Knife splashing

Chapter 704 Dragon Vein Secret Realm
Li Yan's sense of smell is never wrong.

Kong Hui's aura was extremely peculiar—it was the scent of a closed study filled with moldy ancient books year-round, mixed with a faint smell of blood.

Once you've smelled it, it's unforgettable.

The gou dagger showed no reaction, further confirming his judgment:
The target was merely "present," and has already vanished.

However, the chanting coming from deep within the cellar was clearly audible, in an obscure southwestern dialect, rustling and carrying an eerie quality.

"Capture him alive," Li Yan whispered, giving him a meaningful look.

The order was given silently, and the team sprang into action instantly, like a sophisticated machine.

Sha Lifei leaped over the low wall like a monkey, his divine fire spear already firmly resting on his shoulder; Wang Daoxuan twirled talismans between his fingers, silently chanting incantations; Long Yan'er slightly raised her slender fingers, and a few points of ghostly light flew out from her sleeve; Lü San raised his arm, and the eagle "Lidong," clutching the demon gourd, soared into the sky…

As for Wu Ba, he twisted his neck to put on the iron-inlaid gauntlets tightly and followed closely behind Li Yan.

Luo Mingzi, standing to the side, was secretly alarmed.

These twelve celestial bodies' actions, though seemingly chaotic, actually instantly locked down every inch of space, combining offense and defense. No wonder they were able to establish such a formidable reputation.

The two of them darted to the front of the shop.

Boom!
Wu Ba unleashed a powerful punch, and with a dull thud, a large hole was smashed through the thick brick wall.

In the instant dust and debris flew up, Li Yan's figure had already smashed open the wooden door like a ghost and forced his way in!
Instantly, a strong odor assaulted my nostrils:

The fresh wood emitted a bitter, pungent odor, the tung oil smelled strong, and the bloody sweetness of fresh blood...

Upon seeing the scene inside the shop, Li Yan's pupils suddenly contracted.

The shop was now a complete mess.

Wood shavings were scattered all over the ground, and several oddly shaped, unfinished wooden puppet components lay overturned.

One of them resembled a dragon-bone waterwheel commonly seen in fields, but its ingenious design redesigned each section, turning it into a menacing wooden puppet that resembled both a dragon and a snake. The protruding parts were all knife tips, some twisted, some still dripping blood.

The ground was covered in blood, and several mangled corpses lay there.

The small door leading to the backyard was broken. After Li Yan went in, he saw that the shelves in the yard were overturned and the wood was lying haphazardly. The signs of a struggle were shocking.

The most terrifying thing is the wooden sculpture of the Thunder God inside the shrine on the right side of the earthen wall.

The base mechanism was wide open, and several unactivated bone-piercing nails were still stuck among the densely packed spring-loaded crossbow muzzles.

Below, seven men in black were riddled with holes, their bodies riddled with holes.

In the center of the courtyard, a dark, square entrance had suddenly appeared where the ground had collapsed.

Beside the entrance stands a thick basalt slab covered with honeycomb-like holes, with a dozen or so triangular poison darts, gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light, deeply embedded in it.

Beside the tunnel, an old man dressed in foreign attire was crouching.

He had a white turban wrapped around his head, wore a dark blue cloth robe, and large silver earrings swayed in the shadows. Several shiny gourds hung from his waist. He was chanting incantations in front of a gourd with a red cloth stuffed in its mouth. Strands of tiny, dark green centipedes were crawling out of the gourd's mouth, wriggling and burrowing into the tunnel.

He's a Gu Master from the Southwest!
The moment Li Yan burst in, the Gu Master was startled, a hint of panic flashing in his cloudy eyes.

He hurriedly turned to the side and whistled sharply.

Hiss!

Several slender, venomous snakes, like arrows of shadow, suddenly shot out from under the old man's robes, aiming straight for Li Yan's face!
But as the snake's shadow flashed by, Li Yan was no longer in the same spot.

The Gu Master felt a strong gust of wind behind his head, and everything went black before his eyes. He had already been knocked unconscious by Li Yan.

The venomous snake and centipede, now out of control, went berserk and scurried wildly around the room.

