Chapter 632: The Black Curtain Emerges

"Xuanmo returns to Mang?"

Sha Lifei was confused, and seeing "Jin Jin Yanfeng" so excited, he couldn't help but complain, "I say, Old Senior, I haven't read much, can you explain it clearly?"

"Apologies, it was the old man's oversight."

"Jin Jin Yanfeng" suppressed his excitement and explained, "The reason the old man is excited is that this matter confirms my conjecture."

"This Wang Xuanmo was born into the Taiyuan Wang clan, which was also a famous and powerful family. His grandfather, Wang Lao, once served as the Administrator of Shanggu in Southern Yan, and his father died early; he was arrogant by nature since childhood, and later defected to Liu Yu."

"Official history records him with mixed reviews."

"In the 27th year of Xuan Yuan Jia, Emperor Wen of Song launched a northern expedition. Wang Xuanmo was appointed General of Ning Shuo, but he did not govern the army strictly, made strategic errors, and even retreated in the face of battle. The 'Zizhi Tongjian' criticized him as a 'partial general of the southern lands, not considered talented,' yet in his later years, he 'forgot himself for the sake of the country,' not failing in his great integrity."

"But looking at it now, there is something else going on. He was the sect leader of the Northern Wei Mystic Sect 'Yinfu Sect' and a descendant of the Taiyuan Wang clan, yet he pretended to be mediocre and lurked in the Southern Dynasty; it was definitely not for that bit of glory and wealth."

"When the First Emperor suppressed the resentment and evil Qi of the six states, Xu Fu presided over it, not only slaughtering many experts of the six dynasties but also embarking on large-scale construction on Mangshan; he must have left behind some arrangements that are difficult for outsiders to enter."

"In his later years, Wang Xuanmo came to Mangshan, clearly having obtained the key to entering it. The 'Northern Mang Ghost Records' also claims that he fled into Mangshan to practice Yin soldier arts and was known among the folk as the 'Ghost Marshal of Mangshan,' but since the Southern Song Dynasty, he has completely hidden..."

A sharp glint flashed in Li Yan's eyes, "The Great Song Ghost Sect!"

"That's right!"

"Jin Jin Yanfeng" nodded repeatedly, sweat seeping from his forehead, "That Wang Xuanmo obtained the ancient Qin legacy, and his methods are compatible with it. He has been practicing in secret for so many years, but as soon as he showed his face, he immediately hid again, which shows that there is something he fears."

"During the Southern Song Dynasty, the Ghost Sect was prosperous, and many Daoist sects united to establish the Tai Xuan Zheng Jiao, directly reversing the situation and establishing the Great Xing Dynasty, and also hunting down the remnants of the Ghost Sect everywhere, forcing those demon people to flee far to the grasslands and join the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom."

"This Wang Xuanmo is very likely also a member of the Ghost Sect. Seeing that the timing was wrong, he continued to hide. Perhaps something happened recently that made him start showing his face again..."

Li Yan's brain buzzed, and he suddenly thought of something. He stood up abruptly, his expression ugly, "I'm afraid there's big trouble!"

Sha Lifei and the others also had solemn expressions.

They had all thought of one thing.

The Yu Prefecture Tripod!

Li Yan had once said that Zhao Changsheng and his group were trying to fish up the Nine Tripods wandering in the depths of the Shenzhou's dragon vein, and Lu Sheng, who was stirring up trouble in Sichuan, was just one of them.

Then, there were at least nine people doing this.

Before, they were attracted by Xu Fu, who was of the same period as Lu Sheng, after all, his reputation was too great, but listening to "Jin Jin Yanfeng's" analysis, this Wang Xuanmo looked more like the implementer of the plan.

The Luoyang Paper Doll Case was very likely related to him.

And Zhao Donkey and his wife were also dragged into it.

No wonder Shen Sanyou, who was tracking the clues of the Nine Tripods, also came here, and even had the appearance of preparing for his own funeral; it showed that he had already found something and was facing an extremely powerful enemy.

