Chapter 463

Li Yan and the others heard this and all stopped in their tracks.

He didn't expect his identity to be called out.

"Li Li Shaoxia, please don't blame me."

The old man Xie Zheng-yuan smiled and bowed, "You might not know, but this tablet is rare; since the establishment of the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce, there have been less than thirty in total."

"All tablets have secret codes, and the guild halls everywhere can tell at a glance; arranging food and lodging is secondary, and as long as you don't violate taboos, they will provide help within their power."

"Li Li Shaoxia probably didn't want to leak his whereabouts; rest assured, as long as you are in the guild hall, no one will dare to talk too much."

Well!

This is VIP service, right...

Li Yan was also surprised and nodded, "Thank you for your trouble."

Since the other party had said so much, there was no point in hiding anymore, and everyone took off their Nuo masks and wide robes, feeling much more at ease.

"Guests, please."

Xie Zheng-yuan raised his hand again and led the way in front.

Everyone felt relieved and looked around.

This guild hall was not large, but it was complete in every detail; in the three-courtyard complex, there were not only kitchens, main halls, and small gardens, but even ancestral halls, Captain Guan temples, and small stages.

The walls were all built of heavy bricks and stones, while the stairs and pillars were all made of high-quality jujube wood, painted with black lacquer and carved with complex patterns.

The Star Gods of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity were lifelike.

Along the corridors they passed, lanterns were hung high, and occasionally they would meet servants and maids, who would carefully retreat to the side and remain silent.

Unlike the noise of Zouma Town outside, the entire Jinzhou Guild Hall seemed to be a world of its own, quiet and peaceful, with a faint scent of sandalwood lingering.

Xie Zheng-yuan introduced while walking, "Jinzhou is a land of mountains and rivers, and its temperament is relatively conservative; the Jinzhou Guild Halls everywhere are basically like this, and a temple to the Captain Guan Saint Emperor must be built."

While speaking, he had already led the group to the middle courtyard and nodded, "The rooms have been tidied up for you, and someone will send hot water later."

"I have prepared a banquet to welcome you."

"Thank you, Boss Xie."

Xie Zheng-yuan acted with great propriety, neither overly enthusiastic nor distant, and after leading everyone to their rooms, he bid farewell and left.

The room layout was also very simple; it could be seen that it had been tidied up temporarily, the bedding had all been changed to new ones, and the tables and chairs also had traces of having just been wiped.

After arranging their rooms, Li Yan led everyone to the front courtyard.

Because the women of the Bai family had poisonous sores on their faces and didn't like outsiders to see their faces, Li Yan asked the servants to send the food to their rooms.

They went to the room for the banquet, and the food was already spread across the table.

There were eight cold dishes, eight hot dishes, and it was not much different from other places.

The only difference was that there were noodles, several kinds of braised sauces, and other flour-based foods like fried oil cakes and shumai on the table.

Xie Zheng-yuan had someone fetch jars of wine and, after filling them for everyone, smiled, "The guild hall mainly receives fellow countrymen from Jinzhou, so there are more flour-based foods; please forgive me for the inadequate preparation."

After toasting three times, Xie Zheng-yuan said, "There are two teahouses in Zouma Town, which are also opened by the guild hall. If you want to listen to music or clappers, you can tell me, and I will invite them over."

After saying this, he bid farewell and left.

The wine was high-quality Xinghuacun, and the noodles were chewy.

Sha Seeing Hearing Sha Lifei and Li Yan were both from the Guanzhong region, and their tastes were not much different; since leaving Shanzhou, this was the first time they had eaten such chewy noodles.

Pouring vinegar and eating with garlic, each of them ate three large bowls.

Bang!

Sha Seeing Hearing Sha Lifei suddenly slapped the table and wiped his mouth, "If I had known the Jinzhou Guild Hall had noodles to eat, why run around?"

"Brother Yan, you must keep the tablet well."

Li Yan drank some wine and said thoughtfully, "The Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce is powerful, and its ticket offices are all over the world, so the guild halls are convenient everywhere."

