Chapter 697

"Sell Zhao Changsheng?"

Li Yan's heart tightened. "You really dare to say that."

Zhao Qingxu laughed in spite of himself. "It was you who misunderstood first. How could people in Jianmu be so stupid as to risk their lives for others? It is merely driven by profit. If there is a need, Zhao Changsheng would likely betray his own people faster than anyone else."

"That is true."

Li Yan glanced at the surrounding night-wandering gods who had fallen into demonic possession and sneered. "Do you really believe Zhao Changsheng can open the passage to the Great Luo Dala Fajie and help you ascend to godhood? I think he just wants to release these demon gods and turn the human world upside down."

These words were, in fact, a probe.

Kong Shangzhao had already finished translating the "Chapter on Seeking Immortality." According to Xu Fu's vision, one needed to use the Nine Tripods to deploy the Great Ascension Array at nine dragon vein nodes—including Mount Dai, Mount Yi, Prefect, Langya, and Kuaiji—to reconnect the Great Luo Dala Fajie with the human world.

The name Jianmu also originated from this.

The First Emperor believed in its profound mystery back then, but it ultimately led to failure. The Nine Tripods had sunk into the dragon veins, being nurtured for thousands of years, and had become supreme divine artifacts; the array might not work now. But Zhao Changsheng's insistence on seizing the Nine Tripods meant his intentions were far from ordinary.

"Heh..." Zhao Qingxu smiled faintly. "You know the first part, but not the second. Zhao Changsheng acts in secrecy and never shows the full picture to others. I know a little of the inside story, and it is truly shocking."

"Do you want to hear it? If you pay the price, it is not impossible to discuss."

Li Yan's eyes narrowed into slits. "What price?"

"Simple."

Zhao Qingxu laughed. "Kill someone for me."

"Who?"

"Bai Chenshan, the Director of the Imperial Observatory!"

Li Yan was stunned. "Why kill him?"

He had met this Bai Chenshan; he was a leader among the geomancers of the Shenzhou, primarily in charge of calendar reforms.

What grudge did Jianmu have against him?

Zhao Qingxu shook his head. "It is just a transaction; no need to ask more."

Li Yan sneered. "Do you think I would believe that?"

Zhao Qingxu shook his fan, the character for "Money" on it exceptionally eye-catching. "No matter, you can consider it."

Li Yan did not speak, but looked around.

Four black shadows floated up and down, the soul-hooking chains twisting like swimming snakes.

He had dealt with many escaped demonic energies; these things were the souls of demon gods—cruel, cunning, and slippery. In all the cases he had handled, they basically controlled believers to prepare for their own escape.

But here, they remained silent, like Zhao Qingxu's subordinates.

Demonic energy was not easy to deal with; it was immortal and indestructible. There was no choice but to seal it.

One would be manageable, but with four coming at once, he had no chance of winning, not to mention this Zhao Qingxu whose depth was unknown.

"Oh, almost forgot."

Seeing his expression, Zhao Qingxu feigned forgetfulness and waved his hand.

Swish!

The several night-wandering gods infected by demonic energy immediately cleared a path.

This was a naked display of intimidation!

Li Yan remained expressionless and walked quickly out of the encirclement.

Just as he was about to leave this place, he suddenly turned around and asked, "There is one more thing I would like to ask. When Zhao Changsheng returned from the northern border years ago, someone in the capital acted as his inside man and even tampered with the reward plaques of the meritorious veterans. Was that your doing?"

Zhao Qingxu was quite frank. "That's right, I was the one who brokered it."

Li Yan's eyes turned cold. "They were just mortals. Using the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Money, the price was too high, wasn't it?"

Zhao Qingxu looked up, and from behind the empty, pale mask came a playful voice:

"When you go hunting, you do it for the thrill. Do you care about the arrowheads?"

"Very well!"

Li Yan's mouth curved slightly, revealing cold white teeth. "Almost let you get away with it!"

As he spoke, he looked around. "Since I know about this, you know I won't let it rest. You've been lying for so long just to get me to leave."

"You don't dare to make a move. What are you wary of..."

Before he finished speaking, he had already taken out the summons from his bosom and chanted:

"Heaven has its laws, Earth has its rules. The False False Yin Si detains souls, mortals keep away!"

"You're courting death!"

