Chapter 612

The skin of the strange spirit beast was indeed useful.

Hum!

As the animal skin fell, it actually resonated with the divine might of the Nine Cauldrons, trembling constantly; the ancient Map of the Nine Provinces and the Map of the Yu Gong Waterways carved on the top were also lit up one after another, as if outlined with gold thread.

As if lifted by a force, the speed at which the animal skin fell was very slow, but it never stopped.

Finally, the animal skin covered the Nine Cauldrons.

Almost instantly, the divine might of the Nine Cauldrons disappeared, the golden light on the surface dissipated, and even the Gang-Sha Qi circling around it disappeared rapidly.

Treasures in this world all have their own nemesis.

Some things with fierce power that look mysterious and profound have items that restrain them, which might not look eye-catching at all.

It is not strange to say.

This spirit beast had the "bloodline of a Kui ox."

In ancient times, it was made into a war drum by the Yellow Emperor, its sound shaking five hundred miles; it had the innate divine ability to communicate with heaven and earth and suppress the earth's veins, echoing with the Nine Cauldrons. Moreover, it had been worshipped with incense for years in the snow region and already possessed divine charm.

After Great Yu controlled the floods, he "cast the Nine Cauldrons to symbolize the Nine Provinces," and the Nine Cauldrons were also inscribed with the mountains, rivers, and terrain of the Nine Provinces.

Lu San carving the Map of the Nine Provinces and the Map of the Yu Gong Waterways onto it was a kind of divine-deceiving method, allowing the Nine Cauldrons to find peace.

Of course, these were all stopgap measures.

The spirit beast skin could not last long either.

Before the Nine Cauldrons erupted again, it had to be taken away and sealed with secret methods, waiting for the other Nine Cauldrons to be gathered.

Meanwhile, the white air vortex formed by the Gang-Sha Qi also disappeared completely, and the scene in the square was seen by everyone.

Looking at the divine cauldron that had lost its radiance, the one-armed Cheng Jianxin, and Li Yan, who was still covered in flickering electric arcs and motionless, everyone already had their guesses in their hearts.

"Quick, stop him!"

The injured Ming Shanzi had just arrived and immediately shouted upon seeing this.

Everyone leaped forward one after another, and Sha Lifei also raised his firelock.

Watching everyone attack, Lu San smiled coldly and, without the slightest hesitation, took out five tokens from his bosom and threw them directly onto the ground.

"Swift!"

With a shout, a violent wind suddenly rose in the surroundings.

Rolling black fog rose, and vaguely, five black human figures could be seen circling Lu San and the divine cauldron.

The Great Method of the Five Ghosts Moving!

Everyone felt anxious upon seeing this.

There are many kinds of Five Ghosts Moving methods in the Mystic Sect.

For example, in the "Wan Fa Gui Zong," there is the "Five Ghosts Mixing Heaven Method," which commands the five ghosts, using copper coins or gold ingots as a medium to cast the "Five Ghosts Moving Wealth Incantation."

After completion, one must "distribute grain to reward the gods," otherwise one will surely suffer a backlash.

Folk Dharma lineages also have various "Five Ghosts Moving Wealth Arts," which need to be cast in coordination with the Five Ghosts flags, but many people know that "the five ghosts are not fierce spirits, but the five directions' poverty gods; moving wealth will surely damage Yin virtue."

This art exists everywhere in the Divine Land, and even ordinary people know it; there is even a proverb in the Jiang-Zhe region:

"The five ghosts move a golden mountain, the King of Hell comes to claim a life at the third watch."

But the true Great Method of the Five Ghosts Moving is actually a kind of escape technique.

Once the five ghosts rise, one can be a hundred miles away in an instant.

The five ghosts used by Lu San were clearly not ordinary things; their aura was so fierce that it even far exceeded some local gods of small temples.

Boom!

Sha Lifei fired his gun first.

The other garrison soldiers on the square, although they didn't know the reason, also fired their guns one after another at Zhao Xianda's signal.

For a time, the sound of gunfire on the square was constant.

Lu San even disregarded the damage to his demon gourd and summoned a swarm of poisonous bees, which roared down in a black mass, rushing toward the black fog.

Others also cast their own arts, trying to stop Lu San.

