Chapter 651: Nuo Mask Anomaly

Back in the room, Li Yan's heart was still surging.

The matter Zhao Donkey inadvertently revealed was truly too shocking.

Xu Fu's disciple must be a member of "Jianmu".

Then many things, looking back, had suspicious points.

The old eunuch in the ancient water village obtained the treasure map from the capital.

Originally, the other party had decided to stay away from right and wrong and be a peaceful rich man in the countryside.

But the news leaked, bringing about a murderous disaster.

And the trap left by the Daxing of the previous dynasty was just near the Immortal Palace of the Qin King.

I fear destroying the Qin Ling dragon vein was fake,

Testing the Immortal Palace of the Qin King was real!

The First Emperor… could he have colluded with "Jianmu"?

But looking at it, it doesn't seem so; if the First Emperor really cared about the Nine Tripods, why would he secretly throw the Nine Tripods into the dragon vein for the stability of the Divine Land back then?

Li Yan really couldn't figure out the reason.

And the "False False Yin Si Sect", although their purpose is to guard the Nine Tripods, Shen Sanyou threw away life and death to go to Eastern Island, and Senior Elder Yin Jiuge also became completely disabled in the Battle of Luoyang, withdrawing from the underworld.

But with this matter, he still had to be more careful in the future.

Knock knock knock!

Just as Li Yan was pondering, a knock on the door rang out.

It was the old housekeeper Chen Fu inviting them to dine.

It was called a simple meal, but the Chen mansion had also made careful preparations.

In the main hall of the Chen mansion, three elm wood eight-immortal tables were put together into a long banquet.

Cao Gang men carried over several jars of "Jingyang Spring"; the red silk on the coarse pottery jar mouths was lifted, and the strong wine aroma instantly drifted over the threshold.

Zhang Qiu Town is close to Yuzhou, and even the speech carries a Yuzhou accent; the banquet mixed the flavors of Luzhou and Yuzhou.

Everything was prepared according to the old canal rules of "four cold and eight hot" dishes.

"Distinguished heroes, our Chen mansion's banquet is rough, but it wins in being hot!"

Housekeeper Chen Fu clapped his hands three times, and the waiters wearing indigo blue headbands entered one after another.

The sauce-braised Weishan Lake carp in a large bowl lay in the center of the table, the fish mouth holding a copper coin, and the tail fin facing the guest of honor, Li Yan.

Chen Fu used a silver knife to cut open the fish belly, and the amber-colored fish roe trembled as it piled into a small hill:

"Three cups of fish head lead to the great path—!"

While speaking, the old man had already raised the celadon bowl above his eyebrows, "The master is not here, but he instructed to treat the distinguished heroes well, so the old man will thicken his face and toast everyone a bowl."

"Old man, you are too polite."

Li Yan and the others hurriedly stood up and drank a cup in unison.

"Everyone has a great capacity for liquor!"

Old housekeeper Chen Fu flattered them and introduced the dishes.

He lifted the steamer on the table, white mist wrapped in wheat fragrance, revealing large, round steamed buns.

Striped meat trembled in the coarse pottery bowl with a date-red sauce color, and yellow-braised mutton was mixed with the fresh fragrance of canal reeds.

Sha Lifei had just picked up a piece of mutton with skin when old housekeeper Chen Fu hurriedly poured another cup,

"Lambs kneel to suckle, knowing gratitude and righteousness; this bowl must be drunk with mutton bone soup!"

After speaking, he had someone bring over a black lacquer wooden tray.

Only to see the pheasant braised in lees wrapped in green lotus leaves, with a color like agate.

Even the chicken comb was specially dyed bright red with dogwood juice.

This old housekeeper tore off a chicken wing and toasted Li Yan, "Phoenixes swim on the Phoenix Terrace; this Liang Shan wild game is the best match for our Cao Gang's sword-horse wine!"

Li Yan laughed dumbly, "Old man, no need to be so polite."

Others were also a bit uncomfortable.

They walked the underworld, and had seen quite a bit of Guanzhong's heroism, Hubei and Hunan's hospitality, and Sichuan's enthusiasm, but this set after set in Luzhou was still their first time experiencing it, and they were even at a loss.

