Chapter 395: Chaos in Shu, Dragon Girl Escapes

The night wind whistled, blowing away the smell of smoke.

The corpses on the hillside had already turned cold, the ground full of severed limbs and broken walls mixed with mud, the smell of blood still rich.

"Hey, hey, slow down!"

Sha Lifei held a torch, urging repeatedly.

Beside him, Wu Ba was carrying the cannon up the slope.

This cannon was precisely the one from the Longxiang Army. After rolling down the hillside, it was found by Sha Lifei during the night.

The cannon style was somewhat strange, the barrel thick and short, bronze-colored, the muzzle embossed with a fierce tiger, and there were two tiger-claw brackets in front.

This item was forged with metallic spiritual materials and was very heavy, but Wu Ba had brute strength, carrying the tiger-claw brackets without any effort.

Li Yan was also cleaning up the battlefield.

This battle yielded extremely rich spoils.

The Longxiang Army was slaughtered, leaving their armor and weapons scattered everywhere; many firearms were dropped, and in addition to standard muskets, there were two Fire God Muskets, several new-style gunpowder satchels, and even two Netherfire Guns that had not yet been fired.

In comparison, the odds and ends on the sorcerers seemed not important at all.

Seeing Wu Ba carrying the cannon up, Li Yan frowned, "Aren't there wheels? Why were they dismantled?"

"That thing is redundant!"

Sha Lifei shook his head, "This is called a 'Tiger-Crouching Cannon.' The front claws are fixed, and when placed down, it looks like a fierce tiger crouching. It is suitable for mountain and forest combat."

"Originally, this cannon's power was average, and it didn't shoot far, but these guys from the Longxiang Army actually used spiritual materials for forging and added new gunpowder, so the power increased instantly."

"Originally, this cannon didn't have wheels. It was the Longxiang Army soldiers who couldn't carry it, so they added them randomly. With Brother Wu Ba, it's not a problem!"

Li Yan became interested, "How much ammunition is there?"

Sha Lifei waved his hand, "Only found five medicine packs, and not many projectiles. I'll find a way to mix some more. With this thing guarding the mountain, let's see who dares to come up!"

He was full of excitement. After letting Wu Ba move the "Tiger-Crouching Cannon" up the mountain, he went to search for new gunpowder packs with great interest.

With the two taking over, Li Yan was too lazy to search again. He came to the side of the battlefield, gathered earth to burn incense, then took out the hook-order, held it in his hand, and chanted: "Heavenly salvation of people, strictly capturing the North Feng, the divine official receives the order, sweeping away all inauspiciousness, eight powers spit poison, fierce horses spread four..."

Battlefields have been filled with wronged souls since ancient times; if not dealt with, they often breed disaster. During the Tang Dynasty, the poet Li Hua recorded: "This is an ancient battlefield, often covering three armies. Ghosts often cry here, and can be heard when the sky is overcast."

Even if these were enemies, as a member of the Mystic Sect, Li Yan couldn't ignore it and had to perform a ritual to transcend the dead souls.

Originally, these things were usually handled by Wang Daoxuan, but he had to look after the Dharma altar, and climbing back and forth was quite time-consuming, so Li Yan handled it himself.

What he used was the "North Emperor Disaster Removal Technique," which could be used to break curses and remove evil, and could also borrow the hook-order to transcend dead souls.

Whoosh~

As the curse was performed, Yin wind rose instantly all around.

Li Yan could smell cold Yin breaths emerging from near those corpses, circling rapidly all around.

At the same time, shrill wails came to his ears:

"I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"

"Where is this? So cold..."

"Mother, I miss you..."

Death ends everything, leaving only a residual thought.

At the moment of death, the strongest obsession in life is often left behind. Some are blown away by the night wind and disappear between heaven and earth, while others condense Yin evil, turning into wronged souls and fierce ghosts.

After awakening the ear supernatural ability, these wails could also be heard.

Immediately, Li Yan felt a cold breath rising from the ground. Those dead souls also quieted down, sank into the earth, and disappeared.

The night wind blew, and the smell of blood seemed to fade a lot.

Li Yan was silent for a moment, shook his head slightly, and returned to the mountaintop.

The wind on the mountaintop was stronger at night. Sha Lifei had already lit a bonfire under the giant rock in front of the cave entrance, the firelight flickering in the wind.

This old guy had already hung an iron pot and boiled meat soup, and beside it were roasted cakes, emitting a fragrance.

