Knife splashing

Chapter 735 Past Events of the Xuanmen Sect

Lü San's Nuo dance is ancient and desolate.

Each step feels like stepping onto a point in time.

Each time he pats his chest, it's as if he's beating an ancient war drum.

The paper money had all turned to ashes, but the Nuo dance still had to continue until the very end.

The reason is simple: this is not just a dance, but a primitive ritual to communicate with the underworld and to channel the evil energy of the earth's veins, using the movement of the dance to drive away the intangible falsehood.

If interrupted, Lü San will suffer a backlash.

Boom!
Finally, with one last thud of his chest, Lü San abruptly stopped.

His face was slightly pale, and he swayed.

In this Nine Gates Yin Ruins, he was clearly not having an easy time performing his spells using only his Yin spirit body.

Wu Ba, who was behind him, quickly stepped forward and helped him up.

Lin Yu, Kuai Dayou, and Kong Shangzhao felt a sense of relief in their backs as the last bit of stickiness binding their souls completely disappeared.

"Brother Lü... what amazing Nuo magic!"

Fatty Lin gave an awkward smile and quickly stepped forward to flatter him.

He knew he had gotten himself into a lot of trouble this time.

Lu San ignored Fatty Lin. Once he had caught his breath, his eyes swept like a hawk toward the Jiaoziwu Hall, which was now revealed.

"It's not just paper ghost possession..."

He made a hand seal, his ears twitched slightly, and said in a deep voice, "This place itself is a trap, a very well-hidden array barrier."

With the concealment formation broken, he was able to hear more unusual sounds.

Without saying a word, Wu Ba strode forward.

His fan-like hand stroked the thick pillar, then suddenly struck with force!
Boom!
A deep, resounding thud echoed, but the wooden pillar remained motionless.

However, the surface paint was peeling off in a rustling motion, revealing the dark red, rotten wood underneath.

"What is this?" Lü San frowned.

Lin, the fat man behind him, also looked puzzled and shook his head, saying, "I've never seen anything like it. This place is different from the outside world. I don't know where that demon found it."

Moreover, upon closer inspection, the group discovered even more anomalies.

The seemingly ordinary gaps between the blue bricks on the ground were filled with a mixture of cinnabar and some kind of black agarwood powder. Although it had long since dried, it still faintly exuded a sinister aura.

In the corner, a few inconspicuous pieces of broken porcelain were not scattered randomly.

Its placement angle subtly corresponds to the nine palaces, and even the roof beams resemble coffin lids.

"This formation... is extraordinary!"

Kuai Dayou was, after all, a renowned Xuanmen craftsman, and was most sensitive to these materials and mechanisms. He leaned closer to examine them carefully, “Using the chaotic Qi of the Ghost Market itself as cover, the real trap is hidden under a layer of illusion. The magical artifacts of the Imperial Clan Court will only see the Ghost Market and will not be able to detect this place at all.”

He shook his head somewhat reluctantly, "I've never seen one before."

"If Brother Lü hadn't broken the paper demon, these formations would probably have been difficult to detect."

Kong Shangzhao swallowed hard. "This was set up specifically to wait for someone to investigate the clues about the Nuo God's Tomb... It was Zhao Qingxu!"

"Let's go."

Lu San interrupted their surprise and doubt, turning his gaze to the tightly closed, inconspicuous carved wooden door at the back of the Jiaoziwu Hall.

The place above the door where a plaque should have been hung was empty.

Only the animal-face door knockers on both sides of the door panel have faint scorch marks remaining.

"The clues should be behind the door, which is probably the ultimate purpose of this formation—to conceal the scene from back then." He took a deep breath, circulating his inner energy. "Be careful, everyone!"

Wu Ba walked in front and pushed open the heavy wooden door.

The moment the door opened, a tremendous sound rushed towards us!

The light and shadow before everyone's eyes were violently distorted and reshaped.

In an instant, they seemed to be swept up by the torrent of time and space, and were forcibly thrown from the desolate Jiaoziwu into a battlefield where heaven and earth were collapsing.

