Chapter 531: Demon Traces in the County Town

"The Northern Emperor School?"

Li Yan's face stiffened, and he hurriedly shook his head. "No, I am naturally lazy and have many evil thoughts... I truly dare not."

Just kidding, he dared not provoke this sect.

The Northern Emperor School was founded by Tang Deng Ziyang. During the Kaiyuan era, he responded to an imperial decree to enter the capital and was deeply respected by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, serving by his side.

After his death, he was buried at Mount Magu, which is also the ancestral home of the Northern Emperor School. From the Tang Dynasty to the present, although the Northern Emperor School has changed, its lineage has not been interrupted.

This sect's arts were famously powerful.

But even more famous was its "Northern Emperor Black Law."

Practicing while holding precepts is very normal. Even the Tongtian Dharma Sect has regulations about not passing under spider webs or not eating certain animals.

The harsher the precepts, the stronger the cultivation of the arts.

But the "Northern Emperor Black Law" was famously ruthless.

For example, a dharma official in formal attire must not meet with monks, nuns, women, chickens, or cats; those who violate this lose their legal authority.

This is somewhat strong-man-difficult; after all, sometimes when performing rituals in the countryside, chickens and cats are inevitable. Does seeing them break the law?

And this sect is extremely hostile to the Buddhist school.

For example, there are precepts that one must not practice Zen or chant Buddha, or flow into evil sects; those who violate this lose the truth and enter hell, will not be born in the Middle Kingdom in the next life, and will have incomplete limbs.

Also, one must not have intercourse with prostitutes, and must not have sex on the 27th of the lunar month; those who violate this will surely shorten their lifespan...

Li Yan dared not provoke this kind of sect.

Chen Kongzi seemed to have expected this, shook his head slightly, and said, "Young lay practitioner, you worry too much. That senior brother just wants to pass down the Daoist arts to avoid breaking the inheritance; as for the precepts, let's not mention them."

Li Yan was somewhat surprised. "Could it be that the lineage is about to break?"

"It can't be passed down anymore."

Chen Kongzi sighed slightly. "Ordinary disciples don't matter; they just change to a temple to burn incense, knock on wooden fish as they should, and chant scriptures as they should. Even if they break the precepts, only they themselves know."

"But those with cultivation cannot; breaking the precepts is like breaking the law. This lineage of theirs was considered prosperous on Mount Qingcheng back then, but after much tossing and turning, fewer and fewer people are practicing this method."

"To this day, the law is no longer majestic, and there are almost no people left who can display the power of this method."

Li Yan frowned. "Why look for me?"

Chen Kongzi shook his head. "As for why, I don't know either; that senior brother just asked me to pass on a message."

"He is living in seclusion at the Laojun Temple, and his Daoist name is Juechenzi. Young lay practitioner, you can go and pay a visit to ask clearly; whether you are willing or not depends entirely on the fate between the two sides."

"You two can stay on the mountain; if you have any needs, you can tell Ling Yunzi, and he will help make arrangements."

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Yan and his companion understood each other's meaning and immediately stood up to cup their hands. "Many thanks, Sect Leader; we will take our leave first."

They also understood very well.

The other party had just taken over as the Qingcheng Sect Leader and was busy with all sorts of things; being able to set aside time to meet them was already giving them a lot of face.

Logically speaking, with their seniority and reputation heading up the mountain, they would at most be able to see a middle-level person, such as a manager or hall master.

……

"You two, please follow me."

After leaving the True Martial Hall, Ling Yunzi waited outside, led them away from the Ancestor Hall, and took a winding path heading north.

In this era, there were no scenic guardrails.

The three traveled between mountain paths, with cliffs on one side and steep walls on the other, pine, cypress, and bamboo forests verdant, covered in accumulated snow, hanging down thousands of snow-covered branches, white mist rising, as if shuttling through the clouds.

Li Yan felt somewhat strange, not knowing where they were going to be arranged, but as guests following the host, he couldn't ask too much.

