At midday, the mass graves presented an entirely different scene.
The mountain's gloomy haze had been driven away. Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting down radiant pillars of light that lent the woods a tranquil, almost elegant serenity.
Provided, of course, that one overlooked the dense thicket of neglected graves and sun-bleached bones along the path.
More than thirty men ascended the mountain.
The Commandant Bureau had left part of its force below to provide support. Chang Xuan personally led the vanguard; aside from himself as centurion and Guan Wanche, he brought along five squad commanders, every one of them adept in hidden jin.
The dozen or so men under their command were likewise at the peak of clear jin.
These elite operatives of the Commandant Bureau were plainly seasoned in mountain warfare. Not only did they fly a hunting falcon circling in the sky above, but they also held two massive mastiffs on leashes.
As for the Xianyang Enforcement Hall, because several members had been poisoned and men had to stay behind to guard the altar, Luo Mingzi brought only five Daoists.
Though not a large group, over a dozen hidden jin experts were more than enough to handle most situations.
"Woof! Woof!"
The fierce mastiffs quickly caught the trail.
The soaring hawk wheeled in the sky, marking the direction of the infiltrators.
Just then, the ears of one of the Daoists twitched. "Be careful," he warned. "There's an ambush ahead."
*Trill—*
Before his voice had even faded, an eerie flute melody drifted from the dense forest.
The Commandant Bureau's mastiffs pulled up short, barking frantically into the trees.
From earthen ditches and deep within the brush, dark shadows surged from every direction. Every single one was a wild dog nourished on the corpses of the mass graves, their eyes glowing with savage ferocity, baring vicious fangs.
Li Yan had smelled the foul stench long before, but he didn't even bother to speak.
With so many experts around, there was no need for him to intervene.
Sure enough, Luo Mingzi's expression remained calm as he swiftly unhooked a token from his waist.
It was the Shangxuan Bamboo Emissary Talisman he had used on his previous ascent. Pinching an incantation gesture, he chanted the Six Jia Secret Incantation: "*Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing!*"
Yet unlike last time, the intonation of the chant was different.
Watching from the side, Li Yan felt a prickle of envy.
Having discussed it with Wang Daoxuan, he knew this was the Baopu Mountain-Ascending Technique. It was not exclusive to the Taixuan Orthodox Sect, but widely known across the Xuanmen world.
Wang Daoxuan's Xixuan lineage possessed it as well, but using it required two conditions: first, establishing a two-tiered observatory; second, crafting a costly Shangxuan Bamboo Emissary Talisman.
Neither of them was qualified to cultivate it yet.
Strict as the requirements were, the art was exceedingly practical. Merely by varying the cadence of the Six Jia Secret Incantation, one could conceal oneself from ghosts and gods, and ward off the mountain's fierce beasts.
Indeed, as Luo Mingzi chanted, gang and sha qi surged, gathering about him into the imposing aura of a stalking tiger.
*Whimper...*
The wild dogs panicked at once, collapsing to the ground in terror, some even pissing in fright.
Naturally, the Three Powers Demon-Suppressing Coins could achieve the same effect, but not over such a vast area.
At the same time, the Daoist who had issued the warning unslung a massive bow from his back. Eyes shut, ears twitching, he drew the bowstring, nocking an arrow and aiming toward the sky to his right.
*Twang!*
The bowstring snapped, and the sharp arrow shot into the dense woods.
Immediately after, a wretched scream rang out, and the piping of the flute ceased.
The wild dogs instantly broke and scattered in flight.
"Go check it out!"
This was clearly not the first time the Commandant Bureau and the Taixuan Orthodox Sect had worked together. Chang Xuan showed no surprise as he calmly gave the order.
Two officers dashed into the woods.
Before long, they returned, clasping their fists. "Reporting, My Lord: it was a member of the Beggars' Gang. He's dead from the arrow."
Chang Xuan nodded solemnly. "The Beggars' Gang knows the terrain well. They excel at driving snakes and handling hounds, and their treasure-seeking sorcery is bizarre. Tread carefully, lest we take a fall."
The wild dogs had been a mere diversion. With plenty of skilled trackers in the group, they soon located an ancient burial mound.
Beneath a large tree behind it, a subterranean tunnel gaped open—pitch-black and thick with cold, sinister qi.
"Go down!"
