Chapter 634

"Who's there!"

Li Yan was startled and hurriedly turned around.

He lowered the Dust-Breaking Blade, and the Soul-Hooking Rope in his left hand was ready to be deployed.

Although this "Snake Mirage" thick fog had the ability to conceal spiritual perception, it was not powerful.

The various scents and sounds within a radius of one li were still clearly distinguishable.

To approach them silently, it was definitely an expert!

And that old voice was also getting closer and closer.

"Panicking like this, I don't know how you managed to make such a name for yourself..."

As he spoke, an old man appeared in the thick fog.

This old man was hunched over, his face full of weathered wrinkles, wearing a tattered straw hat, and with a tobacco pipe tucked behind his waist.

No matter how you looked at it, he seemed like an old farmer from the countryside.

However, when Li Yan saw him, he understood instantly. He put away his blade and cupped his hands, saying: "So it is you, Senior."

At the Longmen Inn, he had been visited in a dream by someone who seemed to want to inform him of Zhao Donkey's situation. Unfortunately, his soul was strong and he had many protective artifacts, so he had forcibly woken up and rushed out, but didn't find anyone.

This old man had appeared in the inn before.

Because he had hidden well, he hadn't been discovered, but seeing him now, he naturally guessed who it was.

He signaled for Wu Ba beside him to put away the Tiger-Crouching Cannon, then cupped his hands and said: "If I'm not mistaken, Senior must be the 'Central Grave-Piling Old Man' Elder Yin Jiuge of the Five Directions Yin Sacrifice of the False False Yin Si Sect, right?"

"Oh?"

The old man's eyes drooped, "How did you figure that out?"

Li Yan glanced at the leather pouch the other party was carrying and said: "I've heard that Senior is proficient in feng shui, carries a burial shovel, and wears a 'Houtu Bag' at your waist, filled with soil from a hundred graves. Whenever you encounter a lonely grave on the road, you must add a handful of soil, changing ominous ground into auspicious soil..."

This was the intelligence Helmsman Pei had given him at the Longmen Inn.

This old senior of the False False Yin Si Sect wandered all over the Shenzhou, often soothing wandering souls and improving the feng shui of ominous places.

Therefore, he was called the "Central Grave-Piling Old Man."

He always acted in secret; although he was unknown, he was a true man of the Dao.

"Enough, enough..."

Elder Yin Jiuge waved his hand, looking helpless: "That unfilial disciple Shen Sanyou, who spends all day burrowing into women's crotches, has sold out his master's background completely."

Although he was a respected old senior, Li Yan couldn't afford to listen to his nonsense at this moment, and said with a solemn expression: "Senior, do you know the situation of my friend Zhao Donkey, and also, what exactly happened to Brother Shen?"

"What's the rush."

Elder Yin Jiuge shook his head slightly, looked around, and said: "This is not the place to talk, follow me."

After saying this, he turned around and walked into the fog with his hands behind his back, and Li Yan and the others followed closely behind.

This old man seemed very familiar with Mangshan; even with the thick fog covering everything, he didn't slow down at all.

After turning left and right, in no time at all, they arrived before a yellow earth gully.

On Mangshan, most of the terrain was like this.

But unlike other places, the gully was scattered with large pieces of brick and stone, with a layer of lime on them, clearly an ancient tomb.

Elder Yin Jiuge didn't say a word, jumped into the gully, and burrowed into the tomb passage.

Li Yan and the others looked at each other and jumped down one after another.

Shen Sanyou's situation was unknown, so even if this highly respected Elder Yin Jiuge was his master, they had to be on guard.

After all, they had seen too many old people who were afraid of death and had taken the wrong path.

The tomb passage was not deep and could only accommodate someone bending over to enter, and the front had already collapsed, forming a small stone cave. After everyone entered, they could only half-squat, which was very stifling.

Li Yan frowned slightly and was about to ask.

However, Elder Yin Jiuge looked outside the tomb, shook his head, and whispered: "Those things are coming soon, we'll talk later."

As he spoke, he used his withered palm to grab a handful of grain from another leather pouch at his waist, muttered a few incantations by his mouth, and then casually scattered it at the cave entrance.

Whoosh~

A clear breeze blew by, carrying the fragrance of plants, and the air inside the cave suddenly became fresh.

