is an old senior after all, and he's about to die, so speak more politely."

Both of them were mocking on the surface, but their eyes were full of vigilance.

Li Yan activated his supernatural ability, but both his sense of smell and hearing became chaotic; with a hundred kinds of smells and numerous noises, he couldn't distinguish where the other party was at all.

Sha Sha Li Fei had already raised his firelock, ready to fire at any time.

However, even with wonderful techniques and firearms, it was useless if he couldn't hit the person.

Seeing that the Commandant's office members behind were somewhat restless, Li Yan hurriedly said in a cold voice: "Don't move around, maintain the formation. This is a Qimen Qimen Dunjia array; if you run and get lost, you're dead!"

Battalion Commander Cheng was shocked and shouted: "Defend!"

At the order, the formation of the Commandant's office members immediately changed. A hundred people quickly surrounded them in a circle, consisting of three layers.

The outer layer held shields and swords for defense, the musketeers behind raised their long guns, and the remaining experts were full of vigilance, holding their swords, ready to support at any time.

In just an instant, the formation turned into a hedgehog.

Seeing this, Li Yan couldn't help but praise in his heart.

These people were worthy of being the elite of the Commandant's office; their martial arts were secondary, the main thing was that they didn't panic in the face of battle and were well-trained.

If they had panicked and run around at this time, they would definitely have suffered heavy casualties.

Seeing that they didn't panic, the voice in the forest was obviously somewhat surprised, "Interesting, but you will definitely die today, so why bother struggling in vain."

As he spoke, rustling sounds rang out all around, like fine rain, but they saw the snake swarm attacking them from the gloomy mist, dense and numerous, as if infinite.

"Retreat!"

Lu San suddenly formed a seal and shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, the snake swarm became somewhat restless.

However, a lingering and resentful flute sound rang out again in the thick mist, gathering the snake swarm back together, and then the old voice sneered: "Not bad, it's rare to see a junior proficient in the language of birds and beasts."

"Unfortunately, these little things were all raised by this old man himself; you can't lure them away..."

"Fire!"

Before he finished speaking, Battalion Commander Cheng suddenly gave the order.

Bang, bang, bang!

The people from the Commandant's office immediately opened fire, smoke rose, and streaks of fire burst forth, shooting in all directions.

Although Battalion Commander Cheng was an ordinary person, his response was flawless.

They were trapped in the array, and their senses were interfered with, but bullets didn't have eyes. Even if they didn't hit, they could interfere with the other party's spellcasting, and perhaps even probe the other party's position.

Sure enough, the voice disappeared rapidly, and the snake swarm lost control, running around in disorder.

Snakes have territories, and furthermore, the species were different, and there was a predatory relationship between them. For example, several huge king cobras opened their mouths wide and began to swallow the poisonous snakes beside them.

But soon, that voice rang out again, "This reward is really hard to earn, making this old man go to so much trouble..."

The tone was full of coldness and anger, without the composure from before.

Soon, the lingering flute sound drifted in the thick mist, like weeping and complaining, constantly changing directions. At the same time, the originally restless snake swarm all stopped, raising their bodies and twisting slowly, seemingly dancing.

And from the mouths of these poisonous snakes, faint poisonous mist rose.

Judging by the situation, they were clearly going to use poison to kill.

Seeing this, the group felt a chill in their hearts.

From the words of the old man, it was known that he was a hermit expert of the side-door lineage, who had taken a reward from the evildoers and set an ambush here, mainly to deal with Li Yan.

He knew that Li Yan and the others had already arrived, and even knew that there was Lu San in the team proficient in the language of birds and beasts, so he used poisonous snakes to bewitch them, attempting to lure them into a desperate situation.

Unfortunately, he was seen through by Li Yan, who heard the ghost language.

Seeing that the plan had failed, the other party directly set up a great array, trapping them in this place single-handedly. No wonder he dared to take this job.

Seeing the poisonous mist spreading, Li Yan naturally wouldn't sit and wait for death. He gripped the Divine Tiger Order at his waist, formed a Dharma seal, and chanted in a deep voice: "Nuogao, alone open the great-grandson Wang Jia, Six Jia Green Dragon, Six Yi meets the star..."

It was the "Northern Emperor Mountain-Climbing Technique" that hadn't been used for a long time.

In an instant, a fierce wind rose all around, and the poisonous mist drifting over was blown away, but Li Yan didn't let go of the hand seal, and the fierce wind didn't stop either.

This was a trick he had discovered long ago: using the flow of energy triggered by the Mountain-Climbing Technique to disperse the poisonous mist, it was just somewhat mentally taxing.

"Hmph!"

The old man in the thick mist snorted coldly, knowing that words alone couldn't disturb their minds, so he simply stopped talking nonsense and continued to perform his magic.

This time, clusters of green ghost fire rose in the thick mist, floating around like lanterns, gathering toward them.

Just at this moment, Wang Wang Daoxuan, who had been checking the compass, suddenly spoke in a low voice: "Wu position!"

