Chapter 596: Calamity of the Prefecture City

"This... the Long Gong can move?"

Ling Yunzi looked into the distance, his eyes full of confusion.

They already knew that the Long Gong Water Mansion was likely some kind of existence; after all, Mount Qingcheng had an ancient inheritance, and there were relevant records in the classics.

This thing was called a Cave Heaven Secret Realm.

Different from Cave Heaven Blessed Lands, it was a mysterious existence, existing between the virtual and the real, and could only be entered through dreams.

In some strange stories, mortals often strayed into immortal mansions.

That was what this kind of thing was.

But they had never thought that this thing could also move.

At the same time, the battle on the river surface had already subsided. Severed limbs, broken ship wood, and burning lanterns rose and fell with the river surface.

The people sent by the Prince of Shu's mansion, except for Zhao Jie who had escaped, had all been beheaded, and the Qingcheng disciples also had thirty percent casualties.

Cheng Jianxin also looked into the distance, silent.

"Grandmaster..."

Looking at the old man's hunched back, Mingshanzi was full of worry, but he opened his mouth, yet the words could not be spoken.

Cheng Jianxin failed to ascend to godhood, suffering a severe backlash, not only causing his cultivation to decline and blinding one eye, but also causing him to age rapidly in a short period of time.

He hadn't told anyone, staying away from the Cheng family, drifting alone among the marketplace of the Shu region, often drunk and lying on the street.

No one knew he was the Cheng Jianxian Cheng who shook the world.

Living unrestrained, with no one caring, it could be considered carefree.

It wasn't until he met Chang Gousheng, who had astonishing aptitude, that he had the idea of leaving a trump card for the Cheng family and Qingcheng to deal with future transformations.

This was the sequence of events.

The moment he found Cheng Jianxin, Mingshanzi simply couldn't believe that this was the heroic and spirited Cheng Jianxian of the Cheng family.

What worried him even more was that Cheng Jianxin's injury was not just to his body, but his divine soul was also aging, becoming similar to an ordinary person.

First, he was hunted by the Blood Nuo Master, and this time directing the battle, his layout was also very ordinary, failing to exert the combat power of the Qingcheng disciples.

If it were in the past, he wouldn't even dare to imagine it.

"Let's go."

Cheng Jianxin looked into the distance, his expression still calm. "Chengdu Prefecture is likely to have a major incident. We... are duty-bound."

"Yes, Grandmaster."

All the Qingcheng disciples bowed in unison.

They had also discovered Cheng Jianxin's aging.

But so what?

Following behind him,

itself was a kind of glory!

Soon, the seriously injured were carried to the shore for care, and the remaining Qingcheng disciples packed up a few intact small boats and sailed down the river, heading straight for Chengdu...

They hadn't left for long when several figures emerged from the mountain forest opposite, mostly wearing black robes, with dragon-pattern tattoos on their faces, their expressions gloomy.

The leader was a young foreign monk.

If Li Yan were here, he would discover that this person was exactly the same as the old monk he saw in the Corpse-Eating Forest illusion, only much younger.

It was the leader of the Dragon-Worshipping Sect, "Lang Wu."

Ever since he was besieged by the orthodox sects of the Shu region, he had rarely appeared, and even the people of the Prince of Shu's mansion didn't know that this old ghost had been secretly following them.

Looking at the wreckage on the river below, "Lang Wu" laughed dumbly. "That's fine, it saves us the trouble. The Master will definitely be satisfied."

Having said that, he waved his fingers.

A black-robed person behind him immediately walked forward carrying a brocade box.

"Lang Wu" took it and opened the brocade box.

Inside lay a bronze mask, with the eyeball part protruding forward; it was precisely the ancient Shu state sacrificial artifact found in the Ghost Qiang ruins.

He carefully took out the bronze mask, bit his fingertip, smeared the blood on the vertical eye, and then held it high.

Whoosh~

Soon, wild winds blew in the mountains.

