Knife splashing

Chapter 387: The Taoist Talks about Cause and Effect

"It really does!"

Everyone rushed forward and took a closer look.

Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs, chopped wood to make a hoe, and rubbed wood to make a plow. He taught the world the benefits of the plow and the noodle, and can be said to be the ancestor of agricultural civilization.

All the people of China admire him.

How could I not be interested when I discovered its remains?

Li Yan quickly pulled away the vines on the other side and saw another hole. It could be imagined that there had been a stone-carved and wooden ladder here, leading directly to the bottom of the cliff.

"It should be right."

Wang Daoxuan was also full of interest, looking down, "Shennong was not alone at that time, he must have brought many tribesmen with him, they could not travel without wooden ladders..."

"Ouch~owoo~"

Suddenly, the roar of wild beasts was heard in the thick fog below.

The sound was a bit strange, like a wolf howling or a donkey braying. It was very loud, echoing throughout the valley and startling countless birds.

"It's a donkey-headed bastard!"

Zhou Lizheng looked nervous. When the other hunters in Longtan Village heard what happened, their faces turned pale and they couldn't help but retreat.

Lu Sanze's expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "They said the prey was dying, so they went around and surrounded them."

Needless to say, the so-called prey must be that Taoist Master Yun.

Upon hearing this, Li Yan pulled out his armored horse from his arms, tied it around his legs, and said, "I'll go ahead and save people, you guys should slow down and follow."

"Brother Yan, be careful!"

"rest assured."

After a brief instruction, Li Yan immediately stepped on the magic circle, pinched his fingers and chanted the spell, "Nuo Gao! Six Jia and nine chapters, the sky is round and the earth is square, the four seasons and the five elements..."

After his cultivation level improved, Beidi's magical movement skills became even more mysterious.

Suddenly, strong winds blew around and dead leaves flew everywhere. Zhou Lizheng and the hunters in the village could not help but shield their eyes with their arms.

After the wind passed, there was no trace of Li Yan on the cliff.

They hurried forward and saw a shadow walking on the steep cliff as if it were flat ground. It was very fast and was swallowed up by the clouds in an instant.

"I'll go first, and Taoist Wang will follow."

Lu San took a step forward and leaped out, doing a beautiful somersault in mid-air, grabbing the vine directly and quickly descending.

These vines are also a bit strange. After countless years, they have grown extremely thick and their roots are deeply embedded in the cliffs, like a naturally formed wooden ladder.

Wang Daoxuan and Sha Lifei followed closely behind.

Zhou Lizheng and his hunters were less afraid after seeing Li Yan's miraculous skills and they all climbed down the vine ladder.

The most interesting one is Wuba.

In this mysterious Shennongjia, other people were still a little wary, but for him, it was like returning home, and he was extremely excited since he came in.

He didn't climb the vine ladder at all, because he was so heavy and he was carrying luggage of the same weight on his back, and the vines couldn't bear it at all.

Wu Ba didn't need to use it at all. He opened his hands like an iron rake and directly hooked them on the cracks in the rocks. Like a monkey, he climbed down easily, even faster than others.

On the other side, Li Yan flew downwards quickly, occasionally stepping on protruding rocks to relieve the force. Strong winds whistled around him, forming a force to support him.

Today, his superb martial arts skills, coupled with his improved Taoism, have finally allowed him to display the exquisiteness of the Northern Emperor's Divine Speed.

The surrounding clouds and mist retreated rapidly, and he could see the situation below clearly.

This is a fairly large valley, where flash floods apparently occur frequently. Boulders of all sizes are piled up like a river, stretching into the distance.

Although there are no mountain torrents now, there is still a river that collides with the rocks along the way, making a constant roar and stirring up a lot of water splashes.

What is even more amazing is that on both sides of the valley and on the cliffs, there are densely dug tunnels, rock walls, and only half of the wooden plank road remains.

It turned out to be a relic of ancient ancestors!

