Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Chapter 291 Joining Forces

"Delusion."

The moment the shadow blade struck, dozens of roots as thick as buckets shot out from the bottom of the blood pool, weaving into a dark purple giant net that blocked the blade's path.

"Sizzle!"

The dull, loud noise shook the entire backyard.

The blade sliced ​​into the giant net, the cracking sounds of the roots snapping were as dense as popping beans, and juices splattered everywhere.

More roots surged from the bottom of the blood pool, layering around the blade and forcefully blocking the attack.

The shadow puppet paused, not only was the giant sword in its hand tightly bound, but its torso and limbs were also covered with dark purple roots.

In the pool of blood, Gu Yunzhou looked at the shadow puppet, who had no hope of escaping, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

That so-called senior who pretended to be a sage was nothing special in the end.

This mysterious puppet is indeed powerful; the extremely yin and malevolent aura it carries is very effective at suppressing the blood energy of the sacred flower.

But what about restraint?

No matter how powerful a puppet is, can it defeat the roots beneath the entire city lord's mansion?

Over the past decade, the Holy Flower has devoured countless enemies who plotted to dissolve their corpses.

Even if the opponent's malevolent aura restrains him, it is impossible to dissolve all the accumulated power over so many years in a short period of time.

"Senior, it's already this late, why won't you show yourself?"

Gu Yunzhou tilted his head slightly and then surveyed the city lord's mansion.

Unfortunately, not only could they not detect the other party's figure, but they couldn't even catch a trace of their aura.

"Is this senior planning to drag this out to the very end?"

"Alright, I have plenty of time."

Before the words were even finished, the roots suddenly accelerated their strangulation of the shadow puppet.

The smile on his lips widened even further.

"I'd like to see how long this puppet can last."

"Now we have no choice but to take a gamble."

Shi Hu pondered for a moment, then stamped his foot. "If we stay here, we'll be of no use except as snacks for that Gu guy."

"As soon as we leave the Ghost Realm, we'll rush back to the gate. I don't believe that the restriction will still be effective from such a distance."

He grabbed Li Changye, who was still in a daze, and led him along the base of the broken wall toward the edge of the backyard.

Chu Shuling followed behind.

The backyard wall had mostly collapsed, and the rubble had formed a ramp; beyond that was the street outside.

Shi Hu was the first to climb onto the loose rocks. He had just poked half his body out when a clear, cold female voice came from above.

"Gentlemen, where are you headed?"

Shi Hu froze, then suddenly looked up.

Two women had somehow appeared atop the pile of rubble, one in front of the other, blocking the way.

Both of them were wearing gray-white robes with dark cloth belts around their waists.

The robes had no Xuan Yin Zhai patterns or any markings.

The woman in front of them looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a cold and beautiful appearance and slightly upturned phoenix eyes. She was looking down at them.

She wasn't carrying any weapons, but Shi Hu could sense that a faint killing intent had already locked onto the three of them.

The one in the back was slightly younger, with a natural smile on his lips, and looked much more amiable than the one in front.

"Who are you..

Shi Hu's pupils suddenly contracted.

He recognized the woman in front of him.

It's not that they've seen each other before, but rather that anyone with a bit of knowledge in Fallen Soul Ridge has seen the other person's portrait.

Yin Sutang, the contemporary master of the White Bone Cave.

His cultivation level is said to have reached the early stage of Qi Condensation, and he wields the White Bone Heart-Locking Hammer with unparalleled skill, earning him a fearsome reputation among the younger generation.

White Bone Cave is one of the most mysterious and troublesome sects in Fallen Soul Ridge, and the entire sect only accepts female disciples.

They act in ways that are both righteous and wicked, and never get involved in the affairs of the spirit world, but anyone who provokes them usually doesn't fare well.

Shi Hu's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

How come the people from the White Bone Cave are here?

Seeing that he didn't speak, Yin Sutang glanced at the shadow puppet that was being strangled by roots, then looked away and focused her gaze on Shi Hu's face.

"You're from the spirit world, right? What's your relationship with the puppet's owner?"

Shi Hu opened his mouth, but after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a few words: "I...we..."

'

"Stuttering what?" Yin Sutang raised her eyebrows slightly, the coldness in her phoenix eyes intensifying.

The round-faced woman behind her took two steps forward and added with a smile, "Don't even think about making up lies, my senior sister has a bad temper."