The voice of Zhao Qingxu opposite him immediately turned cold, and there was a hint of exasperation.

"I'll deal with him; you guys make the first move!"

After saying that, he formed a Dharma seal, and a scroll of the "Precious Repentance of the Earth Official" rose into the air from his right hand.

Within this mystical realm, the power of the precious scroll was finally revealed.

The precious scroll grew in the gloomy wind, turning into a yellow silk several yards long, on which was written: "With a sincere heart, I take refuge in the rites. In the Green Spirit Cave Yang, in the Northern Capital Palace, there are forty-two departments, together with ninety million followers, governing the Three Realms, the Ten Directions, and the Nine Lands, mastering the Five Sacred Mountains, the Eight Extremes, and the Four Dimensions..."

Every character was as large as a peck, emitting golden light.

Li Yan had successfully summoned the troops of the False False Yin Si, but those black mists of yin evil coming from the void were forcibly pushed back.

He had anticipated this and, without hesitation, formed a seal; the soul-hooking thunder chains whistled out with a clatter.

"Hmph!"

Zhao Qingxu opposite him was also prepared; he formed a seal again and waved the paper fan in his hand left and right.

This thing was actually a Great Luo Dharma artifact.

As he chanted and performed the technique, the large "Money" character on the paper fan emitted a blood-red glow.

Clatter, clatter~

Densely packed paper scraps flew out like snowflakes.

Looking closely, they were all phantoms of banknotes.

Li Yan had extraordinary eyesight and saw clearly.

This thing was similar to a banknote, but slightly different; it had patterns of houses, trees, and people on it, and was inscribed with words like "Yizhou Jiaozi Office" and "Maritime Trade Office."

Great Song "Jiaozi"?

Why wasn't it a banknote?

Could it be related to its origin...

Li Yan was puzzled, but he couldn't afford to think about it now.

The "Jiaozi" thrown out by Zhao Qingxu rolled and gathered in the air, and then yin energy surged, and figures appeared one after another—some with ferocious faces, some with large heads and small bodies, some covered in long hair, their eyes glowing with blood.

Ferocious ghosts, big-headed ghosts, stinky-haired ghosts...

They were all evil ghosts mentioned in the "Records of the Netherworld."

These evil ghosts had Jiaozi stuck all over their chests and backs, and they were controlled like puppets, pouncing toward him.

Truly, money makes the mare go.

At the same time, Li Yan's soul-hooking thunder chains covered his whole body.

With the crackling of electric light, he instantly transformed into a thunder god.

Boom!

With a roar on the spot, he had disappeared.

The evil ghosts along the way had no power to resist and were directly shattered, turning into black smoke and dissipating.

Although Li Yan's "God Transformation Technique" had a time limit, his combat power could rise in a straight line.

However, he felt no joy at all.

It was only because the four "night-wandering gods" who had fallen into demonic possession in the distance were circling the statue of the fierce god Wang Mu at high speed.

Their figures began to dissipate, but strands of blood-red demonic energy all poured into the Wang Mu statue.

The peach tree trembled at the same time, its roots twisting, stuffing all the paper figures worshiping below into the tree hole, and then the painful faces of those dignitaries appeared on it, followed by the painful screams of the remaining children's wronged souls.

The statue of the fierce god Wang Mu was also lifted by the roots and placed in the tree crown.

Clatter, clatter~

Stone chips fell from the statue's eyes, revealing blood-red eyes.

So this was their goal!

After seeing this, Li Yan suddenly understood.

These demonic energies all came from the demon god Liu Yuanheng.

It was even older, rumored to be refined from breathing soil, later turning into a spirit, best at changing, able to drill into the clay statues of other gods, pretending to be gods, and plundering incense. The so-called "Peach Banquet" was, firstly, to control the dignitaries in the capital, and secondly, I fear, to raise this fierce god.

Boom!

Demonic energy invaded the statue of the fierce god Wang Mu, and the peach tree seemed to turn into its lower limbs, taking a step, and the ground shook violently.

Li Yan only felt his scalp go numb; the aura of this fierce thing before him almost suffocated him.

And that Zhao Qingxu seemed to have an endless supply of "Jiaozi," waving his paper fan non-stop, summoning one evil ghost after another to block him.

"Ang—!"

Just at this moment, a dragon's roar came from the sky.

