Chapter 37

Screams and barking sounds immediately became a mess.

The lantern the beggar was holding also fell to the ground, igniting some withered grass, and the firelight mixed with thick smoke scattered, making those wild dogs even more frantic.

And the remaining few beggars immediately scattered.

"We've been spotted, watch out for hidden weapons!"

"Use the snakes, kill him!"

"Don't disturb that ghost!"

They exchanged secret codes while dodging the wild dogs.

The "secret jargon" of the martial arts world, although unique to every region and gang, has a set of common terms throughout the martial arts world, and one can distinguish them after hearing them enough.

Translated, it means "We've been spotted, watch out for hidden weapons," "Release the snakes, kill him," and "Don't disturb that ghost."

These words could only fool laymen; Li Yan could naturally understand them.

Beggars are experts at playing with snakes; since they have secret methods to drive wild dogs, it is normal for them to release snakes to ambush him.

But "Don't disturb that ghost" made Li Yan's heart sink.

This was mostly the follow-up plan the beggars were playing.

Inviting a troublesome entity while inviting gods would have unpredictable consequences.

Thinking of this, he no longer hid his figure, jumped up, leaped from the hillside, and rushed down the mountain.

Woof! Woof, woof!

The already restless pack of wild dogs immediately discovered him.

These things had long since become ferocious; some went to chase the other beggars, but more opened their fangs and mouths, pouncing toward him.

Not only that, those few beggars also took off the cloth bags on their bodies, untied the buttons and threw them suddenly, and suddenly more than a dozen black snakes shot out, swimming rapidly on the ground, rushing toward Li Yan.

Clang!

Li Yan's expression did not change, and his Guanshan blade suddenly left its sheath.

With a thought of concentration, the tassel of the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin swayed left and right.

Having entered the threshold of the Mystic Sect and succeeded in concentrating his mind, although he had not yet built a building or temple, the deity he visualized was only a blurry ball of light, but this magical artifact could already be used.

Guided by divine thought, the fierce evil aura on the blade tassel immediately spread.

The entire blade was like cold ice, emitting a cold, Yin aura.

According to Wang Fu, this Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin combined with the plaque bestowed by the imperial court formed a kind of small "Yansheng" (suppression) formation, secret and vicious, yet capable of circulating on its own.

Taking out the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin alone would form "momentum."

This "momentum," although Yin Sha, was fierce and ferocious, most suitable for suppressing evil.

Although those wild dogs were only flesh and blood, they had been stained with Yin Sha Qi from eating human corpses all year round, so their senses were very sensitive.

"Woo-woo~"

The moment Li Yan drew his blade, the pack of wild dogs had their fur stand on end, as if they had encountered a nemesis, and they turned and fled in all directions.

Also fleeing were those black venomous snakes.

These things were even more vicious, returning directly along the original path; some burrowed back into the cloth bags, while others suddenly rose up to attack the beggars.

Clearly, these venomous snakes had also lost control.

Several beggars were taken aback; although they were caught off guard, they were experts at playing with snakes after all, and listening to the sound of the wind, their right hands formed claws, instantly pinching the seven-inch mark of the venomous snakes in the air and stuffing them into their bags in a mess.

But in this short moment, Li Yan had already approached.

Pfft!

Before a beggar could react, his neck was slashed by a blade, blood sprayed, and he fell to the ground, only able to cover his neck, making a "hissing" sound, and soon stopped moving.

An old beggar beside him clearly had much richer combat experience; while leaping backward, the dog-beating stick in his hand whistled down.

This move is called "beating the dog's head."

When a beggar encounters a vicious dog, the moment the other side pounces, he leaps back to open the distance, while the stick strikes vertically, hitting its vital point.

When used against people, it doesn't necessarily just hit the head.

The stick is a long weapon; just hitting the enemy's wrist can shatter the bones, making the opponent drop their weapon, followed by a step forward, striking the Adam's apple diagonally.

If the opponent dodges, he can take the opportunity to open the distance.

The old beggar had a good plan, but Li Yan's speed was clearly faster; while killing that beggar, he rolled sideways and dodged the stick.

The old beggar took advantage of the momentum to retract the stick, twisted his body, and prepared to deliver a horizontal sweep.

However, as Li Yan rolled and stood up, he had already grabbed a handful of gravel and sand, and flicked his wrist to throw it.

The old beggar was covered in it from head to toe.

He panicked, and just as he wanted to retreat, he felt a chill on his neck, and his vision kept rolling, but his head had been directly decapitated by Li Yan.

This was a life-and-death struggle, and the sharp blade in Li Yan's hand showed no mercy.

"The target is tough, retreat quickly!"

Seeing Li Yan so fierce, the remaining few beggars turned and ran.

