Chapter 371: Seeking Demon Tracks

There are little people underground.

Li Yan finally understood Wu Ba's meaning.

With this big guy's language ability, he still didn't know what 'little person' meant; the little person he spoke of was a real little person.

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

With his current 'Smell' divine ability, he knew exactly what was ten meters underground, but he couldn't smell anything.

Wu Ba was a 'Body' divine ability user, his talent was entirely in his muscles; how could he discover abnormalities underground?

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

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

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

"Little person! Little person!"

Wu Ba nodded hurriedly, then squatted down and gently lifted a stone.

The crowd also lowered their heads to look, and were immediately taken aback.

They saw that under the stone, there was a tiny cave, similar to a mouse hole, with smooth edges, and the most critical thing was that it was covered by a wooden board.

The wooden board was rough, but had obvious carving marks; flipping it up, one could see a tiny handle behind it.

"Little person! Little person!"

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

Li Yan was also interested when he saw this, "Is it a Wood Guest?"

In this world, many things from legends 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'.

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

"Probably not."

Wang Daoxuan also took the tiny wooden board and said with interest, "'Wood Guest' is a forest spirit, usually living in trees, and does not wear jade or use gold tools."

"'Classic of Mountains and Seas' mentions the 'Zhourang Kingdom' and '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 types this small: one is called 'Jingren', serving gods and living, and the other is 'Junren', wearing red clothes and red hats, good at planting 'chariot-horse mushrooms', and riding them to run underground."

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

Saying this, he looked at the surrounding mountain ranges, "These spirit little people are all recorded in ancient times; to this day, it is rare to see their tracks."

"Rumor has it that Mount Xian is the burial place of Fuxi after his death, and Red Pine, Chang Sangzi, and Yu Zi once lived in seclusion here, and the Han River Goddess manifested, so it is indeed unusual..."

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

After speaking, he asked again, "According to the Daoist, 'Jingren' serve gods and live, so there must be a god in this mountain?"

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

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "I have a technique, but I haven't finished cultivating it, and it is easy to offend people. Let's search first, and if there are really no clues, we will talk about it."

What he spoke of was the 'North Emperor Divine Control Technique'.

This technique was extremely overbearing, using Thunder Magic to forcibly suppress ghosts and gods, making them obey orders.

He had Thunder Magic and the Soul-Hooking Thunder Rope, so cultivating it wasn't that difficult. He had been contemplating it every night these days and had already gained some insight.

But it was fine for suppressing ordinary little ghosts, but if there were really any formidable mountain gods or water gods, it would instead anger them.

With a plan, the group continued forward.

Although Mount Xian was not a blessed land, it was a famous mountain and great river, and since ancient times, immortals and famous scholars had lived in seclusion here, so naturally, there were many Daoist temples and monasteries, and there were also many tombs of famous people.

To tell the truth, it was not some desolate mountain or wild ridge, and if it weren't for the recent plague outbreak, there would definitely be no shortage of tourists.

Li Yan really couldn't figure out why the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan's Donghu Laozu would be hidden in such an obvious place.

To prevent accidents, the few did not take the main road, but traveled in the mountain forest, and not long after, they saw a mountain col.

In the mountain col stood a Buddhist temple, not large in area, and the architecture was very low-key and ancient, just the kind of small temple seen everywhere.

Hawks flew in the sky, Lu San took a look, and said in a deep voice, "The temple is empty, people are all gone."

Li Yan nodded, "Go down and take a look."

The group went down along the hillside and entered the temple to investigate.

Sure enough, this small temple was empty, the kitchen fire had long been extinguished, the porridge inside had molded, and the surroundings were a mess, with black bloodstains and signs of dragging on the ground.

On the offering table, it was also a mess and covered in thick dust.

Li Yan looked around and shook his head, "The monks inside met with disaster, at least four or five days ago, it should be that group of people who did it."

Wang Daoxuan was puzzled, "What did they catch the monks for?"

"Not clear."

Li Yan pinched a spell again, took a deep breath, and shook his head, "It rained the day before yesterday, the scent has been washed away. Brother Lu San, see if the surrounding animals know?"

Lu San immediately performed magic and whistled.

But after a while, nothing appeared.

This time, even Lu San was somewhat surprised, "The animals in this mountain actually don't want to communicate with me."

Sha Lifei was puzzled, "This is strange, it's the first time I've seen it. Brother Lu San, are all the animals in the mountain dead?"

"Doesn't look like it."

