Knife splashing

Chapter 598: Flower God Parade
"I've heard some."

Li Yan nodded slightly after hearing this.

Once you enter a circle, you will hear some strange things about this circle, more or less.

"Carrying out the edict of the Queen Mother of the West" is one of them.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, people from the 26 counties in Guandong suddenly gathered in Chang'an on a large scale, claiming that they were holding "talismans" bestowed by the Queen Mother of the West, believing that the wearer could be "avoid disasters and remain immortal."

The participants all had their hair loose and were barefoot, riding horses wildly, and some even climbed onto rooftops at night to beat drums and shout. According to historical records, “the beating of drums and shouting frightened everyone”…

This incident is very famous and has happened more than once. It is recorded in both "Zizhi Tongjian" and "Han Shu".

There are many different opinions about this matter.

Confucianism said it was a disaster, the emperor had lost his virtue, the emperor repeatedly issued edicts to blame himself, but the people were already boiling with resentment, and it was difficult to reverse the situation...

The court officials said that the early Taoist sects at that time might have been involved. After all, the distribution of talismans and the unified actions across 20 to 30 counties and kingdoms would not have been possible without someone secretly organizing...

But there is another saying in Taoism.

At that time, alchemists were very popular, and the legend of the elixir of immortality was widely circulated. As the holder of the elixir, the belief in the Queen Mother of the West was also popular in the north and south.

This incident was the result of a plot by a sect of alchemists who believed in the Queen Mother of the West, attempting to expand their faith and seize political power.

But it was also because of this that they were liquidated and exterminated.

In short, it is a very mysterious story.

Thinking of this, Li Yan was startled and asked quickly: "Could this thing be related to the Queen Mother of the West?"

He did not forget that the wizard of the ancient Wuxiang Kingdom was rumored to be a subordinate of the Queen Mother of the West, and the King of Shu also conspired to find the elixir of immortality, perhaps it was Lu Sheng who bewitched him.

"It has nothing to do with the Queen Mother of the West."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head and said, "The so-called 'Divine Nightmare' is a large-scale nightmare curse that uses the power of incense and fire as its source, causing countless ordinary people to go crazy."

"This is a forbidden technique. In ancient times, whenever the world was in chaos, some people would spread evil doctrines and use forbidden techniques to confuse people, causing unrest and gain benefits."

"Later, it was banned by the Xuan Sect, and all related techniques were destroyed. Even the Wudang Mountain Sutra Library only gave a brief introduction..."

Sharifei who was standing next to him couldn't help but said, "Master Dao, what's the point of saying all this now? Just tell us how to crack it. You're such a coward. It's really creepy."

Don't blame him for complaining.

Today's Chengdu is really weird and scary.

The sky was filled with snow and thick fog. Against the backdrop of an eerie red light, the streets and buildings were all blurry black shadows, and the crowds of people were surging like a hundred ghosts parading at night.

What’s even more terrifying is that there are occasional thunders in the sky, and the air seems to be filled with a maddening sense of depression.

It is no exaggeration to say that we have arrived in the netherworld.

"The classics don't go into detail."

Wang Daoxuan stopped talking nonsense and said in a deep voice: "But since it is called Shenyan, the source of this magic should be the secular gods. As long as we start a group to destroy the temple and kill the gods, we can break the spell."

Lu San said in a muffled voice: "These days, the monsters under the King of Shu are hiding in the palace. The altar should be inside."

"I've found the tunnel. How about we start now?"

"Not urgent."

Li Yan looked solemnly, looking up into the air and around him, "San'er, do you think this thing looks familiar..."

Lu San was stunned at first, but finally realized, "Is it the same thing?"

He was smart enough not to say it explicitly. After all, Zhulin Liuxian and Granny Jin who had been betrayed by Young Master Wuxiang were nearby.

Whether it is the Yunzhongjun Divine Palace or the Wushan Goddess Palace, they are both secret places that are enough to drive people crazy and cannot be disclosed at will.

