Chapter 645: The Chaos of Luoyang

"The statue of Vairocana Buddha was damaged, and he voluntarily requested to repair it…"

"The Buddha's carvings are all micro-engraved sutras; they've likely been tampered with…"

Master Ku Zhu quickly recounted the events, urgently saying: "Rumors say that back then, the demon serpent of Yique stirred up storms, causing the river to flood the Divine Capital. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ordered the 'Three Great Masters of Kaiyuan' to empower the Buddha statue to suppress the serpent. Later, Chen Shoujing released the serpent—I assumed the seals above had long since been destroyed."

"But hearing from Captain Pei that a 'Soul-Reaping Boat' appeared on the Yi River, it must be connected. That demon has lived in the temple for years—he's likely targeting monks and layfolk. I must return at once…"

Before the old monk could leave, Pei Niangzi's men rushed over, their faces filled with panic.

"It's chaos, chaos!"

"The Maitreya Sect has risen in rebellion in Luoyang—the prefectural Ya has been burned down!"

…………

As dusk settled, the streets of Luoyang thrummed with restless unease.

"Maitreya descends! Fortune shall come!"

Hundreds of men in coarse hemp robes shouted before the City God Temple.

They waved yellow paper talismans, and more civilians gathered toward them.

"It's this—City God is suppressing our fortune!"

"Luoyang's people suffer because of this cursed thing!"

"Smash it, and we'll find deliverance!"

Among the crowd, a narrow-faced, monkey-eyed man suddenly raised a stone and hurled it at the temple gate.

"Crash!"

The already peeling wooden gate instantly dented inward.

Though it didn't break open, it sounded like a signal.

All nearby civilians picked up stones and began throwing them.

Clatter! Clatter!

Stones rained down; the wooden gate soon became pitted and battered.

Every citizen—man, woman, old, young—bore only hatred and fanaticism on their faces.

Over the years, Luoyang's fortunes had grown worse.

There was the tide of history: since the sea trade opened, the court's focus had shifted entirely to the coasts…

There were natural disasters: a great plague ten years ago, then the Yellow River flooding, three years of drought, and now celestial anomalies…

There was human corruption: Prince Wang of Luoyang was a useless wastrel who preyed on the people, and every faction in the city exploited them…

In short, the people all harbored a deep, smoldering resentment.

The Great Xuan Dynasty's laws were harsh, and Luoyang's officials were tyrannical—normally, this resentment was kept suppressed.

But suppression isn't elimination.

Once it erupted, it would be no different from the Yellow River bursting its banks.

Colluding with the Maitreya Sect was a capital crime.

But when life was crushed, the people no longer cared.

Even the Maitreya followers among the mob were few—far fewer than during the Guanzhong uprising ten years ago.

Most were ordinary civilians just venting.

Soon, the City God Temple's gate was smashed open.

What puzzled them was the eerie silence inside.

The Daoists had all left; the hall doors stood open, revealing the corpse of the temple keeper, long cold.

This situation was clearly wrong.

Yet the crowd didn't care—they charged in and began smashing, looting, and burning.

The towering statues of the City God and his Judge were toppled and shattered.

Curtains, yellow talismans, red cloth—all set ablaze.

Bronze incense burners and ritual vessels meant for offerings were snatched in frantic competition.

In the chaos, no one noticed.

On the temple's rafters, nailed with dried blood, were yasheng coins…

Inside the shattered statues, a foul, mud-like substance oozed, white maggots writhing within…

All black spirit jars used to house the She Ling soldiers were bound with hemp ropes and white talismans; after being smashed by the mob, black mist surged forth, seeping into nearby civilians. Combined with the scramble for bronze objects, the crowd began turning on each other in violent slaughter…

……

The chaos at the City God Temple was merely one corner.

Outside the Hanjia Granary in eastern Luoyang, the once heavily guarded granary gate had been smashed open by rioters.

