Chapter 795: Intrigues and Schemes

Li Yan's sobriety instantly shattered the atmosphere of the illusion.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on him with malice, as if they resented him for piercing through the facade.

Boom!

The next instant, a sudden change occurred within the ship's cabin.

The luxurious carved beams and painted pillars from a moment ago were violently crumpled and torn by invisible giant hands.

The smooth cabin walls bulged and cracked, and corpses covered in slippery mucus squeezed out from the fissures, twitching madly.

The thick red carpet beneath his feet also turned into a pitch-black swamp, and countless withered, firewood-like arms with gray, decaying skin suddenly reached out, carrying a pungent, rotting stench, and grabbed tightly at his ankles.

The magnificent palace lanterns overhead had their flames twisted into faces of people wailing in silence.

The sounds of strings and pipes suddenly turned into inhuman shrieks and the sound of bones rubbing together, sharp enough to pierce the eardrums.

It was like ten thousand ghosts crying in unison, violently assaulting Li Yan's divine soul.

"Nuogao! The left carries three stars, the right carries three prisons! Heaven turns and earth flips, all nine paths are blocked! Evil atmosphere and illusionary miasma..."

Li Yan ignored the terrifying scene that would have caused an ordinary person to collapse, his hands forming seals like lightning as he chanted the "North Emperor Body-Protection Curse."

The reason he had easily fallen into the illusion earlier was not just because the Red Gauze Pavilion was special, but also because of his past life's experiences; the scene of the collapse of the human heart before the fall of the Southern Song dynasty made him empathize, causing him to fall into the trap.

Conversely, while the scenes before him now looked terrifying, they were easier for him to deal with.

Hum!

The Thousand-Thought arm guard hummed and vibrated, and a wild wind rose all around.

This time, there was no helplessness of being isolated from his Qi of Gang and Sha.

The loosening of the Dragon-Locking Well within Jin Ling City had caused the Red Gauze Pavilion to develop flaws as well.

Within the illusion, the body-protection curse also manifested differently.

Li Yan's entire body flashed with golden light, like a scorching white sun, erupting with a roar.

"Hiss—ah—!"

A shriek so shrill it didn't sound human echoed through the cabin.

Those wriggling flesh tumors, grabbing arms, and wailing lantern flames hissed as they were burned by the curse light, like snow thrown into boiling oil, rapidly turning black, withering, and disintegrating!

The entire twisted and deformed space vibrated violently, like a piece of inferior canvas being fiercely torn apart!

The illusion receded like a tide,

revealing the hideous true face of the "Red Gauze Pavilion."

Decay! Deathly silence!

The massive skeleton of the ship's cabin remained, but covering it was a thick layer of dust and mold spots.

The original carved window lattices, tables, and chairs had long since been eroded into mush by humidity and time, indistinguishable from the countless white bones deeply embedded and half-melted into the ship's planks and sides!

These skeletons were in various postures, some curled up in pain, others crawling forward in vain.

Their hollow eye sockets seemed to still be accusing the world of the despair from hundreds of years ago.

The air was filled with an inseparable, thick, musty fishy stench and the foul odor of decaying corpses, making one want to vomit.

It seems that side has become...

Li Yan's heart steadied, and he narrowed his eyes, scanning outside the ship's cabin.

There, on the pitch-black river surface outside, lanterns appeared once more, but unlike those of the Red Gauze Pavilion, these were two green ghost-fire lanterns, breaking through the thick fog accompanied by the sound of rowing, revealing a small covered boat.

As they approached the Red Gauze Pavilion, they stopped immediately, clearly not daring to get closer.

Under the green light of the lanterns, several figures were revealed.

On the deck, two people were bound with thick iron chains; they were none other than Wang Daoxuan and Lü San.

Their complexions were gray and defeated, their breathing weak; they had clearly suffered heavy injuries.

Guarding them were several fierce-looking men in tight-fitting clothes holding ghost-head blades.

Their bodies were wrapped in a faint, bloody aura of Sha; they were clearly greenwood bandits recruited by the Cocoon Garment Sect.

And among them, the Corpse-Garment Old Woman and the Hundred-Bone Daoist Earth Immortals were nowhere to be seen.

But Li Yan could feel a terrifying pressure, heavy as lead and cold as ice, already shrouding this place.

It came from the dark waters outside the ship.

Those Earth Immortals were hiding in the shadows, watching like tigers!