Among the rocks below, a Taoist priest in a gray robe, covered in blood, was leaning against the cliff, holding a crossbow in his hand, with two copper tubes scattered beside him.

Opposite him were two charred corpses.

Not far away, there were three giant beasts wandering around. They were as tall as mules and horses, with lower bodies like wolves, narrow heads like donkeys, and they had big mouths with fangs, ferocious faces, and scarlet tongues dripping with mucus.

Hellfire Gun?!

Seeing the copper pipe next to the Taoist, Li Yan's eyes narrowed slightly.

He originally thought that the other party was just a wild Taoist priest in a remote place, guarding the old temple to practice and protect the area.

There are Taoists like this everywhere in China.

Now it seems that the other party’s identity is definitely not that simple!
Of course, there is no time to think too much at this moment.

When Li Yan leaped down, the sound of the wind he stirred up attracted the attention of the donkey-headed wolves. One of them let out a low growl and suddenly rushed out.

This thing could actually climb up the cliffs like a goat, as if it were walking on flat ground. It took advantage of the nearly vertical slope and jumped directly towards Li Yan in two or three leaps.

Its fanged mouth opened wide, and a fishy smell immediately filled the air.

Seeing this, Li Yan understood instantly.

The Taoist Yun below was most likely forced to the cliff by the donkey-headed wolf, and he climbed down the vines in an attempt to escape.

However, he did not expect that the donkey-headed wolf climbed the cliff as if it were walking on flat ground. Not only did he fail to dodge, but he was also chased and fell down from the top.

Seeing the donkey-headed wolf pouncing at him, Li Yan remained calm. He made a gesture with his left hand, and the Soul-Breaking Flying Knife on his waist instantly whizzed out and drilled into the donkey-headed wolf's mouth.

puff!
Without any delay, it broke out of the back of his head, brain matter splattered, then circled and inserted into the leather bag at his waist.

The Soul-Breaking Flying Knife is a close combat weapon that is driven by the Soul-Catching Rope. Within a range of six meters, its speed is comparable to that of a flying sword.

Now he has two soul-catching lightning ropes, which means he can drive two flying knives at the same time, with incredible power.

However, while casting the spell, Beidi's divine movement technique was interrupted and his body suddenly sank.

Li Yan was well prepared. He unleashed his hidden strength in his legs and kicked hard on the cliff. His body flew like an eagle, directly towards the two donkey-headed wolves.

The two donkey-headed wolves reacted quickly. They suddenly rushed out, turned sharply after landing, and returned on the rocks.

This reaction was considered to be the best at its best.

Just as Li Yan landed on the ground, they leaped forward one after the other, forming a pincer attack from both sides, roaring at the same time.

"Ouch~owoo~"

The strange sound was loud and whistling in the wind.

After hearing this, Li Yan felt dizzy.

This voice actually carries a hint of soul-stirring power!
It turns out that this donkey-headed wolf has already achieved some spiritual power.

With his soul in shock and the donkey-headed wolf's speed, it was already too late to use any magic or supernatural power.

Li Yan said nothing, endured the dizziness, pulled out the flintlock rifle with his left hand, raised his hand and pulled the trigger.

boom!
With a loud bang, the upper half of the donkey-headed wolf on the left exploded instantly, and the remaining body flew backwards.

Li Yan moved sideways and just avoided the attack from the other donkey-headed wolf. He swung his right arm and used the force of the palm strike to punch down.

There was a sound of bones breaking, and the donkey-headed wolf fell to the ground with a thud.

Li Yan's hand knife was a chop with the five elements of gold, like an axe or a knife, which directly broke the spine of the donkey-headed and wolf-waisted monster.

There is no doubt that this thing is much stronger than the evil wolf "Blind Old Third" who attacked Lijiabao.

Although he broke the opponent's lumbar vertebrae, Li Yan only felt as if he had hit a tire wrapped in an iron rod, and his palm was painful.

