Chapter 643

Boom!

Another ghost ship disintegrated in the firelight.

These evil things had been buried in the riverbed sludge for many years, long since soaked through and covered in mud.

Logically speaking, they shouldn't be able to catch fire on the water surface at all.

However, the people of the Heluo Chamber of Commerce used peach wood arrows.

This item was inherently effective against evil; with the fire arrows piling up and the Yin Qi exploding, all the Soul-Collecting Ships burned violently.

Not a single one reached the shore; they all sank in the Yi River.

The people of the Heluo Chamber of Commerce had originally been trembling with fear, but with no one injured, their confidence greatly increased.

"Good!"

"Burn those sons of bitches!"

Cheers rang out continuously along the shore.

Only Yue San'er had a gloomy face, turning his head to look toward Luoyang, feeling a vague unease in his heart.

Not on Mangshan, not at the Longmen Grottoes.

Could that Ghost Emperor Wang Xuanmo have gone to Luoyang...

…………

In Luoyangcheng, Luo Feng also made a discovery.

Holding a compass, he led Li Yan and the others in circles, and after running up the city wall, he finally looked at the sky and said, "I understand now; this is the Seven Stars Locking the Dragon!"

Without waiting for Li Yan to ask more, he took out a map of Luoyang and explained:

"Feng Shui techniques during the Qin Dynasty were different from today. They focused on Zou Yan's 'Theory of Five Virtues' to lay out Feng Shui, based on 'Qingwu Art' and 'Astrology.' The layouts all corresponded to celestial phenomena. For example, when expanding Xianyang, they emphasized 'The Wei River runs through the capital to symbolize the Milky Way; the horizontal bridge crosses to the south to emulate the Cowherd star.'"

"What we saw in the fake Yin Office was the Twenty-Eight Mansions; the Luoyang layout must also correspond to the stars!"

As he spoke, he took out a charcoal pencil and connected the three locations they had already found: the Shangqing Palace on Mangshan, the Great Vairocana Buddha, and the Chenghuangmiao.

"It's the Big Dipper!"

Li Yan immediately saw the trick.

"Correct."

Luo Feng replied, then circled the remaining few according to the distance.

"This is the 'Seven Stars Locking the Dragon.' Tianchu corresponds to Shangqing Palace, Tianxuan to the Great Vairocana Buddha, Tianji to the Chenghuangmiao. That leaves Yuheng, Kaiyang, Tianquan, and Yaoguang. Now that there is abnormal movement in the Qin Gong fake Yin Office, the other nodes must also show abnormalities!"

"Let's go!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the group immediately ran toward the nearest target.

By the time they arrived, the place was already engulfed in a sea of flames.

They saw the doors of huge warehouses wide open, corpses everywhere, flames continuously licking at the wooden beams and bodies, emitting a foul, burnt stench, and many commoners were killing each other.

"Luoyang Grain Depot?"

Li Yan frowned slightly, somewhat surprised.

"Jin Yanfeng" also followed, panting. Seeing this, a flash of inspiration hit him, and he said, "Young Master Li, you don't know, but this Luoyang grain depot is not simple. It is the former Hanjia Granary of the Divine Capital, a critical hub of the Great Tang. It has been destroyed by war and rebuilt several times, and has been in use ever since."

"So that's it."

Li Yan nodded, his left hand quickly forming a seal, stepping on the Big Dipper, and chanting: "Qingjia! Ascend to Heaven to save people, strictly control the Northern Feng, the Divine Duke receives the order, sweep away all inauspiciousness, the Eight Powers spit poison, fierce horses spread out... Command!"

Clatter~

On the arm guard "Qiannian," the demon-suppressing coins jingled.

The incantation he used was the long-unused "Northern Emperor's Calamity Removal Art."

This art could both protect the body and drive away fierce beasts.

Although the "Divine Tiger Order" had long been given to Wang Daoxuan, under the enhancement of the arm guard Qiannian, it still erupted with terrifying power.

Whoosh~

In an instant, a gale rose all around.

A soul-stirring, cold Yin Qi erupted from Li Yan's body.

The commoners who were killing each other nearby had originally been bewitched by magic; now, suddenly awakened and feeling Li Yan's Qi, fear welled up in their hearts. As if seeing a fierce beast, they quickly scattered and fled.

Swish!

Just then, someone in the dark fired a crossbow bolt.

It was those Maitreya Sect members causing chaos in the city.

Whoosh!

As the bolt arrived, Wu Ba had already leaped out.

He rushed forward with a sliding step, caught the crossbow bolt in mid-air, and then suddenly flicked it back.

The crossbow bolt returned with even greater speed, directly piercing through a person's head.

Before these people could react, Wu Ba's massive body had already appeared before them.

A left punch, a right hammer; the sound of thuds accompanied by the sound of cracking bones rang out continuously.

