The thods of sacrifice were "Sacrificial Altar for the Heavenly God," using purple clay as the altar at the Bamboo Palace as if the Heavenly God descended like Flowing Fire.
After the collapse of the Great Han, this practice also spread to the common folk.
Zhushan County was originally the location of the ancient state of Shangyong, and during the Western Wei period, the Emperor Yuan Qin renad it "Zhushan" due to the lush bamboo forests, mountains, and clear waters within its borders.
There were many spiritual bamboos in this area, so the Han Palace secrets were preserved. By rging them with the "Sacred Reed Witchcraft" originally from the Chu Territory, the Zhushan Sect also established itself in Ezhou.
Now that their stronghold had been destroyed, they were holding back their anger.
Dealing with the river monster wasn’t an issue.
"Prefect Zhou."
Seeing that the reinforcents had arrived, Li Yan did not waste any words and directly bowed to Zhou Kai, "Once the matters here are settled, we will take our leave first; there are other matters we must attend to."
Zhou Kai was montarily stunned, clearly reluctant, "Young Hero Li, Zigui County is fraught with danger, why not stay..."
Li Yan directly shook his head, "Prefect, once the battle starts, it’s not sothing we can influence, and there are other tasks elsewhere."
"That’s also good."
There was an obvious hint of helplessness in Zhou Kai’s eyes.
Li Yan glanced at the approaching Fuchuan, "However, there is one thing for which I must request your assistance."
...
Above the river’s surface, the navy soldiers occasionally erged from the water.
Large iron chains connected to the Fuchuan were handled by these soldiers adept in water maneuvers, who took them deep under the river.
Soon, soone surfaced.
"Prefect, there’s indeed sothing down here!"
On the deck, rows of people stood densely packed, including so in vermillion official robes and others in golden armor.
These were the high-ranking officials sent by the court, including the Commander from Xiangyang; with Zhou Kai’s position, he could only stand to the side.
Of course, several elders from the Zhushan Sect were also present.
Hearing the soldiers shout, their faces all turned grim.
After all, Zigui County was their responsibility, but the Ghost Sect had secretly developed there, and people had practiced Evil Skills right under their noses, harming the Three Gorges Water God; it was truly a dereliction of duty.
Of course, they couldn’t entirely be blad.
After all, the Ghost Sect was extrely well-hidden, and their plot against the Three Gorges Water God had begun during the Da Xing Period; it was an old sche known by very few.
And those who could communicate with the gods were even rarer.
The Commander from Xiangyang was also curious and looked at Li Yan standing on the small boat below, raising his hand to give the command:
"Set sail!"
With that order, the enormous Fuchuan imdiately hoisted its sails.
The water on the river’s surface churned as the bronze chains tensed sharply.
Eroded mud and sedint quickly darkened the river’s surface.
Upon seeing this, a smile appeared on Li Yan’s lips.
The demon possessing the old Confucian Scholar Liu Danqiu was truly skillful; it hid its true body deep under the riverbed, and a yin soul caused havoc everywhere.
If it encountered danger, it could instantly abandon its flesh and escape far away, and that was the troubling aspect of the Water God Immortality Technique.
But Li Yan was not a narrow-minded person; only a fool would go searching everywhere instead of using the power of the court to directly destroy its true body.
The chains on the river’s surface grew tighter and tighter.
Among the shocked cries of the crowd, a huge stone coffin was suddenly pulled out of the river, covered in sludge and shells, seemingly ancient.
With no need for Li Yan to exert himself, the navy soldiers imdiately threw out their iron hooks, used for climbing aboard ships in combat.
The hooks latched onto the coffin lid and abruptly lifted it.
A sudden gust of chilling wind arose, and dense black hair surged out, spreading through the water.
Li Yan had already leaped into the air, clutching the Hook Paper, and shouted, "Heaven has its rites, Earth has its principles, the Yin Bureau commands the soul, living people retreat!"
With the chilling wind and swirling fog over the river,
Li Yan had already landed, holding the Hook Paper, and firmly slapped it on the swollen corpse’s head.
The corpse imdiately began to tremble and contort...
Dozens of miles away by a large lake, the old Confucian Scholar Liu Danqiu was busy in the river with a group.
Suddenly, his eyes wide with terror, he looked northward.
"No!"
A scream erupted; he imdiately fell to the ground, lifeless.
Simultaneously, outside the west gate of Zigui County, at the Yellow Demon God Temple, an old caretaker cleaning the temple was stunned as the Divine Statue cracked in half...
On the river’s surface, feeling that another Astral Order had joined those within the Hook Paper, a slight smile ford on Li Yan’s lips.
While the swollen corpse below was now motionless, a large amount of foul-slling black liquid oozed from its surface, and the twisted black hair turned yellow and withered quickly.
Li Yan quickly covered his nose, leaped up, and jumped back onto the boat, bowing toward the distant Fuchuan.
