Chapter 641: A Hair

Wolves ahead, tigers behind.

A normal person in this situation would likely face death, with no choice but to fight to the death.

But for Li Yan, it was a sudden turn of fortune.

Ghost orders don't appear often, but if you're capturing a yin offender and something nearby doesn't know the yin bureau's taboos, it gets dragged away.

If it's a yin-evil thing, it won't be spared at all.

Especially this time, since they're capturing demonic qi—the yin bureau's ghost generals will come in person!

"Roar!"

Hearing the incantation summoning ghost soldiers, the old demon that crawled from the coffin let out a shrill, terrified scream.

Instantly, countless paper figures surged forward.

"Go!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Yan broke off the incantation, grabbed Zhao Lüzi, and retreated at full speed.

Perhaps because the demonic creature in the cave's center had emerged, everyone inside the coffins began to awaken.

They panicked, frantically pounding on the coffin lids.

As Li Yan and Zhao Lüzi passed by, a continuous thunder of thuds erupted—scenes of overwhelming horror.

But now there was no time to rescue them.

From the corridor behind, dense waves of paper figures had already flooded in.

Cold yin winds and mist instantly filled the entire cave.

Crack!

One coffin's lid suddenly shattered.

A giant man with a deep reddish-purple face scrambled out, his muscles knotted and bulging—he was clearly a martial artist.

Just freed, before he could even survey his surroundings, he was instantly engulfed by thick mist and yin wind.

Among the swirling paper figures, one suddenly clung to his back.

The giant's body stiffened, his eyes rapidly turning blood-red, and he charged at Li Yan like a madman.

This was a common tactic of the paper ghost soldiers.

If someone carried a protective talisman, the paper spirits couldn't get close—so they attached themselves first, then acted.

The paper figures' movements were nearly instinctual, clearly guided by an experienced hand.

Yet in this short span, the two had reached the center.

Li Yan ran while muttering the incantation under his breath.

"Heaven has its order, earth its law; the yin bureau binds souls, the living must avoid!"

As he neared the central bronze coffin, the incantation was finally complete.

Instantly, yin winds howled around him, darkness spread.

The monster emerging from the coffin had already leapt upward, its sharp claws reaching for Li Yan.

But seeing this, it immediately abandoned its attack, tapped its toe, and shot backward—plunging straight back into the coffin.

What is this thing doing?

Li Yan was puzzled, when suddenly the heavy bronze lid beside him slammed shut.

Its aura vanished completely.

And at the same time, darkness surrounded them entirely.

With the clanking of chains, countless icy presences appeared.

One of them sent a chill to the bone.

It was the yin bureau's ghost general, arriving with his ghost soldiers.

The swarm of paper figures rushing from behind had no time to react—they were swallowed by darkness.

Clank-clank-clank~

Amid the dense clinking of chains, the yin souls bound within the paper figures were all bound and dragged out as black smoke.

Like deflated balloons, the paper figures collapsed and rotted, falling to the ground.

Before the power of the yin bureau, the paper figures that had terrified Luoyang City were utterly powerless.

Li Yan sensed all of this through his divine perception.

But he paid it no mind—his entire focus was on the bronze coffin.

The demon god "Yang Shi" inherited the "Corpse Coffin Immortality Art." This demon-possessed man clearly practiced a stronger method, hiding within the coffin with not a trace of qi leaking out—the ghost general's patrols swept past, yet couldn't find him.

"Close your eyes and wait for me!"

After warning Zhao Lüzi, Li Yan charged toward the coffin with his blade.

He wasn't foolish enough to shout a warning to the ghost general.

From all the clues so far, the gods weren't invincible—they seemed more like residents of the Great Luo Dharma Realm.

To attack, they had to lock onto an aura. That's why the "living yin officers" existed.

In short, saying anything would be useless—and risk violating yin bureau taboos.

All Li Yan could do was destroy the bronze coffin before the yin bureau troops left.

