Knife splashing

Chapter 524 The Real Mastermind

Li Yan had guessed what the scene would be like when he took on the mission from Heaven for the first time.

Perhaps, just like the mission in the underworld, some scenes of heaven will be presented in the form of illusion, maybe the White Jade Palace with jade buildings.

But I didn't expect it to be in this form.

Although Li Yan was full of curiosity, he did not dare to reveal anything unusual. He pretended that he had not noticed anything and came to the stone well.

He looked down and immediately noticed something different.

Originally, the stone well showed the mission of the underworld, and the black water inside would swirl around, but now it is covered by golden light, and it is as calm as a well.

Strangely, there was nothing displayed in the golden light.

Li Yan reached out and touched the golden light, and found nothing unusual.

He frowned and pretended to be confused, but in fact he had already guessed it.

It is estimated that this is a temporary task issued by the Heavenly Court, and it will only appear after reaching an agreement with the Underworld.

Sure enough, a vague voice came from the distance:

"The underworld is not your Thunder Department..."

"President Zhou, who gave the order for this?"

"Of course, but you need Lord Yan's consent..."

Li Yan's expression remained unchanged, but his mind was working frantically.

Although it is vague, a lot can be discerned from these few words.

For example, the relationship between the underworld and heaven.

In some folk legends, the underworld is under the management of heaven. When Sun Wukong caused trouble in the underworld, the King of Hell went to heaven to file a complaint.

But from what he said, it seemed like both sides were talking on equal terms, except that the Heavenly Court's Lei Mansion was more powerful.

It felt to him like two organizations were negotiating...

There is also the title "Zhou Pan", which should be the judge of Lei Mansion.

Legend has it that Leicheng is located in the palace of Jade Pure True King, in the Sanskrit Qi above the blue sky, 2,300 miles away from the palace, and the city is 81 feet high.

He is the master of all things, drives the seas and mountains, promotes the change of the four seasons, raises and lowers yin and yang, and records the good and punishes the evil.

Internally, it is divided into one government, two courts and three departments.

The first palace is the Shenxiao Yuqing Palace, also known as the Shenlei Yu Palace for short.

The two courts are the Wulei Courtyard and the Exorcism Courtyard.

The three divisions are the Ten Thousand Gods Thunder Division, the Thunder Division, and the Thunder Department.

The worship of thunder has existed since ancient times.

However, the emergence of Lei Mansion is also inseparable from the changes in human sacrifices.

For example, the division of the Thunder Department of the Heavenly Palace began in the Northern Song Dynasty.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Shenxiao and Qingwei sects of Taoism advocated the practice of thunder magic, which led to changes in Taoist sacrifices and the birth of the Lei Palace.

Among them, there are indeed positions of left and right judges in the Lei Mansion.

Is this judge’s surname “Zhou”?

I don't know if he was a successful god in ancient times.
Or is there another existence...

Just as Li Yan was thinking, the other side had already got the result.

"Humph!"

The giant figure in red robe snorted coldly, obviously somewhat dissatisfied, but did not say anything else.

hum!
Afterwards, a golden light flickered in front of Li Yan's eyes, and a golden and jade scroll gradually appeared. When it was unfolded, it was covered with dense lightning-like patterns.

It looked like words, but Li Yan didn't recognize them at all.

He was a little speechless and reached out to touch it carefully.

Then, a series of lights and shadows flashed before my eyes:
It was a high mountain, with clouds so deep that it was hard to tell where it was. A figure wearing a square scarf and holding a bamboo stick strode away, and behind him was a young man kneeling with a huge bamboo talisman in his hand.

The young man put on a Taoist robe and practiced in the mountains. He often caught spirit medicines that had turned into spirits to make elixirs, and his luck was lingering around him...

The Taoist priest had many disciples. When he died at an old age, his disciples put him into a coffin. But before he could carry it to the burial site, the coffin was filled with smoke. When the coffin was opened, only a large bamboo talisman was left...

The bamboo talisman circulated among the people, and was later thrown into a crevice in the mountain by a vague figure, causing the earth dragon to turn over...

A monk came and entered the collapsed cave. He took the bamboo talisman and his expression changed drastically...

Looking at these rays of light and shadow, a lot of information is pouring in at the same time.

Li Yan's expression gradually became shocked.

After a while, he came back to his senses, his face full of disbelief.

No wonder many things seem strange.

His intelligence was wrong.

The one behind the scenes is not Lord Jiangshen at all!

Or,

This Lord Jiangshen has been killed by someone else!
The Taoist in the illusion is named "Li Wenyuan".

This name is very obscure, but it and the master are famous in ancient books. The master is Shen Wentai, a Taoist priest from Jiuyi Mountain, and is recorded in "Biographies of Immortals".

It is described in the book: Shen Wentai was from Jiuyi. He got the way to return to old age from the divine elixir of Jiangzhong, and it was effective when he took it. He wanted to rest in peace in Kunlun for more than 2,000 years, and told Li Wenyuan: "The earth talisman is not legal to take as medicine, and it is useless to practice Taoism." Wenyuan then taught him the secret, and he also ascended to heaven.

