"Who's there!"
A jolt ran through Li Yan, and the vision before his eyes instantly vanished.
Luo Mingzi waved his hand. The Daoist beside him cocked his head to listen closely, while the one skilled in divine eye power scanned all around before giving a slight shake of his head.
"What happened?" Luo Mingzi finally asked.
Still shaken and uncertain, Li Yan hurriedly explained what he had experienced. With the Three Powers Demon-Suppressing Coins shielding him, ordinary soul-bewitching arts were completely useless against him. Besides, in a place like this, he could not afford to conceal the slightest detail.
"Could this... be an awakening of his mental faculty?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the elderly Daoist beside them looked over in astonishment.
A young Daoist also said in surprise, "How could that be? Only by building a three-story tower can one awaken a second spiritual root, but this young lay practitioner hasn't even begun tower building, has he?"
Luo Mingzi looked toward Li Yan's left palm, lost in thought. "Perhaps it is the effect of the nether warrant. What you experienced was not the mental faculty, but spirit communion!"
"Spirit communion?"
It was the first time Li Yan had ever heard the phrase.
Luo Mingzi nodded. "Indeed, spirit communion. The world's terrestrial gods, spirits, demons... all beings of that sort possess a true physical form. The folk tales of them taking on human shape are mere myths. After all, the flesh is a vessel; to truly transform one's physical body is to transcend the rules of the mortal world. Therefore, when communicating with mortals, they mostly project divine intent to manifest as a person. Those with awakened mental faculties might occasionally dream of an alien entity in human guise and converse with it. Others are bewitched by demonic seduction, believing they have indulged in romance with a beauty, only to have their primal yang drained and wake up lying in an open grave..."
He continued, "This is likely the working of the nether warrant. In the future, once you have built your tower observatory, you might try to master it. Communicating with ghosts and gods is a formidable ability."
The young Daoist beside them said with envy, "Indeed. Take treasure seeking, for instance. A treasure stalker must spend years studying the trade, but if you could strike a bargain with ghosts and gods, they might just tell you the secrets outright. To think a nether warrant possessed such power... Why didn't I have such a stroke of fortune?"
"Nonsense!" Luo Mingzi scolded. "Our sect decrees that we must never interfere in the affairs of the Netherworld Bureau. Having entered the Taixuan Orthodox Sect, you will never obtain a nether warrant. By the same token, those who hold a nether warrant cannot summon register soldiers or heavenly generals. Each path has its own strengths; do not harbor greed."
Turning back to Li Yan, he added, "If my guess is correct, the mountain god of these mass graves saw your nether warrant and reached out to you for help. Try to commune with it once more."
Li Yan was speechless. "This junior wouldn't even know how..."
The young Daoist, named Gu Chenzi, rolled his eyes thoughtfully and suggested, "You must have done something unintentionally. Think back carefully."
Pondering, Li Yan retraced his earlier actions. "I didn't do anything special. I just followed you all inside and glanced at that shrine..."
The moment his gaze fell toward the shrine, his vision blurred again.
The same scene reappeared before his eyes:
The old man sat inside the earthen pit, facing him, his mouth opening and closing...
Steeling his mind this time, Li Yan observed closely.
The old man was indeed not human. Branches and leaves sprouted from his tree-bark garment, moss covered his beard, and his skin had a bizarre texture, resembling water-soaked meat—pale, tender, yet dreary and gray.
His lower body, in particular, was like the trunk of a great tree, with fleshy cords sinking into the surrounding earth like thick roots.
*Good grief, this is the mountain god?*
Amid his astonishment, Li Yan quickly noticed an abnormality.
The hat on the old man's head looked completely out of place. No matter how one looked at it, it resembled a tattered cloth pouch piled atop his skull, greasy and rank with a foul stench.
*So it's that thing!*
Li Yan recalled the intelligence gathered earlier.
Every heavenly spirit earthly treasure was bound to have an object that countered it.
The item that suppressed this Mountain Tai Sui was none other than the Beggars' Gang's ancestral cloth pouch. It was precisely because Master Shan possessed this artifact that he had lingered in the mass graves, waiting to harvest the treasure.
As his concentration scattered, the vision before him faded. Li Yan said in a low, heavy voice, "We need to hurry. They've already got their hands on it..."
With that, he described the sight he had just witnessed.