However, all the attacks were like mud cows entering the sea; after being swallowed by the swirling black fog, they disappeared without a trace.

Everyone felt a chill in their hearts; they knew that these bullets, poisonous bees, and crossbow arrows were probably already moved away.

This was the power of the Five Ghosts Moving escape technique.

But they had to stop the other party from succeeding.

With the appearance of the Nine Cauldrons, the vibration of the earth's veins grew increasingly intense; the square where they stood trembled rumblingly, and cracks appeared in the bricks.

Tiles fell from the palace walls in the distance, and huge gaps split open.

The construction of the Shu King's Palace had taken a long time, starting from the previous dynasty; later, because the palace city was old, the current Emperor even rewarded silver to renovate it, making it the center of Chengdu Prefecture.

Since it had been damaged here, one could imagine that many houses must have collapsed elsewhere.

Facing such a great calamity, they naturally had to find a way to stop it.

However, they had been blocked outside earlier, and coupled with Lu San's mysterious Five Ghosts Moving art, it was already a bit too late.

Clang!

Just at this moment, the sound of a sword ringing sounded again.

It was still Cheng Jianxin.

This old man burned his life to help Li Yan block the descended immortal Li Wenyuan; his left arm was shattered, and he had reached the end of his life, but he just tried his best to stand in place, refusing to fall.

His full head of white hair had lost its luster and was falling out strand by strand.

His skin was even more aged, his face full of deathly aura.

Seemingly hearing everyone's shouts, the long sword in Cheng Jianxin's hand vibrated and let out a mournful sound, and his turbid eyes opened again.

He raised his hand and swung the sword.

Clang!

The sword roared like a dragon, carrying a dazzling cold light.

At the last moment of his life, Cheng Jianxin seemed to step into a certain realm; even though his lamp was dry and his oil exhausted, he used the art of a Cheng Jianxian.

The sword roared like a dragon, yet there was not the slightest killing aura.

Everyone felt a blur before their eyes, and a scene seemed to appear in their minds: the streets of Chengdu, pedestrians coming and going, the sounds of shouting and trading gathering, full of the smoke and fire of the human world.

"Master..."

Chang Tianque's tears flowed down with a *whoosh*.

He remembered his travels with Cheng Jianxin along the way; the other party had no airs of a Cheng Jianxian at all, but instead laughed and scolded, loving nothing more than to mingle with peddlers and porters.

At this moment, he understood his master's sword Dao.

The world only knew of Cheng Jianxian's peerless demeanor and his sword that suppressed Shu, thinking it was purely due to talent and hard cultivation, but they did not know that this peerless sword was born out of protection.

A sword of the mortal world, how could it rashly ascend to the Heavenly Palace?

And wherever this sword light passed, the black fog dissipated completely, and the few black shadows within it collapsed and scattered almost instantly.

"Courting death!"

As the black fog dissipated, Lu San's furious voice sounded.

He had not expected that he had calculated everything, only to be stopped by this dying old thing.

The Nine Cauldrons were heavy, and he was already trapped in heavy encirclement; with numerous experts plus nearly ten thousand soldiers on the square and countless firelocks, even an immortal would have to kneel.

However, his fury was completely useless.

After executing this exquisite sword strike, Cheng Jianxin's vitality was completely severed; he raised his sword, lowered his head, and stood in place motionless, like a statue.

Lu San had nowhere to vent his fury; his figure flashed, and he arrived before Cheng Jianxin's corpse, his sleeves fluttering, Gang wind roaring in his hands, and he struck down with a palm.

"Ah!"

Chang Tianque's eyes were blood-red, and he rushed over crazily with his sword.

But at such a distance, it was far too late.

Slap!

However, just as Lu San's palm fell, a figure suddenly appeared before his eyes, colliding with his fist and palm.

It was Li Yan, who had awakened.

At this moment, Li Yan's image was also somewhat abnormal.

The Thunder Department's troops had already left, but on his body, electric arcs were still crackling and popping, and in his pupils, there was a blue glow.

Zzz~

Lu San felt his palm go numb and retreated hurriedly.

As expected of a remnant fangshi who had survived since the end of the Qin Dynasty, he just took one look and said with a gloomy face: "Thunder Department divine ability, humph, so they also know how to play tricks..."

His guess was correct.