A simple and dilapidated temple stood on the bank of the Huitong River.

The ground around them was littered with corpses, including soldiers, martial arts practitioners, and Taoist priests.

On the opposite bank of the river, in the distance, stands a tall altar.

The wind howled and the thick fog churned, making it possible to vaguely see many figures.

Some of them were performing the Yu Step, others were holding magical implements, and at the highest point was a purple-robed phantom holding a magic sword, shouting to the sky: "Eastern Qi unites with the liver, Southern Qi unites with the heart, Western Qi unites with the lungs, Northern Qi unites with the kidneys. Heavenly thunder rumbles, the four gates are clearly distinguished. Thunder God and Lightning Goddess, Wind God and Rain Master. Hearing this call, you shall arrive immediately, without lingering..."

This is authentic Taoist thunder magic, which can only be used by a major Taoist sect.

Everyone knew that this was the key moment when the Xuanmen masters joined forces to suppress the "Head of the Demons" in the Nuo God Tomb during the Daxing era of the previous dynasty.

The earth's energy surged violently, thus leaving an imprint on the Nine Gates Yin Ruins.

boom!
A bolt of lightning crashed down, shaking the heavens.

Lü San is alright, he's already been through it at Liangzi Lake.

But Fatty Lin and the others were dumbfounded.

The one who lost his composure the most was Wu Ba.

He was born with a fear of thunder, and he trembled with fright.

But the most breathtaking sight is right in the center of the temple.

A coffin shaped like a gigantic, ferocious stone animal head was forcibly pulled out of the foundation.

Inside the stone coffin must lie the "head of the demons".

At the top of the animal coffin, there was also a huge wooden stake embedded in it.

The wooden stake was charred black but faintly glowed with golden light, exuding an aura of ancient vicissitudes.

After being struck by lightning, it emitted a red glow, like a red-hot iron rod.

"That is... the wood from Taodu Mountain!"

Lin Yu gasped in shock, her eyes fixed on the sacred tree.

Boom!

As if in response to his words, lightning struck again.

In an instant, the entire sky above Yinxu was illuminated by a blinding, pale light.

A thick, blazing white bolt of lightning, as thick as a mountain ridge, carrying the supreme power to annihilate all evil, pierced straight down from the heavens and struck precisely at the enormous beast coffin nailed to the wood of Peach Capital Mountain.

In the instant the thunder exploded, a blinding white light engulfed everything in its path.

Lu San and the others had to squint, and even vaguely felt a burning pain in their souls.

You should know that this was the impression at the time.

As the lightning dissipated, the enormous beast head, along with the temple ruins, completely collapsed and was buried.

"what…"

Fatty Lin looked utterly disappointed. "Could it be... already ruined?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a strange change occurred.

"Whoosh whoosh-!"

A piercing sound, like a swarm of poisonous bees, broke the deathly silence following the lightning strike.

Countless arrows, gleaming with a cold light, shot out from the thick fog on the opposite bank of the Huitong River.

The target was the Taoist priest from the Xuanmen sect who had just exhausted himself on the altar.

"Enemy attack! Protect..."

Before the purple-robed Taoist could finish his roar, a heavy arrow, as thick as a child's arm, pierced his shoulder blade with a "thud," causing him to stagger backward and fall from the height of the altar.

More arrows then transformed into deadly locusts, engulfing the entire altar.

The riverbank instantly transformed into a battlefield.

The Taoist priests who had just summoned divine thunder by using flesh and blood as bait and merging their minds with the universe were now the weakest prey.

The rain of arrows was dense, obscuring the light. The dull thuds of arrows piercing through robes, tearing flesh, and embedding themselves in the earth mingled with the screams of the dying. Some instinctively activated their protective magic weapons, but the faint light was quickly pierced by several arrows.

Some staggered as they tried to form a battle formation, only to be instantly riddled with arrows.

Lin Yu was so startled that he shrank his neck, covered his head, and squatted on the ground, as if the cold arrow had already grazed his scalp.