"This thing is not easy to hold... Wu Ba, look, you can lift it with one hand. Why not help you modify it and make a hand cannon?"

Sha Lifei touched the Tiger-Crouching Cannon, his mind wandering.

As for Wu Ba beside him, he couldn't care less. He squatted by the fire, watching the meat soup in the pot, drool flowing to his chest.

Seeing Li Yan return, Sha Lifei hurriedly raised his head and said excitedly, "Yan Yan Xiao Ge Yan, Old Sha I suddenly have a good idea..."

"Shh!"

Before he finished speaking, Li Yan made a gesture to be quiet, then signaled to the side.

There was someone lying there, precisely the Emei disciple captured earlier.

Sha Lifei spat, "Hey, you over there, if you're awake, stop playing dead, and stop the little movements on your hands."

The man lying on the ground stiffened, then slowly opened his eyes, looked at the fire, and remained silent.

Li Yan just glanced at him and didn't rush to ask. Instead, he stirred the meat soup in the pot with an iron spoon. Seeing the meat was stewed until soft, he nodded to Wu Ba.

Wu Ba immediately stood up, hurriedly picked up his large basin, let Li Yan scoop it full, and ate it beautifully with the roasted cakes.

Li Yan laughed dumbly, handed the spoon to Sha Lifei, then turned and stepped forward, pulled out a Soul-Severing Flying Blade, and stabbed down suddenly.

The man was about to close his eyes and wait for death, but felt his hand lighten; the cowhide rope tied to him had been cut.

Looking at his puzzled expression, Li Yan shook his head, "Come over and eat something. Even if you are to die, don't be a starving ghost on the road to the Yellow Springs."

The man gritted his teeth, stood up directly, came to the fire, took the meat soup and cakes handed by Sha Lifei, and ate and drank in large mouthfuls under Wu Ba's dissatisfied gaze.

For a time, everyone fell into silence, only the sound of eating and drinking.

After he finished eating, Li Yan opened his mouth to ask, "I am very strange, you, an Emei Orthodox disciple, and one who practiced the Dharma Sword, why did you mingle with the Longxiang Army?"

The man heard this, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Li Yan's face was calm, looking at the pitch-black wilderness, and said lightly, "Some things are better said out loud. If you have grievances in your heart, no one will know even if you die."

The man heard this, clenched his fists tightly, but still didn't speak.

Just when Sha Lifei was a little impatient, the man finally spoke, "My name is Wu Faluo, from the 'Hui Sect,' and I practiced Dao at 'Green Ox'."

A flash of brilliance flashed in Li Yan's eyes, "Fengdu Green Ox Temple?"

The three holy lands of the Divine Land martial world: Shaolin, Wudang, and Emei.

These three places were not only holy lands of the martial world but also places where Mystic Sect experts gathered, such as the Shaolin Chan Sect and the Wudang Zhenwu Palace, belonging to the Buddhist and Daoist families respectively.

Emei was somewhat special, having both Buddhism and Daoism, dominating the Southwest, with a massive force, having the saying "One tree blooms five flowers, five flowers supported by eight leaves."

The so-called "one tree" refers to Emei.

It's not just Mount Emei, but the entire Bashu region.

And the five flowers refer to five regions.

Green Ox Temple, Iron Buddha Temple, Huang Ling Sect, Dianyi Sect, Qingcheng Sect, occupying the five places of East, West, South, North, and Center of Chuan-Shu.

Eight leaves refer to the eight major sects: Monk, Yue, Du, Zhao, Hong, Hui, Zi, and Hua.

Five flowers and eight leaves together achieved Emei's prestige.

Among them, there were Daoism and Buddhism, and they were not so harmonious. For example, the Qingcheng Sect, its reputation in the Mystic Sect was enough to be on par with Emei, and when called, it was usually called Qingcheng-Emei together.

There was also the Monk Sect Fist, with many disciples, and countless people learning its boxing techniques. The martial world in Shu was full of people practicing Monk Sect Fist.

The "Hui Sect" that Wu Faluo mentioned excelled in various divine boxing and martial arts, with the five-character formula of swallow, spit, seal, transform, and stick.

And the Green Ox Temple was even more extraordinary.

It was built in the Qin Dynasty, with an ancient history, rumored to have a great connection with Laozi. This person's Dharma Sword was mostly learned from the Green Ox Temple...