At Mount Wudang when the Thunder Fire refined the hall, after Li Yan passed the test, the Soul-Hooking Lock had already been modified, integrating the Thunder Department's divine ability and becoming the Soul-Hooking Lei Suo.

This was also one of Li Yan's trump cards.

Using the thunder stored in the Soul-Hooking Lei Suo to cast the "Divine Transformation Method" was like the descent of a Thunder God; even that evil dragon in Shennongjia had been slaughtered by him.

However, the Soul-Hooking Lei Suo required consuming thunder; since entering Shu, Li Yan had never encountered a thunderstorm, so this trump card could not be used.

Summoning the Thunder Department this time finally replenished it completely.

What was even more wonderful was that as Li Wenyuan was struck dead by thunder, the Heavenly Official mission was completed, and the Thunder Department's reward was finally issued.

This was a strand of Innate Lei Gang.

It was somewhat similar to Divine Gang, but even more powerful.

After integrating it into the Soul-Hooking Lei Suo, the divine ability had a qualitative change; it could generate thunder on its own, and casting Thunder Arts became even more fierce.

Although casting the "Divine Transformation Method" would consume it rapidly and it would need to be accumulated slowly, at least he would no longer be restricted by the weather.

Li Yan had been in a state of self-forgetfulness earlier because he was doing this.

The people around saw this and were overjoyed.

Bang, bang, bang!

Dense gunfire sounded.

However, Lu San just dodged left and right, stepping out in a Gang pattern, as if he had clones, turning into several phantom shadows, changing in the directions of the Eight Trigrams; all the bullets fired were easily dodged by him.

"Humph!"

Lu San looked coldly at the Nine Cauldrons, a mocking smile appearing on his mouth, "Forget it, the Nine Cauldrons are out, the overall situation is settled; let's just leave this item with you for now!"

After saying this, his figure flashed, and he retreated rapidly.

Everyone saw this, and their hearts immediately turned cold.

It turned out that under the interference of the animal skin, the Jingzhou Cauldron had completely broken away and become a physical object, and the phantom of the Dragon Palace Water Mansion was also gradually dissipating.

Everyone immediately understood Lu San's meaning.

The Jingzhou Cauldron had already come into the world, and the disaster could not be saved.

This kind of terrifying thing, after the power of the animal skin disappeared, would emit divine might again, and they would not be able to handle it.

What was even more troublesome was that it would attract countless greedy people.

They would be exhausted dealing with them, while Lu San only needed to lurk in the dark and take the cauldron back at the appropriate time.

"Hahaha..."

Accompanied by bursts of wild laughter, Lu San's figure changed unpredictably, now left, now right, turning into phantom shadows, heading outside the palace.

His escape technique and movement were astonishing; experts along the way tried to stop him one after another, but no matter what means they used, all they caught were phantom shadows.

"You can't leave!"

A cold voice sounded.

Li Yan stood in the void, three feet off the ground, two Soul-Hooking Thunder Cables passing over his shoulders and back, thunder light crackling and popping, like the ribbons of a Thunder God fluttering.

Li Yan had already tried earlier; Lu San was carrying some kind of divine artifact, and the aura of the hook-decree could not sense him.

His cultivation could not compare to the other party's, so he could only use the "Divine Transformation Method," turning into a Thunder God body.

Unlike the transformation into a Nether God by borrowing the power of the Netherworld, Li Yan was now wrapped in the Soul-Hooking Lei Suo, and his speed and attack power were even more fierce.

Boom!

With a roar of thunder, Li Yan had already blocked Lu San's path.

"Hmm?"

Lu San was also taken aback, but his reaction was not slow; he immediately stepped out, and human figures flew back rapidly.

Not only that, he also formed seals and recited incantations, suddenly opening his mouth to spit out a breath of mist, which turned into white fog and surged.

In an instant, a violent wind rose in the surroundings, and the white fog expanded rapidly.

"Kill!"

Countless shouts of killing sounded from all directions.

Everyone was surprised to see dense armies rushing out of the thick fog, all wearing long tunics, leather belts around their waists, short pants, leggings, shallow shoes, and holding bows, crossbows, daggers, and spears.

Their attire was ancient, and their killing intent soared to the sky.