Of course, they could also see that this old housekeeper was truly doing his best.

"Oh, it is the old man's fault."

Old housekeeper Chen Fu was also a clever person, immediately drinking another cup, and said: "Distinguished heroes have come from afar, I fear you are already tired, so the old man will not disturb you anymore; if you have any instructions, just mention them."

Although he said so, when he left, he clapped his hands again.

From the east courtyard, the sound of strings and bamboo instruments suddenly came.

It was a ballad troupe invited by Chen San from the Linqing wharf, singing "The Hero Who Beat the Tiger on Jingyang Ridge".

The sound was melodious, which could be considered fitting for the occasion.

The most critical thing was that the woman holding the pipa was singing next door, and the sound of strings and bamboo instruments came over.

It didn't disturb them, but also had a certain charm.

"Tsk tsk…"

Sha Lifei couldn't help but click his tongue, "I've long heard that the Cao Gang is wealthy; it seems this Chen San hasn't made little silver, but why does he want to get involved in the muddy water of the imperial court when he could be a local tyrant?"

"People live in the world, all having their own pursuits."

Li Yan drank a bowl of wine in his cup and shook his head: "People always think the underworld is the underworld, but many things go to the source, still the imperial court, still the market; now that the human transformation is coming, even ordinary commoners, who can stay out of it…"

……

After the banquet, everyone dispersed.

After days of sailing, they could finally sleep soundly on a bed.

Not long after, the sound of snoring from Sha Lifei and Wu Ba came from the next room.

Li Yan awakened his ear divine ability; even if he didn't cast it, his hearing was exceptionally sensitive, and coupled with the things that happened during the day, his mind was a bit unsettled and hard to fall asleep, so he simply got up and came to the desk.

After lighting the oil lamp, he took out two wooden boxes from his luggage.

Opening one of them, inside were none other than Wang Xuanmo's five black flags.

They were precisely the artifacts Wang Xuanmo used to restrain the heroic souls of Mangshan.

Li Yan saw that this item was extraordinary, so he carefully put it away.

He didn't recognize it, but the False False Yin Si Sect senior Elder Yin Jiuge knew quite a bit about this item.

This flag was the treasure of the Yin Talisman Sect, and the refiner was the famous Zhang Jiao.

The flag surface used black cotton-hemp and silk as the base, embroidered with North Dipper thunder patterns in gold thread, silver thread woven with the Taiping Dao "Huang Tian Should Stand" cloud seal, and was pierced by masters with the "Six Jia Secret Wishes" yin talisman of the "Taiping Scripture". In that turbulent era, it had a fierce reputation, and after falling into the hands of the founder of the Yin Talisman Sect, it became the treasure of the sect.

Later, it was destroyed during the battle with the Zhengyi Sect, so the Yin Talisman Sect took the gloomy cypress wood from the Han tombs of Mangshan to repair it.

Wang Xuanmo put it into the depths of Mangshan to nurture it, restraining the gods of Mangshan, and making it regain its divine power.

But up to this point, it had become a thoroughly fierce and evil weapon.

Named "Huang Tian Five Elements", naturally there was a distinction between metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Wang Daoxuan and Elder Yin Jiuge had both seen it; the metal flag contained White Tiger calamity, the wood flag had Azure Dragon plague, the water flag had Black Tortoise calamity…

The five innate calamity Qis had all been gathered.

Such fierce treasures could not be controlled by ordinary people.

Even Wang Xuanmo, when controlling the dharma flags, couldn't escape, and was suppressed and killed by him.

To use this treasure, relying on his own strength, he couldn't do it.

But for Li Yan, it was the most suitable.

He didn't need to control this treasure at all, just use it as a container.

The "Five Directions Luo Feng Banner" was a Great Luo Dharma Artifact; no matter how fierce this treasure was, after injecting the spiritual rhyme of the Great Luo Dharma Artifact, it would have to be obedient, and the power of the precious banner could be thoroughly exerted.

The only trouble was the Gang Order.