Sha Lifei beside him heard this and was also quite surprised, "You melon-head, your future is limitless. Why rebel? Was your brain squeezed by the door?"

"Future is limitless?"

The middle-aged man Wu Faluo clenched his fists fiercely, his eyes full of resentment, "What Mystic Sect Orthodox, black and white are indistinguishable. I have become a wanted criminal of the imperial court, what choice do I have!" Li Yan frowned slightly, "What happened?"

Wu Faluo stared at the fire, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes, "Speaking of which, there are many things I still can't understand to this day..."

"At the Chengdu Green Goat Palace, there is a 'Flower Morning Festival' temple fair every February 15th, which is also the birthday of the ancestor Laozi. All Daoist sects in Chuan-Shu must gather at the Green Goat Palace to worship."

"I followed my master to participate, stayed overnight at the Green Goat Palace, and in the middle of the night, the Scripture Pavilion suddenly caught fire. After some busy confusion, I learned that someone had set fire to steal treasures from the Green Goat Palace."

"After putting out the fire, I left with my master. On the way, we stayed in a ruined temple. When I woke up, my master had disappeared, and then Green Goat Palace disciples chased after us, saying that my master and I had stolen the treasures."

"Seeing that I couldn't explain it clearly, I could only flee back to the Green Ox Temple first, wanting to report this matter to the elders in the sect, but after I said it, they imprisoned me instead and didn't listen to my explanation at all..."

Saying this, a trace of fear rose in his eyes, "I have a feeling that those elders seem to have become different people!"

Li Yan's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

Wu Faluo's body trembled, gritting his teeth, "The skin hasn't changed, the voice hasn't changed, but it's like being possessed by something!"

"Impossible."

!.

Sha Lifei looked incredulous, "What kind of place is Green Ox Temple? The ancestor's territory, and evil spirits dare to make trouble? You must be imagining things!"

"If this is true, why not report it to the Law Enforcement Hall?"

Wu Faluo said indignantly, "I reported it, but no one believed me. Instead, I was rewarded by the imperial court. I even ran to Emei, but Emei also had problems."

Li Yan frowned, "What problem did Emei have?"

Wu Faluo sneered, "What else could it be? Nothing more than internal strife, only caring about fighting for power and profit. How would they pay attention to a nobody like me!"

"Starting from Emei, I have been chased and killed, hiding my name and fleeing to Ezhou, taking refuge in the Longxiang Army..."

Li Yan was thoughtful, "Emei is not good, what about Qingcheng?"

"Qingcheng also has a pile of trouble."

Wu Faluo sighed, "Originally, Bashu had the Sword Immortal Cheng Jianxin sitting in town, but he has been in seclusion for many years and hasn't appeared. Some even rumored that he is already dead."

"Precisely because of this, some people in Emei started to have the heart to fight for power. Near Dujiangyan under Mount Qingcheng, there are even experts from both righteous and evil paths fighting. I don't know what they are fighting for, and Qingcheng can't take care of these things at all."

Speaking of this, his eyes were dim.

Li Yan and Sha Lifei looked at each other, both with solemn faces.

They were going to Chuan-Shu later, but they didn't expect the Mystic Sect there to be so chaotic. It seems they need to be careful when they arrive.

Of course, they didn't rush to offer help.

This matter was full of suspicious points, and I'm afraid there were many inside stories. There were already a pile of things, so how could they take care of meddling in other people's business.

"You go."

Li Yan suddenly spoke and waved his hand, "I'll spare your life this time. Don't mingle with those people. They won't be able to jump around for many days. If I meet you next time, I won't show mercy again!"

After speaking, he reached out and pulled out the copper needle from his acupuncture point.

Wu Faluo was silent for a moment, stood up, bowed, carried his long sword, and headed straight down the mountain, soon disappearing.

"What kind of person, can't even say thank you."

Sha Lifei spat with dissatisfaction, "Yan Yan Xiao Ge Yan, I think this kid mostly didn't tell the truth."

"No need to pay attention."

Li Yan shook his head slightly, suddenly his heart moved, looked toward the Southeast, his eyes became solemn, "Forget about him, be careful. I feel that there is evil energy rising over there. I'm afraid the Shen Kui tribe is making trouble again..."

At the foot of the mountain, Wu Faluo walked with his sword, and at the same time looked toward the Southeast, frowning.

He looked toward the direction of Chuan-Shu again, gritted his teeth, a flash of determination in his eyes, and headed rapidly toward the Southwest...

