Chapter 492: The Ghost Sect's Secret

The night is deep, the fishing lights drift away.

Behind the city of Ziyang County, the forest is lush and dense.

There is a small path in the mountains; because this place is close to the Tuojiang waterway, few people travel by land, and since the mountain path collapsed during the autumn rains, no one has bothered to clear it.

In a mountain hollow behind the hills, there is a small temple to the Mountain God.

The incense is not flourishing, the temple is nearly abandoned, and it faces a quarry; half the mountain has been almost entirely excavated, and someone even carved a stone Buddha inside, though work stopped after only the mold was made.

A damaged Mountain God, a damaged stone Buddha.

Staring at each other, there is an inexplicable sense of humor.

Inside the main hall of the Mountain God temple, candlelight flickers dimly.

The statue with peeling paint lies toppled on the ground; judging by the clear footprints on its body, it was kicked over from the altar by someone.

In the center of the main hall, twenty-four candles are arranged in a ritual formation, wound together with red rope and hung with white paper talismans inscribed with black characters.

In the center of the candle formation, a statue is being worshipped.

This statue has a rugged appearance, dressed in animal skins, with knotted muscles, eyes wide open, and a ferocious expression; one hand holds a sharp blade, the other carries a human head.

Two Daoist priests sit cross-legged before the statue.

Their complexions are ghastly, dark blood seeping from the corners of their mouths with a foul, rotting odor; both hands are forming seals simultaneously, their mouths chanting incessantly.

Others surround the formation, holding short blades very similar to the one in the statue's hand, their fingers flicking slightly, creating a clinking sound like a melody.

At the same time, they shake their heads and toss their brains, appearing as if possessed by madness.

The red rope winding around the candles carries a pungent, bloody smell, as if it were soaked in blood during its making.

When the candles burn down to the area where the red rope is, all the red ropes snap in response, and the white talismans tied to them instantly ignite and turn to fly ash.

The two Daoist priests in the middle suddenly open their eyes.

On their necks, a clear bloodstain appears, as if a sharp blade had circled their heads, slicing through the skin, with fresh blood flowing out.

Yet strangely, their complexions begin to improve.

After spitting out another mouthful of dark blood, the two finally let out a sigh of relief simultaneously.

"What on earth was that thing?"

One of them wipes the blood from the corner of his mouth, still feeling a lingering fear.

When they found Du Ping, it was only dusk, and there were still pedestrians on the street, so it was inconvenient to charge in openly and kill.

Seeing a guest arrive, they thought to use puppet arts to control that guest and kill everyone inside.

That guest was none other than the wealthy traveler from Chengdu...

"Anyway, it definitely wasn't human!"

The other Daoist looks at the cracks on the statue, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. "It seems we underestimated the Luo family; I don't know where they found such an expert."

Besides these few Daoists, a dozen or so swordsmen sit around, all dressed in short tunics, carrying long swords on their backs, their eyes cold and indifferent.

In addition to them, there is a young man; although his clothing is plain, his skin is fair, his appearance is refined, and he wears a jade thumb ring, faintly exuding an air of wealth.

With an ugly expression, he says: "Leaving that Du Ping alive is a hidden danger after all."

"The people of the first branch are failing in their cultivation and likely won't live for many days; according to the rules, the second branch should take over. They don't know the inside story, but those accounts will be discovered sooner or later."

Just as Li Yan guessed, these people of the Du family are secret agents of the Ghost Sect; after leaving the village years ago, they relied on evil arts to seize family property, gradually becoming the largest wine merchants in the Sichuan region.

But when secret agents stay in one place for too long, changes always occur.

The Du family branched out and spread its leaves, the population grew larger and larger, and it split into five branches.

Some people had the aptitude for cultivation and were secretly absorbed to become Ghost Sect disciples, while others knew nothing and served as a facade.

But how many people can awaken supernatural powers?

The reason Li Yan sees so many is because that is the line of work he is in, and the people he deals with are all fellow travelers.

If dispersed to various regions, they are relatively rare.

Within a single family, they are even more sparse.

With the expansion of the population, their power was diluted; if not for the old patriarch being a Ghost Sect disciple, they wouldn't even be able to protect this bit of power.

It's not that they hadn't thought about letting the entire family join the sect.

But people's hearts are different; not everyone likes to play this game, and they were almost reported by their own clansmen in exchange for wealth.

Moreover, the family business cannot function without these people.

Thus, the Du family split into two parts: the light and the dark.

It is precisely because of this model that they haven't been discovered.

The young man is named Du Yuanguang; this time, he came out with two missions.

One is to kill Madam Wu of the Luo family, and the second is to make Du Ping die in an accident.

Originally, everything was progressing smoothly, but an urgent letter suddenly arrived from the Du family, ordering them to withdraw most of their strength to spread rumors in various places and ruin Li Yan's reputation.

As a result, neither was accomplished.

Thinking of the punishment he might suffer later, a sense of resentment rose in Du Yuanguang's heart. "That Li Yan beat a Ghost Sect member from Ezhou to death; what does that have to do with our Du family? I really can't understand why the ancestor wants to get involved in this muddy water."

