Knife splashing

Chapter 681 Maitreya Appears
Night Walker?!

Li Yan was a little surprised and looked up suddenly.

He didn't care about Luo Mingzi's warning and immediately used some magic to investigate.

His ability to smell was activated, and he could smell the scent of incense, and vaguely make out its outline.

It was a humanoid figure, about four meters tall, covered in a cloak, and there was the sound of chains on his body.

Yes, it is indeed a night-wandering god.

After discovering the mutated statue of the ancient Queen Mother, Li Yan asked someone to carefully organize the data on the evolution of the deity.

He has a good relationship with Wudang and Qingcheng. In this world, the inheritance of Xuanmen is orderly, and many lost ancient books are still well preserved. Therefore, the lineage of some secular gods can also be sorted out, and the "Night Wandering God" is one of them.

Among the Xuanmen, he is mainly responsible for patrolling at night and monitoring the good and evil in the world.

Together with the Sun God, he is enshrined in the City God Temple.

The City God patrols at night along a fixed area.

As for the wandering gods day and night, their routes are relatively free, and any unusual movement of evil spirits will attract them.

If it is evil spirits causing trouble, suppress them directly.

Of course, the day and night parade of gods is not available everywhere.

It's like an upgraded configuration. If the local City God Temple is only enough to support soldiers and horses, there will naturally be no spare capacity.

Even if there are some places where the day and night wandering gods can appear, they can only be used for reconnaissance at most.

In the capital, he is undoubtedly more powerful, comparable to the folk gods in some places.

But Li Yan found out through summarizing the information that its origin was not that simple.

The belief in the Night-Wandering God may be even older, originating from the ancient worship of "night".

Ancient people believed that the night was filled with unknown dangers that required protection or deterrence from gods, so they were also called "the God of the Night" or "patrolling ghosts and gods." They were most likely the two gods "Xiao Ming" and "Zhu Guang" mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

The "Tai Shang Dong Yuan Shen Zhou Jing" calls him the official in heaven, who inspects the human world together with the sun god.

In folklore, it often appears, interacting with mortals, punishing night thieves or rescuing lost people.

From all indications, this is also an ancient god who has been silent in the changes of humanity and is in charge of change and rebirth.

Its true form may also be in the Daluo Dharma Realm, and its incarnation is worshipped by incense in the human world.

But no matter whether the speculation is correct or not, we should not kill people indiscriminately like this!
Someone has controlled the Night Wanderer to cause trouble!

The woman surnamed Hu obviously thought of this as well.

"Someone is playing tricks, retreat first!"

Her face suddenly changed, and she quickly made hand gestures with her fingers while chanting in a loud voice: "The moon shines on the mountains and forests, and white smoke rises. The leader of the Hu family has arrived in front of the hall. His left foot steps on the Qiankun Road, and his right foot kicks open the Yinyang Gate!"

The faster he chanted the spell, the faster his steps became.

With the swaying waist, it feels like a fox dancing.

At the same time, white mist rose from the ground.

"Follow me!"

A woman's gentle cry was heard in the thick fog, and then a ball of phosphorous fire exploded in the fog, like countless swimming fish, scattering in all directions.

"Good trick..."

When Li Yan saw it, he was obviously surprised.

He collected a lot of information about the mysterious sect, and the Northern Frontier Five Immortals Hall was naturally among them.

The origin of Wuxiantang is Shamanism, but it is different.

At that time, Han people from Luzhou and other places migrated to the northern border, bringing with them beliefs in fox spirits, which were combined with the local shamanism's spirit possession rituals to form the practice of spirit masters.

Therefore, the core of a spirit medium disciple is possession.

Similar to the practice of summoning spirits to possess one's body in the Central Plains and southern regions, the common method is "binding the acupoints". The higher the level of Taoism, the more likely one is to stay awake.

But the five immortals enshrined here each have their own specialties.

