Chapter 376: The Goddess, the Fu Xi Ancient Cave

The Northern Emperor's Divine Commandment is immensely powerful; though it appears somewhat similar to the Spirit-Communicating Art, it is a completely different method.

The Spirit-Communicating Art is akin to crossing over to the underworld—it temporarily separates the soul from the body, allowing one to see sights invisible to the living.

This act itself is extremely dangerous.

One must use spirit warrants for protection and prepare defenses in advance.

The Northern Emperor's Divine Commandment, however, forms a Thunder Seal, borrowing the authority of the Northern Yin Fengdu Great Emperor to command spirits and ghosts—it is orthodox Da Xuan Gate practice.

Yet this method also has flaws.

First, it requires a ritual altar to amplify one's spiritual awareness, as if falling into a dream, making its execution less convenient.

Second, the entities that appear after the ritual are entirely uncontrollable.

Minor spirits and ghosts, intimidated by the Thunder Seal's might, mostly dare not act boldly; the powerful ones may ignore you entirely—or even teach you a lesson.

In short, it's like carrying an imperial decree—though it bears the weight of royal law, whether it can subdue others depends entirely on your own strength.

Li Yan originally intended to seek out local mountain spirits and ancient ghosts.

But he never expected a formidable entity to appear.

The Goddess of the Han River!

Such earth deities are unique beings, entirely distinct from the human-created land and mountain gods.

In this world, mountains, rivers, valleys, rain, snow, wind, frost, and subterranean dragon veins all possess spirit—existing since primordial times.

One breath of theirs may span a hundred years; a simple turn of their body can shake the earth and shift rivers; a single movement alters wind and clouds…

Such as Yun Zhong Jun, the Nine-Headed Phoenix Vein, and the Goddess of the Han River.

Mountains are yang, waters are yin; thus, water goddesses abound across Shenzhou—the Han River has its goddess, the Yangtze has the Wushan Divine Maiden, the Xiang River has Xiang Jun, the Yellow River has Luo Shen…

And their forms shift according to human perception.

In the Book of Songs, she is the you nv—a woodcutter's beloved, beautiful and mysterious…

In the Outer Traditions of the Han Poetry, she is one of two washerwomen Confucius met by the Han River during his southern journey to Chu; she refused his gifts, wise and courteous…

In the Biographies of Immortals, she is one of the two Jiang Fei maidens, who gifted pearls to the Han River—a tale of beauty, still commemorated annually by the people of Xiangyang with the "Piercing Heaven Festival."

Though these seem like lovely legends, such earth deities are the hardest to deal with—ever-changing in form, capricious in mood.

Like the Han River, which nurtures the people around it, yet a few years ago flooded and swept away Xiangyang City…

Li Yan felt uneasy, but the two figures were drawing nearer.

"Hehe…"

The mischievous laughter of a maiden reached his ears.

Li Yan widened his eyes, trying to discern the goddesses' faces, but all he felt was the roaring river, fluttering feather robes, flowing hair, flickering glances, and jingling jade pendants—sounding like temple bells and stone chimes.

Soon, the sound of bells and chimes grew louder.

On the distant Xianshan, several figures appeared: elderly men in Han robes with tall crowns, scholars with black hair in Tang-Song style, seemingly chanting aloud in rhythm with the bells and chimes:

"By the Han River, the goddess wanders,

Riding the clear wind, her spirit soars, stepping lightly upon waves, slowly drawing near.

Two fair maidens, twin blossoms, graceful as coiling dragons,

Their charm concealed in tenderness, radiance shining upon the water…"

Outside the ritual altar, another scene unfolded.

Wang Wang Daoxuan and the others stared wide-eyed—they heard no sound, yet saw Li Yan suddenly open his eyes, gaze distant, cheeks flushed, murmuring softly:

"Morning glow brightens my face, my lips like crimson clouds,

Emerald sleeves flutter, cloud-like tresses loose and flowing.

Jade pendants chime, their sound stirring all four corners,

Scented breeze brushes my face—flowers bow their heads in shame…"

Sha Sha Li Fei frowned in confusion. "What's going on with Brother Yan? He's smiling like some lovestruck fool. Master Wang Daoxuan, have you ever heard this poem?"

Wang Wang Daoxuan frowned and shook his head. "Never heard it before."

"Could he be bewitched?"

"Probably not—the Thunder Seal still holds, the candle flame hasn't moved. Don't act rashly. Wait until Brother Yan wakes."

After a stick of incense burned, Li Yan's gaze finally cleared. He swiftly retracted the Thunder Seal, ended the ritual, and rose quickly.

"Brother Yan, what happened?"

Sha Sha Li Fei hurried forward to ask.

Li Yan looked toward distant Xianshan and said gravely, "Lucky. I saw something—the mountain holds hidden fissures, and more than one exit."

