Chapter 420: Secret Incantation to Suppress Demonic Evils

Insects filled the sky, sending chills down their spines.

Everyone finally saw their true appearance.

They resembled cicadas but had centipede bodies, strikingly similar to the insects inside the "Duhuo Divine Coffin" they had seen before.

But they were much smaller in size and different in color.

They were gray-white, their bodies coated in salt crystals, swirling through the air in vast numbers, their salt dust mixing into the thick fog.

This salt dust was also their weapon.

Even the swarm of venomous bees, though deadly, after killing enemies many times their number, became coated in salt powder and fell to the ground dead.

Worse still, the salt dust carried yin-sha energy, rolling with the insect swarm like a toxic barrier surging toward them.

"Fall back! Don't let it touch you!"

Lu San's face turned pale as he shouted a warning.

He had heard Li Yan describe Xie Chengzu's condition—after dispelling the yin-sha, he had vomited large amounts of salty, foul pus.

Now seeing this, he had already guessed the truth.

Rituals require a medium; these salt crystals were likely how the "Fog Walker" controlled the villagers.

Huuu~

At that moment, a sudden gale of yin wind swept through the surroundings.

It was Li Yan's pre-deployed "Five Directions Luo Feng Flag" activating—yin soldiers emerged, whipping up fierce winds and dark mist that scattered the incoming salt dust entirely.

Cold air radiated through the dense forest.

Trees and leaves were coated in a layer of frost.

The charging insect swarm was also affected, unable to approach.

The immediate threat had passed, yet everyone remained on guard.

Figures had appeared within the thick fog—some gathering, some dispersing, seemingly formed only from black mist, lacking physical bodies.

Yet the group could faintly make out their attire: crude animal hides and hemp cloth, adorned with various feathered headdresses.

They multiplied in the mist, resembling ancient revenants returning from the distant past, encircling them from all sides.

"Fast Boat Zhang" had turned deathly pale.

He recalled the words of Xie Chengzu's disciples, murmuring: "The 'Fog Walker' isn't one—it's not a Ba person; they're the vengeful spirits of the Salt Water Tribe…"

"Enough nonsense!"

Sha Li Fei's scalp prickled too, but it only stirred his ferocity.

His current attire: a military robe, wide copper-buckled leather belt, and a large cloak—resembling a dashing rogue hero of the Jianghu.

He just needed a flower tucked beside his hat.

He was by far the most flamboyantly dressed in the entire group.

But this flamboyance served to conceal his weapons.

He shook his cloak, pulling two flintlock pistols from his wide belt—both modern firearms.

After their battle with the Longxiang Army in Shennongjia, they seized many such weapons; lacking time to reconfigure them, they suffered losses and traded them with the Yunyang Prefecture authorities.

This exchange was made possible thanks to the Ministry of Works interceding.

These two flintlock pistols were short muskets—certainly inferior to Li Yan's custom-forged ones, yet still formidable.

Bang! Bang!

Two thunderous reports, smoke scattering.

The black shadows in the fog exploded—then quickly reformed.

"Useless! Don't waste gunpowder!"

Lu San barked low, "Those things are incorporeal—fall back, don't get caught!"

"Hmm."

Sha Li Fei sighed and retreated.

This kind of thing was beyond his ability to handle.

Lu San was equally troubled, but then his eyes lit up as he spotted Wu Ba's luggage. "Quick—bring the Yunlei Divine Drum!"

"Can you even use it?"

Sha Li Fei was startled.

Li Yan's Yunlei Divine Drum, though rarely used, had proven crucial in key moments—so despite its inconvenience, it was always carried.

But this artifact was forged from superior thunder-struck wood, with a hide of rhinoceros leather for the drumhead; striking it was exhausting, and a misstep could shatter the spirit.

Even Wang Daoxuan struggled to wield it.

And Lu San's cultivation was still one level below theirs.

"I'll try using the Witch Drum technique."

Lu San stared fixedly around him, his face resolute.

Like Sha Li Fei, he specialized in obscure arts—proficient in beast taming but lacking complete spellcraft; faced with this, he had no choice but to risk it.

Wang Daoxuan was engrossed in casting his incantation, oblivious to everything else; the Five Directions Luo Feng Flag operated purely by array mechanics—if they didn't act, it would be breached soon.

Sha Li Fei gritted his teeth and immediately brought the drum over.

Lu San swayed his body, stepping in primal witch steps, channeling hidden force, and struck hard.

Dong!

The drumbeat roared like thunder, a powerful counterforce rebounding.

Its power fell far short of Li Yan's, and his striking method was wrong—he felt numbness in his palms.

Yet the approaching insects recoiled, and even the black shadows in the fog halted their advance.

It worked!

Lu San's eyes flashed—he poured all his strength into it.

He focused his spirit, chanting the witch incantation, varying the rhythm of his strikes.

Li Yan's drumming followed Qin-Han rhythms, radiating majestic power; Lu San's witch drumbeat carried a hint of cheerfulness.

He chanted the witch incantation, striking continuously.