It was the Qin army that had once swept across the world and unified the six states.

Wang Daoxuan and the others knew it was an illusion, but the soldiers on the square did not know; shocked by the momentum of the Qin army, they frantically formed formations and fired.

For a time, firelight splattered, and coupled with the increasingly obvious earthquake, the entire square was in chaos.

The soldiers fired wildly, and many people were injured.

Even Cui Bai among the Six Leisurely Ones of the Bamboo Forest had his arm broken by a firelock.

Everyone was furious, but the white fog surged before their eyes, and illusions were born one after another; many illusion-breaking arts could not be used.

"Hahaha..."

Lu San laughed wildly and retreated rapidly.

He was a fangshi from the Qin Dynasty and was inherently skilled in illusion arts; back then, he even left behind the legend of the immortal "Lu Ao wandering the North Sea," recorded in the "Taiping Guangji," which even people in the Mystic Sect had never seen through.

In the Tang Dynasty, he disguised himself as a Confucian scholar and spread the legend of the "Yun Zhong Jun Divine Palace," trying to lure cultivators to explore it for profit; although he did not succeed, he stole a strand of the Yun Zhong Jun's smoke-cloud Gang Qi from the Divine Palace and refined it into a divine ability.

The divine ability was called "Cloud Illusion Method," which could use the fog of the Yunmeng Great Marsh to construct an illusionary realm, and coupled with the Yu Step to dodge and move, he did not fear encirclement.

However, this illusion art did not deceive Li Yan.

At this moment, Li Yan was wrapped in Lei Gang, and the Gu-poison illusion art was useless against him; his figure turned into several streaks of thunder light, flickering and blocking Lu San again.

"Courting death!"

Killing intent also rose in Lu San's heart.

His plan had originally been flawless.

But ever since Li Yan entered Shu, the accumulation of small matters had caused many loopholes in the originally meticulous plan, eventually leading to the current situation.

To say he wasn't furious would be a lie.

Taking advantage of the chaos on the square, it was the perfect time to kill!

Facing Li Yan's Thunder God transformation, Lu San was not afraid at all; with a *clang*, he drew the ancient bronze sword from his waist, stepped out in a Yu Step, and stabbed out fiercely.

Clang!

The sword light left its sheath and actually turned into three streaks of light.

This sword art was called "Taiyi Splitting Light Sword."

Back in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the hundred schools of thought contended, and all kinds of strange arts and techniques appeared; although many were destroyed because Qin later unified the world and burned books and buried scholars, as a cultivator from that time, Lu San naturally knew how to use it.

*Swoosh! *

Li Yan could not dodge in time; even with Lei Gang protecting his body, a gash was cut in his chest and ribs, and he was shocked in his heart.

What he did not know was that during that chaotic period, many people had cultivated Gang strength, and coupled with the protective body arts of the fangshi, corresponding methods of restraint were born accordingly.

This Taiyi Splitting Light Sword was one of them, specializing in breaking protective Gang strength.

Without the slightest nonsense, killing intent flickered in Lu San's eyes; he stepped out in a Yu Step, phantom shadows flickered, and sword shadows flew all over the sky, wrapping Li Yan from all directions.

*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh! *

Several more bloodstains appeared, and Li Yan was injured one after another.

"Well done!"

Li Yan was also not afraid at all; disregarding the wounds appearing on his body, he swung his saber, Lei Gang flashed, and he stabbed straight at Lu San.

He could not distinguish the sword shadows, but he could find Lu San's true body.

Lu San had no choice but to raise his sword to block.

Zzz~

But just at this moment, a large amount of Lei Gang suddenly gathered on Li Yan's Dust-Breaking Saber, even flashing with dazzling light.

His Dragon-Slaughtering Dust-Breaking Saber had already been re-refined by the Fire Head Monk; to exert its maximum power, it had to use Thunder Arts.

The more Lei Gang, the greater the power.

And what Li Yan lacked least now was the power of thunder.

Boom!

An explosive sound.

The ancient bronze sword in Lu San's hand shattered directly.

Although he tried his best to dodge, Li Yan's Dust-Breaking Saber also slashed down directly from his left shoulder, splitting into his chest.

"Roar!"

Lu San was driven mad by the pain; his palms suddenly raised, Gang Qi gathered in his palms, and the shattered sword blade actually gathered instantly, striking down with his palms.