Before he finished speaking, he leapt forward.

But something unexpected happened.

After his warning, Zhao Lüzi—who should've stayed put—seemed to sense something, suddenly looked up, glanced left and right, then charged headlong into the darkness like a madman.

"You… motherfucker!"

Li Yan hadn't expected Zhao Lüzi, whom he'd always trusted, to cause trouble now.

He was furious, but had no time to deal with it.

In three quick steps, he reached the metal coffin, pressed both hands against its rim, and unleashed all his strength.

He was at the peak of Hua Jin, just one step away from Golden Core.

His entire body's force was unified—though not as powerful as Wu Ba, it was still divine strength.

He could toss stones weighing over two hundred jin like toys.

Yet when he unleashed his power, the bronze coffin didn't budge an inch.

There's a spring mechanism inside!

Li Yan cursed silently, but remained calm.

He had a solution for this.

The Bao Bao Tan You lineage had some skilled earth rats who, when exploring ancient tombs, often encountered traps.

They wouldn't be as naive as beginners, blindly prying with tools.

They simply used listening force to locate the spring, then applied the "strike through the mountain" technique to break it.

Experts familiar with this method could even just lightly touch the tomb door—and it would open effortlessly.

Li Yan wasn't proficient, but he knew how to use it.

He learned this trick from Zhao Lüzi.

Placing his hands on the coffin lid, Li Yan's palms trembled rapidly—thump-thump-thump sounds echoed continuously.

Soon, the sounds changed.

Hearing it, Li Yan felt a surge of joy—the mechanism inside was a simple latch.

Aiming precisely, he swung his arm violently, unleashing the full force of his Pi Gua Palm and rotational power.

Boom!

A loud crash echoed inside, followed by a click—the heavy lid cracked open a narrow gap.

The ghost general and his yin soldiers, who had been about to leave, instantly froze.

Waves of yin energy surged toward him; the temperature plummeted sharply.

Frost formed on the ground; Li Yan's mind grew numb from the cold.

"Roar!"

A deafening roar—the coffin lid sprang open again.

Before Li Yan could react, a pair of icy hands clamped around his throat.

Feeling the searing pain, Li Yan let out a low growl, seized the wrists, and fired two Soul-Cutting Flying Knives—they severed both arms clean off.

At the same time, chains clinked beside his ears.

The demon, unwilling to yield, was already bound by the ghost general; yin winds howled around, and Li Yan's ears filled with furious, desperate screams.

In a single breath, darkness vanished swiftly.

So did the demonic qi within the old zombie.

As the yin soldiers departed, darkness disappeared; the cave fell into utter silence.

Crack!

Li Yan tore off the two severed hands; the bruising and shattered bones on his neck healed instantly.

He spat fiercely, staring into the coffin.

Up close, the thing was even more horrifying—its skin black and purplish, layered with wrinkles, as if dead for ages, yet its flesh still grew, twisted into something neither human nor ghost.

So it was an old yin person…

"Old yin person" was different from a zombie.

A zombie was a corpse that rose after death.

The "Old Yin Person" differs from the "Yang Person," referring to someone whose soul remains trapped within the corpse after death.

Among the common folk, some elderly people live extraordinarily long, their temperaments growing strange, preferring to dwell in dark rooms, gradually fearing light and craving blood, yet still eating, drinking, defecating, and urinating, while their flesh begins to rot.

The weaker ones suffer daily and nightly from the agony of their flesh decaying, descending into madness until their bodies collapse.

Those who understand the mystery retreat into secluded yin places in the mountains to cultivate, gradually transforming into malevolent spirits.

Those mad old witch women of the Witch Mountain Goddess Palace became "Old Yin Persons."

Too disgusted to look at the repulsive face before him, Li Yan swiftly scanned the area and took the only bamboo slip beside the corpse.

After shoving it into his robe, he turned to look around.

Inside the cave, everything was in chaos—scattered, charred, and collapsed paper figures littered the ground.