Sha Lifei had already packed his belongings and stood at the bow, and upon seeing this, he quickly nodded to the boatman, "Set sail, to the other side!"
"Yes, sir."
The boatman, found by Zhou Kai, seeing this situation knew that the two n before him were unconventional figures of the pugilistic world and quickly nodded to start the boat.
Watching the small boat in the distance, the official in the red robe stroked his beard and said, "Truly a gallant man, Prefect Zhou, why didn’t you keep them here?"
Before Zhou Kai could respond, Daoist Feng beside him smiled and said, "These gentlen are on good terms with the Taixuan Orthodox Sect. The southwest is in chaos, filled with demons everywhere, and they must hurry to other places to subdue demons and capture monsters."
"Oh, that’s a pity."
The official in the red robe slightly shook his head upon hearing this.
The faces of several elders from the Zhushan Sect turned even uglier.
Monsters rampant in the southwest, wasn’t it indirectly criticizing their negligence?
This old Daoist really knew how to kick them while they were down.
Thinking this, they refused to show weakness and bowed solemnly, "Lord Lu, please forgive us, the situation in the southwest is complicated, far from being as simple as just the Ghost Sect."
"There are three sources of trouble: Wushan, Shennongjia, and Miaojiang. With our sect’s power alone, it’s indeed difficult to suppress them."
"I will imdiately send ssages to invite Daoists from the southern Magic Veins to help!"
"Good!"
The official in the red robes, upon hearing this, showed a smile.
He was well aware of the nuances between the orthodox sects and the Magic Veins.
These words were deliberately spoken.
The southwest was complex, and assistance from Mystical Sect was indispensable. If masters from the southern Magic Veins were gathered, many issues could be handled more easily.
Daoist Feng kept a smile on his face, undisturbed.
He knew the Magic Veins were trying to take the lead. For this, the Zhushan Sect wasn’t shy about shedding their pride to seek help.
But if they still couldn’t handle the situation, Taixuan Orthodox Sect would formally intervene, and at that ti, this region couldn’t be dominated by the Magic Veins alone.
Even if the southern Magic Veins managed to suppress this matter, once communication was established between Wudang Mountain and Qingcheng Mountain, the influence of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect would still expand.
No matter how one looked at it, they were likely to win.
And with this, he could also return to Wudang Mountain to enjoy so peace.
Thinking of this, Daoist Feng’s heart was filled with joy...
...
The demon hid the coffin upstream of Zigui County.
Li Yan and the others, sailing downstream, soon arrived at the south bank below Guizhou City, slowly approaching the riverside.
Sha Lifei’s expression turned solemn, "Brother Yan, since yesterday, we haven’t heard from Brother Lv. Could sothing have happened?"
Li Yan furrowed his brows, "Let’s go up and see."
Just then, a hawk’s cry rang out from the sky, and the two hurriedly looked up to see hawks swooping and diving, drawing several figures of eight.
Li Yan’s expression changed, "Quick, they’ve encountered a formidable enemy!"
Hearing this, the boatman quickly increased the speed.
Before even reaching the shore, Li Yan and Sha Lifei leaped onto the riverbank and followed the hawks, quickly running towards the woods.
After running less than two kiloters through the woods, they saw Lv San and Wang Daoxuan fleeing and dodging repeatedly, with a continuous shower of arrows following them.
They could vaguely see many figures in leather armor and black cloths covering their heads, with faces painted and yelling loudly, bending bows to shoot arrows.
Among them, so held red flags, chanting non-stop. The Poison Bee swarm released from the demon gourd circled up and down, yet couldn’t get close.
"This is the army from Tusi City!"
Seeing this, Sha Lifei’s expression changed dramatically.
Without another word, Li Yan executed Step Gang, performing a mantra, "Nuogao! Heavenly true Taisu, essence of Ren and Gui. Corresponds with the kidneys internally, aligns with rcury above... Quick, obey my command!"
This was the "Mysterious Water Escape" of the Northern Emperor.
Despite the light drizzle and heavy moisture in the woods, his full-force execution imdiately created surging white mist, which quickly spread, obscuring the vision.
Seeing this, Lv San and Wang Daoxuan hurried into the mist.
Just as the Tusi City soldiers were about to pursue, a robust voice echoed from the mist, "Have a taste of your grandpa’s move!"
Imdiately after, a fire thorn was thrown from afar.
Boom!
Accompanied by a loud explosion, iron and ceramic shards scattered, nearby trees broke and fell, and many Tusi people scread and fell to the ground, no longer daring to pursue.
anwhile, Li Yan and the others had already taken advantage of the dense fog to quickly run to the riverbank.
"Quick, quick, set sail!"
Sha Lifei called out loudly, urging repeatedly.
Hearing the previous explosion, the boatman was uncertain, "Sir, what... what happened?"
Wang Daoxuan spoke in a deep voice, "The military forces of Tusi City have assembled."
"Here, war is about to break out..."
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