Li Yan nodded thoughtfully and said, "It's probably the Dragon Palace and Water Palace. I'm afraid Dujiangyan has failed."

"The King of Shu had this idea from the beginning."

Wang Daoxuan heard the hidden meaning in his words and frowned, "You mean, the real source is Lord Jiangshen?"

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "It is very likely. We must confirm this first. If it is true as we guess, Qingyang Palace is the main target!"

After saying that, he took everyone away.

The street was in chaos at this time.

The lights were bright, casting a hazy glow in the thick fog and snow. Excited people were wandering around, and conflicts broke out from time to time.

Most of the "God of Happiness Money" on them have turned rusty, and the spells hidden in them have long since invaded their bodies.

Not only that, the entire Chengdu Prefecture became an illusion.

The thick fog and red light interfere with perception. Those people who have not been affected will become dazed and lost and run around in the streets as long as they leave their homes in panic.

If you are unlucky, you will be caught by those crazy people, tied up, wandered around with cheers, and finally thrown into the fire.

Faced with this chaos, Li Yan and his colleagues were too busy to pay attention.

Everyone performed the mountain climbing skills at the same time to avoid interference from the illusion, and ran quickly on the snow-covered rooftops towards the east of the city.

Everything I saw along the way was shocking.

Arriving at a remote alley in the east of the city, Sharifei pointed to a small courtyard and said in a deep voice, "It's in this courtyard!"

Of course he knew what Li Yan was going to do.

This time he came to Shuzhong because he had received a mission from the Dragon Girl. First, he helped her find the reason for the unusual movements of Lord Jiangshen, and then he agreed to help her gather incense and completely seize Lord Jiangshen's power.

The benefits are self-evident.

The Dragon Girl will give the Lord of the Rivers divine power as a reward.

This thing is the key to obtaining the Daluo supernatural power. Both Li Yan and other companions will need it in the future.

More importantly, as long as the Dragon Girl succeeds, Lord Jiangshen, the source of the disaster, will completely disappear between heaven and earth.

Li Yan handed over the relevant preparations to Hou Xuan.

One is to build a temple, and the other is to find people for the Hundred Flowers Festival.

And this courtyard is exactly where Hou Xuan is hiding.

Everyone stepped on the roof and jumped into the snow-covered courtyard.

call out!
A crossbow arrow suddenly shot out from the dark window.

Li Yan was well prepared. He stood in front of everyone, drew a circle with his left hand, used the method of twisting silk to release the force, and directly caught the crossbow arrow in his hand. At the same time, he shouted loudly: "Brother Hou, it's us!"

The sound of arrows being loaded inside suddenly stopped.

Hou Xuan, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, pushed the door open and said excitedly, "You're finally here. What happened?"

He was just an ordinary person, and because Li Yan reminded him, he did not touch the "God of Happiness Money" and thus escaped the disaster.

But he had no magical powers, so he couldn't see the figures outside the yard clearly. When he sensed the movement, he immediately used a crossbow to defend himself.

"How are the manpower preparations going?"

Li Yan briefly described the situation in the city and then began to ask questions.

"It's not easy. It's troublesome."

Hou Xuan smiled bitterly and said, "There are many girls in the families around here. I have given enough money and found enough virgins. I even had someone make a flower basket for them."

"But with such a big incident happening in the city, I don't know if they are still conscious."

To participate in the Hundred Flowers Festival and the Parade of Gods, one must be a virgin.

Li Yan was busy with other things, so he gave Hou Xuan 10,000 taels of silver and asked him to help find it.

"Look for as many people as you can find!"

Li Yan looked at the sky and said with gritted teeth.

Hou Xuan's subordinates and many of his brothers listened to Li Yan's words and were not bewitched by the "God of Happiness Money".

They originally didn't dare to go out, but with the help of Zhulin Liuxian, they were no longer worried about going out to look for people.

Soon, Hou Xuanlian led his men out of the yard.

As for Li Yan, he instructed Wu Ba and Lu San to protect him, then he went into a room alone, lay on the bed, took out the dragon-patterned jade sceptre from his arms, concentrated his mind and calmed himself, allowing himself to fall asleep.

