Chapter 432: The Ancient Battlefield

Ancient battlefield...

Seeing this place, Li Yan knew what kind of place it was.

Between heaven and earth, there is Gang and Sha energy. Gang energy belongs to Yang, inheriting the brilliance of the sun and moon, and often gathers in famous mountains and rivers, blessed lands of the immortals.

Sha energy is Yin, scattered and heavy, and likewise gathers in some special areas.

The two actually have no distinction between righteous and evil. Even places gathered by innate Gang energy can be dead zones for ordinary people or cultivators.

But because places where Sha energy gathers are usually places where Yin and dark energy are born, and they are attracted by lingering souls and resentment, they are feared by people.

The ancient battlefield is such a place.

Battlefield slaughter, Sha energy and resentment gather. If not handled in time, it is very likely to breed evil spirits after many years.

Cui Cong on the side introduced, "In the third year of Chunyou of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom invaded. They specially built this Lord Tian Sheng City to construct a defense line together with Diaoyu City, Bai Di Cheng, Huanghua City, and Panshi City."

"Later, the Great Xuan Dynasty and the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom confronted each other from north to south, changing hands several times. There were countless dry bones in the city. After the Great Xuan unified the Shenzhou, this city was abandoned."

Li Yan looked up. This city was built on the mountaintop. Around it were either cliffs and precipices or rugged paths.

Key areas were all built with tower outposts, and there was a division between the inner and outer cities. It was indeed a military fortress that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

He immediately pinched the Yang formula and took a deep breath.

In an instant, all kinds of smells rushed into his nasal cavity.

With his current cultivation, he could smell things within three hundred meters, including ten meters underground, covering almost half of the ruins.

At the same time, the sound of killing echoed in his ears.

But it was faint and unclear.

Li Yan frowned and asked, "Usually, for a place like this, rituals are performed to soothe the wandering souls. You Dianyi Sect are also Emei, a righteous sect of the Mystic Sect. Didn't you send anyone to investigate?"

"Daoist, you don't know."

Cui Cong confessed, "Most of the experts of my Dianyi Sect are proficient in arithmetic and not good at driving away evil spirits, so at that time, it was all handled by the Green Ox Temple."

Fengdou Green Ox Temple...

Li Yan looked forward, lost in thought, "Nothing was found in this place. Let's go up the mountain and take a look."

After speaking, dark energy exploded under his feet. Stepping on the broken walls and ruins, he leaped, stepped on tree branches in the air, borrowed force again, and jumped directly onto the inner city.

Oh my goodness...

Cui Cong watched and secretly clicked his tongue.

He had only seen this kind of movement technique in the seniors of his sect.

No wonder this person had made a name for himself at such a young age.

He naturally didn't have this movement technique. Moreover, he had awakened the body supernatural power, was not good at investigation, and coupled with the night fog and dim light, he was afraid of falling off the cliff and could only go upward along the rugged path.

But after taking two steps, he turned around hurriedly, "This Brother Yang..."

The wealthy merchant from Chengdu smiled and waved his hand, "It's okay, Shaoxia Cui, go ahead. The fog is heavy here, I'll go up slowly along the path."

"That's fine."

Cui Cong nodded, "Be careful. If you find something wrong, call us immediately."

After speaking, he leaped and disappeared into the fog.

Cui Cong had already tried to persuade him for a long time, but this person insisted on following. He was not good at refusing and could only agree to bring him along.

But the things above were clearly more important.

After they left, a strange smile appeared on the face of the Chengdu wealthy merchant, "There are fewer and fewer young people like this..."

Saying this, he took out a gilded brass slingshot from his bosom, holding a silver pellet, looked around, murderous intent rose in his eyes, his arm shook, and the pellet flew into the fog and disappeared.

What was strange was that the pellet was fast but silent.

After doing this, he put away the slingshot and walked down the mountain path leisurely, no different from an ordinary person...

………

"Kill! Kill, kill!"

Li Yan closed his eyes, and that sound of killing echoed in his ears all the time.

All kinds of smells drilled into his nasal cavity along with the wind.

After Cui Cong went up the mountain, he happened to see Li Yan standing on the stone platform.

"Li Daoist, did you find anything?"

Cui Cong hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

"There is indeed something strange here."

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "Ordinary supernatural powers can't find anything, but my supernatural power is special and can hear some sounds."

Hearing this, Cui Cong's eyes lit up, "Li Daoist is indeed extraordinary. My Junior Sister didn't find anything whether she looked at the Qi or used the Plum Blossom Arithmetic, but you were able to find it easily..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly realized, "I know. This place is a military fortress. The construction methods of the army often include the techniques of Qimen Dunjia. The drought demon must be hiding in it!"

"I think so too."

Li Yan nodded and then asked, "What about that person just now?"

Cui Cong hurriedly replied, "His footwork is not good, so he's lagging behind. It's okay. This place is not far away. If something happens, we can hear it if we call. Daoist, don't worry."

Who the hell is worried about him...

Li Yan slandered in his heart. This kid in front of him was a typical silly, sweet person from a famous righteous sect. He knew the Jianghu rules but didn't know the kindness or evil of human hearts.

