Chapter 611: The Thunder Decree

Seeing Li Yan take out the hook-decree, Li Wenyuan's body trembled.

He had come from the Great Luo Dala Fajie; although he harbored evil intentions, if he were truly fearless, he would not have remained hidden and masked for so many years.

The appearance of Wen Lingguan's power earlier had already left him trembling with fear.

If the Thunder Department were to come and make an arrest, there would truly be no way out.

"Ignore him!"

Lu San gritted his teeth and whispered, "Under the divine might of the Nine Cauldrons, his hook-decree cannot summon the Yin soldiers or the Thunder Department at all!"

What he said was indeed correct.

Li Yan had seen the two of them earlier, but the hook-decree had lost its resonance; coupled with the sneak attack by the Blood Nuo Master Ba Daiza, he had been forced to retreat.

The two of them had calculated exactly this, which was why they were completely uninhibited.

With their cultivation and arts, as long as they obtained the Nine Cauldrons, it was not impossible for them to escape amidst the chaotic army.

The two of them's real trouble was the Nine Cauldrons.

These Nine Cauldrons shuttled through the dragon veins of the Shenzhou and had long been refined into something mysterious and extraordinary; they were like fierce, large fish in a river—even the Dragon Palace Water Mansion could not trap them for long.

Moreover, the Nine Cauldrons had not yet completely broken away from the Dragon Palace.

If they did not seize the time, they would drift away again with the earth Qi of the dragon veins.

Thinking of this, the two of them gritted their teeth and continued forward.

Their cultivation was profound; even though returning to life through possession or descending to the mortal world to be reincarnated would cause their cultivation to drop, the strength of their spirits was beyond doubt.

Under the terrifying divine might of the Nine Cauldrons, the two of them were still slowly approaching.

The animal skin in their hands was also no ordinary object.

It was a spirit beast from the high plateau, resembling a yak, but possessing the bloodline of a Kui ox within its body. It was huge, often howled at night, and its sound could shake a hundred miles; once demons and ghosts heard it, their souls would scatter in terror.

This spirit beast was regarded as a god by the people of the snow region.

Many years ago, Lu San infiltrated the high plateau and, with the help of the Black Sect lama Dorje Tashi, slaughtered this spirit beast, carved the ancient Map of the Nine Provinces and the Map of the Yu Gong Waterways onto it, and used it to capture the Nine Cauldrons.

The two of them endured the excruciating pain, moving their footprints step by step.

On the other side, Li Yan's expression was also ferocious.

Lu San and his companion's plan was correct; a simple hook-decree, under the divine might of the Nine Cauldrons, indeed could not summon the Yin soldiers and the Thunder Department.

However, his hook-decree was not ordinary.

With the help of the jade accessory left behind by Yin Changsheng, the hook-decree's sensing power far exceeded the norm.

In the Netherworld, he could steal conversations between Yin gods through barriers; why couldn't he do it here?

Holding onto a sliver of faith, Li Yan endured the pain in his spirit and concentrated all his mental energy to sense through the hook-decree.

Having captured Yin criminals several times, he was already very familiar with the process.

The reason the hook-decree was mysterious was that it contained a strand of pure innate Yin Qi; upon finding a Yin criminal, one would trigger the Yin Qi with their divine sense and recite the incantation, which would summon Yin soldiers to come and make the arrest.

To use a common analogy:

There is a wall between the Great Luo Dala Fajie and the mortal world.

Any method of summoning is essentially opening a hole in that wall.

But there are two ways to "open a hole."

The first is like how he uses the "Gang Decree" to summon Yin soldiers, the "Bing-Ding Ghost-Birthing Talisman" to summon Wen Lingguan, or how the Mystic Sect summons "Register Soldiers"—all are opened from the mortal side.

It requires specific ritual implements, and the amount of power one can summon depends on their own ability.

Just like with Wen Lingguan earlier; if Li Yan's cultivation had been higher and the Jingyang Dharma Altar he set up had been stronger, the power transmitted by Wen Lingguan would have been enough to solve all problems.

The second is "opening a hole" from the opposite side.

For example, when he uses his identity as a living Yin official to capture Yin criminals, uses his identity as a Heavenly Official to capture immortals who have descended to the lower realm, or when the Mystic Sect petitions to suppress demons causing chaos in the mortal world, all of these consume power from the other side.

The key to this method is identity.

