Chapter 7: Yang Six Roots and Supernatural Powers

The light was dim, and the drum sound was urgent.

The candlelight on both sides of the incense burner seemed to have spirituality, jumping with the drum sound.

Widow Wang narrowed her eyes, shaking her head, her expression gradually changing.

First solemn, then crazy, and sweat beads appeared on her forehead.

Her head shook constantly, and the divine chant continued to accelerate.

"Set the immortal lock, bind the immortal rope, the horse carries the soul-detaining bottle behind. Throw the three treasures onto the disciple, if you can't catch it tight, kick with your feet, if you can't bind it tight, stomp with your feet, the heart is bright and the eyes are clear, a lamp..."

And the little girl on the ground also trembled more and more violently.

Accompanied by the divine chant and drum beats, her body bent, yawning, stretching, and in an abnormal posture, she stood up straight.

After standing up, her eyes were still tightly closed, and her head shook one by one.

Li Yan's pupils shrank, and he couldn't help but press the hilt of his blade.

If it were before, he would have thought this mother and daughter were playing tricks.

But now, it was a different time.

He could clearly smell that the fishy, foul odor with the scent of incense gathered from all directions and converged into the little girl's body.

With the combination of the two, her temperament changed accordingly.

*Thump! *

Finally, the drum sound stopped.

And the little girl's eyes suddenly opened.

She shook her head, picked up the whisk placed beside her, and swung it left and right, as if driving something away.

Then she put her right leg on her left leg, supported the ground with her toes, and leaned back, as if sitting on a chair in the void.

Li Yan's expression was calm, but he felt somewhat incredible in his heart.

He had practiced martial arts since childhood, and with the substitute statue, he had practiced strong control over his body. He could also do those movements just now.

But a four-year-old girl absolutely couldn't complete them.

And the girl's expression—eyes narrowed, smiling but not smiling.

Lazy and cold, there was no innocence at all.

It inexplicably gave people a feeling of a fox.

Facing Li Yan's vigilance, the little girl didn't care, and the whisk in her hand swung.

*Swish! *

The wine jar on the altar table was directly rolled into her hand.

Li Yan's eyelids jumped again.

Using a whisk as a weapon wasn't strange.

Its handle could be used as a short stick or dagger, collapsing, blocking, pointing, lifting, inserting; the horsehair could also be used as a soft whip, wrapping, sweeping, wrapping—soft and hard combined, just like the fusion of Yin and Yang.

Those who could use this thing were all experts.

That wine jar had been unsealed and weighed at least five pounds. To be able to roll it up with the wrapping strength of the horsehair, and without spilling a drop of water, the strength used was just right.

For a time, he was somewhat at a loss.

Inviting an immortal to possess her—a four-year-old girl could do these things. What were they practicing martial arts so hard for...

The little girl naturally didn't know what he was thinking. Her right hand wrapped the wine jar with the whisk, her left elbow supported the bottom and lifted it lightly, and she tilted her head, drinking *thump, thump, thump*.

*Hiccup~*

After drinking the jar of wine, the little girl let out a loud, satisfied hiccup, then threw away the wine jar, wiped her mouth, and narrowed her eyes to look at Li Yan.

Her eyes flickered with ghostly light, as if scrutinizing him.

Then she opened her mouth and said a string of gibberish.

The voice was sharp and carried a sense of vicissitudes.

Even more eerie was that he couldn't understand a word—it was like a beast roaring, and like a person talking to themselves, muttering, very urgent.

Hearing this voice, Li Yan felt somewhat relieved.

He had heard people talk about this thing; it was called "Upper Language."

Simply put, it was the language of communication between spirits, similar to a mother tongue.

But if the other party spoke human language, that was a completely different concept.

It showed that this immortal's cultivation was average.

Widow Wang on the side also had a strange state, her eyes blurred, respectfully leaning to listen, and then said to Li Yan:

"The Immortal says you've caused big trouble and have been targeted by the Cold Altar Chang Soldiers. Last night was just a test. Once the house-protecting object is broken, disaster will be imminent!"

