Chapter 559: Chengdu Prefecture Yamen

Even Li Yan was somewhat surprised by the power of the Dust-Breaking Saber.

The artifact used by this old demoness was not ordinary.

Those black hairs were left behind by female Yin corpses with deep resentment, and they were heretical things that would haunt people themselves; after being refined with special secret arts, their toughness was comparable to steel wire.

Pinching a seal and waving it could stir up Yin Sha to hurt people.

It could be said to be a treasure of the heretical path.

Countless cultivators had died under this Yin Demon Whisk.

But it happened to run into the Dust-Breaking Saber.

This saber itself was forged from dragon horns and was called the Dragon-Slaying Saber; in any magic lineage, it was a treasure that suppressed luck.

Using Thunder Arts to bless it made its power even stronger.

Therefore, it directly destroyed the whisk.

"The brat is looking for death!"

Nie Sangu was both angry and furious.

Seeing that her artifact had been destroyed, she simply let go and flicked it, using it as a hidden weapon, throwing it at Li Yan's face.

At the same time, she shook both hands suddenly.

The copper armor sheaths on her withered fingers suddenly extended three feet, turning into steel sharp claws.

The old woman didn't retreat but advanced, performing the Ghost Steps again, and at the same time lowered her body, dodging the saber blade.

She stepped on the "Kan" position with her left foot and hooked the "Li" position with her right leg, like walking the steps of the Big Dipper, instantly closing in on Li Yan, while simultaneously backhanding toward his throat.

What a vicious move!

Li Yan felt a shock in his heart and dodged by turning his shoulder.

He knew what kind of martial arts the old demoness was using.

The other party was practicing the protective martial arts of the Qingcheng Mountain Daoist Sect: Eight Strikes of the Mystic Sect.

This fist technique was created at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, the iron cavalry of the Northern Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom moved south, and the Qingcheng Mountain Master Xu Jing, Zhang Jixian, created it to protect the Daoist canon, fusing the Daoist "Yu Steps and Dipper Pacing" with battlefield combat techniques.

This martial art was ruthless and claimed that "one strike must decide life or death."

There was a saying of "Eight Strikes and Eight Non-Strikes."

"Eight Strikes" referred to the eight "unarmored vital points" of the eyes, throat, armpits, ribs, crotch, knees, ankles, and bubbling springs, corresponding to the death points of the Daoist "Eight Extraordinary Meridians."

"Eight Non-Strikes" meant not taking the back of the head, spine, etc., which were easy to cause death, leaving three points of leeway, in line with the Daoist principle of valuing life.

Even so, it was too fierce and was listed as a forbidden martial art by Qingcheng.

Li Yan had heard of its great name and was naturally very careful, but he didn't expect it to be so fierce, and the old woman's internal strength also exceeded his expectations.

At such an age, her Qi and blood should have been exhausted, and her strength insufficient.

But this old demoness had strength even more tyrannical than a young person's, and like him, she had already reached the peak of Transformation Strength.

One strike, and she actually gained the upper hand.

Seeing Li Yan retreat, the old woman took advantage of the situation to strike repeatedly. First, she used a kick to the crotch, then rolled along the ground like a python shedding its skin, attacking Li Yan's lower three paths.

One move faster than the next, Li Yan could only dodge.

What he didn't know was that the old woman was even more surprised in her heart.

The moves she had just used were called "Yin-Yang Throat-Lock," followed by "Yellow Springs Asking the Way" and "Earth Dragon Turning Over."

In life-and-death combat, sometimes it's not about having many moves.

No matter how clever the changes, they are not as good as one solid move.

Those few moves were Nie Sangu's usual routine; if you could dodge the top, you couldn't dodge the bottom, and often one strike decided life or death.

She had originally been lurking in the Xu Fu and was in no hurry to strike, but was forcing Xu Yongqing to go crazy, searching for the account book, and waiting for the Prince of Shu to give the order before delivering the killing blow.

One reason was fear that Xu Yongqing had left a hidden hand.

The second was not wanting to cause too much commotion.

Who would have thought Li Yan would suddenly arrive, forcing her to act ahead of time.

