Chapter 375: Ancient Relic

"Chuchu, don't bite!"

Lu San hurriedly scolded, telling the little white fox not to move around.

"Chuchu" was the little white fox's name, because the day he adopted it happened to be the seventh day of the lunar month, while the falcon was named "Lidong" (Start of Winter).

"Little person! Little person!"

Beside them, Wu Ba saw this and was filled with anger.

"Keep it down!"

Lu San hurriedly turned to admonish him, then picked up the struggling "Jing person" from the little fox's mouth.

After questioning the little fox "Chuchu," Lu San learned that this "Jing person" had just been spying on them in secret and was discovered by the little fox.

Before the other party could use earth-escape, it had snatched it up in its mouth.

Lu San held it in his hand and examined it carefully, only to discover that although this little creature was called a "Jing person," it still had some differences from humans.

Its body was covered in thick hair, it wore clothes made of rags, its feet were bare, it wore small jade pieces around its neck, and it was still clutching a small jade sword in its hand.

Its facial features were more like a mouse's, and it had a pair of protruding fangs.

Most peculiar of all was the scent of incense that always clung to its body!

"Jing people, living in service to gods..."

Lu San recalled Wang Daoxuan's words from before, and a vague understanding dawned on him. He hurriedly pinched a spell and began muttering in the Upper Realm language.

The little person, who had been struggling, immediately stopped moving and began to respond in the same Upper Realm language.

Listening to the other party's words, Lu San's face grew increasingly shocked. He hurriedly walked to the edge of the steps, looked at these ancient ruins, and muttered, "How is this possible..."

………

Gurgle, gurgle~

The water current surged violently, and Li Yan hurriedly gripped the stone wall.

His expression was grim; he hadn't expected the underwater currents to be so violent, intricate, and completely irregular.

Even after using the Profound Xuan Xuan Shui Dun technique, he had almost been swept away.

No wonder the monsters wanted the Alligator Master and the Donghu Ancestor to come down and find the item; only their size could prevent them from being washed away by the underwater currents.

After steadying his mind, what first caught Li Yan's attention was actually the stone wall he was gripping with both hands.

Unlike the outside, the underwater stone wall was layered, forming neat patterns, and the color was paler, even looking a bit like jade.

It looked as if this stone wall had grown out like tree rings.

Li Yan frowned slightly, feeling some doubt, and then looked around.

The underground river's currents were very fierce, but for him, that wasn't the biggest problem.

There was no light underwater, and even with his astonishing eyesight, he could only see three feet below the surface by borrowing the firelight from above.

Any further down or further away was pitch black.

Being unable to use the Scent-Seeking ability underwater was no different from being blinded for him.

Although he still had the Ear-Listening ability, his Ear-Listening ability was mainly for understanding ghost and god language; once activated, his ears were filled with the rumbling sound of water.

Neither the Alligator Master nor the Donghu Ancestor could be seen at this moment.

Li Yan had no choice but to grip the stone wall to steady his form and slowly move toward the stone platform where the monsters were located.

His plan was very simple.

No matter where the Alligator Master dove underwater, it would eventually have to bring the jade cong ashore to report. He only needed to lie in ambush on the side and take the opportunity to knock the coffin off the Alligator Master's head to rescue it.

Thinking of this, Li Yan became even more cautious.

He was currently using the Profound Xuan Xuan Shui Dun, and his aura was fused with the water; as long as he didn't make a move, those monsters wouldn't be able to discover him.

Not long after, he arrived near the stone platform, huddled in a corner, staring fixedly at the water surface, waiting quietly.

Suddenly, the underwater currents in the distance surged.

He saw the Alligator Master swimming up from the pitch-black riverbed, its massive body heading toward the shore, making the currents surge even more violently.

Li Yan hurriedly steadied his form, staring fixedly at the coffin on top of the other party's head.

After it got closer, he could see it more clearly.

This coffin was almost exactly the same as the one he had seen in Zigui County, and it was equally ancient, covered in mottled copper rust.

The Great Song Ghost Sect, led by Huang Liushi in Ezhou at the time, had countless disciples and three great experts under its command: Tongtian Tongtian San Niang, Envoy Meng, and Huang Sanlang.

The one in Zigui County was precisely Tongtian Tongtian San Niang's disciple, Luo Xing.

According to records, except for Tongtian Tongtian San Niang whose whereabouts were unknown, the others had already been executed, but now that Huang Liushi had returned to life, who knew if monsters like Envoy Meng and Huang Sanlang were truly dead.

Whoever it was, the thing lying in the coffin had practiced the "Water God Longevity Art."

The biggest drawback of this evil art was that one had to lie in a coffin for a lifetime, and one also had to build temples and shrines to steal incense and preserve one's divine soul.

Near Xiangyang, there must be an evil temple hidden by the other party!