Streams of red mist converged from all directions; it was the evil things suppressed by the Long Gong Water Mansion earlier, which had drifted away in all directions after being shattered by the Earth Sword.

These red alien Qi were attracted by the bronze mask, whistling over and disappearing into it.

And the vertical eye of the bronze mask also gradually emitted a red glow.

In the darkness, it was exceptionally obvious...

………………

"What, you lost them?"

Chengdu East City, the old Bai family residence.

Li Yan stood up suddenly.

Before him were the Six Idlers of the Bamboo Forest.

These few old seniors who had been famous for a long time were also covered in dust and dirt at this moment, all of them injured.

"The people of the Green Ram Temple made a move."

Liang Yu said coldly: "They used the Paper Crane Soul-Seeking Technique to find the hiding place of the Qingcheng Sect and even brought thousands of soldiers to besiege them."

"We warned the Qingcheng Sect and racked our brains to lure the pursuers away, only returning after circling in the mountain forest for several days."

"Apologies, I have troubled you seniors."

Li Yan hurriedly bowed, his face full of apology.

The Green Ram Temple and the Qingcheng Sect lived together in the Shu region and were very familiar with each other; it was not surprising that they could find their hiding place.

It was not easy for the Six Idlers of the Bamboo Forest to lure so many people away.

"Rest assured."

Situ Bo's old injuries had not yet healed, and he had fought continuously these past few days, his face somewhat pale. He advised: "The ones who came from Qingcheng are all elite experts, and the Sword Altar is famous throughout the world; it's no joke. They will definitely succeed in one stroke."

"Mm."

Li Yan nodded, but there was a vague sense of unease in his heart.

It was now the twelfth day of the first lunar month.

These past few days, they had been lurking in Chengdu Prefecture, either creating chaos or investigating intelligence, circling with the Prince of Shu's mansion to attract attention.

Logically speaking, Lu Sheng should have sent experts to hunt them down, and he had even used gunpowder to set traps in advance, thinking of killing one or two.

However, those experts from the Prince of Shu's mansion had not appeared at all.

Either they were too cautious.

Or, they had more important matters.

On the Dujiangyan side, although there was a Gang-strength expert like Zhao Jie, facing the siege of Qingcheng experts, he likely wouldn't fare well either.

What exactly does Lu Sheng want to do...

Thinking of this, Li Yan's heart grew more and more suspicious.

Dong, dong, dong!

Just at this moment, rhythmic knocking sounded on the door.

Immediately following, three figures leaped over the courtyard wall; it was Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan, escorting a person between them.

Looking at his attire, that person was just an ordinary commoner. His new clothes for the New Year were messy, he was bound with hemp rope, and a piece of broken cloth was stuffed in his mouth.

"Woo~ woo~"

His eyes were blood-red, and he struggled incessantly.

"Daoist, what is the meaning of this?"

Li Yan sized him up and asked with a frown.

"The evil curse has appeared."

Wang Daoxuan's expression was solemn as he pulled the broken cloth from the man's mouth.

"Roar—!"

As soon as he was released, the man let out a low roar, like a wild beast. His eyes were full of madness, and he wriggled his body, wanting to open his mouth to bite Sha Lifei beside him.

"Behave!"

Sha Lifei kicked him away and cursed: "On the way back, I discovered this person going crazy on the street, smashing things and biting people everywhere."

"Originally, I couldn't be bothered to pay attention, but the Daoist said this person's evil curse had erupted, so I knocked him out and carried him back."

"By the way, we had just left when a team of garrison soldiers came to arrest people. Fortunately, we left quickly..."

While he was speaking, the others also surrounded them.

Wen Song of the Six Idlers of the Bamboo Forest stepped forward, flicked the Yin-Yang brush in his hand, and with a rip, tore open the man's upper clothing.

The crowd's expressions immediately turned solemn.

They saw that on the man's chest, the "Joy God Money" was already covered in rust, having lost its previous luster.

