Uncle Nine: Scattering beans to create soldiers? I'm using plants and trees to create soldiers.

More than an hour after Lin Xuan and his group left Lingxi Village, it had become completely dark.

Although the heavy rain has stopped, the moisture in the mountains has not yet dissipated.

Low-hanging clouds loomed between the mountains, and occasionally a cold wind swept by, rustling the withered branches on both sides of the road.

Da da da—

The dull sound of horses' hooves suddenly broke the silence of the mountains and fields.

Two fast horses galloped along the muddy mountain road, their hooves constantly breaking through the puddles and splashing mud in the darkness.

As they approached the village entrance, the brown horse running ahead tightened its reins.

"Whoa!"

The horse let out a long neigh, reared up, and then slowly came to a stop at the village entrance.

The newcomer wore a red turban and a green jacket, with a horn at his waist; it was Chen Bingwen.

Beside him was a woman dressed in red.

The woman looked to be in her early thirties, even younger than Chen Bingwen, but her brows revealed a composure and competence honed by years of experience in the world.

She had slightly dark skin, bright eyes, and her long hair was tied back with a red ribbon.

In addition to the magic bag at her waist, she also had a uniquely shaped short knife hanging on her right side.

Several thumb-sized brass bells were strung on the scabbard.

As she dismounted, the copper bells jingled softly, producing a few barely audible, clear sounds.

This person was Chen Bingwen's senior, Du Hongying.

Chen Bingwen encountered four scaly infants in a fish caravan. Realizing that someone was manipulating them, he dared not delay and rushed to seek help.

After hearing his story, Du Hongying immediately followed him back.

However, after following the scent left by the strange baby for a long time, the two eventually arrived at this abandoned Lingxi Village.

Du Hongying did not rush into the village. She first swept over the withered grass and trees around her, and then took out a palm-sized bronze mirror from her bosom.

The back of the bronze mirror is engraved with wave patterns, while the front is dull and lacks luster, appearing as if covered by a thin mist.

Du Hongying dipped her fingertip in rainwater and quickly drew a talisman on the mirror while muttering a spell.

"Water leaves no trace, yet its reflection reveals the spirit."

"now!"

As the incantation was recited, the originally dim mirror surface suddenly rippled with waves.

A faint black line emerged from the mirror, first slowly circling the surface a few times, then pointing straight into the depths of the village.

Du Hongying stared for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly.

"The water mirror shows that the aura of those water monsters was once seen in the village ahead."

"However, his breath was already very faint."

"Let's go in and take a look."

Du Hongying put away the bronze mirror.

The two tied their horses to a half-dead old tree at the entrance of the village, and then each took out their magical artifacts before quietly entering the deserted village.

The soles of the shoes made a slight sound as they stepped through the damp mud.

They hadn't gone far when Du Hongying suddenly raised her hand, signaling Chen Bingwen to stop.

She glanced down at her feet, then looked up at the withered grass and trees on both sides, a hint of doubt in her eyes.

"What's wrong, Senior Sister?" Chen Bingwen immediately approached.

Du Hongying did not answer; she raised her hand and gently grabbed in front of her.

The previously invisible and intangible water vapor seemed to be drawn by some force, quickly condensing into several tiny water droplets on her fingertips.

The water droplets shimmered with a very faint blue light, and a wisp of spiritual energy seemed to flow within them.

"The humidity here is too high."

"Although it rained heavily today, ordinary rainwater could not leave behind such a rich aura of water."

Du Hongying rubbed the water droplets between her fingers, carefully sensing them, and her expression became serious.

"A trace of the Water Palace's magical essence still lingers in the water vapor."

"The Water Palace's will?" Chen Bingwen's expression changed slightly. "Has someone invited the Water Palace's troops here?"

"Possibly."

Du Hongying did not jump to conclusions.

The source of the Water Palace's legal intent is not limited to mobilizing troops and requesting generals.

