Chapter 371

There are little people underground.

Li Yan finally understood what Wu Ba meant.

With this big guy's language ability, he still didn't understand what "little person" meant; the little person he was talking about was a real little person.

Li Yan hurriedly activated his supernatural ability to investigate, then frowned slightly, "Lu San, ask him how he found out."

With his current sense of smell, he could see clearly what was ten meters underground, but he couldn't smell anything.

Wu Ba was a body supernatural ability user, his talent was all in his muscles, how could he discover abnormalities underground.

Lu San hurriedly communicated in the language of the upper regions, and after some muttering, he finally clarified the reason.

"Wu Ba and his tribe live in Mount Shennong, and little people often crawl out from underground to steal their food.

These little people wear clothes and even wear jade pendants. Because Wu Ba often comes into contact with them, he knows that such things must be active nearby..."

"Little person! Little person!"

Wu Ba hurriedly nodded, then squatted down and lifted the stone lightly.

The group also looked down and was immediately taken aback.

They saw that under the stone, there was a small cave, similar to a mouse hole, with smooth edges. The key was that there was also a wooden board covering it.

The wooden board was rough, but had obvious carving traces. Lifting it, one could see a small handle behind it.

"Little person! Little person!"

Wu Ba pinched the wooden board, his expression very angry.

Seeing this, Li Yan also became interested, "Is it a Wood Guest?"

In this world, many legendary things existed.

For example, at the Jiangzhe Chamber of Commerce in Yunyang Prefecture, he met Young Master Lin, a treasure-seeker from Jiangzhe, who carried a "Wood Guest" with him.

That was a kind of humanoid spirit, hidden in the dense forests of the southern part of the Divine Land, occasionally logging spiritual wood to trade with people, hence called Wood Guest.

"It shouldn't be."

Wang Wang Daoxuan also took the small wooden board and said with great interest: "The 'Wood Guest' is a spirit of the forest, usually living in trees, and they don't wear jade, nor do they use gold utensils."

"The 'Classic of Mountain and Sea' mentions the 'Zhourao Kingdom' and the 'Jiao Sect Kingdom', both of which are little people living underground, wearing clothes and hats, and knowing how to farm, but one is three feet tall and the other is one foot six inches, far larger than this."

"There are only two kinds that are so small: one is called 'Jingren', serving gods and living, and the other is 'Junren', wearing red clothes and red hats, good at planting car-horse mushrooms, riding and running underground."

"From what I see, it is most likely 'Jingren'."

As he spoke, he looked at the surrounding mountain ranges, "These spirit little people are all recorded in ancient times, and today, most of them are rarely seen."

"It is rumored that Mount Xian is the place where Fuxi was buried after his death, and Chisongzi, Changsangzi, and Yuzi lived in seclusion here, and the Goddess of the Han River manifested her spirit. It is truly extraordinary..."

Li Yan first took a deep breath and shook his head: "This cave is too deep, extending in all directions, I don't know where it leads, I estimate it's just an ordinary exit."

Having said this, he asked again: "According to the Daoist, 'Jingren' serve gods and live, so there must be gods in this mountain?"

Wang Wang Daoxuan nodded: "If there are 'Jingren', then there must be gods. These little people will also collect jade to offer to the gods."

Li Yan pondered for a moment: "I have a technique, but I haven't cultivated it successfully yet, and it's easy to offend people. Let's search first, and if there are no clues, we'll talk."

What he was talking about was the "Northern Emperor Divine Control Technique."

This technique was very domineering, using the Thunder Method to forcibly suppress ghosts and gods, making them obey orders; it was the orthodox Mystic Sect.

But this technique also had shortcomings.

It was a bit like soul-traveling, making the soul temporarily leave the body to see scenes that mortals couldn't see.

This behavior itself was very dangerous.

It must be protected by a Soul-Hooking Order, and precautions must be taken in advance.

And the "Northern Emperor Divine Control Technique" was to form a Thunder Seal, borrowing the power of the Northern Yin Fengdu Great Emperor to command gods and ghosts; it was the Mystic Sect orthodoxy.

