Knife splashing

Chapter 597 Nightmare City
The Taoist robe fluttered and the strong wind blew on his face.

The closer they got to Chengdu Prefecture, the more shocked the people of Qingcheng Sect became.

The entire city is now shrouded in thick fog.

The fog obscured the sky, and from the docks and the slums outside the city, nothing could be seen inside.

Rumble!
Occasionally, thunder could be heard in the thick fog.

The surrounding air became cold, and the large amount of water vapor brought by the thick fog condensed and turned into snowflakes all over the sky, which were blown away by the strong wind.

"What on earth did this demon do?"

Ming Shanzi's eyelids twitched and he whispered through gritted teeth.

"Master, what should we do?"

Ling Yunzi clasped his fists and asked Cheng Jianxin beside him.

After hearing this, the old Taoist shook his head and said calmly: "This is the first time I have seen this thing, and my brain is slow now, so you guys should decide."

Seeing that he was determined not to raise any opinions, Ling Yunzi had no choice but to discuss with Ming Shanzi, and then bowed and said: "Grandmaster, we think that since the demon can lead the Dragon Palace and Water Palace into Chengdu Prefecture, there must be some arrangements here."

"I have just checked it. My magical powers cannot detect it. If I rush in, I may fall into a trap. Qingyang Palace is outside Chengdu. They are also involved in this matter. Maybe they know something."

"In addition, I have sent someone back to the mountain to pass on a message, asking the Sect Master and his men to send reinforcements and contact other fellow practitioners."

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

Upon hearing this, the old Taoist nodded in agreement without hesitation.

As if he had received Cheng Jianxian's affirmation, Ling Yunzi suddenly gained confidence, and he and Ming Shanzi made arrangements together, acting in an orderly manner.

And Cheng Jianxin waited silently by the side.

"Master..."

Looking at the old Taoist's hunched body, Chang Gousheng suddenly felt sad.

When he first met Cheng Jianxin, he was already very old, but from what other people said, he could still imagine the demeanor of the former swordsman.

"Why are you frowning..."

Cheng Jianxin looked calm. He took off the wine gourd from his waist and took a sip. He smiled and said, "The waves behind push the waves ahead. My era has long passed. This world belongs to the young after all."

"One day, you will be like this too. Seeing the younger generation become independent, isn't it a joy?"

"By the way, the name Gousheng is not elegant after all. From now on, when you travel around the world, you must use the name of my apprentice, and you can't let others laugh at you..."

Chang Gousheng vaguely sensed something, and couldn't help but shed tears. He bowed and said solemnly, "Master, please give me a name!"

Cheng Jianxin looked up at the sky, his eyes cloudy, not knowing what he was thinking, and murmured: "That step is not what I want, I hope you have a chance..."

"Master will give you a name... Chang Tianque!"

While they were talking, Mingshanzi and Lingyunzi had already made arrangements. One of them rode a horse and returned to Qingcheng to ask for help, while the other two went to Tiefu Temple and Emei Mountain.

At this point, it is no longer just the responsibility of Qingcheng family.

The rest took a detour to the southwest of the city.

They moved very quickly and soon arrived near Qingyang Palace, but the scene before them was again beyond their expectations.

The thick clouds covering Chengdu Prefecture had spread to this place at some point, but they did not expand. It was as if they had extended a tentacle, wrapping up the Qingyang Palace as well.

Perhaps because the fog here is relatively thin, I can vaguely see dim lights in the distance and the strange sounds of gongs and drums.

But when he used his magical powers to investigate, he could not sense anything.

"Go in and take a look, pull a rope..."

Seeing this, Mingshanzi immediately gave orders.

"and many more!"

Before he finished speaking, Ling Yunzi suddenly raised his hand.

The Taoist moved his ears, turned over and lay on the ground, pinched his fingers, and put his ears close to listen.

"A large group of people is approaching."

"Be careful, go check it out!"

When an accident occurred, everyone stopped exploring, took a long detour, and came to the hill near Qingyang Palace.

But in the distance on the river, I saw that a number of naval warships had appeared at some point, and dense troops were landing.

At a cursory glance, there are at least tens of thousands of people.

Although the distance was far, everyone was a sorcerer, and those with good eyesight could use hand gestures to investigate and identify it immediately.

"It's the Chongqing Prefecture's army."

"Quick, remind them not to get close!"

When Mingshanzi heard this, he immediately gave the order.

He remembered that Li Yan mentioned in the letter that he asked Zhulin Liuxian to deliver that Censor Wang had sent masters from the Bagua Sect in the capital to Chongqing Prefecture for help.

Judging from the time, it should be this group of people.

This is a powerful force, just enough to deal with the army controlled by the King of Shu, but it cannot be trapped in the city at will.

However, it was already too late.

When they arrived, the army had already entered the thick fog, leaving less than a hundred people on the boat to support them.

