Knife splashing

Chapter 121: Night Walk, Enlightenment, and the Dark Mission

Deep in the mountains, the breath turns into mist.

With Li Yan leading the way, the three of them were naturally not afraid of the darkness. However, the mountain wind was quite strong, causing the torches to flicker unsteadily, and the light shining on the surrounding trees looked very strange.

Soon, they saw a pool of water, which was chilly and emitting a faint smoke. Next to it stood a huge rock with three large vermilion characters "Sanguanchi" written on it.

Although it seemed strange, when Li Yan activated his magical powers, he did not smell any strange odor. Instead, a cool breath rushed into his nostrils, making his head feel refreshed.

"This is the Sanguan Pond."

Wang Daoxuan said, "In the old days, people in Guanzhong would take this route to pray for rain. The route is steep, but there are many wonders along the way. The Artemisia Terrace ahead is quite dangerous."

Just as he said, after walking a short distance, we came to a winding mountain path. The foothold was very narrow and we could only walk along the rock wall, which was very dangerous.

Fortunately, the three of them were still in good physical condition and were careful and cautious, so they managed to pass through this dangerous road safely.

After leaving, Wang Daoxuan breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "Fortunately it hasn't snowed yet, otherwise I really wouldn't dare to go up the mountain."

"Look!" Sharifei suddenly pointed behind him.

Li Yan looked up and saw a little fire appearing again on the steep and winding mountain road. It was obvious that someone had chosen to go up the mountain at night.

He had extraordinary eyesight and immediately recognized it as the woman from before. He narrowed his eyes and whispered, "Master, this woman is a little extraordinary. Can you tell what kind of person she is?"

"Let's talk as we walk."

Wang Daoxuan led the two and continued forward.

This section of the road was relatively wide. He turned his head and looked behind him again, explaining, "That's the demon catcher from Chang'an City."

"Unlike mages, these people have extraordinary martial arts skills and know all kinds of miscellaneous techniques. They specialize in catching monsters, subduing corpses and beheading demons. They also accept bounties offered by the imperial court to hunt down evildoers, and their attacks are ruthless."

"I have vaguely heard of this woman, but I can't remember her name. I only remember that her nickname was Red Yaksha, and she was a notoriously ruthless person."

"She is a master who should have had a certificate long ago. Logically, she shouldn't be in a hurry. I don't know why she has to go up the mountain at night..."

The group chatted as they walked, and soon arrived at the top of a hill.

I saw dense forests in the mountains. Although it was dark all around, the starry sky was exceptionally bright, with sparkling stars all over the sky and the Milky Way hanging high in the sky.

"Wow, what a beautiful view!" Sharifei rubbed his hands and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Wang Daoxuan looked up at the sky and smiled, "Records of Strange Things" states: The essence of Venus fell to the west of Mount Zhongnan. Its essence turned into white stone like beautiful jade, and sometimes purple air revived it. This is the origin of the name of Mount Taibai."

"This place is a cave paradise and suitable for stargazing. Many seniors in Doumuyuan are good at stargazing and divination."

"Master, which one are you good at?"

"This... I know a little bit about it, but I don't understand it at all."

"Let's go, after we pass Panlong Mountain, we'll find a place to rest."

The two of them talked and laughed as they walked, just to relieve the coldness on their bodies. They were so heroic when they went out before, but now they looked so embarrassed.

As for Li Yan, he gradually fell silent.

It is difficult to see in the darkness of the mountains. Even if you walk with a torch, you cannot see the road in the distance clearly.

He had to activate his sense of smell at all times to lead the way, but because of this, he had a deeper understanding of the cave.

This mountain range is majestic and magnificent, with innate energy vast and boundless, like an ancient giant, connecting the earth's veins below and the stars above.

And he is a flea walking on a giant.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered the words of the old woman from Tianzhu Mountain.

The life of a mortal is short, like a spark. Even if there is a road that leads to heaven, it is difficult to go far.