This master and disciple were very low-key, but they both successfully ascended to godhood.

What happened next became strange.

Li Wenyuan became an immortal by sending a bamboo talisman.

Similar methods include "stick solution" and "weapon solution".

In any case, it can be considered as escaping from the cycle of life and death.

But later, the magic weapon he left behind was thrown into Daba Mountain and broke the seal of the remaining soul of Lord Jiangshen.

Li Wenyuan, another wisp of true soul secretly came to the earth, merged with the remaining soul of Lord Jiangshen, and attached itself to "Langwu".

Since then, this "Lang Wu" has changed his temperament. Not only does he use evil methods to prolong his life and disrupt yin and yang, he also starts to form the Dragon Worship Cult...

So, Li Yan took on two tasks at once.

One comes from the underworld, and is to send "Langwu" into the netherworld, and the reward is a Gangling.

The other one came from the Thunder Palace in Heaven.

It is to find "Li Wenyuan" and ask for thunder to kill him.

The reward made him very excited. It was a ray of thunder energy, which was also innate energy. It was mysterious and extraordinary and had two ways of use.

One is to store it in the Thunder Palace, which can summon heavenly thunder once.

He had seen the use of thunder magic in the Xuanmen Orthodox Sect. Setting up the altar was time-consuming and laborious. He also had to calculate the weather and terrain, and many high-level masters had to perform the magic at the same time.

However, he can directly consume the Lei Gang summon.

The second is that it can allow the Soul-Catching Thunder Rope to absorb it.

At this point, the Thunder Rope no longer needs to absorb heavenly thunder and can generate lightning on its own. Although the supply is limited, there is no need to worry about it being completely consumed.

Other thunder techniques will also be enhanced accordingly.

What a good thing!

Li Yan was excited.

If you can collect enough thunder energy, you won't have to worry about anything...

After receiving the task, the thick fog around us quickly dissipated.

"Master Li, did you find anything?"

Huiming's questioning voice came from the side.

However, Li Yan stayed longer this time. Although he was only outside for a few breaths, Hui Ming noticed it keenly.

"That 'Langwu' is indeed a sinister criminal."

Li Yan replied in a deep voice: "But he has a magical tool on him that can conceal himself, so we only accepted the task and don't know his whereabouts."

It's not just "Langwu" who has disappeared.

There is also "Li Wenyuan" who sneaked down to the mortal world, and the mysterious man who threw the bamboo talisman into Daba Mountain to assist him in his descent to the mortal world.

His figure was blurry.
This is the manifestation of the divine weapon concealing the secret of heaven...

…………

"Master Huiming, thank you very much."

Since the result was out, Li Yan had no time to visit the temple, so he said goodbye immediately and was escorted out the door by Hui Ming.

"Donor Li, no need to be polite."

Hui Ming nodded calmly and said, "I helped you out of selfish motives. That man harmed many of my fellow disciples, but I am powerless to avenge him. I can only ask for your help." Li Yan said seriously, "Master, don't worry. After the demon is brought to justice, I will send someone to give you a message!"

Say it, bow, and leave.

After leaving the temple with Wu Ba, he looked back, frowning slightly, as if thinking about something.

Now that I think about it, this matter is not that simple.

Those who practice cultivation all aim to attain godhood and immortality. Over thousands of years, countless people have failed on this road.

Why would anyone be willing to sneak down to earth?
What’s even more bizarre is that there is actually someone to respond!
In addition to his letter of recommendation, there are other channels of communication between the Daluo Dharma Realm and the human world, which means that he had already violated the Heavenly Law.

There are so many people who have protective artifacts.

This thing is not cabbage. Every protective artifact represents the foundation of a dynasty.

I don’t know how much energy it would take to collect it.

Thinking of this, Li Yan became more alert.

He has always suspected that the leader of the Ghost Cult is just an identity of Zhao Changsheng, and there are some people behind him.

For example, "Lu Sheng" who went to the King of Shu's Palace together.

This guy is a bold person who dares to salvage the "Nine Cauldrons". He has an extraordinary background and is definitely not Zhao Changsheng's subordinate.

Never mind, I've already accepted the mission anyway.

If you encounter these guys in the future, those who deserve to be thrown into the underworld will be thrown into the underworld, and those who deserve to be struck by lightning will be struck by lightning from the sky!

These guys are causing trouble in the world, none of them can be let off!

While Li Yan was thinking, they had already walked down the mountain.

A man was waiting by the mountain path. He was big and strong, and had a white turban wrapped around his head. Seeing this, he hurried forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "But, Mr. Li, please let me wait for you here."

"It's troublesome."

Li Yan wanted to refuse, but seeing that it was still early and Wu Ba next to him was very interested, he did not say much.

Led by this man, the two of them came to a large shed on the east side of the market, where someone was already waiting outside and led them in respectfully.

The shed was not small in size and was bustling with people chatting and laughing with each other, including wealthy people in fancy clothes.

Generally speaking, wealthy people are unwilling to come to this lowly place and watch a show with the peasants.

To attract them here, there must be some tricks.

