Chapter 694: Yin Souls Traveling the Streets

"Old Ghost of the Capital..."

Looking at the figure of the other party leaving, Li Yan was thoughtful.

Although this old beggar hid deeply, he could vaguely feel that his technique had problems.

The Qi mechanism was sluggish and obscure; he should have suffered heavy injuries.

Being so proficient in the method of entering the "Jiumen Jiumen Jiumen Yin Xu," could it be related to the Imperial Clan...

The thought flashed and disappeared; Li Yan couldn't care about thinking too much and immediately turned back to the small courtyard.

Inside the small courtyard, the Dharma altar had already been set up properly.

According to the four-image orientation, four-colored command flags were set up, implying the four divine beasts guarding the altar field...

On the Dharma altar was spread yellow-white cloud brocade. Before the ancestor statue were offered "five offerings," a peach-wood Dharma sword was slanted in front of the altar, the hilt tied with red rope and evil-suppressing coins, connected to the four-colored flags, wrapping the entire altar field.

Besides this, the Three-Pure Bell hung on the wooden frame on the east side; the bell sound could deter wandering ghosts.

Eight Bagua mirrors hung around the courtyard wall, reflecting the moonlight, forming a "Heavenly Net of Light" with the red-rope copper coins, preventing external evil from invading.

As for the ground in front of the Dharma altar, it was paved with glutinous rice and incense ash into a Taiji diagram.

Seven copper lamps were arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper, symbolizing the reception of starlight to protect the soul.

Even in the incense burner next to it, "Soul-Returning Incense" made of sandalwood, frankincense, myrrh, etc., was burning.

To ensure Li Yan's safety, Wang Daoxuan had brought out his bottom-of-the-box means.

"Young Master Li."

Wang Daoxuan opened his mouth with a solemn expression: "Young Master Li, although your cultivation is at the fourth level, you still cannot control your divine soul. In a moment, I will light the soul lamp to protect your body, open your Yin-symbol apertures, and then use the soul-guiding incense to lead the way, helping your Yin soul travel."

"But this matter is dangerous, and there are a few points that need extra attention."

"Your Yin soul can only travel within three quarters of midnight. Now the Yin energy is strongest, borrowing the power of the moonlight can alleviate the loss of the soul leaving the body. Once the time passes, the transition between Yin and Yang occurs, the Yang energy rises, the soul loss will intensify, and you will be drowsy and unable to find the way home..."

"I have buried hidden-breath talisman jades around the altar field, which can avoid detection if you encounter the City God patrolling, but it can only support three times..."

"After the soul leaves the body, I will set up a soul-pulling thread. After three quarters, I will shake the soul-guiding banner. If you haven't returned after the time limit, I will use the peach-wood sword to cut the soul-pulling thread, light the substitute grass doll, and forcibly summon your soul back to your body."

"So, this soul-pulling thread must never be broken!"

"Daoist, rest assured, I understand."

Li Yan nodded solemnly, then under Wang Daoxuan's guidance, sat cross-legged in the Yin-Yang fish position in front of the altar.

Long Yaner immediately stepped forward, lit the seven-star lamps one by one, and exhorted: "Young Master Li, be sure to be careful. If it's impossible to do, return immediately; we still have plenty of time and opportunities."

"Rest assured, I know."

Li Yan comforted her again, then pinched the formula with both hands and entered meditation.

Wang Daoxuan signaled Long Yaner and Wu Ba to protect the Dharma, then shook his Daoist robe, dipped the willow branch in rootless water (rainwater), stepped on the Gang steps, splashed along the surroundings of the altar field, and chanted: "Heaven and earth are natural, the filthy Qi disperses... The mystery in the cave, the bright and great origin!"

This is the "Purification of Heaven and Earth Divine Spell," used to clear the altar field, so as not to be disturbed by miscellaneous Qi.

Only when performing important techniques would it be displayed.

The willow branch splashed water, and the surrounding air seemed to become fresh.

Li Yan spun around and returned behind the Dharma altar. His left hand formed a seal to enter the taboo, while his right hand wielded a cinnabar brush, moving with the grace of a flying dragon and dancing phoenix. He wrote on the yellow paper, "By imperial decree, Divine General Dingmao Sima Qing shall protect the soul, Divine General Jiaxu Zhan Zijiang shall suppress the po..." and then set it ablaze.