The fox fairy is good at bewitching souls, casting divinations, changing lives and borrowing fortunes.

Huang Xian is good at hiding and capturing souls.

White fairies are good at curing diseases and protecting homes, willow fairies are good at conquering, and gray fairies are good at making money.

The organizational structure of the Wuxian Hall is not so strict. As long as the steps of "inviting the immortals, selecting the soldiers, and installing seats" are passed to set up the hall, it can become a fairy hall.

However, as Uncle Hu San, Grandma Hu San and others were conferred titles by the Xuanmen, the Wuxian Hall became a legal lineage recognized by the imperial court, and all halls had to obey its orders.

Each of the five immortals has his own strengths, but Hu Xian is the leader.

The reason is very simple, it is this "Tongtian Gua", also known as the Hujia Gua.

No matter how high one's Taoism is, one will still be afraid of the three disasters and nine calamities. Only by understanding the secrets of heaven can one avoid disasters.

Hu Xian's fighting ability is not very high, but the escape method of this woman from the Hu family can both escape and confuse the enemy, which is obviously an extremely sophisticated and orthodox inheritance.

But they still underestimated the power of the Night Wanderer.

Li Yan could feel the scent of incense bursting out from the Night Wandering God instantly.

Almost instantly, strong winds blew up around and black fog covered the area.

Judging from the momentum, it sounds a bit like the troops from the underworld are moving out.

Of course, the two are different in origin and their power is far different.

Even so, the Hu family woman's escape method was instantly broken.

squeak~
The sound of a fox wailing seemed to be heard in the black fog.

The white mist released by the woman from the Hu family, along with the phosphorescent fire in it, was instantly dispersed.

And these three people just jumped out of the wall.

While still in mid-air, the woman from the Hu family fell with a muffled groan, and blood oozed from the corners of her mouth.

"Master, be careful!"

Feng Shaoqing hurriedly helped the woman surnamed Hu up, but when he saw the darkness spreading on the wall, a trace of fear suddenly flashed in his eyes, his body tensed, and he obviously wanted to escape.

But he hesitated for a moment, then stood in front of the woman and took out the token from his waist.

This is an official order from the Duwei Division, and it has some effect in suppressing evil.

Just as the darkness was approaching, it suddenly stopped, only a foot away from his face. Frost condensed on Feng Shaoqing's face, and he also heard the sound of chains.

Call ~
Suddenly, a strong wind blew and the darkness dissipated.

"Hahaha…"

Feng Shaoqing escaped death, his face full of ecstasy, gritted his teeth and said: "Humph, the imperial power of the Great Xuan Dynasty is greater than the divine power. No matter what, the Night Wandering God is still a member of the City God Temple. How can he harm the officials of the court..."

He was a little too proud of himself, but he didn't notice that the woman from the Hu family, who had wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and stood up, didn't listen to his nagging, but looked towards the dark alley on the left, and said with a bow: "Thank you for your help, fellow Taoist, why don't you show up and meet me?"

In the darkness, Li Yan stuffed the certificate into his arms and walked out slowly.

Feng Shaoqing was dreaming. This night wandering god had been controlled by someone, so why would he care about any imperial decree? The one who really expelled him was Li Yan’s identity as a celestial official.

There are no taboos when heavenly officials travel, and all secular gods must avoid them.

No matter how strange this night wandering god is, his identity is difficult to change.

"May I ask Your Excellency..."

As soon as the woman from the Hu family clasped her fists, the widow Wang next to her widened her eyes and cried out in surprise:

"Li...Brother Li?"

Her face was full of disbelief.

The woman from the Hu family turned her head and frowned slightly.

Li Yan did not rush to talk, but turned his head to look at the street in the distance. Seeing the fire and the sound of horse hooves coming from there, he said: "The patrol soldiers are coming. Let's find a place to talk first." Seeing that Li Yan was young but acted like a master, Feng Shaoqing felt uncomfortable for some reason and said in a deep voice: "It's a good time to come. It's unheard of for a night wandering god to kill people. It's a good opportunity to investigate it thoroughly."

