Chapter 579: Blood Basin Holy Mother

The footsteps went away, leaving only darkness all around.

Feeling that the aura of others had completely disappeared, Flowing Cloud old Daoist sighed slightly, then his eyes became calm, he picked up his Dharma sword, and mocked himself:

"Half a lifetime of caution, yet muddled in my old age..."

After saying this, he kept chanting spells while holding the Dharma sword.

He no longer cared about life or death, only seeking to maintain the Dharma altar so that Imperial Censor Wang and those people could break out smoothly.

The longer he held on, the greater the chance.

In the night sky, the eerie singing still echoed.

The sound of gongs and drums clattered, annoying people.

Suddenly, the sinister gongs stopped, and everything returned to dead silence.

Flowing Cloud old Daoist was not happy but shocked, feeling a chill behind his back, and hurriedly looked at the Dharma altar in front of him.

Clatter, clatter!

The five grains inside the wooden bowl surged outward like a fountain.

Very quickly, the other magical artifacts also began to shake.

This was a sign that the Dharma altar was being destroyed.

"Evil evildoers, don't even think about it!"

Flowing Cloud old Daoist gritted his teeth, stepped on the Gang steps, stomped fiercely on the ground, then took out a red rope and pulled it hard on his palm.

Instantly, the red rope cut his palm, dripping with blood.

This old Daoist didn't care at all, forming a seal while tying knots with the red rope, winding it along the Dharma formation at high speed.

The method of tying knots to drive away evil was passed down from ancient times, with many types.

This type of knot was specifically used to stabilize the Dharma altar.

But clearly, the effect was not good.

The darkness around pressed inward like a wall, and the Dharma altar's tables and chairs shook continuously, ready to collapse at any moment.

Suddenly, the black fog all around became thick like corpse oil.

A stench of corpses rushed into his nasal cavity.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

All the blood-stained red ropes snapped.

"Not good!"

Flowing Cloud old Daoist looked up fiercely.

But in the darkness, green flames flickered, vaguely illuminating three human figures, and the icy aura rushed toward his face.

After getting closer, they finally revealed their forms.

They were three paper puppet figures half a person tall.

The three paper figures each had different appearances and specifications.

One was pasted all over with "old disciple paper" used for funerals in eastern Sichuan, the surface soaked in Youyang old corpse oil, with a remnant page of the "Yin Talisman Ritual" pasted upside down on its face, and the four characters "Seven Killings General" written on its body...

One was as thin as a cicada's wing, looking like a kite, with the joints of the straw frame fixed with blood-stained coffin nails, and the four characters "Greedy Wolf General" on its body...

The last one was even more eerie, stacked and glued with layers upon layers of paper money, with the four characters "Breaking Army General" written on it...

"Three Yin Generals!"

When Flowing Cloud old Daoist saw this, his scalp went numb.

Paper puppet techniques were not uncommon in the Mystic Sect.

But these three were extraordinary.

When the "Ghost Opera Troupe" was ravaging the martial world back then, he was still young. Although he hadn't had direct contact, he had also heard many rumors.

This Netherworld Opera Stage could perform many types of sorcery, and Yin Exorcism Opera was the most famous among them.

Every Yin Exorcism Opera could invite different demons.

Like this reverse singing of "Mulian Saves His Mother," it could summon the "Blood Basin Holy Mother," and all Yin Exorcism Operas had the Three Yin Generals to hold the fort.

"Get out! Demon evildoers, retreat quickly!"

Flowing Cloud old Daoist gave a roar, bit his fingertip, quickly formed a seal, and smeared it along the Dharma sword.

The scorching evil qi of the gang gathered instantly.

The old Daoist only felt his whole body burning, and blood even flowed from his nostrils.

This was a desperate method, temporarily stimulating the body's Yang qi and essence blood to explode with powerful combat strength, but it would completely destroy his foundation and shatter his spirit.

But things had reached this point, and he no longer cared about his life.

Whoosh!

