Chapter 379: The Mysterious Cave

The ferocity of Thunder Law needs no explanation.

Today, some Daoist lineages in Shenzhou even use whether one possesses Thunder Law as a key criterion for judging a lineage's strength.

Li Yan's Soul-Stealing Thunder Rope is especially extraordinary.

The heavenly thunder stored within it is a supreme scourge of all evils.

The dense mass of black hair instantly turned to ash, lost its hold, and rolled off the Tu Shi's head.

Li Yan was likewise flung directly into the water.

The underground river's current was fierce; he was tossed about like laundry in a washer, dazed and disoriented.

Boom!

The bronze coffin lid suddenly flew open.

Li Yan's use of Thunder Law underwater had weakened its power, and the wooden partition inside the coffin had further blocked the strike, failing to kill whatever lay within outright.

Yet the opponent's foundation was utterly shattered, its soul on the verge of dispersal.

In desperate madness, the opponent no longer concealed itself.

Inside the coffin lay a woman, clad in white robes, her skin blue-purple, mouth filled with fangs, body withered, fingernails sharp as claws—resembling an ancient zombie.

This woman was Huang Huang Sanlang of the Ghost Sect of Ezhou, also a member of the Huang Liu Clan, who had secretly reincarnated as a woman years ago and cultivated the Water God Immortality Art.

Her body was now covered in lightning scars, glowing red and spreading outward, turning all she touched into charcoal.

This death by lightning had utterly destroyed her chance at reincarnation.

With her last lingering resentment, she lunged desperately at Li Yan.

Swept by the undercurrent and surrounded by darkness, the roaring water drowning all sound, Li Yan had no time to react before a pair of cold, withered hands clamped around his throat.

Thud!

Without hesitation, he punched out.

Huang Huang Sanlang, the attacker, had his skull crushed, his soul scattered.

Yet the heavy bronze coffin now sealed Li Yan inside, sinking into the black depths, soon vanishing from sight…

…………

On the other side, Tu Shi's white membrane vanished completely.

Though the dark art had been broken, Tu Shi was still a demon; Li Yan's thunderbolt had shaken its soul, leaving it dazed for a long while.

If someone had attacked now, Tu Shi would have been in trouble.

But chaos also reigned on the ruin's stone platform.

The newly enhanced fire thorns, infused with modern gunpowder, were terrifyingly powerful.

Over thirty demons of the Tian Sheng Sect at the center were instantly blown to pieces; when the fire and smoke cleared, shattered stones littered the ground, and many others were covered in ash and bloodied from the blast.

Some remained conscious; most had already fainted.

"You're asking for death!"

A shrill scream rang out.

It was Princess Tan Tan Yuner of the Tusi City.

Though stripped of her arts, her martial skill was still formidable; she instantly unleashed hidden force, leaping aside—but the shockwave still hurled her against the ruin's debris.

Puff!

Tan Tan Yuner spat blood and roared at the survivors: "Quick! Catch that boy—I'll use him as a Gu chamber!"

As she spoke, she pulled a withered skull from her waist.

The skull had been specially refined, black as ink, shrunk to the size of a steamed bun, its features and orifices sewn shut with thread.

Barely recognizable, it resembled a monk.

It was Po Liu Han Baling!

In this reincarnation, Po Liu Han Baling had grown weary, planning to enter the monastic path—but was still forced out, and ultimately died surrounded by demons.

At the time, Princess Tan Tan Yuner had acted with cruel cunning, severing his head and refining it into a dark artifact using the Demon Cult's secret methods.

Tan Tan Yuner lit a bundle of dry grass and chanted ancient, obscure incantations, drawing three circles left, then three circles right on the skull.

Hum!

From beneath the withered skull, a cloud of black smoke erupted.

Closer inspection revealed countless winged insects resembling ants.

The swarm vibrated its wings, emitting a piercing roar, and like smoke, lifted the withered skull toward the temple where Lu San hid.

"Go to hell!"

Inside the temple, Wu Ba grabbed his axe and charged out.

His eyes were bloodshot, his killing aura surging.

He had no memory of what happened after he was controlled, but he clearly remembered that several of those outside had destroyed the Ren Xiao tribe.

"Come back!"

Lu San's face changed; he urgently grabbed him.

The demon gourd at his waist shook violently, squeaking warnings.

If Tan Tan Yuner was using this skull as her trump card, it could not be mere poison; it was packed with toxic fire and phosphorus—touch it, and it would explode, burning everyone to charcoal.

Lu San dragged Wu Ba straight into the stone wall of the Jing Ren tribe; as the stone door nearly closed, he flung a flying needle backward.

Boom! The skull exploded.

Greenish-red flames instantly engulfed the temple.

Lu San and Wu Ba slammed the stone door shut; they escaped death, and the burning poison fire blocked the pursuing demons.

"This is sheer madness!"