"This is an omen," the elderly Daoist mused thoughtfully. "A god hidden within a cavern is termed 'concealed,' corresponding to the Shenzang acupoint. The mountain god is trying to tell us the location of its true body."
The young Daoist Gu Chenzi asked in bewilderment, "The Shenzang acupoint is an acupoint on the human body. What does it have to do with a heavenly spirit earthly treasure?"
The elderly Daoist cast him a sharp glance and berated, "I told you to study your texts, yet you still can't see it! *A Compilation of Meridian and Acupoint Studies* states: 'Shenzang lies two cun lateral to Zigong.' Zigong is also known as the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, and its orientation lies to the north!"
As he spoke, he drew a compass from his robes, examined it for a few moments, and pointed toward the opening of the fork on the right. "Over that way!"
Li Yan sniffed the air. "The scent leads down the left tunnel. Something's not right—it feels deliberate, like a trap. I almost fell for it."
Before he could finish speaking, another strange apparition rose before his eyes.
The cold-altar wandering master, pierced through with chains and draped in bloodstained mourning attire, materialized once more, pointing toward the south.
Li Yan muttered helplessly, "Can't you take turns..."
Seeing Luo Mingzi glance over, he shook his head. "The cold-altar wandering master has appeared again."
Luo Mingzi said thoughtfully, "It must be stirred by the nether warrant. In the future, when you search for cold altars, you might use this method to summon it to guide your way. Let us go, and stay alert."
With that, he led the group into the right-hand cavern.
Knowing their enemies had already subdued the mountain god, everyone quickened their pace to forestall any disaster.
Sure enough, after advancing about a hundred paces, the Daoist adept in divine ear power twitched his ears and whispered, "Ambush with crossbows ahead. About a dozen men."
Every nerve taut with vigilance, the group crept forward.
Soon, a sharp bend appeared, blocking their line of sight.
At a signal from Luo Mingzi, the Daoist gifted with divine eye power stepped forward, retrieved two black pellets from his waist, ignited them, and flicked his wrist, bouncing them around the corner into the right corridor.
*Pfft, pfft, pfft!*
The black pellets were not explosives. Instead, they burned furiously, billowing dense, choking smoke while flashing with a blinding white radiance.
Li Yan squeezed his eyes shut, clicking his tongue in marvel.
Wang Daoxuan had once told him that during the Qin and Han dynasties, Fangxian Dao had flourished as practitioners sought immortality through external alchemy. Though centuries of trials proved it a dead end, the pursuit had yielded numerous peculiar techniques—such as the 'red-haired, red-faced figures' used to guard tombs, or various unusual substances discovered by accident during alchemy.
These flash-grenade-like pellets clearly contained a large amount of white phosphorus. It was quite fascinating that the Enforcement Hall could adapt them for practical combat.
Plunged into darkness just moments before, the ambushers were instantly blinded. Choked by the acrid smoke and thrown into panic, they began firing their bows and crossbows in frenzied disarray.
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
Arrows rained down like hail, striking the stone walls relentlessly. Some hit with tremendous force, embedding deep into fissures in the rock, their fletchings quivering with a low hum.
Yet no matter how swift the archers were, there was always an interval between volleys.
The moment the first wave of arrows ceased, Luo Mingzi and two other Daoists lunged out, swords in hand.
All three were masters of body divine power. While their sensory perception could not match that of the mouth, eyes, ears, or nose arts, their mastery over their own physical forms was terrifyingly precise, and each was an expert in hidden jin.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
The three sprang forward, rebounding off the cavern walls and weaving left and right. Their figures moved swift as thunderclaps, cloaked within the blinding glare and thick smoke, crashing into the enemy ranks in the span of a single breath.
Their coordination was seamless.
Sword light flashed as they slashed left and struck right, their Daoist swordplay both ethereal and lethal. Screams of agony and the sound of sharp steel cleaving flesh echoed in rapid succession.
"Tough marks, run—"
*Squelch!*
The last ambusher had barely turned to flee before Luo Mingzi ran a sword through his throat.
In just a few breaths, every ambusher lay dead.
Only then did Li Yan and the others follow them in.
Just as the earlier captive had stated, the two factions that had infiltrated the mass graves had joined forces. Among the ambushers were fierce-looking jianghu ruffians as well as ragged, vicious beggars. Some among them were adept in hidden jin, yet against the methods of the Enforcement Hall, they had stood no chance.