Just like the "Luofeng Sutra" he obtained, with eighteen floors and six palaces, each one more difficult than the last, and mortals can't see the end at all...

Just like this Taoist cave Taibai Mountain, the reason for its initial formation is unknown. Perhaps, as Wang Daoxuan said, the essence of Venus fell, but it is likely that it would take tens of millions of years for such a situation to form...

"Hey, Brother Yan..."

Seeing that Li Yan had a strange expression, Sharifei was about to speak, but was stopped by Wang Daoxuan, who shook his head slightly.

He knew that Li Yan was having an epiphany.

Many cultivators will encounter this situation when they first arrive at the cave heaven. After all, it is a small opportunity and should not be interrupted rashly.

Although Sharifei didn't understand, he knew what to do and kept his mouth shut.

The two stopped talking and followed Li Yan in silence.

Fortunately, at this moment Li Yan was like a machine, climbing the mountain with a torch, leading the way silently in front, and always finding the focus without making any mistakes.

But gradually, the two of them could not keep up.

Another hour passed, and as it was freezing cold, Wang Daoxuan felt his whole body numb and his legs stiff. He could no longer hold on, and he slipped and almost fell to the ground.

"Brother Yan!"

Sharifei couldn't help but shout.

"Oh!"

Li Yan suddenly came back to his senses, looked around, and immediately understood what had happened. He apologized and said, "I got dizzy. Let's find a place to rest first."

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked, and found that they had bypassed Panlong Mountain. He led the two of them off the mountain path, passed through a small forest, and came to the front of the mountain wall.

A hundred meters ahead, there was a small cave.

Before he got close, Li Yan took out the Divine Tiger Order, stepped on the magic circle, pinched his fingers and chanted: "Nuo Gao, the great-grandson Wang Jia is the only one who can open the Six Jia Azure Dragon, the Six Yi Feng Xing, the Six Bing Ming Tang... Hurry up and obey the order!"

Call ~
Wang Daoxuan and the other man only felt a sudden cold wind blowing around them.

At this moment, Li Yan seemed to have turned into a tiger in the mountains.

Wow!
A black bear suddenly jumped out of the cave. It looked so miserable that it didn't dare to approach the three people. It rushed into the dense forest without looking back and fled.

At the same time, there were rustling sounds all around, and some wild animals such as mice, rabbits, black-necked snakes, skinks, etc. came out and fled in all directions.

What Li Yan used was naturally the Baopu mountaineering technique.

He has become proficient in this technique, and with the help of the Divine Tiger Order, it is naturally perfect for scaring away wild beasts.

"We have bad guests..."

Wang Daoxuan laughed silently, but he could not hide the fatigue on his face.

After entering the cave, the smell of bears was still there.

The three of them didn't care. After a while, they lit a bonfire, warmed up the wine to keep warm, and ate some dry food.

The night wind was howling, and even though they were all wearing sheepskin coats and wrapped in blankets, they still felt cold all over.

Suddenly, Li Yan frowned, slowly pressed the hilt of the knife, looked out of the cave where the night wind was howling, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Friend, since it's hard to walk at night, why don't you come in and rest for a while."

"Thank you, no need."

A cold voice sounded outside the cave, and then the footsteps became farther and farther away.

Sharifei naturally knew it was the female demon catcher. After she was completely far away, he shook his head and said, "What a weird person."

"Forget it, ignore it."

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "Master, the two of you don't need to keep watch today. Go to bed early and travel tomorrow. I have some insights and I just want to figure them out."

"Oh?"

Wang Daoxuan was stunned, but didn't ask any more questions.

After riding on horseback and climbing up the mountain at night, he could no longer bear it. He wrapped himself tightly in the blanket and fell asleep soon.

Sharifei fell asleep immediately and snored continuously.

Only Li Yan sat in front of the fire, staring blankly outside the cave.

He has been trying to comprehend the Luofeng Sutra since he got it, but there are a few sentences in it that are still a little confusing to him.

This method is of great importance and cannot be mentioned to others.

