Knife splashing

Chapter 593: Sword Qi Suppresses the River

Swish swish!
More and more figures appeared.

The black Taoist robe almost blends into the darkness.

Ming Shanzi had changed his clothes at this time. He was wearing a dark blue crane cloak embroidered with the Big Dipper, a long sword on his back, and bamboo talismans inserted into a special leather bag on his waist. With his gaunt figure like a crane, his aura was greatly different.

He had an immortal look before, but now he is filled with murderous intent.

The people next to him all looked extraordinary.

There was a white-haired Taoist priest, tall and with scars all over his face. He didn't carry a sword, but held an old jujube wood seal in his right hand. His knuckles were covered with cinnabar-stained lines, which were the marks left by thirty years of thunder magic practice...

There was also a Taoist female, nearly thirty years old, stern and serious, with a head of black hair fixed with a green bamboo hairpin. Thirty-six golden needles could be vaguely seen in her hair, and her leg wraps covered with talisman paper could be vaguely seen under her Taoist robe...

A small number of these masters came from the Cheng family, and most of them came from Qingcheng. They rarely appeared on weekdays and were specifically responsible for fighting.

Li Yan recognized the leader of the Qingcheng side. It was Ling Yunzi who had led them to visit Qingcheng Mountain before. Now he has been promoted from a receptionist to the official leader of the outbound operation.

Whether Mingshanzi or Lingyunzi, although they are not the ones in charge, they are already top-notch among their respective middle-level leaders.

But the two of them were tactful and stood on both sides with a respectful attitude.

Standing in the center was a blind old Taoist priest with tattered robes, dry and hunched hair, a face full of age spots, and a look as if he was about to die.

It was Cheng Jianxin, one of the ten great masters of Shenzhou.

His Taoism skills had declined, and coupled with the previous injuries, he was in very bad condition, his eyes were cloudy, and his breath became weak.

However, no one dares to underestimate it.

Some even secretly looked at her with admiration.

There is no other reason. Cheng Jianxin's prestige is so great that he single-handedly suppressed Shu for decades, making Qingcheng more famous than Emei.

Be it the Cheng family or the Taoist priests of Qingcheng Mountain, in their eyes, Cheng Jianxin is undoubtedly a god-like existence.

The god who comes down the mountain is also a god!

Next to Cheng Jianxin stood a young man holding a sword, who was Chang Gousheng who challenged Li Yan at that time.

Unlike the others, the boy was still covered in dust and his eyes were bloodshot with tears. He looked away and to the side from time to time.

Cheng Jianxin ignored him and faced the river in the distance, carefully feeling the breath.

At this moment, the bright moon on the river surface is like frost, sprinkling all over the Yuzui diversion dike.

More than 30 canal boats were connected end to end, all with huge red lanterns hanging, dyeing the surrounding river surface blood-red.

It is not yet the end of the first month of the lunar year and the night breeze on the river is biting, but the boatmen are all shirtless, revealing their muscular bodies.

"Hey! Three stars are shining on the water palace—"

"Hey! The Five Dings are opening the mountain gate—"

They shouted the ancient Sichuan River boat songs, and hemp ropes as thick as arms turned on the keel pulley, sinking blocks of basalt, about ten feet square, into the center of the river.

There are a large number of grooves carved on these basalts, and they are poured with black glazed tiles to form huge runes.

It can be vaguely seen, forming a vertical eye shape.

These were the boatmen sent by the Salt Gang to help. They were used to doing hard labor and were often involved in beheadings. But at this moment, no one dared to say anything and asked what they were doing.

The last curious one was eaten by a fish.

There were not only these salt gang men on the boat, but also many soldiers in black armor and black cloaks. They were the Black Feather Guards, the personal army of the King of Shu. There were at least a hundred of them, all holding magic fire guns and looking in all directions vigilantly.

In addition, there are some monks, Taoists and laymen in strange costumes.