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

Li Yan was immediately turned into a hedgehog, blood flowing like a river.

"Hehe~"

Lu San spat blood, his eyes full of viciousness, "Kid, you're very good, worthy of being chosen by them, but at worst I'll just change bodies; you're going to die here today!"

Just as he was feeling proud, his eyes suddenly went blank.

He saw the broken blade fragments on Li Yan's body being repelled by the Lei Gang, clattering as they fell, and the wounds were also recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"You..."

Lu San's mind went blank.

When a cultivator ascends to godhood, they basically have to shed their mortal body, but the physical body is the boat for crossing the tribulation; whether returning to life, descending to the mortal world, or taking over a body, one cannot do without a good body.

A martial artist's body is as precious as oil, and the same is true for a cultivator.

This kind of recovery speed, even a demon beast could not do it.

This kid... what kind of monster is he?

People like Lu San know many mysteries of heaven and earth and are deeply calculating; what they fear most are unexpected situations.

Li Yan's terrifying recovery ability had already raised fear in his heart; he wanted to leave quickly and figure out the situation first.

However, his chest suddenly felt empty, and he saw that Li Yan had already taken out a piece of ancient Qin jade wall, "Is it this?"

When Lu San saw this, his heart immediately turned cold.

This was a sacrificial vessel from the Qin Palace; he had stolen it from the Imperial Palace when he left, and he relied entirely on this object to avoid detection by the Heavenly Court and the Underworld.

If this were lost, his life would surely be forfeit.

Thinking of this, Lu San could not care about anything else and reached out to snatch it.

But just as his hand reached out, he saw Li Yan twist his left arm, using the "Splitting-Hanging Entangling Silk Hand," directly entangling his arm, and simultaneously swinging his saber, stabbing his heart twice in succession.

"Awoo~"

Lu San let out a miserable howl, black smoke spewing from his mouth.

This body of his had already been damaged and could only have his Yin spirit travel out to find another body to parasitize and take over.

The protective divine artifact was snatched away, and the hook-decree immediately reacted, vibrating and heating up rapidly.

At this moment, one only needed to recite the incantation to summon Yin soldiers to capture him and obtain a Gang Decree rewarded by the Underworld.

With Lu San's identity, there might even be other things.

However, Li Yan just narrowed his eyes and ignored the hook-decree, the two Soul-Hooking Thunder Cables on his shoulders roaring out, directly entangling Lu San's Yin spirit.

Crackle, pop, thunder light roared.

As Lu San's physical body was destroyed, his arts also lost their effect, and the smoke and clouds on the square dissipated rapidly.

Everyone only saw that after the dazzling thunder light roared, Li Yan's figure was revealed, his clothes tattered, and the wounds all over his body had already disappeared.

In his hand, he was still carrying Lu San's, or rather, the "Shu King's" head.

*Roll, roll, roll~*

Li Yan tossed it casually, and the head rolled to Zhao Xianda's feet, clearly wanting him to take it to report the mission.

Regarding this matter, Li Yan did not want to explain too much.

He knew that the real mastermind behind Lu San and his gang was in the Great Luo Dharma Realm, and who knows what kind of big shot it was.

Even if he were sent to the Underworld, he could still be protected.

To prevent accidents, even if he didn't want the reward, he had to kill him.

Everyone naturally did not know the reason for this.

They could not care about that either and looked at the Nine Cauldrons in the distance.

The animal skin covering it, at some point, had been hit by the wild gunfire, creating a large hole, and it could no longer suppress the Jingzhou Cauldron.

Hum, hum, hum!

Accompanied by a roaring sound, the divine cauldron emitted golden light again.

"What should we do?"

Sha Lifei looked at it, feeling a bit of a headache, and asked hurriedly.

However, the only response was silence.

Facing this kind of incomprehensible divine artifact, everyone did not know what to do and dared not act rashly.

At this moment, the vibration of the earth's veins within Chengdu Prefecture was already extremely intense.

If it were not handled well, it would probably spread immediately, causing countless casualties.

Just at this moment, Li Yan's heart stirred, and he looked toward the city gate.

He saw a person holding a three-pointed, double-edged saber, wearing a bronze Nuo mask, a dazzling golden light flickering between his brows, walking over with large strides.