The Dragon Girl is an invisible being, and her real body is still in Longtan Village outside Shennongjia. Every time she communicates with her, it is through the dragon-patterned jade sceptre that she enters into dreams.

Perhaps it was because he wanted to reserve his strength to deal with the Hundred Flower Festival, he hadn't appeared in my dreams since the last deal was made.

The situation was urgent, so Li Yan had to take the initiative to contact.

Holding the jade sceptre with dragon pattern, he quickly fell asleep.

The layout of the room was still the same, but there was no one around. Everything became hazy and familiar. Not long after, he was surrounded by a pair of jade arms from behind, and then suddenly pulled, as if sinking into the ocean.

In front of him, scenes of light and shadow suddenly appeared:

In the mountains along the Minjiang River, ancient tribal ancestors dressed in animal skins used fire and water to split mountains and chisel rocks to open up mountain trails.

la la la!
The rocks suddenly shattered, revealing a strange giant rock that seemed to have grown from the earth's veins, winding and circling in the shape of a dragon, and the surface of the rock was also covered with dragon scale-like patterns.

The ancestors of the tribe were overjoyed and hundreds of people were employed to carry the huge dragon-shaped stone back to the tribe, where they held sacrifices day and night.

On a rainy night, a huge black python suddenly appeared in the river, wrapped the dragon-shaped boulder with its body, threw it into the river, and disappeared...

Seeing these scenes, Li Yan immediately had some guesses.

This thing should be the Dongtian Stone, a treasure formed by the gathering of innate evil spirits. He also got a small one. After absorbing its spiritual charm, it helped him transform Luofeng Mountain and cultivate Fengdu Method in advance.

The giant black python was the original body of the God of Rivers. It took away the cave stone and built the Dragon Palace.

The light and shadow changed again, confirming his guess.

After the Lord of the River God took away the Cave Heaven Stone, thick fog often filled the banks of the river. As this great monster became the water god of Shu, the Dragon Palace and Water Palace finally took shape...

At this moment, a palace appeared with flashing light and shadow.

It is the Qingyang Palace outside the city of Chengdu.

An altar had been set up over there, with strange lights flashing and drums and music playing. The statue of the Dragon Goddess was located under the altar, tied up with red ropes and with talisman paper covering its eyes.

As the sound came, the dragon girl's arm on her chest became fainter and fainter.

The mission of Qingyang Palace is indeed the Dragon Girl!

Li Yan no longer hesitated and suddenly opened his eyes.

At the same time, there was a noise outside the yard.

"Mr. Hou, what happened?"

"You must know something."

"Please save my family..."

The woman cried and begged continuously.

Li Yan pushed the door open and saw more than a dozen girls standing in the yard. All of them were in dishevel and some even had injuries on their bodies.

"Good luck."

Hou Xuan came over with an excited look on his face, "I was afraid that the important event on the 15th day of the first lunar month would be missed, so I specifically told them not to touch the money for the God of Happiness."

"There are more than a dozen people who have obeyed and not been tricked. I wonder if that is enough?"

"Brother Hou did a good job, that's enough!"

Li Yan's face was also full of smiles.

Hou Xuan's work is indeed reassuring.

A simple reminder made things turn around.

All the women in the courtyard were rescued.

They were not fools. Seeing Hou Xuan being so respectful to Li Yan, they knew he was the one in charge and immediately stepped forward to beg.

"It's no use rescuing him!"

Li Yan reprimanded in a deep voice: "Your family members and the people of the entire Chengdu Prefecture have been bewitched. Only by solving the source can they wake up."

"We are going to Qingyang Palace. Are you afraid?"

"As long as I can save my family, I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Please give the order, Immortal!"

When something happened to their family members, these women gained courage.

"it is good!"

Li Yan took out his pocket watch and looked at it. "It will be dark soon. Let's set off immediately without delay!"

Hou Xuan had already informed these women in advance, and they had participated in the Hundred Flowers Parade in previous years and knew the procedures.