"But this group of people in the Chamber of Commerce never does anything without profit; however, eating people's food makes one's mouth soft, and taking people's things makes one's hands soft. Unless absolutely necessary, it's better to avoid getting involved."

"That's simple!"

Sha Seeing Hearing Sha Lifei said, "We'll just pay."

Wang Wang Daoxuan also stroked his beard and shook his head, "Some things aren't just about money, but since we are out, having more friends means more paths."

"As long as there is no malice, it's fine to build a good relationship; when encountering some things, it's fine to speak the ugly words first."

"Besides, we need to inquire about news, and asking the Chamber of Commerce for help is the most appropriate..."

Li Yan listened and narrowed his eyes, nodding, "That's true. It's too late today, so it's not convenient; I'll find a chance to talk tomorrow morning."

…………

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone returned to their rooms.

Since entering the Shu region, they hadn't stayed in any proper place along the way; even in the prosperous Chongqing Prefecture, they were in broken courtyards and desolate houses.

Arriving here, they were finally a bit more peaceful.

After Li Yan soaked his feet in hot water, he sat at the table, lit a candle, took out his luggage, and checked it carefully.

This was the spoils of war obtained from the Dragon King Temple battle.

The most important one was naturally the "Dragon Snake Tablet."

This was a typical jade disc, looking extremely ancient in style, and the style was slightly different from the Central Plains; perhaps it was an ancient Shu sacrificial vessel.

What was even stranger was the pattern on it.

One side was carved with a dragon pattern, and the other with a snake pattern, the two biting each other's heads and tails to form a Yin-Yang fish shape.

This pattern had extraordinary significance.

The dragon rises in wind and clouds, and its status is noble; this is clearly putting the snake on an equal footing, and calling it the "Dragon Snake Tablet" must have its meaning.

Perhaps this "snake" refers to the Ba Snake.

Li Yan had heard Wang Wang Daoxuan say that in those more ancient and wild eras, there were many formidable Feng Shui situations in the Shenzhou, but with the passage of time, only three major dragon veins remained.

The Ezhou "Nine-Headed Phoenix Vein" is one of them.

The Mount Daba Mountains are also one, and the "Ba Snake" in the Classic of Mountains and Seas is likely referring to this vanished Feng Shui situation...

And hidden in the Mount Daba Mountains is the remnant soul of the Great Lord Jiang Shen, which was later suppressed by the Li Erlang Temple in Guanjiangkou...

The Manifested Saint True Lord's tribulation is related to the Great Lord Jiang Shen...

Long Yan had a reaction to this...

All of this must hide some kind of connection.

Unfortunately, Huo Jiao died too quickly, and Li Yan didn't have time to ask, so he could only continue to look for clues.

However, along the way, he had already figured out the functions of the "Dragon Snake Tablet."

The main one was naturally concealing his aura.

As long as it was carried on his person, divine abilities could not detect him.

This function was slightly worse than the "Wish-Fulfilling Yang Baozhu," as it could only protect one person, while the "Wish-Fulfilling Yang Baozhu" could expand the range, and wherever the fluorescent light reached, it could not be detected.

With this object, it would be even more convenient for Li Yan to sneak in and investigate in the future.

And another function of this "Dragon Snake Tablet" was that it could strengthen water escape, which was just right for him.

But the key information was still unclear.

For example, whether this object flowed out from the Long Gong water mansion...

Thinking of this, Li Yan took out several books, all of which were searched from Huo Jiao.

The Pai Jiao was now leaderless, and because they had committed crimes, they were not liked by the imperial court.

Now, their strength was declining rapidly, and many people had even left the Shu region to go to Dongting Lake to join other leaders.

Li Yan taking these things naturally didn't stop anyone.

Huo Jiao's secret manuals were still mainly based on Dharma lineages.

His Dharma lineage was relatively obscure, called the "Four Lords Sect." The "Four Lords" referred to the Dragon Kings of the Four Waterways.

