Rustling sounds ca from above.
Li Yan suddenly looked up.
At the top, the algae wells and horizontal beams were covered layer by layer with tiny shrines, densely packed in, carved with various Buddha Bodhisattvas, as if standing above the Western Paradise, looking down at the living beings below...
Seemingly noticing his gaze, a rustling noise suddenly disappeared, and the Buddha Bodhisattvas beca stiff, motionless.
Li Yan slightly narrowed his eyes and retracted the Communication Secret Skill.
When he opened his eyes again, the horizontal beams and algae wells had returned to normal, no longer featuring any shrines or Buddha, looking ordinary and covered in dust.
"Let’s go, there’s nothing here,"
Li Yan deliberately called out, signaling to Lv San with his eyes.
Lv San instantly understood and quickly followed him out.
They had just left the periphery of the dilapidated temple when insects and ants reappeared, and Lv San then asked, "Did you find sothing?"
"Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure!"
Li Yan shook his head and said, "I’ve heard from Zhao Lvzi that so powerful Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasures can be occupied by spirit monsters, turning them into sothing like Cave Heaven Blessed Lands. I didn’t expect to see one here."
In fact, what Zhao Lvzi had told him was even more bizarre.
These Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasures, each extraordinary, once occupied by spirit monsters, sotis lure people’s souls inside, resembling a dream of visiting the Immortal Realm, a paradisiacal experience.
In so books of marvels, it is often ntioned that people get lost in deep mountains or dream at night, entering the abode of immortals; these instances speak of such things.
The most famous of which is the Immortal Hall in the Northern Border.
So old ancestors with the capabilities of Earth Immortals, don’t need to possess a body to speak; they would directly call disciples into the Immortal Hall, conveying orders or teaching Magic thods...
At this mont, Wu Dehai also ca over.
He wasn’t the only one to arrive, as the garrison’s commander from Xiangyang, along with two hundred cavalry, had also arrived and completely surrounded the area.
Hearing what Li Yan had said, both were greatly enlightened.
Wu Dehai quickly said, "Young Hero Li, those people have confessed. They do not know who the insider in Xiangyang City is, but they know the arrangents in other places."
"In the nearby villages, they have already deployed Evil Cultivators, taking advantage of the epidemic to stir hearts and overturn the Land God Temples, planning to secretly incite riots..."
"In the mountains of Nanzhang County, there used to be an ancient military fortress, built during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, which beca famous for Emperor Guan having stayed there, studying ’Spring and Autumn Annals’ at night, known as Spring and Autumn Stockade. After abandonnt, it was taken over by Miao barbarian mountain residents."
"According to these people, that place’s mountain residents have been influenced by the Ghost Sect, and a large resource of elite troops is stationed there..."
The commander also nodded solemnly, saying, "I think I understand what they’re trying to do."
"To the west of Nanzhang County is Baokang County, adjacent to the Shennongjia Mountains, where court troops are stationed to block the forces of the Heavenly Saint Sect in the mountains."
"Baokang County has the Ju River, which leads to Dangyang and into the Yangtze River; Nanzhang County has the Man River, providing direct access to the Han River, and connects with Jingn."
"Currently, the Heavenly Saint Sect rebels, being suppressed by the court in the Jing Chu Mountains, if these two places fall, they would directly invade the Han River and the Yangtze River, not only cutting off the court’s army supplies but also moving downstream directly into Jingn and Yichang to rendezvous with the rebellious Tusis..."
Wu Dehai also nodded, saying, "We have already dispatched people to report this matter upwards, but the key is still to eliminate the epidemic."
"If the epidemic in Xiangyang spreads, even if the court sends troops here for support, it will be troubleso."
"This source of trouble, I fear, is related to the stuff inside. Young Hero Li, what should we do?"
"Simple!"
Li Yan looked at the ruined temple and said in a cold voice, "Send people to the nearby mountains to chop peach branches. Tomorrow during the day, burn this place completely!"
Whoo~
As soon as his words fell, a sudden yin wind blew within the temple and white fog began to rise, making the entire ruins once again blurred and eerie.
"Be alert!"
The commander shouted angrily, the cavalry he brought raised their fire guns, and so even picked up fire thorns.
However, as the yin wind howled, the surrounding horses seed spooked, neighing non-stop, agitated and restless.
Lv San, noticing the situation, pinched a spell and also emitted a horse’s cry from his mouth to calm the horses.
