Chapter 524: The Real Mastermind

Li Yan had guessed what his first mission from the Heavenly Court would be like.

Perhaps it would be like the underworld mission, presenting part of the Heavenly Court scene in an illusion; maybe it would be the Jade Capital of the Heavenly Palace.

But he didn't expect it to be in this form.

Although Li Yan was full of curiosity, he didn't dare to expose any abnormalities, pretended he hadn't discovered anything, and came to the stone well.

He looked down and immediately discovered the difference.

Originally, the stone well displayed underworld missions, and the black water inside would swirl, but now it was shrouded in golden light and was as calm as an ancient well.

What was strange was that there was no display in the golden light.

Li Yan reached out to touch the golden light, but there was no abnormality.

He frowned and pretended to be puzzled, but in reality, he already had a guess.

He estimated that this temporary mission issued by the Heavenly Court had to be unified with the underworld side before it would appear.

Sure enough, a voice came from the blurry distance again:

"The underworld is not your Thunder Department..."

"Judge Zhou, who ordered this matter?"

"Of course it's possible, but it must have the consent of the Yama King..."

Li Yan's expression didn't change, but his brain was spinning wildly.

Although it was blurry, he could distinguish many things from these few words.

For example, the relationship between the underworld and the Heavenly Court.

In some folk legends, the underworld belongs to the Heavenly Court's management; the Great Sage Monkey King caused trouble in the underworld, and the Yama King had to go to heaven to file a complaint.

But listening to these words, the two sides were more like talking as equals, only that the Thunder Mansion of the Heavenly Court was more powerful.

It felt to him like two organizations negotiating...

Also, the title "Judge Zhou" should be a judge of the Thunder Mansion.

Legend has it that the Thunder City is in the Wu Yuqing True King Mansion, in the Bixiao Upper Brahma Qi, two thousand three hundred *li* away from the mansion, and the city is eighty-one *zhang* high.

It governs the occurrence of all things, drives the seas and mountains, moves the four seasons, rises and falls yin and yang, and records good and punishes evil.

Internally, it is divided into one mansion, two courtyards, and three divisions.

One mansion is the Shenxiao Wu Yuqing Mansion, abbreviated as the Divine Thunder Jade Mansion.

Two courtyards are the Five Thunder Courtyard and the Evil-Driving Courtyard.

Three divisions are the Ten Thousand Gods Thunder Division, the Thunder Command Division, and the Thunder Department Division.

Worship of thunder has existed since ancient times.

But the appearance of the Thunder Mansion cannot be separated from the changes in human sacrifices.

For example, the division of the Heavenly Court Thunder Department began in the Northern Song Dynasty.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Shenxiao and Qingwei sects of Taoism advocated the implementation of thunder methods, so the sacrificial changes of the Mystic Sect led to the emergence of the Thunder Mansion.

Among them, there were indeed positions for left and right judges of the Thunder Mansion.

Is this judge surnamed "Zhou"?

I don't know if he is an ancient successful ascender,

or another kind of existence...

Just when Li Yan was pondering, the opposite side already had a result.

"Hmph!"

That red-robed giant shadow let out a cold snort, clearly somewhat dissatisfied, but didn't say anything more.

*Buzz! *

Subsequently, the golden light in front of Li Yan trembled, and a golden silk jade scroll gradually appeared; after it was unfolded, it was densely packed with lightning-like patterns.

It looked like characters, but Li Yan didn't recognize them at all.

He was somewhat speechless and carefully reached out to touch it.

Subsequently, rays of light flickered before his eyes:

That was a high mountain, deep in the clouds, a figure wearing a square scarf and holding a bamboo staff walked away, and behind him, a young man knelt for a long time with a huge bamboo talisman...

The young man put on a Daoist robe, practiced in the mountains, and often caught spiritual herbs that had become spirits to refine pills, with qi swirling around him...

The Daoist took in many disciples, died after old age, and the disciples put him into a coffin; who knew that before they even carried it to the burial ground, the coffin was swirling with clouds and smoke, and after opening it, only a huge bamboo talisman remained...

