Knife splashing

Chapter 309 Demon God Ran Tong

"Brother, this is it!"

The monk from the Law Enforcement Hall stopped and pointed forward.

Li Yan and Cheng Jue both frowned when they heard this.

There was indeed a rather large secret room hidden underground in the backyard of this meat stall, which was covered with a strange formation. Pig offal was also washed all over the yard, causing a foul odor that forced passers-by to avoid it.

Therefore, this group of people have been able to hide until now.

This secret room in the basement is quite large and is divided into two areas. One is used for accommodation, with a brick bed and an oil lamp, and is very simple.

One is used for worship.

There is a two-meter-long altar table against the wall, on which there are not only the five offerings, incense sticks and candles, but also densely packed cat skulls.

There is also a statue of a god on the altar. The upper body resembles that of a middle-aged man, with white beard and black eyebrows. He is dressed in black and is barefoot, revealing a pair of huge chicken claws.

It's obvious that he's not a righteous god.

And on the tablet, it was clearly written "The Seat of the Divine Lord Ran Tong".

"Which hairy god is this? Do you recognize him?"

Chengjue couldn't help but frown and ask.

Li Yan, who was standing next to him, suddenly became dazed.

The hook was hot and trembling, and thick fog filled the surrounding area.

Is this another mission?
Li Yan immediately understood and quickened his pace through the fog.

Ahead, a black well suddenly appeared, covered with blood-colored oracle bones and wrapped with bronze chains. Sticky blood was swirling and bubbling in it.

Another demon is escaping!

Li Yan didn't know what was going on.

No wonder Liu Niang could control so many cat ghosts. She must have worshiped the evil god and practiced the secret methods in the "Changsheng Xianku".

It is normal that he does not know the evil god.

There are seventy-two kinds of evil magic in "The Immortal Treasury of Immortals", representing the seventy-two demon gods suppressed in the Battle of Conferred Gods.

However, this book had already been scattered throughout China during the Witchcraft Rebellion of the Qin and Han Dynasties, when the Fangxiandao was vigorously suppressed by the imperial court. Some of the books have been lost, while others are still being passed down in secret.

The book that Yu Linzi gave him on Mount Taibai was just the information collected by Xuanmen Zhengjiao over the years. It only recorded the characteristics of evil practices and was incomplete.

It seems that a new demon has been discovered, and some demonic energy has escaped from Luofeng Mountain.

Li Yan's face was solemn, with his hands on the edge of the well.

Soon, blood surged and an illusion appeared before my eyes:
It was still a large square piece of sandstone, covered with blood-colored talismans of various sizes, and a bronze coffin was wrapped inside.

Inside the bronze coffin, there lay a man dressed in black, with huge chicken claws on his feet, white hair and black eyebrows, looking exactly like the statue outside.

What shocked Li Yan even more was that the opponent's limbs, dantian, heart and forehead were pierced with bronze spikes, symbolizing the seven-fold seal.

However, now the five spikes have detached from the opponent's heart, forehead, dantian, and even hands.

This demon god has actually escaped from five evil spirits!

When all seven seals are released, the opponent will be able to escape completely!

This scene made Li Yan feel a chill down his spine.

At this moment, he seemed to sense something and looked at the demon's head, only to find that the other party had opened his eyes at some point and looked in his direction, with the corners of his mouth curved up, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

What's even weirder is the other person's eyes.

A layer of white membrane similar to the conjunctiva of a bird's eye opens and closes rapidly, as if blinking!

Li Yan was startled and the illusion in front of him disappeared immediately.

A scroll had appeared above the blood in the black well. Just as he expected, it contained the origin of the demon god:
"This demon was originally an ancient mountain god, transformed by an ancient witch, named Ran Tong. Later, he turned into a demon god, and was suppressed after the Conferred God War. He was suppressed in the Mingchen Naifan Wucheng Tiangong...

"He left behind the 'Longevity Technique' in the 'Changsheng Xianku', pretended to be a righteous god, stole the incense, taught evil techniques, and let the evil spirit escape..."

Li Yan was frightened by reading each line of words.

This demon god Ran Tong was actually the mountain god from the ancient Shan Hai Jing era. For some reason he participated in the Battle of the Gods and was suppressed.

The words are unclear and seem to be hiding some information.

Of course, what is even more terrifying is the characteristics of this demon.

He is good at the art of communicating with the spirits and controlling all kinds of ghosts. Even the method of immortality he passed down was done by borrowing the power of ghosts and transforming himself into an old ghost.

"Old Yin Man" is an evil creature similar to a zombie, but unlike a zombie, the body of Old Yin Man can still move normally and is even more flexible, like a living dead.

By practicing this method, one can gradually restore youth, but when the life span is exhausted, the Yang energy in the body will disperse, and the Yin energy will gather. One can only live underground where the evil energy gathers, and cannot see the sunlight all day long.

As their level of cultivation increases, they will hide deeper.

Another thing is that this demon god Ran Tong is very good at hiding.

