The Night Fight at the Gu Altar and the First Appearance of the Yin Sha
The gong struck three times over the Miao village at midnight. The crisp sound, shrouded in damp mist, took on a rather eerie quality. Ah Zhu walked in front, carrying a bamboo lantern. The candlelight within was swaying in the wind, stretching the shadows of the group, sometimes long, sometimes short, across the bluestone pavement outside the Gu altar.
The Gu altar was built halfway up the hillside behind the Miao village. Constructed entirely of dark blue rock, the altar was covered in twisted Miao talismans, from the cracks of which oozed dark red mucus, like congealed blood. Seven mahogany pillars stood atop the altar, each tied with a bundle of dried mugwort. The wind rustled the mugwort, creating a faint sound similar to a child's cry.
"We're here. The elders should be waiting under the old banyan tree on the west side of the altar." Ah Zhu lowered her voice and raised the lantern higher, illuminating the half-open stone door at the altar's entrance. A massive three-legged crow was carved into the stone door. Its eyes were dotted with cinnabar, and in the candlelight, they appeared to be moving. She fished a brass key from her sleeve. The handle was engraved with the same markings as the stone door's crow. Just as she was about to insert it into the keyhole, Lin Shen suddenly stopped her hand.
"Wait," Lin Shen said softly, his eyes fixed on the ground below the stone gate, "Look there."
Everyone followed his gaze and saw tiny red insects wriggling in the cracks of the bluestone. Their bodies were transparent, save for their dark red heads, and they left a faint silver trail wherever they crawled. Ah Zhu's face suddenly changed as she quickly wrote on the linen cloth, "It's the 'Bloodline Gu'! If you step on it, it will burrow into your heart through the blood vessels, transforming you into a Gu pupa in half an hour!"
Li Ye gripped the dagger tightly and was about to take a step to clean it up when Ah Zhu hurriedly grabbed him and pulled out a cloth bag from her bosom. Inside was dried dogwood leaves. She distributed the leaves to everyone and gestured for them to hold them in their hands. "The bloodline Gu is afraid of the smell of dogwood. Hold on tight and don't drop it."
Everyone followed the instructions and held the dogwood leaves tightly. Sure enough, the red insects, sensing the scent, retreated into the cracks in the stone slabs, never daring to show their heads again. Ah Zhu then used the copper key to open the stone door. The hinges creaked as they turned, a sound that was particularly piercing in the quiet night.
Behind the stone gate was a descending staircase. Embedded in the walls on either side of the steps were animal-head oil lamps. The oil, made from an unknown source, emitted a sweet, cloying aroma when burned. Ah Zhu warned, "Don't breathe deeply! This is 'emotional oil.' Excessive use can cause hallucinations." She then pulled a small piece of ginger from her sleeve and offered it to everyone to hold under their tongues. The pungent flavor instantly dissipated the sweet aroma.
After walking up about twenty stone steps, the front suddenly opened up, revealing a circular stone chamber. In the center stood a half-man-high Gu furnace, emitting pale green smoke. The smoke gathered in the air, forming distorted human figures that, upon closer inspection, resembled the missing villagers of Qingwu Town. The furnace itself was engraved with dense patterns of Gu insects, each with eyes inlaid with black beads that gleamed faintly in the oil lamplight.
"The clan leader should be behind the Gu furnace." Ah Zhu's voice was a little tense. She clenched the copper bell in her hand, and the silver bell on the silver hairpin swayed gently, making a small sound. "The elders said that there is a secret door behind the Gu furnace that leads to the seal of the source of Guixu. We need to find a way to get the 'Gu-Suppressing Talisman' on the Gu furnace. Without it, the secret door cannot be opened."
Lin Shen cradled the black wooden box in his arms. The warmth of the Guixu water flowed through his veins, allowing him to clearly sense the sinister aura emanating from behind the Gu furnace—even stronger than in Qingwu Town, like countless pairs of cold eyes staring at him. Just as he was about to take a step, a sudden noise erupted from the corner of the stone chamber. Then, four Gu Masters dressed in black Miao clothing emerged from the shadows. Each held a bamboo tube wrapped in red string, and faint traces of Gu worms could be seen wriggling around the tube's opening.