Sacks of grain were torn apart; millet mixed with mud and water coated the blue bricks.

A Maitreya follower raised a torch and shouted:

"The state granaries are full while corpses litter the land! Take it, you bastards!"

"Take it!"

Seeing the full granaries, the people's eyes turned blood-red; they surged forward.

"You… what are you doing?"

The grain official stepped forward, trembling, to stop them.

*Splat!

Before he took two steps, a Maitreya follower with a murderous face slashed him down with a knife.

But the crowd paid no heed.

They tore open the grain sacks—only to find broken stones and dust beneath.

Only the top layer had been covered with grain to deceive them.

"Damn it! All the grain's been stolen!"

"No wonder they didn't open the granaries during the disaster!"

Upon discovering this, the people grew even angrier.

No one noticed: the "Maitreya follower" who had just killed the official wore a look of cold mockery…

……

In southern Luoyang, at the Anlewo, the Du family compound.

As Luoyang's wealthy elite, the Du family naturally had high walls and a grand courtyard.

They'd even hired elite guards from the Guazi Gate.

Yet now, the Du family's vermilion gates stood wide open, smoke billowing from the roof.

Blood seeped from the door cracks, leaving a trail of bloody footprints.

Inside the courtyard, heart-wrenching wails echoed.

Master Du lay slumped in his high-backed chair, a knife protruding from his chest, watching helplessly as his concubine was dragged into a room by "retainers."

The attackers? Former beggars who had once emptied his chamber pots…

……

Near the Bell and Drum Tower in the city center, the Luoyang Prefectural Ya.

The petition drum at the gate was shattered; the entire Ya was engulfed in flames.

Among the yamen staff, many were skilled martialists.

Yet the cooks, upon receiving orders, had poisoned everyone with castor beans.

Each man was writhing in diarrhea, too weak to resist.

The once-oppressive yamen runners were hacked to death with swords.

The Luoyang Prefect, who hadn't escaped in time, was hanged from the rafters.

His tongue hung long, his body charred to ash by the fire.

In the western gate district, the grain market and bazaar lay in ruins, flames roaring skyward.

Outside the Ying'en Gate in northern Luoyang, soldiers gathered at the inn were locked in battle with a band of black-clad masters.

Even within the Luoyang Prince's palace, the Ghost Emperor's minions set fires everywhere.

From afar, smoke rose from every corner of Luoyang.

When Li Yan and the others arrived,

this was the scene they saw.

"Go! We can't stop now!"

Yin Jiuge sighed faintly, "Without finding the array's core, all of Yuzhou faces catastrophe."

Saying this, he charged ahead into the city.

Li Yan and the others, faces grim, followed close behind.

After learning of Wang Xuanmo's whereabouts, they immediately headed for the Longmen Grottoes.

Alas, the Ghost Emperor had already left—they arrived to find nothing.

This Vairocana Buddha was indeed another node.

No one knew who had chosen this spot—it lay directly above the chamber connecting to the Qin Palace's false Yin Si.

Inside the chamber, Buddhist masters had once opened it, inscribing the entire *Shurangama Sutra*.

This was the Buddha Sect's strongest exorcism mantra, known as the "King of Mantras."

Moreover, the passage leading out of the stone chamber had once been sealed shut.

Unfortunately, it has since been dug open again, and the scriptures inside have been defaced beyond recognition.

Seeing this, the group immediately decided to split up.

The followers of Shangqing Palace and Xiangshan Temple took out their sect's treasures and exerted full force to suppress the nodes, while sending messengers to Baima Temple and all other Xuanmen lineages to raise the alarm and rally reinforcements…

The members of the Heluo Merchant Guild, with the aid of Yue San'er, suppressed the "Soul-Reaping Boats," while dispatching envoys to seek aid from garrisons in Kaifeng and other locations…

As for Li Yan and the others, they followed Yin Jiuge to search the city for other nodes.