This could also be considered an orthodox secular god of the imperial court; according to the "Old Book of Tang," the River Waterway was titled Lingyuan Lord, the Ji Waterway was titled Qingyuan Lord, the Jiang Waterway was titled Guangyuan Lord, and the Huai Waterway was titled Changyuan Lord.

It was not until the time of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty that "Lord" was changed to "King."

So the formation of this Dharma lineage was in the Tang Dynasty, and it was a union of temple keepers of Dragon King temples in various places, which could also be considered an orthodox Mystic Sect.

Unfortunately, it had now declined into a Dharma lineage and was little known.

Most of the spell methods of the "Four Lords Sect" were based on sacrificing to the Dragon King and driving away evil spirits like water demons and water ghosts, which were almost useless to Li Yan.

The only thing that attracted his attention was the 158 Dragon Kings, who were conferred by the Tang Dynasty, occupied various places in the Shenzhou, and each had their own titles.

Such as the Yujing Baoshan Dragon King, Penglai Fudi Dragon King, Dongwang Fusan Dragon King, Wujiang Water Emperor Dragon King, Yellow River Water Uncle Dragon King, Chuanhe Water Mansion Dragon King, Mount Wudang Mountain Water Dragon King...

Today, these Dragon Kings had mostly been forgotten.

The most famous were undoubtedly the Four Sea Dragon Kings.

!.

This could also be considered an important piece of news; at least for him, knowing the divine names of some Dragon Kings would allow him to invite them directly when using the God-Summoning Method.

Huo Jiao was a temple keeper of a Dragon King Temple.

These were all his original inheritances.

But the rest were all crooked paths.

The spell methods in them came from the Tongtian Sect, and they also recorded Huo Jiao's methods of enslaving secular god Dragon Kings.

This guy had actually used the "Dragon Snake Tablet" to sneak into the bottom of the Jialing River, drive in dragon-suppressing piles, and bury items for evil suppression.

His ambition didn't stop there; he planned to use the expansion of the Pai Jiao to enslave more secular god Dragon Kings, and when the time came, he would stir up wind and rain and become a leader like a god.

At that time, even the imperial court would be helpless against him.

No wonder he dared to call himself the Dragon King...

Unfortunately, his ambition exceeded his strength.

This guy never expected that the secular god Dragon King of the Jialing River would rather invite False Yin Si divine generals to help him find relief than let him live...

As for the last book, it was even more evil.

This was a pill method called "Mysterious Mare Technique," and its origin was extremely shocking.

In the "Biographies of Immortals," a female immortal named Nv Wan was mentioned.

This Nv Wan was originally a woman who sold wine in the Chen market, and the wine she brewed was always sweet. Once, a high-level Mystic Sect master came to her house to drink and used five scrolls of silk as collateral.

The silk scrolls were ancient dual-cultivation techniques, and Nv Wan secretly memorized them, often luring men into her room to drink and have fun, practicing secret methods.

Thirty years later, her appearance was like that of a twenty-year-old.

Later, the master came to see her again and said, "The way of stealing is selfless, having wings but not flying." Nv Wan abandoned her home and followed the master, disappearing without a trace.

Some things were unknown to others.

Nv Wan was still dual-cultivation, but the disciples she passed it down to didn't have that aptitude and simply combined it with Yin corpse evil methods, swallowing human essence and blood to practice.

And the reason it was called "Mysterious Mare Technique" was because its earlier source was the famous Rong Cheng Gong.

Rong Cheng Gong was good at supplementation and guidance, taking essence from the Mysterious Mare.

The Yellow Emperor admired his way and built five cities and twelve towers.

Unfortunately, the true "Mysterious Mare Technique" had been lost, and this book had completely degenerated into an evil method; although it could restore youth, it was difficult to prolong life.

One could not become an immortal, only degenerate into a demon.

Therefore, Huo Jiao had a bloody smell on him, and if it weren't for the "Dragon Snake Tablet" concealing it, he would have been destroyed by the orthodox Mystic Sect long ago.

Without any hesitation, Li Yan brought a fire basin and burned this evil book to ashes.

The rest were the collections of that Du young master.