"Check, what are you checking?"

Li Yan was somewhat speechless. "Even if you tell others that the Night Wanderer killed someone, do you think anyone would believe it?"

"If someone dares to do this, how could they be unprepared? I'm afraid they will be thrown into jail and lose their lives before you give the order."

Feng Shaoqing was slightly stunned, then nodded, "As expected of the famous Li Yan, you are right."

Li Yan was not surprised that his identity was recognized, but looked at the woman surnamed Hu.

This woman is called the incense master and is obviously the leader of several people.

After hearing this, the woman's eyes flashed with hesitation, but when she saw the torches in the distance illuminating the alley entrance, she gritted her teeth and said, "We have people at the grain warehouse in front of us, follow me!"

After saying that, she turned and walked away quickly.

Only her mind was damaged, but her kung fu was still unaffected. She was running and leaping at a very fast speed.

Li Yan, Widow Wang and others followed closely behind.

After passing through three dark alleys, a blue brick arched gatehouse suddenly appeared in front of us. The lintel was engraved with "Yufenghao", but it has become blurred after many years.

The woman from the Hu family looked around, walked forward and knocked on the copper ring, three long and two short.

Soon, a crack appeared on the side door.

"Master... come in quickly!"

The person who opened the door was a hunchbacked old man. Although he was a little surprised, he didn't say anything. After everyone entered, he looked at the surrounding streets and quickly closed the wooden door.

After entering the room, Li Yan looked around calmly.

This place looks like the front yard of an ordinary grain warehouse, but it actually hides a mystery.

Seven grain storages, more than ten feet high, were arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper. The roofs were covered with thatch, but bronze fox-head bells were hung under the eaves. No sound was made when the night wind blew past them.

Moreover, there was also the smell of fireworks coming from underground.

Li Yan was not surprised to see this.

When Luo Mingzi introduced the situation in the capital, he also mentioned the terrain of each region.

The Qianmen area was originally a place where merchants gathered. The "Records of the Alleys and Streets of the Five Cities of the Capital" recorded that there were many grain warehouses and cargo warehouses in this area, and many of them had underground storage.

As expected, the woman from the Hu family introduced, "This is a secret warehouse built by the Minister of Personnel fifty years ago. He was very greedy. Seeing that the current emperor was on the throne, he dug a three-mile secret passage under the Qianmen business to prevent his property from being confiscated. But he eventually died. Later, we took it over, and now it is connected to the backyards of six grain warehouses."

As she spoke, she pushed aside the reed mat of the grain storage on the east side, revealing a dark hole.

After he entered, Li Yan followed in.

He frowned slightly as he leaned over and smelled the scent of sulfur mixed with the smell of stale rice.

There is gunpowder buried under these grain storages?

Why does a Dharma lineage hall make such a big fuss?

The tunnel was damp and cold, with an old oil lamp embedded in the wall every ten steps.

Li Yan sniffed and became more suspicious.

There are mechanical arrows hidden in the walls on both sides.

There must be something wrong with the identities of these people.

He remained calm, but in fact he was already on guard.

Finally, everyone stopped at a stone chamber.

The decoration here is more thoughtful, almost like a house.

The woman from the Hu family stepped forward and turned the lampstand.

Crunch~
The antique shelf moved away with the sound of a mechanism, revealing a secret room about ten feet square at the back.

Inside the secret room, there were boxes of armor and weapons.

There were even two boxes of muskets.

"Everyone..."

Li Yan stopped outside the secret room and did not enter. "I'm afraid you are not just from the Five Immortals Hall?"

Feng Shaoqing's eyes were gloomy and he secretly glanced at the woman surnamed Hu.

Widow Wang lowered her head and dared not speak.

"To be honest, Young Master Li."

