Chapter 774

More trouble?

Although Li Yan was surprised, his movements were not slow.

He took out the hook-token from his bosom, sank his consciousness into it, and was immediately shrouded in thick fog.

Li Yan was already familiar with this process.

Without wasting a moment, he suddenly accelerated and charged forward, passing through the two Owl Venerables in a few breaths and arriving before the plaza of the hall where tasks were assigned.

He took the opportunity to secretly glance at the sky, but there was nothing unusual.

Li Yan was not surprised; judging from past experience, that Judge Cui was not always there. This place should be some kind of treasure that communicates between the Dharma Realm and the mortal world, and it could operate normally even if no one was present.

He fixed his eyes and looked again; the black water in the stone well was indeed a Yin-offender.

He stepped forward and pressed his hand on the well rim. As the black water swirled, the information about the Yin-offender became clear in his mind.

Chen Hui: Nicknamed "Canal Snake Master."

This person was from the Duanping era of the Southern Song Dynasty and was the leader of the Snake Sect at that time.

Although Lin'an City at that time faced the threat of the Northern Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom, it was also the most prosperous metropolis, with a dense population and a drainage system that was large, complex, and precise, crisscrossing beneath the city like another "City of Reflections."

These canals were responsible for sewage and flood discharge, but because they were dark and secret, they became a hotbed for wanderers, criminals, and even various secret activities in Lin'an City.

Although the authorities managed them, the deepest and most remote canals remained outside the law. In this world's "Record of Dreams of Splendor," these matters were mentioned.

Chen Hui's identity was also very complex.

He was the leader of the Snake Sect, the founder of the "Snake Eye Society"—the largest gang in Lin'an City at the time—and also an important figure in the Great Song Ghost Sect. Many horrifying ghost-sacrificing rituals were presided over by him.

When the Southern Song Dynasty fell, the demon-folk of the Ghost Sect followed Zhao Changsheng to defect to the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom, while Chen Hui was besieged by many Mystic Sect experts of the time. Although he had profound cultivation and escaped, he was severely injured.

He should have died, but this guy had a trump card for survival.

The Snake Sect had a secret technique similar to the "Tortoise Breathing Method," which could temporarily simulate death. As long as one was buried in an extremely Yin location, a Feng Shui formation was set up, and secret rituals were performed, one would shed a layer of skin every ten days.

After shedding forty-nine layers of skin, one could be reborn.

Although he had become half-human, half-demon, he could at least survive.

Chen Hui hid in this place. After several rounds of shedding skin and rebirth, his strength returned to its peak, and he even cultivated into an Earth Immortal. But the world had changed; the Great Xing was nearing its end, and the Great Xuan had just been established.

He dared not defect to the Mystic Sect to cultivate in a grotto-heaven, nor did he dare to appear in the mortal world casually, lest he be detected by the Heavenly Court or the Underworld. He could only hide in these desolate mountains and wild ridges, acting as a wild immortal.

This distant relative of the Zhang family was his puppet.

He lied, claiming to be an immortal bestowing wealth, but in reality, he was secretly manipulating them to capture children for blood sacrifices.

The Zhang family bloodbath was his act of silencing witnesses.

Exiting the space and opening his eyes, Li Yan's heart boiled with murderous intent.

When he first came into contact with the Huangquan organization, he knew the classification of these Earth Immortal Yin-offenders.

Those who hid in famous mountains and great rivers, protected by the orthodox Mystic Sect, were called "Hidden Immortals."

Those who hid in deep mountains and wild ridges were called "Mountain Immortals."

The main opponents of the Huangquan organization were these "Mountain Immortals."

Without the constraints of the Mystic Sect, they were indeed more lawless—not to mention they were demon-folk of the Ghost Sect!

Thinking of this, Li Yan more carefully restrained his Qi. Using the "Northern Emperor Mystic Water Escape" to cover himself with the night fog, he silently passed through the wild grass, bushes, withered vines, and dense forests to arrive at the opposite mountainside.

Looking at where the firelight flickered, the scene was bizarre.

Seven or eight Japanese pirates were gathered around a pile of firewood in the center. The flickering firelight reflected their tattered clothes and exhausted, terrified faces.

The ronin's swords still bore undried blood scabs, and the ninja's mask was torn, revealing a half-face with bulging veins. The only one wearing a hunting robe, an Onmyoji, had a face as gray as paper, and the fan in his hand hung down powerlessly.

It was clear that those Japanese pirates had also suffered heavy losses that night.

From time to time, they spoke in hurried, suppressed Japanese, but their eyes always carried unconcealable fear as they secretly glanced toward the side of the open space in front of the tomb.

