Crash!
The birds in the valley fluttered in panic.
Li Yan looked to his left and saw a large tree. He leaped effortlessly and landed precisely on the trunk before skillfully touching down on the ground.
He looked up only to see clouds shrouding the steep cliffs that soared into the sky; beyond that, he could see nothing.
Li Yan thought to himself, no wonder this place is hard to find.
There was a sea of clouds at Heavenly Pillar Peak, and though the scenery was magnificent and majestic, it also perfectly blocked the view of the lower ravine, creating a blind spot when compared with other mountain paths.
Thinking of this, Li Yan gripped the hilt of his knife and looked around.
The mountain was too steep. With Wang Daoxuan’s skills, he would likely lose his footing and fall off halfway up, so he could only stay on top.
It was a pity Wang Daoxuan had lost the yin soldiers; otherwise, setting up an altar on top to perform rituals could have also remotely provided support.
It seed there was a need to find so yin soldiers for Wang Daoxuan when ti allowed.
Putting aside his wandering thoughts, Li Yan pressed one hand on the hilt of his knife and ford the Yang Jue with the other, taking a deep breath. The myriad scents of the valley rushed into his nostrils.
Then, to his shock, he looked towards the ground.
He had now mastered Divine Skills and could outline the shapes of objects approximately by their scent.
The entire valley underground was filled with soul bottles!
Not to be confused with the Wandering Soul Vase, the soul bottle was a funerary artifact from the Han era, shaped like a pottery urn on the bottom and a pottery edifice on top, decorated with flying birds, galleries, and musicians; all exquisitely crafted.
Originally, these were called "Five Grains Bag," and "pottery warehouse," used in burials to store food, fearing the deceased would starve on the road to Huang Quan.
Afterward, they were made more elaborately to embody the dream of becoming an immortal after death.
Honestly, such artifacts were not uncommon.
The chilling realization that these were buried all around the valley made Li Yan wonder if this was so kind of Evil Technique Array.
But it seed, he could sll nothing unusual.
Moreover, the valley had clearly suffered a flash flood, with muddy sedint accumulated, and most underground soul bottles were broken and damaged.
Regardless, this had to be the place he was searching for.
Staying vigilant, Li Yan used his Divine Skills while exploring the valley and soon discovered sothing.
A relatively wide flat piece of land had been cultivated into farmland, where wheat stubble from a recent harvest still remained.
Then, a scent hit his nostrils.
Li Yan’s expression changed slightly. He leapt sideward, hiding behind a massive boulder in the canyon, calling out loudly, "Esteed senior, I was sent here on behalf of Elder Wu Lao Si. Please don’t misunderstand."
He could sll soone on the top right side of the canyon cliff, aiming an arrow at him.
Sure enough, an aged female voice responded, "Brother Wu, has that coward finally died?"
"If you’re a guest, then co up and have a cup of tea."
Li Yan squinted his eyes slightly and slowly erged from behind the rock.
Looking up, he saw a narrow stone path jutting out between the cliffs above, hidden behind several pine trees, forming a blind spot.
A black-robed elderly woman stood above.
Though she appeared aged, her complexion was rosy and her expression indifferent. Her white-streaked hair was neatly combed and tied in a daoist bun.
"Please co up, guest."
The old woman’s face was calm as she gestured with her hand.
Though she spoke politely, the stone platform was as high as two stories, with no ladders and steep cliff walls beside it.
Was this a test?
Li Yan sneered internally and rushed towards the cliff. When he neared it, his legs burst with Hidden Energy, and with a swoosh, he leapt three ters high.
Clang!
His left sleeve’s knife suddenly unsheathed, stabbing into a crevice in the rock. Li Yan then pushed off with both arms, flipping onto the stone platform.
The old woman frowned slightly upon seeing this. "Not bad skills, but what’s the hurry? I was about to lower the soft ladder."
Saying this, she pointed underneath her feet.
Indeed, there lay a ladder made of vines and wood that she could lower with just a footstep.
Li Yan: "..."
The old woman shook her head slightly, "Co with . It’s been decades since we had visitors in our lineage."
Saying that, she turned and led the way.
There, embedded in the wall of the protruding stone path, was a roughly human-shaped cave passage, extrely narrow and hidden.
Li Yan, thanks to his sll superpower, had already known about it and cautiously followed the old woman into the cave.
After walking less than five ters, the sight suddenly opened up.
Inside was a cave of considerable size.
Along the cave walls were carved stone columns, and above were archways connecting to the ceiling, inscribed with "Netherworld Sacred Realm" in large characters.
The stone columns were hollowed out and carved with various patterns, including cloud motifs and images of volcanoes, evil ghosts, hell, and Huang Quan from legends.
Many of the stone sculptures were blurred, obviously ancient.
Seeing this, Li Yan grew solemn with respect.
He guessed how the stone cave had been ford.
The entrance outside was narrow, plus its location in a deep valley with no roads; it couldn’t possibly have been carried from outside.
The entire cave had been excavated bit by bit by humans.
Seeing his expression, the old woman seed to guess his thoughts and shook her head, "This place was built at the end of the Qin era when there was chaos everywhere. Our ancestors’ resolute desire for enlightennt naturally carved out this cave."
"As ti went by, people beca less sincere, and no one excavated any further caves. Now, I am the only one left guarding the flickering light."
She turned her head and looked around, speaking indifferently, "You brought Lu Shi Xiong’s Netherworld Fire Pistol, so I presu he is dead?"
Li Yan felt a slight shock running down his spine.
The old woman calmly continued, "No need to be on guard. He hard his fellow disciples and used Evil Technique to extend his life. If you killed him, it saves the trouble of cleaning house."
Li Yan observing her deanor, which seed genuine, felt sowhat relieved and inquired, "Senior, have you also mastered the sll superpower?"
After the death of the Magician nad Lu, Li Yan naturally needed to investigate.
Sadly, the man was a pauper, possessing only a few paper effigies, a mourning stick, and these two peculiar firearms.
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