And under the skin where the money hung, a huge scar had appeared, black and green, with a pattern exactly the same as the Joy God Money. Surrounding this scar, blood vessels were black and bulging, like vertical-forked black lines, spreading to all parts of his body.

"Ah—!"

The man suddenly let out a roar, his muscles bulging, actually snapping the hemp rope on his body and pouncing toward Li Yan.

Slap, slap, slap!

After taking only two steps, Wen Song beside him waved his Yin-Yang brush, using an acupoint-striking technique to point at several spots on his body in succession.

The insane commoner immediately became stiff, unable to move.

The judge's brush was adept at acupoint striking, but it required different techniques and force, and had to be coordinated with the flow of Qi and blood according to the twelve earthly branches. It was difficult to learn and difficult to master.

To be so effortless, he was clearly an expert in this field.

"Senior has good methods."

Li Yan praised him and stepped forward to check.

After getting closer, he felt it even more clearly.

He could smell a cold incense and fire aura flowing through his body along the blood vessels, finally converging at the scar.

!

Liang Yu also stepped forward, grabbing his wrist to check the pulse, lost in thought: "The pulse is chaotic and weak, pressing it shows no strength, the virtual Yang is excited on the outside, but in reality, the divine soul is scattered and the Qi and blood are deficient."

As he spoke, he looked at the eerie scar. "This thing is devouring his Qi and blood and also absorbing his divine soul. This person's soul has long been incomplete, which is why he went mad."

Hearing this, the crowd looked at each other in dismay.

Liang Yu was proficient in medicine, so his judgment was naturally correct.

"What a wicked person!"

Sha Lifei gasped. "Could this madman really be planning to blood-sacrifice all the commoners in the city?"

Li Yan hurriedly looked at Wang Daoxuan. "How are the other commoners?"

He had been active frequently in recent days, even acting in the street, assassinating more than a dozen Black Feather Guards, and his portrait had long been spread throughout the streets and alleys, and his aura had been leaked.

The Black Feather Guards of the Prince of Shu's manor spent their days dragging around mountain-guarding hounds to search, even offering high rewards that left many martial artists and local scoundrels in the city restless.

To prevent accidents, they could only temporarily stay in the old residence.

These days, only Wang Daoxuan and Sha Lifei were investigating outside.

Wang Daoxuan said in a deep voice: "Although there aren't many madmen, the other commoners are also somewhat wrong. You'll know if you take a look."

The crowd did not hesitate and immediately disguised themselves to go out.

It was now the twelfth day of the first lunar month, the "Market Opening Day" of the Lantern Festival.

Chengdu Prefecture's Lantern Festival was famous throughout the world, and this year was no exception. Along both sides of the street, bamboo and wooden lantern sheds had long been erected, and all kinds of flower lanterns, palace lanterns, and horse-racing lanterns were dazzling, stretching as far as the eye could see.

On the main street, pedestrians were like weaving shuttles.

It was as if all the commoners in the city had run out onto the street.

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month in Chengdu Prefecture, there were two customs.

One was "Touring the Silkworm God."

Chengdu Prefecture had been prosperous in the silk weaving industry since ancient times, and Shu brocade was famous throughout the world. The twelfth day of the first lunar month was the birthday of the Horse-Head Lady (Silkworm God).

The second was worshipping the "Smallpox Goddess."

To avoid the calamity of smallpox for children, the commoners of Chengdu Prefecture all asked Daoists to dot cinnabar marks on the children's foreheads and burn "Smallpox Boats" in the river, chanting the "Scripture of Sending Smallpox."

It could be said that tonight was the first day the Lantern Festival began.

The carnival lasting several days also began from this point.

However, the crowd soon discovered that something was wrong.

The commoners touring the city, looking at the flower lanterns on the street, pointing and gesturing, all had flushed faces, carrying an abnormal, fanatical smile...

All the flower lantern tents were covered in red curtains like blood.

According to custom, they should have been colorful, but all the merchants, without exception, had hung up red.