Li Yan only felt a mountain-like pressure falling from the air, and the electric light around him kept weakening.

In an instant, he smelled an extremely rich scent of incense, and a magnificent voice echoed in his ears:

"Respectfully, the universe is vast, yin and yang are separated, the Great Xuan received the mandate from Heaven, inheriting the destiny of the Shenzhou... Mount Dai guards the eastern pole, Mount Hua protects the western frontier..."

It was the prayer text for the Great Xuan's state sacrifice to Heaven and Earth!

This place was indeed related to the Great Xuan's dragon veins, and the previous pressure came from this.

The dragon veins of every dynasty were the most core secret of the royal family, and those who peeked would die.

Li Yan didn't know what secret technique the Great Xuan Dynasty used, but he knew that big trouble was coming.

Without a word, he turned and left.

As if they had a tacit understanding, Zhao Qingxu also retreated rapidly, waving the paper fan in his hand, and countless phantoms of "Jiaozi" fell like snowflakes, gathering on the peach tree and the statue, forming a large "Hidden" character.

He looked at Li Yan's departing figure and remained silent, and murderous intent seemed to seep out from under the pale mask.

Of course, he did not pursue, and even restrained all his aura.

"Ang—!" The desolate dragon's roar sounded again, and it became louder and louder, and the whole space seemed to be trembling.

Zhao Qingxu formed a Dharma seal, and his body trembled slightly.

In the dragon's roar, the Jiaozi that made up the "Hidden" character kept turning into flying ash.

Obviously, under this terrible pressure, Zhao Qingxu was also supporting himself very reluctantly.

And Li Yan, who was running away, was also having a hard time.

Whoosh!

He was still maintaining his thunder god Dharma body at this moment, turning into a bolt of electric light, and rushed directly to the strange market from before.

In the market, the remnant souls of those merchants from all over the world also stopped moving.

They looked at the sky like puppets, and their figures gradually collapsed in the dragon's roar.

At the same time, the light and shadow of a street on the left side of the market twisted, and a new phantom passage appeared.

Li Yan could see that the opposite side of the passage was pitch black, and there were countless green ghost fires floating, the streets were dilapidated, and various wooden shops were layered in disorder, like a slum shack built at will, and there were many black shadows fleeing everywhere in the dragon's roar.

On the decaying archway, the four words "Chang'an Ghost Market" were written impressively.

Why did the Chang'an Ghost Market come here?

This "Jiumen Jiumen Jiumen Yin Xu" really hid a lot of secrets.

However, Li Yan couldn't care about it at this time.

The thunder light on his body was consumed and faded rapidly under the suppression of the dragon's roar.

What's more troublesome was that although he had arrived at the city gate at this moment, the Chongwen Gate was tightly closed.

Rumble~

Just at this moment, the city gate suddenly opened.

At the moment when the thunder light on his body was about to dissipate, Li Yan finally rushed out of the city gate.

In an instant, all the pressure and the dragon's roar disappeared.

However, the trouble was not over.

"What kind of monster dares to peek at the forbidden land!"

A roar came from the front, but I saw more than a dozen men in brocade yellow robes already waiting outside.

Some of them held jade swords, and some held jade tablets and jade cong, all of which were sacrificial vessels.

Li Yan couldn't feel the aura of these people at all.

What they used were all state sacrificial artifacts!

They were the royal sorcerers of the Imperial Clan Court!

These people obviously wouldn't listen to his explanation; they held the sacrificial vessels and formed the Heaven, Earth, and Man Three Talents Array.

At the same time, the Chongwen Gate behind him opened with a rumble again.

The dragon's roar and that terrible pressure began to overflow outward.

With wolves in front and tigers behind, Li Yan didn't dare to use sorcery easily, lest his background be seen through.

Jingle bell~

Just as he was forced to make a move, the pleasant bell sound rang again.

It was the Rabbit Master!

Before Li Yan could react, he felt his feet suddenly go empty.

It seemed that some force was pulling him down, like earth escape, and he instantly appeared outside the dilapidated Land God Temple.

At the temple entrance, the oil-stealing mouse spirit was holding a broken incense burner and licking it.

"Squeak~"

Seeing Li Yan who appeared suddenly, it immediately bristled all over, dropped the incense burner, and ran away.

Li Yan couldn't care less and rushed directly into the Land God Temple.