Meanwhile, a longer whistle came from outside the door.

Her natal Gu, "Qin Chong," transformed into a red thread and flew in, causing all the poisonous creatures that passed through it to wither and die.

Without saying a word, Li Yan leaped into the gloomy cave.

Since ancient times, there have always been underground tunnels within the great cities of China.

Just like this capital city, it was known as "Yandu" in ancient times, "Youzhou" later, and was also the "Dadu" of the Golden Horde Wolf Kingdom.

The war, coupled with smuggling by merchants in the city, resulted in the excavation of quite a few tunnels.

What's in front of us is clearly an ancient secret passage for hiding soldiers. It's quite large, but all the passages leading out are blocked.

Rows of ebony coffins were arranged, with paper dolls hanging above them by oil-soaked straw ropes.

With white paper for the skin and cinnabar for the eyes, and small wooden shafts connecting the joints, this puppet is made using the "wooden bone and paper skin" method secretly passed down by the Kuai family.

Occasionally, the paper offerings are torn, revealing the intricate wooden skeleton inside.

At this moment, they swayed slightly in the cold wind, their joints making a "crack...crack..." sound, their empty eyes seemingly looking down at the intruder.

In front of the coffin lay several dead men in black, each with a different manner of death, clearly killed by mechanisms within the coffin or paper dolls.

Li Yanrui's eyes swept across the ground, and his steps stopped.

In the dim light, several nearly transparent metal wires stood taut, shimmering with a barely perceptible glimmer.

Li Yan shook his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the innermost part of the underground cave.

There was a small building constructed of dark, sunken wood, seemingly connected to the upper floor, with a strange and heavy style, and only a narrow, cramped high window.

Inside the window, a boy's face, deathly pale from blood loss, flashed briefly before disappearing into the shadows!

"Hey! Another one." A nonchalant curse rang out.

"No matter how many come, my 'Hundred Crafts Pavilion' will be your burial ground!"

After he finished speaking, the clicking sounds of the machinery inside the building started up again, and the surrounding coffins shook violently, sending chills down one's spine.

"But it's Brother Kuai! Don't make a move!"

Li Yan immediately raised his voice and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "I am Li Yan, and I have come to investigate the demon."

"Li Yan?"

The boy in the small building clearly recognized him, but was full of doubt. "What proof do you have?"

Immediately afterwards, a frail, aged voice came from inside the building: "No need to doubt... he is Li Yan..."

Li Yan's eyes lit up: "Senior Wu? It's you?"

Wow~
All that could be heard was the clanging of the mechanisms and locks inside the building. A small, suspended wooden compartment slowly descended from the side wall of the once seamless, solid wood building.

Two people were slumped over in the cubicle.

The man, dressed in rags and with withered white hair, was none other than Old Man Wu, the "living underworld messenger" of the Ghost Market.

His face was ashen from poisoning, a black line snaked down to his neck, and he was barely breathing.

The other was a young man dressed in a neat short black robe, with pale skin and rugged features. He had a large nose and a wide mouth, and his appearance was hardly handsome, but a white headband tied his messy hair back, and his eyes were surprisingly bright, burning like fire in his eyes at this moment due to excruciating pain and anger.

His abdomen was ripped open with a hideous, bloody gash, which was hastily wrapped with a stained coarse cloth to stop the bleeding. He was none other than Kuai Dayou, a master craftsman.

At this moment, Wang Daoxuan and the others had also jumped down.

"Save them first!" Li Yan shouted.

Without further ado, everyone immediately took action.

Wang Daoxuan examined the injuries, and Lü San took out herbs to cover the wounds.

The real expert was Long Yan'er. She deftly cleaned the wound, applied ointment, and re-bandaged it, her movements as swift as a butterfly flitting among flowers.

Soon, a trace of color returned to Kuai Dayou's pale face, and the dark aura on Old Wu's face also faded considerably.

"Gentlemen, what exactly happened?" Li Yan asked as soon as the two men regained their composure.

"I'm screwed... I'm fucking screwed up big time!"

Kuai Dayou had barely uttered a sentence when he gritted his teeth, wincing in pain.