The drumbeats rolled—whether the charging insect swarm or the shifting black shadows, all who drew near were shattered.

But the consequences began to show.

Lu San had never cultivated thunder arts, yet the Yunlei Divine Drum carried a trace of thunder resonance; focusing his spirit while striking shook his soul.

He felt chest tightness, dizziness, his vision darkening—but he gritted his teeth, pressing on, his forehead bulging with veins, sweat pouring down.

Nearby, the little fox Chu Qi watched, eyes filled with pity; though born with spiritual awareness, her cultivation was still shallow—she could only perform simple fart-mystifying spells.

So she simply leapt and bounded, howling upward in unison.

Fox cries mingled with witch drumbeats—seemingly chaotic, yet strangely harmonious, as if returning to a primordial age.

Lu San's lips bled, his eyes glazed, entering a strange state—as if running wild with beasts across the open plains.

Gradually, the bone charms began to tremble; mountain winds surged, gathering the essence of earth and river, howling winds roaring as if monstrous beasts charged through the fog.

Even distant insect swarms and black shadows were scattered.

Though Lu San was injured, he had bought them more time.

Behind them, before the altar, Wang Daoxuan finally picked up the third talisman arrow, bit his fingertip to draw blood, smeared it on the arrow, then formed a seal and chanted, plunging it into the straw effigy with a wet thud. He stepped back two paces, shook his robe, strode in the Four Directions, and bowed deeply.

"Roar!"

A roar erupted from within the fog.

Not the earlier piercing shriek—this sounded like a wild beast.

Boom!

The gathered insect swarm exploded violently; the dense black shadow figures shattered simultaneously.

The "Seven Arrow Secret Incantation" was widely known; being able to cast the first three arrows was already the limit of what ordinary mortals could endure.

Once three arrows were unleashed, most malevolent spirits would be scattered.

Yet Wang Daoxuan's face remained grim.

If the enemy had been killed by the incantation, the straw effigy on the altar would have instantly burned—but now it remained perfectly intact.

On the other side, Sha Li Fei had just broken into a smile of relief—but his expression froze.

The scattered insect swarm reformed, merging with the black shadow figures, coalescing into a towering figure.

This figure writhed with crawling insects, exuding black smoke, standing roughly seven to eight meters tall, striding toward them.

Lu San gritted his teeth and kept striking the Yunlei Divine Drum.

He pushed to his limit, his vision blurring, foam dripping from his mouth, his soul already wounded—but he refused to give up.

Dong-dong-dong—the drumbeats thundered.

Visible waves spread, lifting white mist and striking the giant black shadow, only causing it to shed a few insect corpses. "Squeak—squeak!"

The black shadow emitted a piercing, unnatural shriek.

Puff!

The counterforce struck—Lu San could no longer hold on; he spat blood and collapsed.

Sha Li Fei quickly pulled out Wang Jing's pills and shoved them into Lu San's mouth, then raised his reloaded short musket.

Bang! Bang!

Two thunderous shots shattered the upper half of the monster's insect swarm.

Before it could recover, Sha Li Fei lifted the nearby Divine Fire Gun.

BOOM!

The Divine Fire Spear struck with even greater force, shattering the shadow outright.

This "Fog Guest" finally revealed its true form, but by gathering a swarm of insects to form its body, it had also developed a weakness.

Yet soon, the scattered insects reassembled, transforming into a black whirlwind as yin-sha energy spread, howling toward them.

Hss~

Around the altar, yin winds howled, frost spread, and yin soldiers emerged to engage the monster.

!.

Two strange winds collided above and below, sending surrounding vegetation flying in all directions.

Sha Li-fei stared in despair, rapidly swapping magazines while turning to shout: "Master Daoist, are you done yet?"

Yet Wang Daoxuan had no time to respond.

Casting the "Seven Arrow Secret Incantation" required enduring the erosion of yin-sha energy—and even the enemy's backlash.

At this moment, Wang Daoxuan was covered entirely in white frost, radiating chilling cold; he chanted the incantation, gripping the final arrow, yet his whole body trembled, unable to drive it home.

"Aah—!"

Sha Li-fei roared in fury and fired three more shots in rapid succession.

The shadow was shattered again, yet quickly reformed, advancing relentlessly toward the altar.

Thud!

One squad of yin soldiers was damaged and forced back into the Five Directions Luo Feng Flag.

One of the planted flags suddenly tilted…

…………

On the other side, within the ruins valley.

"Roar!"

Wu Ba roared continuously, swinging his great battle-axe up and down, slicing every approaching dried-corpse zombie into fragments.

For other yin spirits or ghosts, he might have been helpless.

But these iron-hard zombies posed no threat whatsoever to Wu Ba, whose divine strength was immense—only their sheer numbers were a problem.

Meanwhile, Li Yan paid them no mind, using his spiritual powers to carefully scout the valley under Wu Ba's protection.

"Found it!"

Finally, Li Yan's eyes lit up as he lunged forward.

He sprinted swiftly to a ruin on the northern side.