"It's you, after all." An old voice boomed from behind the Gu furnace. The clan leader emerged, leaning on a dragon-headed cane. He wore a dark red Miao costume embroidered with golden Gu insect patterns. His face was intricately tattooed with Miao characters. His eyes, cloudy yet fierce, shone. "Azhu, you think you can stop me by bringing outsiders? How naive!"
Ah Zhu held up the sackcloth in front of the clan leader. It read, "Opening the source of Guixu will unleash evil spirits. Both the Miao village and Qingwu Town will become death traps! You can't do this!"
The clan leader sneered and paused his cane on the ground. The ground in the stone chamber suddenly shook, and the green smoke from the Gu furnace grew thicker. The gathered figures began to scream miserably, "Death place? As long as I can obtain the Yang energy from the source of Guixu, I will be able to achieve immortality, and the people of the Miao village will also be able to live forever with me! As for those villagers, they are nothing more than sacrifices!"
As soon as the words fell, the four Gu Masters suddenly raised their bamboo tubes, and red threads shot through the air in four arcs, shooting towards Lin Shen and the others. Ah Zhu hurriedly rang the copper bell, and a crisp ringing sound rang out. The red threads paused in mid-air, and the Gu worms inside began to struggle frantically. "Quick! The Gu-suppressing Talisman is in the groove on the left side of the Gu Furnace!" she shouted, pulling out a handful of copper needles from her sleeve and throwing them at the Gu Masters.
Lin Shen seized the opportunity to rush toward the Gu furnace. The Red Sun Gu vibrated violently within the black wooden box, as if responding to the Yin Sha within. Just as he was about to reach for the groove, the clan leader suddenly swung his staff. A dark red light shot from the tip, striking directly at his back. Li Ye, quick-witted and quick-handed, pushed Lin Shen aside and thrust his dagger toward the red light. With a ding, the dagger flew out of his hand, sending Li Ye stumbling back three steps, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.
"You're in the way." A hint of murderous intent flashed in the clan leader's eyes, and he raised his cane again. At this moment, there was a sudden commotion at the entrance of the stone chamber. The first and second elders rushed in with a dozen clansmen wearing green Miao clothing. Each of them held a peach wood sword in their hands, and the blade was coated with cinnabar. "Clan leader, you are stubborn and stubborn. We can't let you do this anymore!"
The clan leader's expression instantly turned ferocious upon seeing the Great Elder and the others. "How dare you betray me!" He slammed the Gu furnace, and the green smoke from the furnace suddenly surged, gathering into the shadow of a giant Gu insect, which pounced towards the Great Elder and the others. Wherever the shadow passed, the animal-headed oil lamps on the stone walls exploded, and the stone chamber was immediately plunged into chaos.
Lin Shen seized the opportunity to crawl over to the Gu furnace and reached into the left groove. His fingertips touched a cool piece of talisman—the Gu-suppressing talisman. Just as he was about to remove it, the Gu furnace suddenly vibrated violently. The black beads on the furnace's body exploded, and countless black Gu worms crawled out, crawling towards his arm.
"Lin Shen! Use the water of Guixu!" Ah Zhu's voice came from the chaos. She was being entangled by two Gu masters. The copper bell was knocked to the ground and a silver hairpin was broken.
Lin Shen immediately bit his fingertip and dripped his blood, now stained with Guixu water, onto the insect. The moment the blood touched the insect, it sizzled and instantly transformed into a pool of black water. He seized the opportunity to remove the Gu-suppressing talisman and ran towards Ah Zhu. Just as he was about to help her, a loud noise erupted from behind the Gu furnace. The secret door suddenly opened, and a strong, sinister aura gushed out, instantly enveloping the entire stone chamber.