The group wove through secluded alleys, avoiding the rioters, and soon arrived at the City God Temple.

The chaos here had long since ended.

The temple's statues had been smashed, the beams burned, and incense ash scattered everywhere.

Li Yan frowned slightly and suddenly raised his left hand.

Whoosh!

The Spirit-Sealing Coins on his armguard, Qian Nian, rang in unison as Yin Sha Qi gathered.

Almost instantly, a fierce wind howled through the hall, frost crystallized on the floor, and the remaining flames were extinguished.

This armguard, "Qian Nian," was acquired in Shu, embroidered with the words: "Heaven and Earth in harmony, all things refined."

This treasure uses warp and weft threads to mimic a cave-heaven, capable of gathering Gang Sha Qi, but its greatest function is to nurture spiritual entities.

Li Yan had sewn all the Spirit-Sealing Coins onto it and nurtured them daily.

Though becoming a true spiritual object would take much time, the armguard already proved immensely useful.

It could temporarily gather Gang Sha Qi to enhance the power of spells.

Gathering Yin Qi to extinguish fire was naturally effortless.

The flames died out; thick black smoke curled from the charred beams.

Li Yan formed the Yang Seal with his left hand, drew a deep breath, and smelled a foul, fishy stench mixed with the incense. He shook his head gravely: "It's been tampered with—the incense is corrupted."

He then looked up at the ceiling beams.

He leapt upward, using the walls for leverage, and shot into the air, drawing the Duanchen Blade at the same time.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Several charred copper coins clattered to the ground.

Though nailed to the beams and blackened by fire, they could not hide from Li Yan's nose.

Yin Jiuge picked up one, wiped away the soot, and saw the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper engraved on the reverse, and the four characters "Jin Xiang Zhen Sha" written in seal script on the front.

"Jin Xiang Zhen Sha Coins?"

Yin Jiuge frowned slightly, surprised. "How do these still exist?"

"During Emperor Wuzong's Huichang suppression of Buddhism, 260, 00 monks and nuns were forced to return to lay life. The court ordered the destruction of Buddhist temples and the melting of copper statues to cast coins. These were secretly minted 'Zhen Fo Coins,' used alongside Zhao Guizhen's 'Cutting Meridian Art' to destroy many famed Buddhist monasteries. Later, deemed too cruel, they were all destroyed."

"Perhaps someone secretly kept some?"

"Impossible. The Buddhist sects despise these beyond measure—they offered huge rewards to buy and destroy them, and spread word that anyone using them was an enemy of Buddhism. They vanished long ago."

"They came from overseas!"

Li Yan interrupted the conversation.

He pulled several iron fragments from the cracks between the statue's pedestal bricks.

They bore lotus patterns and some Japanese incantations.

Faintly legible were the words: "Incense severed, vows ended, Buddha and demon as one, sealed realm turned to iron…"

"From Japan—that explains it."

Yin Jiuge said coldly: "During the Tang Dynasty, many Japanese Wo men came, bringing back many things."

He then took out his Luo Pan, inspected the area, and nodded: "This is also a node. I'll set up an altar to expel the Sha Qi."

With the group's help, he swiftly erected the altar, scooped five-colored earth from his waist pouch, and scattered it in all directions, then lit incense and candles, stepped the Nine Steps, and chanted the spell.

As one of the Five Directions Yin Sacrifices of the Yin Sect, he naturally possessed fine treasures.

Yin Jiuge placed a tiger tally engraved with the Yin-Yang symbol on the incense altar.

Li Yan saw clearly—the tally bore small seal script, an artifact from the Qin Palace.

Hum!

As the altar was completed, incense smoke rose, and the tiger tally trembled slightly.

A scorching Gang Sha Qi surged from the ground.

The others could not see it, but they felt their ankles begin to burn.

Li Yan formed a seal and inhaled deeply, then shook his head: "I can't sense it—the chamber below must be at least three zhang deep."