Five-Grain Evil-Warding Technique!

When Li Yan saw this, his eyes lit up.

This was a technique commonly used by folk yin-yang masters; many people knew it, and it often appeared in both house-cleansing and weddings or funerals. He had also seen Wang Daoxuan use it.

However, when Elder Yin Jiuge used it, it was on another level.

The remaining yin-evil qi in the cave was swept away, and the five grains were still working, isolating the qi from outside.

This was no longer just a simple "Five-Grain Evil-Warding Technique."

It seemed to also be mixed with methods of "formation" and "scattering beans to become soldiers."

Thinking back to the paper effigy dream-visitation technique the other party had used before, Li Yan was extremely impressed.

Just as he wanted to ask, the hair on his back suddenly stood on end, and he looked outside the cave.

Woo~

The sound of the wind outside the cave suddenly became intense.

It was like wind blowing through a crack, and also like someone sobbing and weeping, wrapped in some kind of eerie rhythm.

The fog outside was also becoming increasingly thick.

Originally it was a vast white expanse, but now it had turned lead-gray, making the light increasingly dim.

Li Yan's nostrils flared, and his pupils contracted sharply.

He actually smelled the burnt bitterness of copper rust and burning paper money, mixed with a faint scent of blood.

This smell reminded him of the wild sacrifices at the mass grave outside Xianyang City.

"Clang—!"

Suddenly, the harsh sound of iron chains dragging rang out in the fog.

Li Yan and Lu San covered their ears at the same time, showing uncomfortable expressions.

This sound made one's teeth ache.

And the others were fine, clearly unable to hear it.

The changes were not just in the sound; deep in the lead-gray thick fog, dense phosphorus fires rose up.

Subsequently, everyone heard unusual movements.

It was the rustling sound of paper clothes rubbing, and the muffled thud of leather boots stepping on the ground.

It was as if an invisible army was marching through the fog.

"Yi—ya—"

The sharp singing of Nuo opera pierced through the thick fog, the tone shifting between male and female, using an ancient cadence.

Elder Yin Jiuge beside them suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed another handful of grave soil from his leather pouch, scattering it toward the cave entrance.

The dust actually floated in the air, bobbing up and down.

The gray fog that was about to invade the cave also rapidly retreated three feet.

"Squeak squeak~"

The sound of mice suddenly rang out.

That was because of Lu San's summoning; several mice had followed him into the cave.

They squeaked in panic, suddenly stood up in unison, pressed their front paws together, and bowed toward the outside of the cave.

"Mice bowing to the evil?"

When Li Yan saw this, his brow immediately became solemn.

Wang Daoxuan had told him about this situation; it was a type of "omen divination" in the Mystic Sect.

So-called "omen divination" is judging what has happened through various signs.

There is only one situation for "mice bowing to the evil,"

A Ghost King appears!

A Ghost King is not an ordinary wandering soul or fierce ghost.

If one were to compare, it would be the difference in rank between ordinary yin soldiers and the Eight Generals of the Inner Altar.

A Ghost King had actually been conjured up on Mangshan.

Led by a Ghost King, the power of the yin soldiers was even more formidable.

And this quantity and scale, Li Yan had never seen since he stepped into the martial world.

No wonder Wang Xuanmo dared to call himself the Ghost Emperor.

This scene of yin soldiers passing through came quickly and left quickly.

In the time it takes to smoke half a pipe, the strange sounds whistled away, and even the Snake Mirage thick fog dissipated without a trace.

Li Yan took a deep breath, "Senior, can you tell us now?"

"Of course."

Elder Yin Jiuge replied: "I was originally going to find you; after all, this matter cannot be done without your help."

As he spoke, he sat cross-legged on the broken stele and pulled out his tobacco pipe to light it.

"What's outside is not ordinary yin soldiers. Do you know about Xu Fu suppressing the ghosts of the six states?"

Jin Jin Yanfeng, who was beside them and had been scared to death, became excited upon hearing this: "Senior knows this too? I really didn't guess wrong. Are the yin soldiers outside the ghosts of the six states from back then?"

"Yes, and no."