The bamboo talisman circulated in the human world, and later was thrown into a mountain crevice by a blurry figure, triggering an earthquake...

A monk came, entered the collapsed cave, got the bamboo talisman, and his whole person began to change drastically...

Looking at these rays of light, at the same time, a lot of information poured in.

Li Yan's expression also gradually became shocked.

After a long while, he came to his senses, full of disbelief.

No wonder many things were a bit strange.

His intelligence was wrong;

The one behind the scenes was not the Jiang Shen Jiangshen Dajun at all!

Or rather,

This Jiang Shen Jiangshen Dajun had been replaced!

The Daoist in the illusion was named "Li Wenyuan".

This name was very rare, but he and his master were famous in ancient books; it was Shen Wentai, a fangshi from Jiuyi Mountain, recorded in the *Biographies of Immortals*.

It describes: Shen Wentai is a person from Jiuyi. He obtained the way of the Jiang crowd's divine pill and earth talisman to return to his youth, and it was effective. He wanted to rest in Kunlun for two thousand years, and passed it on to Li Wenyuan, saying: "The earth talisman is not a method for taking medicine; practicing the Dao is useless." Wenyuan then received his secret essentials and later also ascended to heaven.

These master and disciple were very low-key, but they both succeeded in ascending to heaven.

Subsequently, things became strange.

Li Wenyuan became an immortal by entrusting his spirit to a bamboo talisman.

Similar methods include "staff liberation" and "soldier liberation."

Regardless, it could be considered as escaping the cycle of life and death.

But subsequently, the magic artifact he left behind was thrown into the Daba Mountains by someone, breaking the seal of the Jiang Shen Jiangshen Dajun's remnant soul.

Li Wenyuan, another wisp of true soul, came down to the mortal world without permission, merged with the Jiang Shen Jiangshen Dajun's remnant soul, and attached himself to "Lang Wu".

This "Lang Wu" had since changed his temperament drastically, not only using evil methods to extend his life and disturb yin and yang, but also starting to organize the Dragon-Worshiping Sect...

So, Li Yan accepted two missions at once.

One came from the underworld, which was to send "Lang Wu" into the Netherworld, and the reward was a *Gang* token.

The other came from the Thunder Mansion of the Heavenly Court.

It was to find "Li Wenyuan" and invite a thunder tribulation to suppress and kill him.

The reward was something that made him very tempted; it was a Thunder *Gang*, which was also an innate *Gang* qi, mysterious and extraordinary, with two methods of use.

One was to store it in the Thunder Mansion, which could summon a heavenly thunder once.

He had seen the use of thunder methods by the orthodox Mystic Sect; setting up an altar, time-consuming and laborious, and also calculating the time, place, and people, with many high-level experts performing it simultaneously.

And he could directly consume the Thunder *Gang* to summon it.

The second was to let the Soul-Hooking Lei Suo absorb it.

With this, the Lei Suo would no longer need to absorb heavenly thunder and could generate lightning on its own; although the supply was limited, it would no longer fear being completely exhausted.

Other thunder methods would also have corresponding enhancements.

Good stuff!

Li Yan was excited in his heart.

If he could collect enough Thunder *Gang*, he wouldn't fear a bird...

After accepting the mission, the thick fog around him dissipated rapidly.

"Benefactor Li, have you discovered anything?"

The voice of Master Hui Ming asking came from the side.

It was because Li Yan had stayed for a relatively long time this time; although it was only a few breaths outside, it was also keenly sensed by Master Hui Ming.

"That 'Lang Wu' is indeed a criminal from the underworld."

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "But he carried a divine artifact on his body, which could cover it up, so I only accepted the mission and don't know his whereabouts."

It wasn't just "Lang Wu" whose whereabouts were unknown.

There was also "Li Wenyuan" who had sneaked down to the mortal world, and the mysterious person who had thrown the bamboo talisman into the Daba Mountains to assist his descent.

Their figures were blurry,

Which was exactly the manifestation of the divine artifact covering the heavenly secrets...

…………

"Dharma Master Master Hui Ming, thank you."