Old Wu, panting, continued, his voice hoarse: "Not long after I left my hiding place in the Ghost Market, I felt something trailing behind me, so I hid in Brother Kuai's coffin shop... I thought I could find refuge in this underground chamber, but unexpectedly, a ghost found this place. Fortunately, I used the Gang Token to scare it away."

"Bullshit!"

Kuai Dayou spat, still shaken and indignant, "I was sound asleep when that coffin-faced scholar suddenly appeared like a ghost! Luckily, I reacted quickly and slid into the 'Hundred Crafts Building' with a 'lazy donkey flip,' otherwise I would have been a ghost by now!"

"That guy's skills and methods... are incredibly strange! Ordinary people can't do anything to me." "He is Kong Hui."

Old Wu was also investigating the Jianmu tree, so Li Yan revealed his background and then asked in confusion, "He possessed the 'Earth Official's Edict of Pardon,' which could have allowed him to ignore a previous pursuit by the underworld. Senior Wu, how did you manage to scare him away?"

This is Li Yan's biggest question.

"Because the cost is not worthwhile."

Luo Mingzi shook his head and looked at the corpses around him. "The lives of my men are not as important as that trump card."

Old Wu nodded with difficulty, a look of worry flashing in his deep-set eyes: "Indeed...that's right. But...I still can't understand how they...could have tracked me down so quickly?"

This problem loomed over him like a shadow.

"What they're looking for might not be entirely you." Li Yan's gaze shifted to Kuai Dayou, who was grimacing as he examined the wounds on his puppet. "Have you crafted and controlled 'Monkey Yin Soldiers' to secretly aid Rabbit Lord?"

Kuai Dayou raised an eyebrow. "What's it to you?"

"You little brat, how dare you speak like that?"

Shalifei immediately retorted, "We just saved you!"

Kuai Da rolled his eyes and said, "One thing at a time. I will repay you for saving me, but don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."

Li Yan frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Kuai was a child prodigy, but his temperament was like that of a street urchin.

It's likely that the Xiangshan Society will seize his position, partly due to his reckless and unruly nature.

Thinking of this, Li Yan simply stated directly, "At midnight, I will be inside the 'Nine Gates Yin Ruins'."

"It turns out to be you."

Kuai Da was delighted and gave a thumbs up, "You dare to disturb the dragon vein? You've got guts!"

After saying that, she could no longer hold on and fainted.

The group looked at each other, speechless.

But now, the only option is to take the person back to "Rouyuan Post Station" to heal their wounds...

…………

On the other side, outside the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The sky was already beginning to lighten, but the light was growing dimmer.

On the glazed tile roof of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the outlines of the flying eaves and ridge beasts can be seen, giving it a somber and solemn appearance.

The morning breeze stirred up dust, which swirled through the gaps in the white marble steps.

At the end of the imperial road, beneath the nine-dragon canopy, Emperor Xiao Qixuan of the Great Xuan Dynasty stood with his hands behind his back, his face as cold as frost.

He sat quietly on the couch, his deep gaze fixed on the closed doors of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the hot tea beside him long since gone cold.

The intelligence Pei Zongti brought back sent chills down his spine.

The "Peach Banquet" was merely a sacrificial offering; the demons of Jianmu had already tampered with things deep within the "Nine Gates Yin Ruins."

Not daring to be negligent in the slightest, he immediately ordered a thorough investigation into the abnormality of the dragon vein and personally guarded the outside.

Inside the main hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, candlelight shone brightly.

The unique, rich aroma of camphor wood mingled with the smoke from incense sticks, filling the entire hall.

Inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple are the spirit tablets of the emperors of the Xuan Dynasty and their principal empresses, arranged according to the principle of "same hall, different rooms" and "left Zhao, right Mu".

In addition, there were civil and military officials who were granted the honor of being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The offerings were of the highest standard, including ritual instruments, a cow, a pig, and a sheep, all placed on the sacrificial table.

This was the "Tai Lao" ceremony, while the civil and military officials were to be offered the "Shao Lao" ceremony.

In front of the main hall, thirty-six royal family sorcerers from the Imperial Clan Court, holding ceremonial implements, circled around in the celestial directions.