Ring, ring, ring~

The sound rang again, but it was the soul-pulling thread of red rope and copper coins on his hand trembling.

Li Yan only felt his eyes go dark, and he was pulled away by a force.

Just after he left, those men in brocade yellow robes arrived quickly.

"Another loophole in the array!"

Seeing the gap on the dilapidated Land God Temple, a short and fat old man's face looked ugly. "Who is on duty here?"

"Back to Uncle, it's me..."

In the team, a young man lowered his head and stood out, his body trembling slightly.

The short and fat old man saw it, his eyes full of embarrassment, but his face became more and more angry.

The Great Xuan Imperial Clan Court was usually headed by five princes, all of whom were Rank 1, forming the core of power.

They might not be people of the Mystic Sect, but they could arrange for qualified younger disciples to practice.

Supported by the power of the dynasty, they all used state sacrificial artifacts, so naturally they couldn't be bad.

But precisely because of this, the various relationship networks in the Imperial Clan Court were also complicated.

The short and fat old man saw that it was his own descendant, and he wanted to protect him, but he didn't want to lose face in front of these people.

"Forget it, it's not Chengyou's fault."

Another tall and thin old man looked around. "The Jiumen Jiumen Jiumen Yin Xu change constantly, and we still haven't figured out the pattern. Maybe one day, a loophole will suddenly appear. Just be careful in the future."

These remarks were purely talking nonsense with eyes closed.

There were people arranged near the Jiumen, and as long as they patrolled regularly, they could find it.

And the hole made by the oil-stealing mouse spirit had appeared a long time ago, which clearly showed that the young man was lazy.

Of course, others also turned a blind eye.

After all, everyone makes mistakes, and if you hold on to it now, it will be trouble when it's your turn one day.

"Did you remember?"

The short and fat old man hurriedly reprimanded his descendant, and the young man also repented repeatedly.

The tall and thin old man who helped to excuse him also turned his head and said in a deep voice: "That person's soul is patrolling, he must have profound cultivation, and his physical body is nearby. Notify the Embroidered Uniform Guard, seal the neighborhood, and search strictly!"

"Yes!"

Several young men held jade artifacts, and their figures gradually dissipated.

After they left, the short and fat old man whispered: "Thank you, Brother Wang, this matter..."

"Rest assured."

The tall and thin old man smiled. "This matter will not be recorded, so as not to let those people find trouble."

"Many thanks."

The short and fat old man breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the Chongwen Gate and frowned: "Something seems to have happened inside..."

"What could happen."

The tall and thin old man sneered. "Maybe some petty thief broke into this place. The dragon vein vibrated, and not a blade of grass grew. No need to make a big deal out of it."

As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at the Chongwen Gate, a trace of coldness flashing in his pupils...

…………

In a trance, Li Yan only felt his body falling rapidly.

Soon, it was like being wrapped in a quilt.

This was a sign of returning to the physical body.

He was a little puzzled; it wasn't time yet, why did Wang Daoxuan summon his soul.

His body gradually had a response, and his eyes were no longer pitch black.

Boom!

The sound of a wall collapsing came to his ears.

Li Yan opened his eyes suddenly, only to see that the surroundings were already in a mess.

Wang Daoxuan was performing Dharma behind him with a solemn face.

And around the small courtyard, a group of men in black were already lying on the ground.

Some had blue and purple heads, obviously stung to death by Lu San's poisonous bees.

Some killed each other, having been hit by Long Yaner's gu technique.

And Wu Ba was pinching a person's head and slamming it directly against the wall, collapsing the earthen wall.

"Someone suddenly launched a sneak attack!"

Wang Daoxuan hurriedly explained when he saw him wake up.

Li Yan suddenly understood; it was Zhao Qingxu's handiwork. He was afraid that the commotion would attract the Imperial Clan Court, but he also wanted his life, so he sent people to sneak attack, but he didn't expect that facing his companions, they were simply not enough to look at.

Just at this moment, the Mouse Big and Mouse Two in the little white fox's waist skin bag suddenly squeaked.

"Government soldiers are coming!"

Lu San hurriedly explained.

"Go!"

Li Yan gave an order, and everyone immediately packed their things and lit a fire at the same time.

When the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrived, only the courtyard swallowed by flames remained...

(End of chapter)