After about half an hour, the three bypassed a mountain ridge, and a large cluster of buildings suddenly appeared before their eyes.

These buildings were like palace temples embedded in the mountains, with steep rocks standing like walls, strange peaks and rocks, hidden in the mountain mist and fog.

Layers of snow-covered stone stairs led directly to the top.

Above the palace complex, the three characters "Chaoyang Cave" were written.

"This is Chaoyang Cave."

Ling Yunzi smiled and introduced, "Legend has it that back then, the ancestor Ning Fengzi practiced in this cave. If the weather is good, when the morning sun rises, the rock walls shine with golden light, like broken gold scattered."

"This place is quite quiet; if you two are lucky, you can see the purple energy coming from the east at dawn, which is beneficial for cultivation."

"Many thanks, Daoist."

Li Yan and his companion thanked him again.

They had seen some other courtyards on Mount Qingcheng on the road, which should be places arranged for guests to stay.

Although the environment was secluded, compared to this place, it was clearly not on the same level, which showed that this Ling Yunzi was very attentive.

"As long as you two are satisfied."

Ling Yunzi saw this, and a smile also appeared on his face.

To tell the truth, he also judged people by their appearance.

Although the True Martial Hall could not be probed with supernatural powers, the new sect leader had specifically set aside time to meet them and had also urged him to make good arrangements, so they certainly weren't ordinary practitioners.

Being a "Guest Greeter" had this advantage.

Welcoming and sending off, he could get to know many fellow Mystic Sect practitioners, and when walking in the martial world in the future to handle things for Qingcheng, he could also stand on his own.

Under Ling Yunzi's guidance, the two walked up the stone steps.

Two young Daoists stood outside, and seeing them, they hurriedly stepped forward to welcome them.

"Greetings to Uncle-Master."

"These two are the distinguished guests I mentioned; have the rooms been tidied up?"

"Returning to Uncle-Master, they have already been tidied up."

Ling Yunzi seemed to have some status on the mountain, at least these young Daoists were very respectful.

Entering the main gate of Chaoyang Cave, there was indeed another mystery inside.

On these steep cliff walls, there were originally quite a few caves, and even stone halls worshipping the statue of Ning Fengzi.

The caves inside had been renovated, looking like cultivation caves, but they were very clean, with more than twenty single-cave rooms.

Opening the window, the snow scenery of Mount Qingcheng was in full view.

"What a fine place!"

Even Li Yan couldn't help but praise it.

Ling Yunzi saw they were satisfied, smiled, and nodded. "You two can stay here, but life on the mountain is austere, with only vegetarian meals; if you want to eat, you can follow the young Daoists to the dining hall."

"Many thanks, Daoist."

Li Yan nodded, thanked him again, and then asked, "I wonder where the Fire Head-Monk Master is; I would like to pay a visit."

Ling Yunzi pondered for a moment and shook his head. "Mount Qingcheng is eight hundred miles long; the Master lives in seclusion in the White Cloud Cave in the back mountains. If you take a detour to go there, I'm afraid it will be dark by the time you arrive."

"You two have just headed up the mountain; there's no need to rush. Tomorrow morning, I will take you there, and it won't be delayed."

"That works, sorry to trouble you."

Having headed up Mount Qingcheng, Li Yan was no longer in a hurry, and he asked again, "To be honest, I want to take this opportunity of being on the mountain to build a tower and purchase some heavenly spiritual treasures. I wonder..."

"Easy."

Ling Yunzi's pupils contracted, and the smile on his face grew even wider. "Lay practitioner Li, no need to worry. After we return tomorrow, I will help you make arrangements."

With that, he carefully gave some instructions to the young Daoists before taking his leave.

After leaving Chaoyang Cave, his expression immediately grew solemn. He walked to the mountain path and couldn't help but look back, muttering, "This is to build a Fourth-Floor Tower, at such an age..."

Then he shook his head slightly and left quickly.