This was burning the talisman to summon the Six Dings and Six Jias to guard the altar.

As the yellow paper burned, the paper ash formed twelve whirlwinds, dispersing in all directions.

The current Wang Daoxuan was no longer the miserable Daoist he was at the beginning.

Not only was his cultivation profound and his inheritance complete, but he had also practiced the "Five-Head Divine Secret," which could be used with divided attention.

This kind of Dharma altar usually required three people to display, but he could easily complete it alone.

Having everything prepared properly, Wang Daoxuan then had a solemn expression and took a piece of yellow mounting paper from the Dharma altar.

On it was a "Soul-Leaving Talisman" made of cinnabar mixed with gecko blood.

He stuck the "Soul-Leaving Talisman" on Li Yan's forehead at the Lingtai acupoint, buckled his thumb to the root of his ring finger, joined the other three fingers, and chanted:

"Nine Netherness opens the peace, the soul leaves the mysterious pass... Order!"

As soon as the sword finger came out, Li Yan, who was sitting in the Yin fish eye position, suddenly trembled slightly.

At this moment, he relaxed rapidly, his shoulders drooping slightly, his breathing slowing down, as if he had turned into a clay statue.

And Li Yan himself only felt his body becoming heavier and heavier, and the surroundings fell into darkness, as if wrapped in a quilt.

He kept his spirit in one, and suddenly leaped forward.

In an instant, he felt that the surroundings were completely different.

His whole body was light, his feet not touching the ground, and the surrounding world lost its color, leaving only gray and white.

But all kinds of subtle sounds, breaths, and even the flow of heat became a hundred times clearer.

Looking up, a heavy, cold, mercury-like Yin Qi permeated between heaven and earth.

That was the power of the moonlight drawn by the seven-star lamps.

Turning around to look, the surroundings became dim, as if shrouded in a thin mist.

He could see Long Yaner and Wu Ba in the small courtyard with solemn expressions, looking at his physical body in front of the Dharma altar.

But they were blind to his Yin soul.

Bell, bell, bell~

The red-rope copper coins on the hilt of Wang Daoxuan's Dharma sword trembled slightly.

Li Yan felt as if he were a balloon, being pulled left and right.

Looking at his wrist again, a copper-coin red rope also appeared, the tail end disappearing into the void, seemingly connected to the one on Wang Daoxuan's sword hilt.

Li Yan felt something in his heart and shook his wrist.

The red-rope copper coins on the peach-wood sword hilt immediately trembled along with it.

"Go!"

Wang Daoxuan suddenly opened his eyes, pinched the formula, and pointed to the incense burner.

Wisps of green smoke rose from the incense burner, circling around Li Yan.

Soon after, a wisp of green smoke drifted toward the darkness outside the courtyard.

Li Yan knew that this was the soul-guiding incense.

Time was pressing, he dared not be negligent, and immediately moved forward following the soul-guiding incense.

Yin soul travel was truly swift and peerless.

Li Yan only had a thought, and his body rushed forward suddenly, passing through the door.

And in the eyes of others, Yin wind suddenly rose in the courtyard, and then Li Yan's aura disappeared completely.

Opening his eyes again, Li Yan had already arrived on the street.

He looked around; at this moment, the street also became strange.

Everything was dim and uncertain, and a hundred meters away was pitch black, with nothing to be seen.

It was as if he had stepped into the Netherworld Realm.

Ordinary people encountering this situation would mostly run around in fear, leading to their soul flying away and scattering.

And Li Yan possessed the divine communication method, and had experienced it before, so he was not afraid.

He saw the direction clearly, his divine sense moved, and he moved forward rapidly toward the left.

The capital had nine gates, not just one night watchman, and they were only responsible for one area.

This was the first hurdle to enter the "Jiumen Jiumen Jiumen Yin Xu."

He didn't know where the "oil-stealing rat demon" would appear, or which night watchman it followed, so he could only rely on luck...

…………

Bang~ Bang-bang~

"Midnight, fire prevention and theft prevention."

The night watchman "Old Dou" yawned and called out listlessly.

There were many miserable people in the world, and "Old Dou" was one of them.