"Yuanguang, watch your tongue!"

One of the Daoists hears this, and his expression changes slightly.

Du Yuanguang hurriedly stops talking, changing the subject: "Second Uncle, many people from the Blood-Transmitting Jade Emperor Sect have come. They don't want to provoke us, but they will definitely protect that woman from the Luo family. What do you think we should do?"

The Daoist ponders for a moment and says: "Tell the people in Yibin to be quick. The officials have already been notified, and the Luo family has offended the Prince of Shu's mansion, so no one will support them."

"As long as the deed is done, even if that woman goes back, she will be powerless to save the situation."

"As for that Li Yan, we don't need to provoke him; as long as we keep leaking his information to the Prince of Shu's mansion, we can borrow a knife to kill him!"

Before the words had even faded, a voice sounded from outside:

"You all have quite a beautiful plan!"

"Who?!"

"Grab your weapons!"

The people in the temple are startled.

They have sorcerers, swordsmen, and had even released ghosts in the mountains beforehand for surveillance; they never expected anyone to be able to sneak in.

Clang, clang, clang!

The swordsmen draw their blades one after another, their internal energy erupting.

Originally sitting cross-legged, they leap up directly, rushing out of the temple into the air.

They are all death soldiers cultivated by the Du family over the years.

They have no families, are controlled by drugs, have good aptitude for martial arts, and have been trained by experts; most have already stepped into the Dark Energy realm.

This force is enough to dominate locally.

But before these people could even land, they saw a figure outside the ruined temple, and it was none other than Li Yan.

Seeing the swordsmen jump out, Li Yan's movements are even faster.

He had already pulled out his flintlock pistol and pulled the trigger directly.

The gate of this ruined Mountain God temple is narrow; as the swordsmen rushed out, although they didn't crowd together, they formed a straight line, making it even more suitable for shooting.

Li Yan spoke suddenly precisely to create this opportunity.

Boom!

The sound of gunfire roars, and gunpowder smoke scatters.

Li Yan used scattered pellets; as soon as the gunshot rang out, a fine rain of bullets instantly enveloped the entire area.

The pellets have great force; although the power is dispersed, the penetration is still formidable, and whether it was the swordsmen in front or behind, blood flowers erupted on their bodies.

With just one shot, a large group fell.

Li Yan quickly changed the magazine but didn't fire again.

Those people from the Prince of Shu's mansion used divine fire guns, which were standard long guns, and the magazines they used didn't match his.

Without tools in hand, he didn't dare to disassemble the magazine to reload at will, so his stock was low and he had to save them as much as possible.

These people had already been pierced in their internal organs by the pellets; although they weren't dead, they had suffered fatal wounds, and without miraculous pills, there was basically no hope of survival. Wasting another blade on them would be a waste.

The reason he fired was to eliminate interference.

The real enemy was still inside the ruined temple.

Whoosh~

Inside the ruined temple, the candlelight suddenly went out.

Strange chanting sounds echoed in the darkness.

These incantations were completely incomprehensible, filled with a large number of trilled sounds.

Ancient Shamanic Arts?

Li Yan's brow furrowed slightly, and he became vigilant.

Incantations also contain the evolution of language.

People of ancient barbarian tribes used a large number of trilled sounds, and even the ancient tones of the Central Plains were like this, only gradually becoming clear and rounded later on.

And in many countries around the world, there are still a large number of trilled sounds.

And the evolution of witchcraft also has a process.

!.

Those ancient witchcrafts still retain the bloody means of human sacrifice.

With so many trilled sounds, the heritage certainly isn't short.

Subsequently, the official document in his bosom suddenly began to heat up.

Li Yan's eyes lit up, he suddenly leaped, retreated at high speed, hid in the nearby dense forest, and only then began to accept the mission.

He had some doubts in his heart; although these were Ghost Sect disciples, with the current investigative ability of the official document, he should have had some sense of them from a thousand meters away.

Yet now, they suddenly appeared.

What he didn't know was that this bunch of guys in front of him had recklessly provoked the reincarnation of Erlang Zhenjun, almost causing the worshipped statue to collapse.

Their aura was weak and restrained, and it was only now that they were activated.

Li Yan didn't have time to think too much and quickly passed through the fog.

Since obtaining the jade accessory, the scenes he could see through the official document had increased a lot, but they were all the same back and forth, with nothing strange.

It was still that strange space; in the distance, before a blurry square table, one could vaguely see a figure wearing a red robe.

Li Yan felt as if he had been shrunk onto a sand table.

That figure also became exceptionally tall, like a giant spirit god.

This should be a god of the False False Yin Si; Li Yan didn't dare to let the other party see anything unusual, pretended he hadn't seen anything, and quickly arrived beside the water well.

Sure enough, what appeared was the black well's bloody water.

This represents a connection to the escaped demonic energy.

Li Yan couldn't help but feel some disappointment in his eyes.