To tell the truth, he had originally thought the sect leader's courteous treatment was because of Wudang, as they both belonged to the Quanzhen lineage.

Just like the previous battle between righteousness and evil, Wudang had sent experts to help.

Now that the Wushan side had been opened up, there would inevitably be more cooperation between Ezhou and the Shu Mystic Sect in the future, so he had to give them some face.

Now it seemed, it was likely more than just the Wudang connection...

Li Yan naturally didn't know the other party's thoughts, and after chatting with Wang Daoxuan for a while, he went to the dining hall for a meal before returning to his room to rest.

They had traveled from Suining, the journey was arduous, and they hadn't rested well at Jianfu Palace, so it was just right to rest here and recuperate.

Opening the window and looking at the beautiful snow scenery outside, Li Yan was somewhat absent-minded, thinking of the Qingcheng Sect Leader's words from before.

Northern Emperor School...

Why look for him?

This matter certainly wasn't simple. He had mixed in the martial world for a long time and, although he had some reputation and was called a genius, how could he alarm the old practitioners on Mount Qingcheng?

Judging by the situation, the other party's seniority wasn't low either.

To tell the truth, he also had some connection with the Northern Emperor School.

The method he practiced was the *Luo Feng Scripture*, and the art was the *Northern Emperor Scripture*.

But his "Northern Emperor" was the Northern Ghost Emperor.

And the Northern Emperor School worshipped the Northern Pole Ziwei Great Emperor.

There was a saying that the Fengdu Great Emperor was actually an incarnation of the Northern Pole Ziwei Great Emperor in the netherworld.

There were even arts of the Fengdu lineage in the Northern Emperor School.

Could it be,

related to his position as a living yin official...

…………

(Please... collect...!)

Guanxian, Qingjiang Inn, second floor.

It was dark now, and the ancient county was not large; looking out from the window, one could only see scattered lanterns and candlelight.

"They've all withdrawn!"

Lu San shut the window and turned to say in a deep voice.

"That's natural."

Sha Lifei said coldly, "We don't go out the front gate or the back gate, and they can't find any evidence. In this freezing weather, it's impossible for them to wait forever."

"I don't know what the Shu Prince's Mansion and Young Master Wuxiang are plotting, but given the current situation, even if we say we aren't involved, I guess the other party won't believe it. If we leave, the other party will be even more uneasy."

Lu San shook his head slightly. "You have rich martial world experience; how should we handle it? You make the call."

"No rush."

Sha Lifei picked up a chicken leg from the table and took a hard bite. "Eat when it's time to eat, drink when it's time to drink, and figure out the situation first."

Thump, thump, thump!

Just then, a hurried sound rang out.

A helper from the escort agency ran up the stairs, pushed the door open with a bang, full of anxiety, knelt on the ground, and said with a trembling voice, "Masters, please save my master."

Sha Lifei knew this person; he was Wang Tianzuo's disciple.

"What happened to Feng Feng Shixiong Wang?"

Sha Lifei stood up abruptly, asking with a gloomy face.

"Master has been hit!"

The disciple said urgently, "During the day, Master entrusted someone to inquire about news everywhere. Just now, someone came and had a secret talk with Master in the room."

"We heard arguing in the room, and after that person left, Master seemed to have gone mad and started acting crazy."

"Don't panic!"

Sha Lifei said in a deep voice, "Take us to see."

Wang Tianzuo was quite decent, and he was the kind of old-school martial world person who was very loyal.

Now that he was in trouble because of helping them, they naturally couldn't sit idly by.

After shutting the door, Sha Lifei and the others followed the disciple, left the inn, and headed east of the city.

Because they often had to travel between the two places, the Shunyuan Escort Agency had bought a small residence in the city, which was not large and was specifically used for resting on weekdays.

The small city of Guanxian was not large, and the group walked quickly, arriving outside the residence in no time.

"Ah! Ah—!"

"Quick, catch the escort leader, don't let him run around!"