The Beggar Sect in the world has always been numerous and mixed.

Although they were martial artists in the beggar's den, they only bullied ordinary people; when encountering peers in the Some Jianghu, they would rely on their numbers and the method of driving dogs and playing with snakes to catch the opponent off guard.

But when they encountered a ruthless person like Li Yan, and their method of driving dogs and playing with snakes was broken, they could only flee in embarrassment. Li Yan snorted coldly and followed closely behind.

He was now in a dangerous situation and could not afford to be muddled in his actions.

He had to figure out why these beggars were causing trouble.

The few beggars ahead scattered and fled; although the lanterns were lost, they were familiar with the terrain and kept drilling into places with dense trees.

Although Li Yan could smell everyone's position with his olfactory supernatural power, these guys were slippery, and some even drilled directly into grave holes and disappeared.

There are secret passages under the mass grave!

Li Yan secretly thought it was bad, and while running, he bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it out with a flick of his wrist.

"Ouch!"

A beggar was hit in the back of the head, his feet slipped, and he hit a tree head-on, his head buzzing and his eyes going black.

Clang!

Just as he was about to get up, he felt a chill on his neck, and it was already held by Li Yan's Guanshan blade.

"Who sent you? Why attack us?"

Li Yan didn't talk nonsense and asked coldly.

!.

Who would have thought that this beggar, held by the blade, had no fear in his eyes, grinned, revealing a mouth full of rotten teeth, and whistled with pursed lips.

"Seeking death!"

Li Yan's eyebrows stood up, he flicked his wrist and directly cut the other's throat.

Whistling in the middle of the night is a major taboo.

Especially in this mass grave where Yin Sha gathers.

Wang Fu had told him this principle.

In the time of the ancient ancestors, writing had not yet been invented, and they still used knotted ropes to record events; when hunting, they relied on various gestures and whistles.

These are the origins of various hand gestures and witchcraft incantations.

Similarly, there are white and red.

White symbolizes severe cold, and red symbolizes fresh blood.

These things are deeply imprinted in the soul and bloodline, passed down from generation to generation; even today, many techniques are related to them.

For example, some Dharma lineages and folk shamans use whistles to assist when using techniques like summoning souls and frightening ghosts.

This beggar was clearly trying to drag him into the water.

However, it was already too late.

At the moment the beggar's throat was cut, a cold wind suddenly blew up, and amidst the surging cold mist, sounds of shouting and killing seemed to come.

At the same time, Li Yan smelled a cold, fishy blood scent.

It was slightly weaker than the Cold Altar Chang soldiers from before, and didn't have the fishy smell of wild beasts, but it was full of killing intent, like a rusted weapon.

Soldier soul!

Li Yan's eyelids twitched, he retreated quickly, and sheathed his blade.

Wang Fu had told him about this Yin entity.

This Divine Land has never lacked war.

From the ancient tribal wars, the struggle between Shang and Zhou, to every change of dynasty, countless people died in war, Yin Sha Qi gathered, and with the entanglement of killing sins and the wandering of the heavenly soul, soldier souls would appear.

Some places even gather in large numbers, becoming passing Yin soldiers.

These things roam the earth and are also a source of recruiting soldiers.

The characteristic of a soldier soul is that it cannot tolerate the aura of weapons; once detected, entangled by the memories of their lifetime, they will pounce like wild dogs.

There was once a town where passing Yin soldiers appeared, and the sounds of shouting and killing never stopped day or night; a charlatan gave a random idea, letting the common people wave kitchen knives, blades clashing, wanting to use this method to scare the Yin soldiers away.

The result goes without saying; not a single person in the entire town survived.

Although Li Yan had the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin, he had fought against Chang soldiers and knew that this thing could not be viewed with common sense.

Avoid it if you can, so as not to extinguish another life flame.

Whoosh~

The Yin wind grew deeper, and that cold blood scent also emerged from the grave mounds, drifting and floating, actually drilling into the beggar's corpse.

Crack!

Accompanied by the abnormal twisting of bones, the beggar's corpse stood up straight.

Li Yan held his breath and retreated slowly.

He originally wanted to stay away from this thing, but he didn't expect that the corpse would stagger and walk toward him, the cold blood aura on its body growing thicker.

Li Yan stopped immediately, fierce light flickering in his eyes, and pressed his hand on the hilt of his blade.

It seems this thing cannot be shaken off.

But this soldier soul also made a mistake; the longing for a physical body led it to possess the dead body.

The physical body is a boat, but also a cage.

If the physical body is simply destroyed, the other side will leave directly and continue to look for the next body, but he has the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin, and as long as he finds the right opportunity, he can behead it.

"Wait!"

Just as he was about to make a move, a sound suddenly came from behind him...

(End of chapter)