What this guy found was also extraordinary, coming from the Indian monk Nantu.

In the early years of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Yanshang took office as the Xichuan Military Governor.

Frontier generals captured an Indian monk who was swaggering into the border with three young nuns.

This Indian monk had amazing illusionary skills and had already reached the realm of "Like-Illusion Samadhi," entering water and fire, piercing gold and stone, and changing infinitely.

After playing with the generals with illusionary skills, he gained a great reputation in Outside Chengdu, but later disappeared strangely.

When he appeared again, he had already been found in his tomb near the Dazu Rock Carvings by treasure-seekers, who took all his hidden books.

Among them, most were Western Region secret methods, mainly focusing on the "Corpse Forest."

This Du young master had long been influenced by demonic energy and knew this technique was precious, so he bought it and combined it with evil methods of borrowing luck, harming hundreds of children to seek to shed his skin as soon as possible.

These scriptures were all written in Tibetan, and Li Yan naturally couldn't understand them; fortunately, that Du young master couldn't understand them either and spent a great price to ask someone to write translations and annotations on the side.

Li Yan flipped through them while frowning.

This Dharma method mainly allowed practitioners to realize that there is nothing eternal in the world, that people have birth, aging, sickness, and death, and that sentient beings do not understand impermanence, vainly giving rise to attachments, ultimately leading to the suffering of reincarnation.

Speaking of which, it also made him feel a sense of emotion.

He had seen many tribulations of the Mystic Sect along the way, all coming from the word "longevity"; there were few with opportunities, and most were like bubbles.

What made him frown was the practice method.

Ordinary people couldn't accept it.

No wonder it was transformed by many evil techniques.

Just at this moment, his pupils suddenly shrank.

On this thick scripture, many patterns were also drawn, painted with precious pigments, and despite the passage of time, they were still bright.

Among them, several were very familiar...

Li Yan's heart moved, and he hurriedly took out a human-skin scroll from his luggage and slowly unfolded it.

This scroll was obtained from killing the Saintess of the Wenxiang Sect, and the strange gods painted on it were exactly the same as those in the scripture.

And Li Yan finally knew what this was.

The Corpse Forest Protector, also known as the "Grave Master."

What was painted on the scroll was the Eight Cold Forests, which were the Eight Corpse Forests, the divine realm of the Corpse Forest Protector.

The scroll of the Wenxiang Saintess was the map of the Cold Forest.

The scripture said that there were Sky-Walking Mothers circling in these places.

Legend has it that the Sky-Walking Mothers were gods who communicated between humans and gods.

And according to the stele inscription of the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan Old Ancestor, all divine realms in the world, whether it be the Heavenly Court, the False Yin Si False False Yin Si, or other faith legends, were the same place: the Great Luo Dala Fajie!

Could it be that finding these Eight Cold Forests would allow one to borrow the help of the Sky-Walking Mothers and enter the Great Luo Dala Fajie?

Looking at the scripture, Li Yan remained silent.

All of this seemed a bit absurd.

But it also made sense; he had relied on the Gou Die, so how could he not have seen the appearance of the False Yin Si False False Yin Si...

According to the scroll, the locations of the Eight Cold Forests were all related to Buddhist stone caves; two were in Longyou, likely the Mogao Caves and the Maijishan Grottoes.

And there was one in the Shu region, near the Dazu Rock Carvings...

After all, it was a Buddhist thing, and Li Yan didn't understand it, and originally didn't have much interest, but if it was related to the Great Luo Dala Fajie, perhaps he could go and see it when he passed by.

After checking the harvest, Li Yan stored his divine sense slightly and fell asleep.

I don't know how long it had been, but he slowly opened his eyes; the surroundings became blurry, water waves rose from the ground, and a pair of jade arms wrapped around him from behind.

The light and shadow changed again before his eyes, but it was an ancient temple submerged in lake water, the stone plaque covered in water algae, but one could clearly see the two characters "Dragon Lady."

Hululu~

The mud in the water churned, and the body of a giant creature passed through the temple, and one could vaguely see scales the size of a palm...

(End of chapter)