Looking at Luo Mingzi, a thought stirred in Li Yan's mind.
Accumulated over thousands of years, the Taixuan Orthodox Sect's Enforcement Hall truly possessed quite an array of fine treasures. The yarrow stalks used for concealment arts and these blinding black pellets might seem small, but wielded properly, they could turn the tide of battle. It seemed he would have to find a way to acquire a few before leaving.
Setting his private thoughts aside, the party pressed on.
The deeper they ventured, the more bizarre the cavern's atmosphere grew.
Frigid air seeped from every surface, veiled in yin mist. A layer of white frost coated the ground, bearing dense footprints though no living soul was in sight.
Even with the Three Powers Demon-Suppressing Coins shielding him, Li Yan could smell cloying clusters of rotting yin-fiend aura all around. It felt as though countless unseen eyes were glaring at them from the shadows, and he constantly felt a cold draft blowing against the back of his neck.
Luo Mingzi was right. Because it was midday on the Double Ninth Festival, all the lonely souls and wild ghosts across the mass graves had taken refuge underground.
Had the Commandant Bureau's men followed them down, an accidental clash or possession would have turned their formidable martial prowess into a dreadful liability.
With so many yin spirits gathered here, even the Daoists had no desire to provoke them. Each invoked concealment arts as they navigated through the freezing cavern.
Fortunately, the stretch teeming with spirits was not long. Soon, they reached another fork in the path. The two tunnels ahead appeared virtually identical, and ancient stone incense burners and sacrificial altars lined the rock walls on both sides.
"Another maze?" the lively young Daoist asked with a furrowed brow.
The elderly Daoist said in a deep voice, "Both are real!"
As he spoke, he pointed to the space between the two tunnels.
Li Yan looked up. Protruding between the entrances was an exceptionally smooth, rounded boulder that appeared entirely natural. What made it even more remarkable was the faint circulation of subterranean meridian astral fiend energy pulsing within it.
"This is the subterranean meridian spiritual aperture of the mass graves," the elderly Daoist explained. "This place can be viewed as the central hub of Zigong. Shenzang lies two cun lateral to Zigong, which means both apertures are authentic."
Li Yan formed a hand seal and took a sniff, nodding in agreement. "There is a scent coming from both sides."
Luo Mingzi mused, "We may not understand the ways of treasure stalkers, but since there are two Shenzang acupoints, they likely had to act on both sides simultaneously to suppress the mountain god. We split our forces. Gu Chenzi, Gu Yuanzi, you two head left with Senior Martial Brother Luo Fengzi. The rest follow me to the right."
Li Yan realized that Luo Fengzi was the experienced elder Daoist. Each subgroup had combatants proficient in body divine power alongside scouts skilled in reconnaissance. Although dividing forces in unfamiliar territory was ordinarily a grave taboo, they clearly had no other choice. This deployment was the most sensible.
Without hesitation, the two teams split and entered their respective tunnels.
Sure enough, after proceeding only a short distance, the passage opened up into a natural stone chamber. It was not large, lit by burning torches that laid the entire scene bare.
The ones occupying this cavern were members of the Westward Beggars' Gang.
Following the imperial court's encirclement, their ranks had suffered heavy casualties. The ordinary disciples had all fled, leaving only the vicious beggars loyal to Master Shan. Compounded by earlier losses, fewer than four vicious beggars remained inside the cave. Every one of them was robust and burly, brandishing sharp blades as they glared murderously at the intruders.
At the far end of the chamber, Master Shan sat cross-legged on the ground.
The floor beneath him differed entirely from the surrounding rock; it was a massive, writhing slab of flesh. Its surface had partially petrified, yet whenever it squirmed, pale flesh showed between the cracks, ringed by thick patches of green moss.
Master Shan's enormous, fleshy frame was planted firmly on top of it, and beneath his buttocks lay the Beggars' Gang's greasy, blackened ancestral cloth pouch.
*Trill—*
Numerous venomous snakes slithered throughout the cavern. The moment the Daoists appeared, several vicious beggars blew on their snake whistles and hurled throwing daggers from their waists.
This time, Li Yan's group was caught off guard.
The cavern possessed an uncanny property that isolated scents and auras; it was only upon stepping into the chamber that they had detected the snakes and beggars. Just as they had observed before, wherever a heavenly spirit earthly treasure lay, an innate energetic disposition naturally formed around it, sealing away its aura.