Unfortunately, no matter how Li Yan concentrated his spirit, under the divine might of the Nine Cauldrons, he could not sense that strand of Yin Qi within the hook-decree.

Meanwhile, Lu San and Li Wenyuan on the opposite side had already approached the Nine Cauldrons, recited incantations simultaneously, and slowly raised the spirit beast skin bag in their hands...

Just as Li Yan was feeling anxious, he suddenly sensed another power.

It was a strand of pure innate Gang Qi, carrying a violent aura; just sensing it made his hair stand on end.

It was the Thunder Department!

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Yan immediately formed seals and recited incantations.

He held the hook-decree in his right hand, suddenly flipped it to reveal the Heavenly Official Talisman on the back, simultaneously stepped out in a Gang pattern, formed the "Jade Purity Seal" with his left hand, wrote the "Thunder Ancestor's Taboo Name" in the void toward the east, and loudly recited:

"Three Realms of the Upper Purity, Jade Talismans connect to the Truth. I now petition and report, Thunder Fire Flying Stars. Taiyi saves from suffering, transmit to the Merit Official. The Thirty-Six Cave Thunder Department Generals, obey my Heavenly Official's decree, act urgently like the Hunyuan Red Script Law!"

This incantation was called the "Heavenly Official's Thunder Decree to Suppress Evil."

Having learned it from Juechenzi, this was the first time Li Yan had used it; with no experience, he could only follow the rules strictly.

Fortunately, the ritual was not affected.

Zzzzt~

Electric light flickered, and Li Yan felt his whole body go numb.

Arcs of electricity leaped across his body; Li Yan's eyes gathered blue thunder light as he looked up at the sky.

Seemingly receiving some kind of traction, the sky suddenly flashed with lightning and rumbled with thunder.

According to the "Fahai Yizhu," Thunder Arts do not rely solely on one's own strength but truly carry out punishment under Heavenly Law; usually, internal cultivation is the foundation, complemented by visualization and various altar rituals.

Li Yan summoning the Thunder Department in his capacity as a Heavenly Official also belonged to the Thunder Arts.

"How is this possible?!"

Li Wenyuan, who was about to approach the Nine Cauldrons, felt his scalp go numb.

Li Yan had been watching him cast the incantation earlier, so he had already locked onto him.

In an instant, he perceived the pressure and killing intent coming from the sky, and it grew stronger along with the thunder.

"Ignore it, get the item first!"

Seeing him stop, Lu San immediately scolded.

"Bullshit!"

Li Wenyuan was immediately furious upon hearing this.

He had long known Lu San's character; he appeared to respect the virtuous and condescend to the lowly, but in reality, he was extremely selfish. So many loyal subordinates had died, yet there was not a ripple in his heart.

Even for him, an immortal who had descended to the lower realm, Lu San was just using him.

It sounded nice, but it wasn't him being struck by Heavenly Thunder!

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Wenyuan directly dropped the skin bag in his hand, stepped out in a Lotus pattern, retreated rapidly, took a detour, and attacked toward Li Yan.

Amidst the divine might of the Nine Cauldrons, he was similarly unable to use arts and could only use martial arts, but the weapon in his hand was somewhat special.

Li Wenyuan stepped out in a Gang pattern; although there was no fluctuation of Gang-Sha Qi, his figure flickered, and his speed was extremely fast.

This was a pure Daoist movement technique, elegant and mysterious.

And his weapon was also different from the rest.

As he approached Li Yan, Li Wenyuan suddenly accelerated, flicked his right hand, and a bamboo talisman staff extended from his sleeve.

It was ink-colored like iron, carved with inscriptions, and sharp at the front.

In his past life, Li Wenyuan was a fangshi from Mount Jiuyi, often gathering herbs in deep mountains and great marshes rarely visited by humans; the bamboo talisman staff in his hand could not only cast arts but also kill fierce beasts.

When he shed his mortal body to ascend to godhood, he used the "Sending Staff Method," so he was extremely proficient with this object, nearing the Dao, and was skilled at striking acupoints and sealing meridians.

Coupled with techniques like the "Meridian-Cutting Hand" and "Star-Pointing Finger," these were all ancient martial arts of the Daoist gate.

Although it was not a sharp blade, its killing intent was even greater.

In the blink of an eye, it stabbed toward Li Yan's fatal acupoints on his head.