After receiving the clothes prepared by Hou Xuan, the women went into the house to change into them, and then walked out carrying the specially made flower baskets.

These clothes were also carefully made, using Shu brocade and white gauze, and had colorful flowers made of cloth on them.

If the women were not so dusty and dirty, they would have really looked like fairies of flowers descending to earth.

The ceremony that Li Yan was going to hold was the "Flower God Parade" of the Flower Festival to commemorate the birthday of the Fairy of Flowers.

The Fairy of Flowers symbolizes the revival of all things.

Through this ritual, the Dragon Girl can be awakened.

Wang Daoxuan has studied and mastered the process of the ceremony.

He set up an altar, swept the ground, burned incense, and used a peach branch dipped in cinnabar water to draw a "Hundred Flowers Talisman" on the snow in the yard to calm the situation.

On the main altar, there is a statue of a deity wearing a hibiscus crown and a robe of flowers. It is the Fairy of Flowers.

Hou Xuan also took a lot of effort to prepare the offerings on the table, which were twelve colored flowers corresponding to the flower gods of the twelve months, and "hundred flower cakes" made of rice.

When the altar was ready, Wang Daoxuan, who had already changed into his robes, immediately stepped onto the altar, recited the "Taiyi Jiuku Hushen Miao Jing", and burned the "Baihua Certification" to send it to the heaven.

Every move is in accordance with ancient rituals and rites.

Boom!
The door of the old house was suddenly pushed open.

These women all held branches of hollyhocks, camellias and other flowers in their hands, and walked in the Yu step to the rhythm of "Nichang Yuyi Qu".

This is called the "Hundred Flowers Formation", symbolizing the arrival of the Twelve Flower Gods.

Li Yan walked in front, holding a bronze flower basket found from the ruins of the Dragon Girl Temple.

This is also a powerful magical weapon.

As long as the flower god's parade goes smoothly, the incense gathered by ordinary people will flow into the flower basket, which is also the key to the dragon girl's awakening.

Not long after I went out, I saw a large group of crazy people.

They were carrying sticks and ropes, and seemed to want to catch everyone.

Among them, there are even quite a few wanderers.

None of these martial artists had high martial arts skills, and they had all received rewards from the Shu Palace and were looking for Li Yan everywhere.

Seeing him appear, I became even crazier.

Li Yan was too lazy to pay attention, and directly pinched the magic formula and said loudly: "Nuo Gao, bring three stars on the left, three prisons on the right, turn the sky upside down, block all nine paths, make you lose your mind, take the east as the west, and the south as the north..."

This is the protective spell of Beidi. It can not only protect the body, but also cast a spell of bewitching the enemies, making it difficult for them to distinguish east from west, north from south.

As soon as the spell was cast, a strong wind blew suddenly.

The people who rushed over were immediately disoriented, and some were spinning in place, or bumping into the walls.

As for Li Yan and others, they naturally know how to climb mountains.

They also wrapped yarrow around their fingers, stepped on the ground, chanted spells, broke through the maze, and headed towards the south of the city.

Of course, accidents also occurred.

More and more crazy people gathered.

They blocked the way and could not harm anyone.

But the flower goddess' parade also attracted them, and they gathered outside the team, their eyes bloodshot, and rejoiced.

In this way, the parade team sang and danced and soon arrived in the south of the city.

To their surprise, the city gates were wide open and there were many corpses piled on the ground. They were all the best men sent by the Salt Gang.

The crowd didn't bother to talk nonsense and walked straight through the gate.

What they didn't know was that Yang Chenghua had just led the Qingcheng Sect's people into Chengdu Prefecture, and they had broken through here.

This place is not far from Qingyang Palace and there is no danger along the way. It took less than two incense sticks to reach the destination.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in previous years, "flower shops", "medicine stalls" and "brocade tents" would be set up outside the Qingyang Palace to sell Sichuan embroidery flower sachets, Chuanxiong jasmine tea and other items.

But now, it is dead silent.

(End of this chapter)