That side was exactly where the two from the Ghost Opera Troupe had escaped.

These two fierce demon-folk were currently kneeling respectfully before a tomb mound.

Facing the pitch-black tomb gate, half-hidden by vines, they lay on the ground in an unusually solemn and devout posture, muttering words and emitting a strange, twisted sound with high and low sliding tones.

This sound did not resemble any dialect known to humans; the syllables were short and overlapping, sometimes sharp like the cry of a night owl, sometimes low and clucking.

Li Yan had seen Lu San use it; it was exactly "Upper-Realm Language"!

Seeing this situation, Li Yan's heart sank.

The one hiding in the tomb should be that Mountain Immortal, Chen Hui.

At this distance, the hook-token's sensing was very clear.

But the other party was a person, and "Upper-Realm Language" was usually used to communicate with non-human entities.

Could it be that there was something else?

After pondering for a moment, Li Yan took the hook-token from his bosom and held it in his hand.

Whatever it was, once he found the old demon's location, he would use the Underworld troops to take him away all at once!

But when he activated his supernatural ability to investigate, he was dumbfounded.

The underground of this mountain was more complex and winding than he had imagined.

The tomb was not sealed but extended in all directions, with dense side passages, like a labyrinth.

Various sinister auras were emitted, which must mean it was filled with restrictions.

What a cunning old demon!

Li Yan's eyelids twitched, and he felt a headache.

According to the intelligence, Chen Hui was nicknamed "Canal Snake Master." Being able to stir up trouble in Lin'an City by relying on underground canals meant he must be skilled in Earth Escape.

He didn't expect him to pull this off in these desolate mountains and wild ridges as well.

After hundreds of years, it was more than just a "cunning rabbit having three burrows."

If he startled the snake, he was afraid he would scare the other party away immediately.

Helpless, Li Yan had to continue waiting for an opportunity.

Outside the tomb opposite, the two from the Ghost Opera Troupe were still chanting respectfully.

The bizarre "Upper-Realm Language" swirled in the night sky, and the atmosphere became even more oppressive.

Just then, the Huangquan wanderer kneeling on the ground suddenly stopped chanting, bowed once toward the deep tomb gate, and then sternly scolded the Japanese pirates by the fire: "Bring them over!"

Several ronin and ninjas, as if granted amnesty, jumped up immediately and brutally dragged out several small figures huddled in the shadows of the corner!

They were four children with tattered clothes, their faces covered in tear stains and mud.

They were trembling, their mouths bound with cloth strips, able only to emit desperate whimpers.

One of the slightly older boys seemed to want to struggle, but was fiercely thrown to the ground by a ronin.

Blood sacrifice!

Li Yan's eyes immediately became sharp.

Especially hearing those Japanese words and the children's cries, his murderous intent surged even more.

"Who's there!"

The Huangquan wanderer had profound cultivation; sensing the murderous intent, he turned around and shouted sternly.

"Your grandfather!"

Li Yan gave a violent shout, suddenly shattering the deathly silence of the mountain hollow!

Almost at the same time the first word left his mouth, he shot out from his hiding place.

With force from his feet, the Northern Emperor Divine Movement Technique combined with the martial arts "Shrinking the Earth into an Inch," causing his figure to leave behind a trail of afterimages. His blade flashed, and he lunged straight toward the location of the Japanese pirates and the kidnapped children.

He had wanted to use the hook-token, but that would undoubtedly scare Chen Hui away.

In the blink of an eye, the Japanese pirates by the fire were terrified.

A ronin subconsciously drew his katana, but as the blade flashed, Li Yan had already swept past him with the momentum of wind and thunder. Without any flair, the Dust-Severing Blade directly cut him in half at the waist.

Immediately, Li Yan turned his body and shifted his shoulders to avoid the Japanese sword swinging from the side. He lifted his left hand slightly, the Thousand-Thought Armguard whirring, and thunderous light crackled in his palm as he struck the chest of a ninja.

This ninja had a rather heavy aura of evil, so he must be familiar with escape techniques; thus, Li Yan also used martial arts.

"Bang—!"

A bone-crushing sound that set teeth on edge exploded!

The ninja didn't even groan; his entire chest cavity collapsed instantly.

His whole body flew backward like a broken sack, hitting the mountain rocks behind him, and he made no more sound.

Fresh blood was squeezed out, spraying from his seven orifices, staining the cold rocks and the edge of the campfire.

The smell of blood exploded instantly!

These Japanese pirates, instead, had their ferocity stirred up.