Since there was a result, Li Yan didn't have time to tour the temple and bid farewell, being sent out of the gate by Master Hui Ming.

"Benefactor Li, no need to be polite."

Master Hui Ming nodded with a calm expression, "Helping you is also because I have selfish motives; that person harmed many of my martial brothers, but I am powerless to take revenge, so I can only borrow the benefactor's hand." Li Yan bowed solemnly, "Master, please rest assured; after that demon is brought to justice, I will send someone to send you a letter!"

Saying this, he bowed and bid farewell to leave.

Taking Wu Ba out of the temple, he looked back at the temple, frowned, and was lost in thought.

Thinking about it now, this matter was not that simple.

People who practice, none of them don't take ascending to heaven and becoming an immortal as their ultimate goal; for thousands of years, how many people have fallen on this road.

How could anyone be willing to sneak down to the mortal world?

What was even more bizarre was that there would be someone to receive them!

Besides his *Goudie*, there were other communication channels between the Great Luo Dharma Realm and the human world, showing that they had long since violated the heavenly laws.

And so many people possessed protective divine artifacts.

This thing is not Chinese cabbage; every protective divine artifact means the foundation of a dynasty.

Wanting to collect them, I don't know how much power it would take.

Thinking of this, Li Yan became more and more vigilant in his heart.

He had always suspected that the Dragon-Worshiping Sect leader was just one of Zhao Changsheng's identities, and there were some people behind him.

【In one look...】

For example, "Lu Sheng" who went to the Prince of Shu's Mansion together.

This guy was a character who dared to be bold enough to salvage the "Nine Tripods"; his roots were extraordinary, and he certainly wouldn't be Zhao Changsheng's subordinate.

Forget it, anyway, he had already accepted the mission.

From now on, when he meets these guys, those who should be sent to the underworld will be sent to the underworld, and those who should be struck by five thunders will be struck by heavenly thunder!

These guys are causing chaos in the human world, and not one can be let go!

While Li Yan was pondering, they had already walked to the foot of the mountain.

A man was waiting by the mountain path, big and rough, also wrapped in a white head wrap; seeing this, he hurriedly stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said, "Are you Young Hero Li? The head asked me to wait for you here."

"Sorry for the trouble."

Li Yan originally wanted to refuse, but seeing that the sky was still early and Wu Ba beside him was full of spirit, he didn't say anything more.

Led by this man, the two arrived at a large shed on the east side of the market; someone was already waiting outside, respectfully leading them in.

This large shed was not small, and inside it was bustling with noise, filled with commoners chatting and laughing, and even wealthy gentlemen in magnificent clothes were there.

Generally speaking, wealthy families were not willing to come to this lowly place to watch plays with the mud-legged people.

Being able to attract them here, there must be something to it.

Li Yan saw this, and also sat down with Wu Ba, waiting quietly.

*Dang-dang-dang! *

Suddenly hearing the sound of gongs and drums, the puppets appeared.

It was indeed "puppets" that appeared.

This puppet show was completely different from what Li Yan had seen in the past.

Ordinary puppet puppets were not big, but the one in front of him was a full person tall, carried and manipulated by the performer below.

The puppet was not only burly but also dressed magnificently, with all kinds of characters, and the facial features were vivid.

The craftsmen pulled the strings with both hands, actually as if they had come alive.

This kind of puppet show mostly tells myths.

This time, it was exactly the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea.

The drum music sounded, and someone started singing.

To tell the truth, compared to a proper Sichuan opera troupe, the singing was still a bit lacking in flavor, but people were clearly not here to listen to the music.

Just these puppets made people dazzled.

There were puppets dressing and undressing, as nimble as real ones,

There was Lü Dongbin waving his whisk, the sword light flashing.

At the climax, there was even a Han Zhongli puppet blowing fire to light a candle, the flames leaping, and the skill was astonishing.

These puppets, in every move, had eyes turning, lifelike.

"Good! Good!"

Wu Ba, like a child, clapped his hands and laughed happily.

Li Yan also had a smile on his face, watching carefully.