"We'll find a chance to enter and rescue them…"

Sha Sha Li Fei asked curiously, "What poem were you reciting just now?"

"I… forgot."

"Why do you look like you've fallen head over heels?"

"You're mistaken!"

Li Yan's expression grew uneasy; he quickly changed the subject. "We must split up. The secret tunnels in Xianshan are treacherous. Uncle Sha, you and Master Wang must immediately board a boat, rendezvous with the garrison's naval forces, and lie in wait upstream at the location I'll mark."

"Give me one signal flare. Tell Commander Zhou and the others to prepare—the moment they see the signal, fire cannons at the coordinates I've marked. That's where the cultists will retreat."

He pulled a map from his satchel, sketched a few marks with charcoal, and handed it to Wang Wang Daoxuan.

"Lu San and Wu Ba will come with me. No time to waste—let's move!"

At his command, the group split immediately.

Wang Wang Daoxuan and Sha Sha Li Fei took most of the useless gear and the wounded hawk to the riverbank and boarded a boat.

The passage was sealed; the river was temporarily safe.

Li Yan and Lu San retrieved necessary ritual tools and entered the mountains, vanishing quickly into the dense forest…

…………

Half an hour later, Li Yan arrived with Lu San and Wu Ba at a mountain ravine, surrounded by thick forest and rising mist.

"Here we are!"

Li Yan's face grew grim. "Be careful. The earth's qi here is chaotic—mist obscures everything. Back then, Sun Yi Jian, the 'Fierce Tiger of Jiangdong,' was ambushed here and died from an arrow wound."

"During the chaos of the Tang's end and the Northern-Southern standoff of the previous dynasty, soldiers and civilians wandered in—some became wandering spirits trapped here, others corpses transformed, lurking in the mist to ambush the living. Over years, it became a deadly place."

"Below the valley lies a cliff. I'll guard with Wu Ba. Lu Brother, strike the rocks. If you hear bells and chimes, that's where the hidden passage lies…"

Even Lu San grew curious. "Brother Yan, how do you know so much?"

Li Yan glanced around, his eyes complex. "A mountain or river's breath spans a hundred years of mortal dust. Just now, I witnessed thousands of years of Xianshan's changes—time flowing, yet I watched coldly."

"Truly mysterious. Which deity granted you this vision?"

"It's a secret that cannot be spoken."

Seeing Li Yan wouldn't elaborate, Lu San dropped the matter, drew his bone club, and followed Li Yan down the slope.

This valley was indeed strange.

The closer they neared the valley floor, the thicker the mist became. Once inside the forest, fog enveloped everything—visibility shrank to ten meters.

Both the white fox and the two rats grew agitated, fur standing on end.

Even Lu San frowned. "My sensing arts are suppressed—is this… a formation?"

"Yes."

Li Yan drew his Broken Dust Blade and said grimly, "Within Xianshan lies a cave carved by the ancient Fu Xi clan."

"I saw a blurred figure—a white-haired elder. He may be the Immortal Chi Chi Songzi, who placed seals here to conceal the Fu Xi Ancient Cave…"

"Do you recall Tian Wei saying that the great sorcerer Xing Hepu first discovered Wang Chan the Ancestor's scripture grove in Yunmeng Marsh?"

"Tian's son? Yeah, he mentioned that…"

"To be honest, according to Liu Gang's intelligence, Xing Hepu wasn't just skilled in divination—he was a living Yin Officer who understood many cosmic secrets. I suspect he learned them from Wang Chan's scripture grove. In the illusion, I saw a group controlling Yangtze water monsters—hundreds of giant turtles bearing steles—entering the mountain through the entrance we found. They must have hidden the stele grove here."

As he spoke, the three entered the forest's depths.

The mist grew denser. Dead leaves and branches piled thickly, soaked by rain and floodwaters, turning into sludge.

Many pits lay hidden, filled with mud and covered by leaves—deadly traps. Step on one, and you'd be sucked in.

Progress became difficult, but their senses still detected things within ten meters, allowing them to avoid each pit easily.

A few steps further, Li Yan's Broken Dust Blade suddenly spun and plunged into the ground with a wet *thunk*.

"Roar—!"

A snarl echoed as a mud-caked black claw burst from the earth—but with a twist of his blade, Li Yan crushed it back into the ground.

Neither looked back; they pressed on.

The creature had been a walking corpse—likely a hunter or villager who died recently. Unspent corpse qi had reanimated it upon contact with the living.

!.

Then, shadows flickered in the mist—some resembling soldiers, others hunters or villagers—like drifting black fog, emitting low, mournful wails.

Wu Ba's fur bristled; he turned his head frantically.

"Ignore them!"

Li Yan snorted coldly and led them onward.

It was noon, yet the valley's forest remained dim, thick with a chilling, eerie cold.