Elder Yin Jiuge took a puff of his pipe and said in a deep voice: "Few people know the inside story of this matter; it is only recorded in the classics of our False False Yin Si Sect. Today I tell you all, but you must not spread it around."

"In the past, the Qin Shi Huang Huang swept away the six states. The people of Chu mourned for Ying, the ladies of Han wept for the altars of soil and grain. The resentment of the nobles of the six states soared to the heavens, and they were utilized by the sorcerers of the six states, who summoned the qi of demonic disasters and borrowed the dragon veins in Mangshan to nurture demonic soldiers for the human world..."

"If this matter had succeeded, it would have been a great catastrophe for the world. Even among the remnants of the six states, many opposed it, but they were insane and eventually accomplished this matter. And because of the qi of demonic disasters, ordinary methods were difficult to deal with; even if they were scattered, they could still spread poison in all directions..."

"And that Xu Fu was indeed a genius. He actually took the spirit wood from the mausoleums of the three emperors—Yao, Shun, and Yu—and built a fake False False Yin Si on Mangshan in the style of Fengdu. He tricked all the resentful souls of the six states into it, broke the conspiracy, and at the same time, had all the sorcerers of the six states buried alive..."

The tobacco bowl flickered in the darkness, and the ancient past left everyone astonished.

"A fake False False Yin Si?"

Li Yan couldn't believe it, "How is that possible?"

The reason the False False Yin Si is special is that it is in the Great Luo Dharma Realm.

Even places like the "Divine Palace of Lord Yunzhong" or the "Corpse Forest" could not possibly achieve this.

"He naturally didn't have that ability."

Elder Yin Jiuge tapped his tobacco pipe and continued: "The reason he could accomplish this was all because of the Suihou Pearl bestowed by the Qin Shi Huang Huang!"

"The Suihou Pearl?"

Jin Jin Yanfeng's mouth couldn't close, "The Suihou Pearl is hidden here!"

Li Yan and the others were also greatly shocked.

For no other reason than that the reputation of the Suihou Pearl was simply too great.

The "Huainanzi" records: When the Marquis of Sui was traveling, he saw a large snake that was injured and broken, so he saved and treated it. Later, the snake held a bright pearl in its mouth to repay him. The pearl was an inch in diameter, pure white, and shone with light at night like the moon.

The "Suihou Pearl" and the "He Clan Jade" are known as the "Two Treasures of the Spring and Autumn Period," symbolizing national power.

Countless scholars and poets throughout the ages have praised them in their poems.

Elder Yin Jiuge nodded and said: "That's right. After Qin destroyed the six states, both the Suihou Pearl and the He Clan Jade belonged to the Qin royal family. The He Clan Jade was made into the Imperial Seal, and the Suihou Pearl was originally intended to be made into a crown, but it was buried with the Qin Shi Huang Huang, and in reality, it was placed here."

Li Yan remembered the thick fog from before, "Was that 'Snake Mirage' triggered by the Suihou Pearl?"

"Hmm."

Elder Yin Jiuge nodded and said: "The 'Suihou Pearl' was originally a treasure of the demonic snake, and later it became a divine artifact for national sacrifice. Nourished by the incense power of the entire Qin state, it is extremely mysterious. The Snake Mirage formed its own illusionary realm, which is how it suppressed the ghosts of the six dynasties in the fake False False Yin Si."

Long Yan'er listened intently and couldn't help but praise: "Xu Fu's name will go down in history; he really had ability."

"Hmph!"

Elder Yin Jiuge gave a cold snort, "Xu Fu harbored evil intentions; no matter how much ability he had, he deserved to die."

"I suspect that he already tampered with the fake False False Yin Si on Mangshan, which is why he left behind so many disasters!"

As he spoke, he looked at Li Yan again, "You are a living yin messenger, so when I saw you at the Longmen Inn, I decided to ask for your help. It's just that I had to investigate first, which is why we didn't meet. I didn't expect you all to have investigated your way here too."

"That is only natural."

Li Yan nodded in agreement. He was also very curious about this "fake False False Yin Si," and then asked: "Since there is the Suihou Pearl suppressing it, where did this Mangshan Ghost Emperor get the ability to occupy the magpie's nest?"

Elder Yin Jiuge said coldly: "It's all because of the tampering Xu Fu did."