He had contracted a strange disease since childhood, half of his face swollen like a bucket, and his eyes and facial features had shifted, looking like a monster.

Perhaps it was because the miserable person had a hard life; his parents originally abandoned him, but he was picked up by a deaf-mute old man.

Although life was bitter, "Old Dou" finally managed to grow up.

With this appearance, he was naturally feared and despised by others since childhood, and "Old Dou" became more and more reluctant to go out and see people.

"Night watchman" worked at night and rested during the day, which was just right for him.

As for the ghosts that ordinary people feared, Old Dou wasn't afraid at all.

To him, humans were more ferocious than ghosts.

Just after finishing the clappers, Yin wind whistled past, and the fallen leaves on the ground also swirled and drifted away. Old Dou rubbed his nose, stared, and cursed: "Damn it, are you in such a hurry to reincarnate!"

Li Yan in the air turned around, his brow furrowed slightly.

This was just an ordinary person; could it be that he had Yin-Yang eyes and could see him?

Although he was suspicious in his heart, Li Yan was too lazy to pay attention and continued forward.

Yin soul travel was indeed fast. In less than a cup of tea, he had already circled the nine gates once.

Unfortunately, he didn't find anything unusual at all.

Once again, Li Yan passed by Old Dou.

This Old Dou was standing at the foot of the wall urinating, muttering: "Let you be wild, the whole capital is my latrine..."

Yin wind blew past, he shivered, squinted, and cursed again: "Could it be a woman, looking at this big thing of mine?"

Of course, he was looking in another direction.

Li Yan finally knew that this was a stinking-mouthed man.

He hadn't found the place, and seeing that a quarter had already passed, he was anxious in his heart.

Hearing this, he was suddenly angry and wanted to scare this stinking-mouthed man.

But just then, his heart felt a chill, and he suddenly shrank into the corner of the wall.

But on the street, black mist suddenly surged, and the sound of horse hooves and armor was constant.

Three deep bronze gongs suddenly sounded in the distance, the sound wave carrying Yin cold Qi and shaking the entire street.

Listening to this sound, Li Yan felt his divine soul shake.

It was the City God patrolling the street!

Li Yan realized something, followed Wang Daoxuan's instructions, kept his spirit in one, and took a deep breath.

A Yin soul has no physical body, so naturally it cannot breathe, but what he inhaled was not Qi.

The soul-guiding incense that had been circling around was suddenly swallowed into his abdomen by his Yin soul, and then quickly spat out.

The moment it was spat out, the green smoke of the soul-guiding incense scattered, as if a coir raincoat wrapped him.

Soon after, Li Yan stood in the corner of the wall, motionless.

At the same time, columns of phantom shadows gradually appeared in the thick fog, their figures ethereal but their evil spirit solid.

Tattered clothes and broken armor, their faces could not be seen clearly.

The leader held high the signs "Silence" and "Avoid," and the scarlet talisman characters appeared in the fog.

Wherever these phantom shadows stepped, Yin wind blew wildly around them.

Clang, clang, clang!

Two phantom shadows behind carried a large gong.

The texture was light, looking no different from paper.

But every time another phantom shadow struck, it produced an astonishing echo, shaking the Yin fog.

This sound, to a Yin soul, was like a thunder drum, shocking the heart and soul, but mortals couldn't hear it.

Just like that "Old Dou," seeing the wild wind blowing out of thin air, he hid in the corner of the wall in a sorry state, muttering and cursing.

He was completely unaware that three feet in front of him were the Chenghuangmiao's social order troops.

In the center of the patrol queue, eight ghost sedan chairs carried the phantom image of the City God.

The sedan curtain moved without wind in the black mist, revealing two eyes like ghost fires, scanning the dark alley.

In the dark alley, there were several pale phantom shadows, standing motionless against the wall.

These were the lonely ghosts who died in the capital. Because their divine souls were incomplete, they would only stand blankly in place.

Don't underestimate these things. If they accumulate too much, they will devour each other, turn into fierce ghosts, hide in the crossroads of the streets, create ghost-hitting walls for pedestrians returning home at night, scare people half to death, and devour their residual souls.

In the "Youxuan Tan" of the demon-catching people, it is called the "Four Crossroads Ghost."

