Knife splashing

Chapter 396: Dragon Girl's Request

Li Yan was having a strange dream.

He looked around. He was still on the top of the mountain. The bonfire flickered but made no sound, as if he was in a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness.

Sharifei and Wuba were nowhere to be seen.

He wanted to get up, but found that he couldn't move at all.

There was the sound of waves all around, and Li Yan was unable to move, but he could see water splashing out on the ground in front of him, which quickly submerged his feet.

What happened?

Just when Li Yan was puzzled, his whole body suddenly stiffened.

He could feel something close to him from behind, fine hair tickling the back of his neck, and a pair of tender hands passing through from both sides, embracing him.

In an instant, illusions rose before Li Yan's eyes.

He saw the rivers surging, destroying countless villages and towns along the way, the barrier lakes in the mountains collapsed, turning into mountain torrents and rushing down, the tides and mist surging, like yellow dragons...

Countless mountain torrents rushed and converged into the Yangtze River. Thunderclouds loomed in the sky, lightning roared, and heavy rain poured down. It was a doomsday scene...

On the surging river surface, alligators, turtles, fish and shrimps were running around in a panic. They were all huge and swallowed up the fallen livestock and civilians. There was also a huge black shadow below, twisting like a snake...

On top of the surrounding mountains, there are altars.

Countless monks were performing rituals at the same time. They were wearing strange clothes, similar to Taoist robes or witches. Sometimes they were performing rituals, and sometimes they were hammering huge copper nails into various places on the top of the mountain...

The turbulent rivers calmed down, and officials in black robes appeared with countless people, blocking the rivers and building dams.

Looking down from the sky, it looks like a huge tiger talisman, suppressing the entire river...

No one could see their faces clearly, but Li Yan vaguely understood that this was the scene when the Dujiangyan Irrigation System was being built.

The black robe was a straight-hem robe from the Qin Dynasty, with patterns embroidered on the collar, cuffs and hem. He was also wearing a crown and jade pendants, so it should be Li Bing.

Once the Dujiangyan Irrigation System was completed, the rivers became calm, the sky cleared, and the people along the river banks cheered, but Li Yan could see more clearly from the sky.

The huge black shadow originally in the Yangtze River continued to merge into the mountains, turning into a dragon-shaped white gas and merging with a huge mountain range.

The area where its tail was located looked very familiar to him. He had just seen the mountain god "Zuo Yu" a few days ago. It was Shennongjia!
The rivers calmed down, and the monsters in the water that were raging were hunted down. Some were skinned and their bones taken out, while others were tied up with chains and placed at the entrances of some tomb waterways that were being built...

Li Yan immediately understood the identities of these people.

Fangxian Taoist sorcerer!
After the river calmed down, a dragon-shaped white mist rose up, and with the rolling wind and thunder, it landed on Shennongjia...

.........

Call ~
Li Yan took a deep breath and suddenly opened his eyes.

The bonfire crackled. Sharifei, who was on night watch, was adding firewood. When he saw him wake up, he quickly said, "If you are tired, Brother Yan, just sleep a little longer. Wu Ba and I will keep watch tonight."

Originally, the three of them were to keep watch separately, but Li Yan was snoring so loudly just now that Sharifei thought he was too tired from fighting during the day, so he did not disturb him.

Li Yan was stunned for a moment, and quickly took out the dragon-patterned jade sceptre from his arms. Feeling the residual heat on it, he suddenly spoke:

"I understand!"

Sharifi was confused, "What did you understand?"

Li Yan stroked the dragon-patterned jade sceptre in his hand with a complicated look in his eyes. He looked to the northwest and said in a deep voice, "The dragon-suppressing stake should have been pulled out over there. The dragon girl came to me in a dream just now."

"Dragon Girl?!"

Sha Lifei's eyes lit up and he chuckled, "Is she pretty? Could it be that you want to marry Brother Yan like Liu Yi?"

"Don't talk nonsense."

Li Yan shook his head and said, "The gods are different from what you think. They are the spirits of the mountains, rivers and earth. Don't judge them by human nature. Besides, I didn't see what they looked like."

Sharifei was very interested, "What did she say?"

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "I know why the Dragon Girl landed here, and I finally understand why she moved so strangely."

"Back then, Lord Jiangshen was the dragon god of the Yangtze River. He wreaked havoc and was defeated by Li Bing and Xuanmen. They then built the Dujiangyan Weir to suppress him. The dragon soul was suppressed under the Dujiangyan Weir, but the dragon shape was compatible with the dragon energy of the Daba Mountain..."

As he spoke, his eyes were somewhat complicated, "Back then, Lord Jiangshen required all cities along the river to offer two virgin girls as blood sacrifices every year. The dragon girls are the spirits of these girls after their death, fused with a wisp of dragon energy."

"That's why the Dragon Girl often protects the people around her. Shennongjia is also part of the Daba Mountains. After Lord Jiangshen was suppressed, the Dragon Girl instinctively landed here."

"The people of Qingyang Palace thought that the dragon girl was escaping, but in fact it was the law of heaven and earth. The dragon girl was attracted by the dragon energy of the same origin and fell into Shennongjia, gradually absorbing the dragon energy of Lord Jiangshen and replacing him."