To drive the "Five Directions Luo Feng Banner", at least five Gang Orders must be integrated, attaching to the five camps of False False Yin Si troops.

Thinking of this, Li Yan felt a bit of heartache.

He had received tasks one after another back then, only feeling that Gang Orders were easy to obtain, casually using the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Money to make dharma flags, and after using them a few times, he easily dismantled them.

The five Gang Orders also disappeared accordingly.

For such a long time, he didn't even have one.

It seems he must be careful in the future.

Casting the "Five Directions Luo Feng Banner" was laborious, but it could be used at any time.

And whether using the identity of "Living Yin Messenger" to summon False False Yin Si troops to arrest people, or using the identity of "Heavenly Official" to summon the Thunder Department, or even using the "Bing Ding Ghost-Born Talisman" to summon Wen Lingguan, all required conditions.

They were not afraid of fighting alone, but these few times, they often had to face a large number of enemies, so the "Five Directions Luo Feng Banner" became very important, at least they wouldn't be suppressed by military force again.

Thinking of this, Li Yan carefully put away the "Huang Tian Five Elements Flags".

He had a premonition that with the deepening of the human transformation, the destruction of the Yellow Springs organization, there would definitely be many opportunities.

Putting the dharma flag aside, he opened another box.

Inside, it was none other than the vertical-eyed bronze Nuo mask left by Erlang Erlang Zhenjun Yang Jian.

He had once suspected that this item was left by Yang Jian as an artifact to communicate with him.

Since Yang Jian ascended to godhood and left, this item had never had any movement.

To be honest, Li Yan had long given up, but his divine sense was influenced by the Yuzhou Tripod, seeing the scene of the Great Luo Dala Fajie, which made hope burn in his heart again.

Perhaps, it was his method of use that was wrong…

Li Yan held the bronze Nuo mask, carefully recalling the scene at that time.

He had once thought that the Great Luo Dala Fajie was another world.

The Heavenly Court hung high above the clouds, and the False False Yin Si was hidden deep in the earth veins.

But what he saw at that time overturned his cognition.

The Great Luo Dala Fajie was more like a piece of dark void.

The False False Yin Si Yin Division was not underground, but a tree-branch-like light.

Could it be that the other branch lights were other forces, such as the Heavenly Court.

And what made Li Yan shocked was that in that darkness, the number of branch-like lights was absolutely not small.

Some were bright, some were weak, some were huge, some were small.

Even layered on top of each other, faintly forming a nebula shape.

Heavenly Court, False False Yin Si Yin Division, Western Pure Land…

Apart from these,

What were the others?

The Great Luo Dala Fajie,

What kind of existence is it…

Unknowingly, Li Yan fell into deep thought.

The light and shadow he saw at that time flickered constantly in his mind.

Just then, a bone-chilling cold came from his hand.

Li Yan woke up violently, looked down, and joy immediately appeared in his eyes.

The bronze Nuo mask was already covered in yin-calamity Qi, as if appearing out of thin air; the part connected to his finger even condensed frost, and the area where the vertical eye was located also flickered with faint ghostly light…

It was actually useful.

Li Yan hurriedly recalled his movements just now, faintly having a guess.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately sat cross-legged on the bed, ignoring the bone-chilling pain, and put the bronze Nuo mask on his face.

He had been forgetful just now, recalling the scene of the Great Luo Dala Fajie.

Unintentionally, it just happened to conform to the visualization method!

Forming seals, entering meditation, recalling the scene he saw back then again.

This time, it was indeed different.

The cold Nuo mask made his brain nearly numb.

And the scene of the Great Luo Dala Fajie in his brain also became more and more real.

Suddenly, a large piece of mist appeared before his eyes.

Just like before, Li Yan's vision pierced through the mist again.

That darkness of the Great Luo Dala Fajie suddenly appeared before his eyes.

There were still numerous dense tree-branch-like lights.

This time, Li Yan looked even more carefully.

These tree-branch-like lights were layered on top of each other, gathering into a nebula shape.

The ones above were large and small, but they were all bright, seemingly spreading toward the surroundings.