But the wandering ghosts touched by the City God's gaze all vanished like candles meeting a Gang wind with a "chi" sound.

Li Yan felt his scalp tingle.

He finally knew why those Mystic Sect experts were in such a hurry to seize a body after death.

The physical body is a boat. If it leaves the body, the divine soul becomes very weak and is restrained by many things.

Of course, he also had a way to deal with it.

Once the Gou-Die "Heavenly Official Order" came out, it could drive away the City God.

But the City God temples in this vicinity were all controlled by the Imperial Clan Court.

Forcing the City God to retreat would also be discovered by the other party.

Fortunately, Wang Daoxuan's methods were not bad, and the patrol team couldn't see Li Yan hiding in the corner of the wall at all.

Before long, the patrol team went far away and disappeared into the black mist.

Li Yan let out a sigh of relief, and the soul-guiding incense on his body gathered again, wrapping around his whole body, twisting like a spirit snake along his arm.

Swish!

Li Yan was about to continue searching, but the smoke suddenly twisted, pointing to the other side of the wall.

Over there, it was the night watchman "Old Dou."

The wild wind dissipated, and the City God's night patrol team left.

Old Dou muttered and cursed, carrying his clappers and preparing to continue patrolling.

But just then, in the dark corner of the wall, a small black shadow appeared.

It wasn't small; just the whiskers were a foot long, and the huge nose was exploring left and right, sniffing around.

It was the oil-stealing rat demon!

Li Yan immediately got his spirit up.

Only to see a huge rat, wrapped in black smoke, drilling out from a crack in the wall.

This thing was also in the form of a Yin soul, but its body was unusually solid.

Its fur was shiny, and wisps of black smoke emerged from its skin.

Facing the completely unaware night watchman "Old Dou," this rat demon actually stood upright, a head taller than "Old Dou," its hands resting on his shoulders, and its two hind claws stepping under the night watchman's feet.

Almost instantly, "Old Dou's" eyes became sluggish, and he walked forward swaying on tiptoe.

Li Yan's eyes narrowed, following closely behind.

"She" is earth, "Ji" is grain.

Emperors of the Divine Land often mentioned "rivers, mountains, altars, and shrines," but those who cared more about "She" and "Ji" were the common people.

From the earliest "Earth God" worship, now Earth Temples were all over the world.

Just like this capital, there must be an Earth Temple near every street.

The temple was not big, about half a person high, with the Earth God and Earth Goddess enshrined within.

Capital people would often offer sacrifices, and the incense ash in the incense burner had piled up into a small mountain.

But seeing the night watchman swaying to one of them, he bent his waist stiffly.

The "oil-stealing rat demon" perched on his shoulder immediately sniffed and inhaled fiercely.

Wisps of green smoke drifted out from the Earth Temple and merged into its nasal cavity.

The "oil-stealing rat demon's" pitch-black eyes immediately closed, revealing a joyful expression.

Soon after, Old Dou stepped on tiptoe again and walked toward the next Earth Temple.

Li Yan was about to move forward, but suddenly found a dragon-headed cane stretching out from the shrine of the Earth Temple, pointing at the back of the rat demon.

Soon after, another hand wearing a jade pendant also stretched out and pulled the dragon-headed cane back.

When Li Yan passed by, he secretly glanced sideways.

Only to see the clay statues of the Earth God and Earth Goddess suddenly change positions, back to back.

Li Yan was happy in his heart, but his footsteps didn't stop, following the oil-stealing rat demon closely.

Just like this, he watched the oil-stealing rat demon steal incense from several Earth Temples.

Seeing this situation, Li Yan was thoughtful.

What was strange about this "oil-stealing rat demon" that it could make the Earth Gods swallow their anger?

It seemed that it had inhaled enough incense; the night watchman "Old Dou" suddenly stopped.

Only to see the oil-stealing rat demon suddenly rush out, rushing toward the dark street.

Li Yan's mind moved, following the rat demon into the dark alley.

Seeing the other party drill into a crack in the wall, Li Yan also gritted his teeth and rushed forward, also disappearing into the crack in the wall.

On the street, only "Old Dou" was left, his heels suddenly landing, and then he recovered his sobriety. Looking at the changing street around him, he was suddenly furious, "Grandson, you're bullying your grandfather alone, aren't you..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 695 =====