She had seen Li Yan's intelligence a month ago and hadn't taken it to heart, but she hadn't expected that in this short time, Li Yan's cultivation and combat power had improved again.

Seeing Li Yan dodge continuously, and with the sound of clamor in the distance, Nie Sangu was suddenly a bit anxious.

She twisted her body, her left hand turning from a cloud hand into a claw, hooking toward Li Yan's shoulder well point, while her right hand stabbed toward the armpit's extreme spring point.

This move was an imitation of the Mystic Sect's "Big Dipper Plucking Stars Hand," called "Heavenly Net Plucking Stars," and the copper fingernails were also smeared with poison.

Once hooked, Li Yan would immediately be half-paralyzed.

But it was this temporary change of moves that finally allowed Li Yan to find a flaw. As the old demoness rose, he suddenly stepped on her knee with his left foot and simultaneously kicked toward her face with his right foot in a continuous chain.

Red Fist, Fierce Tiger Stepping on the Mountain!

Seeing the big foot kicking over, Nie Sangu had no choice but to block with both hands.

Bang!

With a muffled sound, the old demoness slid out seven or eight meters, dragging long footprints in the snow.

Li Yan didn't let her off, suddenly crouching and rushing close, while pinching a seal, his left arm shaking suddenly.

Clatter!

Many copper coins on the left arm guard rang out simultaneously.

In an instant, a gale rose around him, and Yin Sha Qi gathered suddenly, even forming a whirlwind around Li Yan.

This was the artifact "Thousand Thoughts," which could not only protect the body and guard the soul but also quickly gather Gang Sha Qi to bless the power of arts.

Although it couldn't compare to setting up a formation, it was fast.

At the same time, Li Yan formed a hand seal with his left hand, while thunderous light crackled and popped on the Duan Chen Blade in his right hand. Using a move similar to "Black Tiger Steals the Heart," he lunged forward, striking directly at the old hag's Dan Zhong acupoint.

What a fierce Thunder Art!

Nie Sangu's heart trembled, and she retreated repeatedly.

Li Yan's ferocity exceeded her expectations; she feared that with one slip, she, an old hand who had rampaged for many years, would fall here.

Thinking of this, Nie Sangu already had the intention to retreat.

Facing the thunder blade stabbed by Li Yan, she retreated rapidly, and took a deep breath, but her chest cavity sank inward like dough.

Dangerously, she avoided the thunder blade by an inch.

Clatter!

At the same time, a large number of Tang Yuan-shaped iron balls scattered from her body.

Poof poof poof!

The iron balls exploded simultaneously, and thick smoke mixed with poisonous insects whistled out.

"Get out!"

Li Yan unleashed the Great Cloud Thunder Sound with a violent roar.

He used the artifact "Thousand Thoughts," gathering a large amount of Gang Sha Qi around him, and this roar also used the North Emperor Body-Protecting Curse.

Whoosh~

In an instant, a gale howled around him.

The poisonous smoke was blown away directly, and the poisonous insects fell like raindrops.

But just with this, the old demoness Nie Sangu was already surging with black fog, fleeing rapidly toward the distant dark alley.

This old demoness had been able to escape from Sword Immortal Cheng's hands several times; she was naturally not someone with a false reputation.

Li Yan was about to pursue, but his ears moved, and he stopped.

He heard a large sound of armor, gongs and drums, and flags waving, and felt an overwhelming Yin Qi coming from the south.

The Chenghuangmiao's social order troops were dispatched!

"Humph! Not coming early, not coming late..."

Li Yan gave a cold snort, becoming increasingly suspicious of the Chenghuangmiao.

But now, he was really not afraid of these City God troops.

Thinking of this, Li Yan reached out to touch the Gou Die (Official Dispatch).

He had already obtained the position of Heavenly Official, and even the City God had to avoid him!

But just then, shouts faintly came from behind.

"Help!"

It was Xu Yongqing!

Li Yan gritted his teeth and turned to leave.

That old demoness had already fled far away, and now he probably couldn't catch up even if he wanted to; Xu Yongqing's side was more important.

Moreover, the previous fight had already attracted attention.

Without any hesitation, Li Yan exerted force under his feet, leaped into the air, crossed the fire oil that hadn't burned out yet, and returned to the original spot.