"Originally, this matter could proceed smoothly, but two years ago, the Dragon Girl suddenly sensed the abnormal aura of Lord Jiangshen and tried to leave..."

Sharifei was surprised when he heard this. "Isn't Lord Jiangshen suppressed under Dujiangyan? He is also under Erlang Shen's supervision. How could something go wrong?"

"That's not clear."

Li Yan looked at the dragon-patterned jade sceptre in his hand and said with a headache, "This item is the key to open the Dragon Palace and the Water Palace. The Dragon Girl gathered a wisp of energy on it. I guess she wants me to find the Water Palace and find out what happened?"

"I see…"

Sharifei touched his big bald head and said, "I understand. This is a commission from the Dragon Girl. She wants us to find out what happened. The treasures in the Dragon Palace and Water Palace are our reward!"

Li Yan was stunned. "That's not wrong."

Sharifei muttered, “It sounds like a big problem, but if we can really find it, we will be completely rich!”

Li Yan shook his head slightly. "It's too early to think about these things now. We will make plans after entering Shu. As for the trapped dragon, the dragon girl also told us its origin."

"Oh?"

Sharifei asked quickly: "What is the origin of that thing?"

Li Yan recalled what he saw in the illusion and said in a deep voice: "This matter is also related to the Song Dynasty and Erlang Shen."

"At that time, the issue of conferring the title of Erlang Shen caused a lot of chaos. Some people in Bashu even rebelled because of it, which led to the abnormal movement of Bashan Mountain. A wisp of dragon energy leaked out and was absorbed by a snake demon in Shennongjia, which cultivated into a dragon."

"Unfortunately, the terrain in various places is abnormal, and there are people who interfere, forming a situation that traps the dragon. Over time, this disaster has been left behind."

“So there is this layer of cause and effect…”

Sha Lifei said thoughtfully, "Back then, Zhao Changsheng was the leader of the Great Song Ghost Cult. He was extremely powerful, and he got the Jiao Gu from the trapped Jiao, so he set a trap for the East Lake Patriarch."

"Could these things be his doing?"

"Probably!"

Li Yan said solemnly, "There is a lot more to this matter than meets the eye. I'm afraid the chaos in the Xuanmen sect in Shu in the past two years is also related to this. I'll find a chance to report this to the Zhenwu Palace after I leave the mountain."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

After making a plan, Sharifei stopped asking questions and said excitedly, "Brother Yan, that tiger squatting cannon is a good thing. If it is modified, Wu Ba can use it alone."

Li Yan laughed in silence, "You must be kidding, that's a cannon, no matter how strong Wu Ba is, he can't handle it. And if we run around with the cannon, the city defenders will be scared to death."

"I'll think about it again, there must be a way!"

Sharifei still did not give up. He took out the "Thunder and Fire Sutra", took a branch, and wrote and drew on the open space next to the fire. He soon became absorbed in it.

Li Yan smiled slightly and didn't disturb him.

After he stood up, he looked towards the northwest with a serious expression.

That is Shennongding, the highest peak in the Daba Mountains. In the illusion given by the Dragon Girl, the dragon energy leaked out from there.

After finishing my work here, I might have to go there to see if anyone has tampered with it...

boom!
Suddenly, a roar was heard in the distance.

Li Yan suddenly turned around and looked to the southeast.

That was the border between the Shenkui tribe and the Tiansheng sect. The sound was clearly the roar of artillery. "It starts again!"

Sharifei was also awakened. He looked into the distance and said with a gloating look on his face, "They are making trouble every night. The Tiansheng Sect is unlucky to be entangled by these guys."

Li Yan looked solemn and said nothing.

That "Bai Gong" was indeed terrifying. He was the mountain god of Shennongjia, commanded a powerful tribe, practiced evil magic, and devoured other mountain gods around him.

But if the Tiansheng Sect was easy to deal with, why would it have disrupted the current situation and forced the spirits in the mountains of Jingxiang to flee in a panic, or even seek refuge in the Qinling Mountains?

Also, what is Master Huang Liu doing...

…………

In the dense forest, flames rose.

The ground was full of potholes and filled with smoke. In the distance, trees were shaking and countless black shadows quickly retreated.

"Damn it, shameless!"

A big man spat fiercely, picked up the machete, and chopped off the head of the struggling god on the ground.

His appearance has changed. His eyes are bloodshot, his face is covered with a beard, and his teeth have become sharp.

Many people around him are like this.

Some have changed pupils, similar to cat eyes, some have hunched bodies, and their necks are covered with fine scales...

They are none other than the demon army of the Tiansheng Sect.

These people all practiced the "Demon Body Longevity Technique" not for immortality, but to use the various evil techniques to enhance their combat power.

Among the seventy-two demons, the "Demon Body Longevity Technique" is somewhat special. It relies on the bodies of various demons and monsters to practice secret techniques.

For example, the "Fox Heart Technique" that Li Yan saw in Shangjin City was to take the heart of a fox demon and obtain a powerful bewitching technique.

This method is very powerful, but it also has many disadvantages.