Lü San's pupils constricted sharply. He grabbed Wu Ba, who was about to rush out, and said in a deep voice, "It's an illusion. Those people died hundreds of years ago..."

That being said, the oppressive feeling of the killing was real and chilling.

The sound of hooves thundered, and the iron torrent pierced through the fog.

The thick fog churned and was brutally trampled by the iron hooves.

Squads of cavalrymen, their armor in disarray, charged out at breakneck speed. Their horses were thin and long-haired, their faces etched with the marks of time, yet their eyes gleamed with a ferocity akin to that of wild beasts.

They were the most ferocious scouts and vanguard of the Golden Horde!

They had clearly been lying in wait for a long time, waiting for the moment when the elite of the Xuanmen sect were exhausted.

What's even more suffocating is the dozens of eerie figures that followed.

These people were all born with unusual appearances, and their aura was sinister and intimidating.

Some people have bare arms, but what's wrapped around them isn't muscles or tendons, but rather long, thin, dark shadows that constantly writhe and contract...

Some people had faces as pale as paper, their eyes reduced to deep, dark holes…

Another person was tall and thin like a bamboo pole, and his knees would bend in the opposite direction strangely when he walked. With each step, the soil under his feet would turn into a foul-smelling grayish-white...

These guys look like evil sorcerers.

The leader, however, was the most ordinary-looking, wearing only a faded old Taoist robe, with white hair and beard, and a refined and otherworldly appearance, standing out starkly from the ferocious figures around him.

"Zhang Huaisu—!"

The dying purple-robed Taoist priest, his eyes bloodshot and scalding blood gushing from his mouth, stared intently at the old Taoist priest, his voice tearing through the battlefield's clamor, "You treacherous dog, you will not be tolerated by Heaven!"

The old Taoist priest slowly walked to the riverbank, seemingly oblivious to the corpses of Taoist priests scattered all over the ground.

He glanced at the Nuo God Temple, now completely mangled, smiled slightly, then turned to the purple-robed Taoist priest, his voice unusually gentle, yet each word like an ice pick:
"Fellow Daoist, you are mistaken. The Great Dao is a solitary path; what is meant by 'fellow Daoists'? Under the Heavenly Dao, all can be used as firewood. It is you who do not understand the will of Heaven, and thus suffer this calamity."

With that, he flicked his sleeve, and several pale talismans spontaneously combusted and flew out.

"You...you will surely be punished by heaven!!"

The purple-robed Taoist priest used his last strength to curse, and was then set ablaze by the phosphorescent flames.

"It's Zhao Changsheng!"

Lu San frowned, a murderous glint appearing in his eyes.

Zhao Changsheng's previous incarnation was Zhang Huaisu, the leader of the Ghost Cult.

The other party at that moment was none other than the Grand Preceptor of the Golden Horde Wolf Kingdom.

Unexpectedly, before even touching Zhao Changsheng's shadow, they saw his past life.

The twelve earthly branches represent a life-or-death struggle between this person and his opponent.

Blood vapor rose in the thick fog, and Zhang Huaisu's white beard was stained with a few spots of scarlet.

With a flick of his finger, the phosphorescent flames that had consumed the purple-robed Taoist priest instantly receded and dissipated.

"What a fine analogy of 'firewood'."

Laughter drifted from the river, and as the ripples spread, a figure stood on the water.

The newcomer was dressed in a moon-white Taoist robe embroidered with gold and cranes, and wore a jade crown, exuding an air of nobility.

It was Zhao Qingxu.

He toyed with three amulet coins in his palm and smiled, "Brother Huaisu, was this 'driving the tiger to devour the wolf' act... well performed?"

"Fellow Daoist is indeed very thoughtful."

Zhang Huaisu stroked his beard and smiled, "I heard that you escaped from Longhu Mountain and even seized the body of the Daxing royal family. With your abilities, Daxing's fortunes are probably coming to an end."

"This is a bit troublesome..."

Zhao Qingxu said in a deep voice, "I encountered a slovenly Taoist priest who claimed to be Zhang Sanfeng. He was very difficult to deal with. He saw through my background at a glance, so I can't stay in Daxing anymore."

