Chapter 369: Demons and Evils Hidden in Famous Mountains

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

The mist became increasingly thick, the voice drifted unpredictably, and even his shadow became bizarre and unfathomable, appearing in different directions simultaneously.

"Hmph!"

Li Yan slowly drew his Dust-Severing Blade, looked in all directions, and mocked without any courtesy, "You're not young anymore, all you have left is a stiff mouth!"

Pfft!

Behind him, Sha Lifei couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Little Brother Yan, the man is an old senior after all, and he's about to die, so be a bit more polite."

Both of them were mocking with their mouths, but their eyes were full of vigilance.

Li Yan activated his divine ability; both his sense of smell and hearing became chaotic. With a hundred kinds of scents and numerous noises, he couldn't distinguish the other party's location at all.

Sha Lifei had already raised his firelock, ready to fire at any moment.

However, even with wonderful techniques and firearms, it was futile if one couldn't hit the target.

Seeing that the members of the Commandant's Office behind him were somewhat restless, Li Yan hurriedly said coldly, "Don't move around, maintain the formation. This is a Qimen Dunjia formation; if you get lost, you're dead!"

Company Commander Cheng was shocked and shouted, "Defend!"

With the order, the formation of the Commandant's Office members changed immediately; a hundred men quickly surrounded them in a circle, consisting of three layers.

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

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

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

These men were worthy of being the elite of the Commandant's Office; their martial arts were secondary, the main thing was that they did not panic in the face of battle and were well-trained.

If they had panicked and run around just now, they would surely have suffered heavy casualties.

Seeing that they did not panic, the voice in the forest was clearly somewhat surprised, "Interesting, but you will surely die today, so why struggle in vain?"

As he spoke, a rustling sound rang out all around, like fine rain, but they saw snakes attacking them from the gloomy mist, dense and packed, as if infinite.

"Retreat!"

Lu San suddenly pinched a spell and shouted loudly.

Hearing this, the snake swarm became restless.

However, a lingering and resentful flute sound rang out in the thick mist, constantly changing directions. At the same time, 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 trick them away..."

"Fire!"

Before he could finish speaking, Company Commander Cheng suddenly gave the order.

Bang, bang, bang!

The men of the Commandant's Office immediately opened fire; smoke rose, and streaks of firelight burst out, shooting in all directions.

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

They were trapped in the formation and their senses were interfered with, but bullets had no 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 quickly, and the snake swarm lost control, becoming restless and scurrying everywhere.

Snakes also had territories, and furthermore, the species were different, and there were predatory relationships between them. For example, several massive 'Over-the-Mountain Winds' 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, forcing this old man to go to such trouble..."

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

Soon, the resentful 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, as if dancing.

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

By the looks of it, they were clearly going to use poison to kill.

Seeing this, everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

From the words of this old man, it was clear that he was a side-line expert living in seclusion, 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 were coming, and even knew that there was Lu San in the team proficient in the language of birds and beasts, so he used the bewitchment of poisonous snakes to try to lure them into a desperate situation.

Unfortunately, he was seen through by Li Yan, who heard the ghost's words.

Seeing that the plan was exposed, he actually set up a grand formation directly, trapping them here single-handedly; no wonder he dared to take this job.

Seeing the poisonous mist spreading over, Li Yan naturally would not sit and wait for death. He gripped the Divine Tiger Token at his waist, pinched a spell, and chanted in a deep voice, "Nuogao, alone open the great-grandson Wang Jia, the Six Jia Green Dragon, the Six Yi Meeting Star..."

It was the 'North Emperor Mountain-Climbing Technique' that had not been used for a long time.

In an instant, a violent wind rose all around, and the poisonous mist that had drifted over was blown away, but Li Yan did not let go of his hand seals, and the violent wind did not stop.

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

"Hmph!"

The old man in the thick mist gave a cold snort, knowing that relying on words alone could not disturb their minds, so he simply stopped talking nonsense and continued to perform magic.

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

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

Sha Lifei did not say a word and moved the muzzle directly.

Boom!

A loud noise, like thunder.

The power of the new-style firelock was naturally self-evident; even the gloomy mist in the forest was pierced by the airflow, leaving obvious traces, 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.

"Good methods, everyone!"

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

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

And whether it was Sha Lifei, Lu San, or Wu Ba, they all protected Wang Daoxuan in the center, letting him focus on breaking the formation.

If they had come hard, there would surely have been ways, but this method was undoubtedly the most appropriate, without any losses, and the price paid was the smallest.

Company Commander Cheng had seen many people from the martial world; sometimes they relied on martial force, sometimes they relied on experience. This was the first time he had seen a team style like Li Yan's, which was even more particular about coordination than they were.

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

Hearing the praise, Wang Daoxuan did not care and shook his head, "That person is not dead yet, the formation is not broken, don't move around yet."

"This formation uses the fierce and evil land to perform 'Qimen Dunjia', and also uses the Daoist 'Eight Hidden Earth Arts', taking oneself as 'Jia', and the object controlling the formation is hidden on his body."

"Fortunately, the other party is injured and has already fled. Find a few people who belong to the Dragon or Tiger signs, set off from these two directions, walk two hundred steps respectively, and dig on the spot."