The Snake Sect Daoist, seeing this, flew into rage and turned, gritting his teeth: "There's a secret passage behind—does the princess mean to help them escape?"

He utterly despised Tan Tan Yuner.

She was capricious and arrogant—not only seizing his authority, but acting recklessly, accomplishing nothing but failure.

But he had no choice; she was sent by the Tusi City, and even the Tian Sheng Sect had to tread carefully and tolerate her.

"How was I supposed to know there was a hidden passage?"

Tan Tan Yuner regretted it slightly, yet still refused to admit fault.

Swish!

At that moment, a dark shadow burst from the water, catching her off guard, snatching the skin drum from her waist and plunging it into the water.

"Damn!"

Tan Tan Yuner touched her waist—her face finally paled; without a word, she dashed three steps toward the stone steps, trying to flee.

But it was too late.

Boom!

The water exploded violently; the Old Ancestor of Donghu burst forth, his massive body sending up a spray of mist as he crashed onto the shore with a thunderous crash.

Simultaneously, he opened his mouth wide and spat a white mist—the terrifying white threadworms.

Countless threadworms rained down.

Whether alive or dead, every demon was engulfed; they clawed frantically but could not stop the worms burrowing into their bodies.

Tan Tan Yuner was especially unlucky.

She had barely taken two steps when a wind howled behind her; a long tongue wrapped around her waist and yanked her backward.

"Ahh—!"

The scream vanished instantly.

This capricious Tusi princess had been swallowed whole by the Old Ancestor of Donghu, drowned in its white threadworms.

All surviving demons turned pale, unable to move.

They had witnessed the horror of these worms.

These white threadworms were a rare variant, immensely powerful; once parasitizing a living being, they reproduced wildly, devouring all internal organs and brain matter within less than the time it took to burn a stick of incense.

Indeed, the wounded and dead demons soon rose, staggering, their bodies twisting unnaturally.

White threadworms wriggled in their nostrils and eyes.

These worms could also control humans into puppets!

Precisely because of this worm's terror, the Old Ancestor of Donghu had been tricked by Zhao Zhao Changsheng—while refining the worms, Zhao had left a hidden trap.

Yu Yu Faling's face darkened, but seeing no immediate outbreak of worms inside him, he guessed the truth and bowed hastily: "I pay homage, Old Ancestor. Please reconsider—the drum controlling the worms is not unique; Senior Huang Liu Shi still possesses another…"

Boom!

Before he finished speaking, one of the Old Ancestor's tentacles whipped down, striking him hard and sending him flying.

Yu Yu Faling rolled to the ground, spat blood, lowered his head, and dared not utter another word. The Old Ancestor opened his mouth again.

Splash…

A skeleton tumbled out—it was Tan Tan Yuner.

Two giant jade cong also fell with it.

"Prepare… the sacrifice…"

A cold, heavy voice issued from the Old Ancestor of Donghu.

He had seized the opportunity in the chaos to retrieve all the jade cong that had fallen to the lake bottom—including the one flung from Tu Shi's mouth.

Now, all eighteen jade cong had been gathered!

Seeing this, Yu Yu Faling's heart turned icy.

He finally realized that the Old Ancestor of East Lake had been pretending to be foolish all along; his earlier helplessness and rage when bullied by Tan Tan Yuner had all been a ruse to deceive them, waiting for an opportunity.

This ancient ruin contained not only the Scripture Grove hidden by Wang Chan, but also the secrets of the ancient Fuxi clan.

!.

They accidentally learned of it, and combined with hidden knowledge passed down by the Tian Sheng Sect, the two sides jointly uncovered this matter.

If the Old Ancestor of East Lake obtained the inheritance, he might even resolve the threat—there would be no need to further fear Zhao Zhao Changsheng.

Thinking of this, Yu Yu Faling's heart turned bitter, yet he dared not resist; instead, he bowed respectfully and said, "Yes, as the elder advises."

Saying this, he ordered the remaining people to move the jade cong and place them one by one into the recesses on the stone platforms along both banks.

After completing this, Yu Yu Faling gave another order:

"Bring up the offerings!"

The Yao people afflicted by the Gu did not dare resist; they entered a nearby cave and dragged out more than twenty unconscious monks.

These were precisely the people Sui Yan and the others had found at the temple, then kidnapped.

Originally, there had also been a Fa-mai sorcerer captured on the road, but he was extremely cunning and escaped the cave using a secret technique.

He was only discovered when the Tian Sheng Sect members came to capture him.

These unconscious monks were dragged before the eighteen stone platforms, their throats slit, and their blood splashed onto the jade cong…

Inside a cave above the ruin, Lu San and Wu Ba poked their heads out, gazing downward, their eyes filled with anxiety.

The plan had still gone awry.

They had never expected the Old Ancestor of East Lake to launch a sudden attack.