Many of these Maitreya Sect members were skilled, but upon encountering this fierce god Wu Ba, they had no power to fight back.

Among them, there might have been subordinates of Wang Xuanmo, but Li Yan could no longer afford to care. He looked at Luo Feng and said in a deep voice, "Senior, how should this place be handled?"

Luo Feng frowned slightly, "The grain depot has been burned down; I'm afraid the underground palace won't be easy to find."

"Jin Yanfeng" nearby hurriedly spoke, "I might know."

"A few years ago, someone discovered an ancient tunnel near Hanjia Granary, which still contained remnants of Tang Dynasty grain cellars, and there were inscribed bricks. That person asked me to appraise them and also told me the location."

"I'll have to trouble you, Senior!"

Li Yan was overjoyed upon hearing this.

Although they had many hands, they still seemed insufficient in the face of this complex situation.

Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan had gone to Shaolin to seek reinforcements and had not yet returned.

Zhao Lvzi and his wife were seriously injured and not yet recovered, and the others had their own tasks.

Jin Yanfeng's martial arts were poor, and he was originally a burden, but he insisted on following. He didn't expect that this local snake would truly be indispensable.

Soon, "Jin Yanfeng" led everyone to a grain depot on the far side.

This place had also been burned down, and the roof beams had long since collapsed.

"Right here!"

"Jin Yanfeng" found a well and pointed downward.

The well had long since dried up, filled with dead branches and dust.

"I'll do it!"

Lu San stepped forward, holding the rat and chanting an incantation.

Squeak squeak~

Soon, dense swarms of rats came from all directions, pouring into the well like a tide, digging and tunneling.

In less time than it takes to smoke half a pipe, they heard a rumble from inside, and dust rose everywhere.

It was the rat swarm directly digging open the dust-sealed passage.

The group didn't care about the dust and jumped in one after another.

There was indeed a tunnel inside, but it hadn't been specially excavated; the surrounding ancient bricks and stones were mixed with mud walls.

Looking at it, it looked more like a cellar buried due to collapse.

Luo Feng picked one up at random, but the handwriting was blurred, vaguely able to see:

Hanjia... Thirteenth Cellar... 12,000 Shuo of Suzhou brown rice... First Year of Zaichu... Granary Official Wang... Supervisor Zhang Liang

"It is indeed a relic cellar of the Tang Hanjia Granary."

He frowned slightly, scooped up some soil from the ground, formed a seal, and tasted it.

"Pah!"

As soon as it entered his mouth, he immediately spat it on the ground, his face looking ugly as he said, "There are Gu insect eggs, up ahead!"

Li Yan immediately raised a torch to scout the path ahead.

This cellar was not large, and the group soon found the target.

They saw that in the corner of the cellar, Yin Sha Qi turned into black smoke and rose.

A mound of earth rose on the ground, like a termite mound, filled with holes, and some black insects were drilling in and out.

"It's the Five-Grain Corpse Insect!"

Although Long Yaner was not there, Luo Feng was knowledgeable and said urgently, "This Gu is born in the five grains. The Gu eggs cannot be killed by boiling water. Entering a person's abdomen, they devour the five internal organs. It is a method of the Qin and Han fangshi, often sealed in jars to guard tombs. It must have awakened due to the vibration of the Earth Qi; the object is right underneath!"

Lu San patted the demon gourd immediately upon hearing this.

Hum!

Poison bees flew out like a black cloud, eating the Gu insects clean in an instant.

Only then did the group step forward and dig down along the mound.

First, they dug out broken pottery jars one by one.

The Qin Dynasty style was clearly used to seal the Gu insects.

And beneath the pottery jars was a massive statue of a turtle made of sunken wood.

At this moment, the statue was covered in frost, with black mist swirling around its body.

On it, the full text of the "Qin Law: Field Law" was also carved.

"This corresponds to Kaiyang, the hub of the Earth vein."

Luo Feng said in a deep voice, "The spiritual wood has been infected by the evil Qi of the fake Yin Office and can only be temporarily suppressed, but my method is carved by the spiritual wood. Do you all have a way?"

"Leave it to me."

Lu San didn't talk nonsense, took out a Nuo mask from his bosom, put it on his head, and while dancing the Nuo dance, he chanted incantations in his mouth and threw fine seeds onto the sunken wood.

Those seeds took root and sprouted as soon as they fell, growing fine grass.

The originally pitch-black sunken wood soon became covered with a layer of green, and the evil Qi gradually subsided.

"This is... the Chu Witch's 'Classic of Sesame and Orchid'?"

Luo Feng looked at Lu San, clearly somewhat surprised.

He was a successor of the Qin Gong's secret prayers and naturally recognized this method of his mortal enemy, the Chu Witch.

Of course, these grudges had long since been submerged by history.