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

"Everyone, no matter what you dig up, don't be afraid, set a fire to it, and the formation will naturally be broken!"

"Quick, those belonging to the Dragon or Tiger signs, step out!"

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

"One, two, three..."

They counted their steps in their hearts as they walked. Although they were quickly wrapped in thick mist behind them and could not see their companions, the poisonous snakes along the way also turned a blind eye, which immediately gave them confidence.

These elites of the Commandant's Office were bold enough. After walking two hundred steps forward, they immediately waved their scabbards and began to dig.

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

The coffin was no more than two feet long, made of locust wood, carved with various ferocious and strange inscriptions, and had a small hole opened, with countless maggots surging inside. A poisonous snake crawled over the coffin.

Swish!

Suddenly, a small, dark-green, rotten hand reached out from the hole and quickly pulled the poisonous snake into the coffin.

The elites of the Commandant's Office felt their scalps tingle. Recalling Wang Daoxuan's instructions, they did not dare to be slow, immediately poured on fire oil and salt, and dropped a fire-starter.

Boom!

The raging fire immediately rose, and the sound of a baby crying came from the coffin; subsequently, a violent wind blew in the forest, and the thick mist quickly dissipated.

The Qimen formation was broken. Although the light in the bamboo forest remained dim, as the moonlight spilled down, everyone still saw the surrounding environment clearly.

Without knowing when, they had arrived in a strange bamboo forest, densely packed all around, full of old tombs, built with bricks and stones.

And not knowing how many years had passed, they had long been destroyed by bamboo roots, scarred and devastated. And every hundred steps, ox skulls were hung on the bamboo poles, rotten and withered yellow, very bizarre.

In the forest ahead, an ancient stone tablet had collapsed, the handwriting mottled, but vaguely still legible, writing: The heart is the governance of the nine orifices, the monarch is the head of the five senses...

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

Wang Daoxuan's eyes lit up and he spoke.

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

!.

After speaking, he walked toward the direction where Sha Lifei had fired.

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 Lord Yunzhong, the Breathing Soil, and the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan's Donghu Laozu.

They had once entrusted the Alligator Master to help inquire, and learned that the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan's Donghu Laozu was in the Xiangyang area, and some mysterious people were secretly searching for it.

The attacking enemy was 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 Lifei's marksmanship, he would lose accuracy, and furthermore, his vision was blocked by the thick mist, so he used fragmentation bullets.

The other party had already been injured and fled.

Without the slightest hesitation, the group immediately conducted a pursuit.

Following the bloody scent all the way forward, not long after, 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 enemy's true killing move, using the formation to lure them into the cave, interfering with their divine 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 scene before them instantly became open.

They saw that it was a piece of open ground on the mountainside, 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 Lifei 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 crowd, his eyes full of unwillingness.

Even Li Yan felt stifled when he saw it.

This old man's techniques were surely not bad, 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 stirred, and he shook his head, "Without the formation covering it, the layout in the courtyard cannot be hidden from us."

"Isn't that right, Senior An Fade?"

He suddenly remembered that when Master Lu stopped the chaos in the city, he had suggested to Thousand-Man Commander Zhou to go to Mount Lumen to find a hermit named An Fade.

This old man was 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 increasingly iron-blue, and he said with resentment, "You wait, my disciples will avenge me!"

"Hmph!"

Li Yan gave a cold snort and suddenly leaped into the courtyard.

Bang, bang, bang!

Dust splashed in the courtyard, and iron animal traps popped out, closing violently, vaguely forming a Bagua shape.

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

However, Li Yan's footsteps were swift; he dodged directly, leaped, and arrived before the old man, the Dust-Severing Blade pressing 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's Donghu Laozu."

After hearing this, the old man's eyes immediately widened.

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

Li Yan was also probing with his words, not expecting to take the other party's life directly; he estimated it was because the lung was damaged, triggering heart problems.

"Tsk tsk, at your age, why risk your life..."

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

Subsequently, he looked toward the thatched cottage.

After pinching a spell and searching inside, Li Yan suddenly waved his hand, "Come in, everyone, there is a discovery here!"

The group hurriedly entered the thatched cottage and saw that the wooden floor on the ground had been pried open, revealing a tunnel.

After entering, below was a stone room.

The ground was piled with straw, filled with a stench, and there were signs of dragging, leading to another tunnel.

The group did not talk nonsense and continued searching along the tunnel.

Someone had laid an ambush in advance, meaning their news had already been leaked; he estimated that the person from the Li family of the Medicine Saint had been hidden here and then transferred.

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

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

"It's Doctor Li!"

Company Commander Cheng saw this and hurriedly stepped forward. After checking his breathing, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the person was rescued, this mission would not be considered a failure.

"Tsk tsk!"

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

He saw him lying in another 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 scent of debauchery drifted in.

The group filed out, and the scene before them took them by surprise.

This was clearly a Buddhist hall, with 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 Dust-Severing Blade and pulled the group back.

They saw a giant gecko lying on the crossbeam, its color blending in with the crossbeam, breathing heavily toward the people below, seemingly swallowing some kind of qi...

The second update will be in the afternoon.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 370 =====