Finally, they saw a cliff face—but all three halted simultaneously, grim-faced, gripping their weapons.

Ahead lay a sludge field. Rotted weapons protruded from dead leaves; exposed skeletons littered the ground.

A tattered banner hung from a tree.

Clearly inscribed were the characters "Tian Sheng"!

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and muttered, "It seems not just the Snake Cult's master and disciple have been searching—Tian Sheng Cult has been lurking in the shadows too."

"What do we do?"

"Can't avoid it—we go straight through!"

Li Yan gritted his teeth, turned to Wu Ba, and said sternly, "Don't wander off. Stick with me. Protect Lu San. Understood?"

"Thud! Thud!"

Though Wu Ba still spoke haltingly, he understood. He gripped his crude, heavy axe.

The axe looked plain and crudely made, but it was a ritual artifact of the Renxiao tribe, capable of suppressing evil entities.

"Charge!"

Li Yan nodded and stepped forward, sword in hand.

"Roar~"

Stimulated by the living breath, the corpses hidden in the mud began to writhe—as if the entire ground were wriggling.

In this situation, no technique was needed.

Sizzle!

Li Yan swung the Broken Dust Blade in his right hand, while lightning crackled across his left fist—he slashed left and hammered right, shattering every corpse in his path.

Lu San followed close behind, swinging his bone club wildly.

At the same time, Wu Ba finally revealed his formidable strength—his massive axe swung left and right, chopping every approaching thing to pieces.

Like an arrowhead, they pierced straight through the reanimated army, rapidly approaching the stone wall.

As soon as they reached it, Lu San immediately found a sharp rock and began hammering it against the wall.

Tap-tap-tap!

Unfortunately, it was only the sound of ordinary stone striking stone.

Lu San did not lose heart—he increased his pace, striking faster.

Meanwhile, Li Yan and Wu Ba guarded behind him, swinging their weapons or kicking the lunging corpses away with their feet.

These things had absorbed yin-sha energy for years, and though they weren't as invulnerable as zombies, their bodies were still tough enough.

Had it not been for their extraordinary strength and ritual weapons, they couldn't have shattered them at all.

Yet this was an entire fallen army—there were far too many. For every one they shattered, more surged forward.

Seeing the corpse tide grow fiercer, Li Yan no longer held back—he suddenly raised his hand, and the Soul-Grabbing Chain screamed out.

Unlike ghosts, these corpses weren't affected by soul-pulling alone, so Li Yan activated the thunder stored within the Soul-Grabbing Chain.

Crackling!

In an instant, thunder roared.

In Li Yan's hand appeared a six-meter-long lightning serpent, writhing wildly with blinding flashes, instantly clearing everything before him.

Wu Ba stared, eyes filled with awe.

Among the team, he and Lu San were closest—but the one he feared most was unquestionably Li Yan. The power of this thunder technique had seared a deep mark into his soul.

After unleashing his might, Li Yan immediately retracted the Soul-Grabbing Chain.

This new ability was indeed powerful—but it had limits.

The thunder stored within the Soul-Grabbing Chain was not infinite; like a treasure, it could hold thunder, but once expended, it needed recharging.

With the current strength of the Soul-Grabbing Chain, this level of thunder attack could be used at most three or four more times—he must preserve some as a last resort.

"Roar—!"

The terrifying thunder strike had driven the corpse tide back—but once Li Yan retracted the chain, they surged forward again.

Ding-dong-ding!

Suddenly, clear chime and bell tones echoed from behind.

"Found it!"

Lu San's face lit up with joy. He immediately unleashed his hidden strength, as Li Yan had instructed, and slammed his power into the stone wall.

Unfortunately, the wall didn't budge.

"Wu Ba, you go!"

Li Yan ordered quickly, standing alone against the horde.

Wu Ba rushed forward, roaring, his muscles bulging and twisting like steel cables.

Boom!

With a heavy rumble, a stone door slowly opened.

"Get in!"

Li Yan shoved both of them inside, then all three pushed together, slamming the stone door shut again, blocking the screaming corpses outside.

Puff!

Li Yan pulled out another torch and lit it with a fire-striker.

Only then did they see—the massive stone door was shaped like a bell.

Li Yan shook his head. "Xianshan is full of strange stones. During the Qin dynasty, the Chu royal court often collected them to make bells and chimes—important ritual instruments called Chu Yin."

"This Fuxi Ancient Cave was discovered in Qin times, but from Chi Chi Songzi and Chang Chang Sangzi to Xing Hepu, it was deliberately concealed."

As he spoke, he turned and shone the torchlight around.

A straight path led deep into darkness; the surrounding stone walls bore clear signs of human carving.

Lu San asked, "What's inside the Fuxi Ancient Cave?"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes. "You'll know once we find it."

With that, the three continued forward, their figures gradually vanishing…

Second chapter update, afternoon

(End of chapter)