They are also the southwestern evil sects gathered by the King of Shu. Although their number is small, they are all the people the King of Shu trusts the most.

The leader was an old man in a green robe.

He was dressed in a Confucian robe, his features were neat, his white and black hair were intertwined, and he looked elegant, but standing there, he inexplicably gave people the feeling that a magical weapon was inserted into the boat.

boom!
Huge rocks fell into the water, splashing huge waves.

Every time this happened, a sorcerer would grab a powder of cinnabar mixed with chicken blood, throw it into the river, and chant spells.

The wind was howling all around and there were vaguely some dark shadows wandering underwater, but they were all driven away by them.

"Sure enough, they are tampering with it."

Although Cheng Jianxin is blind and his Taoism skills have declined, his supernatural powers are still there and he can still feel it all.

He sighed slightly, his face calm and his voice calm, "Many years ago, I checked this place and found nothing."

"It seems that I was careless... Let's check it out!"

At the command, the people around immediately got busy.

"Yes, Patriarch."

The Taoist priest from before bowed in a deep voice.

Although she was a woman, she was obviously the main force among this group of masters. Her behavior was quite dignified. While responding, she began to make hand gestures.

Buzz!
The thirty-six golden needles inserted in the bun on top of his head suddenly trembled, changing with the magic formulas, regularly and rhythmically.

At the same time, the ears also moved slightly.

She closed her eyes, the night breeze blew her hair, and the distant sounds were infinitely amplified and echoed in her mind.

This is a special technique that is specifically used to enhance the supernatural power of the ears. It is extremely difficult to practice and may cause damage. For example, those golden needles must be inserted into the scalp all year round to be warmed and nourished by one's own qi and blood.

But once you succeed, it will be like having a clairaudience.

Different from Li Yan who can hear the voices of ghosts and gods, this Kun Dao, with her awakened ear ability, can listen to the sound of the flow of Gangsha Qi and conduct investigations.

Hearing the voice in her ears, she finally opened her eyes, took out the compass from her arms, pinched her fingers, grabbed the air, and pointed at the compass.

The compass needle jumped instantly, spinning wildly.

"Something has changed in Kan's position!"

Her face was solemn as she looked to the side, "Qingxuan, they are setting up a formation underwater, the center of the formation is at the Kan position, there is something there."

"Yes, Master."

Behind her, a young Taoist priest stepped forward with a bow.

This young Taoist was born with double pupils, and was obviously one of the best among the younger generations in Qingcheng. He also pinched the Yang Jue with his hands, and then pointed his sword at his eyebrows.

His double pupils seemed to sparkle with brilliance, his eye whites suddenly became bloodshot, veins popped out on his forehead, and he also used the secret method of exploration.

This is the foundation of the Xuanmen sect.

Not only do they have an ancient heritage and the accumulation of genius from generation to generation, they also left behind many miraculous skills, which may be a little unconventional, but are definitely very powerful.

Just like this master and disciple pair, they specialized in the art of exploration and were the absolute main force in any action.

Others have long been accustomed to it and are waiting patiently.

But they soon discovered something was wrong.

This disciple with double pupils seemed to have seen something terrible. Fear appeared in his eyes and his whole body was trembling, but he could not move.

This is nightmare syndrome, a manifestation of being possessed by magic!

Snapped!
Kun Dao behind him immediately made a hand gesture and slapped him on the back of the head, while scolding him: "Close your eyes!"

This time, it was like the sound of a huge bell.

The pupil-bearing disciple regained consciousness immediately, closed his eyes and dared not look again. After a long time, he finally recovered. Others were not worried.

In a battle of magic, failure is common.

They are experienced and handled the problem immediately, so there is no problem.

Sure enough, not long after, the disciple with double pupils' breathing became steady and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Qingxuan, what did you see?"

Mingshanzi asked quickly.

"A vertical eye..."