More importantly,

Why hadn't Li Yan emerged yet!

Perhaps the effect of the concealment powder on his person had worn off; suddenly, the Old Ancestor of East Lake, who had been lying on the stone platform, turned over and let out a thunderous roar.

Lu San and Wu Ba felt a deafening buzz in their skulls, their vision spinning, and even the little fox and the two rats beside them toppled over.

At the same time, the white threadworms scattered throughout the ruin converged from all directions toward them.

Seeing this, Lu San gritted his teeth and slapped the demonic gourd.

Hum!

Poisonous bees swarmed out, devouring the charging threadworms nonstop.

The demonic gourd was precisely effective against all kinds of Gu insects.

But compared to the threadworms, the number of bees was insufficient; they could barely hold back the tide.

Below, the Old Ancestor of East Lake was also surprised, yet ignored it, slowly crawling to the edge of the platform and fixing his gaze on the water's surface.

On the turbulent water, mist suddenly rose.

A colossal creature slowly surfaced—it was the revived Tu Shi.

Seeing this, Lu San's face lit up; he chanted a spell, emitted a piercing whistle, then shouted loudly: "Quick, save Brother Yan first!"

Tu Shi cast a cold glance at the Old Ancestor of East Lake, swung his body, and dove into the riverbed.

The scene before them left the Tian Sheng Sect's Yao people stunned.

"Continue! Continue!"

The Old Ancestor of East Lake let out a low roar and leapt into the water.

"Continue! Continue!"

Yu Yu Faling of the Snake Sect roared through gritted teeth.

He already sensed that this time he was doomed—no matter which side won, he could not survive.

At this point, his only thought was to witness with his own eyes what treasure he had spent nearly his entire life seeking.

Tu Shi moved ahead, but the Old Ancestor of East Lake was faster; before Tu Shi could reach the riverbed, he was entangled by countless tentacles.

"Roar!"

Tu Shi bellowed, his yin-sha energy spreading, freezing all approaching Gu insects, while simultaneously manipulating the underwater currents.

This was the very foundation of his ambition to claim the position of Water God.

Most ancient monsters in the Yangtze River stirred up storms and waves, but he had received the lineage of Yun Yun Zhong Jun and excelled particularly in this art.

Whether regulating earth qi, dredging river channels, or summoning clouds and rain, he had accumulated considerable expertise—truly a righteous school among monsters.

The two colossal beasts battled in the water, stirring up towering waves.

Although Tu Shi was blocked and unable to descend to rescue Li Yan, the waves he raised also disrupted the sacrificial progress.

For a time, both sides fell into stalemate…

…………

Hoo-hoo~

The sound of rushing water filled his ears; darkness surrounded his vision.

This underground river was peculiar: above, the currents surged violently, but below, all was eerily still, like stagnant water, causing silt to accumulate.

Li Yan was pinned beneath the heavy bronze coffin, quickly sinking to the riverbed; then his feet tightened, and half his body sank into the silt.

The more he struggled, the deeper he sank.

Worse still, his Da Xuan Shui Dun had ceased, and he had not yet reached the stage of silently reciting the incantation; the foul air trapped in his chest grew increasingly unbearable.

No!

Li Yan forced himself to calm down, drew the Duan Chen Dao, and struck with all his might, piercing straight through the bronze coffin, then pulled it free.

He planned to break a small hole and crawl out.

But every time he exerted force, his body sank deeper.

Boom!

As Li Yan pierced the bronze coffin again, his expression changed instantly.

Beneath his feet, the ground suddenly gave way; before he could react, a terrifying suction pulled him downward, dragging him fully into the silt.

Plop!

Li Yan landed heavily, gasping for air.

He slowly rose, looked around, his eyes filled with awe.

This was a strange cave, its walls entirely translucent and irregularly shaped, forming hollows like divine shrines.

The stone walls seemed to be some kind of gemstone, emitting a faint blue glow.

Inside those "shrines" sat corpse after corpse!

Their clothing and appearances varied greatly.

Some had thick hair, bulging muscles, wore animal skins, their hair disheveled, crowned with jade-woven diadems…

Others wore wide robes and tall ceremonial hats, long beards hanging to their chests…

Others wore Daoist robes, their hair snow-white…

They seemed to come from different eras!

Li Yan felt a chill run down his spine, his face tense with caution.

His spiritual powers were completely suppressed here; he drew the Duan Chen Dao and crept cautiously toward one corpse, testing its nostrils, then breathed a slight sigh of relief.

These were all corpses!

Li Yan's eyes were filled with confusion.

This place looked like some kind of burial treasure vault.

Could the secret of the Fuxi tribe be…

This?

Then Li Yan turned his gaze to the center of the cave, where stone steles stood upright, arranged according to the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, black as ink, appearing mysteriously under the cave's blue glow.

It was Wang Chan's Scripture Grove!

(End of Chapter)