On the other side, Lv San had also finished training Wu Ba.
Lv San whispered sothing, and Wu Ba hurriedly took the luggage from behind Li Yan, bowing his head and stealing glances at him.
Li Yan did not pay him any mind, but his eyebrows furrowed slightly as he pinched a spell, took a deep breath towards the sky, and said, "Follow !"
With that, he quickened his pace and walked ahead.
Lv San and Wu Ba closely followed, while the small white fox, with its large tail, leaped and sprinted along the forest’s stone walls, even outpacing Li Yan.
The little creature displayed great spirituality, already aware of what he intended to do, and took the lead using its keen sense of sll.
As they traveled along, after passing through a mountain hollow, a dirt path covered with wild grass appeared ahead, though traces could still be vaguely seen.
Beneath the surface, dragging bloodstains and so animal fur appeared, evidently remnants of a previous hunting by man and bear.
Seeing this, Li Yan had already sensed sothing.
Indeed, after turning over a mountain ridge, he imdiately saw the remains.
It was an ancient kiln site, the furnaces in ruins but their structures vaguely recognizable. Scattered among the weeds were broken pottery shards and old tools, and the surrounding dirt mounds covered in wild grass looked like grave mounds.
In front of the kiln site, a stone platform had been built with signs of extensive burning, and a few array flags had been stuck into it, faded by the wind and sun.
A grand ritual had clearly taken place here.
Li Yan slightly shook his head and said to the following Lv San, "It seems this is one of the strange kiln sites ntioned by the Shen family servants, but it has been dealt with."
Then, he looked towards the other side.
The area, rich in excellent clay, also had hills, one of which had been dug away partially.
Red mud, green vines, and a dark cave with remains of animals and humans outside, swarming with dense flies.
The previously spirited little white fox had already stopped, baring its teeth at the dark cave entrance and with bristling fur, seemingly on guard against sothing.
Li Yan pinched a spell and sniffed, imdiately sensing a faint presence of yin qi inside, as if sothing in the darkness was watching them.
"Don’t move around."
With a flash of killing intent in his eyes, Li Yan swiftly entered the cave.
As soon as he stepped in, he could feel the abnormally cold temperature of the cave, and a black smoke whooshed out of the darkness toward his face.
"Hmph! Wishful thinking!"
Li Yan raised his hand, and the invisible soul hook whooshed out, sensing the claw’s movent, he pulled it taut with a swift motion.
Whoosh~
The darkness scattered instantly, a chilling wind blew fiercely inside the cave but soon quieted down. Although it remained cool, the eerie cold was gone.
Li Yan shook his hand and continued walking forward.
Indeed, deeper inside the cave lay a decaying body, wrapped in a dark red monk’s robe, with items like a Demon-Subduing Pestle and drums scattered around it.
anwhile, Lv San also entered with a torch lit.
"It’s this guy."
Li Yan looked at the remains on the ground and said, "This is a Tibetan Buddhism mage. I don’t know why he ca here, but even in death, he draws people to possess."
Yes, in a short ti, he had figured out the situation.
The unnad monk before them possessed a strong divine soul. Even in death, his yin soul lingered, controlling the man-bear to go out and consu people.
Consuming people was rely a ans; the goal was to attract people, specifically Xuann practitioners, for possession.
Unfortunately, he ran into them.
Lv San seed astonished, "These people are rare in Divine State. Why would they travel all the way to Ezhou?"
He was right. After the collapse of the Tubo Dynasty, the region had seen the rise of the Guge Kingdom and the Ladak Dynasty among others.
During the earlier Da Xing period, the Golden Tent Wolf Country’s forces had pressed on this area. Many local powers had submitted, and several Dharma Kings had joined the Golden Tent Wolf Country to duel with the Proper Xuan Sect.
Seeing the rise of the Great Xuan Dynasty, which had dispersed the Golden Tent Wolf Country, these powers imdiately surrendered and willingly beca vassals, known as Wusi Tibetan.
The area was vast with harsh conditions and sparse population, further destabilized by remnants of the Golden Tent Wolf Country operating in the shadows.
The Great Xuan Dynasty, not wishing to expend too much effort, adopted a strategy primarily of appeasent combined with military action, gradually quelling the unrest.
It was now relatively stable, but because of strong conflicts between Tibetan Buddhism mages and Xuann during the forr dynasty, although trade on the ancient Tea-Horse Road flourished, interactions with Xuann were not frequent.
"Let’s see."
Li Yan reached into the corpse’s bosom and pulled out a piece of paper, but upon unfolding it, his face stiffened.