The old Daoist flicked his Daoist robe and leaped up directly, jumping over the Dharma altar, forming a seal with his left hand and a sword flower with his right.

The tip of the sword picked up the candle flame of the Dharma altar and flicked it instantly.

Whoosh~

The violent wind howled, and the fire dragon drew out along the edge of the sword.

Almost instantly, the "Breaking Army General" paper puppet was ignited, pitter-patter emitting foul-smelling thick smoke.

After walking two steps, it collapsed to the ground with a bang.

The old Daoist didn't waste words, turned his body, and used a Su Qin back-sword, picking up another candle flame and turning it into a fire dragon to flick out.

Boom!

Another muffled sound, and the "Seven Killings General" paper puppet was also ignited.

But this paper puppet was somewhat different; because it was soaked in corpse oil, it didn't burn completely, but instead rushed over while emitting rolling black smoke and corpse stench.

Bang!

The old Daoist was caught off guard and was directly knocked down, stumbling back, even knocking the Dharma altar behind him until it shattered, and all kinds of offerings and magical artifacts rolled all over the ground.

The corpse stench mixed with flames directly ignited his beard and hair.

"Die!"

The old Daoist didn't care about the pain, stabbed his wooden sword fiercely into the paper puppet's head, performed a fierce python flip, and shaved off the paper puppet's head.

But the Dharma altar had ultimately been destroyed.

Without the protection of the Dharma altar, the violent wind howled again, black mist surged, and the evil wind from the ground rushed straight to his brain.

This type of "Bi Wind," once a cultivator was contaminated, would be interfered with, feeling dizzy and confused, making it difficult to continue casting spells.

Not only that, the "Greedy Wolf General" paper puppet also whistled over.

This paper puppet was as thin as a cicada's wing and stuck directly behind him.

The old Daoist could feel that his body was starting to stiffen, and there seemed to be something blowing air beside his ear, dizzy and confused, as if he would fall asleep at any moment.

"Hahaha... let's die together!"

Flowing Cloud old Daoist was also somewhat crazy, took out the fire-starter from his waist, and while blowing, ran toward the back.

This was their final plan.

If they really couldn't run away, they would ignite the gunpowder and die together.

But the old Daoist ran a few steps dizzy and confused, only to discover that everything around was pitch black, and the gunpowder warehouse that was originally close at hand didn't know where it was.

"Soul-bewitching technique..."

The old Daoist was full of unwillingness and fell to the ground directly.

His consciousness seemed to have separated from his flesh, his vision turned black rapidly, and he lost consciousness...

………………

Just as the Daoist was fighting for his life, an anomaly occurred outside.

Li Yan and the others followed the Big Dipper in the darkness, quickly arriving at the prefectural office's main gate, kicking it open, and charging straight out.

At the same time, the darkness spread rapidly.

Old Daoist Liuyun was arrogant and fell into a death trap, but there was one thing he guessed correctly.

This formation moves with the people.

As Li Yan and the others emerged, the range of the formation expanded accordingly.

"Look!"

The soldiers setting up blockades outside immediately noticed something was wrong.

The originally thick black fog had surrounded the entire Chengdu prefectural office, but now, it was spreading outward at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Because of this black fog, they couldn't see anything.

The garrison company commander was a shrewd man; his heart stirred, and he immediately ordered, "Aim at the gate, fire!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The soldiers didn't waste words and pulled their triggers directly.

At the same time, Li Yan and his group had also arrived.

Although the soldiers were firing blindly, two shots hit their mark; the powerful divine fire guns shot straight through the gate.

"Ah—!"

A Bagua Sect disciple couldn't dodge in time and was hit in the chest.

The prefectural office gate was made of fine jujube wood, three fingers thick; after the divine fire gun bullets pierced through, their power was greatly reduced.

But even so, a bloody hole was opened in the disciple's chest, and he sprayed bloody foam from his mouth, his eyes filled with despair, and he soon stopped breathing. "Zhuzi!"

Dong Cunshan dragged Wang Yushi away, his eyes full of anger.