Many coffins had split open; inside, the faces of the dead were painted white, their bodies covered in frost, clearly having been possessed by paper figures and, as a result, dragged away along with the Yin Bureau's soldiers.

Beside one coffin, Zhao Lüzi knelt on the ground.

He had fainted, both wrists slashed open, blood streaming forth.

On the coffin lid were talismans drawn in palm-printed blood.

Clearly, Zhao Lüzi had willingly drained his essence to protect the person inside the coffin.

Li Yan already guessed who lay within; his expression darkened as he approached and kicked the coffin lid away with a single foot.

Huh~

A figure surged toward him on a gust of yin wind.

It was Feng Feiyan, the beautiful owner of the Phoenix Inn in Chang'an.

Now her face was purplish-black, her eyes blood-red, and a paper figure stuck to her back.

Apparently, Feng Feiyan, who had cultivated martial arts, had also been targeted by the paper figures and possessed as a puppet.

To prevent her from being taken by the Yin soldiers, Zhao Lüzi had sealed her inside the coffin as well.

Facing the charging Feng Feiyan, Li Yan's expression remained unchanged; he swiftly raised his hand and seized her throat, lifting her into the air.

Wha~

The "Thousand Thoughts" bracers, densely covered in Three Talismans of Demon Subjugation, trembled violently.

A massive yin energy blast shattered the paper figure clinging to her back.

Before it could hit the ground, the Soul-Cutting Flying Knife pierced it midair and tore it apart.

Li Yan gripped Feng Feiyan's throat, a flicker of killing intent flashing in his eyes.

He knew exactly what kind of man Zhao Lüzi was.

Feng Feiyan had always been an opportunistic schemer—a secret agent of the Commandant's Office. Perhaps it was this woman who had manipulated Zhao Lüzi into leaving Guanzhong and suffering these calamities.

"Don't…"

A weak voice came from the ground—it was Zhao Lüzi, having regained consciousness.

He sensed Li Yan's killing intent, his face pale, eyes filled with pleading.

What the hell is going on…

Li Yan was furious, but he stopped his attack and dropped Feng Feiyan to the ground.

Though simple-minded, Zhao Lüzi was clever enough to know what Li Yan was thinking; he weakly shook his head and said, "Brother Li, this has nothing to do with my wife. If not for her sacrificing herself to save me, I would have died in Guanzhong."

"Hm?"

Li Yan was startled; he opened his mouth to ask, then suddenly looked up, a chill rising down his spine.

He could feel a terrifying qi rising outside.

Laden with boundless resentment and twisted Gang Sha energy.

It was the Six Kingdoms' demonic army, having absorbed the yao sheng!

These creatures had originally been sealed within the False Yin Bureau's Six Palaces.

Xu Fu deliberately left a flaw; Wang Xuanmo's paper figures and subordinates, left to guard them, had been destroyed by the Yin Bureau's soldiers.

Now, the False Yin Bureau could no longer contain the Six Kingdoms' demonic army.

At the same time, the cave trembled violently, rocks and dirt tumbling down in a cascade.

"Leave first!"

Without hesitation, Li Yan pulled out a Jia Ma talisman, tied it to his leg, and swiftly chanted the incantation.

Shh!

A straw spirit paper figure leapt into the air.

As Li Yan chanted, yin winds howled, and a massive black shadow merged with the paper figure.

This time, he summoned the "Great Heavenly Force Master Meng, Executor of Punishment."

The most powerful among the Eight Inner Altar Generals.

With Master Meng's divine power enhancement, Li Yan felt immense strength surge from his soles, his arm muscles bulging, his physical power exploding unexpectedly.

"Nuo Gao! Six Jia, Nine Chapters, Heaven Round, Earth Square, Four Seasons, Five Elements, Sun and Moon as Light…"

As the Northern Emperor's Divine Travel Spell took effect, wild winds erupted around him.

Li Yan gave no explanation; he seized both men by the arms, stomped his left foot, and shot out of the cave wrapped in a storm of wind.