The disciple with double pupils frowned slightly and said, "It doesn't look like a human eye, but more like a bronze artifact."

As he spoke, he picked up a wooden stick and started drawing on the ground.

If Li Yan were there, he would find that this bronze vertical eye was extremely similar to the one he had seen in the Guiqiang Ancient Village before.

"What is this?"

Others were a little confused.

Only Cheng Jianxin said thoughtfully: "I have seen this thing before. Back then, a group of treasure hunters from the Tanyou lineage were collectively cursed. This eye scar appeared on their bodies and they all fell into madness."

"Their leaders had this thing on their heads. I smashed it and they regained consciousness, but they were only left with one breath. Before they died, they said that they stole this thing from the tomb of a pre-Qin alchemist. It seemed to be related to ancient Shu and was called the 'Eye of Ancient Shu'."

"The Eye of Ancient Shu?"

When the others heard this, they looked at each other in confusion.

Although it is in Shu, this thing is buried deep underground, and there are very few people who know about it or have seen it, let alone know its function.

"I have to fight even if I don't know!"

Cheng Jianxin turned his head and looked around, and said in a deep voice: "According to what Li said, the demon is the Taoist priest Lu Sheng, and he has many connections with the Ghost Cult. He has been hiding in the human world for thousands of years and is unknown to the public."

"Now that he has shown up, he has been planning for decades, and his goal is not small. It may be related to ascending to the gods and becoming immortals, so I asked him to keep it secret from those old ghosts in the mountains."

"Those who ascend to the gods only seek to transcend themselves. If they encounter this kind of thing, they will definitely get into trouble. However, we are the orthodox sect of the Xuanmen Sect. We enjoy the good fortune of a region and we also have to protect its safety."

"Let's do it. Set up the sword formation and leave no one alive!"

At the command, people around immediately got busy.

Many relatively young Taoists carried a Dharma flag wrapped in oilcloth behind them, as if they were carrying a spear.

They were well-trained, all holding a compass, and they ran around while checking. They quickly found their respective positions and shook the cloth ropes behind them.

Wow~
In an instant, 108 French flags fluttered in the wind.

The positions of the flags look messy, but they are actually divided into two circles, the inner and outer circles. The inner thirty-six flags correspond to the Tiangang technique, and the outer seventy-two flags correspond to the number of Disha.

Ming Shanzi also took out seven ancient bronze lamps from the package behind him. The lamp bases were engraved with the seal script "Yangping Zhidu Gong" and were arranged on the ground in the shape of the Big Dipper.

Then, he made a hand gesture and rubbed his finger across the wick, and the candle flame ignited out of thin air, while chanting: "The sky lantern illuminates the netherworld, the ground lantern locks the evil spirit, and the human lantern calms the soul - the three talents return to their positions!"

Ling Yunzi and the other seven people from Qingcheng Mountain all had wooden boxes under their feet.

Buzz!
As soon as the formation was completed, the sound of swords could be heard from inside.

They simultaneously made sword gestures with their left hands and exhaled a breath of white air, which was shot into the box following the guidance of the sword gestures. This was the Emei secret technique, the Tiangang Finger Qi Technique.

Li Yan had dealt with several Taoists from Emei and Qingcheng, and had seen them use this technique.

This magic technique can enhance magic sword attacks, which is quite powerful, but its real function is to lay the foundation for the sword immortal technique.

Obviously, these Taoists use the correct method.

The sound of the sword became louder and louder, and the wooden box began to tremble.

Clang!
Finally, the lids of all the wooden boxes were suddenly opened, and seven streams of white gas gushed out, spinning in the air and inserted in front of the seven copper oil lamps.

In a short time, the altar was set up.

But this altar is different from ordinary altars, it is a sword altar.

It’s the same principle as Li Yan’s “divine transformation method”. No matter how high the cultivation level of a cultivator is, he is still just a mortal.