What surprised him was that he had thought the Twelve Yuan Chen all relied on Li Yan, but he didn't expect that each one had an extraordinary background.

The silly big guy Wu Ba next to him was a human ghoul, and the previous Gu woman came from the Gu Sect...

It seems that after this matter, he should mention it more to the sect.

Li Yan didn't know his thoughts and asked, "Is this feasible?"

Luo Feng glanced at the sunken wood and shook his head, "It's only temporarily suppressed. This fellow Daoist must stay behind and wait until the Seven Star nodes are suppressed simultaneously before he can leave."

Li Yan didn't talk nonsense and turned to look at Lu San.

Lu San nodded and continued to dance the Nuo dance.

Just like trusting Long Yaner, Li Yan also believed that Lu San could protect himself...

After leaving the Hanjia Granary cellar, the group rushed to the next target.

With the map positioning, they soon locked onto the location.

This was along the Luohe, but they saw that inside the brothels and tile houses on both sides, rioters, led by Maitreya Sect members, were hacking, killing, and looting everywhere. Inside the brothels, candle flames flickered, and the sound of women screaming and crying was constant; it was in complete chaos.

The people on the street were all acting like they were crazy, and some even had no eyes and wanted to rob them.

"Kill!"

Just then, a troop of garrison cavalry rode over.

It was the garrison soldiers from outside the city who had finally broken into the city to quell the chaos.

Li Yan had the Daoist credentials and the documents gifted by the Ministry of War, and the leading Battalion Commander knew Lady Pei, so no conflict occurred.

Sword light flashed, gunfire rang out, and the garrison cavalry soon cleared the street for them.

And the formation node also revealed strange phenomena.

They saw a stone bridge spanning across the Luohe.

Mist surged above the stone bridge, and there were actually more than a dozen corpses standing there, with shadows flickering in the mist.

"This is Tianjinqiao!"

"Jin Yanfeng" swallowed his saliva and explained, "This place also has a long history. When Emperor Yang of Sui built Luoyang, he ordered Yuwen Kai to build this bridge, corresponding to the 'Yellow Path' above, hence it was called 'Yellow Path Bridge.' At that time, the Imperial City corresponded to the 'Ziwei Enclosure,' the Luohe symbolized the 'Heavenly River,' and the Yellow Path Bridge was the path connecting the 'Heavenly Han' to the human world."

"During the Tang Dynasty, it was renamed 'Tianjinqiao.' Bai Juyi once wrote: 'Northeast of Tianjinqiao, west of the Dou Pavilion, arriving here makes one's poetic thoughts lost.' Later, it was burned down by An Lushan and rebuilt several times..."

He knew what he should do, so he quickly recounted the important information.

"The Great Tang truly produced many high-level people..."

Luo Feng looked ahead and shook his head with a sigh, "It seems someone discovered something was wrong early on. The entire Luoyangcheng is a layout corresponding to celestial phenomena, sufficient to suppress the fake Yin Office on Mangshan. Unfortunately, it suffered the disaster of war, and all the arrangements were destroyed."

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid it was premeditated. Those people like Zhao Changsheng are all old monsters; who knows what they did back then."

He had fought these people repeatedly and was already familiar with their routines.

These people reincarnated one after another, seizing bodies to be reborn time and again, their cultivation fluctuating.

Perhaps their martial power couldn't occupy an absolute upper hand, and they had to hide like rats to avoid the pursuit of the Dharma Realm, but what was most terrifying about them was their ability to lurk in disguise, laying out layouts in various places and guiding things in the dark.

Many historical events had the shadows of these people behind them.

"Possible."

Luo Feng nodded, looked at the stone bridge, and said in a deep voice, "This node has been modified many times. There must be a suppression artifact hanging under the bridge. Let's see what it is first."

After saying this, he led the group to row a boat under the bridge.

They saw a precious sword hanging under the arch bridge.

This thing was quite common; it was an object to suppress flood dragons.

It is rumored that when a flood dragon travels through water, it will be injured by the precious sword if it passes under the bridge, so it avoids it.

Many bridges across the Divine Land have precious swords hanging underneath.

But this one was different.

The precious sword was already covered in rust and was unusually thick, and eight chains were cast at the hilt, nailed to the surroundings in the Eight Trigrams orientation.

"This is Yaoguang, the Luoshui Locking Dragon Pass, the place where the Seven Stars Lock the Dragon!"

Luo Feng quickly identified the arrangement, drew his own Dharma sword from his waist, and handed it to Li Yan.

"My cultivation is insufficient, and that Dharma sword has been destroyed. Use this sword as a substitute for now."

After Li Yan took it, he lowered his head to check.

He saw that the sword's body was narrow and thin, the cross-section was diamond-shaped, the spine was distinct, the edge was sharp, the hilt was wrapped in red rope, the end was flat and round, and there was no handguard; it was a typical Qin sword style.