Not only would he stay in remote areas, disguising himself as various righteous gods or mountain gods, he would also change into various images, teach methods of controlling ghosts, and deceive people into worshipping him.

The Ghost Cult of the Great Song Dynasty has many types of sacrifices to ghosts and gods.

But both the "Lingzheng God" of Ezhou and the "Ninggen God" of Tokyo City at that time were just its incarnations.

This demon god Ran Tong is his true form!
Moreover, the methods they teach are also different. For example, Liu Niang mainly teaches cat ghosts.

By using this convincing method, the opponent has actually escaped from five evil spirits. If he breaks two more seals, he will be able to escape.

The illusion completely disappeared in just a moment.

As soon as Cheng Jue asked, Li Yan said solemnly: "This is the demon god Ran Tong, we are in big trouble!"

After saying that, he quickly turned around and rushed out of the yard.

It was drizzling outside and blood was flowing on the streets.

The yamen runners had set up blockades all around, and the people were looking around, whispering to each other, still feeling frightened.

Li Yan quickly pinched the magic formula, took a deep breath, then looked in all directions and said urgently to Cheng Yuan who was chasing after him:
"Quick, have someone close the city gates and conduct a thorough search!"

"Brother Lu, send out all the animals to investigate!"

“We were all deceived…”

In less than half an incense stick of time, all the gates of Wuchang were shut with a loud bang. Faced with the ferocious soldiers, the people were dissatisfied but did not dare to ask too much and could only ask in private.

In the woods near the city gate, a scholar was watching all this silently. Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face, his conjunctiva turned white, and he turned around and went into the dense forest, disappearing...

…………

Baotong Zen Temple, inside the Mahavira Hall.

"Everyone has been deceived, including the witch Liu Niang..."

"She thought she had mastered some magic, but in fact, she was possessed by a demonic aura that allowed her to control so many cat ghosts..."

"She thought she could escape, but in fact it was the influence of the evil spirit that made her release the cat ghost to divert our attention. The evil spirit has already left through the bodies of the onlookers..."

“I originally thought that the disaster here was presided over by Zhao Changsheng who arranged for Liu Niang, but in fact it was this devil who was secretly controlling it…” Several senior monks from Baotong Zen Temple were present.

As they listened to Li Yan's story, their eyes were filled with horror.

Even Li Yan himself felt a chill down his spine.

If you think about it carefully, from the moment they discovered Liu Niang, the other party had already thought of a way to evacuate. It's like a gecko with its tail cut off. No matter how happily Liu Niang jumps, she is just a twisting broken tail.

If it weren't for Lu San's secret method, when the evil spirit left, Liu Niang would have been attacked and killed by the cat ghost, which would also divert their attention.

Host Mingzhu frowned, "How could this demon be so cunning?"

To be honest, what Li Yan said was so unbelievable that he even couldn't believe it.

"More cunning than expected!"

Li Yan shook his head and said, "Now that I think about it, the other party could have used other methods to silence him, but he chose to use the evil magic of cat ghosts to kill Wu Jiucheng, just to focus our attention on the brothel."

"If it weren't for my Lu San brothers' secret method, who would have thought that Liu Niang and the evil spirit would hide in such a filthy place!"

"If nothing unexpected happens, Liu Niang will hide in the city to coordinate with the outside world to do something big and destroy the Feng Shui layout."

Cheng Jue, who had just walked into the hall, also clasped his hands together and said, "Reporting to the host, Young Master Li's guess is correct."

"According to the confessions of those scums, Liu Niang has three Miao people under her command. They are all dressed as hunters. They should be disciples of Meishan Fajiao. They left secretly yesterday. I don't know what they are going to do."

"In addition, there is a cargo ship from Xiangyang that has delivered a large amount of gunpowder. They are responsible for transporting it to the mountains. There are also people there to meet them. I don't know where it has been transported to..."

One of the old monks heard this and shook his head slightly and said, "The devil is cunning and often confuses people and reverses yin and yang, but the path he takes is biased and has its weaknesses."

"Donor Li is a living ghost messenger, do you know that?"

Li Yan nodded and said, "This demon god Ran Tong is good at controlling ghosts, but his own weaknesses are also obvious. He needs to rely on the host's body to cause trouble, and he cannot see the blazing sun. He must hide underground at dawn."

"He escaped in a hurry this time, and we got the statue. Taoism has a demon-suppressing altar, I wonder if Buddhism has a similar method?"

The evil path is rampant, and the Xuanmen Orthodox Church has naturally found ways to suppress it. Various large-scale demon-subduing rituals are prepared for it.

Just like the Three Gorges water monster, even if it dived to the bottom of the river, the Zhushan Sect could still kill it with the help of rituals.

This kind of method usually requires a medium.

And that statue is often possessed by evil spirits, which is the opponent's weakness.

The old monk nodded and said, "The Buddhist sect suppressed this place, so of course there is one. Mingzhu, the water monster suppressed under the Shadowless Pagoda of Xingfu Temple has been destroyed, so there is a vacancy. I will personally preside over the ritual and suppress this demon."

