Chapter 509

"You know about the Dragon-Worshipping Sect?"

Li Yan's pupils shrank, and he hurriedly asked.

Sure enough, these local snakes knew more.

The Dragon-Worshipping Sect's activities might be secret, but they weren't lonely ghosts; as long as they had to eat, drink, and relieve themselves, there would definitely be traces.

Ordinary people might not care.

But people in the Jianghu could spot a hundred loopholes.

Upon hearing this, Feng Peng Laohai sighed. "Of course I know. I was even present when this Dragon-Worshipping Sect was founded."

"That was many years ago."

"At that time, I had a falling out with my brothers in the gang and was driven out of Zigong, coming to Suining to live in seclusion. Although I didn't have to worry about food and drink relying on private salt trading, I inevitably felt depressed and went everywhere looking for people to drink with."

"The one I often hung out with was Huo Jiao of the Pai Sect. At that time, he was still a small fry, working as a Dragon King temple keeper while doing odd jobs for a leader of the Sichuan Pai Sect."

"I still remember clearly that after he got drunk that day, he said he had a backer and was about to become successful, and asked if I wanted to attain an immortal fate."

"I was curious, so I followed him and saw those people in a Dragon King temple on the banks of the Fu River."

"Although they were all dressed in black and masked, just by hearing their voices, I recognized several famous evil people from the Southwest. They said they wanted to sacrifice to the ancient Water God, which would allow us to live in wealth and be carefree after death."

"I've been in the Jianghu for decades, and I realized something was wrong immediately. Knowing that such trouble was not easy to provoke, I left and never contacted them again."

"Later, Huo Jiao rose to success all the way, becoming the leader of the Sichuan Pai Sect, but I knew he was just a puppet for others!"

"Although there was no contact later, I vaguely knew how large their influence was, and even the recent battle between the righteous and evil at Dujiangyan had their participation."

Sha Lifei hurriedly asked, "They've already caused trouble, what's the use of saying all this? Tell us who else you saw?"

Feng Peng Laohai picked up his wine cup and took a sip. "They were all masked at the time. The few people I guessed were all dead by the time of the Dujiangyan battle, and Huo Jiao was also killed by Li Li Shaoxia."

"But that sect leader, I saw his appearance clearly; he was a very old monk draped in a black robe..."

"Oh?"

Li Yan was lost in thought and said in a deep voice, "Bring me a pen!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Peng Laohai immediately ordered his servants to bring pen and ink.

Li Yan took a deep breath and, according to what he saw in the "Corpse Forest" illusion, drew the appearance of the old Qiang monk.

"Elder, take a look, is this the person?"

Feng Peng Laohai: "........."

He held the drawing, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Whether in his past or present life, Li Yan had no talent for these things, and what he drew was even more unbearable to look at; how could Feng Peng Laohai tell?

"Little Brother Yan, don't make things difficult for people."

Sha Lifei gave a laugh, picked up the paper and pen again, frowned in thought, and drew the divine statue he had seen in the Stone Carving Tower.

It wasn't exactly lifelike, but it was close enough.

"That's the person!"

Feng Peng Laohai nodded hurriedly. "I saw clearly at the time, but he had changed his clothes, and there was no 'Monkey-Headed Boy' following beside him."

It turned out that when Sha Lifei was drawing, he not only depicted the appearance of the old monk but also included the golden-haired monkey holding an incense burner beside the divine statue.

Li Yan asked curiously, "This is called a 'Monkey-Headed Boy'?"

It was very rare for a divine statue to have a spiritual pet.

"This is the inheritance of the Qiang shamans."

Feng Peng Laohai explained, "Qiang shamans are called He Shi Bi, usually one per village, passed down from master to apprentice."

"They have no organization or temples, but they must worship their ancestral masters and the 'Monkey-Headed Boy.' Legend has it that the 'Golden-Threaded Monkey' is their guardian deity, so the ancestral masters they worship and the ritual implements they use are all related to it."