But just now, when he was climbing the mountain, his mind sank into the innate energy of Taibai Mountain, which made many key points suddenly become clear.

"So the body is the place where the spirit resides. If you want the spirit to live forever, there is nothing better than building pillars. The pillar is the master of the house. It is the place where the spirit resides, and it neither sinks nor floats..."

This is the foundation of building a tower.

This world has no spiritual energy, but it has innate energy and evil energy, forming various "situations" and "trends". The so-called building is to visualize after concentrating the mind, using the energy of the evil spirit to form a small situation in the mind.

Famous mountains and rivers are home to blessed places, which represent the situation of heaven and earth.

The external manifestation of the situation in the state of mind concentration is the tower. And the state of mind concentration is like the birth of gods in the paradise, and when casting spells, the divine power can be drawn out or borrowed.

The Luofeng Jing is a law about ghosts and gods in the underworld, so it is naturally more extraordinary.

Ordinary cultivators only need to take advantage of the situation of the blessed land and absorb some innate qi to build a tower. Some external Taoist techniques will even borrow the qi of evil or poison.

The so-called Luofeng Mountain has a night-light palace on top and nine government offices below, where yin and yang, life and death, and disasters all stop.

The metaphor in this scripture points out that the key to building towers in the Luofeng Sutra is the balance of yin and yang.

At that time, he will not only infect the innate evil spirits of Taibai Cave Heaven, but also perform rituals and stir up the yin energy of the earth to become the base of the tower.

According to the scriptures, when this method is cultivated to a high level, the towering pavilion will shine brightly, and the negative energy below will transform into the Six Heavenly Demon Kings, who can leave the body at will and control it like an apostle or servant god.

Of course, at least three floors must be built and then the first palace, "Gansilianwanlutian Palace", must be formed before this secret method can be used.

However, Li Yan still had a question in his mind.

Thanks to his cheap master, he has already obtained his first underworld magical power, the Soul-Catching Rope. Who knows whether the Soul-Catching Rope will be strengthened or he will obtain a new magical power...

Just as Li Yan was deep in thought, thick fog suddenly rose around him.

Why are you here again!
Li Yan frowned and looked unhappy.

He was very familiar with this thing. He tried to use the magic formula but was unable to activate his magical powers. As expected, he fell into a dream again.

But I have inherited it from my master.

Why was I hooked into the dream again?

Is it...

Li Yan had a bad feeling in his heart.

Could it be that the underworld has sent a mission?
He already had experience, moving quickly through the fog.

Sure enough, after running for an unknown distance, the scene in front of us changed again. There was a stone well. It was very ancient and I didn't know what era it was from.

Li Yan was about to move forward when he suddenly had an idea.

He began to visualize, and the appearance of the ancient well changed.

However, the stone well remained motionless.

Seeing this situation, Li Yan had some vague guesses in his mind.

The "Gan Si Lian Wan Lu Tian Palace" that we saw before was most likely the visualization of our cheap master, so it was able to change.

And what is before us may be something from the underworld.

He carefully walked to the mouth of the well and looked out.

I saw that the water surface in the well was only half a foot away from the well mouth. It was pitch black, like the surface of a glass mirror, without a single ripple.

After watching for a long time, there was no change in the water in the well.

How should I use this high-end stuff from the underworld?
In the "Law of the Underworld" given by the old woman from Tianzhu Mountain, it is said that there are living ghost messengers who take on tasks from the underworld, but it does not explain in detail, only mentioning that the scenes seen by each person are different.

Some people hear dark shadows speaking in their dreams, some see handwriting, and some are even more confused and get information about assassins when they wake up.

What's going on with me?

Li Yan was a little confused and touched the edge of the well carefully.

Wow!
At the moment of contact, the well water began to rotate rapidly.

A whirlpool first formed on the dark water surface, then thick fog rose, and gradually, light and shadows appeared.

This is a bit like the circular light technique mentioned by Wang Daoxuan...

Just when Li Yan was wondering, the scene finally became clear.

First there was a cave covered with ice, and then there was an open space deep inside, and the land gradually became transparent.