In the center of the magic array, the Xuanji priest Pei Zongti, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau official Bai Chenshan, and an old man in a python robe all sat cross-legged.

Both Pei Zongti and Bai Chenshan were somewhat apprehensive and excited at this moment.

Although one was a master of Confucianism and the other a grandmaster of geomancy, both holding high positions in the Xuanmen (Taoist sect), this was their first time coming into contact with a dragon vein.

This was a secret of the dynasty, and apart from the imperial advisors at the founding of the dynasty, this was the first time outsiders had entered.

The sorcerers from the Imperial Clan Court all looked rather grim.

The emperor's sending outsiders to investigate clearly showed his distrust of them, but now that something has happened and there are imperial guards monitoring them from behind, no one dares to object anymore.

The old man in the python robe in the magic array was Lu Chuanwang, the Left Minister of the Imperial Clan, and a close confidant of the emperor.

The position of Imperial Clan Minister of Shunyang will certainly be stripped, and he will be the next Imperial Clan Minister appointed by imperial decree.

"Both of you."

King Lu Chuan looked at the two of them and said in a hoarse voice, "After entering, remember to follow me closely."

After saying that, he winked at someone to the side.

The surrounding Taoist priests from the Imperial Clan Court immediately took up their ritual implements and began chanting the "Great Prayer to Heaven and Earth."

"We humbly acknowledge the vastness of heaven and earth, the separation of yin and yang, and the Great Prophet's mandate from Heaven, inheriting the destiny of the divine land..."

With the resounding voices, the incense smoke in the main hall grew even stronger.

The three people inside the magic circle felt their bodies lighten, as if they were rising into the air and disappearing into the smoke.

The barrier between illusion and reality seems to have blurred at this moment.

The three ghostly spirits wandered through the mist and finally saw the "Nine Gates of Yin Ruins".

Unlike Li Yan, they used the ancestral temple's array to have a clearer view from high above.

Everything in sight was bizarre and surreal.

What they saw was no longer simply a reflection of the ruins of the capital.

One can see a white marble base supporting a mottled Tang-style rammed earth wall;
The stupa in the style of the Golden Horde Wolf Kingdom is half-buried in the glazed tile rubble of the Daxuan Palace;
The remnants of the Wolf Kingdom's "Ordos" (palace) appear and disappear along a river where the silhouettes of Song Dynasty-style cargo boats flow...

The dust of history does not accumulate in a chronological order.

Instead, it's like scrambled cards, layered, twisted, and pressed together.

Every slight tremor in the space brings visual dizziness and a sense of cognitive dissonance.

Pei Zongti and Bai Chenshan wanted to see more clearly, but they only felt a wave of dizziness.

"You two, do not stare."

King Lu Chuan said in a deep voice, "The secret realm contains the mysteries of heaven and earth. We are all mortals who peek into it through the national sacrifice at the ancestral temple. If we become obsessed with it, our souls will be damaged and we will not be able to bear it."

Upon hearing this, Pei Zongti and Bai Chenshan dared not gaze intently any longer.

They looked into the distance and saw nine gates, which were also different from those of Li Yan.

The nine gates of the capital city were seen floating and rotating, no longer simply turning, but moving forward and backward in an alternating pattern.

It looks just like a huge heart beating slowly.

What the city gates open and close, swallowing and exhaling, are tangible resentments, remnants of dynastic incense, and even fragments of space.

Inside Chongwen Gate, the lifeless spirits of merchants can still be seen repeating the old tax-paying procession, their cries of anguish fading into silence…

Inside Zhengyang Gate, glimpses of the golden cavalry charging could occasionally be seen, the sound of arrows piercing the air turning into a shrill cry that tore through the silence…

Inside Chaoyang Gate, a long, winding procession of canal workers, carrying unseen sacks of rice, moved silently forward with hunched backs…

Inside Xuanwu Gate, the guillotine blade was rusted, and countless headless corpses stood in pools of blood…

Each city gate seems to be an independent temporal and spatial trap.

A historical moment is frozen inside the door, endlessly repeating itself...

(End of this chapter)