Most of these soldiers were ordinary people. They thought that the thick fog was caused by weather and therefore were not prepared.

Dangdang Dangdang!
After hearing the explanation from Mingshanzi and others, the captain who was supporting them outside became very anxious and ordered his men to beat gongs and drums to send a message to withdraw the troops.

The sound of drums roared, resounding throughout the area.

But in the thick fog, no one responded.

It was like a monster that completely devoured the army.

"Rescue!"

Seeing this, Mingshanzi gave the order without hesitation.

Immediately, several elite disciples tied thick hemp ropes around their waists and carefully entered the thick fog.

This was a plan that had been made before.

There is a bell tied to the hemp rope, with secret signals for moving forward and backward. If something happens inside, just shake the bell and drag the person out quickly.

After joining forces with the Chongqing Prefecture Garrison Army, another advantage was that the rope on the ship was long enough.

Under the gazes of the crowd, several Qingcheng disciples entered the thick fog. After taking less than ten steps, they completely disappeared in the fog.

At this time, there is no other way.

Everyone had to hold their breath and wait quietly.

Ring ring ring!
After about half an incense stick of time, the bell suddenly rang.

Ming Shanzi's expression suddenly changed, "Pull!"

At the command, several disciples immediately dragged the cable, bursting with hidden strength under their feet, and rushed towards the river bank.

But they had not walked far when they felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.

The sound of the bell disappeared, and the rope in his hand suddenly became loose.

Sure enough, after pulling out the rope, the front end was broken.

The broken end was rough and forked, as if it had been torn by something, and there were blood stains all around it.

"It was a human bite!"

A Taoist sniffed and said with certainty.

When everyone heard this, their expressions became extremely solemn.

Not far away, there was thick fog like a mountain, covering the sky and the sun, like a savage giant beast, making everyone feel extremely depressed.

"Time is running out."

Ming Shanzi took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "It's getting dark. Tomorrow is the thirteenth day of the first lunar month. The demon's plan might be advanced. We must go in and at least gather those troops."

"If we can get in touch with Young Master Li and the others, we can get some strong support."

Then he turned around and said, "Junior Brother Ling Yunzi, I will bring a group of people in, and you and the rest of the people will meet here."

"If we can't get out, don't get close. The headmaster will come in three days. Tell him everything here!"

Ling Yunzi gritted his teeth and said, "Brother, don't worry!"

"I'll go too."

At this moment, Cheng Jianxin suddenly spoke.

Seeing everyone's worried eyes, he laughed dumbly and shook his head, saying, "Don't worry, you guys do the work, I'll just help with the inspection."

Ming Shanzi hesitated for a moment, sadness flashing in his eyes.

He could see that Cheng Jianxin was old and his energy and blood were exhausted, and he had been seriously injured before, so there was no way he could be saved.

I followed them in, just wanting to use my experience to help them avoid some disasters.

After making a plan, Ming Shanzi led dozens of Qingcheng masters, as well as Cheng Jianxin and his apprentice, and carefully walked into the thick fog.

Entering the fog, the scene changes again.

Compared to the outside, the vision here is much better. You can see clearly within 30 meters, but if you go further, everything becomes hazy and you can vaguely see some shadows. "Brother..."

The Taoist priest looked around with some confusion in his eyes, "There is something strange about this place. Why does it feel like a dream?"

"Yes."

"I think so too."

Others nodded in agreement.

Ming Shanzi said in a deep voice: "The Dragon Palace and Water Palace are secret places in the cave heaven, which originally exist between reality and illusion. Only in dreams can one enter them."

"I don't know what means that demon used, but he was able to pull the Dragon Palace into Chengdu. He should have similar characteristics."

As he said that, he turned his head and looked to the side, "Junior Sister Lanchen, the magical powers here are still suppressed. Try and see how far you can hear."

The Taoist priest nodded and immediately began to perform a ritual.

Buzz!
The thirty-six golden needles on the bun trembled in unison.

The Taoist nun listened attentively for a long time before shaking her head and saying, "You can only hear movements within 300 steps. If you go further, you will also be suppressed."

"That's okay."

Mingshanzi felt relieved when he heard this.

The magical powers of other people were suppressed. Although the Taoist nun's secret method also had limitations, at least she would not be ambushed by others in the fog.

Everyone cheered up and continued to move forward.

They followed the footprints on the ground and soon made a discovery.

"Look!"

I saw a lot of corpses lying densely on the ground in front of me. They were all dressed in tattered clothes, and many of them had their heads chopped off by knives.

Among them were the bodies of several garrison soldiers.

His armor and clothes were torn to shreds, and his body was covered with bite marks.

“They are the people from the slums outside the city.”

A Taoist priest said with an unpleasant expression: "How dare they attack the army and bite people? Could it be that they are possessed by evil spirits?"