It was all in Tibetan. He couldn’t understand a thing!
"What’s this..."
Li Yan muttered and started examining other objects.
In his lifeti, the monk’s Dao probably wasn’t shallow, as he possessed several Magic Artifacts, primarily a Vajra Pestle, a Scripture Wheel, and a small Human Skin Drum.
The first two still contained a force of Astral Bane, while the Human Skin Drum emitted a cold breath that caused white frost to spread when touched by a finger.
Li Yan’s eyes narrowed, and he clenched his fist. Instantly, sparks crackled, and he crushed the Human Skin Drum with a punch.
Bang!
A loud explosion resounded through the air, and a chill perated the surroundings.
He then similarly smashed the Demon-Subduing Pestle and the Scripture Wheel.
These Magic Artifacts, long enshrined before altars, were of no use to him; it was better to destroy them and later lt down the materials.
Additionally, there was a small bottle of butter oil. When he opened the lid, a strong dicinal fragrance imdiately hit him.
This must be an item used for Esoteric Sect cultivation.
Tibetan Buddhism pays attention to the three secrets of body, speech, and mind, "the enhancent by three-fold secrecy," involving various rituals and various hand-sealing secret techniques.
Butter oil could be used in hand-sealing practice and for offerings, and it seed a lot of precious dicinal ingredients had been added.
Finally, Li Yan picked up a Thangka.
Since his last encounter with Tibetan Buddhist monks in the Phosphate Mine Canyon, Li Yan had gathered so basic information from the Law Enforcent Hall.
In Tibetan Buddhism, a Thangka is also a type of Magic Artifact, used to help Cultivators enhance their faith and telekinesis, sowhat akin to the Storing God of the Mystical Sect.
It usually depicts the images of Buddha Bodhisattvas.
However, the Thangka in front of him was rather eerie and bizarre.
It featured a male and a female deity, both with ghostly faces and fanged mouths, dark all over, each with six arms holding Magic Artifacts, intertwined with each other, enveloped by fla-like patterns, forming sothing resembling an embryo.
Seeing this item made Li Yan’s heart inexplicably flutter.
He thoughtfully collected the Thangka and the secret letter.
The monk had traveled a thousand miles, and although his purpose and the cause of his death were unknown, it surely wasn’t simple.
Moreover, he had brought a bear as a pet and had strangely not been stopped by the governnt soldiers along the way...
Those proficient in Tibetan script within Buddhism could hand it over to Cheng Jue of the Law Enforcent Hall, who maybe could ascertain the reason.
Afterward, Li Yan moved the body outside to a pile of debris, collected so dry branches, and burned it all.
By the ti he finished, it was afternoon.
Lv San was also in the distance, calling out a few tis. The birds surrounding them imdiately scattered, and he walked over, shaking his head, "There are two villages a few miles away, both Miao Villages."
"There is an inn twenty miles further north on the official road."
Li Yan furrowed his brows, "Miao Villages generally don’t welco outsiders. Let’s hurry on our way and inquire at the inn."
With that, the three of them swiftly left the valley.
Twenty miles was neither too far nor too close. By the ti they arrived, it was nearly dusk.
They saw an official road in the distance, next to a river, where a lonely two-story inn stood.
Constructed of earth and wood, it wasn’t very high-end. Outside, a tavern flag fluttered in the wind, several horses were feeding in the stable, and smoke drifted from the roof.
A stable boy was busy in the stable.
The appearance of Li Yan and his companions was quite conspicuous. The stable boy, seeing them, knew they weren’t to be ssed with and hurried over, bowing and scraping, "Sirs, please co inside. Are you stopping for a while or staying the night?"
"We’ll need two upper rooms, and bring a table of food and drinks."
Li Yan instructed as he entered the inn.
Upon entering, he instantly felt several gazes on him.
Li Yan looked around, observing that the inn was quite simple, with an earth-packed floor and so rather battered tables in the hall.
There weren’t many people in the store, a few n and won, young and old, were sitting at one table, and one of them had a drum on his back.
On the other side sat several people led by a middle-aged, plump man in splendid clothes, surrounded by black-clad, sturdy-looking individuals, dressing like a rchant and his servants.
Li Yan ignored them and followed the boy upstairs to a large room where they set down their luggage.
No sooner had he closed the door than Lv San whispered, "Sothing’s off about these people..."
"I know."
Li Yan shook his head and smiled, "There’s a raw sll of earth. They’re all grave robbers. Could it be that fueled by the audacity of a leopard, they plan to rob the Royal Mausoleum?"
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