Xu Yongqing had indeed run into trouble.

This old scholar was suspended in mid-air, his hands clinging to the eaves.

The window above had already opened, and a disheveled fat woman was full of anger, hitting him with a rolling pin.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"You turtle son!"

"You shameless old man, doing this at such an old age!"

Xu Yongqing took a solid beating, groaning repeatedly, and finally let go with both hands, struggling as he fell from the second floor.

Just as he was panicking, Li Yan suddenly arrived, grabbed his shoulder with his left hand, used the "Undying Seal Technique" unloading technique, and easily caught the old scholar. "Don't talk nonsense, let's go!"

Seeing Xu Yongqing wanted to ask, Li Yan stopped him in a low voice, then dragged him into the nearby dark alley...

Whoosh~

Not long after they left, a gloomy wind blew on the street.

Wind and snow mixed, the fire oil that was still burning extinguished instantly, the surrounding light became dark, and dense footprints appeared on the snow.

It was exactly the City God's social order troops.

Several households nearby had been possessed by fierce ghosts that escaped when the Soul-Absorbing Flag was broken; some jumped onto the beams, others had blood-red eyes and held sabers, preparing to harm their families.

However, as the social order troops passed, black smoke rose from their bodies, and then they were dragged out by an invisible force and twisted into the wind and snow...

…………

In the darkness, footsteps and panting sounds intertwined.

Li Yan ran fast, but Xu Yongqing, who was being dragged by him, was out of breath and extremely disheveled.

However, Li Yan couldn't afford to stop.

(Note: Repetitive error in source.)

He ran while using his divine ability to avoid pursuers.

The commotion just now hadn't just alarmed the Chenghuangmiao, but others as well.

"Quick, search this way!"

A squad of garrison soldiers holding torches passed through the street.

Li Yan glanced through the dark alley, and after they left, he quickly crossed the street and turned into the next dark alley.

The Chengdu Prefecture Yamen was in the West City.

That Wang Wang Yushi had already taken control of the Yamen, but to reach it, they had to pass through at least eighteen streets and alleys.

Just as he crossed a few dark alleys and prepared to go out, Li Yan suddenly pulled Xu Yongqing, covered his mouth, and signaled him not to speak.

At the same time, he used the escape technique to restrain his aura.

Tat tat tat!

On the street opposite, a squad of knights rode past on horseback.

These knights were all wearing black armor, riding sturdy black horses, their cloaks fluttering, revealing the divine fire guns behind them.

It was precisely the gunmen cultivated by the Prince of Shu.

Beside them, several fierce dogs followed; if Li Yan hadn't reacted quickly, he would have been discovered directly.

After this squad of knights passed, Li Yan let go of Xu Yongqing.

"That is the Prince's Black Feather Guard!"

Xu Yongqing suddenly spoke, gritting his teeth. "The Prince of Shu's Wang Fu guards are called the 'Ceremonial Guard Division,' but the Prince privately set up the Black Feather Guard, all equipped with new-style firearms, and even killed several merchants to hide the gunpowder mines."

Li Yan frowned. "You remember all this?"

"It's all in the account book..."

Xu Yongqing nodded, suddenly looking into the distance, his eyes widening, his body shaking, and his eyes gradually filled with bloodshot veins.

Li Yan also looked up.

That was the direction they came from; at this moment, fire was soaring into the sky, illuminating the dark night. Needless to say, it was definitely the Xu Fu.

He couldn't save everyone; he had originally thought that by taking Xu Yongqing away, the rest could survive, but he hadn't expected them to be directly silenced.

"Let's go, keep your useful body to take revenge."

Li Yan said a sentence and continued forward with Xu Yongqing.

Excluding the patrolling garrison soldiers and the Prince of Shu's Black Feather Guard, Li Yan could also perceive that on the distant beams, there were bursts of sounds of breaking through the air, clearly experts coming to intercept them.

But these people were clearly much worse than Nie Sangu.

Li Yan just hooked his left hand, and the Chu Ling paper figures shuttled through the air with Sha Qi, easily leading these people away.

Finally, they arrived at the West City.

The distance to the Chengdu Prefecture Yamen was getting closer and closer.

And the pursuers behind them finally locked onto them.