They really knew quite a bit!

Li Yan's eyes narrowed. "What are Cold Altar Chang Soldiers?"

The little girl giggled, and it was gibberish again.

Widow Wang continued to translate: "You are not yet a person of the Mystic Sect, so you wouldn't understand even if I told you. When you understand, you will naturally understand. The Immortal asks you, which root do you connect to?"

Which root?

Li Yan was even more confused.

Seeming to see his confusion, Widow Wang explained directly: "Humans have six roots: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, corresponding to the six consciousnesses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and intent."

"The six roots are divided into Yin and Yang. Most people have Yin six roots, but there are also some who can awaken Yang six roots, perceiving things in the spirit world, which is also the key to truly entering the Mystic Sect."

Li Yan became interested. "Like Yin-Yang eyes?"

Widow Wang nodded. "Exactly. Some things, mortals only see when they are about to die, collide with evil qi, or are covered in bad luck. But those who connect to Yang six roots can feel them directly. Some also call it supernatural power."

"But having supernatural power is both a blessing and a curse."

"For example, some children who connect to Yin-Yang eyes are often scared out of their wits, and some who connect to ear-hearing often hear ghost voices and go crazy..."

"Even more troublesome is that people who connect to Yang six roots will also be spied upon by evil things. Without someone to guide and protect them, it's hard to find peace."

So that's it.

His strange sense of smell was indeed unrelated to the substitute statue.

Li Yan realized and didn't hide it, saying, "I can smell different scents."

Widow Wang's expression was somewhat bitter. Looking at the little girl, her eyes were full of love, and she explained, "You don't need to be defensive. We have no malice. Telling you the truth has its reasons."

"My ancestors opened an incense hall. Unfortunately, my fate is shallow and my blessings are thin. Although I connected to the spiritual root, I couldn't enter the door for a long time, so my mother sealed my spiritual root and I lived the life of an ordinary person. Later, enemies came to the door, and I was the only one who escaped, but I was abducted by human traffickers to Guanzhong and met the wrong person, living a life that wasn't human."

"It's pitiful that this girl suffered along with me. After her father died, she was frightened again and connected to the mind root, being targeted by wandering ghosts in the mountains."

"To save the child, I had to re-cultivate the method. Fortunately, Third Aunt Hu in the family has always followed, which protected the child, but the girl is too young and must pass through the twenty-four solar terms, a year of reincarnation, to be considered free from the disaster."

"The thing following Blind Old San is called Cold Altar Chang Soldiers. Once they lose their restraint, they are extremely bloodthirsty. We can't fight them, and we dare not provoke them."

"If you were just an ordinary person, destroying its physical body would cause the thing to dissipate and find another body to attach to. But you happen to have connected to the spiritual root, so you were targeted and cursed."

"It won't stop until it swallows your three souls and seven spirits and occupies your physical body!"

Hearing Widow Wang's explanation of the cause and effect, Li Yan felt a chill in his heart, but he remained calm and asked, "Why did the senior tell me these things?"

The little girl giggled, and it was gibberish again, seemingly somewhat anxious.

Widow Wang said helplessly: "My cultivation isn't enough, and the defensive method I made isn't good. If you are occupied, that thing will also detect the girl, and then we won't be able to escape either."

So that's it.

Li Yan said solemnly, "Is there a solution?"

!.

Widow Wang said: "There is a method that might succeed, it just depends on whether you have the guts!"

Li Yan said solemnly: "Please speak."

By now, he had no choice.

Widow Wang and the Immortal might have hidden something, but their goals were temporarily the same—to eliminate the disaster—so he could only choose to believe.

Widow Wang said: "Go prepare two large roosters, soak rice with your own blood, then find some peach wood dregs and the ash of your own hair, stir them together, and let the roosters eat them."