"Jin Jin Yanfeng," seeing them in such a state, was somewhat confused, "Gentlemen, what have you discovered? Can you tell the old man?"

Li Yan hesitated slightly before recounting his conjectures.

After all, the matter of the Nine Tripods, although few knew the inside story, had long been spread throughout the world, and the Mystic Priests had issued a bounty, requiring cultivators everywhere to cooperate and provide clues.

A conspiracy is terrifying because it is in the dark, with no one prepared.

Once it is exposed to the world, the danger is reduced significantly.

"The Yu Prefecture Tripod?!"

Jin Jin Yanfeng almost pulled out his beard upon hearing this, his expression shifting, "No wonder, this matter happened suddenly, and that paper doll art is sharp and has never been revealed in the world before."

"Yu Prefecture has been suffering from famine for years, and now that the celestial phenomena have changed, if the Yu Prefecture Tripod were to be taken out..."

As he spoke, the old man gritted his teeth, stood up, and cupped his hands, "Young Heroes, the old man has spent most of his life mixing in the martial world, and I haven't done many things that weigh on my conscience, but I won't just watch my hometown suffer a catastrophe. I hope you can help."

"Even if the old man has to risk this life, I cannot let the demon people succeed!"

Before he finished speaking, he actually knelt on the ground.

"Senior, there is no need for this."

Li Yan hurriedly helped him up and said in a deep voice, "Rest assured, we have long since formed a blood feud with those demon people, and we are irreconcilable. Even without Zhao Donkey's affair, we wouldn't stand idly by."

Just as he was speaking, a groan suddenly came from the side.

It was the monk they had captured earlier.

He had fainted from the poisonous bees released by Lu San, and after Long Yan'er used some medicine, the swelling on his face had eased slightly, and he was waking up faintly.

Sha Lifei gave a cold snort, stepped forward directly, and slapped him twice, scolding, "You bald donkey, you really dare to do anything, confess honestly, otherwise I'll skin you alive!"

The monk's eyes were swollen, and looking at the group, he feigned panic and said, "Namo Amitabha, when did this poor monk offend you all..."

His words carried a distinct accent.

"Jin Jin Yanfeng" beside him frowned, "A Japanese monk?"

Li Yan was stunned, turned his head, "Senior recognizes him?"

"Jin Jin Yanfeng" said very positively, "Although the old man doesn't recognize him, I can hear his accent. These Japanese monks have been practicing at Bai Masi for many years; although they have learned the official language of the Central Plains, some bad habits still can't be changed."

"They love to drag out the end of their words when speaking, and often mix classical language with vernacular; it's very obvious."

"Japanese..."

Li Yan looked at the monk on the ground, a trace of murderous intent flashing in his eyes, and asked thoughtfully, "Senior, in your many years in Luoyang, do you remember when they went to Bai Masi to practice?"

"That was a long time ago."

"Jin Jin Yanfeng" shook his head, "About twenty years ago, the old man was still young. I remember these Japanese monks were all dressed in rags, very miserable, and when they entered Luoyang, they attracted many people to watch the excitement."

"They claimed to have come from the sea, admiring the prestige of Bai Masi, and after going through all kinds of hardships, they only sought to enter the temple to practice, and even brought some gifts."

"Since the Tang Dynasty, Luoyang has declined and no longer has the prosperity of the Divine Capital back then; even the Hu merchants from the Western Regions were few, so these Japanese monks were highly valued."

"They were very low-key on weekdays, I didn't expect them to harbor evil intentions..."

"Hmph!"

Wang Fu gave a cold snort, "Those who are not of our race must have different hearts!"

Li Yan nodded slightly, already having a guess in his heart, and suddenly asked, "Monk, after being away from home for so many years, don't you miss the cherry blossoms of the Hongan-ji Temple?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the monk's expression changed slightly.

Without him having to speak, Li Yan had already confirmed his guess.

After Zhao Changsheng was exposed, the imperial court attached great importance to the collection of his intelligence, and the Commandant's Office and the Mystic Priests simultaneously mobilized personnel to be specifically responsible for investigating and hunting him down.