The only thing that made him feel at ease was that several Qingcheng disciples were not among them.

"Keep looking!"

Ming Shanzi had a gloomy face and led his men to search forward.

But after walking for about half an incense stick, they realized something was wrong.

According to this distance, we should have arrived at the city wall of Chengdu long ago, but now, there is only wilderness all around.

In the thick fog, snow was flying all over the sky.

Everyone turned their heads to look back, and found that the footprints they had left when they came here were covered by the snow and became blurred.

It’s still an illusion!

They are experienced and make judgments immediately.

"Breaking the barrier!"

Ming Shanzi gave a low shout, and immediately took out a root of yarrow from his arms, pinched his fingers, and tied it into a knot.

The technique used was the Beidi mountaineering technique.

This technique does not have too many requirements and is best at breaking illusion arrays. It is simple and convenient, and is recorded in "Baopuzi" and widely circulated.

Others also performed mountaineering techniques at the same time.

We moved forward again and finally did not take the wrong road. After twists and turns, we arrived at the Fuhe Wharf.

But next to the pier, the docked ships were covered in dust and there were also many corpses. In addition to the civilians, there were also many garrison soldiers.

In the flying snow, corpses piled up like mountains, blood plasma dyed the ground red and then froze into ice crystals. Several Qingcheng disciples who had entered to investigate earlier were also among them.

"Junior Brother Baiyun!"

When several Taoists saw this, they were filled with grief and indignation.

"careful!"

Although Mingshanzi was also angry, he stopped them.

I saw a figure slowly walking out from the pile of corpses, carrying a huge jar of wine and taking a few gulps.

He was tall and had wiped the wine stains off his beard.

"Someone from Qingcheng Sect?"

"That's great. Follow me into the city to rescue that kid Li Yan."

There was no trace of aura leaking out from this person, but Ming Shanzi felt his back tighten for no apparent reason, and couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?"

"I?"

The man took another sip of wine and turned to look in the direction of Chengdu.

"My name is Yang Jian!"

…………

Unlike outside the city, the scene inside Chengdu is quite different.

"It's dark, look at the lights!"

“What a heavy snow, hahahaha…”

Thick fog enveloped the city in an instant. The people in the city, who were already in a bad state, became even more fanatical at this moment and poured into the streets.

The fog blocked their vision and they thought it was dark.

The strange heavy snow was also considered a good omen by them.

Today is the opening day of the market. As thick fog descends and the sky gradually darkens, colorful lights are lit one by one.

Because of the order from the Shu Palace, the whole city was hung with red lanterns, and even red curtains were hung around the colorful lanterns.

In an instant, the thick fog in the city turned blood red.

And those people seemed to be immersed in a dream, unaware of the strange scene, and even became more crazy.

They were wandering in the streets with the elderly and children, surrounded by crowds, seemingly admiring the lanterns, but their eyes were bloodshot and drool was dripping from the corners of their mouths.

"Damn, what kind of evil method is this?"

Sharifei's scalp tingled and he couldn't help but curse.

At this moment, they were all standing on the roof of a tall building.

Because they were well prepared, they did not come into contact with the "God of Happiness Money", and because of their high level of Taoism, they did not fall into madness.

But because of this, he stood out in the crowd.

These crazy people seemed to be able to smell their scent, and once they found them, they would attack them madly.

"Oh~oh~oh~"

In the distance, fanatical shouts were heard.

That was the procession that was held to worship the Horse-Headed Lady.

But at this moment, the statue on the bamboo sedan had been overturned and discarded, and a merchant with a terrified face was tied up on it.

This also means not touching the money of the God of Happiness and keeping sober.

He became an outcast in the crowd and was captured by the crazy people, put on a wooden stake, and sprinkled with kerosene.

Boom~
A huge flame rose up.

Li Yan and others had no time to rescue him, and the unfortunate businessman was thrown into the fire and turned into charcoal in an instant.

The shrill screams seemed to make the people even crazier.

"There are evil spirits in the city, find them and burn them to death!"

"Burn them, and God will bless us!"

These people were like crazy, running around the city with red eyes, looking for those who were not cursed.

The scene before my eyes was simply horrifying.

Even several old seniors like Zhulin Liuxian were dumbfounded.

They are active in the martial arts world, but this is the first time I see them.

"This... this is a divine nightmare!"

Wang Daoxuan's eyes widened and his voice trembled slightly.

"Divine Nightmare?"

Li Yan asked in confusion: "What kind of magic is this?"

"Borrowing the power of God, bringing disaster to all living beings."

Wang Daoxuan clenched his fists tightly and said, "I have seen this thing in the Sutra Library of Wudang Mountain. I didn't expect it to really exist."

"Have you ever heard of 'Xingxi Queen Mother's Decree'?"

(End of this chapter)