Three feet below the ground, there was a large black jar buried.

The outside of the black jar was wrapped with red ropes and densely hung with copper coins, and the seal was covered with yellow talismans, making it look very much like a wandering soul jar.

Then the jar also became transparent.

Seeing the situation inside, Li Yan's pupils suddenly shrank.

In the jar, there was an old Taoist sitting cross-legged. He was wearing a black Taoist robe, had an old face full of wrinkles, white hair and beard like a spider web, and the fingernails on both hands were several inches long and crooked.

It looks like an old zombie.

However, his chest still rose and fell...

Li Yan swallowed his saliva and vaguely guessed the identity of the criminal.

A monk who used evil methods to prolong his life!
These people are not immortal, but they have lost all vitality. However, their three souls and seven spirits try to stay in their bodies by force, and the death energy continues to gather like evil spirits.

Perhaps, these people are thinking of coming back to life.

However, this kind of behavior disrupts yin and yang and violates the taboos of the underworld.

The problem is, this old zombie might be a master of Xuanmen from many years ago. How can a rookie like him deal with it?

Thinking of this, Li Yan quickly shook his head.
"I can't take this mission..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly woke up.

I saw that the bonfire was still burning, but outside, at some point, a light rain began to fall, making a rustling sound in the darkness.

What happened just now seemed like a dream.

"It seems that this job is not easy..."

Li Yan shook his head slightly and didn't care.

Right now, we should focus on building the pavilion, and put everything else aside for now...

…………

It drizzled all night and finally stopped just before dawn.

Although Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan were extremely cold, they had recovered a lot of their energy after a night's sleep.

Li Yan spent most of the night concentrating.

You need to concentrate your mind and enter a state of stillness, and you won’t feel that tired.

"Why is it raining?"

Sharifei looked at the mud outside and couldn't help complaining.

Wang Daoxuan shook his head and said, "This Taibai Mountain is the crown of the Qinling Mountains and the highest peak in eastern Shenzhou. The climate is famous for its unpredictable changes."

"Even the "Notes on the Classic of Watercourses" mentioned that when marching in the mountains, one must not blow horns. If one blows horns, violent storms will come, showing how unpredictable it is."

"We are only at the foot of the mountain now. The higher we go, the colder it gets. We may even experience wind, frost, rain and snow in one day. Fortunately, we don't have to go to Baxiantai. We can just go to Doumu Peak."

"Let's go, there's still a long way to go..."

"Master, you have been to Baxiantai."

"It's too steep there, I'm not interested in it, but it's rumored that Baxiantai is the place where Taigong conferred the gods, and there's even an altar from that time. I'll have to go and see it if I have a chance..."

The three of them packed up their things as they talked.

After exiting the cave, we continued forward under the guidance of Wang Daoxuan, sometimes passing a suspension bridge, sometimes crossing the ancient plank road of the Three Kingdoms, sometimes seeing waterfalls and flowing clouds, and sometimes viewing cliff carvings.

As one of the cave paradises, although the road to Taibai Mountain is difficult to travel, there are many wonders along the way.

Of course, the environment is getting worse and worse.

As the altitude gradually increased, Wang Daoxuan developed altitude sickness and could hardly breathe. Fortunately, they came across a mountain temple on the road. After a night's rest, they recovered and continued on their journey.

As we went further up, it started to snow lightly, making the road increasingly difficult to travel on.

Just as Sharifei said, the mountain road was blocked, and with the accumulation of snow and ice, many people were trapped halfway.

Among these people, some are witches and sorcerers near Chang'an. They come to borrow spiritual orifices because they are afraid that they will not be able to get the Taoist certificate next year.

Unfortunately, their health was worse than Wang Daoxuan’s and they were unable to move forward. They could only watch everyone leave unwillingly.

A day later, the three finally arrived at Doumu Palace.

I saw strange peaks and rocks standing in the mountains, like a palm holding a magnificent palace in the palm, looking up at the sky...

(End of this chapter)