Sha Sha Li Fei didn't say a word and moved the muzzle of his gun directly.

Boom!

A loud noise, like thunder.

The power of the new-style firelock naturally went without saying, and even the gloomy mist in the forest was pierced with obvious traces by the airflow, and the bamboo forest along the way also collapsed and broke.

"Ah—!"

A scream rang out in the forest, and the ghost fire scattered in all directions.

"Wonderful methods, gentlemen!"

Beside him, Battalion Commander Cheng couldn't help but praise.

He had seen clearly just now that after learning he was the target, Li Yan had mocked and performed techniques to attract the other party's attention.

And regardless of Sha Sha Li Fei, Lu San, or Wu Ba, they all protected Wang Wang Daoxuan in the center, letting him focus on breaking the array.

If they had come hard, they would definitely have had a way, but this method was undoubtedly the most appropriate, without any losses, and the price paid was the smallest.

Battalion Commander Cheng had seen many people in the martial world; sometimes they relied on martial force, sometimes on experience. This team style of Li Yan's was the first time he had seen it, and it was even more particular about cooperation than they were.

He didn't know that Li Yan was influenced by the concepts of his previous life, and his thinking was different, completely borrowing the ideas of special forces to train the team according to each person's strengths.

Hearing the praise, Wang Wang Daoxuan didn't care and shook his head, "That person isn't dead yet, the array isn't broken, don't move around."

"This array borrows the land of fierce evil, performs 'Qimen Qimen Dunjia', and also borrows the 'Eight Techniques of Hiding in the Earth' of the Daoist gate, using oneself as the 'Jia'. The object controlling the array is hidden on his body."

"Fortunately, the other party is injured and has already fled. Find a few people born in the year of the Dragon or Tiger, set out from these two directions, walk two hundred steps respectively, and dig on the spot."

"Brother Sha, give them some lamp oil and salt."

"Gentlemen, no matter what you dig up, don't be afraid. Set a fire to it, and the array will naturally be broken!"

"Quick, those born in the year of the Dragon or Tiger, step out!"

Battalion Commander Cheng gave the order without hesitation, and six men immediately stepped out, walking into the thick mist according to the directions pointed out by Wang Wang Daoxuan.

"One, two, three..."

They counted their steps silently as they walked. Although they were quickly enveloped by the thick mist behind them and couldn't see their companions, the poisonous snakes along the way also turned a blind eye, which gave them confidence.

These elite soldiers of the Commandant's office were bold enough. After walking two hundred steps, they immediately brandished their scabbards and began to dig.

The bamboo forest was all loose soil. After scraping away the thick rotten bamboo leaves on top and digging less than half a foot, they immediately found a small coffin.

The coffin was only two feet long, made of locust wood, carved with all kinds of ferocious and bizarre inscriptions, and had a small hole opened in it, with countless maggots surging inside. A poisonous snake crawled over the coffin.

Swish!

Suddenly, a small, black, rotten hand reached out from the hole, quickly pulling the poisonous snake into the coffin.

The elite soldiers of the Commandant's office felt their scalps tingle. Recalling Wang Wang Daoxuan's instructions, they didn't dare to be slow, immediately poured lamp oil and salt on it, and threw down a fire starter.

Boom!

The fierce fire immediately rose, and the sound of a baby crying rang out from the coffin. Subsequently, a fierce wind blew in the forest, and the thick mist dissipated rapidly.

The Qimen array was broken. Although the light in the bamboo forest was still dim, the moonlight shone down, and the group finally saw the surrounding environment clearly.

Without knowing when, they had arrived in an unfamiliar bamboo forest, surrounded by dense old tombs, built with bricks and stones.

And who knows how many years had passed, it had long been destroyed by bamboo roots, full of scars. And every hundred steps, ox skulls were hung on the bamboo poles, rotten and withered yellow, which was very bizarre.

In front of them in the forest, an ancient stone tablet had collapsed, the handwriting was mottled, but it could still be seen vaguely, written: The heart is the governance of the nine orifices, the monarch is the chief of the five senses...

"It's the 'Fu Yan', Guiguzi."

Wang Wang Daoxuan's eyes lit up and he spoke.

Li Yan suddenly thought of something, his expression changed slightly, and he pretended to be calm and said: "Find the attacker first!"

!.

Having said this, he walked toward the direction where Sha Sha Li Fei had fired.

Wang Wang Daoxuan also knew he had made a slip of the tongue and hurriedly shut his mouth.

He also remembered one thing.

There were three treasures in Yunmeng Marsh: the Divine Palace of the Lord of the Clouds, the Breathing Soil, and the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan Ancestor.

They had once entrusted the Giant Salamander Master to help inquire, and learned that the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan Ancestor was in the Xiangyang area, and some mysterious people were searching for it in secret.

The attacking enemy was very likely related to it!

On the other side, Li Yan walked quickly and sure enough found a pool of blood two hundred steps away, mixed with some minced meat.