Zhou Qianhu flew into a rage and suddenly pulled out a token from his chest, shouting, "The court’s army is here, how dare you evil spirits cause trouble, do you want your souls scattered?"
Li Yan, seeing this, was montarily at a loss for words.
Do these things really listen to the court’s orders?
But he was surprised by what happened next.
Though the ruins were still shrouded in dense yin fog, the chilly wind seed to diminish significantly, and the horses were no longer frightened.
Seeing Li Yan’s astonished look, Zhou Qianhu whispered, "This is a military secret technique; across Divine State, many such things lurk. If they encounter sothing astute, they recognize the majesty of the court and fear being slaughtered by the Mystical Sect’s army... "
While he was speaking, figures suddenly appeared in the thick fog—so were monks with hands clasped in prayer, while others resembled Bodhisattvas, all were indistinct and very blurry.
Li Yan saw this and laughed, "Oh, do they really think this place has turned into the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss?"
Saying so, he had already taken out the Hook Paper from his chest, ready to summon the Yin Departnt’s Army and clean up these beings in one fell swoop.
Just then, an old sigh sounded by his ear, "We don’t wish to cause trouble, why must you be so aggressive?"
Li Yan looked around and, seeing that the expressions of others had not changed, imdiately understood that this was the language of Ghost Gods, which they could not hear.
With this in mind, he spoke directly, his voice cold, "What nonsense are you talking about? If you don’t want to cause trouble, why are you sending people to harm others in the city?"
His sudden outburst left Zhou Qianhu and Wu Degui confused.
Just as they were about to ask, Lv San stopped them, indicating to stay quiet.
In the fog, the old voice spoke into Li Yan’s ear, "There is more to this matter, please allow this old man to explain."
"This old man was originally a thousand-year-old Phoebe tree in Shu, chopped down and transported to Xiangyang, becoming the main beam of Zhaode Temple, constantly nurtured by the incense of Buddha’s teachings, understanding the Dharma of the Pure Land."
"During the years of war, the temple was destroyed in the flas, and I used a secret technique to protect the residual souls of the monks in the temple from the harm of the Shaman from Golden Tent Wolf Country, as many Mystical Sect cultivators also perished at that ti, leading to spirit growth in the temple..."
"Master Sanfeng passed by here that year and made an agreent with this old man, as long as these residual souls and spirit creatures did not harm the surrounding villagers, they could cultivate peacefully, waiting for the temple to be rebuilt after a hundred years."
Li Yan snorted coldly, "There was an agreent, why break your oath?"
The old voice replied, "At that ti, to show sincerity, this old man spat out its wood heart, which Master Sanfeng carved into a soul token and placed under City God Temple in Xiangyang for the City God to supervise."
"But over ten years ago, a scholar surnad Lu suddenly ca with the soul token, demanding this old man to obey him; I dared not disobey and secretly sent people to City God Temple, but they were intercepted on the way..."
"A scholar surnad Lu ten years ago?"
A flash of insight struck Li Yan, "Do you know about the Nanmu King?"
According to the Tuo Master, in the Han River near Xiangyang City, there was a vicious Nanmu King that terrified the locals who secretly built a temple to worship Lord Nan.
Ten years ago, it was a scholar surnad Lu who subdued this demon.
The old voice replied, "That Nanmu King is dead, but soone used Evil Technique, and after its death, resentnt soared, its body was divided and hidden around Xiangyang, being the origin of this epidemic."
"In the temple, people placed it inside this old man’s body, using a ritual to activate it, spreading to nearby water sources, this thing can be controlled with vinegar..."
Hu~
While talking, suddenly the wind blew strongly.
A piece of wood rolled out from the ruined temple and clattered to the ground in front of everyone.
Everyone looked down to find it was a piece of golden-threaded Nanmu, now turned into Yin Chen Wood, covered in moss-like mold.
"Everyone, step back!"
Li Yan quickly instructed everyone to retreat, then had soldiers from the garrison co with vinegar-soaked cloth to tightly cover it.
After finishing these tasks, Li Yan turned back to look at the ruins, his voice cold, "You handed over this item, aren’t you afraid those people will destroy the soul token?"
The old voice sighed, "The Pure Land I cultivated is ultimately false; this is a calamity. If I cannot escape my fate, I must accept it."
Li Yan pondered for a mont, "If you are willing, dare you take a gamble?"
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