Although Divine Steel is more precious, he had already accumulated a few within his official document, and what he needed more right now was a Divine Order as a trump card.

But having some is better than having none.

He learned from the mouths of those in the Huangquan organization that the opportunities to get False False Yin Si missions weren't that many.

The reason it was so dense before was only because the Ezhou Ghost Sect was active frequently.

This time, upon arriving in the Shu region, there hadn't been any missions for a long time.

Thinking of this, Li Yan hurriedly observed the black well's bloody water.

But just at this moment, in the distant space, the sound of armor rumbled, and another huge figure walked over, speaking simultaneously: "Eh, it's this person again; what did he find this time?"

Li Yan, who was observing the black well, felt a stir in his heart.

He had heard this voice before.

Back then at Xianshan, he found a nest of ghosts, the harvest was huge, and it was precisely because Li Yan heard this voice discussing it that he abandoned so many Divine Order rewards and chose the "Five Directions Luo Feng Flag."

To tell the truth, he now feels he was cheated.

The "Five Directions Luo Feng Flag" is indeed not bad, equivalent to him obtaining five battalions of troops, and unlike other Dharma lineages, it doesn't require a fixed mountain gate, training troops, collecting troops, catching ghosts, or releasing ghosts, which consumes a lot of energy every year.

But this Dharma treasure also has many inconveniences.

For example, when using it, one must set it up in advance, and someone must open the Dharma altar to control it.

And his fighting style is mostly close-quarters slaughter.

So this treasure also became a team treasure, usually used in coordination with Wang Daoxuan, with him opening it and the other party controlling it, making it smooth to use.

Now that there is only him, battles mostly happen suddenly, and even if there is an opportunity to use it simultaneously, it is hard to avoid being flustered.

Furthermore, this item is very picky about location.

Without the support of the massive evil energy from the False False Yin Si, the combat power of the ghost soldiers also drops accordingly; it can only play a decisive role if it is in a place where the evil energy is dense.

In short, it is not that convenient to use.

Just as Li Yan was pondering, the two figures in the distance had already started talking.

"Reporting to General General Wu Dao, it is the demonic energy of Zuo Shouquan."

"Hmm, this time I will go to capture it."

The other voice was slightly silent, saying: "General, you released the Five Directions Luo Feng Flag last time; treasures of the Dala Fajie must not be privately bestowed, you have already violated the 'False False Yin Si Law' and must not go to the mortal world again."

Is it General General Wu Dao?

Li Yan was shocked in his heart upon hearing this.

Ordinary people might not know this god, but in reality, he is a great god of the False False Yin Si, responsible for patrolling the mortal world, demanding lives, and detaining souls.

Moreover, his position is not low.

It is rumored that although he does not sit in the False False Yin Si Palace, he similarly commands the ghost soldiers of hell, and even has the duty of supervising the False False Yin Si to prevent misjudgments.

Although he is a general, his authority is comparable to that of King Yama.

To think it is such a great god...

"Hmph, ridiculous!"

But he heard General General Wu Dao say angrily: "I haven't appeared in the mortal world for many years, the incense is not flourishing, the Divine Orders are insufficient, naturally I must use other substitutes."

"And you all, tarnishing my reputation, when did I become a bandit again, everyone calls me a tiger, how unreasonable!"

"Do you think my Luo Feng Mountain has no one!"

Good fellow, there's even more gossip!

Li Yan was excited in his heart, forcing himself to remain calm.

General General Wu Dao is a deity recognized by both Buddhism and Daoism, having great influence among the people, and it is rumored that he has many deeds of sympathizing with the weak, fulfilling lovers, and releasing the innocent.

In the hearts of the people in some regions, his reputation is better than that of King Yama.

There is a common saying: "Turn your head and meet General Wu Dao, open your eyes and see King Yama."

But in some places, he is viewed as an omen of misfortune.

Jin Yu Huan recorded in the "Three Kingdoms Records": Before Cui Jishu was harmed, his wife had a nightmare in the daytime, dreaming of seeing a person one zhang tall with black hair all over his body, who seemed to be approaching her.

Local shamans explained that this was General General Wu Dao, and his appearance in a household was an inauspicious omen.

By now, some have misreported him as "General Five Thieves," evolving from a single deity into five deities, and changing the origin, saying they were five bandits during the Yongguang era of the Song Emperor Fei.

Even more absurdly, there are already rumors that General General Wu Dao likes to enter dreams the most, seducing wives and daughters, and collecting beautiful female ghosts.

So much so that in the story of "Jin Ping Mei," Wang Po also warned Ximen Qing that Pan Jinlian was the daughter of General General Wu Dao, a great misfortune.

A perfectly good great god of the False False Yin Si has instead become a lecherous ghost.

If it were before, Li Yan would only think it was a misreporting by the people, but he now knows that the power of mortal sacrifices can also affect the Dala Fajie.

Like the Heavenly Court and the False False Yin Si, they have all undergone several changes.

Like Erlang Mr. Zhenjun, whether his surname is Yang or Li, it is still unclear.

It seems there is a force deliberately smearing...

(End of chapter)