"It doesn't matter."

Yin Jiuge said gravely: "The City God Temple is always crowded. Wang Xuanmo's men wouldn't dare dig here openly, so they resorted to corrupting the incense. I've stabilized the Earth Qi, but someone must guard it."

"I'll stay."

Long Yan suddenly spoke, her expression calm: "Leave it to me. No one will get through."

Li Yan nodded without hesitation: "Good. Long Jie, be careful."

Though they hadn't seen the node scrolls left by Xu Fu, there were certainly more than one in Luoyang.

They still had to keep searching, so they needed someone to hold the line.

Though Long Yan kept a low profile, her Gushu was strong enough to earn Li Yan's full trust.

Without further words, they quickly left the City God Temple.

After the group departed, Long Yan went outside and took a flute from her sleeve, blowing it softly.

Hoo~

A cold wind stirred, and a black smoke poured from her waist pouch.

Closer inspection revealed countless tiny Gu insects, dispersing into the air, indistinguishable from dust.

Even after releasing these, Long Yan did not stop.

She continued playing, and dense clouds of "Shuang E" also took flight.

It was already dusk; the fireflies at the tails of the "Shuang E" glowed like stars, blanketing the area outside the City God Temple.

Strange things happened—the rioters still scurried through the streets.

Yet in their eyes, the City God Temple remained unchanged, and they unconsciously ignored it…

…………

Meanwhile, other places were also in motion.

Mount Mangshan, Cuiyun Peak, Shangqing Palace.

Inside the Three Pure Ones Hall, countless lotus lamps glittered like stars.

Every wall and beam was covered with Five Thunder Talismans.

Zhang Daoling's original "Dutian Wu Lei Fu" had been destroyed; they could only rely on quantity.

Outside the hall, three altars were arranged in the positions of Heaven, Earth, and Man.

Dan Qingzi and several elder Daoists presided, while all disciples within the monastery formed seals and chanted.

"Five Thunder, Five Thunder, follow each step, Five Thunder as one, thunder and lightning in chaos…"

This was the Xuanmen Five Thunder Spell. Though Zhang Daoling's original setup had been destroyed, it still guided them.

Combined with the Five Thunder Talismans, they used the spell to suppress the nodes.

The sky was dark now, lending them favorable celestial timing.

Zizizi~

As the elders opened the altars, arcs of lightning flickered across every metal object inside the Three Pure Ones Hall.

It seemed a force was rising from underground.

One by one, the Five Thunder Talismans turned to ash, but new ones were always promptly replaced.

Gradually, the talismans ceased to burn out…

Inside the Longmen Grottoes, similar activity unfolded.

Monks sat in meditation, chanting sutras in every section of the Lushena Buddha.

Though damaged, like Shangqing Palace, the ancestors had left clues.

All monks chanted the "Lengyan Spell."

Inside the stone chamber, they held vajra clubs and re-carved the inscriptions…

Boom!

Above Mount Mangshan, lightning surged.

Perhaps because several nodes had been repaired, the Blood Light had noticeably dimmed…

……

On the Yi River, the waterway had been sealed off.

"Absolutely no letting them reach shore!"

"Bring more peachwood arrows!"

As Yue San'er shouted orders, the Heluo Merchant Guild members worked frantically.

Dense volleys of peachwood fire-arrows flew, igniting the "Soul-Reaping Boats."

No one dared to slacken now.

As night fell, they could now faintly make out shadowy figures on the boats.

Yet Yue San'er remained frowning deeply.

"Elder, could it still go wrong even if burned?"

The woman beside him, Pei Niangzi, quickly asked.

Yue San'er shook his head. "Something's off."

"The Soul-Reaping Boat is a secret technique of the Yin Talisman Sect. I once saw one—barely escaped with my life."

"With so many Soul-Reaping Boats, where did all the spirits aboard go?"

(End of Chapter)