"Wait!"
Chang Xuan was about to dispatch his men to scout ahead when Luo Mingzi held him back, shaking his head with a grave expression. "There are traps inside. Don't be rash."
Saying so, he glanced at a Daoist beside him.
The man had graying hair and beard, clearly getting on in years. Drawing a talisman from his breast, he pinched an incantation gesture with his left hand to knot the sha, and with a flick of his right fingers, he hurled the paper forward.
The yellow talisman caught fire without wind. As it flew into the cavern, the flame extinguished immediately, yet gang qi rippled outward like a massive stone dropped into a quiet pool.
*Whoosh!*
A gust of yin wind blew violently from the tunnel.
Several venomous snakes darted out in panic, accompanied by the faint, mournful wailing of spirits.
*Clang! Clang!*
Three Commandant Bureau officers drew their swords. Steel flashed, slicing every serpent that came near into bloody ribbons.
Luo Mingzi glanced up at the sky and shook his head. "Clever calculation. Double Ninth, high noon, the genesis of yang—all the lonely souls and wild ghosts of the mass graves have fled underground to hide, which inadvertently turned them into a protective shield for the culprits."
Li Yan frowned. "There is no sunlight underground, and the yin sha qi is dense. Can we not summon spirit soldiers to search the tunnels?"
That would be the most effortless method. However intricate the subterranean caverns might be, once the altar's spirit soldiers were loosed, they could round up everyone in moments.
Luo Mingzi shook his head. "They factored that in as well. Right now, the mountain god is being invested, and its true form is a heavenly spirit earthly treasure. If spooked before receiving its divine mantle, all its accrued fortune will scatter to the winds."
Turning to Chang Xuan, he added, "Centurion Chang, below has become a ghost cavern. Though they are merely lonely souls and wild ghosts, it is best your men do not enter.
"The passageways are narrow, and too many people will only get in each other's way. Search for other tunnel openings and seal them so no one escapes."
Chang Xuan hesitated briefly. "Very well. We shall provide support out here. Take care down there, Daoist Masters."
Luo Mingzi nodded, leading Li Yan and the others into the tunnel one by one, where they were soon swallowed by the gloom.
"My Lord, it seems the Maitreya Sect didn't come after all," Guan Wanche remarked as soon as they were gone.
Chang Xuan's single eye filled with regret. He shook his head. "A heavenly spirit earthly treasure that serves as a sacred healing remedy... were it not for the Taixuan Orthodox Sect's direct orders, even I would be tempted.
"I didn't expect the Maitreya Sect to show such restraint..."
Before his words finished, a chilly voice echoed from the distant woods. "Are you gentlemen looking for me?"
"Who's there?!"
The Commandant Bureau men drew their weapons in unison.
Yet when they turned toward the voice, there was no one in sight.
Puzzlement flickered through the crowd. The two mastiffs had given no warning, and the hawk overhead had spotted nothing. Where was the enemy hiding?
Chang Xuan was about to order a search when something clicked in his mind. "The enemy is using sorcery to bait us into scattering! Don't fall for it!
"Form the lotus array!"
Experienced and sharp, he instantly saw through the opponent's design.
At his command, the Commandant Bureau men drew their bows, standing back-to-back to cover every direction, their bristling arrowheads resembling the spines of a porcupine.
The enemy had still not shown himself, yet a thin smile touched Chang Xuan's lips.
His only worry had been that the other side wouldn't be greedy. So long as the man coveted that heavenly spirit earthly treasure, there was no need to rush; they could take their time.
"Oh?"
A surprised murmur came from the woods, followed by a figure stepping slowly from behind a tree trunk. He wore a Daoist robe, with a white beard and white brows.
"My Lord, that's him!" Guan Wanche immediately recognized the old man as the intruder who had broken into the Zhou manor that day.
Chang Xuan's sharp gaze pierced the disguise at once, recognizing a human-skin mask. "Since you have come, sir, why not show your true face?" he said coldly.
The old man shook his head faintly, but before he could speak, Chang Xuan's face hardened. "Loose!"
*Whistle—!*
In a flash, a volley of arrows screamed through the air.
The newcomer was indeed Incense Master Dugu Qian of the Maitreya Sect. His reflexes were extraordinary; with a blur of motion, he slipped behind a tree trunk.