Jia Ma techniques vary in potency; normally, with his cultivation, he could carry only one person. But with Master Meng's divine power enhancement, carrying two while using the Divine Travel Technique was effortless.

Outside the cave, the transformation was already evident.

Coffins lay haphazardly piled, lids shattered, revealing pale-faced men clad in black robes.

These demonic men were Wang Xuanmo's subordinates, who had cultivated the "Corpse Coffin Immortality Art."

They manipulated paper figures to cause havoc, and their souls had likewise been dragged into the Underworld.

Around them, the False Luo Feng Six Palaces that had sealed the Six Kingdoms' demonic army now roared continuously, bricks and tiles crumbling.

Cracks appeared on the stone steles standing outside the palace gates.

"Go!"

Li Yan cast one glance and seized the two men, sprinting down the mountain.

With the Jia Ma enhancement, his speed was astonishing.

The wind howled, and in an instant, they reached the mountain's base.

The Underworld Path below was also on the verge of collapse.

The spirits of the Six Kingdoms' sorcerers, once shrouded in yin mist, now revealed their true forms, their bodies surging with crimson sha qi, frantically slamming against the Underworld Path's stone walls; the three-emperor tomb spirit wood beams serving as crossbeams were visibly rotting.

Seeing this, Li Yan was stumped.

To escape, he must pass through the Underworld Path—but under these conditions, he could only fight his way out.

The Divine Travel Technique was useless; he couldn't carry the two weakened men.

"Brother Li, you go ahead."

Zhao Lüzi gasped out: "Don't bother with us…"

"What nonsense!"

Li Yan cursed and prepared to carve a bloody path.

Zzz!

At that moment, a sound came from across the Underworld River.

Yin Jiuge appeared, his left hand pressing his thumb against the base of his ring finger, the other three fingers extended upright.

This was the "Mount Tai Seal," symbolizing the Mount Tai Lord's suppression of ghosts;

His feet traced "Yu Steps, Three Reversals," aligning with Qin's water virtue numerology.

Simultaneously, the old man grabbed a handful of five-colored earth from his waist pouch and hurled it into the air, shouting:

"By the Earth Mother's authority, by Mount Li as tomb! Five-colored talismans block—Huangquan's passage is severed—!"

This was the Yin Sect's "Five Sacrifices to Subdue Malevolence Art," a secret passed down from the Qin palace.

The Qin Bamboo Annals' "Daily Records" state: "The Five Sacrifices" are Door, Threshold, Well, Stove, and Central Hearth.

The Yin Sect, originating from Qin palace secret rites, naturally knew this method.

This technique was the orthodox state art of Qin, no weaker than today's orthodox Xuan Sects.

As the five-colored earth rained down, dust swirled, incense smoke rose, and the previously chaotic Underworld Path fell eerily still.

Without hesitation, Li Yan leapt upward, landing atop the Underworld Path, stepping on the collapsing spirit wood beams, and passing directly over the heads of the Six Kingdoms' sorcerer spirits.

After crossing the Underworld Path, he walked upon the river's surface to reach the opposite shore.

"Hurry!"

Yin Jiuge's face was now purplish-black, blood streaming from his nose.

Clearly, using this Qin palace secret art had taken a heavy toll on him.

Li Yan dragged Zhao Lüzi and the other, Yin Jiuge used a teleportation technique, and the group sprinted desperately toward the exit.

Behind them, a dense swarm of five-colored corpse spiders surged forward in pursuit.

These demons had hidden within clay coffins, making it look as if countless coffins were chasing them.

As they burst from the cave entrance, Lu San and the others rushed toward them.

"Move!"

Wu Ba roared, hefting the tiger crouching cannon.

After Li Yan and the others leapt clear, he ignited the fuse aimed at the cave mouth.

Boom! A thunderous explosion.

Amid flying dust and stones, the underground palace began to slowly collapse…

(End of chapter)