Chapter 748: Soul-Chasing in a Desolate Temple, Infighting in the Prison

Whoosh~

Outside the wilderness forest, a sudden gale blew, and fallen leaves flew everywhere.

The gale dissipated, revealing Li Yan and Fatty Lin.

Li Yan quickly tore off the armor-horse, and before he even landed, he turned into a ball of fire with a 'whoosh'.

As for Fatty Lin, he swayed and vomited all over the ground with a 'wah'.

Li Yan shook his head slightly after seeing this.

Anxious to save people, his "North Emperor Divine Movement Technique" was indeed a bit too fast.

Looking up, he saw sparse moonlight and a dilapidated temple standing alone outside the village.

The already low courtyard wall had long since collapsed for the most part, leaving only half a mottled mountain gate, slanting toward the night sky.

The temple gate was nowhere to be seen, and it was pitch black inside the hollow door frame.

A large hole had collapsed in the roof, and moonlight leaked down from the break, just enough to illuminate the dilapidated stone statue of the deity inside the temple, which had broken arms and a missing head, leaving only half a rotten body, no different from an ordinary ruined temple.

However, Li Yan's brows furrowed slightly, and he signaled Fatty Lin to hide to the side.

"There is someone in the temple, and their martial arts are not weak."

He could smell a faint, lingering scent of blood in the temple, hidden in the darkness behind the deity statue.

Although they were trying their best to hide, they couldn't escape his olfactory and auditory supernatural powers.

Li Yan pretended not to know and walked into the temple step by step.

He saw thick dust accumulated in the temple, traces of having been wiped in front of the deity statue, and the campfire had just gone out, still emitting smoke.

"Woo—!"

A fierce wind suddenly exploded from the pitch-black blind spot behind the deity statue!

A black shadow darted out like a catapult, its legs kicking in a continuous chain like steel whips in the air, the wind bringing up dust from the ground. The leg technique was swift and tricky, aiming directly at Li Yan's waist, abdomen, and lower vitals.

The force was full, and every kick brought a sharp whistling sound.

Poke-foot?

Li Yan's pupils shrank, but his expression remained as usual.

He didn't dodge or evade, his feet rooted like an old tree, his waist and horse stance united. He raised his left hand, blocking like a seal, and only heard a few crisp sounds like drumbeats, accurately blocking the side of the opponent's leg bone or the weak point of the ankle.

This fierce chain of leg strength was forcibly received and easily resolved by him.

By the moonlight, the attacker revealed his form:

A middle-aged beggar in rags, his face sallow, but his eyes shining with essence, and his lower stance was unusually stable.

Seeing the sneak attack fail, a look of astonishment flashed in his eyes, but his movement didn't stop, and the chain of poke-foot kicks started again.

The force was heavier, and every move was fatal, clearly wanting to fight fast and defeat Li Yan while he was unsteady.

"Not finished yet?"

Li Yan's brows furrowed slightly. Suddenly, he turned his palm into a claw, spotted the gap where the opponent's move was exhausted and new strength hadn't yet been generated, and reached out like lightning, hooking toward the "Three Yin Intersection" acupoint on the opponent's left ankle.

This hook was as fast as a ghost and had the force of ten thousand jun; it was the Red Fist grappling hand.

The beggar felt a burst of sharp pain and sour numbness in his ankle, his supporting strength leaked away for the most part, and his body lost balance and tilted forward.

He thought to himself that it was bad, twisted his waist and abdomen in the air, and urgently wanted to change moves to save himself.

But how could Li Yan give him the chance?

The eagle claw hooked firmly, pulling and twisting with force.

Boom!

With a muffled groan, the person fell heavily to the ground, dust rising everywhere.

A look of horror finally appeared in his eyes. Looking at Li Yan's young appearance, he couldn't quite believe it.

He wanted to move again, but the sharp pain from his internal organs told him that he had already suffered internal injuries.

Li Yan didn't bother with him anymore, took a step forward, and grabbed the pottery gourd on the stone hand of the deity statue.

Like many heavenly treasures, this thing looked very inconspicuous, and its spiritual charm was hidden. If Fatty Lin didn't have the supernatural power to view treasure energy, plus the wandering soul state, he estimated that no one would notice it even if it were placed right in front of them.