After watching the puppet show here, they left immediately, arrived at the pier, and took a boat to the foot of Wolong Mountain.

The temple fair at Guangde Temple was even larger and more bustling.

This time, there were no accidents.

Li Yan took Wu Ba to stroll, eat, and drink, watched the money board, watched the divine play, and also saw many wandering artists in the martial world.

Without realizing it, night fell.

The temple fair was equally bustling at night, with lanterns like stars, and there was also the grass dragon dance, and fire-breathing, not inferior to the daytime.

Unfortunately, after strolling for a day, Li Yan was already somewhat annoyed, and Wu Ba's big appetite was also somewhat full, so he simply turned back.

In the following days, they didn't go out.

Sha Lifei was still busy practicing, Lu San and Wang Daoxuan were busy with their own things, and only

A few more days passed, and the Winter Solstice arrived.

As the saying goes, the Winter Solstice is as important as the New Year.

In the land of Shu, this was even more true for the Winter Solstice.

Once the Winter Solstice arrived, it was time to start slaughtering the New Year pigs and making sausages.

Dumplings were indispensable.

But what was even more critical was simmering a pot of good mutton soup.

Early in the morning, the servants of the Luo family began to busy themselves. They slaughtered three whole sheep, not only to simmer mutton soup and boil mutton but also to make mutton dumplings.

Li Yan and his companions could also be considered to have spent a peaceful festival.

Besides eating, there were quite a few customs for the Winter Solstice in Shu.

For example, 'sun-drying the Winter Solstice'; the common people would take out the food and grain in their homes to sun them, saying it could dispel the cold...

Sacrificing to the Kitchen God was essential; in front of the Kitchen God's statue in every household, all kinds of offerings were laid out...

There were also people who ran to the mountains early in the morning to pay respects to their ancestors.

Li Yan and the others were wandering the martial world, so naturally, they didn't have these matters, but Wang Daoxuan also performed a ritual, which could be considered adding blessings and longevity to everyone.

Lively and bustling, they crossed the Winter Solstice festival...

…………

Dong, dong, dong!

The next day, before dawn, someone knocked on the door.

The Luo family servant opened the door to see a large man standing outside, wearing a bamboo hat, draped in a long gown, with a full beard and covered in the dust of travel.

"Who are you?"

Without waiting for the servant to ask, Li Yan had already walked quickly out of the room, smiling and cupping his hands, "Brother Wu, why have you come? I was just saying I would set off tomorrow to rush to Fengdou."

The person who arrived was none other than Wu Qu from Cangzhou.

He was not only a master of Baji Fist but also a sorcerer of the Huaguang Sect.

When they were in Wuchang, Li Yan had gotten to know him during the martial arts competition at Guishan, and it was also through his introduction that he came into contact with the 'Huangquan Organization'.

"Let's go inside and talk!"

Wu Qu's expression was serious; he looked around and said in a low voice.

"Oh?"

Li Yan frowned, hurriedly invited him into the room, ordered the servant to pour a cup of hot tea, and asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"

Wu Qu's appearance made it clear at a glance that something was wrong.

It seemed he had even fought with someone; the killing intent had not yet dissipated.

Wu Qu's expression was somewhat complex; after taking a sip of tea, he spoke, "The 'Living Yin Messenger' I was assisting has been killed by someone!"

"When?"

Hearing this, Li Yan immediately frowned.

A characteristic of the Huangquan Organization was usually one 'Living Yin Messenger' paired with several martial arts masters as protectors, helping each other and relying on one another.

The relationship between the two sides was very close.

Wu Qu could be considered a kindred spirit to him, but even so, he had never revealed the identity of the 'Living Yin Messenger' he was guarding.

"Just the day before yesterday!"

Wu Qu's eyes were full of killing intent, "The Living Yin Messenger I was guarding was a coroner in Anyue County. His martial arts and Daoist cultivation were not high, so his identity was kept secret; only I and another protector knew."

"I rushed to pick him up to head to Fengdou, but the day before I arrived, he was killed inside the county yamen prison!"

(End of chapter)