Some statues and ritual implements that were bestowed with imperial decree by the Water Palace, and even temples that have long worshipped the Dragon King and River God, may retain similar auras.

This alone is not enough to determine what happened here.

She pressed her hand on the bell knife and continued walking deeper into the village.

The further you go in, the more obvious the traces of the battle become.

Large scorch marks remain on several broken walls, and deep pits can be seen on the ground from time to time.

Soon, the two arrived at an open space in the center of the village.

The central dry well has collapsed on a large scale.

Scattered around the well were gravel and broken wood, and a large pile of rain-soaked ashes lay not far away, emanating a burnt smell.

Chen Bingwen twitched his nose twice, and his expression immediately became serious.

Having been a Taoist priest for so many years, he was naturally familiar with this smell.

Corpses were burned here!! And quite a few of them!!

"Senior sister, over there."

Without Chen Bingwen reminding her, Du Hongying had already walked to the pile of ashes.

She drew her bell knife and used the scabbard to brush away the surface ash, revealing several pieces of charred bone that had not been completely burned.

The brass bell on the scabbard jingled softly.

Du Hongying checked several places before standing up.

"More than ten human-shaped corpses have been burned here, and there is a heavy amount of corpse evil mixed in. There should be some kind of evil thing that refines corpses."

"More than a dozen?" Chen Bingwen gasped. "Could the lair of those strange infants be hidden here?"

As he spoke, his hand gripping the Lushan horn tightened involuntarily.

"It shouldn't be."

Du Hongying shook her head.

"If this place really is the lair of those water monsters, the aura on the water mirror wouldn't be so faint."

"Moreover, although there are remnants of water evil in this village, there are no signs of large-scale water monster activity."

She looked up at the collapsed, dry well.

"Those four water monsters seem to have been temporarily attracted here by something."

Upon hearing this, Chen Bingwen's tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

He looked at the charred bones on the ground and couldn't help but ask, "Where did these people come from? Were they from the Li family who controlled the monster infant, or were they some other evil cultivators?"

"You can't tell just by looking at the remaining bones."

Du Hongying glanced at him, her tone calm.

"There are countless methods for refining and raising corpses throughout the world. Unorthodox methods often borrow from each other. Judging solely from the corpse's aura and medicinal scent, one can only conclude that someone is using evil methods to refine corpses here."

"As for which school or sect it belongs to, we cannot make a hasty conclusion."

At this point, she used her bell knife to pick up a piece of charred bone fragment, examined the remaining traces of talisman fire on it carefully, and then threw the bone fragment back into the ashes.

"However, the people who ultimately burned these corpses were probably from the Xuanmen sect."

"The fire on the remains is righteous, not evil, and still contains the essence of a talisman used to suppress evil spirits."

"Before cremating the bodies, the other party must have recited prayers for some of the deceased's souls."

"As for those with even stronger evil energy, they were mostly burned directly."

Chen Bingwen nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that some members of the Xuanmen sect came to Lingxi Village last night and fought a great battle with the evil cultivators who had taken up residence there.

In the end, the evil cultivator was defeated, and even the evil corpse he had created was burned.

Judging from the traces of the battle on the ground, the number of evil cultivators was definitely not small. The person who was able to defeat them all must have been extremely powerful.

Du Hongying took a few steps forward.

Beneath a broken piece of timber, a few grains of pale blue glutinous rice caught her attention.

The glutinous rice grains were half-buried in the mud, each one plump and full.

Even after being washed by rain, the surface of the rice grains still has a very faint, crystalline sheen.

Du Hongying's eyes flickered slightly as she bent down and picked up a few grains of glutinous rice from the soil.

As soon as I put it in my hand, a wisp of warm, moist air traveled up my fingertips.

She brought the rice grains close to her eyes, her expression gradually becoming serious.

"This rice..."

Chen Bingwen immediately came over, "Is there a problem?!"

"It's not that there's a problem, it's that something is unusual."

Du Hongying used her magic to wrap her fingertips and gently rubbed the surface of the rice grains.

hum!