At the same time, in the dense forest in the Southeast, Guo Xiu was full of horror, fleeing rapidly. Behind him, black shadows were everywhere in the dense forest, and the screams of soldiers rang out continuously.

He didn't expect that after finally gathering the remaining hundred or so people, he would unluckily encounter the Shen Kui tribe out hunting.

At this point, his last foundation was completely buried.

Guo Xiu only felt confused and sad in his heart, like a stray dog, running toward the Lord Tian Sheng Sect camp.

He didn't want to see those people, but the world was so big, and there was nowhere to go.

Suddenly, the wind whistled behind him.

Before Guo Xiu could react, his head was grabbed by a white-haired giant hand, then his neck hurt, and his head was directly bitten off.

In a trance, Guo Xiu remembered his father's words:

"Father, look at my poem, being a scholar is more than enough..."

"Slap! What kind of bullshit scholar, you remember this for me, we are descendants of the Great Xing royal family, this country, sooner or later, must be taken back!"

…………

"Take care on the road."

"Many thanks, Mr. Lu. Please tell Yan Yan Xiao Ge Li, I will send back intelligence as soon as possible. Please ask him to be careful..."

Outside Longtanhu Village, Commandant's Office Company Commander Gong Jun waved his hand and bowed, then turned and left rapidly, disappearing into the night.

Arriving here, it was already his familiar territory, and he could easily bypass the battlefield and return to the Baokang County camp.

Seeing the other side leave, Lu San also turned and headed toward Longtan Village.

From afar, he saw a firelight by the lake.

Lu San walked up to it, only to see that by Longtanhu, the Dharma altar offering table had been set up, with three animals and five livestock, all five offerings were complete, and all the villagers in the whole village had come out, burning incense and praying.

The Daoist Yun Lingzi, whose face was still pale, stood in front of the offering table. After respectfully offering three sticks of incense, he turned to Lu San and said, "Layman Lu, after the Dragon Sacrifice ritual, this matter can be solved."

"This poor Daoist will leave Longtan Village afterward. If you arrive in Chengdu in the future, remember to come to the Green Goat Palace. This poor Daoist will definitely entertain you with all my heart."

Lu San frowned and said in a muffled voice, "Can you do it?"

Yun Lingzi's injuries had not healed, and he was clearly somewhat weak, but he smiled, "No matter. The Dragon Sacrifice ritual lies in sincerity. If the Dragon Girl retaliates, even if this poor Daoist wasn't injured, it would be hard to escape this disaster."

After speaking, he looked at the sky, "Zi hour has arrived, do it!"

The Dragon-Suppressing Stakes beaten at the bottom had already been tied with chains and dragged onto the shore.

With an order, Village Chief Zhou immediately led the men, women, and children in the village, all pulling the chains, pulling backward like a tug-of-war.

At the same time, Yun Lingzi also opened the Dharma altar, holding the Hu-board in both hands, and chanted the Dragon King's Precious Proclamation:

"With a sincere heart, I take refuge in the ritual, the sea is the palace, the Yao Island receives blessings. The descendants of the Heavenly Imperial, the order of the vastness, the position holds the three heavens, the decree governs all spirits..."

The scripture sounded, the chains shook.

With the joint efforts of the men, women, and children of Longtan Village, one Dragon-Suppressing Stake after another was pulled out from the bottom of the lake.

Yun Lingzi's forehead was also covered with sweat, but he still chanted the Dragon King's Precious Proclamation, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent.

Boom!

As the last Dragon-Suppressing Stake was pulled out, the lake surface suddenly surged with mud, the wind whistled, and water mist rose and surged on the lake surface, as if some giant object was flying up and down.

Clatter, clatter!

Stones fell from the surrounding cliffs.

Lu San's ears moved, his body tense.

He seemed to hear the sound of a dragon's chant.

Just when the people of Longtan Village were scared out of their wits, the lake surface finally returned to calm, ripples swaying, as if everything just now was just a dream.

"The Dragon Girl is merciful!"

Yun Lingzi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, full of relief.

The people of Longtan Village didn't know the inside story, and plus, pulling out the Dragon-Suppressing Stakes would inevitably obtain the Dragon Girl's forgiveness, but he couldn't say it well.

Fortunately, the Dragon Girl didn't seem to have cast a curse.

And at the same time, Li Yan on the top of Shennongjia also curled up beside the fire, his eyelids trembling wildly, falling into a dream again...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 396 =====