It was Erlang Yang Jian.

At this moment, his aura had already disappeared, like a mortal.

More accurately, his aura had already merged with the surrounding heaven and earth.

Just walking simply seemed to carry a certain spiritual charm.

It was Erlang who, at that time, borrowed Wen Lingguan's divine fire to grind away the demon-evil Qi and merged with the aura of the successive Lords of Shu.

At this moment, he completely became the Lord of Shu.

It seemed like walking, but the scene before his eyes changed constantly; the light and shadow of this area from ancient times to the present flashed rapidly.

The so-called Lord of Shu is the protector of this land.

He naturally knew about the battle on the square earlier.

Facing everyone's complex gazes, Yang Jian did not pay attention but came before Cheng Jianxin's corpse, which was still standing, and pointed his finger slightly.

*Thump! *

Cheng Jianxin's corpse fell to the ground instantly.

"What are you doing?!"

Chang Tianque held his sword and roared angrily.

However, Yang Jian just turned his head to look, and Chang Tianque found himself stiff all over, unable to move.

"Ten years from now, Wang Family Village under Mount Qingcheng..."

A cold voice sounded in Chang Tianque's ear.

This voice was heard only by him.

Chang Tianque had a flash of inspiration, full of joy, and knelt down to kowtow.

Subsequently, Erlang Yang Jian came before Li Yan again, looking at him through the bronze Nuo mask, hesitated for a moment, slowly took off the Nuo mask, placed it in Li Yan's hand, and said coldly: "Perhaps it will be useful..."

A few words left Li Yan feeling inexplicable.

Looking at the bronze vertical-eye Nuo mask in his hand again,

Between the brows, it seemed to be faintly flashing...

After doing these things, Yang Jian came before the Jingzhou Cauldron.

At this time, the Jingzhou Cauldron was already flashing with golden light, emitting divine might.

However, Yang Jian's body remained upright; his three-pointed, double-edged saber turned, and he stabbed it fiercely into the ground, then pressed down on the divine cauldron.

"Ah——!"

His jade face was ferocious, and his strength exploded.

The rich incense Qi actually turned into visible golden light, as if golden flames were burning fiercely.

A violent wind roared, wrapping him together with the entire divine cauldron.

In an instant, everyone smelled the rich scent of incense.

Rumble!

The ground trembled, and the thick fog over Chengdu dissipated bit by bit.

The dazzling golden light made everyone reach out to cover their eyes.

From within the golden light came a clear voice:

"A thousand years of incense, all returned."

"I, am leaving..."

The golden light dissipated, and the area where the divine cauldron had been was empty.

Everyone felt something in their hearts and looked up at the sky.

The phantom of the Dragon Palace Water Mansion also drifted far away, and the thick fog and water Qi that had shrouded Chengdu turned into a drizzling rain and fell...

Chengdu Prefecture, the sound of weeping was constant.

Even though the calamity had passed, there were many casualties among the people.

Some went mad from curses and wandered, freezing to death on that snowy night...

Some were buried under collapsed walls before they had even woken up, not to mention the many soldiers and martial arts experts who died because of the battle at the Shu King's Palace.

Outside the ruins of the Royal Palace, Wang Daoxuan and the other cultivators held bells and recited scriptures to transcend the wandering spirits.

And near the Wu Hou Shrine outside Chengdu Prefecture, Cheng Jianxin's funeral was also underway, and many people from the martial world came to see him off.

Watching the coffin gradually being buried, many people sighed.

With Cheng Jianxian dead,

Perhaps it represents that that era is about to come to an end.

Li Yan was also among them, his expression solemn.

He was not familiar with this Cheng Jianxin, and the other party did not think much of him either, but fighting side by side at the last moment was also a kind of honor.

Chang Tianque, wearing mourning clothes, suddenly turned his head and asked: "Young Hero Li, Master told me to watch carefully, but my cultivation was insufficient and I didn't see clearly."

"How powerful... was that sword strike?"

"That sword strike, ah..."

Li Yan looked up, remembering the scene he saw when he was clear-headed.

"That sword strike buried a myth and exchanged it for the endless smoke and fire of the human world in the Brocade Official City..."

(End of chapter)