The woman suddenly made several gestures in succession, tapping her brows with her fingertips to make a lotus shape, and then said, "Qingfeng is illiterate, why bother flipping through the scriptures? 'A fire is lit at midnight under Maitreya's seat, a bright lamp illuminates the cold night.'"

"Someone from Maitreya?!"

Li Yan was stunned and unconsciously pressed the handle of the knife.

He didn't expect that these people were actually from the Maitreya Sect.

Many years ago, in the battle of Guanzhong, due to the mischief of Zhao Changsheng, various forces of Maitreya Sect gathered in Guanzhong to revolt, but they suffered heavy losses at the hands of the imperial court.

Because of this incident, the once powerful Maitreya sect fell into decline, and coupled with the imperial court's ban, the Maitreya sect was left with only scattered forces.

If they are scattered all over the place, they will never amount to anything.

When will they gather again in the capital?
"Brother Li, don't be nervous, we are not bad people..."

Widow Wang, who was standing next to her, saw this and quickly explained, "This is my lost daughter. She was rescued by the Maitreya Cult when she was young..."

The woman surnamed Hu raised her hand, interrupting her explanation, and said solemnly, "I am Hu Yuan, the incense master of the Maitreya Sect in the capital. I have long heard of Brother Li's chivalrous spirit and courage. You should know the origin of the Maitreya Sect. As long as there are miserable people in this world, the Maitreya Sect will not be extinct!"

"We gather here to burn incense, not to oppose the imperial court, nor do we have any ambition to change the world. We just want to help each other in this turbid and evil world."

"If you don't believe it, you can go and find out."

Li Yan would not believe it easily, but he was not in a hurry to turn hostile. Instead, he looked around and said calmly, "Bringing me here, are you trying to lead me into the religion?"

"Young Master Li misunderstood."

Hu Yuanyuan shook her head and said, "Just to show my sincerity, I heard that the Twelve Yuanchen are wandering immortals, so I want to make a deal with you."

Li Yanwen asked: "What deal?"

Hu Yuanyuan gritted her teeth and said, "Help me kill someone! That's a criminal hiding in the Prince of Ying's palace. I want his soul to be shattered and he will never be reborn!"

When Li Yan heard this, he immediately understood.

According to the information he obtained from the underworld, Uleji, who was hiding in the King of England's palace, had massacred a village that worshipped the Five Immortals Hall when he was hiding in the northern border.

Widow Wang and her companions kept their identities secret for many years, probably to avoid this person.

Of course, Li Yan would not be so foolish as to say that this was also his goal.

He frowned slightly, pretending to be puzzled and said in a deep voice: "There is a criminal hiding in the King of England's palace. This is strange. What is going on?"

Seeing that he was interested, Hu Yuanyuan did not dare to hide it and immediately told him the story.

The reasons behind this were roughly the same as Li Yan had guessed.

The only difference is that Hu Yuanyuan was just a young child when she was lost. After so many years, she had forgotten everything that happened in her childhood and even thought that her family had been attacked by bandits.

It was when Widow Wang and the fox fairy passed through the capital that she accidentally sensed Hu Yuanyuan's blood, and the two were able to recognize each other.

Hu Yuanyuan was just a young girl, but to be able to climb to the position of incense master, one can imagine how much suffering she had endured. She was especially furious when she learned that the murderer who caused all this had been hiding in the capital.

Seeing that Li Yan didn't say anything, Hu Yuanyuan gritted her teeth and said, "Young Master Li, you are famous all over the world, I'm afraid you don't look down on those yellow and white things. If you can accomplish this, I am willing to give you the things of the immortals."

"Is the Immortal hiding?"

Li Yan was amused. "I know more about immortals than you do. If you really have these treasures, would you be willing to give them up?"

Hu Yuanyuan was silent for a moment, then slowly raised her head and said:
"Young Master Li, have you ever heard of the peaches that can make people immortal?"

(End of this chapter)