Seeing this, Li Yan also sat down with Wu Ba and waited quietly.

Dangdang Dangdang!
Suddenly, the sound of gongs and drums was heard, and the puppets appeared on the stage.

It is indeed the "Puppet" that appears.

This puppet show was completely different from what Li Yan had seen before.

Ordinary puppets are not big, but the one in front of you is more than one person tall and is controlled by a performer below.

The puppets are not only sturdy in stature, but also dressed in gorgeous clothes. They include all the roles of sheng, dan, jing, mo and chou, and their facial features are vivid.

The craftsmen pulled the threads with their hands, and the creatures seemed to come alive.

This kind of puppet show mostly tells myths.

This time, the performance happened to be The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea.

Drums and music sounded, and someone began to sing.

To be honest, the singing is a little lacking compared to the regular Sichuan Opera troupe, but people obviously don't come here to listen to the music.

This puppet alone is enough to dazzle the eyes of those who look at it.

There are puppets dressing and undressing, so skillful and lifelike,

There is Lu Dongbin waving his whisk and flashing swords.

At the climax, there was even a Han Zhongli puppet blowing fire and lighting candles, with flames leaping and leaping, showing amazing skills.

These puppets are lifelike with their gestures and eyes.

"Good! Good!"

Wuba clapped his hands and laughed happily like a child.

Li Yan also smiled and watched carefully.

After watching the puppet show here, they left immediately, went to the pier, and took a boat to the foot of Wolong Mountain.

The temple fair at Guangde Temple is even grander and more lively.

This time, there were no surprises.

Li Yan took Wu Ba out for a walk, eating and drinking, watching the money board and the divine play, and also met many street performers who performed acrobatics to make a living.

Before you know it, night falls.

The temple fair is just as lively at night, with lanterns dotted like stars, and the dancing grass dragons and fire-breathing performances are just as lively as during the day.

Unfortunately, after strolling around for a whole day, Li Yan was already a little bored. Wu Ba, with his big appetite, was also a little full, so they simply turned back.

They didn't go out in the following days.

Sha Lifei was still busy with his training, Lu San and Wang Daoxuan were busy with their own things, and only Li Yan taught Wu Ba the basic skills from time to time.

After a few more days, it was the winter solstice.

As the saying goes, the Winter Solstice is as important as New Year's Day.

This is especially true during the winter solstice in Shu.

When the winter solstice arrives, people start slaughtering pigs and making sausages.

Dumplings are a must.

But the most important thing is to make a good pot of mutton soup.

Early in the morning, the servants of the Luo family began to work. They slaughtered three sheep and not only made mutton soup and mutton, but also made mutton dumplings.

Li Yan and his friends had a peaceful holiday.

In addition to food, there are many other customs during the winter solstice in Shu.

For example, during the winter solstice, people would take out all the food and grains from their homes and expose them to the sun, saying that it would drive away the cold…

Offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God is essential, and in front of the Kitchen God statue in every household, there are all kinds of offerings...

Some people even went to the mountain to worship their ancestors early in the morning.

Li Yan and his companions roamed around the world, so naturally these things didn't happen to them, but Wang Daoxuan also performed a ritual to bring blessings and longevity to everyone.

It's been a busy winter solstice...

…………

Boom boom boom!
The next day, someone knocked on the door before dawn.

The servant of the Luo family opened the door and saw a big man standing outside. He was wearing a bamboo hat, a long gown, and had a dusty beard.

"you are?"

Without waiting for the servant to ask, Li Yan quickly walked out of the room, smiled and bowed, saying: "Brother Wu, why are you here? I said we would leave tomorrow and rush to Fengdu."

The person who came was Wu Qu from Cangzhou.

He is not only a master of Bajiquan, but also a practitioner of Huaguang Sect.

When in Wuchang, Li Yan met him during a martial arts competition at Guishan, and it was through his introduction that he came into contact with the "Huangquan Organization."

"Let's talk after we get in!"

Wu Qu looked serious, looked around, and whispered.

"Oh?"

Li Yan frowned and quickly invited him into the room. After ordering the servant to pour him a cup of hot tea, he asked in a deep voice: "What happened?"

It was obvious that something was wrong with Wu Qu's appearance.

It seemed as if he had fought with someone and the murderous aura had not yet dissipated.

Wu Qu's expression was somewhat complicated. After taking a sip of tea, he said, "The living ghost messenger I assisted was killed!"

"When?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yan frowned immediately.

The characteristics of the Huangquan organization are usually a "living ghost messenger" who is accompanied by several martial arts masters as protectors, helping and relying on each other.

The relationship between the two sides is very close.

Wu Qu could be said to have a mutual sympathy with him, but even so, he never revealed the identity of the "living ghost messenger" he was protecting.

"Just the day before yesterday!"

Wu Qu's eyes were filled with murderous intent. "The living ghost messenger I am protecting is a coroner from Anyue County. His martial arts skills are not very high, so his identity is kept secret. Only I and another guardian know it."

"I rushed to pick him up and took him to Fengdu, but the day before I arrived, he was killed in the county jail!"

(End of this chapter)