Lu San's expression was solemn. He looked at the surrounding mountains and rivers and said in a deep voice, "There is an explanation for this situation in the 'Mountain and Sea Spirit Response Sutra'; it is that there are rules in the mountain, and there is a mountain god."

"I will try to communicate with the mountain god again!"

After speaking, he walked out of the temple, set up a simple altar with stones, took out the incense he had prepared in advance and lit it, then pinched a spell and danced the Nuo dance.

Ancient shamanic sounds rang out. Lu San smelled the incense, his eyes gradually rolled back, and his movements became increasingly intense, seeming to enter a sleepwalking state.

After a while, he suddenly let out a loud cry, tripped over his own feet, fell to the ground, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and looked at the surroundings full of confusion.

"What happened?"

Li Yan hurriedly stepped forward to help him up.

Lu San panted heavily and said somewhat incredulously, "I seemed to feel some things, but was interrupted by a sound."

"What sound?"

"It sounds like some kind of musical instrument, yes, it's the sound of a chime!"

"Chime?"

Li Yan felt inexplicable after listening, "That is an instrument of ritual music, where would there be a chime on this mountain? I didn't hear any sound just now."

He also had the 'Ear' divine ability, but didn't hear any sound.

Wang Daoxuan thought thoughtfully, "Since entering the mountain, we have encountered the 'Jingren' cave, and couldn't communicate with the mountain god; this mountain definitely has something strange. Let's find a higher place, and I will look at the qi to investigate."

Li Yan agreed immediately and led the group up the mountain.

This Mount Xian was not high, and not long after, the group climbed a hilltop. Wang Daoxuan pinched a spell, held the compass, and checked in all directions.

He had also awakened a new divine ability, specializing in 'Looking at Qi'.

Others saw ordinary mountains and rivers, but in his eyes, five-colored miscellaneous qi was rising, and the weather was magnificent.

After looking for a while, Wang Daoxuan couldn't help but sigh, "This Mount Xian is indeed extraordinary. Although it is not a blessed land, the circulation of gang and evil qi, and the number of spiritual vein apertures are rare elsewhere."

"No wonder so many famous people are buried here."

Sha Lifei was anxious, "Daoist, don't worry about any famous people, let's find the whereabouts of those people first."

Wang Daoxuan looked at the sky and saw the red sun had already risen high, shaking his head, "It's not easy to find. Now it is daytime, the Yang qi is born, and the Yin qi falls. We have to wait until the midnight hour to discover the demon qi." "Roar!"

Just at this moment, a roar faintly came.

The crowd turned their heads in unison and looked toward the shore.

They were now looking from a high place and could just see the Han River below, but the distance was far, and they couldn't see clearly what it was.

Lu San raised his head and waved, and the hawks immediately flew out, hovering back and forth on the shore, and suddenly soared into the sky.

Boom!

What followed was a gunshot.

"Not good!"

Lu San was startled.

They saw the hawk fall in the air, a few feathers stained with blood, and it had already fainted. But it suddenly flapped its wings and glided toward them, but after barely flying halfway, it fell vertically.

"I'll go first!"

Li Yan did not say a word and leaped out.

!.

His hidden strength erupted beneath his feet, and he actually leaped directly from the cliff, stepping on protruding trees and rocks, falling rapidly.

Others didn't have his skills and had to go down the mountain from the other side.

Li Yan's speed was fast; not long after, he arrived at the mountain forest below, galloping and leaping on the tree trunks, and quickly arrived at the place where the hawk fell.

He looked down and was immediately taken aback.

He saw Lu San's hawk lying on the ground, bloodstains faintly visible on its wings, already unconscious, and surrounding it were a group of tiny figures.

It was a group of gray little people, wearing cloth clothes, holding tiny guns forged from jade, picking up feathers.

"Looking for death!"

Li Yan gave a furious shout and landed from the sky.

Swish!

Those little things actually knew earth escape and drilled into the ground instantly.

After Li Yan landed, he hurriedly activated his divine ability and immediately smelled many scents, but in an instant, they merged with the Earth Vein Qi.

It was exactly the 'Jingren' that Wang Daoxuan had spoken of.

Not bothering to deal with these little people, Li Yan hurriedly investigated the hawk.

Fortunately, the hawk only had an injured wing, perhaps hitting a tree when falling, and had fainted.

Not long after, Lu San and the others also followed.

Lu San's face was pale, clearly frightened, and even the little white fox, which was usually at odds with the hawk, stared with its round, black eyes, circling anxiously.