However, this method also had shortcomings.

First, it must rely on an altar to amplify one's divine thoughts, like falling into a dream; it wasn't very convenient to perform.

Second, the objects that appeared after performing the technique were completely uncontrollable.

Small gods and ghosts, facing the power of the Thunder Seal, mostly didn't dare to be presumptuous, while powerful ones could ignore you, or even teach you a lesson.

Simply put, it was like an imperial token, although it carried the power of the King's Law, whether it could suppress others depended entirely on your strength.

Li Yan originally wanted to find some local mountain spirits and old ghosts.

But he never expected to run into a difficult one.

Goddess of the Han River!

This kind of local deity was a unique existence, completely different from the land and mountain gods worshipped by humans.

In this world, mountains, rivers, rain, snow, wind, frost, and underground dragon veins actually all had spirituality and had existed since time immemorial.

One breath of theirs might be a hundred years, one simple turn might cause an earthquake or change the course of a river, one movement might cause changes in wind and clouds...

Such as the Lord of the Clouds, the Nine-Headed Phoenix Vein, and the Goddess of the Han River, etc.

And their images also changed due to human concepts.

In the "Book of Songs", she was a wandering woman; she was the sweetheart of a woodcutter, beautiful and mysterious...

In the "Han Shi Wai Shenshen Zhuan", she was the two laundry women encountered by Confucius when he traveled south to the State of Chu, who refused Confucius's gifts, intelligent and knowing etiquette...

In the "Biographies of Immortals", she was the two daughters of the River Concubine, who gave pearls in the Han River, which was passed down as a beautiful story, and the people of Xiangyang still sacrifice to her every year during the "Sky-Piercing Festival".

They all seemed like beautiful legends, but this kind of local deity was actually the most difficult to deal with, with ever-changing images and unpredictable temperaments.

Just like the Han River, it nurtured the surrounding people, but a few years ago when there was a flood, it still washed away Xiangyang City...

Li Yan felt uneasy, but the two figures were already getting closer and closer.

"Hee hee..."

The playful giggling of young girls entered his ears.

Li Yan widened his eyes, wanting to see the appearance of the two goddesses clearly, but he only felt the Han River surging, neon clothes fluttering, hair floating, eyes swaying, and the ringing of pendants, actually making the sound of bells and chimes.

Subsequently, the sound of bells and chimes grew louder and louder.

On Mount Xian in the distance, several figures appeared, including an old man with a high crown wearing Han clothes, and a black-haired Confucian scholar with the romantic style of the Tang and Song dynasties, seemingly chanting along with the sound of bells and chimes:

"By the side of the Han River, the goddess wanders,

Riding the clear wind to express her feelings, stepping on the waves and coming slowly.

The two sisters are like twin flowers, graceful like swimming dragons,

Their beauty hides charm, their brilliance shines on the water and glows..."

And outside the altar, it was another scene.

Wang Wang Daoxuan and the others widened their eyes. They couldn't hear any sound, but they saw Li Yan suddenly open his eyes, but his eyes were blurred, his cheeks flushed, and he began to mutter:

"Morning glow reflects the face, rosy cheeks like clouds,

Emerald sleeves lightly lifted, cloud-like hair loose and winding.

Jade pendants ring, the sound moves the four fields,

Fragrant wind brushes the face, all flowers lose their color and lower their brows..."

Sha Sha Li Fei looked puzzled, "Little Brother Yan is... why is he smiling so lewdly? Daoist, have you ever heard this poem?"

Wang Wang Daoxuan frowned and shook his head, "I have not."

"Could it be that he was bewitched?"

"It shouldn't be, the Thunder Seal is still there, the candle flame hasn't moved. Don't act rashly, wait for Little Brother Yan to wake up before talking..."

After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Li Yan finally returned to normal. He hurriedly put away the Thunder Seal, stopped the altar, and stood up quickly.

"Little Brother Yan, how is it?"

Sha Sha Li Fei hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

Li Yan looked at Mount Xian in the distance and said in a deep voice: "Luck is not bad, I saw some things. There are indeed hidden earth orifices in the mountain, and there is more than one exit."