Suddenly, a very faint golden light shone on the originally dull glutinous rice.

Although the golden light was fleeting, it exuded an awe-inspiring righteousness.

Chen Bingwen's gaze sharpened. "The Golden Light Mantra?"

"good."

Du Hongying nodded, then closed her eyes and sensed for a moment.

"Glutinous rice itself is of extremely high quality, not only containing the essence of water, but also having obvious spiritual power to ward off evil."

"It still carries the scent of the Water Palace's soldiers, and unlike ordinary water armor soldiers, it should... have fallen from the body of a Water Palace crab general."

"Crab General?" Chen Bingwen was surprised to hear this.

Even among the soldiers of the Water Palace, there are distinctions in rank. Although the Water Armored Soldiers are not weak either, in the actual Water Palace military system, they can only be considered ordinary soldiers.

Shrimp soldiers and crab generals are different.

Both are heavy troops of the Water Palace, and not only are they stronger in combat, but they are also not something that ordinary cultivators can easily invite.

Without the approval of the Water Palace, even if the altar is set up perfectly, it may not receive a response.

Du Hongying looked at the grains of rice in her palm and continued:

"Besides the essence of the Water Palace Dharma, there is also a trace of the Golden Light Mantra in the glutinous rice."

"Although most of the talisman's power was washed away by the rain, the fact that the remaining golden light has survived until now shows that the person who cast the spell is definitely highly skilled in the Golden Light Spell."

Chen Bingwen did not answer. He stared at the pale blue glutinous rice in Du Hongying's palm, and the more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

Two magic boats on the Beiqing River, a water palace straw figure made of spiritual herbs, spiritual glutinous rice falling from the sky, and two water armor soldiers riding the waves appeared one after another in his mind.

Especially the pale blue sheen on the surface of the glutinous rice!

It was almost identical to what he had seen that day.

"Could it be..." A thought suddenly popped into Chen Bingwen's mind, "...Fellow Daoist Lin?!"

Du Hongying turned to look at him, "Which Fellow Daoist Lin?"

"It's that Maoshan disciple I met in Renjia Town before."

Chen Bingwen immediately explained,

"This person is named Lin Xuan, and he is the eldest disciple of the One-Eyebrow Taoist."

"I once performed an altar with him a few days ago and exorcised a white bone water ghost in the Beiqing River."

"Fellow Daoist Lin used the method of grass soldiers! He made grass figures out of spiritual herbs, bamboo strips, and glutinous rice, and then invited the Water Palace troops into them."

"The glutinous rice he used at the time was very similar to the few grains in my senior sister's hand, except... that glutinous rice didn't have this golden sheen, and the ones he summoned were just water armor soldiers, not shrimp soldiers and crab generals."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Du Hongying's eyes lit up with interest.

"Using grass-root soldiers as the vehicle for the army, and then using spiritual glutinous rice to stabilize the Dharma body?"

"That's a clever idea."

The lineage of "grassroots soldiers" is widely spread and has been involved in many folk legal teachings.

This was the first time she had ever heard of combining grass-root soldiers, water-mansion soldiers, and spiritual glutinous rice.

Judging from the marks left on the ground alone, the effect is clearly excellent.

Du Hongying carefully inspected the glutinous rice again and nodded slightly.

"The rice contains pure yang energy, its moisture is not easily dissipated, and it even carries the power to ward off evil!"

"If this rice was truly cultivated by that fellow Daoist Lin you mentioned, then he must possess some skill!"

Chen Bingwen nodded to himself, and was about to say something when Du Hongying suddenly changed the subject.

"However, the person who made the move here last night should not be the Fellow Daoist Lin you mentioned."

Chen Bingwen was taken aback. "Why do you say that, Senior Sister?"

"You just said that he was a mid-stage Taoist priest at the time?"

"Not bad." Chen Bingwen nodded.

Although I have been away from Renjia Town for several days, surely not much can change in just a few days?

