Chapter 798: Heart-Beating, Mind-Clashing

Li Yan’s awakening instantly shattered the illusion’s atmosphere.

All eyes turned on him, glaring with malice, as if resenting him for exposing the falsehood.

Boom!

The next instant, the cabin changed violently.

The opulent carved beams and painted rafters crumpled and tore as if crushed by an invisible giant hand.

The smooth cabin walls swelled and cracked, and corpses oozing slick, sticky slime squeezed out of the fissures, convulsing wildly.

The thick red carpet beneath his feet turned into pitch-black mire, and countless withered, ash-gray arms shot out, reeking of putrid decay, clutching desperately at his ankles.

The splendid palace lanterns above twisted into faces screaming in silent agony.

The music of strings and pipes abruptly shifted into piercing, inhuman shrieks and the grinding of bones.

Like ten thousand ghosts wailing together, they slammed violently against Li Yan’s spirit.

“Nuogao! Left bearing three stars, right bearing three prisons! Heaven and earth overturned, all nine paths sealed! Evil vapors and illusory miasma…”

Li Yan ignored the terrifying scene that could shatter ordinary minds, his hands flashing as he formed seals and chanted the Northern Emperor’s Protective Charm.

His earlier easy succumbing to the illusion stemmed not only from the Red Silk Pavilion’s uniqueness, but also from his past-life memories—the collapse of human morale before the fall of the Southern Song—whose anguish he had felt as his own, and thus fallen prey.

In contrast, these horrors, though terrifying, were easier for him to handle.

Hum!

The Thousand Thoughts Bracers vibrated and hummed, and fierce winds erupted around him.

This time, there was no sense of helplessness due to the absence of the Gangsha barriers.

The loosening of the Dragon-Imprisoning Well within Jinling City had caused cracks in the Red Silk Pavilion.

Within the illusion, the protective charm manifested differently.

Li Yan’s entire body glowed with golden light, blazing like a white-hot sun, exploding outward.

“Sssss—Aaaah—!”

A shriek, more terrible than any human cry, echoed through the cabin.

The writhing tumors, grasping arms, and wailing lantern flames sizzled like snow thrown into boiling oil, blackening, shriveling, and disintegrating under the charm’s searing light.

The entire twisted, deformed space shuddered violently, as if a cheap canvas had been ripped apart!

The illusion receded like a tide,

revealing the Red Silk Pavilion’s monstrous true form.

Decay! Silence!

The massive cabin’s skeletal frame remained, but it was coated in a thick layer of dust and mold.

The carved window lattices and tables and chairs had long been eroded by dampness and time into brittle ruin, indistinguishable from countless skeletons deeply embedded and half-melted into the deck and hull.

These bones assumed varied postures—some curled in agony, others clawing uselessly forward.

Their hollow eye sockets still seemed to accuse the despair of centuries past.

The air reeked with an overwhelming stench of ancient fishy rot and decaying corpses, nauseating beyond endurance.

So that side has become…

Li Yan’s mind steadied; he narrowed his eyes and scanned beyond the cabin.

On the dark river outside, lanterns reappeared—but unlike the Red Silk Pavilion’s, these were two green ghost-fire lanterns, parting thick fog with the sound of oars, revealing a black-canopied boat.

As they neared the Red Silk Pavilion, they halted immediately, clearly unwilling to approach.

Beneath the green lantern light, silhouettes became visible.

On the deck, two men were bound by thick iron chains: Wang Daoxuan and Lu San.

Both had ashen faces and weak breaths, clearly badly wounded.

Their guards were several burly men in martial attire, wielding demon-headed knives, their faces brutal.

A faint aura of bloody sha energy clung to them—they were clearly bandits recruited by the Corpse Robe Sect.

Yet neither the Corpse Robe Granny nor the Hundred Bones Daoist, the Earth Immortals, were visible.

But Li Yan sensed a heavy, leaden, icy-cold terror pressing down upon this place.

It came from the dark waters beyond the boat.