Even so, the group reacted swiftly.
Luo Mingzi and the other Daoist bounded forward, shielding Li Yan and his companion behind them.
Both were masters of body divine power with consummate swordsmanship. While Li Yan could not pinpoint the exact lineage of their arts, the Taixuan Orthodox Sect employed Daoist swordplay that emphasized versatility in every strike, fluidity in motion, and seamless harmony between firmness and yielding—like the movement of a soaring dragon whose head and tail responded to each other in unison.
Sweeping left and parrying right, their blades drew subtle circles in the air, deflecting every flying dagger with ease.
Meanwhile, the Daoist beside Li Yan grasped the Shangxuan Bamboo Emissary Talisman at his waist, formed a hand seal, and chanted the Six Jia Secret Incantation: *"Descend, warriors, fight, heroes, all line up and advance!"*
In such a situation, the Baopu Mountain-Ascending Technique was undoubtedly ideal.
Yet the four vicious beggars opposite them strained with all their might, dancing wildly, blowing their snake flutes, and scattering black powder from their robes.
The two sides fell into a deadlock, and the serpents darted back and forth, growing increasingly agitated.
Li Yan drew his Guanshan blade at once. Focusing his mind in spirit preservation, the Three Powers demon-suppressing saber tassel trembled faintly, radiating a chilling intent to kill.
This single action shattered the balance completely.
The vipers instantly wheeled around and surged toward the vicious beggars.
"Argh!"
Two of them were bitten on the spot, shrieking as they tore frantically at the venomous snakes clinging to their bodies.
Just then, Master Shan's eyes snapped open. His hands formed a lotus mudra, his chest and abdomen swelled, and he roared, "Begone!"
The roar reverberated through the cavern like a crack of thunder.
Not only did the snakes scatter in terror, but Li Yan and the others also felt their heads buzz, their vision swimming as they nearly lost their footing.
"The Maitreya Great Brahma Sound!"
Luo Mingzi swayed for an instant before regaining his balance, his eyes filled with vigilance. "So you belong to the Maitreya Sect."
Master Shan rose slowly to his feet, his mounds of fat trembling. A cold glint flashed in his beady eyes as he looked at his subordinates dying of snake venom, and he sneered, "A bunch of useless bastards!"
As he spoke, he unhurriedly lifted a wolf-tooth club from his side.
Most wolf-tooth clubs consisted of a wooden shaft studded with iron spikes, but the weapon in his hands was forged entirely of solid iron, pitch-black and stained with dark, dried blood.
One glance was enough to tell it was terribly heavy.
Yet in the hands of this mountain of flesh, it seemed no heavier than a twig held by a child.
Li Yan was also taken aback. He had not expected this beggar chief of the westward faction to be a covert Maitreya sectarian who had kept his identity hidden for so many years—a truly patient schemer.
The beggar chief wasted no words. Swinging the wolf-tooth club in a wide arc, he swept it upward from below.
*Crash!*
A boulder ahead shattered instantly, sending a hail of jagged rocks shrieking through the air toward them.
The stones flew with tremendous force. Trying to parry them with swords would not only fail to stop them, but would also ruin the blades. Luo Mingzi and the Daoist beside him chose instead to deflect them with punches and kicks.
Both were at the pinnacle of hidden jin, their movements packed with startling power. Dull thuds echoed as the flying stones were smashed to pieces.
Still, they could not cover every angle.
A fist-sized rock slipped past their flanks.
The Daoist who had been channeling the Baopu Mountain-Ascending Technique could not dodge in time. The stone struck his head squarely, knocking him unconscious without even a groan.
Thanks to his sharp senses, Li Yan dodged the debris with a swift sidestep. Scooping up a fallen dagger from the ground, he snapped his arm forward and hurled it.
This throw was laced with hidden jin, striking with ferocious momentum.
Given his massive bulk, Master Shan could not possibly evade it.
*Thunk!*
The flying dagger plunged straight into his belly.
Yet an astonishing sight unfolded before everyone's eyes.
The layers of fat across his torso rippled, and the blade sank only halfway before coming to a complete halt.
What was more, only a tiny wisp of blood seeped out.
The mountain-like beggar chief gave a sinister grin, appearing entirely devoid of pain...
Chapter 89