Shi Hu's mind raced. Knowing he couldn't hide it any longer, he reluctantly told the truth: "We are disciples of a small sect from Fallen Soul Ridge, and we've entered the Ghost Realm to search for medicine."

"That senior was someone we met on the road; we have no connection with him."

"It's alright?"

Yin Sutang's tone was clearly suspicious, "You clearly entered the city lord's mansion with the puppets just now?"

"If it's alright, why don't you leave?"

"We can't escape..." Li Changye muttered softly.

Yin Sutang turned her gaze to him, and Li Changye immediately shut his mouth, shrinking behind Shi Hu and only showing half of his head.

The round-faced woman laughed out loud, "This little brother doesn't have much courage."

"It's not a matter of courage."

Chu Shuling finally spoke, her tone much calmer than Shi Hu's, "That senior placed a restriction on us, we can't run away, and we dare not run away."

Yin Sutang's expression changed slightly as she turned her head to glance at the round-faced woman.

The two exchanged a quick glance, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

To impose a restriction?

A cultivator who had clearly reached the Qi Condensation stage placed a restriction on three minor characters in the Qi Refining stage?

This is making a mountain out of a molehill.

"interesting."

Yin Sutang withdrew her gaze and looked at Shi Hu again, "Take me to see him."

"What?"

Shi Hu was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard.

"Take me to see that senior," Yin Sutang said firmly. "I have something to discuss with him."

Shi Hu's expression changed, and he subconsciously took a half step back. "Isn't this inappropriate? That senior..."

""

"What's wrong with him?"

"He has a bad temper..." Shi Hu said, forcing himself to speak, though he himself felt that his words lacked confidence.

Yin Sutang stared at him for a couple of moments, then suddenly raised her hand.

Shi Hu and the other two instinctively closed their eyes.

After a few seconds, nothing happened.

He opened his eyes and saw that Yin Sutang simply raised her hand to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, and the corner of her mouth curled up slightly, whether she was laughing at his cowardice or something else.

"You're afraid of him, but not me?"

The other party's voice was very soft, but to Shi Hu's ears, it was even more alarming than the sound of the whisker on his head strangling the shadow puppet.

His fat face twitched a few times, and cold sweat dripped down his forehead and down his nose, into the cracks of the gravel.

Of course afraid.

The senior disciple of the White Bone Cave in front of us is notorious for killing without blinking an eye.

There was once a disciple from a small sect in the Southern Region who merely glanced at her a couple of times, and the next day that sect disappeared from the map of Fallen Soul Ridge.

Just as he was figuring out how to refuse, the round-faced woman pulled something out of her sleeve.

It was a small hammer, its entire body as white as jade, and the hammerhead was only the size of a baby's fist.

The hammer handle is slender, with a white tassel at the end.

At first glance, it looked like some kind of exquisite ornament, but the moment Shi Hu saw it clearly, he felt a chill run down his spine.

White Bone Heart-Locking Hammer.

This small hammer was forged from the bones of countless people. The bones locked inside the hammerhead were not ordinary bones, but the remains of cultivators who had reached an extremely high level of cultivation.

The yin energy it contains is so intense that it can freeze and shatter the internal organs of a living person in an instant.

"Hey buddy, I'm just showing you the way, it's not like I'm going to kill you."

The round-faced woman waved the small hammer in front of him a few times, smiling at Shi Hu: "What are you afraid of?"

Chu Shuling tugged at his sleeve from behind and whispered something in his ear.

Upon hearing this, Shi Hu's expression turned even uglier.

He took a deep breath, raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his face, and said, "I can lead the way, but I don't know where that senior is now."

He was standing nearby before, but I don't know if he's left or not.

"7

"It's okay."

Yin Sutang withdrew her hand from her hair, her expression indifferent. "The city is only so big. Even if he leaves, he won't go far."

0000

Outside the city lord's mansion, Chen Mo frowned slightly as he looked at the shadow puppet that was completely enveloped by roots.

This strange flower has no discernible origin, yet it is incredibly difficult to deal with.

His gaze passed over the pool of blood and landed on the gray-black blanket draped over Gu Yunzhou's shoulders.

The vengeful spirit is summoned.

When he made his move, his target wasn't Gu Yunzhou, but this thing.

However, it's clear that the Shadow Puppet Giant God alone is no match for the opponent right now.

Although he hadn't used his other methods yet, he had a feeling that Gu Yunzhou definitely had more cards up his sleeve than this.

"retreat?"