"I've seen several Qiang He Shi Bi; when performing rituals, they wear 'Golden-Threaded Monkey' fur hats, sheepskin jackets, beat sheepskin drums, and use ritual implements made from 'Golden-Threaded Monkey' bones... but having a dragon coiled on their body, that's a style I've never seen."

Listening to the old man's account, Li Yan immediately understood.

It turned out that the bone club was made from the forearm bones of a dozen golden-haired monkeys.

If this were his past life, he'd be thrown straight into prison!

Hearing Feng Peng Laohai's question, Li Yan didn't say much, as the matter concerned the Jiang Shen Great Lord and Erlang Manifest Saint Erlang Zhenjun, which was of too great consequence.

"Elder, what do you want us to do?"

Thinking of this, Li Yan asked directly.

Feng Peng Laohai gave a bitter laugh. "We are all colleagues in the Jianghu, so I don't need to hide anything or use those polite phrases."

"If I had known about this earlier, even if I had suffered a loss, I would have swallowed it and not provoked trouble."

"But now, the trouble has already come to our door."

"This mad boy ran to Long Feng Ancient Town and was spouting nonsense everywhere. I've been sending people to watch him, which is really asking for trouble."

"Recently, our salt ships have been intercepted repeatedly, with no survivors; it must be the retaliation of the Dragon-Worshipping Sect."

"Almost every family in Bai Xi Village has had a funeral, and since I have seen them establish the sect, it is already a situation of life and death. Asking Li Li Shaoxia to come is nothing more than seeking a way to survive."

"If you destroy the Dragon-Worshipping Sect, we can also escape this calamity."

"That makes sense."

Li Yan was worried that the Dragon-Worshipping Sect was too vast and they were isolated.

Having people join in was naturally something he was happy to see.

Several demon hunters were also released; apart from being mentally exhausted and having some bruises from being beaten, the rest was easy to talk about.

With the misunderstanding cleared up and Feng Peng Laohai giving compensation, they didn't say anything more.

That's how sorcerers at the bottom of the Mystic Sect were.

They might know some small arts like soul-bewitching or exorcism, but facing a siege by martial artists, they would still suffer a big loss.

They also knew that they couldn't go very far on this path, so they simply tried to save as much money as possible to support their old age while they could still struggle.

With both sides reaching a cooperation, Li Yan didn't stand on ceremony anymore and asked directly, "Elder, do you know where they are hiding?"

"That I don't know."

Feng Peng Laohai shook his head. "I have also returned to that Dragon King temple, but after Huo Jiao left, that place mysteriously caught fire and turned into ruins."

"In the deep mountains between Suining and Nanchong, there should still be villages. Although I don't know exactly where, I can find them."

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "Elder, please elaborate."

"The Dragon-Worshipping Sect acts very secretly, and now that their influence is not small, even if there are traces, they can easily erase them, but I have discovered something strange."

"Our cargo ships take a secret waterway, and the first time we encountered an accident was after the collapse of the Sichuan Pai Sect."

"In my opinion, these things should have been secretly handled by the Pai Sect originally. They also made quite a stir in Chongqing Prefecture, so arranging a few human sacrifices would be easy."

"Now that the Pai Sect has had an accident, the Dragon-Worshipping Sect people have to do it themselves, and their hands weren't clean, which is why our people discovered them."

As he spoke, killing intent rose in his eyes. "As long as we disguise ourselves as a fleet and retake that waterway, we can definitely lure them out!"

…………

The night wind was bone-chilling, and the bright moon hung high.

On a remote river channel, several cargo ships were moving slowly.

In the Sichuan Basin, there were many waterways; removing those famous rivers, the nameless river channels were also countless.

These waterways were not even marked on the imperial court's maps.

Perhaps because of a mountain flood, they might disappear or reappear, and only the most familiar locals knew where they led.