"Let's find an opportunity to enter and take the chance to save people..."

Sha Sha Li Fei asked curiously again: "What poem were you chanting just now?"

"This... forgot."

"Why do you look like your heart has been moved?"

"You saw wrong!"

Li Yan's expression was somewhat unnatural, and he hurriedly changed the subject, saying: "We need to split up. The secret path in Mount Xian is not easy to walk. Uncle Sha, you and Daoist Wang immediately take a boat, meet up with the garrison water army, and go to a place upstream to ambush."

"Give me a signal flare, let Commander Zhou and the others be prepared. When they see the signal, fire the cannons and hit the position I marked. That is the evildoers' retreat route..."

As he spoke, he took out a map from his bag, marked it simply with a charcoal pen, and handed it to Wang Wang Daoxuan.

"Brother Lu San and Wu Ba come with me. There is no time to lose, let's act immediately!"

At the order, the group split up.

Wang Wang Daoxuan and Sha Sha Li Fei, carrying most of the useless luggage and the injured falcon, headed to the shore.

The passage had been sealed, so it was temporarily safe on the river.

And Li Yan and Lu San took out some necessary Dharma implements and items, heading into the mountains, and quickly disappeared into the dense forest...

…………

Half an hour later, Li Yan, leading Lu San and Wu Ba, arrived at a mountain gully, but saw that it was surrounded by dense forest, with mist rising.

"We've arrived, it's right here!"

Li Yan's expression was solemn, "Be careful, the earth's energy here is chaotic, clouds cover and mist surrounds. Back then, Sun Yi Jian, the Tiger of Jiangdong, was ambushed here and died from an arrow."

"During the chaos at the end of the Tang Dynasty and the confrontation between the North and South in the previous dynasty, many soldiers and commoners strayed into it, or wandering souls were trapped, or corpses changed, ambushing people in the mist. Over the years, it has become a dangerous place."

"There is a cliff below the valley. When the time comes, Wu Ba and I will guard, and Brother Lu will take a stone and knock. If you hear the sound of bells and chimes, that is the place where the secret passage is located..."

This made even Lu San curious, "Brother Yan, how do you know so clearly?"

Li Yan looked around, his eyes somewhat complex, "The breathing of mountains and rivers is the hundred years of the human world. Just now, I saw the changes of Mount Xian over thousands of years, like the flow of time, but I was just a cold bystander."

"Truly profound, which god gave the revelation?"

"This is an unspeakable secret..."

Seeing that Li Yan didn't want to talk, Lu San didn't ask further, pulled out a bone mace from his waist, and followed Li Yan down the slope.

This mountain valley was indeed strange.

The closer they got to the bottom of the valley, the thicker the mist around them became. After entering the mountain forest in the valley, they were already surrounded by thick mist, and could only see the scene within ten meters.

Regardless of the little white fox or the two rats, they all became restless, their fur standing on end.

Even Lu San frowned, "The investigative supernatural ability has been suppressed, this is... an array?"

"Hmm."

Li Yan also drew his Soul-Severing Blade, looked at the surroundings, and said in a deep voice: "In Mount Xian, there are caves excavated by the Fuxi tribe in ancient times."

"I saw an old man with white hair and a blurred figure, possibly the immortal Chisongzi, who laid down some restrictions in the mountain to hide the Ancient Fuxi Cave..."

"Do you remember, Tian Wei said that back then, the great sorcerer Xing He Pu first discovered the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan Ancestor in Yunmeng Marsh?"

"Tian Squire's son? Seems like he said that..."

"To tell you the truth, according to the clues obtained by Liu Gang, Xing He Pu was not only adept at divination but also a living ghost messenger, and he understood many mysteries between heaven and earth. I suspect he learned it from the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan Ancestor." "In the illusion just now, I saw a group of people controlling Yangtze River water monsters, with hundreds of giant turtles carrying steles, entering the mountain from the entrance found before. It should be that Xing He Pu hid the stele forest in this place..."

As they spoke, the three had already entered the depths of the dense forest.