Firstly, relying on external forces can easily cause the soul to be disturbed by evil spirits, making one violent and cruel, and over time, no different from a demon.

Secondly, this method is to kill monsters and spirits, and will be rejected by the elves in the world.

For example, if there was no formation to protect the evil monk who practiced the "Fox Heart Technique" in Shangjin City, he would have been torn to pieces by many foxes at that time.

This is also the reason why the Tiansheng Sect was attacked by the Shenkui.

They themselves will be excluded by this forest.

Even the imperial army was affected. After entering the mountains and forests, they were often attacked by monsters and wild beasts.

In the distance is the army of the Tiansheng Sect.

Most of them were peasants armed with tattered knives, and there were also neatly organized Christian armies lined up with muskets.

Even they stayed away from these demon troops, their eyes full of vigilance, as if they were ready to pick up their guns and shoot at any time.

Today's demon army is becoming increasingly out of control.

Over the past month, people who were left alone were often attacked, and when they were found, they were already torn to pieces.

The top leaders of the Tiansheng Sect said that they were attacked by wild beasts, but everyone knew that it was clearly the work of a mad demon army.

Seeing the defensive eyes in the distance, the demon soldiers didn't care at all. They just sneered, with bloodthirsty light in their eyes.

Suddenly, a man with a sharp nose raised his head, sniffed the air, and sneered, "Hey, there's someone hiding!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he jumped out, crawled into the nearby bushes in three or two steps, and dragged a person out of the soil.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

This was a man dressed in coarse cloth, his body smeared with corpse oil, his face pale, his body covered in mud, and he was so scared that he was incoherent.

His fear made the pointy-nosed man even more excited. His eyes were full of frenzy and he was about to open his mouth to bite people.

Bang!
One of them took action and kicked him out.

It was the leader of the demon army, the hairy man.

"I'll kill you if you go crazy again!"

The demon army leader had pupils like a tiger and a cold look in his eyes, which frightened the pointed-nosed man so much that he lowered his head and dared not speak.

"Humph!"

The leader of the demon army snorted coldly, looked at the man covered in mud, and sneered: "Aren't these the Yu brothers from the Longxiong Army? How did you become like this?"

The Longxiong Army had already lost its morale, and not everyone would obey Guo Xiu's orders. Some even realized something was wrong early on and began to retreat.

This man was called Yu Heizi. He learned some skills to steal treasures from tombs. When he was attacked by a fire mine, he pretended to be dead and hid in the forest.

Later, when the Longxiong Army was defeated and retreated, he followed closely behind. After all, it was too dangerous to walk alone in Shennongjia.

This man had many tricks up his sleeve. When he saw the Shenkui tribe attacking, he smeared corpse oil on his body and hid in the ground by holding his breath.

This was a way to avoid the zombies in the tomb, and it also allowed him to avoid the attacks of the Shenkui tribe.

Seeing the flames around him, Yu Heizi finally came to his senses and shouted, "Don't kill me, don't kill me, I have important information!"

…………

Inside the tent of the Tiansheng Sect, candlelight was dim.

"Li Yan!"

An old man in Confucian robes suddenly stood up.

Yu Heizi kowtowed like crazy, "Reporting to the Right Prime Minister, it was indeed Li Yan. They used firearms, and the Longxiang Army was completely wiped out. My Lord... Guo Xiu was also killed by the old demon Shenkui."

An old man with a white beard beside him frowned and said, "This kid is also weird. How did he get through our defense line and enter the mountain?"

The speaker was none other than Protector Wang who had caused trouble in Wuchang.

The Tiansheng Sect regards "Tianshenggong" as its god. In order to show its determination to resurrect the Shenggong, it never appoints a leader. Instead, it is led by the right and left prime ministers, assisted by many guardians.

"Don't care how he got in!"

A man in a blue robe stood up suddenly and said through gritted teeth: "This kid has done bad things many times and even harmed the princess of Tusi City. He must not be let off."

The speaker was none other than Tan Zhihai, who was sent by Tangya Tusi City. He was proficient in animal taming and had come to contact the Tiansheng Sect.

He was an admirer of Princess Qin Yun'er from Tusi City and had even wanted to marry into her family's family and become a high-ranking official in the future. Now that everything had gone to waste, he naturally felt resentful.

"Don't be impatient, Fellow Daoist Tan!"

The right minister above hurriedly comforted him, "For now, we are here to attract attention. Sixth Master Huang and the left minister are more important. When Lord Tiansheng is resurrected, great things can be accomplished."

"Those Taoists from the Five Dragon Palace have been wandering outside. If we leave, they will take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack."

"Humph!"

Qin Zhihai's face was gloomy, "Are we going to watch that kid get away with it?"

"Hahaha…"

The old man in Confucian robes stroked his long beard and asked, "What's the difficulty in this matter?"

"Didn't Mr. Black Scale say that 'Zou Yu' was hiding on that hilltop? I guess Li Yan borrowed its power to sneak into Shennongjia."

"The leader of the gods, 'Bai Gong', is also obsessed with him. It's a good opportunity to divert the trouble to another place, killing two birds with one stone!"

(End of this chapter)