This donkey-headed wolf was equally ferocious. Even though its lower body was paralyzed, it still supported itself with its front paws, twisted its body, opened its big mouth with fangs, and bit towards Li Yan.

call out!
At this moment, a sharp arrow shot up.

It was Taoist Yun who seized the opportunity and pulled the trigger on the crossbow in his hand.

The sharp arrow went straight into the mouth of the donkey-headed wolf, but the creature had gone mad and continued to bite, ignoring the pain.

But then, the donkey-headed wolf froze.

However, the Soul-Breaking Flying Knife on Li Yan's waist had already whizzed out and pierced directly into his neck, suppressing the soul of the donkey-headed wolf.

Li Yan's face was cold and he suddenly raised his foot and kicked.

Click!

The donkey-headed wolf's neck broke instantly and hung to the side.

Li Yan then turned around and jumped off the rock. As he landed, the Soul-Breaking Flying Knife flew up with a whistle and was inserted back into the knife bag on his waist.

He is now completely different from before.

These ferocious beasts that everyone feared posed no threat to him. If he didn't want to save people, a few donkey-headed wolves wouldn't even be able to get close to him.

Seeing him coming, the Taoist's eyes suddenly became alert.

"But Master Yun, we followed Li Zheng Zhou here..."

Li Yan dispelled the other party's doubts with just one sentence.

But perhaps his tense nerves finally relaxed, the pale-faced Taoist just opened his mouth, and before he could even say thank you, he fainted...

…………

After an unknown amount of time, the Taoist woke up.

He looked down and found that his wounds had been treated. Not far away, a fire was crackling and burning, dispelling the cold.

Looking around, I saw the ancient cave in the middle of the cliff. Through the hole, I could see that it was pitch black outside.

It turned out to be late at night.

"Master Yun, you finally woke up."

Zhou Lizheng and several hunters were guarding nearby. When they saw him, they rushed forward, helped him up, and fed him some hot water.

After drinking the hot water, the Taoist regained some energy and said weakly, "Mr. Zhou, why are you here?"

Zhou Lizheng quickly replied: "The Taoist priest hasn't returned for several days, and we are worried. Just then, a few masters came, so we followed them into the mountain to check..."

After he finished speaking, he hesitated for a moment, "Master Yun, what exactly is going on in Longtan Lake? Can you tell me frankly?"

The Taoist was stunned for a moment, then understood, "Did those people tell you? Who are they from..."

"I want to know too!"

Before he finished speaking, Li Yan and his men came over from the side.

It turned out that this ancient cave was made up of pits connected to pits, and there was a plank road outside connecting them. Li Yan and others were in the cave on the other side.

Of course, I could hear everything that was said here clearly.

After Li Yan came in, he sat beside the fire and looked at the Taoist calmly, "The Dragon Suppression Pillar and the Hellfire Gun are not something that ordinary cultivators can possess. I'm afraid the Taoist's background is extraordinary."

He had seen this Yun Daoren before. He had fair skin, strong muscles and bones, and calluses on his palms. He was clearly a martial artist, and his Taoist skills were at the second or third level.

Such a person must have some ulterior motive for living here.

Seeing that the Taoist remained silent, Li Yan spoke again: "I am Li Yan from Guanzhong, and this is the captain of the palace of the Duwei Si. We went into the mountains for other important matters, and this matter was discovered by accident."

"The battle in the southwest is raging right now. There are demons from the Ghost Cult and the Heavenly Saint Cult lurking in Shennongjia. If you don't explain clearly, I will have to capture you first."

Hearing the identities of Li Yan and the others, the Taoist's defensiveness slightly decreased, and he finally said, "To be honest, I am Yun Lingzi, also a member of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect, from the Qingyang Palace in Shu."

"So you are a fellow Taoist from Qingyang Palace."