The mist around them became even thicker, and the dead branches and rotten leaves on the ground were piled layer upon layer, coupled with the soaking of rain and mountain floods, it had completely become a muddy land.

There were also many pits, filled with foul mud and covered by leaves, becoming traps. Once stepped on, they would be sucked into them.

Their progress became difficult, but fortunately, their supernatural abilities could still detect the scene within ten meters, easily avoiding the pits one by one.

After walking a few more steps, Li Yan's Soul-Severing Blade suddenly turned and stabbed fiercely into the ground.

"Roar—!"

A roar came, and a black claw covered in foul mud reached out from the ground, but with the turn of Li Yan's blade, it collapsed to the ground again.

The two didn't even look and continued forward.

Just now it was a walking corpse, likely a hunter or mountain dweller who died in this place recently. The evil energy hadn't dissipated, and it turned into a zombie upon encountering a living person.

!.

Subsequently, shadows appeared vaguely in the mist, some looking like soldiers, some like hunters or commoners, drifting uncertainly like black mist, making weeping sounds.

Wu Ba's fur immediately stood on end, looking left and right.

"Ignore them!"

Li Yan snorted coldly and led the two to continue forward.

At this time, it was noon, but in the dense forest of the mountain valley, the light was still dim, carrying a chilling coldness.

Finally, they saw a mountain wall, but the three stopped simultaneously, their expressions solemn, gripping their weapons tightly.

There was a muddy land ahead, with densely packed rotten weapons protruding from the dead branches and rotten leaves, and quite a few exposed skeletons.

A tattered flag hung on a tree.

It was written with the two characters "Heavenly Saint"!

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice: "It seems that it's not just that master and disciple from the Snake Sect, the Heavenly Saint Sect has also been searching in secret."

"What should we do?"

"Can't go around, come hard!"

Li Yan gritted his teeth, looked at Wu Ba, and said in a deep voice: "Don't run around, cooperate with me, protect Lu San, understand?"

"Thud! Thud!"

Although Wu Ba's speech was still not smooth, he had already understood his meaning, picking up the rough big board axe in his hand.

This axe of his looked unremarkable and was roughly made, but it was also a Dharma implement of the Renxiao tribe, which could restrain evil things.

"Charge!"

Li Yan nodded and took the lead, holding his blade.

"Roar~"

Stimulated by the scent of living people, the skeletons hidden in the mud began to twist, looking as if the entire ground was wriggling.

In this situation, there was no need for any moves.

Crackle!

Li Yan brandished his Soul-Severing Blade with his right hand, electric arcs jumped on his left fist, slashing and hammering, smashing all the skeletons blocking the way.

Lu San followed closely, brandishing his bone mace and smashing wildly.

And at this moment, Wu Ba finally displayed powerful combat strength, hacking wildly with the huge board axe, smashing everything that approached.

Like an arrow, they passed through this zombie army in a straight line, quickly approaching the stone wall.

As soon as they got close, Lu San immediately found a sharp stone and kept knocking along the stone wall.

Tap, tap, tap!

Unfortunately, they were all sounds of ordinary stones colliding.

Lu San didn't get discouraged and accelerated the speed of chiseling.

And Li Yan and Wu Ba guarded behind him, brandishing their weapons, or kicking away the zombies rushing over.

These things had absorbed gloomy evil energy for years, and although they couldn't compare to zombies that were impervious to swords and spears, their bodies were hard enough.

If it weren't for the two of them having astonishing strength and holding Dharma implements, they wouldn't have been able to chop them to pieces.

However, this was an entire fallen army, and the quantity was too large. If you smashed one, more would rush up.

Seeing the zombie tide becoming more and more fierce, Li Yan couldn't care about hiding his trump card anymore, suddenly raising his hand, and the Soul-Hooking Rope roared out.

These things were different from fierce ghosts, and the soul-hooking effect alone wasn't good, so Li Yan directly activated the thunder stored in the Soul-Hooking Rope.

Crackle!

In an instant, thunder roared.

In Li Yan's hand, a six-meter-long thunder snake appeared, twisting wildly accompanied by dazzling electric light, instantly clearing the area in front of him.