He came from the Great Luo Dala Fajie and knew quite a few things.

The power of the Thunder Department had not yet completely descended; as long as he killed Li Yan, he could stop the Lei Jie. If he turned and left, even if he fled to the ends of the earth, he would be struck dead by Heavenly Thunder.

Meanwhile, Li Yan was still looking at the firmament with eyes full of thunder light.

He seemed to have no defense against the danger.

Clang!

Just as the bamboo staff stabbed over, there was the sound of a sword ringing in the thick fog.

A sword light parted the white fog, neither deviating nor leaning, colliding exactly with the tip of the staff; although it was only sword art, the surrounding Gang wind temporarily ceased.

Li Wenyuan's expression changed slightly, and then he became ferocious.

"Junior, you're courting death!"

He had already guessed who the newcomer was.

Being able to influence the surrounding Gang-Sha Qi with sword art alone was only possible because it was imbued with pure sword intent, nearing the Dao.

In this region of Shu, the only person who could practice sword art to this realm was that Cheng Jianxian, who had suppressed Shu for decades.

But compared to him, he was undoubtedly still a junior.

Sure enough, Cheng Jianxin, with his full head of white hair dancing, holding a long sword, had already appeared from the thick fog, expressionless, blocking in front of Li Yan.

Li Wenyuan gritted his teeth, flicked his wrist lightly, and the bamboo staff bent instantly; while deflecting the tip of the sword, he used its powerful elasticity to spring out at an even faster speed, stabbing toward Li Yan's brow.

His arts were stronger, but having ascended to godhood for many years, his understanding of martial arts was at most a notch lower than Cheng Jianxin's.

Killing and defending were inherently different in difficulty.

What's more, this Cheng Jianxian before him was already aged and, relying on his powerful sword intent, was burning all his potential; within the range of the Nine Cauldrons' divine might, he simply could not last long.

Clang, clang, clang!

Staff shadows and sword lights collided, and the sound of dragon roars was constant.

Li Wenyuan used the Yu Step combined with staff-striking techniques, capable of both overcoming hardness with softness and using the characteristics of the bamboo staff to execute moves with completely different forces.

His figure flickered around Li Yan, staff shadows turning and ambushing, carrying terrifying killing intent as they stabbed toward Li Yan's fatal acupoints.

"Wind Sweeping Willow," "Splitting Stone Piercing Clouds"...

Each move was more ruthless than the last, each move faster than the last.

However, Cheng Jianxin just stood in front of Li Yan, his expression calm, his long sword stabbing out time and again, sometimes even stabbing into empty space.

It seemed to have no traces to follow, but it was like a game of chess; the tip of the sword was the chess piece, and every time it landed, it was just right to deflect the bamboo staff.

Rumble!

The thunder in the sky grew increasingly fierce.

The thick fog over Chengdu Prefecture suddenly stagnated.

The dense clouds were like ink, yet no raindrops fell; streaks of cyan-white electric light wandered between the cracks in the clouds, resembling dragons and snakes shedding scales.

On the square, many people's hair stood on end.

In the air, there also appeared a faint, scorching scent.

"Brother Yan has succeeded!"

Wang Daoxuan saw this and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

This was "Heavenly Thunder Sha Qi," which usually appeared before the Lei Jie fell; back at Lake Liangzi, when Mount Long Hu summoned Heavenly Thunder, this sign had appeared.

Summoning the Thunder Department meant that Li Yan was about to succeed.

This Thunder Department was different from the Wen Lingguan from earlier; the power it relied on came from the Heavenly Court, and once it appeared, the demon would surely die.

"Ah—!"

Li Wenyuan grew increasingly impatient, disregarding everything, pressing forward, willing to suffer heavy injuries just to kill Li Yan.

Pfft!

Cheng Jianxin's sword blade pierced through his left chest.

Li Wenyuan ignored it, pressing forward against the blade, the bamboo staff stabbing out fiercely, heading straight for Li Yan's brow.

Pfft!

Another sound, blood splattering everywhere.

It was Cheng Jianxin's other hand, directly blocking in front of Li Yan; after being pierced by the bamboo staff, he deflected the tip of the staff.

Cheng Jianxin could not last long, and this battle would surely end in his death, but looking at this, he was determined to take him down with him before he died.

"You..."

Li Wenyuan was furious and flicked his wrist in the momentum.