Chen Mo's gaze lingered on the vengeful spirit for a moment, then swept over the still churning pool of blood in mid-air.

The shadow puppet was indeed entangled by the roots, but it was far from collapsing, and it would be easy for it to break free.

While attracting vengeful spirits is important, if forceful seizure fails, we can outsmart them; there's no need to fight to the death right now.

Moreover, the half-human, half-flower monster remained on the defensive throughout, shouting fiercely but never actively pursuing the enemy.

This is not normal.

Chen Mo's gaze swept back and forth between the blood pool and the vengeful spirits, and he had already made up his mind.

Just as he was preparing to leave, a ripple suddenly appeared in his consciousness.

Five figures were rapidly approaching from the southeast direction outside the backyard, moving at a considerable speed.

Moreover, the route taken was very methodical, always staying close to the shadows of ruins and broken walls.

If Chen Mo's divine sense hadn't far surpassed that of other cultivators of the same level, he would have been almost completely unaware of their presence.

With a sweep of his divine sense, Chen Mo immediately identified three familiar fluctuations among the five auras: Shi Hu, Li Changye, and Chu Shuling.

The other two auras were unfamiliar, but their cultivation levels were the same as his, reaching the early stage of Qi Condensation.

What bothered him even more was that the five people had clearly used some kind of concealment technique to suppress their aura to an extremely low level.

If he hadn't placed a restriction on Shi Hu and the other two, and sensed the anomaly through that connection, they probably wouldn't have discovered it until they found it right under their noses.

Who did those three cannon fodder bring with them?

Chen Mo withdrew his divine sense, his expression unchanged, and stood with his hands behind his back in the shadow of the crumbling wall.

The footsteps grew closer.

"S-senpai...."

'

Shi Hu's voice came from three zhang away, carrying a clear sense of guilt.

"Senior, these two are experts from the White Bone Cave, and they wish to meet you."

He mustered his courage, stepped aside, and revealed the two women in gray-white robes behind him.

Yin Sutang glanced at Shi Hu, walked right past him, stopped two zhang away from Chen Mo, and cupped her hands in a fist salute.

"Yin Sutang from the White Bone Cave greets fellow Daoist."

Her voice was not loud, and her posture was neither humble nor arrogant, clearly indicating that she had confidence.

Her phoenix eyes were slightly upturned, and her gaze fell calmly on Chen Mo's face without deliberately scrutinizing him.

The round-faced woman behind him, however, was far less polite in her gaze, scanning him from head to toe, then from his profile to his right hand clasped behind his back.

Chen Mo's gaze swept across Yin Sutang's face and finally landed on Shi Hu.

"What's going on??"

Shi Hu's knees buckled, and he almost knelt down.

"These two seniors said..."

...They said they wanted to see you, so I...I brought them with me.

"He had barely finished speaking when he saw Yin Sutang take half a step forward. "Fellow Daoist, there's no need to make things difficult for him."

"I asked him to lead the way. If there was any offense, I apologize on my behalf."

She cupped her hands in greeting again, bowing even deeper than before.

Bone Cave?

Chen Mo had heard the name of this sect from the Xuan Yin Sect before.

He has few disciples, but each one is formidable.

The woman before him, Yin Sutang, exuded a calm and composed aura, clearly not just a pretty face built on pills.

"What are the people from the White Bone Cave doing here?" Chen Mo asked bluntly, without any formalities.

Yin Sutang didn't mince words: "Kill Gu Yunzhou."

"Oh?" His eyebrows twitched slightly. "You two have a grudge?"

"A feud that will last until death."

Yin Sutang spoke indifferently, a hint of coldness flashing in her phoenix eyes, "I have a junior sister who entered this strange realm three years ago and has never come out."

"Later, after a long investigation, we found out that she was harmed by the people of Xuan Yin Zhai."

"That guy surnamed Gu actually dared to use her bones to feed the flowers, it's simply outrageous."

Chen Mo pondered for a moment, then asked, "You want to join forces?"

"Fellow Daoist is a wise person."

Yin Sutang lowered her clasped hands. "It wouldn't be difficult for you to take down Gu Yunzhou on your own, but it might take some effort."

She paused for a few moments, then looked directly into Chen Mo's eyes: "I've already made arrangements with those sorcerers to attack together."

"After you kill Gu Yunzhou, you can divide the spoils equally. I only want his remains."

"A sorcerer?" Chen Mo's brows twitched slightly.

"He comes from Southeast Asia in the secular world, and his flying head curse is quite powerful."