"Li Li Shaoxia, we've been waiting for a long time."

The bearded man in the lead sneered and cupped his hands. "You said you were near the Red Gauze Pavilion, so why did you run inside? That's no good place; come out quickly. We've brought the people, alive and kicking."

His words were arrogant, but his eyes were full of caution.

He certainly knew what kind of place the Red Gauze Pavilion was.

When they first opened this place, quite a few people died, and even with the help of immortals, they couldn't control it.

To be honest, they never intended to trade.

"No need for nonsense!"

Li Yan's eyes were cold, and he exerted force with his feet, jumping directly out of the window lattice.

He certainly knew the other party's intentions, but arguing with these people was completely useless.

"Wait!"

Seeing him about to jump over, the bearded man hurriedly shouted for him to stop, smiling cheekily. "Li Li Shaoxia, your reputation is widespread, and we are no match for you. Don't come closer, otherwise, even if we die, we'll use these two as cushions!"

Following his words, his subordinates successively held their blades against the necks of Wang Daoxuan and Lü San.

The killing intent in Li Yan's eyes grew stronger. "I want to inspect them first; what if you've played tricks?"

"Easy."

The bearded man laughed. "Let you inspect the goods first!"

With that, he waved his hand lightly, and two people immediately lifted Wang Daoxuan and jumped onto the small boat that had sailed up from behind.

Then, the distance between the two boats widened to a full ten zhang.

Li Yan snorted, and without further ado, he exerted force with both feet and leaped up, using a "Swallow Triple-Sweep Water" technique, leaving two ripples on the water surface before landing steadily on the small boat.

Seeing his terrifying movement technique, cold sweat immediately seeped from the foreheads of those men.

Li Yan didn't have time to pay attention to them; he first checked Wang Daoxuan's breathing, then took a medicinal pill from his bosom and stuffed it into his mouth.

This was a pill they had brought from the Qiankun Academy, capable of upholding righteousness, dispelling evil, and stopping internal and external injuries.

As the pill entered his mouth, Wang Daoxuan immediately woke up faintly.

"Brother Yan! You mustn't!"

Seeing the situation around him, he already understood the reason and struggled to shout hoarsely, "It's all a trap, you can't hand over the item..."

"Daoist, rest assured."

Li Yan gripped his hand and pressed down lightly, saying in a deep voice, "I have a plan."

As he spoke, he took the Five-Direction Luo Feng Flags from the package behind him.

This treasure was a Great Luo Dharma artifact; it wasn't that the Ghost Opera Troupe leader didn't want to take it, but that this item was already connected to the Dharma altar and had been activated, guarded by Netherworld troops. He had only temporarily broken the Dharma altar and had no time to seize the treasure.

Wang Daoxuan understood and immediately began to sit cross-legged in meditation.

No matter what Li Yan's plan was, there would surely be a fierce battle later.

The Qiankun Academy's pill was refined from spiritual herbs, and after taking it, one could temporarily recover combat strength.

Although he would have to recuperate afterward, that was a matter for later.

"Li Li Shaoxia, you believe it now, right!"

Before they could say more, the bearded man on the opposite boat shouted again.

He grabbed the chain on Lü San's body and said sternly, "We've shown our sincerity; throw the item over immediately. Don't play any tricks, otherwise, I'll chop this kid up right now!"

With that, he held his blade directly against Lü San's neck, even drawing blood.

"You dare!"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and let out a sharp shout.

Then, with a face full of anger, he took the official warrant from his bosom and threw it over.

The official warrant cut through the water surface with great force.

Slap!

The bearded man was clearly also an expert; he flicked his sleeve and directly caught the official warrant.

He didn't dare touch it and threw it directly onto the deck.

Immediately, an old man in black rushed forward and carefully identified it by the light of the lanterns.

"It's the real thing!"

After a careful inspection, he nodded slightly to the bearded man.

"Hahaha~"

The bearded man laughed heartily and gave a thumbs up.

"Li Li Shaoxia is righteous and loyal, as expected. This time next year, I, Wang, will burn incense and offer sacrifices for you!"

With that, he prepared to exert force and swing his blade to cut Lü San's neck.

"Ah!"

But just as he exerted force, he screamed and rolled on the ground.

Everyone else on the boat was the same, in extreme pain and itching, as if they had fallen into hell. ===== CHAPTER 796 =====