A trace of surprise flashed in Li Yan's eyes. "Qingyang Palace is in Chengdu Prefecture. The Taoist priest has come all the way here. What is the origin of the dragon girl in the lake?"

The land of Bashu has been an important town of Taoism since ancient times. There were the Eight Immortals of Shu in ancient times, Laozi entered Shu, Zhang Tianshi made a covenant with ghosts and gods, and Qingcheng and Emei were famous throughout the world.

Qingyang Palace is also extraordinary. It was first built in the Zhou Dynasty. Laozi practiced cultivation here in the past. It is the "No. 1 jungle in the southwest" and has an extremely respected status.

It must not be that easy to come to this remote place to suffer.

"How do you know about the Dragon Girl?"

Taoist Yun Lingzi was also shocked after hearing this.

"I learned this from the Dragon Girl in my dream..."

Li Yan had other important matters to attend to and had no time to play guessing game with him, so he told him what happened and then took out the jade sceptre with dragon pattern.

After hearing this, the Taoist was obviously a little shocked. It took him a long time to come back to his senses. He murmured, "It turns out that the Dragon Girl's unusual behavior was due to this matter. Fortunately, Taoist friend reminded me, I almost caused a disaster..."

Li Yan frowned slightly, "What's going on?"

Yun Lingzi picked up the dragon-patterned jade sceptre and said in a deep voice, "If I am not mistaken, this thing came from the Dragon Palace and Water Palace."

"Really from Dragon Palace?"

Sharifei's eyes lit up, "Is there a real dragon in the Yangtze River?"

Yun Lingzi was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It is indeed from the Yangtze River, but it is not the Dragon God you think it is."

"Today's Yangtze River Dragon God is Guangyuan King, one of the Four Dragon Kings. He is worshipped by the royal family, and Dragon King temples have been built in various places along the river. He is a true god of the land, and there is no Dragon Palace or Water Palace."

"But a long time ago, there was a Dragon King in the Yangtze River. It is said that he was born during the time when Dayu was controlling the floods. He was originally a poisonous snake, but after 500 years he turned into a dragon. After 1,000 years in the sea he turned into a dragon, and then returned to the Yangtze River to become the king."

"According to records, this Lord of the Rivers was a tyrant. He once required the people along the Yangtze River to offer a blood sacrifice of two virgins every year, otherwise he would stir up trouble and lead the Yangtze River to crash into the city."

"He also built a water palace, and the Yangtze River water monsters were all under his control. The people suffered terribly. It was not until the Qin Dynasty that Li Bing entered Shu, invited experts from all over, and built the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, that the dragon was finally suppressed."

"Now, it is also suppressed by Guankou Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun."

"The dragon girl in Longtan Lake was born from a wisp of dragon energy from Lord Jiangshen. She has a gentle temperament and has repeatedly rescued people along the coast. That's why she escaped the disaster and fell into Longtan Lake."

"For many years, my Qingyang Palace has been secretly watching over it. I saw the unusual movement of the earth's energy and thought that the Dragon Girl was going to return to the Yangtze River, so I secretly laid down the Dragon Suppression Stake, but I didn't expect it to backfire and make the people of Longtan Village have no descendants."

"I went into the mountains this time because I heard from a hunter that he saw a strange bird, which was the 'Yǎo' mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Eating its meat can give birth to a child. I want to use this thing to break the backlash."

"I see…"

After hearing this, Li Yan suddenly understood a lot of things. He then frowned and asked, "What does it mean that the Dragon Girl gave me this jade sceptre in her dream?"

Yun Lingzi gritted his teeth and said, "If I am not mistaken, it may be related to the Lord of the River God and the Dragon Palace and Water Palace. Although his dragon soul was suppressed at the mouth of the Guanjiang River, the Dragon Palace and Water Palace escaped into the river. The Xuanmen monks in Shu have been looking for it."

"I'm afraid something went wrong, and the dragon girl sensed it..."

　Second update in the afternoon
　　
　
(End of this chapter)