This is a drought demon,

Which normal person would come to watch the fun?

Thinking of this, Li Yan said helplessly, "The techniques of Qimen Dunjia are the essence of your Dianyi Sect. You should be able to find it..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

Boom!

Only a muffled sound was heard from the south. In an instant, a wild wind whistled around, leaves rolled, and a rich foul smell of rot rushed toward them.

"Careful!"

Li Yan gave a reminder and suddenly drew his Dust-Breaking Saber.

He smelled a thick corpse aura, and the sound of killing in his ears also became obvious, as if he were instantly on the battlefield.

"It's a drought demon!"

Cui Cong was also startled. He drew his precious sword with a clang and took out several yellow talismans from his bosom.

But unexpectedly, nothing rushed over.

Moreover, as the corpse aura spread, the Yin wind around gradually became smaller, but the sound of killing became louder and louder, accompanied by white fog surging.

These were the lingering souls of the battlefield, which could wrap and gather Yin energy.

Weaker ones could make passing commoners hear strange sounds, and after colliding with them, they would become crazy and hurt the people around them.

Stronger ones were Yin soldiers passing through, causing countless casualties.

"Right Jia-Chen, Right Jia-Yin, Right Jia-Wu..."

Cui Cong suddenly stuck his sword into the ground, and at the same time, he stepped on the steps, his index and middle fingers of both hands each holding three yellow talismans, and the remaining fingers pinched the formula into the taboo.

After chanting the incantation, he pushed his hands out, and the six yellow talismans roared out, burning into ashes in the air.

In an instant, the white fog around dissipated, and the sound of killing stopped accordingly.

Six Jia God-Aversion Technique?

Seeing this, Li Yan couldn't help but secretly praise.

This kind of technique, he had heard Wang Daoxuan talk about it. It was a type of Aversion Technique, but it was more advanced and only mastered by famous righteous sects.

Naive is naive, but the strength is not bad.

Li Yan couldn't care about nonsense. He immediately rushed toward the south side of the military fortress.

On the south side of the military fortress, it was also a cliff and precipice. It looked like there was nothing strange, but Li Yan turned on his supernatural power and soon found the source of the smell.

That thing was hidden very well.

Below the cliff was a protruding giant rock, with a mountain cave slanting upward, and it was covered with grass, trees, and vines, covering the cave entrance.

The Yin energy suddenly erupted just now, and the stones blocking the cave entrance were all shattered. Under the moonlight, white smoke was still swirling.

At first glance, it was not a good place.

Li Yan held his saber and leaped. When he touched the protruding giant rock, his body suddenly twisted, and at the same time, his palm grabbed, his body twisted, and he drilled into the cave entrance like a swallow returning to its nest. Cui Cong couldn't do this, but his movement technique was also extraordinary. Like an ape, his body was agile, and he entered the cave from the other side of the giant rock.

"This is a corpse-raising ground!"

Just after entering, he noticed something wrong and hurriedly took out a fire starter, lit the torch he brought, and the firelight quickly turned green.

The eerie green light made everything in the cave visible.

Only then did he see that dead human bones, tombstones, and other things were embedded in the surrounding stone walls, and they were drenched in blood, black and foul-smelling.

Every meter, a black flag was inserted, with strange talisman patterns drawn on it, a total of seventy-two, just surrounding the cave.

And in the center of the cave, there was a stone coffin.

The coffin lid was shattered, a silver pellet was embedded in the center, and it was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and the corpse aura continued to spread outward.

"This... what is going on?"

Seeing this, Cui Cong was dumbfounded.

!.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and stepped forward fiercely.

Clatter!

The coffin lid shattered instantly, and rubble splashed everywhere.

Only then did he see that in the center of the coffin lay a corpse, covered in black hair, with long nails, and a face as ferocious as a ghost.

It was precisely the legendary drought demon.

But looking at its appearance, the corpse aura had dissipated before it was fully formed.

Li Yan didn't say a word. He held his Dust-Breaking Saber horizontally, and with electric light crackling, he directly inserted it into the drought demon's head.

Sizzle!

As the electric arcs flashed, the black hair on the drought demon's body curled up immediately, its skin collapsed, and then it burst into flames with a boom.

"Daoist, don't!"

Cui Cong was startled, but it was too late to stop him.

This thing, the drought demon, can only be suppressed, not destroyed; otherwise, it will spread poison for thousands of miles, and drought and plague will rage.

But what made him strange was that after the drought demon's corpse burned, it quickly turned into fly ash, and nothing happened.

Cui Cong was completely confused, "This... how is this possible?"

Li Yan looked around, picked up the silver pellet on the ground, and said in a deep voice, "Someone took advantage of the chaos in the world years ago to raise a drought demon here. Just now, a master took action and destroyed it before the drought demon was formed."

Saying this, he handed the silver pellet to Cui Cong, "Do you recognize this?"

After Cui Cong took it, he frowned, "This thing's Gang energy has dissipated, and there are no talisman patterns. Why is its power so great?"