Silkworm farmers carried the Horse-Head Lady on bamboo sedans to tour, and the surrounding commoners crowded around, even fighting on the ground to snatch positions.

"Beat him to death! Beat him to death!"

No one tried to persuade them; instead, they all roared fanatically.

Even the children laughed shrilly as they set off firecrackers among the crowds.

The entire Chengdu Prefecture was already immersed in a fanatical atmosphere.

"Shopkeeper, why are red curtains hung this year?"

Li Yan casually found a wine shop to inquire.

"Guest, this is the Prince's mansion's request."

The shopkeeper also had a flushed face, sweat seeping from his forehead, and laughed excitedly: "They said it's to commemorate the fallen soldiers. This idea is truly not bad; red cloth looks festive and lively, and the commoners all like it."

As he spoke, he licked his lips abnormally.

"Tsk, tsk, Shopkeeper, didn't you feel something was amiss?"

Looking at his flushed face, Sha Lifei couldn't help but ask.

"What's amiss?"

The shopkeeper glared at him and laughed loudly: "This old man only feels refreshed. In this lifetime, I've never been so happy."

"The Immortal Money bestows blessings!"

Suddenly, a drunkard holding "Joy God Money" walked into the wine shop, swaying, calling out: "Give me wine! Give me wine!"

The guests in the wine shop saw this and immediately rushed up.

After a scuffle, someone snatched the "Joy God Money" and ran.

The others chased after him one after another, and even the shopkeeper cursed and chased after him, lifting his wide robes.

It seemed that the "Joy God Money" had a great attraction.

"Crazy, all crazy!"

Seeing this, Sha Lifei couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"What a terrifying curse artifact!"

Wen Song, the judge's brush, also had horror in his eyes, muttering: "The whole city is cursed, impossible, Zhao Jie absolutely doesn't have this ability..."

Li Yan took out a "Joy God Money" from his bosom.

This was found on the body of the insane commoner earlier.

It was covered in rust, and its spiritual charm had dissipated.

The curse hidden inside had already invaded the commoners' bodies.

Li Yan rubbed the rusty copper coin, lost in thought, looking toward the Prince of Shu's mansion in the city. "This thing is just a medium."

"The true source should be in the Prince's mansion."

As he spoke, he turned his head to ask: "How is it on San'er's side?"

Sha Lifei replied in a low voice: "Pretty much figured it out. The secret passage leading to the Prince's mansion has been deliberately blocked. It should be that bastard, the Young Master Wuxiang, who did it."

"Mm."

Li Yan lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "There's no time. Before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, we will act and transport all the gunpowder packages to the Prince of Shu's mansion."

"There must be a main formation in the Prince's mansion. Once we blow it up, it should be able to lift the curse."

Whoosh~

Just at this moment, a cold wind blew.

The originally clear sky quickly became gloomy.

Sha Lifei shivered, raised his palm, looked at the overcast sky, and saw flakes of snow falling, muttering: "This weather is also evil; why is it snowing again?"

In the blink of an eye, the sky was overcast with clouds.

Rumble!

Accompanied by the sound of thunder, thousands of goose-feather snowflakes fell, rolled by the wild wind, fluttering up and down, shrouding the entire Chengdu Prefecture.

"Careful, something is not quite right..."

Li Yan only felt his heart pounding.

He hurriedly looked up, feeling an inexplicable sense of oppression.

The snow filled the sky, falling larger and larger.

In less time than it takes to smoke half a bag of tobacco, it had already dyed Chengdu Prefecture white.

On the river channel several miles away, the people of the Qingcheng Sect looked up one after another.

"Terrible, we're late..."

Mingshanzi looked into the distance, his face ugly.

Li Yan and the others were in the city, only feeling that it had suddenly snowed.

But in their eyes, the entire Chengdu Prefecture was indeed shrouded in white dense fog.

Slowly wriggling, it seemed to want to swallow the entire capital city...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 597 =====