On the deck, Li Yan wore a bamboo hat and a set of ordinary servant's clothes, pressing his hand on the Dust-Breaking Blade, looking left and right.

This river channel was not formed overnight.

It passed through several mountain ridges, winding and twisting, very secluded, and there were no villages around.

According to Feng Peng Laohai, it could lead to Tongnan, and from there, taking the land route was the secret salt road from ancient times. Everywhere it passed was uninhabited.

The Divine Land was vast, and places like this were countless, providing hiding places for some secret forces.

No one could be sure whether there were caves of ancient cultivators hidden in some deep mountain unknown to anyone.

"Li Li Shaoxia, we're almost there."

Just then, Feng Peng Laohai reminded him in a low voice.

This old man had also changed his attire, wearing a military robe and carrying a black wood long staff in his hand.

Don't underestimate the staff as a weapon.

The saying goes, "The spear fears the shaking head, the staff fears the point."

A spear thrust with a shaking head dazzles your eyes, and before you can react, you might be pierced through the eyes or heart.

A staff pointed at an acupuncture point is the same.

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Using a staff to strike an acupuncture point, hitting a vital spot can cause death.

Feng Peng Laohai's practice of the Five-Lang Eight-Trigram Staff was an expert in this field.

Hearing the old man's words, Li Yan looked up.

Only to see that in the distance, the river channel suddenly became turbulent, the mountains on both sides were high, and the surroundings were full of chaotic rocks and slopes, as if there had been an earthquake in the past.

Hum!

At the same time, the Dragon-Pattern Jade Tablet in his bosom trembled slightly.

It's here!

Li Yan's eyes lit up with surprise.

At the time, the Dragon Maiden entrusted him with a dream, but because the Yin Si mission interrupted it, he only saw the situation underwater, and what was above was completely unclear.

Now he had finally found the place.

Calculating by time, the Jiang Shen Great Lord was suppressed during the Qin Dynasty when Li Bing built the Dujiangyan, and the Dragon Maiden Temple also sank to the bottom of the river at that time.

Although many years had passed, the Dragon-Worshipping Sect people had always been performing human sacrifices here, which must have another profound meaning.

Perhaps he could complete the Dragon Maiden's mission.

Thinking of this, Li Yan turned his head to look at Lu San.

Lu San shook his head slightly. "Nothing found."

At this moment, the falcon Lidong was hovering in the sky, and if there was any movement, they would be able to detect it immediately.

Hearing that no Dragon-Worshipping Sect people had been lured, Li Yan didn't care and said in a deep voice, "Everyone wait here, I'll go into the river to investigate."

With that, he immediately pinched the Dharma seal and chanted: "Nogao! Heavenly Truth Great Purity, essence of Ren and Gui..."

Before the Mystic Xuan Xuan Shui Dun spell was finished, his whole body was wrapped in thick water mist, disappearing before everyone's eyes, followed by a splash as he hit the water.

With Li Yan's current cultivation, his escape technique was even sharper.

The sound of water rolled in his ears, and his whole body was like a sharp arrow, without any obstruction, diving to the bottom of the river in one go.

The river water here was turbulent and deep.

After arriving at the bottom of the river, the Dragon Maiden Temple he saw in the illusion immediately came into view, covered in water weeds, with most of it already submerged in mud and sand.

But Li Yan didn't rush to approach.

He only saw corpses floating around the Dragon Maiden Temple, both boys and girls, all dressed in bright red wedding robes.

The wedding robes had been soaked for years and had already decayed.

But these corpses were still lifelike, just with their eyes closed and their faces pale, as if they were just sleeping.

So they were suppressing it!

Li Yan immediately understood what the Dragon-Worshipping Sect was doing.

Marriage involves the great path of human relations and the continuation of bloodlines; although it is a happy event, there are also many taboos.

And this was clearly a kind of evil art.