On the beams, sounds of breaking through the air rang out one after another.

In the distance on the street behind, there was also the sound of dense horse hooves.

Li Yan gritted his teeth and dragged Xu Yongqing to speed up.

He saw this matter very clearly.

The Prince of Shu was just faking illness, perhaps hiding some conspiracy; after all, they were blood relatives. If he brought him back to the Commandery Prince's Wang Fu, Xiao Jinghong might directly hand the person over.

The best way was to hand him over to that Wang Wang Yushi.

The sound of horse hooves behind them was getting faster and faster.

The distant Chengdu Prefecture Yamen could already be seen; the towering stone lions outside the Yamen stood tall, carrying a majestic Qi, also house-suppressing items.

In the wind and snow, the huge red lanterns swayed.

"Go up!"

Seeing the pursuers had arrived, Li Yan didn't care about anything else, supported Xu Yongqing's waist, and sent him flying high over the courtyard wall.

And Li Yan also leaped up in two or three steps.

Crouching on the courtyard wall, he turned and looked.

He saw that on the street opposite, the black horses stopped suddenly, and those black-armored knights all covered their faces with masks, raising their divine fire guns with a clatter.

And on the roof beside them, a dozen black shadows also flashed out.

These people all stopped and looked coldly at Li Yan.

"Humph!"

Li Yan sneered, made a throat-slitting gesture at them, and then flipped down.

He saw Xu Yongqing lying spread-eagled on the snow; the face that had been beaten just now was already bruised, groaning and unable to get up.

This snowy night of life-and-death flight had almost cost him his old life.

Li Yan was about to pull him up, but frowned and looked around.

This was the side courtyard of the Prefecture Yamen; judging by the appearance, it was where the warehouse was located.

He saw eight men in gray clothes walking out of the darkness simultaneously.

They were mostly middle-aged men, their eyes cold, empty-handed.

At the same time, lanterns lit up all around.

By the firelight, Li Yan looked at the palms of those people, and his pupils shrank. "Mud-treading marks, are you all from the Bagua Sect?"

The so-called "mud-treading marks" were a special mark.

Common among those who practiced Bagua Palm and Xingyi Fist.

They practiced "mud-treading steps," needing to bend their knees and sink their hips, walking with the soles of their feet rubbing the ground, as if wading through a swamp.

Thousands of frictions made the outer side of the soles easy to develop thick calluses, which was called "foot mud-treading marks."

Among them, Bagua Palm emphasized "walking and converting palms," and when cooperating with mud-treading steps to push palms and entangle silk, the root of the palm and the tiger's mouth were filled with Qi and blood for a long time, forming calluses and thickening, forming "palm mud-treading marks."

Bagua Palm was poisonous, and those who practiced "mud-treading marks" were even more of a symbol; ordinary Jianghu people had to hide when they saw them.

Hearing Li Yan's inquiry, these people ignored him.

"Kan position!"

The leading man gave a low shout, and the eight people instantly walked in a circle to form a formation.

He only heard the sound of swish swish swish, the eight people's figures flickered, and they instantly surrounded Li Yan and Xu Yongqing.

Li Yan frowned. "Gentlemen, we have urgent business..."

He didn't want to fight these people.

These eight were all experts of the Bagua Sect; although they couldn't compare to him, they had reached the peak of Dark Strength, and cooperating with the Bagua formation, they were very troublesome.

What was more troublesome was that on the distant roof, two gunmen had already appeared, aiming their divine fire guns at them.

To break the situation in this case, he could only use arts.

"Enough, stop!"

Just then, a majestic low shout rang out from afar.

He saw a scarlet robe sweep across the stone steps, and under the escort of several Commandery Division Company Commanders, he walked through the archway.

His skin was slightly dark, his face square and majestic, and he had a long beard.

The Xie Zhi beast on his rank badge looked as fierce as a living thing in the firelight.

The old man leading the Bagua Sect immediately turned and cupped his hands. "Lord Wang, this person broke into the Yamen at night, please..."

"No need to be on guard."

This Wang Wang Yushi looked at the disheveled Xu Yongqing, a trace of joy appearing in his eyes. "These two are my distinguished guests!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 560 =====