At such a distance, even with Sha Sha Li Fei's marksmanship, he would lose accuracy, and it was also blocked by the thick mist, so he used fragmentation bullets.

The other party had already been injured and fled.

Without any hesitation, the group immediately began tracking.

Following the bloody stench, they walked forward for a while, and before long, they saw a mountain cave, with bricks and stones piled up beside it, looking like a cave dwelling.

"Don't enter, there is poisonous miasma inside!"

This was the real killing move of the enemy just now, using the array to lure them into the cave, interfering with their supernatural abilities, and by the time they discovered they were poisoned, it would be too late to leave.

After giving instructions, Li Yan led the group to bypass the miasma cave, passed through a bamboo forest, and the view in front of them instantly became open.

They saw an open space halfway up the mountain in front of them, with a study and a thatched cottage, surrounded by a fence. Under the moonlight, it was very quiet and secluded.

But the fence gate was wide open, and there were bloodstains on the ground.

An old man in a green Confucian robe sat on the steps, his face pale, holding his chest with his hand, and drops of blood kept seeping out.

This old man was also unlucky. Although Sha Sha Li Fei used fragmentation bullets, one shot entered his chest cavity and injured his lung.

At this moment, his face was iron-blue, he was gasping for air like a dying fish, looking at the group with eyes full of unwillingness.

Even Li Yan felt stifled when he saw it.

This old man's techniques were definitely not ordinary, but he happened to injure his lung, couldn't chant spells, couldn't use techniques, and barely managed to run back to his old lair.

Li Yan looked around, his heart moved, and he shook his head: "Without the array covering it, the layout in the courtyard can't be hidden from us."

"Is that right, Senior An Fade?"

He suddenly remembered that when Master Lu obstructed the chaos, he had suggested to Battalion Commander Zhou to go into Mount Lumen to find a hermit named An Fade.

This old man in front of him was most likely him.

"Not bad, it is this old man..."

This old man had injured his lung and couldn't even catch his breath when speaking. His face became even more iron-blue, and he said with a face full of resentment: "You wait, this old man's disciples will avenge me!"

"Hmph!"

Li Yan snorted coldly and suddenly leaped into the courtyard.

Bang, bang, bang!

Dust splashed in the courtyard, and iron animal traps popped out, closing suddenly, vaguely forming an Eight Trigrams shape.

If he had taken one wrong step, his lower leg would have been snapped.

However, Li Yan's footsteps were fast, he dodged directly, leaped, and arrived in front of the old man, pressing his Soul-Severing Blade against the other party's neck, and said in a low voice: "Rest assured, your disciple won't be able to find the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan Ancestor."

When the old man heard this, his eyes immediately widened.

It seemed that this stimulation caused him to lose his last bit of strength. With eyes full of unwillingness, he clutched his heart and completely stopped breathing.

Li Yan was also testing him with words, never expecting to take the other party's life directly. He estimated it was because of the lung damage, which triggered heart problems.

"Tsk tsk, at your age, what are you risking your life for..."

Li Yan shook his head, searched his body, and found nothing but a few flutes and leather bags for poison.

Subsequently, he looked at the thatched cottage.

He formed a Dharma seal and searched inside. After a while, Li Yan suddenly waved his hand: "Come in, there's a discovery!"

The group hurriedly entered the thatched cottage and saw that the floorboards had been pried open, revealing a tunnel inside.

After entering, below was a stone room.

The ground was piled with straw, emitting a foul stench, and there were traces of dragging, leading to another tunnel.

The group didn't talk nonsense and continued searching along the tunnel.

Someone had laid an ambush in advance, which meant their news had already been leaked. He estimated that the people of the Medicine Saint Li family had been hidden here and then transferred.

The tunnel was gloomy and deep, fortunately without any traps.

After walking for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, another stone room appeared ahead, inside which lay a person, clothes tattered, hair messy, tied up tightly with straw ropes, already unconscious.

"It's Doctor Li!"

Battalion Commander Cheng saw this, hurriedly stepped forward, and after checking his breathing, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the person was saved, this mission wouldn't be considered a failure.

"Tsk tsk!"

On the other side, Sha Sha Li Fei praised: "Good fellow, I've really opened my eyes!"

He saw him lying in the other corner of the stone room, looking out through two holes, not knowing what he had seen.

Li Yan frowned, looked around, came to the corner of the wall, and pulled an iron chain directly.

Rumble!

The entire stone wall actually began to turn slowly.

In an instant, a lingering, seductive energy drifted in.

The group filed out, and the scene in front of them shocked them.

This was clearly a Buddhist hall, with Robed Guanyin worshipped above.

But inside the Buddhist hall, it was full of disheveled men and women, rolling together in a mess, each with a silly smile on their faces, saliva flowing.

"Watch out above!"

Li Yan drew his Soul-Severing Blade and pulled the group back.

They saw a huge gecko lying on the crossbeam of the Buddhist hall, its color blending with the crossbeam, breathing heavily toward the bottom, seemingly devouring some kind of energy...

The second chapter will be in the afternoon.

(End of chapter)