Boys and girls represent Yin and Yang; human sacrifice was already evil enough, and using this method of ghost marriage to reconcile Yin and Yang artificially formed a fierce formation.

The Dragon Maiden was the daughter of the Jiang Shen Great Lord.

Although they had the name of father and daughter, they were two completely different things.

The Dragon Maiden's root was formed by the combination of the essence of the girl sacrificed to the Jiang Shen Great Lord and the dragon energy after her death.

It could be said that the enemy had dug up the wall.

And because of the Dragon Maiden's nature, she often protected and blessed the people along the river, so her incense became more and more prosperous.

Sooner or later, she would replace the Jiang Shen Great Lord.

But the Jiang Shen Great Lord couldn't do anything about her, and even though he was suppressed, he was still extracting dragon energy from Mount Daba.

Sooner or later, the Dragon Maiden would completely replace the Jiang Shen Great Lord and reappear in a new form, becoming the Water God of the Shu region.

But this process was disrupted.

The Jiang Shen Great Lord was released, began to reincarnate, suppressed the Dragon Maiden, and was to become a calamity for Erlang Manifest Saint Erlang Zhenjun.

After all, as the Guan Kou God, the Manifest Saint Erlang Zhenjun had also suppressed the Jiang Shen Great Lord for thousands of years, and the two could be said to have deep karmic entanglement.

Hum hum hum!

The Dragon-Pattern Jade Tablet in his bosom trembled even more violently.

Suddenly, the surroundings became blurry.

Picking a good time!

Li Yan couldn't help but curse under his breath.

Fortunately, he was using the Mystic Xuan Xuan Shui Dun and wouldn't drown in the water, so he let the Dragon Maiden drag him into the illusion.

Soon, the surroundings became blurry.

In the distance, the mud and sand covering the Dragon Maiden Temple also disappeared, and it was brightly colored, as if it had just been built, looking much larger than before.

His vision zoomed in rapidly.

Li Yan entered the main hall of the Dragon Maiden Temple in his dream.

He finally saw the appearance of the Dragon Maiden statue: a white robe in palace attire, hair as black as ink, horns on her head, ribbons flying, and holding a huge flower basket in her hand.

Li Yan's gaze also focused on the flower basket, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

Although the Dragon Maiden statue was brightly colored, it was a clay sculpture, and only the flower basket in her hand looked quite extraordinary.

This flower basket was made of copper, using a gilded openwork technique, and was quite exquisite, with flowers blooming inside, as if someone had just placed them there.

Apart from this, everything else was blurry.

This flower basket was the Dragon Maiden's divine artifact!

Li Yan immediately understood.

If the Dragon Maiden wanted to escape and even become a folk god again, I'm afraid this object was indispensable...

In the blink of an eye, the illusion disappeared completely.

Li Yan took one look at the dense river floaters outside the Dragon Maiden Temple, turned around, broke through the water, and returned to the boat.

"Daoist, help me perform the ritual to remove the calamity!"

After roughly explaining the situation below, Li Yan asked Wang Daoxuan to set up a Dharma altar to help him use the "Northern Emperor Calamity Removal Technique."

The formation below was somewhat evil, so an altar had to be set up to exorcise evil.

Wang Daoxuan cooperated tacitly, quickly setting up the Dharma altar on the boat, lighting incense and precious candles, placing various offerings, waving his Dharma sword, spraying water from his mouth, and activating the altar.

He was mainly assisting, maintaining the operation of the altar.

And Li Yan stepped on the pace of the Big Dipper, shook the "Thousand Thoughts" brocade arm guard on his left arm, and chanted the "Northern Emperor Calamity Removal Technique" spell.

"Qingjia! Heaven ascends to save people, strictly capturing the Northern Feng..."

Gurgle!

With the chanting of the spell, a large amount of white bubbles surged on the river surface, thick fog rose, and the pungent smell of corpses began to spread...

(End of chapter)