"The Suihou Pearl should not have appeared in the world. By using Mangshan as a layout and borrowing the power of the dragon veins, it would have eventually worn away the demonic soldiers. But by the Tang Dynasty, a flaw appeared. The qi of the spirit pearl leaked out, not only creating many mirages but also attracting snake demons, which were cursed to death by Subhakarasimha."

"To tell you the truth, I have already been in Yuzhou for several months and finally investigated the background of Wang Xuanmo."

"He is the sect leader of the Yin-Fu Sect of Northern Wei. This lineage originated from the Yinshan Sect and combined with the Talisman Sect of the Daoist school. His methods are remarkable, and he is most skilled at refining yin soldiers. Because he was hunted by the Mystic Sects of the North and South, he hid in the Southern Dynasties."

"Although Wang Xuanmo's cultivation aptitude was extraordinary, he did not understand military strategy. After he was defeated in the northern expedition in the past, he retreated to Xingyang and dug up the ancient battlefield of Hulao Pass. He used the 'Soul-Collecting Banner' of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect to collect eight thousand dead yin souls. After he grew old, he faked his death and practiced Daoism on Mangshan."

"During the Yongxi era, when Erzhu Rong slaughtered Luoyang, he successfully entered the fake False False Yin Si by borrowing the qi of blood evil. I found a record from that time, saying that someone saw a stele rolling down Mangshan, with seal script inscriptions, the characters like insects and snakes, and it was sacrificed with the blood of young boys to suppress it. It was exactly the method of combining Qin seal script and Xianbei shamanic script to form evil!"

"So half of these yin soldiers on the mountain are the ghosts of the six states, and half are the resentful souls of Luoyang!"

"So that's how it is..."

Li Yan said thoughtfully: "Brother Shen, could it be that he has already entered that fake False False Yin Si?"

This Mangshan was hidden with crises and was extremely dangerous. No wonder Shen Sanyou had such a look of being ready to sacrifice his life for righteousness.

Who knew, after Elder Yin Jiuge finished listening, he fell into silence, his eyes filled with sorrow, "He investigated some things. Compared to that, Mangshan is nothing. I estimate he has already left the Shenzhou and gone out to sea."

"Gone out to sea?"

Li Yan was stunned, "Where is he going?"

"Dongying."

Elder Yin Jiuge said the location and refused to say anything more.

Li Yan immediately shut his mouth and didn't ask any more questions.

He already knew what Shen Sanyou had investigated.

Zhao Changsheng!

It seems this Xu Fu and Zhao Changsheng really did have a relationship.

If he really was hiding in Dongying, then even if he had to chase him to the ends of the earth, he would have to kill him!

Thinking of this, Li Yan asked again: "What about Zhao Donkey?"

This time, Elder Yin Jiuge didn't hide it and said: "I investigated one thing. Among the merchants coming and going at the Longmen Inn, people often disappear inexplicably, and the same is true in Luoyang City. They are all sent to Mangshan."

"I caught a beggar leader who kidnaps children and only then learned that the people captured were all remnants of the bloodlines of the six states from the past. Zhao Donkey's wife was also captured because of this. Earth Dragon encountered the Mangshan Snake Mirage and guessed that the Suihou Pearl was hidden here, so the two of them prepared to join forces to steal the treasure, but they were discovered."

"Earth Dragon returned to Yuzhou and was lured to his death."

"As for Zhao Donkey, he should be locked in the underground palace."

"But whether he is alive or dead, I do not know."

Li Yan felt a darkness in his heart, "What do they want with the bloodlines of the six states?"

Elder Yin Jiuge shook his head and said: "The methods in this world all have a price. Even with Wang Xuanmo's heaven-defying talent, occupying the fake False False Yin Si and calling himself the Ghost Emperor, he probably has to pay a significant price. This Snake Mirage is leaking more and more frequently; I estimate he wants to use the bloodlines of the six states to soothe it."

As he spoke, he turned his head to look outside the cave, "The Daoist priests of the Shangqing Palace are no longer the inheritance they were back then; they only know how to make money. They didn't even notice such a big thing. Perhaps there is a mole among them; they cannot be trusted."

"The first time the Snake Mirage appeared was at Jingling."

"If you want to save people, tonight might be the opportunity..."

(End of chapter)