Logically, once they reached this point, other Bagua Sect disciples could also climb over the walls and charge out from other directions.

However, they were still shrouded by the Netherworld Stage formation.

Leaving the range of the seven Daoists' dharma flags, they would immediately be struck by the evil wind, causing them to faint instantly; how would they have the ability to fight then?

"Charge out after three breaths!"

Li Yan gave a low shout and left the range of the dharma flags directly.

This time he was prepared; the Dragon-Snake Tablet protected him, and the Qiannian arm guard on his left arm rattled with copper coins, resisting the evil wind's assault.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Yan exerted force under his feet, stepped on the nearby wall to soar into the air, and jumped onto the main street.

But at the same time, the surrounding black fog spread along with him.

This situation truly surprised Li Yan.

Read every word carefully!

He thought he would break out of the formation, but he didn't expect to still be trapped; this formation must have combined curse techniques, and everyone inside the prefectural office had already been marked.

But at this moment, he couldn't afford to think too much.

After jumping down from the wall, his internal energy erupted, and with a tap of his toes, like a dragonfly skimming water, he jumped straight into the midst of the garrison soldiers.

Clang, clang, clang!

Two Soul-Severing Flying Knives danced up and down, instantly killing four men.

Not only that, those soldiers were also dragged into the formation by him; the evil wind surged from under their feet, and they soon fainted and collapsed to the ground.

In the eyes of the remaining garrison soldiers, a massive amount of black fog surged over like a wild beast, swallowing the people in front.

Screams were constant, and no one could escape.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

The garrison company commander felt his heart go cold and hurriedly gave the order.

The impenetrable encirclement finally showed a gap.

Dong Cunshan and the others inside couldn't hear the sounds outside, but they trusted Li Yan; after counting three breaths, they charged out directly.

Sure enough, there was no obstruction.

But upon reaching the main street, they didn't know what to do next.

Not to mention the surrounding black fog, which left them dizzy and unsure of where to run, the Bagua Sect disciples weren't very familiar with Chengdu either.

Even more troublesome was that the Seven-Star Flag above had also begun to dim.

"Not good, Uncle-Master is..."

The Daoists below saw this and were instantly filled with grief and indignation.

"What are you waiting for? Follow me quickly!"

Just then, Li Yan arrived in time, carrying a black cloth bag, and with a low shout, he ran toward the left side.

"Where are we going?"

"Stop talking nonsense, just follow me!"

Li Yan's expression was gloomy as he walked quickly in front.

He had long organized small team activities, and every time they acted, he was accustomed to making full preparations; when he came, he had obtained an evacuation plan from Wuxiang Young Master.

Although cumbersome, it could definitely evade pursuers.

Pu, pu, pu!

Suddenly, the dharma flags above all spontaneously ignited.

Daoist Liuyun inside the prefectural office was dead, the dharma altar was destroyed, and these dharma flags had lost their foundation, so naturally, they couldn't be supported.

In an instant, evil winds howled all around again.

Fortunately, these Daoists from Bai Yun Temple were not weaklings.

"Move closer to us!"

The leading Daoist gave a loud shout, then they simultaneously drew their dharma swords, formed seals, and chanted incantations, bringing another Daoist with them to insert their swords into the ground together, forming a Bagua pattern.

Then, they simultaneously pulled out red ropes, wrapped them around the sword hilts, shifted positions, and instantly connected all the dharma swords, sticking yellow talismans onto the hilts.

After doing this, they sat cross-legged and chanted incantations.

This was also a protective formation, but compared to the previous dharma altar, it was clearly much worse, capable only of defense and unable to move.

The Bagua Sect disciples, led by Dong Cunshan, also quickly entered the formation, looking around with full vigilance.

Dong Cunshan was also truly depressed.

It wasn't that the Bagua Sect lacked martial arts, but none of these people had awakened supernatural powers; there were many affairs in the capital, and with Bai Yun Temple following, they hadn't paid attention.