Staring at the Alligator Master getting closer and closer, Li Yan's body gradually tensed. As soon as the other party got close, he would immediately jump onto the bronze coffin and use the Soul-Hooking Thunder Rope to blast the thing inside until its soul flew away and scattered.

But just as he was about to make a move, Li Yan hurriedly stopped, cursed inwardly, and carefully hid his form.

It was the Donghu Ancestor who had also swum up, its strong hind legs and webbed feet kicking the water, following closely behind the Alligator Master.

Li Yan had no choice but to continue hiding.

This kind of terrifying old monster, if measured by human cultivation, was at least at the fourth or fifth floor level; even with thunder techniques, he wasn't confident.

Unless he summoned the Yin Bureau's troops.

Even if he used this trump card, he had to rescue the Alligator Master first.

Thump, thump, thump!

Just as before, the Alligator Master relied on its strong limbs to crawl onto the stone platform, its sharp claws sending stone fragments flying as it gripped the stone wall.

Several stones flew out and fell into the water.

Li Yan casually grabbed one, his eyes filled with disbelief.

After the stone skin on the surface of the surrounding stone wall was broken, the stone blocks inside all appeared white, as delicate as porcelain.

This was the first time he had seen this kind of strange ore.

The Alligator Master was controlled like a puppet; after spitting out the huge jade cong in its mouth, it turned and jumped into the water, splashing a huge wave with a boom.

Li Yan was hit by this wave, his body swaying from side to side.

Following that was the Donghu Ancestor.

This big toad was even more powerful; with a hard kick of its two legs, it jumped directly out of the water, landed on the stone platform, spat out the jade cong in its mouth, and turned to jump back into the water.

The waves surged, causing Li Yan to sway again.

However, he could no longer care about these things.

He saw that underwater not far away, the Donghu Ancestor had already turned around, staring at him motionlessly with its huge blood-colored pupils.

Exposed!

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, preparing to jump ashore first.

But something strange happened.

The Donghu Ancestor didn't make a move, but nodded slightly, twisted its body, and dove back into the pitch-black riverbed.

Li Yan understood instantly: this old monster wanted to rebel!

Judging from the situation just now, the Donghu Ancestor must have been hit by some kind of terrifying gu-poison, and the artifact controlling it was on Tan Yuner.

The other party was hoping he would cause trouble so it could take the opportunity to regain its freedom.

After seeing the situation clearly, Li Yan became even more confident, hiding motionlessly underwater, just waiting for the Alligator Master to come up next time...

……

At the same time, Lu San was also taking action.

He took a leather pouch from his bosom, grabbed a handful of powder, and sprinkled it on all the pets and Wu Ba.

This thing was called "Concealment Powder," a secret recipe passed down to them by Master Lin, a treasure-seeker from Jiangzhe, made by burning "mountain demon hair" and "lichen" into ash, which could eliminate the scent on one's body.

After doing this, the group tiptoed, passed through layers of stairs, and headed downward. And that "Jing person" ran in front to lead the way.

After descending five levels in a row, the "Jing person" suddenly stopped, turned, and ran into a stone cave nearby.

Lu San and Wu Ba followed inside and looked around.

This seemed to be a prison, with rows of wooden racks, on which were pairs of holes; a dozen skeletons had their heads and hands stuck in them, all collapsed on the ground, and chains were still locked around their ankle bones.

And on the other side's wall and wooden racks were all kinds of strange torture instruments, some made of bone, some made of stone, covered in dust.

Lu San was a bit puzzled but didn't pay it any mind.

He didn't know that this wasn't a prison, but a place used to hold prisoners of war for human sacrifice.

The "Jing person" hopped and skipped, leading them through the cave to a nearby room, where it hopped on a piece of rotten fur carpet.

Lu San understood instantly, stepped forward, and lifted the fur; dust surged, revealing a large wooden board.

Lifting the wooden board revealed a large hole.

This hole was also a bit strange; it seemed to be naturally formed, very smooth inside, and had a white porcelain texture.

!.

Lu San gritted his teeth and jumped into it; although the little fox and Wu Ba were afraid, they followed closely behind.

This passage slanted downward, and they slid directly down, their speed getting faster and faster; in the blink of an eye, they rolled out of the exit.

After Lu San stood steady, he immediately looked around, his eyes filled with shock.

This was a porcelain stone chamber, very irregular inside, seemingly naturally formed, densely packed with honeycomb-like holes.

And inside all the holes stood a "Jing person," waving a small jade sword, looking at them with terror.

It was as if they had broken into a land of little people in an instant.

"Chirp, chirp..."

The "Jing person" leading the way hurriedly stepped forward, gesturing wildly, then pointed at Lu San and shouted loudly.

Lu San also pinched a spell and began speaking in the Upper Realm language.

After a round of communication, an old man emerged from among the "Jing people," wearing a jade crown and holding a jade scepter, and led Lu San forward.

Soon, they were brought to another stone chamber.