Seeing Li Yan take the gourd, the person on the ground's expression changed drastically, "Who exactly are you?"

As soon as the voice fell, the sound of clothes fluttering in the wind sounded outside the temple gate.

Li Yan turned around abruptly, holding the gourd, and looked toward the entrance vigilantly.

He saw a figure landing on the open space in front of the temple accompanied by moonlight.

The visitor was lean and wore a Confucian robe; it was Master Zhao Tong who had been pursuing him.

He had clearly also used some kind of escape technique to catch up, and the wind around him had not yet subsided.

Seeing Li Yan's vigilant gaze, Zhao Tong did not step forward.

He knew that Li Yan must have found the lost soul of Manager Kong.

Regarding the truth of the Yansheng Duke's death, he didn't want to create extra complications.

Subsequently, his gaze was attracted by the beggar.

Under the moonlight, although the other party was dressed as a beggar and deliberately smeared with filth, his face shape and eyes hadn't changed.

Zhao Tong immediately took a picture from his bosom, opened it to confirm, and his eyes became cold, "Shadowless Leg Li Qi, so you were hiding here!"

Once these words were spoken, Li Yan understood instantly.

He remembered clearly that on the night the Yansheng Duke had the accident, a family retainer on Kong Zhenlin's side disappeared strangely, and his name was Shadowless Leg Li Qi. It seemed this matter was definitely not simple.

Having his identity called out, Li Qi's face turned pale instantly. Because he couldn't move due to internal injuries, he looked resolute, gritted his teeth, and actually raised his head, slamming it fiercely toward the ground.

He was an expert in hidden energy; this move would definitely be able to smash his brain.

However, a sound of wind suddenly rose in his ears, and then his eyes went black, and he fainted.

It was Zhao Tong outside the gate who flicked a copper coin dart, knocking him unconscious.

"Leave this person to me."

Master Zhao Tong looked at Li Yan, "How about you go save the person?"

"Can do."

Li Yan didn't say a second word, walked out quickly, and took Fatty Lin to leave again using the Divine Movement Technique.

Watching him leave, Zhao Tong walked into the ruined temple, and regardless of the unconscious Shadowless Leg Li Qi on the ground, he searched carefully along every place.

This Shadowless Leg Li Qi definitely wasn't planned by one person.

He had to figure out exactly who was targeting the Kong family...

Inside the side room, the candle flame was dim.

In the open space in the middle of the room, two eight-immortal tables were joined into a bed.

Manager Kong was placed on it, surrounded by red ropes with copper coins hanging, used to lock the soul.

"Decreed by the Sovereign Emperor, sweeping away the universe, the twenty-eight mansions, arranged in seven stars, the universe opens the Dipper, flying wolf..."

Wang Fu recited the Soul-Fixing Mantra, pinched the magic formula with his hands, and placed the gourd on top of Manager Kong's head.

A wind suddenly rose out of thin air in the room, the candle flame flickered, and a chill descended.

At the moment the soul returned to the body, Manager Kong twitched violently a few times, his eyelids stopped fluttering, and his breathing also returned to stability.

After doing all this, Wang Fu let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead: "It's done! The human soul has returned to its place, and the soul-calming technique has also taken effect. Manager Kong has suffered heavy damage to his vitality this time, and his spirit has been severely injured. He will need to sleep for at least two or three days before his intellect can slowly recover. During this period, he needs quiet recuperation and must not be disturbed."

The crowd's hanging hearts finally let go.

Kong Shangzhao threw himself to his father's bedside. Looking at his father, who was thin and haggard but breathing steadily, tears slid down silently. He bowed deeply to Li Yan and Wang Fu, his gratitude overflowing.

After settling Manager Kong, the crowd returned to the front hall.

The atmosphere was a bit dull for a while, but also carried a sense of relief.

"Damn it, after tossing and turning all night, we finally saved the person." Sha Lifei poured a cup of cold tea and was the first to break the silence, "The water in this Jinan Prefecture is really muddy!"

Kuai Dayou also crossed his arms and sneered: "I've gained insight this time. In the capital, I heard how powerful the Kong family was, but now they are fighting among themselves, making it a life-and-death struggle. And who killed that Yansheng Duke? Whose person is Li Qi?"

He and Sha Lifei were both gossips, so they were birds of a feather. ===== CHAPTER 749 =====