Fortunately, the hawk's injury was not heavy. After checking, Lu San immediately took action, used a small knife to take out the bullet from the wing, applied herbal medicine, and bandaged it.

Sha Lifei took the small iron ball and said in a deep voice, "It's a new-style firearm, using fragmentation bullets, so it can shoot so far."

"You wait, I'll go see who it is!"

Li Yan gave a deep order and quickly drilled out of the dense forest.

Not long after, he arrived at the shore.

The person who fired the shot was long gone, but there was a pool of blood by the river, and many footprints, heading toward the river.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Yan first hid his portable firearms, then arrived at the shore, stepped on the 'Gang' steps, and pinched a spell, "Nuogao! Heaven is true and too plain, the essence of Ren and Gui. Internally responding to the kidney, externally responding to the water star..."

It was the 'North Emperor Profound Xuan Xuan Shui Dun'.

Before the spell was finished, water mist had already wrapped around him, hazy and unclear.

After performing the spell, Li Yan immediately leaped into the water.

Clatter!

After his cultivation improved, the Profound Xuan Xuan Shui Dun was also extremely astonishing, not only being able to hold his breath underwater for a long time, but his diving speed was also like a swimming fish.

With a flick of his body, Li Yan shuttled along the river bottom.

Finally, he discovered the trickery.

On the shore not far away, a stone cliff of Mount Xian towered, half submerged in the water, and there was a giant cave under the water.

This cave entrance alone was as large as four or five rooms, pitch black, and he didn't know where it led.

And at the cave entrance, several figures were stealthily moving forward.

They were three men wearing water-resistant clothes, some carrying oilcloth bags, clearly firearms.

And the remaining two were dragging a corpse.

They were also extraordinary in water and quickly drilled into the cave.

Li Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, his feet flicked, and he was like a sharp arrow in the water, heading toward the cave entrance.

Firearms couldn't work underwater, he had water escape, plus the Soul-Hooking Rope; dealing with these people was simply easy.

However, just as he approached the cave entrance, Li Yan felt a chill in his heart, his body twisted, and he retreated rapidly like a swimming fish.

Swish!

A black shadow whistled out, brushing past him.

Swish, swish, swish!

The black shadows shot out constantly, more and more, like giant water pythons, and the undercurrent surged instantly.

Li Yan's heart pounded, and he only turned around after swimming a hundred meters away.

He saw a giant toad slowly crawling out of the cave, its eyes blood-red, and on its head, thick, twisted tentacles were writhing, as if they were long snakes.

It was the Donghu Ancestor!

Li Yan was shocked, immediately knowing its identity.

Good fellow, such a giant old demon, the weight of the evil qi on its body made his hair stand on end; no wonder it could injure the Alligator Master.

But looking closely, he discovered something bizarre.

The giant eyes of this Donghu Ancestor were full of madness and bloodthirst, as if it had already lost its reason, and there were giant iron pillars stuck into its body, covered in talismans.

The Donghu Ancestor did not pursue, just blocked the cave entrance.

It seemed to be accepting some kind of order.

But Li Yan's heart had just relaxed when he saw this Donghu Ancestor suddenly open its giant mouth, and a stream of white mist accompanied by water flow sprayed out.

Looking closely, it was clearly countless tiny flesh worms, like white threads, writhing madly.

It was the Gu technique that the Alligator Master had been struck with at the time!

Li Yan was startled and turned to run.

Fortunately, his Profound Xuan Xuan Shui Dun speed was astonishing; in just a few breaths, he swam to the shore and leaped out of the water with a 'splash'.

Rustle, rustle, rustle~

Just as he walked onto the shore, strange sounds came from behind.

Li Yan turned his head to look; those white Gu worms were actually crawling onto the shore along the river water, winding and twisting, just like countless white iron-wire worms.

"Get lost!"

Li Yan scolded.

On the Dust-Severing Blade at his waist, the Three Talents Suppressing Demon Money tassel shook.

The killing qi spread, and the Gu worms died in large numbers instantly.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief. Don't look at these little things as not sturdy, but there were simply too many of them, especially underwater, where they were even harder to guard against.

It seems the evildoers' lair was underwater.

He estimated that the cave led to the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan's Donghu Laozu.

It was possible that even the Alligator Master was trapped within it.

But with the Donghu Ancestor guarding it, how to enter?

Just at this moment, on the distant river surface, several warships rode the wind and waves, and it was the Garrison soldiers who had come to support.

Li Yan was shocked and hurriedly shouted: "Retreat quickly!"

The second update will be in the afternoon.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 372 =====

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