Because of the opening of the seas, quite a bit of intelligence on Japan had also been collected.

The Japanese monk hidden in Xiangji Temple was from the Ikko-ikki sect.

This sect was the Jodo Shinshu of Japan, and it was equally restless.

During the Warring States period in Japan, they occupied a large number of shrines and lands and had their own military armaments, even being able to confront some daimyo, and had fought fiercely with Oda Nobunaga.

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan, he adopted a soft policy toward them, relying on "land surveys" and the "sword hunt decree" to deprive them of their land and armaments, but on the other hand, he also gave them support and subdued them.

Most of the monks of the Ikko-ikki sect had already surrendered.

Some were still resisting, but the general trend was gone, and they were no match, so they had to join ronin groups or sail far overseas to seek refuge.

Li Yan originally thought that the demon monk in Xiangji Temple was one of them, or was just resurrected and subdued by Zhao Changsheng.

But looking at it now, I'm afraid that's not the case.

Such a large-scale layout was not the work of Zhao Changsheng alone.

He also had a force supporting him in Japan!

Thinking of this, a fierce light flashed in Li Yan's eyes, "Sister Long, give him something harsh."

Sha Lifei and the others were somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

They had walked the martial world, carried out various missions, and were no strangers to interrogation and torture.

For ordinary ones, Sha Lifei could handle it alone.

Letting Long Yan'er take action clearly meant using Gu poison, making the other party wish they were dead.

This was the first time they had seen Li Yan in such a state.

Although they were strange in their hearts, no one asked any more questions.

Long Yan'er didn't talk nonsense, slowly rotated her right arm, and walked up to the monk.

Clatter, clatter~

A centipede the length of a palm crawled out rapidly from her sleeve, shimmering with a metallic luster, and as the dense joints moved, it made a rough sound.

Just looking at it made one's hair stand on end.

Seeing this, the monk was full of fear, but he still gritted his teeth and feigned calmness, simultaneously putting his hands together, closing his eyes, and chanting: "If one hears my name, with a sincere heart and joy, even for ten thoughts, if one is not born, I will not take the right awakening, except for the five grave sins, slandering the true Dharma ah~"

Before he finished chanting the sutra, he screamed in pain.

It was because the black centipede had already crawled to the top of his head, its chelicerae bit down violently, and at the same time, the dense, sharp insect limbs also tightened as the body shrank, piercing his scalp like steel awls, and the blood that flowed out quickly turned black.

This centipede Gu insect even had poison on its legs.

The poison was so fierce that the monk's entire scalp instantly turned black and green, and his already swollen face also swelled into a sauce-red color, looking like he didn't have a human appearance at all.

"I'll speak! I'll speak!"

He knelt on the ground, begging painfully.

"Pah!"

Sha Lifei was full of disdain, "I thought he was a tough guy."

And the monk, unable to care about his mockery, after Long Yan'er stopped driving the centipede Gu, said: "This poor monk was just following orders, I beg you all to spare my life."

Li Yan asked coldly, "Do you recognize Zhao Changsheng?"

The monk shook his head hurriedly: "I don't recognize him."

Seeming to be afraid that Li Yan would misunderstand, he added hurriedly: "I dare not have half a sentence of falsehood, I really don't recognize him."

"Oh?"

Li Yan was somewhat surprised, "Then who sent you?"

Hearing this, the monk hesitated for a moment, but seeing Long Yan'er raise her arm again, he was scared out of his wits and explained everything one by one: "We were sent by the Dharma Lord."

"The Dharma Lord is the Sect Leader?" Wang Fu frowned and asked.

The monk nodded: "You could say that. The Dharma Lord is the abbot of the Hongan-ji Temple, who intermarries with various noble families, and the leaders of many temples also have to listen to his orders."

"This poor monk was originally from the Iga family in Tokaido, and later practiced at the Hongan-ji Temple."

"Twenty-five years ago, the Dharma Lord suddenly summoned us, saying that we were the chosen ones, the Buddha-sons after the Buddha-land descends, and then we came to the Divine Capital to follow the orders of the Ghost Emperor of Mangshan."