And the further down, the dimmer they were.

What surprised Li Yan even more was that in other areas within his sight,

Just as he was obsessively watching, a familiar feeling came over him once again.

Li Yan looked down to check; it was exactly that same tree-branch-like light from last time.

It was located at the very top, considered upper-middle among the numerous 'branches', and even vaguely connected to several much larger 'branches'...

Suddenly, he lost control, and his vision rapidly zoomed in.

That tree-branch-like light continuously expanded and grew larger. Li Yan only felt his vision blur, and then he arrived atop a pitch-black high mountain. The Erlang Zhenjun Erlang Mr. was sitting cross-legged, forming hand seals at the peak of the high mountain, the vertical eye on his forehead flickering slightly.

Looking at the surrounding mountain ranges, they were all pitch-black and rugged, without a single sign of life.

Following his arrival, the Erlang Zhenjun Erlang Yang Jian remained sitting cross-legged, forming hand seals, his eyes slightly closed. Only the vertical eye on his forehead looked left and right, locking onto the direction where he was, but the focus of the pupil was somewhat abnormal.

Li Yan immediately understood: the Erlang Zhenjun Erlang could not see him.

He was only relying on the perception of the vertical eye on his forehead.

Li Yan opened his mouth, but dejectedly discovered that he was completely unable to speak.

Suddenly, the Erlang Zhenjun Erlang raised a finger, placed it by his mouth, and made a 'shush' gesture.

Was this telling him not to speak?

Just as Li Yan was puzzled, the Erlang Zhenjun Erlang Yang Jian stood up, slowly opened his eyes, turned his gaze away, and turned to walk away on his own.

What did this mean?

And his own vision actually followed the Erlang Zhenjun Erlang as he moved forward.

The Erlang Zhenjun Erlang wanted to show him something, but they couldn't communicate...

A guess formed in Li Yan's heart.

Could it be because of the 'Heavenly Statutes' and the 'Yin Law'?

No matter which one it was, leaking heavenly secrets was a grave crime.

This method might be able to avoid...

Before Li Yan could think much more, the Erlang Zhenjun Erlang had already arrived before a cliff, leaped, and auspicious clouds instantly rolled beneath his feet, soaring into the air and flying forward at an extremely astonishing speed.

Riding the clouds and mist!

Li Yan's eyeballs almost popped out.

In the mortal world, the Erlang Zhenjun Erlang could not do this.

As the Erlang Zhenjun Erlang traveled through the air, Li Yan finally saw more.

Passing through the mist on the mountain, he saw an endless black wilderness.

A winding, turbid river passed through the earth.

On both sides of the river were people with disheveled hair, walking forward with their heads bowed, their figures also blurry and indistinct.

Could this be the Huang Quan?

And at the end of the Huang Quan were continuous pitch-black palaces, as well as a massive, towering city gate.

Could that be the Netherworld False Yin Si?

Li Yan was excited in his heart, struggling to see clearly.

However, the Erlang Zhenjun Erlang did not approach, but instead headed in another direction.

Not long after, passing through one pitch-black mountain range after another devoid of life, a black ocean suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Deep within the ocean, pitch-black mountain ranges towered into the clouds.

This was Mount Luo Feng!

Li Yan recognized it at a glance.

The surrounding black ocean was clearly the Soul Sea.

He could not be more familiar with Mount Luo Feng.

But what he visualized in his mind was somewhat different from what was before his eyes.

The Erlang Zhenjun Erlang stood on the shore, looked into the distance, pointed at his own head, and made a posture of sitting in meditation and forming hand seals.

So that was it!

Li Yan instantly understood the intention behind the Erlang Zhenjun Erlang bringing him here.

No matter what kind of visualization method, there is a rule.

The clearer and more realistic the visualization, the stronger the Daoist cultivation.

Having seen the real Mount Luo Feng, when he practiced visualization again, he would be able to resonate with this mountain even more.

Practicing the Fengdu Law could finally be considered to have a reference.

For him, this was a fortuitous encounter that ordinary people could hardly reach...

(End of chapter)