A sar of blood appeared at the edge of the sky.
Just as Duncan and his companions were battling the inky sea serpent, several others sat cross-legged by the seaside on a coastal reef.
"Master."
"Is that vile serpent truly lurking nearby?"
The speaker was a young Daoist, dressed peculiarly, not in the orthodox Daoist attire, with so elents resembling the witch garb from the Minyue region, indicating he was a disciple of the witchcraft sect, a branch that evolved after the fusion of witchcraft and Daoism.
In the forefront stood a middle-aged man with long flowing beard, piercing eyes, deep nasolabial folds, and an aura brimming with killing intent, surpassing all branches of the Daoist sects in the Central Plains.
"The vile serpent is hiding in the depths of the sea abyss."
"Huai'er."
"If during this demon-exorcising venture, I do not return safely, you must imdiately return to the mountain and seal the gate, invoke the patriarch's spirit, and avoid leaving the mountain for ten years."
The middle-aged Daoist's eyes seed filled with a determination to die; he held an ancient painting in his arms, surrounded by nurous magical artifacts unlike the usual Daoist tools, even featuring a battle halberd, a rarity among the Daoist branches.
His disciples behind him held various magical implents like dragon horns, bell knives, command flags, golden bells, golden whip, swords, ritual tablets, horse whips, flying arrows, thunder tokens, asuring rods, celestial rulers, hand furnaces, water vessels, and ghost-exorcising staffs.
A branch of the witchcraft sect.
A product of the second evolution after the fusion of witchcraft and Daoism, it is a sect branch that retains the complete witchcraft heritage.
This branch mostly slays without offering salvation!
Among the Daoist branches, it is the most murderous, maintaining an army of five camps more nacing than the Maoshan sect, preserving the heritage of both witchcraft and ghost Dao, a trace of the ancient era's brutal evolutionary lineage, with unique rituals like climbing the knife mountain and descending into the fiery sea.
Orthodox Minyue witchcraft heritage, Lushan Sect.
The disciples around displayed sorrowful expressions hearing this, but then their gazes turned resolute as they bowed respectfully to accept their master's decree.
The master's mind was set on battling the vile serpent, and they could only obey.
These disciples set up a ritual altar by the sea.
The middle-aged Daoist donned a witch robe, holding a golden whip, ready to start the ritual. Suddenly, his expression changed, staring at the blood-colored edge of the sky as if sensing an anomaly between heaven and earth, exclaid in shock, "Which exalted personage is battling the vile serpent?!"
He originally intended to conduct a ritual to lure the vile serpent over, but unexpectedly, the distant sea shook as if a mighty being was combating the serpent.
"Quick, fetch the patriarch's magical artifact!"
"I want to aid that noble personage!"
The middle-aged Daoist chanted incantations. The ritual altar was not conspicuous, rely barefoot stepping on the knife mountain and fiery sea, a witchcraft ritual, but his chanting was a Daoist spell for summoning divine soldiers. As the altar before him emitted azure smoke, transforming into a gust of wind, nurous unseen phantom images appeared before them, resembling the underworld's army, wielding various blades, clad in armor, with two burly generals at the front holding long knives and shields.
This was the privately maintained army of the Lushan Sect, individually captured by patriarchs through generations.
They also could summon underworld soldiers, celestial soldiers and generals enshrined by Daoists, but since they are not their own troops, summoning them was futile because they won't risk their lives.
When facing a tough battle, Lushan Sect mbers only trust the troops they captured themselves or the five camp soldiers handed down by the patriarchs.
"By the command of the Lushan Sect Master, celestial soldiers descend swiftly!
The Three Pure Ones issue orders, the Six Jia heed the command.
To the left stand the golden-armored generals, to the right, the iron cavalry camp.
The vanguard paves the way; the rear guards capture souls.
Divine weapons urgently obey like law!"
A ghostly wind swept past.
At this mont, a multitude of troops appeared on the sea, led by a general in golden armor, wearing a ghostly mask, holding a grand guandao. His eyes glanced at the middle-aged Daoist before turning to the distant sea as if seeing sothing, a trace of awe appearing in his expression instantly.
The summoned hundreds of troops stood still, none of the generals on either side daring to go.
Sothing's wrong!
Even if the vile serpent were ferocious, it shouldn't be enough to make the ghost gods fearful and unwilling to advance.
The middle-aged Daoist showed an astonished expression, spat a wisp of blood from his tongue, and communicated with the summoned soldiers, only to get a vague reply.
——They dare not offend Your Excellency.
What's going on?
Boom.
At that mont, a loud noise thundered from the sky, resembling a tsunami eruption. The middle-aged Daoist even saw the faint outline of a dragon appearing, indicating the vile serpent had erged, stirring up storms, raising towering waves, even affecting several miles away.
Seeing the troops hesitant to act, the middle-aged Daoist, in a hurry, took out the ancient scroll from his waist. Upon unfurling it, the magical artifact soared with the wind.
Depicted on it was a majestic Daoist wielding a divine sword slaying a flood dragon, with dragon carcasses further below in the rivers.
——Xu Xun Slaying the Dragon Illustration.
Ten thousand fathoms.
Rise!
Long ago, while Lu Shanjun was at a teahouse listening to stories of gods and monsters, there were folk tales of Xu Xun slaying dragons.
The Ten Thousand Fathoms was Celestial Master Xu Xun's weapon, although what the middle-aged Daoist held wasn't authentic, he had refined it with so power.
The Lushan Sect venerates the true gentleman of the Western Jin, Xu Xun, as the ancestral master, worshiping Lady Linshui, Lushan Jiu Lang, and others. Their lineage's ritual techniques are very domineering, characterized by martial spells, with so Daoist spells inherited from Xu Xun, not re demon-exorcising spells but ones prepared to confront a mighty demon.
For instance, slaying flood dragons.
Since they revere Xu Xun as the ancestral master, certainly, they must have truly inherited the ancestral master's best dragon-slaying techniques to dare claim so.
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