"Li Shaoxia, I haven't heard of any magic lineage or master in Shu using this."

Li Yan also felt strange, so he put the silver pellet away first, then looked around, "This corpse-raising ground must be destroyed. You take a flag back and ask. Maybe you can figure out who is playing tricks."

"Good!"

Cui Cong didn't talk nonsense either. He waved his long sword, destroyed everything around it, and pulled over dry grass and firewood, lighting it with a fire starter.

Soon, thick smoke filled the cave.

After the two climbed up the mountain, the corpse aura outside had dissipated, the thick fog had faded a lot, and the night wind blew, the wild grass swayed, and there was the sound of insects.

"Eh?"

Cui Cong looked around, "What about that Mr. Yang?"

Li Yan pinched the formula and took a deep sniff, and his face suddenly changed, "Something's wrong, the smell on that person is all gone!"

The two looked at each other and hurriedly ran down the mountain...

…………

"What Mr. Yang, this is our boat!"

"Two young brothers, you've encountered a liar, right..."

Beside the wharf, after Cui Cong inquired, he went down the boat full of regret, "Just now it was clearly this boat. Sigh~ I encountered a master, but I didn't have the fate to see him."

Li Yan looked at the bustling crowd around him, and his heart was also secretly tightened.

Destroying a drought demon with one pellet—this kind of means was simply unheard of. He didn't expect that just after entering Shu, he would encounter such a master who saw the head but not the tail.

The slight arrogance he had before had all vanished at this moment.

"Li Daoist, let's find a place to talk."

Although Cui Cong was somewhat regretful, he didn't forget the main business. He left the wharf, found a remote place, and recounted the experience.

"That night, I stayed in a broken temple. In my dream, I met an old monk in a broken gray robe, somewhat mad and crazy... Originally, I didn't take it to heart, but I remembered one thing..."

"Outside the Chongqing Prefecture, there is a post road connecting Yuzhou and Chengdu. There are many merchants coming and going, leading horses and delivering goods. The locals call it 'Zouma', and that place is called 'Zouma Post'."

"That place has a custom. Merchants coming and going from north and south gather in teahouses every night to tell stories of what they have seen and heard. Most of them are strange tales from the countryside all over the Shenzhou, which is very interesting."

"I was going to Chengdu at that time, so I stayed there for several days and happened to hear someone tell the story of this 'Gray-Robed Mad Monk', and he was the only one telling it, and he was very popular, so I knew about this person."

"What is that person's name?"

"He is an old senior of the storytelling school, known as Song Tiezui..."

…………

Returning to the boat, everyone hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

"Young Brother Yan, are you okay?"

"We waited for half the night and didn't see anyone sneak attack..."

"I encountered a master."

Li Yan shook his head slightly and recounted what he had seen.

But most of the people were here for the first time, and even the well-informed "Fast Boat Zhang" and Bai Huan had never heard of it.

That the Salt Gang didn't come to sneak attack was unexpected.

Li Yan returned to the guest room, sat in meditation for a while, then lay down on the bed, looking at the silver pellet in his hand, and entered a dreamland without knowing it.

In the darkness, the Dragon-Patterned Jade Tablet gifted by the Dragon Lady glowed slightly.

Li Yan fell into a dream again. First, he was wrapped in water, and then a pair of jade arms hugged him from behind.

Illusions appeared before his eyes. In the blur, a divine temple appeared. The god statue worshipped in the temple was a handsome general with three eyes on his forehead, a majestic appearance, dragon eyebrows and phoenix eyes, white teeth and fresh lips.

He wore a Three-Mountain Flying Phoenix Hat, wore golden armor, and was covered with a light goose-yellow robe. He held a three-pointed, double-edged saber, and a golden slingshot hung from his waist.

Suddenly, the god statue looked down at him fiercely.

Hu!

Li Yan jumped up from the bed, hurriedly picked up the silver pellet in his hand, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "Damn..."

He turned his head to look out the window.

But under the bright moon, the river water surged, the distant mountains were pitch black, the night fog swirled, carrying mystery and depth...

On a wild mountain road dozens of miles away, the Chengdu wealthy merchant walked with his large sleeves fluttering, walking in a square step, accompanied by wild winds.

Woof, woof, woof!

In the distant mountain forest, the sound of dogs barking seemed to come.

The wealthy merchant sniffed, his eyes lit up, "There's mutton. It's been a long time since I've had meat!"

The wild wind and white fog blew past, and the person had disappeared...

…………

Two days later, the river channel was finally cleared.

During these two days, the Salt Gang did not send anyone to sneak attack.

Although everyone didn't know why, they didn't relax their vigilance either. They sailed the boat and headed toward Fengdou.

In the boat cabin, Li Yan held the silver pellet in his hand, his brows tightly locked, still somewhat unbelievable...

On the subsequent road, there were no accidents.

It was the weather that was unpredictable. Halfway through, autumn rain began to fall again. It didn't have the lingering feeling of the south, but carried a chill that seeped into the bones.

Finally, when the sky was about to turn dark, they arrived at Fengdou City......

(End of chapter)