The Qin Dynasty valued the Legalist school, and the sword was a "Law" artifact, so the length was uniform, symbolizing "uniformity of laws," and the shape was rigid, meaning "laws and regulations are strict," making it easy to identify.

But the sword body was also carved with cloud patterns and star signs; it should be a relic of the Qin Gong secret prayers.

Held in his hand, a thick and fierce evil Qi rushed toward his face.

The Ming Sect truly has a long history and deep foundation!

Li Yan sighed, then leaped into the air holding the sword and stabbed out suddenly.

Clang!

With a dragon's roar, this Qin Dynasty Dharma sword directly split the rusty sword and took advantage of the momentum to insert itself into the bottom of the bridge.

And Li Yan, taking advantage of this force, did a swallow-style flip and landed back on the boat.

Hum!

This Dharma sword was indeed extraordinary; after being inserted into the bottom of the bridge, it hummed loudly.

The thick fog on the bridge dissipated rapidly, and those standing corpses also fell to the ground one after another.

Without Luo Feng's instruction, Li Yan knew that someone must be left here to guard it, lest it be destroyed again.

He turned around, patted Wu Ba on the shoulder, and said sternly:

"Don't let anyone touch the sword. Whoever touches it, kill them!"

"Hehe, okay!"

Wu Ba gave an honest smile, carried the tiger-crouching cannon, and jumped onto the stone bridge.

Li Yan took a deep breath, looked toward the Luoyang Prince's Mansion, and said in a deep voice:

"Senior, let's go."

Luo Feng also had a gloomy face, "This old ghost is good at calculating... let's go!"

……

The last location was surprisingly on the central axis street of Luoyangcheng.

In the center was an ancient stone platform, which had long since become mottled and broken; later generations had rebuilt it and erected a flagpole.

Luoyangcheng was in chaos, but at this moment, the street was deathly silent.

Many commoners had long since fainted and were lying on the ground, and faint Yin mist continuously rose from the ground.

Even the garrison cavalry who had previously rushed into the city to quell the chaos had all fallen to the ground.

"This... is the former Mingtang, also known as the Wanxiang Divine Palace."

"Jin Yanfeng" said tremblingly, "In the past, it was the place where Wu Zetian performed sacrifices and held court. Later, it was burned down, leaving only the foundation. Usually, the Great Xuan Dynasty dragon flag hangs there. Why has it been changed to a black flag?"

"That is the Soul-Calling Banner of the Yin Talisman Sect!"

Luo Feng looked around, his face gloomy, "Those commoners have all been hit by the trick; only I can suppress it."

As he spoke, he looked toward the Luoyang Prince's Mansion at the end of the street, "Little Brother Li, the people from White Horse Temple are outside the city, and the Shaolin reinforcements are estimated to arrive tomorrow. Should we wait a bit longer?"

"No time!"

Li Yan also looked into the distance and sneered, "Since they set the stage, I can't spoil the fun."

This was a trap!

Back at Tianjinqiao, the two had already sensed it.

The Seven Stars Locking the Dragon formation eye, such an important place, yet the opponent didn't send anyone to defend it; it was clearly to disperse their strength.

If they gathered to attack, someone would surely destroy it again.

And they no longer had time.

It was already late at night; past the Zi hour, it would be Qingming.

If they couldn't suppress all the Seven Stars Locking the Dragon formation eyes, the Yuzhou Ding would likely be fished out.

He still couldn't forget the terrifying scene when the Jingzhou Ding appeared.

Now, there was no one like Erlang Zhenjun to help press it back down.

"Hmm."

Luo Feng also knew the gravity and didn't try to persuade him further, but said, "This place was originally the Wanxiang Divine Palace, the Yuheng of the Seven Stars. If I'm not mistaken, the last 'Tianquan' is in the Luoyang Prince's Mansion, the former site of the Sui Qianyuan Hall."

"I will suppress it here; as for what arrangements are inside, you'll have to adapt to the situation."

"Remember, as soon as you see him, summon the Yin soldiers to take him immediately!"

This was the confidence he had in letting Li Yan go in alone.

As long as the Yin soldiers arrived, even ten Wang Xuanmos wouldn't be able to escape.

"Rest assured!"

Li Yan didn't talk nonsense and instructed Jin Yanfeng to stay where he was.

Luo Feng quickly took action, grabbing grave soil from his leather bag, and while chanting the Soul-Pacifying Incantation, he scattered it.

Those commoners lying on the ground, who had been trembling as they tried to get up, had black smoke rise from their bodies as the soil was sprinkled on them.

Whoosh~

Black smoke and Yin wind whistled, merging into the Soul-Calling Banner.

And Li Yan, under Luo Feng's cover, drew the Dust-Breaking Blade and charged toward the Luoyang Prince's Mansion, where firelight was rising...

(End of chapter)