Those Earth Immortals lurked in the shadows, watching with predatory intent.

“Li Shaoxia, we’ve been waiting long enough.”

The bearded man at the front sneered as he bowed, “We heard you were near the Red Silk Pavilion—how did you end up inside? That’s no place for the living. Come out quickly. We’ve brought the people—alive and kicking.”

His words were bold, yet his eyes brimmed with caution.

He knew perfectly well what the Red Silk Pavilion was.

When it was first opened, many died—even with Immortal aid, it could not be controlled.

Frankly, they never intended to come here for trade.

“No need for Feihua !”

Li Yan’s eyes turned icy; he pushed off and leapt straight through the window frame.

He knew exactly what they planned—but arguing with these men was useless.

“Wait!”

Seeing him leap over, the bearded man shouted to stop him, grinning falsely, “Li Shaoxia, your reputation precedes you—we’re no match for you. Don’t come closer, or we’ll kill these two and use them as bedding!”

At his words, his men pressed their knives against Wang Daoxuan and Lu San’s necks.

Li Yan’s killing intent intensified, “I must inspect them first—what if you’ve tampered with them?”

“Easy.”

The bearded man laughed heartily, “Let you inspect the goods first!”

With a flick of his hand, two men lifted Wang Daoxuan onto a small boat approaching from behind.

Then the two boats drew apart, ten zhang between them.

Li Yan grunted, said nothing, and leapt forward with the Swallow’s Three Dips technique, leaving two ripples on the water’s surface as he landed steadily on the small boat.

Seeing his terrifying movement, the men broke into cold sweat.

Li Yan paid them no mind; he first checked Wang Daoxuan’s breath, then pulled a pill from his sleeve and forced it into his mouth.

This pill came from the Qiankun Academy—capable of defending the righteous, expelling evil, and healing internal and external wounds.

As soon as the pill entered Wang Daoxuan’s mouth, he groaned and stirred awake.

“Brother Yan! Don’t!”

Seeing his surroundings, he understood everything and struggled to cry out, “It’s a trap—don’t hand over the item…”

“Master, rest easy.”

Li Yan pressed his hand gently over Wang Daoxuan’s and said firmly, “I know what I’m doing.”

Then he pulled the Five Directions Luo Feng Flags from his pack behind him.

This treasure was a Great Luo artifact—not because the Ghost Opera Troupe’s leader didn’t want it, but because it was bound to the altar and activated, guarded by Underworld troops; he had merely breached the altar temporarily and had no time to seize it.

Wang Daoxuan understood at once and immediately sat cross-legged to meditate.

Whatever Li Yan’s plan, a fierce battle was coming.

The Qiankun Academy’s pills were made from spiritual herbs—once ingested, they temporarily restored combat strength.

Recovery afterward was a concern for later.

“Li Shaoxia, you believe us now!”

Before they could speak further, the bearded man on the opposite boat shouted again.

He grabbed Lu San’s chain and barked, “We’ve shown our sincerity—throw the item over now! Don’t try tricks, or I’ll cut this boy’s head off!”

He pressed his knife against Lu San’s neck, drawing a thin line of blood.

“You dare!”

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and roared.

Then, face flushed with fury, he pulled the Soul-Calling Warrant from his sleeve and hurled it across.

The Soul-Calling Warrant cut through the water with force.

Thwack!

The bearded man was clearly skilled—he flicked his sleeve and caught the warrant mid-air.

He dared not touch it, tossing it onto the deck instead.

Immediately, an old man in black rushed forward, examining it under the lantern’s glow.

“It’s genuine!”

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

“Hahahaha~”

The bearded man burst into laughter and gave a thumbs-up.

“Li Shaoxia, you’re a man of righteousness—correct indeed! Next year on this day, I’ll burn incense for you!”

He raised his knife to slash Lu San’s throat.

“Aaah!”

But as he swung, he screamed and rolled to the ground in agony.

The others on the boat suffered the same—intense pain and itching, as if plunged into hell.