The old Taoist priest stood by the iron chain bridge, chanting incantations—the Taoist mantra for calming the mind. He then said to Company Commander Li, "We need to send half the men across this iron chain bridge to scout ahead. I'll take twenty or thirty brothers and go first." Company Commander Li quickly replied, "Taoist priest, please be careful. Give us a signal once you've crossed."
The old Taoist priest gripped the iron chains tightly with his hands like vises, then pushed off with both feet, and hey! Like a flying man, he quickly ran along the chains. Good heavens, in just over ten seconds, he was in the middle of the iron chain bridge. This bridge was a hundred meters long; for most people, it would be an insurmountable chasm.
The remaining thirty-odd people gradually began to cross the bridge, but they moved slowly; after more than ten minutes, they had only crossed a small portion. By this time, the old Taoist priest had reached the other side. He searched the opposite bank carefully but found neither Yun Ba nor his belongings. However, he did find the remains of several other people, which greatly frightened him. He thought to himself, "This time, I'm afraid things are probably dire."
Just then, I heard several screams from the bridge. A few people lost their grip and fell off the bridge with a thud. This suspension bridge was really weird. It was so deep that you couldn't see the bottom. A chilling wind was blowing, making people sway from side to side like leaves in the wind. If you weren't careful and lost your balance, you would fall.
The old Taoist priest suppressed his unease and reached out to touch the strange patterns under the stone pillar. In an instant, some blurry images flashed through his mind, like a fierce battle that had once taken place here, with countless people struggling on the bridge, their souls locked by iron chains, suffering unbearable pain.
“These patterns may be the key to unlocking the seal on this bridge, or the key to releasing these wronged souls. We must be extremely careful,” the old Taoist priest said solemnly to the crowd.
Just then, the bridge began to shake violently, as if an invisible force was impacting it. Some of the dozen or so people lost their footing and fell to the ground, letting out terrified screams. The chains also began to rattle, the sound particularly jarring in this deathly silence, like the roars of wronged souls who sensed someone trying to disturb their prison.
"Not good, we may have triggered some kind of restriction!" the old Taoist priest shouted, trying to steady himself. His eyes were sharp as he stared at the patterns on the stone pillar, quickly thinking of a solution. Suddenly, he took out several talismans from his robes, chanted incantations, and then affixed them to the stone pillar. The moment the talismans touched the pillar, they flashed with golden light, temporarily suppressing the bridge's swaying.
"Everyone, rush over here quickly!" the old Taoist priest commanded. But before they could even take a step, a black mist surged from the deep valley below the bridge. Within the mist, hideous faces were vaguely visible, baring their fangs and claws as they lunged at the group. "This is an attack from vengeful spirits! Don't get touched by them!" the old Taoist priest warned, brandishing his peach wood sword and chanting a soul-driving incantation. The light from the peach wood sword sliced through the mist, but the number of vengeful spirits was too great, and they continued to surge forward.
In this critical moment, a strangely dressed Uyghur man stepped forward from the crowd. It was Bakam. He took out an ancient Uyghur book from his bag, quickly flipped through it, and shouted, "I've seen similar records in ancient books. Perhaps salt and glutinous rice can dispel these vengeful spirits." Hearing this, the crowd hurriedly searched their bags and threw the salt and glutinous rice they found at the spirits. Sure enough, when these things touched the spirits, they let out painful screams, and the black mist gradually dissipated.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the old Taoist priest returned to the stone pillar. He decided to take the risk and, following the vague clues he had gleaned from the patterns, began to move the chains on the pillar. Each movement was accompanied by a powerful surge of spiritual energy, and beads of sweat gradually covered his forehead, but his gaze grew increasingly resolute. As the last chain was put back in place, a beam of light shot out from the pillar, soaring into the sky. The previously eerie Soul-Locking Bridge suddenly fell silent, and the wronged souls seemed to be temporarily suppressed.
"Let's hurry over here, this is just a temporary calm." The old Taoist led the group towards the direction indicated by the firefly light, hoping it was the way out of this terrifying place.
The old Taoist priest and his group crossed the iron chain bridge haunted by vengeful spirits, only to find themselves facing a sheer cliff with no way forward. The old priest activated his senses and searched the area, but found nothing. He then said to the group, "Let's rest for a while and have some food."
As everyone was eating, they heard a rustling sound coming from inside the cliff. The old Taoist priest activated his senses to investigate and was suddenly startled, jumping up and shouting, "A large group of wild cats is coming!" Everyone looked at each other, not understanding what was going on. Wild cats? In a few breaths, a tidal wave of water rats emerged from their burrows. These water rats had red eyes, sharp teeth, and looked terrifying. Those who reacted quickly had already shot and killed several water rats; the "bang bang bang" of gunfire was particularly jarring in the confined space. "These aren't wild cats, they're rats!" someone shouted. Everyone opened fire, and soon hundreds of water rats lay dead on the ground.
Just as everyone caught their breath, a large swarm of water rats, led by several enormous ones the size of calves, charged forward. A burly man, wielding a large knife, rushed forward and, with swift strokes, felled several water rats. But the larger rats rammed into him, sending him flying. Others brandished wooden sticks, striking the water rats with every blow, but there were simply too many to kill. Someone threw several grenades, instantly sending flames soaring into the sky and blood flying everywhere. These loud explosions caused a large number of water rats to scatter wildly, biting anyone in sight. A young man was bitten on the neck, bleeding profusely, and soon died. The Uyghur man was surrounded by several water rats; he kicked desperately, and those nearby quickly shot and killed one of the rats, saving him.
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