Even if they encountered the garrison army, they had no fear and could always find a way to break through, but trapped in this bizarre formation, they could do nothing.

Li Yan stood outside the formation, staring fixedly at the opposite street, and threw the black cloth bag on his shoulder to Dong Cunshan.

"What is this?"

"The key to breaking out."

Dong Cunshan was somewhat puzzled; he pulled open a corner to check and instantly broke into a sweat.

Inside were actually two explosive charges.

These were the garrison soldiers' items; Li Yan had seen them just now and chased after them to snatch them, which was why he had wasted time.

After carefully putting the package away, Dong Cunshan looked at Li Yan in front and couldn't help asking, "Young Hero Li, what are you waiting for?"

"Waiting for the opportunity to break the formation!"

The Bai Yun Temple Daoist beside him had a solemn expression and said, "Unless we break this formation, it will be difficult for us to break out."

"To break this Yin Nu play, we must first destroy the Three Yin Generals protecting the formation, after which the Blood Basin Holy Mother will appear; that is the formation eye."

"Kill her, and the formation will break on its own!"

Li Yan nodded and reached into his bosom.

Inside his official document, there was still a Gang Command; this was the confidence he had to risk his life...

"They've escaped!"

The garrison company commander ran over hurriedly, his face full of anxiety as he cupped his hands, "I ask you all to take action; we cannot let these criminals escape!"

At this point, he didn't dare to be arrogant anymore.

Facing these strange and bizarre fellows, firearms were useless.

"Hehe~"

Nie Sangu leaned on her cane, smiled, and shook her head, "The Netherworld Stage formation hasn't dissipated; if we go in, we'll die just the same."

"Then what should we do?"

The company commander's mind went blank, and he hurriedly asked.

"What are you in such a hurry for?"

Nie Sangu wasn't in the least bit anxious; she popped a pill-shaped Tang Yuan into her mouth and looked across, "These two fellow Daoists haven't even used their methods yet."

Ghost Zhong Kui Situ Qian also had a gloomy expression.

Looking at the already burned "Seven Kill" and "Army Breaker" spirit tablets, he stepped on the Gang steps and waved his fan again.

Hu~

Yin winds howled, and the "Greedy Wolf" spirit tablet swayed slightly.

But within a breath, the last spirit tablet also instantly burned.

"The opponent has an expert!"

Ghost Zhong Kui Situ Qian's expression became even more ferocious, and he said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Bai, we can only use the Blood Basin Holy Mother; get ready."

To be honest, tonight had also somewhat exceeded his expectations.

Most of the time, using the Netherworld Stage, relying solely on evil winds was enough to take everyone down, at most deploying the Three Yin Generals.

If summoning the "Blood Basin Holy Mother," Bai Qihong must act as the medium, and she would need to recuperate for several months afterward; it was their trump card.

But with things pushed to this point, and so many heterodox sorcerers watching, if they failed, the Ghost Opera Troupe's reputation would be damaged, and they would inevitably be punished.

Bai Qihong also understood the severity of the situation and bit her fingertip without hesitation, outlining ghost-drawn talismans on her pale face.

As for Situ Qian, he replaced the Gang step technique, turned his back, and kept spinning around the bronze stage, his chanting becoming faster and faster, while simultaneously taking a large handful of paper money from his bosom and throwing it into the air.

On the bronze stage, the triple hip-roof suddenly erupted with rolling black fog, and in the center of the stage's caisson ceiling, the Yin-Yang mirror rotated slowly.

Paper money danced in the sky, and Bai Qihong also changed her singing style.

"Blood wine poured out, heaven and earth dim, Lady Liu opens the dharma gate, mortals in the world don't be filial, cut your hearts early to offer to the Merciful Venerable..."

"Respectfully welcome the Blood Basin Holy Mother!"

"One hundred thousand hungry ghosts, feast away!"

Following her singing, a large amount of blood mist surged from the stage, enveloping her entire body, vaguely forming a lotus shape...

(End of chapter)