Du Hongying spread the glutinous rice in her palm and patiently explained:

"First of all, these shrimp soldiers and crab generals are no ordinary troops."

"To request the assistance of the Water Palace's heavy troops, one must not only possess a complete method but also have sufficient authority within the Water Palace. Without a divine decree or a document from the Water Palace, one can only rely on one's own cultivation to forcefully request their assistance."

"Secondly, the golden light in these few grains of glutinous rice is very concentrated, indicating that the person who performed the spell has at least reached a high level of mastery of the Golden Light Mantra."

"A mid-stage Taoist priest must be proficient in both military tactics and naval troop deployment, and must also have cultivated the Golden Light Mantra to this level..."

Du Hongying shook her head.

"It's not entirely impossible, but it's far too astonishing."

"Moreover, there are so many evil corpses and traces of battles here."

"The person who made the move must have faced quite a few opponents. With the cultivation level you mentioned, it would be difficult for a mid-stage Taoist to achieve this."

She paused for a moment, then gave her own judgment.

"If those straw figures and glutinous rice are truly related to your fellow Daoist Lin, then those who made the move last night were most likely elders among his fellow disciples, or were related to Daoist One Eyebrow."

"It's also possible that Fellow Daoist Lin provided the straw figure and glutinous rice, and then a master from his sect took action."

"As for Fellow Daoist Lin himself, it's unlikely."

Chen Bingwen opened his mouth and nodded slightly.

His senior sister's analysis is correct; the person fighting the evil cultivator could very well be an elder from the same sect as Fellow Daoist Lin!

But for some reason, he suddenly thought of the scene when Lin Xuan received the divine teachings of the Well God.

Is it possible that the power to command the shrimp soldiers and crab generals was bestowed by the Well God?

But what about the Golden Light Mantra?!

Last time, when dealing with Bei Qinghe's corpse, Fellow Daoist Lin did not use this spell.

Could it be that Fellow Daoist Lin is hiding his true abilities? Or... is it really not him?!

While Chen Bingwen was pondering, Du Hongying had already gone down into the underground cavern beneath the dry well to investigate.

Seeing this, Chen Bingwen followed.

However, after a search, the two found no valuable clues.

"Senior sister, what do we do next?"

Back on the ground, Chen Bingwen asked a question.

"Since the other party is a well-known seafood producer, let's continue investigating along this line. This matter is definitely related to them."

Du Hongying turned and walked outside.

"I'll listen to my senior sister," Chen Bingwen replied.

Soon, the two left Lingxi Village.

Another half hour passed, and a ghostly figure appeared at the village entrance.

The newcomer was dressed in a yellow robe, with a sallow complexion and sunken eyes; he was a disciple of the Yellow Heaven Sect who had been left nearby to gather information.

He strode into the village, but his steps froze when he saw the collapsed, dry well in the center.

"How could this be...?"

The color drained from the face of the yellow-robed evil cultivator.

The evil formation that was originally set up near the dry well has completely disappeared, the Seven Mysterious Corpses have vanished without a trace, and the water vein map is gone too!

The scattered stones, gullies, and broken trees all testify to the fact that an extremely fierce battle once took place here.

He stiffly turned his head to look at the pile of ashes not far away, his ominous premonition growing stronger.

The yellow-robed evil cultivator staggered to the ashes, ignoring the filth of the charcoal ash, and immediately reached in to rummage through them.

Soon, he found several pieces of bone that had not been completely burned, one of which had a half-burnt brass ring on it.

Upon seeing the patterns on the ring, the yellow-robed evil cultivator's fingers trembled violently.

"Wang Meng..."

"The sect leader and the others are in trouble..."

"Wang Meng and his men also perished here! Indeed, they were all, all dead..."

He suddenly stood up and looked around in a panic. The night was deathly silent, like a giant mouth slowly opening to devour its prey.

"No!"

"This matter must be reported to the sect leader immediately!"

He dared not linger any longer, turned and rushed out of the deserted village, quickly disappearing into the depths of the night.