In an instant, flesh and blood splattered; Cheng Jianxin's left palm and forearm were actually directly pulverized.

However, he did not fare well either.

Cheng Jianxin also pulled his sword in the momentum, the blade inverted, and with a *whoosh*, opened a long gash in his chest.

Just at this moment, anomalies appeared again in the surroundings.

Zzzzt~

The snow on the ground of the square had long been blown away by the Gang wind; in the cracks of the exposed bricks, fine electric light surged, crackling and popping.

The bricks used on this square were "Gold Bricks."

They were not cast from real gold but were mixed with metal when fired; they could emit a metallic sound when struck and were extremely sturdy, usable only by the Imperial family.

With the Thunder Department about to appear, the Gold Bricks generated static electricity.

Although it did not hurt people, it looked hair-raising.

Not only that, the swords and spears in the hands of the soldiers and martial arts experts watching outside the air vortex vibrated and hummed, the warhorses raised their hooves in panic, and their manes stood straight up like steel needles.

Rumble!

Another clap of Heavenly Thunder, the sound of thunder deep and heavy like a giant drum.

Everyone who heard it felt a tightness in their chests and blackness before their eyes.

And in that ink-colored, dense sky, with every rumble of thunder, branch-like lightning tore through the sky.

Vaguely, it seemed to form some kind of talisman pattern.

Many cultivators looked up and watched intently, not daring to look away.

This was the source of the Mystic Sect's Thunder Patterns.

If someone died due to Heavenly Thunder, vertical-forked thunder patterns would appear on their body, forming a talisman; this was the foundation of Thunder Arts.

Whether or not one practiced Thunder Arts, this was a rare opportunity.

Ah!

Li Wenyuan's scalp went numb, and he turned and ran.

He knew that the Thunder Department had already descended.

And this Heavenly Thunder was not impossible to avoid.

Like some demons, they would often hide in temples or rooms with people, using their aura to cover themselves and avoid disaster.

His treatment, naturally, could not be compared to those small demons.

The only chance was to hide under the Nine Cauldrons.

According to Lu San and his companions, the Nine Cauldrons now gathered the dragon Qi of the Shenzhou and were extraordinarily mysterious; once collected, they could even overturn the Dala Fajie.

Resisting the Heavenly Tribulation was not without a chance.

Li Wenyuan's speed was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, he approached the Nine Cauldrons.

The divine might of the Nine Cauldrons made his spirit ache as if it were about to be torn apart, but at this moment, he disregarded everything and dove under the cauldron.

"Get lost!"

Lu San, who was about to cover it with the skin bag, saw this and was immediately furious.

This Li Wenyuan, if he died, he died; if he were affected by the Heavenly Thunder and caused the Nine Cauldrons to break away, that would be truly unlucky.

However, it was already too late.

Li Yan in the distance was surrounded by thunder light, crackling and popping, slowly hovering; even Cheng Jianxin avoided him from afar.

It was a bit like the time at Mount Wudang when the Thunder Fire refined the hall.

To ordinary people, it was just constant thunderstorms in the sky.

But Li Yan, in the dark, could see thunder light flickering on the dense clouds, with human figures vaguely flickering.

A flash of inspiration struck him; he suddenly lowered his head, pointed the hook-decree in his hand at Li Wenyuan, and simultaneously snorted coldly: "Execute!"

Boom!

The sound of thunder roared like an explosion.

The world was suddenly brilliant white.

The intense light made everyone close their eyes.

What they didn't see was a white thunder light as thick as a bucket above the clouds, instantly connecting heaven and earth; as it fell, it even took a turn, directly striking Li Wenyuan, who was full of terror.

With a roar, Li Wenyuan had no time to resist and was directly blown away, turning into a charred corpse, rolling on the ground, torn to pieces.

The Thunder Department's execution was peerless in divine might.

With just one strike, it caused his soul to scatter.

Immediately after, the thunder voice in the air dissipated rapidly.

Similar to summoning the Yin Department's troops, Li Yan could only target and could not command; after eliminating the Heavenly Court's fugitive, the Thunder Department returned on its own.

Li Wenyuan was dead, but the matter was not over yet.

Seemingly affected by the Heavenly Thunder, the divine might of the Nine Cauldrons weakened slightly, and taking this opportunity, Lu San was full of joy and covered the Jingzhou Cauldron with the skin bag...

(End of chapter)