"That thing will act at the hour of the Rat. Tie the chicken outside the door with a red rope, then dig a three-foot pit in the ground and bury yourself in it."

"The Chang Soldiers won't find you and will take the chicken as you. After dawn, cut open the dead chicken's abdomen and see if there is black water in the internal organs."

"If there is black water, burn the dead chicken with willow wood at noon."

"What if it doesn't work?"

"If it doesn't work, continue the second night."

"Remember, this method has taboos. No matter what you hear or see, you must hide well and absolutely cannot break out of the soil!"

After saying that, the little girl possessed by the Immortal yawned, her nose running and eyes tearing, like a deflated ball, and fell into a deep sleep on the ground.

It could be seen that saying these few words had already exhausted her.

Li Yan naturally had to say goodbye and go back to prepare.

Just after leaving the door, the stench rushed toward him again.

Li Yan covered his nose, looking at those foul-smelling ceramic jars, and couldn't help but ask: "Can these things block ghosts and evil spirits?"

Widow Wang's expression was somewhat bitter, and she shook her head:

"They can't block ghosts, but they can block more terrifying things."

"Also, they can block idle people..."

In the village, large roosters weren't hard to find.

Li Yan's family raised a few, but to prevent his grandfather from being suspicious and asking too many questions, he bought two more from other families in the village.

All were red-crowned and colorful, looking heroic.

Roosters announce the dawn, overcome the five poisons, and folk legends say they can drive away evil and avoid bad luck.

But Li Yan looked at these two chickens and couldn't smell any special scent. The method given by Widow Wang's side didn't use any magical artifacts.

What was the principle behind it?

Although he didn't understand, Li Yan still strictly executed it.

Peach wood branches were pounded, his hair was cut and burned into ash, mixed with millet and fresh blood. He first starved the roosters for a day, and then fed them before the sun set.

And the pit—he had already dug it in the room under the ground while his grandfather was out sunbathing during the day, laid it with oilcloth, and covered it with loose soil.

Not long after, night fell.

Before the hour of the Rat, the entire Li Family Fort fell into darkness, in complete silence.

It would soon be the fifteenth, and the moonlight was bright, sprinkling on the ground like white frost.

Li Yan was in short garments, his legs wrapped, and he tied the chicken to a small tree outside the door with a red rope stained with blood.

Then, he closed the gate tightly and returned to his room.

The loose soil dug out was all piled on both sides of the pit. With a pull on the oilcloth below, it fell down with a *clatter*, burying him.

Li Yan held the Guanshan blade, using only a bamboo tube to breathe.

This feeling of being buried alive was very bad. Although there was only a thin layer of soil, it felt like drowning—darkness, powerlessness, and fear welled up in his heart.

Not to mention, he still had to face the unknown Cold Altar Chang Soldiers.

Fortunately, Li Yan had practiced martial arts for years, his mind was tough, and he waited quietly, holding his breath.

Being buried in the soil also had a trouble: his hearing would also be affected. He couldn't hear the slight knocking sound from last night at all.

All Li Yan could do was wait.

Unknowingly, a night passed.

After the second half of the night, when he vaguely heard a rooster crow, Li Yan immediately exerted strength with both arms, pushed the oilcloth, broke through the soil, and rushed out of the room with his blade.

The sky wasn't bright yet, but the scene outside the door was clear at a glance.

Just as Widow Wang said, the large rooster tied outside the door was dead as dead could be, chicken droppings all over the ground, its neck twisted at a strange angle.

Li Yan didn't say a word, broke open the chicken's abdomen, and his face sank instantly.

Inside the rooster's belly, the internal organs had been twisted into a ball.

It was bloody and mangled, but no black water flowed out...

Seeking collections, recommendations, monthly votes, and reviews. 【128】 (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 9 =====

Li Yan didn't say a word; he cut open the chicken's belly, and his expression immediately darkened.

Inside the rooster's belly, the internal organs were already twisted into a clump.

It was a bloody mess, yet no black fluid had flowed out...

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(End of chapter)