Unlike other areas, this spot had no brine pool—only an open patch of land, overgrown with sparse weeds.

Li Yan swiftly brushed aside the surface soil, revealing yellow sandstone beneath.

It looked no different from ordinary stone ground, yet Li Yan could smell the source of the eerie yin-sha qi within.

It was a coffin!

A quick glance told Li Yan everything.

Others might not recognize it, but in his past life, he had seen this object in a museum in southwestern China.

Ancient tribes often carved sandstone into stone coffins to bury important figures, such as priest-chiefs.

Like tree burials, this was the earliest form of coffin burial, utterly unlike today's coffin designs—it was square and flat, closed top and bottom, then sealed with sandstone paste, seamless and tight.

Without knowing, one would surely miss it.

"Wu Ba, smash it!"

Li Yan growled low, charging toward the zombies.

He had no blunt weapon; his bare physical strength alone could not break it.

Wu Ba did not hesitate—he turned and charged toward the stone coffin.

He didn't understand why Li Yan wanted him to chip at stone, but he knew clearly: in this team, he must obey Li Yan's orders.

"Roar!"

Wu Ba roared, his muscles swelling as he swung his great battle-axe down hard upon the ground.

Thud!

One strike—stones shattered and flew everywhere.

Thud!

A second strike—large cracks appeared.

On the mountain peak where Wang Daoxuan stood, a piercing howl rang out; the thick fog and insect swarm churned, abandoning their assault on the altar and turning back toward the valley.

Clearly, Li Yan's actions had threatened him.

Too bad—it was already too late.

Thud!

Another axe blow—the sandstone coffin finally shattered.

Black, foul-smelling pus surged forth, revealing a skeleton wrapped in a thick white salt crust, barely discernible as a human shape.

"Move aside!"

Li Yan slashed a zombie away with his knife and rushed to the corpse.

At the same moment, the thick fog outside the valley howled toward them.

Li Yan clenched his fist; electric arcs crackled as he smashed his fist into the salt crust, pulverizing the skull within.

Sparks fizzed and popped; the salt crust exploded violently.

BOOM!

The overwhelming fog that had surged down upon them scattered, leaving only a wisp of black smoke rolling forward.

"Still not dead!"

Li Yan spun around; two Soul-Grabbing Chains shot out with a rattling hiss, entangling the black smoke in midair.

This black smoke was the true form of the yin-pest.

The "Sheng" type of corrupted sha-qi could shift endlessly—it could become a Rakshasa spirit, or a Feiyi, but its essence remained unchanged.

The fog and insect swarm were merely its outward disguises.

As soon as the Soul-Grabbing Chains appeared, they trapped it instantly.

Meanwhile, on the opposite mountain peak, Wang Daoxuan felt all resistance vanish; he turned his talisman arrow and drove it deep into the straw effigy.

Then he chanted the incantation once more and bowed.

"Roar—!"

The black Sheng trapped by Li Yan writhed and surged, emitting a piercing shriek that grew fainter and fainter, until it stopped moving entirely.

At this point, Li Yan had begun to understand.

This was likely an ancient, terrifying witchcraft—some being fused itself with the "black Sheng" corrupted qi, ultimately becoming the "Fog Guest."

It was not a longevity technique, but more like a curse.

Now that the consciousness within had been scattered by Wang Daoxuan's spell, the "black Sheng" naturally fell still.

Li Yan had intended to unleash the stored heavenly lightning on the Soul-Grabbing Chains, but something stirred in his mind—he held back, standing still to wait.

On Mount Hua, Jingxu Zi, the supervising abbot of the Pure Yang Palace, had told them: "Sheng," though a fearsome sha-qi, was subject to Heaven's natural transformation—under certain conditions, it could become a blessing.

For example, the corpse of a Feiyi was the ultimate antidote to all curses and poison spells.

That thing was extremely useful.

Better to wait until Wang Daoxuan had seen it.

Not long after, Wang Daoxuan and the others hurried over; seeing Lu San slung over Sha Li-fei's back, Li Yan's heart lurched.

"Don't worry."

Wang Daoxuan seemed to know what he was about to say; he shook his head directly: "The pill preserved the internal organs—wounds are not severe. Rest for a while, and he'll recover."

He turned to the black Sheng, his face filled with difficulty: "This thing is hard to handle—even heavenly lightning can't disperse it. Better to seal it and send it to a Grotto-Heaven for suppression."

Saying this, he took a black jar from his luggage, chanted a spell, wrapped the black smoke in yellow cloth inscribed with talismans, tied it into a tight knot, stuffed it into the jar, then sealed it with suppression talismans, bound it with red string and yansheng coins.

After finishing, everyone exhaled in relief.

These artifacts had been purchased on Mount Wudang, specifically for suppressing yin spirits and sha-qi; as long as the jar remained unbroken, the thing could not escape.

After finishing, Wang Daoxuan began pacing around, his eyes gradually widening in surprise: "Could this place… be the ruins of the Salt Water Tribe?"

Second chapter update, afternoon

(End of Chapter)