Yin Sutang explained, "There are eight of them this time, and their strength is around the early to mid-stages of Qi Refining."

"Not very strong, but they're passable as cannon fodder."

"Can."

Chen Mo weighed the pros and cons, "The vengeful spirit on his body will be drawn back to me."

"You two can divide the corpse dissection technique and the rest of your belongings among yourselves."

He wants the vengeful spirit summoning spell, and he won't budge on that.

Yin Sutang's eyes narrowed slightly.

The vengeful spirit was one of the core objectives of this operation, and she originally intended to obtain it no matter what.

But then I thought about it again, and realized that this person's strength was unfathomable. He could fight Gu Yunzhou to a standstill with just a puppet.

If things really turn sour, we might not come out on top.

Moreover, he only wanted the vengeful spirit guide, not the corpse-dissolving method, which was an unexpected bonus.

"make a deal."

Yin Sutang readily agreed.

"However, fellow Daoist, we have one condition." Her tone turned serious, "When you make your move, you cannot hold back."

"If you, fellow Daoist, are also thinking of using us as cannon fodder while you reap the benefits..."

The other party didn't finish speaking, but the threat was obvious.

Chen Mo's lips curled slightly, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"rest assured."

He stepped out of the shadows and stood opposite her. "Since we're going to join forces, let's attack together."

"I will do as much as you do."

Yin Sutang stared at him for a couple of moments, then took an item out of her sleeve.

It is completely black and only as thick as a thumb.

She pinched the tail of the thing with two fingers, poured a wisp of magic into it, and threw it into the sky.

"Whoosh!"

A piercing shriek tore through the sky, trailing a long black flame as it shot straight into the clouds, exploding violently at its highest point.

"Bang!"

A pale white flower bloomed in the sky, its petals emitting a faint, cold light as they unfolded.

The white light lasted for a full three breaths before slowly dissipating, attracting Gu Yunzhou's attention.

"They actually hid it here."

On the other side of the city lord's mansion, eight figures, some crouching and some standing, were hidden in the shadows of a corner.

These eight people are the Jian Yin team that has successfully come together.

Basong sat on the ground, covered with a human skin-like garment, with several pottery jars of varying sizes hanging from his waist.

The jar was sealed with a yellow talisman, and you could vaguely hear something crawling inside.

He came from Southeast Asia and had been practicing the flying head curse for twenty years, making him a prominent figure in the Southeast Asian sorcerer circle.

The reason I was invited to enter the Ghost Realm is because of the Corpse Dissection Method from Xuan Yin Zhai.

In the eyes of these sorcerers, the Corpse Dissolution Technique and the Flying Head Curse are similar in that they both transform the physical body into a state between life and death.

If one could obtain the Corpse Dissection Method and study it, one might be able to elevate the Flying Head Curse to an unprecedented level.

"Master Basong, look."

A young feng shui master suddenly looked up and pointed to the sky.

Basong looked up and saw the pale white flower blooming in the sky.

"The signal from those two women."

Basong gave a low shout and reached out to unseal the seal on the largest earthenware jar at his waist.

He turned the earthenware jar upside down on his head.

A thick plume of black smoke billowed from the mouth of the jar, enveloping his entire head.

A rustling sound came from the black smoke, like countless insects crawling.

Basong's body trembled, his hands gripping his knees tightly, and a dark red slit opened at the base of his neck, from which blood gushed out.

Its head slowly rose, dragging its still-bleeding internal organs, and roared as it lunged toward the center of the city lord's mansion's backyard.

Wherever it passed, it left a black trail in the air, emitting a pungent stench.

Seeing that Basong had made a move, Jian Yin did not hesitate and took out the mottled bronze mirror from his pocket.

He bit his fingertip and smeared the blood on the mirror.

The bronze mirror emitted a dim, yellowish light that lingered and did not dissipate, slowly rotating in his palm.

"go."

Jian Yin raised his hand and pushed, and the yellow light detached from the mirror, turning into a beam of light that shot straight toward the blood pool.

The other four feng shui masters also used their respective skills, and for a time, colorful lights rose and fell above everyone.

The sounds of talismans exploding, copper bells jingling, and wooden swords piercing the air mingled together.

In the backyard, Gu Yunzhou, who was originally being besieged by Chen Mo and Yin Sutang, saw this scene and couldn't help but sneer, a glint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

"Fine, today I'll show you the true power of the Sacred Flower."

'

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