Before they even got close, they heard chaos inside.

Lu San frowned, jumped directly onto the courtyard wall, pulled a string of bones from his waist, and shook it with a clatter.

Sha Lifei and the disciple also pushed the door and entered.

They saw the courtyard was a mess, Wang Tianzuo with disheveled hair, a dead chicken in his mouth, hands and feet on the ground, scurrying around the courtyard like a wild beast.

He was fast, and the escort agency helpers couldn't catch him, and several had even been injured, groaning on the ground.

"This f***ing thing is possessed!"

Sha Lifei saw this and had a guess in his heart.

And Lu San on the courtyard wall had long since started performing arts, shaking the bone string, staring fixedly at Wang Tianzuo, chanting words.

"Roar—!"

Wang Tianzuo let out a beast-like hiss, the dead chicken in his mouth, scurrying around uneasily on the ground, looking at Lu San with a fierce face.

Swish!

Just then, a white shadow darted out.

It was the little white fox, Chuyi.

At this time, the little fox had clearly grown, a size larger than an ordinary fox, almost like a wolf.

She also bared her teeth, blocking in front of Lu San, her pair of emerald eyes staring fixedly at Wang Tianzuo, making a threatening growl.

Her eyes emitted a faint green light.

Wang Tianzuo seemed to be hypnotized, the dead chicken in his mouth dropped to the ground, and his body swayed.

"Hold him down!"

Lu San stopped chanting and instructed in a deep voice.

Wu Ba heard this and immediately stepped forward, his strong arms hugging Wang Tianzuo like iron chains, making it difficult for the other party to move.

Lu San jumped down from the wall, hurried to Wang Tianzuo, and took a small leather bag from his waist.

Inside the leather bag was pigment made of cinnabar and chicken blood.

Lu San extended his finger, dipped it in, formed a seal with his left hand, and while chanting, used his right finger to draw a spiral circle on Wang Tianzuo's forehead.

"Ah—!"

Wang Tianzuo screamed suddenly, struggling wildly, black smoke rising from his body, and a fishy, foul smell permeated the air.

"Still want to run?"

Lu San let out a cold snort.

And the little white fox, Chuyi, jumped up again, stepped on the wall, jumped out of the courtyard, and in just a breath, ran back into the courtyard with a huge weasel in her mouth.

This weasel was quite old, with white hair at the eyebrows, and was thrown onto the ground by the little white fox, motionless, as if it were already dead.

"So it was this thing causing trouble."

Sha Lifei cursed, walked directly up, picked up the weasel's body, shook it in front of Wang Tianzuo, and cursed, "You idiot, if you dare move again, I'll destroy your physical body immediately!"

He followed Li Yan and the others and knew quite a bit about this thing.

This weasel had become a demon and was hiding outside, possessing Wang Tianzuo's soul.

Lu San had long since discovered it but didn't rush to act, instead suppressing the other party's yin soul first, and only then finding the physical body.

This kind of weasel demon was the most troublesome; if the other party returned to the physical body, there was no telling what kind of escape art they might use.

Sure enough, seeing Sha Lifei's fierce appearance, "Wang Tianzuo" immediately stopped struggling, his features twisted, and he stammered, "Don't... don't mess around."

Although it was human speech, it sounded as if he had a mouthful of thick phlegm, only half-clear.

"Oh, you can even speak human language?!"

Sha Lifei was stunned, his heart growing vigilant.

Being able to speak human language meant its cultivation was certainly not simple; if Lu San hadn't been clever, they really wouldn't have been able to trap this thing.

"Speak, who sent you?"

Sha Lifei pinched the neck of the weasel's body, looking as if he would snap its neck if it didn't answer.

But before the other party could answer, Lu San suddenly raised his head, directly pulled out his bone club, his eyes full of vigilance.

Even the little fox Chuyi had its fur standing on end.

They saw that on the courtyard wall, one after another, small heads appeared, including weasels, snakes, and rats...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 532 =====