This place also had that porcelain texture, but there were no honeycomb holes, only a human skeleton collapsed on the ground; looking at its wide robes and jade crown, it was actually of Qin and Han style!

And on the walls were exquisite murals painted with pigments.

The things painted were also extremely shocking.

It was a group of ancient ancestors wearing furs, who should be the Fuxi clan, holding torches and weapons, moving through caves.

Later, they discovered a giant clam in the mountains and dug out large and small stone chambers on both sides of the giant clam...

This was the reason for Lu San's shock.

The entire ruin was actually a giant clam from the prehistoric era!

This thing, while alive, must have been a great monster with astonishing cultivation, far exceeding common sense, perhaps even older than the ancient ancestors.

Perhaps this area of Xianshan was still the inland Yunmeng Great Marsh in that more ancient era; with the changes of time, the giant clam's corpse was buried in the mountains, and it just so happened that an underground river passed through the gaps.

More importantly, what followed.

The people of the Fuxi clan jumped into the water and found a huge bright pearl at the deepest part of the underground river, as big as a building, with a hollow space inside.

And its leader sat cross-legged inside, clouds and mist rising from his head, revealing mountains, rivers, great marshes, and all kinds of strange beasts.

Lu San frowned.

This picture seemed somewhat similar to the one in Chang Sangzi's stone chamber; the "Four Fiends" also had smoke rising from their heads and could eventually turn into fiendish beasts.

The subsequent scenes were somewhat hair-raising.

The people of the Fuxi clan built stone platforms and waterwheels, using the power of the underground river to pull up the pearl stone chamber.

But not long after the pearl left the water, its luster would dim.

Thus, they created eighteen jade congs to act as mechanisms, requiring human sacrifice every time, after which the shaman would enter the stone chamber.

It seemed they were practicing, and it also seemed they were receiving instructions from gods...

These scenes were simply bizarre and grotesque.

Lu San only took a few glances before ignoring them.

Compared to Li Yan, he didn't have much interest in these things; he was more concerned with how to create chaos to buy time for Li Yan.

The "Jing person" leader didn't explain too much either, but used the earth-escape method to drill back and forth within the stone chamber walls.

Crack, crack, crack!

A crack suddenly appeared on one wall.

Lu San hurriedly stepped forward, pushed it open gently, and discovered that they had actually entered the temple near the monsters.

Not far outside, the leather pouch used to catch "Jing people" was placed there.

Lu San calmly retreated, carefully took out a fire-caltrop from the bag behind Wu Ba.

This thing was made by Sha Lifei, using a new type of gunpowder, and its power was astonishing, but one had to be extremely careful when using it...

…………

After waiting for another two sticks of incense, the Alligator Master swam out from the pitch-black water again and climbed toward the shore.

The opportunity had arrived!

Li Yan didn't say a word, suddenly unleashed his hidden strength, and leaped out.

His move was very sudden, and he jumped onto the Alligator Master's head in an instant.

"Enemy attack!"

The Profound Xuan Xuan Shui Dun stopped, and he was immediately discovered.

"It's you, daring to come and seek death!"

Tan Yuner was instantly furious, waved her hand, and a dense swarm of poisonous mosquitoes flew out from the leather pouch at her waist.

There were also several monsters who directly picked up divine fire guns.

This was also a point Li Yan was wary of.

The other party not only had a large number of people but also experts sent by the Heavenly Saint Sect to assist, using divine fire guns snatched from the Commandant's Office.

Under a volley of gunfire, even if his supernatural powers were strong, he would have to flee.

Boom!

Just at this moment, Lu San suddenly rushed out from behind.

He raised his mace, blew the head off the man holding the "Jing person" pouch with one shot, then swung it, smashing another man's brain, and ran off with the pouch.

"Catch him!"

Immediately, more than a dozen people rushed toward Lu San.

But just at this moment, Wu Ba appeared again, looking panicked, threw the lit fire-caltrop directly out, and then grabbed Lu San and rushed into the temple.

Boom!

With a loud noise, fire surged on the stone platform.

Some monsters were blown to pieces directly, some were swallowed by the fire, and the huge shockwave scattered, throwing Tan Yuner and the others far away, slamming them hard against the stone wall.

And the Alligator Master, which was lying on the stone wall by the shore, was also thrown by the terrifying shockwave and fell heavily into the water.

"Damn it!"

Li Yan cursed inwardly, almost being thrown away as well.

However, the dense, pitch-black hair on the bronze coffin had long since entangled his lower body, preventing him from breaking away from the head of the Tuoshi.

Gurgle, gurgle~

The sound of water surged in his ears, and everything before his eyes was pitch black.

Li Yan couldn't see anything at all, so he simply ignored it, pressed both hands down, and the Soul-Hooking Thunder Rope whistled out.

Zzz, zzz, zzz!

In an instant, electric light flashed in the water, those black hairs turned into flying ash, and the white film on the Alligator Master's eyes also shattered into pieces...

Second update in the afternoon

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 376 =====