The arrows rained down, thudding into the bark and the ground, their fletchings quivering with ferocious force.
Dugu Qian paid them no heed. Reaching into his collar, he pulled out a bone flute, formed an incantation gesture with his left hand, and gently blew. *Trill—*
A bizarre piping echoed through the woods.
*Swish!*
The brush behind the Commandant Bureau men swayed violently, and a rank, sickening gale rushed at them, inducing sudden dizziness.
Yet the operatives showed no panic. Three men unslung leather pouches from their waists and tossed them into the air, while three others drew and shot.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The pouches burst open, showering pungent yellow powder everywhere.
"Realgar?"
Behind the tree, Dugu Qian's face changed, and he abruptly ceased playing.
Yet it was already too late.
*Whoosh!*
From the woods, a serpent thick as a bowl surged forth. Driven frantic by the realgar, the fleshy cockscomb atop its head flushed crimson as it bared its fangs and lunged at the group.
Confronted by this legendary cockscomb snake, the men did not flinch. Under Guan Wanche's lead, they hoisted an iron net already prepared on the ground and cast it forward.
The net was lined with barbed iron hooks—the "Ghost Sorrow," crafted specifically by the authorities to ensnare jianghu experts.
Already half-crazed, the cockscomb snake was blanketed completely.
Its scales were tough, throwing off sparks as they ground against the hooks, but the massive Ghost Sorrow net only tightened the more the beast struggled.
Even with preparation, the men felt a chill of dread.
The creature was impervious to blades, possessed terrifying strength, and was lethally venomous. Had it breached their formation, casualties would have been catastrophic.
No wonder it had wiped out an entire band of mountain bandits.
Without a word, Guan Wanche unhooked a leather wineskin from his waist and sprayed out the black dog blood within.
The dog blood had been mixed with realgar. As it splashed across the cockscomb snake, white vapor hissed violently, and the scales softened, allowing the barbed hooks to pierce deep into its flesh.
The cockscomb snake thrashed in agony, but the pain brought it to its senses. It froze, not daring to move, fixing cold, sinister eyes on the men while venomous mist churned in its throat.
*Clang!*
Chang Xuan, who had kept his hands clasped behind his back, finally drew the longsword at his waist. With a light flick of his finger against the blade, it chimed cleanly.
He cast a cold gaze at the cockscomb snake. "This sword was bestowed by the imperial court, imbued with the power to suppress evil. You can test whether my blade is faster, or your venom."
The cockscomb snake possessed considerable cunning; hearing this, it snapped its mouth shut at once.
Chang Xuan nodded with satisfaction, then looked toward the woods, smiling. "Grave Snake Dugu Qian, now that I knew you were coming, how could I have come unprepared?"
He spoke casually, but inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
After receiving Sha Lifei's message earlier, he had sensed something amiss and immediately sent fast riders to nearby villages to gather supplies, securing everything just as they began ascending the mountain.
How could the resources of mere civilians compare to the might of the imperial court?
The Commandant Bureau's intelligence-gathering on the Maitreya Sect had never ceased, and they had a dossier on Grave Snake Dugu Qian. Rare as the cockscomb snake was, they had long known how to counter it.
At the thought, Chang Xuan's lips curved. "Since things have come to this... why not step out and talk?"
With a sullen expression, Dugu Qian walked out slowly. "Well calculated, Centurion, and formidable skill," he said darkly. "I was careless. I never imagined a mere centurion of the Commandant Bureau would be an expert of transformative jin."
Chang Xuan sighed. "The court is not like the jianghu; survival depends on far more than martial skill. Compared to trading blows, I prefer to use my wits.
"I know your sorcery is profound, Incense Master Dugu, and our men cannot hold you. But as you can see, I came prepared today. You won't gain anything here either. Why not retreat?"
Dugu Qian's eyes flickered with conflicting emotions. "They say dragons and snakes rise from the wild grass, but it seems the imperial court is the true lair of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Today, I concede defeat. I shall take my leave at once—release my spirit snake!"
"Ah..."
Chang Xuan frowned slightly, wagging a finger. "One matter at a time. A prize I took such pains to capture will not be surrendered so easily.
"And tell that Fire Ghost brother of yours to stop aiming his firearm at me. At this distance, that contraption can wound me at best, but it will certainly cost your precious serpent its life."