"Master Li, since this demon has escaped from the underworld, I'm afraid you will need to take action."

Li Yan hurriedly bowed, "Thank you, Master Tongxuan."

He revealed this matter for two reasons, firstly to expose the conspiracy of the Ghost Cult to the world, and secondly to borrow the power of Buddhism.

After all, with his strength, it is still difficult to capture the evil spirit. Even if he can summon the gods, he still has to find the location of the evil spirit.

The situation was urgent, so the people of Baotong Zen Temple naturally did not dare to delay, and soon a large number of monks left the temple with various instruments...

…………

Xingfu Temple is located at the foot of the eastern end of Hongshan Mountain.

Baotong Temple is also in Hongshan, but it is located on the southern slope. Therefore, after walking for less than half an hour, the group saw a temple hidden in the mountains.

Li Yan once heard Wang Daoxuan say that no matter whether it is a Taoist temple or a Buddhist temple, Feng Shui is important during construction, but each one is different.

The location of Taoist temples is always based on the "Four Spiritual Beasts" pattern, but sometimes they transcend Feng Shui and focus on famous mountains and rivers, hiding the gods within, which is the so-called blessed place.

When the three religions of China merged, Buddhism also absorbed similar characteristics, but apart from the four spiritual beasts, it was also named after the Buddhist Vajra Bodhisattva and Mingwang.

The temple in front of us is the same, hidden among the mountains and forests, with tall and lush trees. If you turn around, you can only see a pagoda sticking out.

As Chengyuan walked, he introduced: "This Xingfu Temple was first built in the first year of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, then destroyed in war, and rebuilt during the Southern Song Dynasty."

"A few years ago, a water monster in the Yangtze River caused trouble and created storms. After it was killed, its spirit was still restless, so it was suppressed under the tower."

The leading old monk was named Tongxuan. Li Yan could not smell any scent on him at all. He was already a master who had entered the Dan Jin realm and was also proficient in Buddhism. He was considered one of the foundations of Baotong Zen Temple.

Hearing this, he shook his head slightly and said, "This tower was built during the Southern Song Dynasty to deal with the demons of the Ghost Cult. It can also be considered as karma and reincarnation."

Outside the Xingfu Temple, the abbot had already received the news, opened the gate and came out to greet them.

The monks didn't waste any time and went straight into the temple, coming to a towering pagoda.

The pagoda in front of us has only four floors, all built of stones. It is octagonal in plan, and the tower body stands on a Sumeru pedestal and an upturned lotus pedestal. It has a wooden structure with flying eaves and brackets, and bells are hung.

There are carvings of Buddha, Bodhisattva, Arhat, Heavenly King, and Vajra Warriors on the tower, which looks very exquisite.

Li Yan had also heard of this "Shadowless Tower". It was rumored that during the summer solstice every year, the tower would have no shadow, which was also a scenic spot in Wuchang.

Unexpectedly, it can also be used to suppress demons.

There is a well under the tower with water gurgling inside. Beside it stands a stone tablet with the words "Build a tower to bring peace to the people" written on it.

Seeing Li Yan's curiosity, Cheng Yuan started to explain, "There is a water vein under this well that leads directly to the Yangtze River. If there are water monsters in the river, we can perform rituals to suppress them here."

Li Yan praised: "Good trick!"

He could smell that the pagoda had a strong sandalwood scent, which blended with the innate strong and evil energy of the surrounding earth veins, making it one of Wuchang's talismans.

It is truly extraordinary that Zen Buddhism can gain a foothold here.

Of course, these Buddhist disciples didn’t have time to talk nonsense and quickly set up the altar around the pagoda.

At the same time, several monks uncovered the scriptures at the entrance of the pagoda and carried out a wooden box similar to a treasure box.

In the box, there was a dried skeleton. It looked like a snake or fish, but it had a pair of human hands with all five fingers complete. It was very strange.

The dry bones had already decayed, and the last trace of evil spirit instantly dissipated after being carried out of the pagoda.

Afterwards, the monks wrapped the statue of the demon god Ran Tong with prayer flags, nailed a demon-subduing pestle around it, and carried it into the pagoda.

Rumble!
As the stone door of the pagoda closed, the monks immediately chanted scriptures and struck wooden fish under the command of Master Tongxuan.

Night had fallen by now.

The sound of wooden fish, the smoke of incense and the chanting of scriptures echoed in the temple, and seemed to float into the air.

Li Yan also sat cross-legged, holding the certificate tightly.

As long as the evil spirit is drawn, the underworld god can be summoned immediately...

…………

Outside Wuchang City, in the mountains and forests.

The three Meishan brothers shuttled quickly through the dense forest.

What happened in the city has already spread. With anxiety in their eyes, they gathered at the place Liu Niang had agreed on in advance.

To be honest, they were just holding on to a glimmer of hope.

When they arrived at a dilapidated temple in the mountains, the three of them were suddenly delighted.

Under the moonlight, there stood a scholar with a pale face. The evil spirit around him turned into black mist, baring its fangs and claws...

(End of this chapter)