"Zhang Sanfeng?"

Zhang Huaisu said thoughtfully, "We really should avoid it."

Having said that, he smiled and said, "As agreed, the Peach Capital Mountain wood belongs to you, and the 'Head of the Demon' belongs to me. Fellow Daoist, would you like to use this to forge a weapon?"

Zhao Qingxu glanced at it indifferently, "You don't need to worry about that."

After saying that, he came to the ruins, and with a slight movement of his toes, kicked away the boulders and fragments.

He single-handedly dragged out a charred piece of wood, carried it away, and left.

At the same time, the surrounding light and shadow began to rotate again.

Before anyone could react, they were back on Ghost Market Street.

"Sigh~ It was taken away as expected."

Fatty Lin sighed in disappointment, cupped his hands to Lü San and said, "Young Master Lü, to be honest, something happened at home and I need this powerful spirit wood, so I acted rashly."

"You spoke too soon..."

Kuai Dayou, standing nearby, had a strange expression on his face. "If it were something else, I wouldn't be able to say, but that piece of wood looks so familiar."

"Where?" Lü San turned his head and asked directly.

Kuai Dayou also looked incredulous and said:
"Right at Caishikou, where executioners hang their heads after their executions!"

…………

The sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn, and the cool morning mist had not yet dissipated.

As everyone emerged from the tunnel and gazed at the distant city walls, they all felt as if they had stepped into another world.

The bloody battles and ghostly figures in the Yinxu still seemed to linger before my eyes, while the air in reality carried the dampness of the earth after the rain and the silence of the city before its awakening.

"Come on!"

Lin the Fat Man was panting heavily, his round face covered in anxious sweat. "That piece of wood is right there on the execution platform at Caishikou, on the old stake where heads are hung! Zhao Qingxu is ruthless, playing dirty tricks! Who would have thought that such a place would hide treasure?"

"Is there something wrong, Master Kuai?" Wang Daoxuan asked in a deep voice, following closely behind.

He was guarding the physical body outside and had already learned about everyone's experiences.

Kuai Dayou rubbed his calloused fingers and nodded firmly: "No mistake! I can remember the texture of the spirit wood. The marks of fire and lightning strikes must have left it charred but not melted."

He walked briskly towards Caishikou, and couldn't help but sigh, "Caishikou, ah, I knew it like the back of my hand when I was a kid."

“My family was poor, and my parents were not strict. Whenever I heard that an important person was going on a ‘red mission,’ I would run there early with others to secure a spot, squeezing under the feet of the crowd, just to watch the excitement.”

His voice lowered, “I was young then, I didn’t know fear, I just wanted to see something new. The wooden stakes used for executions were black and shiny, made of old cypress wood, hard and sturdy, able to withstand the cleaver and the wind and sun, soaked in the blood of countless people.”

"Later, after hearing more about it, I learned that the government had a tradition of using this kind of wood with malevolent energy to suppress the soul..."

"It's strange, this thing has been sitting for who knows how many years, and no one has ever discovered it."

"It must have become a rare and precious treasure, capable of concealing its aura..."

His words made everyone even more anxious, and they quickened their pace.

As dawn broke, a few vendors began to set up their carts along the street.

Led by Lü San and with Wu Ba bringing up the rear, their group moved like a silent torrent through the gradually bustling alleyways, heading straight for their destination.

We've finally arrived at Caishikou.

The once bustling execution ground now appears empty and silent in the morning light.

The ground is dark brown rammed earth, and even after being washed by rain, it seems unable to wash away the rust and bloody smell left by history.

In one corner of the spacious ground stood the wooden stakes and frames for execution. From a distance, several thick, dark wooden posts could be seen nailed into the mud, with rusty iron rings hanging from their tops—the places where heads were displayed.

Everyone's eyes immediately fell on the wooden stake that Kuai Dayou had mentioned as "the thickest in the north".

however--

The spot where "Taodu Mountain Wood" should have stood,

All that remained was a huge earthen cave...

(End of this chapter)