Dugu Qian's eyelid twitched, and he raised a hand at once.
In the distance, a figure dropped from a tree and swiftly vanished.
Dugu Qian stared at Chang Xuan. He truly had not expected to encounter such a troublesome adversary in Xianyang. Drawing a deep breath, he rasped, "Speak. What do you want?"
Chang Xuan offered an enigmatic smile.
"I want a name.
"Who within the Commandant Bureau leaked the secret to you?"
***
Inside the cavern, the air was dank and cold.
The passage was cramped. Muddy puddles covered the ground, while dense tree roots dangled from the ceiling, alive with crawling spiders and venomous insects.
One of the Enforcement Hall Daoists ran a hand over the wall and shook his head. "No wonder they kept so many wild dogs. They used them to dig these tunnels. From the look of it, this has been in the works for years."
Luo Mingzi stared at the jumble of footprints on the ground and said coldly, "Years ago, that beggar chief Master Shan took over the Western Beggars' Gang, likely to orchestrate this very scheme. If someone hadn't leaked the word, who would have thought that a Mountain Tai Sui was gestating inside these mass graves?"
Li Yan mused, "Whoever leaked the news probably didn't have good intentions either."
Luo Mingzi nodded. "Don't worry, people are investigating in secret."
As they spoke, he formed a seal with his hands and once more invoked the Baopu Mountain-Ascending Technique.
*Rustle, rustle...*
The venomous serpents and insects hiding in the dark fled in terror, and the gloomy black mist in the distance sank into the earth, vanishing without a trace.
Clearly, neither venomous beasts nor spectral wraiths could hinder the group.
Watching this, Li Yan shook his head inwardly.
Among these experts, he felt somewhat superfluous.
His divine sense of smell was remarkable, but aside from Luo Mingzi, the elder Daoist also possessed a two-tiered cultivation, and the younger ones had likewise erected observatories; their divine powers far exceeded his own.
One possessed divine hearing, able to catch movements hundreds of paces away.
One possessed divine sight, able to distinguish yin and yang and see clearly in pitch darkness.
The remaining three were masters of the physical body, seasoned fighters.
With them working in harmony, there was simply no room for him to do anything.
They would likely capture their quarry before long.
Still, this journey was not in vain for Li Yan.
Both the Commandant Bureau's methods and the Enforcement Hall's coordination of arts had broadened his horizons, and he committed them all to memory.
His other great strength was his ability to extrapolate and adapt.
It held true for martial arts techniques, and sorcery was no exception.
Just like the ape leap of the Zhou family: after seeing it once, he had woven it into his Red Fist and saber techniques, developing various ways to pair it with hidden jin.
Perhaps this was a gift from his past life—the ability to think outside established boundaries.
The group moved swiftly, descending deep underground before they knew it.
The cavern branched into numerous forks and dead ends, but the footprints could not be erased, and guided by their divine powers, the Daoists were never led astray.
Finally, the earthen tunnel gave way to solid rock.
Looking up, they saw a stone grotto before them bearing clear marks of manual excavation. To the left lay a passage completely blocked by fallen rubble.
Further ahead, several more branching paths appeared.
The earthen burrow they had traversed opened directly onto the opposite rock wall.
Carved into the stone face was a man-made shrine. The idol within was coated in mottled moss, weathered and eroded beyond recognition.
Li Yan asked in mild surprise, "An ancient tomb?"
The shrine was visibly ancient, certainly not the work of the Beggars' Gang.
"No," Luo Mingzi replied, glancing around and shaking his head. "The history of the Divine Land is ancient. Since the age of primitive tribes, people have explored far and wide. In those wild times, marvels abounded, which is why the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* says that every mountain has its god.
"This custom has persisted unbroken to this day. Wherever an anomaly appears, the common folk burn incense and offer worship. In antiquity, people worshipped a mountain god here; the Mountain Tai Sui absorbed the power of incense to gestate its divine gang. But later something went wrong, and the passage collapsed."
Li Yan was about to speak when a sudden, sharp pain flared in his left palm. His vision blurred, and in the haze, an image swam before his eyes:
Deep in a pitch-black cavern, an old man clad in garments of tree bark, his beard overgrown with moss and his face ghastly pale, mouthed words in silence, his eyes brimming with desperate pleading...
Chapter 88