Any powerful spell requires the control of a huge amount of innate evil energy, which the human body cannot withstand and must be contained with the help of magic tools or altars.

The sword immortal's method is the same, divided into three swords: heaven, earth and man.

Outside the Wuhou Temple, there is an altar set up by Qingcheng monks, who use flying swords to attack the King of Shu to lure the snake out of its hole. They use human swords, which can be controlled by a single person.

And what they are setting up now is the Earth Sword.

When the formation was being set up, Cheng Jianxin did not participate. Instead, he stood aside with Chang Gousheng and watched, explaining in a low voice: "All magic methods require favorable timing, location, and people. For example, if the timing is not right for the Longhu Mountain Thunder Method, no matter how much effort is spent, it will be useless."

"My Qingcheng disciples have been traveling back and forth across Shu for generations, worshipping the mountains and rivers. Only then can they draw the evil spirits of the mountains and rivers of Shu and transform them into sword energy to exorcise demons. However, they are not very effective outside of Sichuan and can only use human swords. Therefore, the legend of the sword immortal is only famous in Shu..."

"When I was young, I vowed to create a secret method to change this situation, but I have been mediocre all my life and have not succeeded. From now on, I may have to rely on you..."

"Master!"

Chang Gousheng, the young man holding a sword, was now in tears.

He already knew Cheng Jianxin's identity, and he had fought with others one after another, and had never lost except to Li Yan, so he felt a little proud.

When he was attacked by Master Xue Nuo before, he thought he could hold on for a while, so he didn't follow the command and fled, which ended up putting the master and his disciple in danger.

Although he escaped, Cheng Jianxin was already exhausted.

The young Chang Gousheng felt guilty about this and didn't even dare to look at Cheng Jianxin. He wished he could stab himself to death with a sword.

"You piece of shit!"

Seeing his expression, Cheng Jianxin, who had been calm just now, immediately became annoyed. "What's the big deal about making mistakes? Young people are bound to make mistakes. When I was young, I did a lot of ridiculous things and let a lot of people down. What's this of yours?"

"Everyone has to go through this stage. We sword practitioners are not afraid of making mistakes. If we lose our fighting spirit, then I have saved the wrong person!"

Chang Gousheng gritted his teeth and nodded, tears falling to the ground.

On the other side, under the leadership of Mingshanzi, all the Qingcheng monks drew their swords, stepped on the magic circle, pointed at the sky, and chanted: "The essence of heaven and earth, obey the command to communicate with the spirit, the sword knocks on the dragon gate, the mountains and rivers respond--"

This is "Qingcheng Yufang Jue", the spell that opens the sword arena.

Call ~
As the sword arena opened, a strong wind suddenly howled around.

One hundred and eight magic flags fluttered in the wind, the flames of seven bronze lamps surged, and the seven magic swords inserted in front of the lamps roared even more.

Gradually, a resonance is formed.

Clang!
The sword sounded like a dragon's roar, echoing through the night sky.

The sound seemed to have awakened the spirits of the Shu land. In the distance, leaves rustled, birds flew away in panic, beasts ran, and visible white mist rose from the ground and gathered towards the altar...

This is the true method of the Qingcheng Sword Immortal.

In "Zhuangzi Miscellaneous Chapters: On Swords", there are mentions of the emperor's sword, the princes' sword, and the common people's sword. There is also another explanation for the sword immortal's technique.

A human swordsman uses the sword's intention as the tip, the soul as the blade, sincerity as the spine, and life as the guard. He takes in the seven emotions inside and the six qi outside...

The sword of the earth has mountains and rivers as its sharp edge, rivers as its blade, the Five Mountains as its spine, and the Four Rivers as its hilt. When it moves, there are landslides and tsunamis; when it is still, the veins of the earth run secretly.

When this sword is waved, grass and trees become soldiers, sand and stones form a formation, and all the nine springs and the underworld obey your orders!

(End of this chapter)