Li Yan's eyes narrowed, "The Ghost Emperor of Mangshan... is it Wang Xuanmo?"

The monk had already given up on himself at this time and nodded directly in admission, "Yes, he used to be called that, but what he looks like now, no one has seen; every time, he transforms into an ascetic old monk to meet with us."

Wang Xuanmo was indeed one of the nine!

Li Yan continued to ask, "What exactly is his plan?"

The monk shook his head: "This poor monk doesn't know; the Ghost Emperor never lets anyone know the complete plan."

"Luoyangcheng has been declining day by day over the years, with the people's livelihood in ruins; our mission was to impersonate the Maitreya Sect and secretly preach in the countryside, only waiting for the right time to launch a riot, rush into Luoyangcheng, and destroy all the Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries, as well as several main halls of the Prince of Luoyang's Mansion..."

"Does Bai Masi know about this?"

"They don't know. We have been lurking for many years, acting in secret. The monks responsible for monitoring us have already been lured by the Ghost Emperor, and there are also many people in the City God Temple and the Commandant's Office who have been held by their weaknesses."

"When the time comes, they will cooperate with us."

Li Yan said coldly, "There is a treasure-seeker named Zhao Donkey, was he captured by you?"

"And the Paper Doll Case in Luoyangcheng, what exactly is going on?"

"Zhao Donkey..."

The monk thought carefully and shook his head: "I don't know any Zhao Donkey, but there was indeed a treasure-seeker captured by Mangshan, but I don't know the specific reason."

"The Luoyang Paper Doll Case was actually a mistake."

"Mangshan wanted three thousand paper dolls, and the materials had already been refined, but there weren't enough craftsmen who knew the craft, so they had people dress up as wealthy merchants and distributed them to the paper-craft shops in the city."

"Originally there was no problem, but the shopkeeper of a paper-craft shop knew a little bit of Mystic Sect arts and discovered the strangeness of the paper dolls; out of curiosity, he dotted their eyes with cinnabar, and thus lost his life, and the paper dolls also came to life ahead of schedule."

"We came to the Ghost Market also under orders; Jin Jin Yanfeng let out the wind to inquire about the Ghost Emperor's roots, so we simply locked him in the prison, and we were ordered to ambush and eliminate everyone involved in this matter..."

Listening to the monk's account, Li Yan also sorted out the cause and effect, saying in a deep voice, "When will it be launched?"

The monk lowered his head: "We don't know either. The order we received was to launch the riot when the Yellow River floods Luoyang, attack Luoyang, and destroy all the Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries."

"The Yellow River floods..."

Li Yan's heart moved, "The Heluo Merchant Guild is sacrificing to the River Earl, it might be related to this."

Sha Lifei had a headache, "With so many threads, and the enemy is powerful, and we don't know how many people are lurking, it's not easy to handle..."

"No matter how difficult, can it be more difficult than Chengdu Prefecture?"

Li Yan shook his head, "This Wang Xuanmo calls himself the Ghost Emperor, mostly because he has gathered many fierce ghosts and Yin soldiers, and has been hiding his head and showing his tail until now, which shows he has concerns. In the heartland of Yu Prefecture, there are quite a few people who can suppress him."

"Shaolin!"

Jin Jin Yanfeng nodded immediately, "That's right, Shaolin is not far from here; with a fast horse, you can go back and forth in three days, but I mix in the marketplace and have no connection with those high monks."

"It's fine."

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "Because of the Chengdu affair, the Mystic Sect of the Shenzhou has become vigilant. Old Sha, you, the Daoist, and Wu Ba, go to Shaolin immediately to deliver the letter, find Zen Master Abbot Zhi Tong; we chatted about this at the Qingcheng Assembly."

"They will contact the Yu Prefecture garrison; even if the whole of Luoyang is in chaos, it can be quelled."

Saying this, he looked into the distance, "We will explore Mangshan and save Zhao Donkey first..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 633 =====