"Oh no! The seal on the source of Guixu has loosened!" The elder's voice was filled with fear. The peach wood sword in his hand began to tremble violently, and the cinnabar on the sword began to peel off. "The evil spirit has emerged. If we don't find a solution, the whole Miao village will be finished!"
Lin Shen clutched the Gu-Suppressing Talisman, watching the Yin Sha surging from the secret door. He suddenly remembered what Chen Ba had said—the Red Sun Gu could restrain the Yin Sha, and the Guixu Water could strengthen the seal. He took a deep breath and opened the black wooden box. The Red Sun Gu flew out, transforming into a streak of red light and flying toward the secret door. Simultaneously, he dripped the Guixu Water down the Gu-Suppressing Talisman. The talisman instantly glowed golden and flew toward the secret door, intertwining with the Red Sun Gu's red light to form a barrier, temporarily blocking the spread of the Yin Sha.
The clan leader's eyes were red with anger when he saw this scene: "I have worked hard to build this for so long, I will never let you destroy it!" He suddenly took out a black pottery jar from his arms, opened the jar, and a snow-white poisonous insect flew out. The poisonous insect circled in the air and flew towards the Chiyang Gu - it was the heart-eating poisonous insect he had refined!
The Heart-Eating Gu was incredibly fast, instantly reaching the Red Sun Gu. The two insects engaged in a mid-air battle. The red and white lights continuously collided, causing the Yin Sha within the stone chamber to fluctuate, and cracks appeared in the barrier. Lin Shen knew this wasn't a solution; he needed to strengthen the seal as soon as possible. However, the Heart-Eating Gu was entangled with the Red Sun Gu, preventing him from even approaching the secret door.
At that moment, Ah Zhu suddenly picked up a copper bell from the ground and shook it with all her might. The crisp ringing pierced through the chaotic noise, causing the Heart Devouring Gu to pause. The Red Sun Gu seized the opportunity to emit a red beam, striking the Heart Devouring Gu's wings. With a sharp hiss, the Heart Devouring Gu flew towards the clan leader.
The clan leader hadn't anticipated the Heart-Eating Gu's backlash, and hurriedly used his crutch to block it. However, the Gu had already penetrated his sleeves, and he let out a shrill scream, writhing on the ground. Everyone seized the opportunity to gather around him, and the Great Elder pressed a peach wood sword against the clan leader's neck. "Now, it's time to end this."
Lin Shen, holding the Gu-suppressing Talisman, quickly walked to the secret door. The Red Sun Gu also flew over and landed on his shoulder. He placed the Gu-suppressing Talisman on the secret door's seal and sprinkled Guixu Water on the talisman paper. The golden light surged again, and the Yin Sha within the secret door was gradually suppressed, eventually retreating, and the secret door slowly closed.
The green smoke in the stone chamber gradually dissipated, and the distorted figures vanished with it. Everyone looked at the dying patriarch on the ground, then at the closed secret door, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ah Zhu walked over to Lin Shen, picked up the linen cloth on the ground, and wrote: "We succeeded. The seal of the source of Guixu has been reinforced. The Miao village and Qingwu Town are safe."
Lin Shen looked at the Red Sun Gu on his shoulder, then touched the black wooden box in his arms, thinking to himself, "Chen Ba, did you see this? We didn't let you down."
At this moment, the floor of the stone chamber suddenly shook again, and a dark aura emanated from the seal of the secret door—even more intense and colder than the previous Yin Sha. The Great Elder's expression suddenly changed. Pointing at the aura, he said, "This isn't the Yin Sha from the source of Guixu. It's... something deeper! It seems we've opened a door we shouldn't have."
Everyone's eyes were focused on the seal of the secret door, and a sense of foreboding rose in their hearts. The night was still dark, and although the crisis in the Miao village was temporarily resolved, a more terrifying danger had just begun.
The next plot could revolve around the "unknown aura seeping from the secret door," with the group tracking down the aura's source and discovering a deeper secret beneath the source of Guixu. Do you need me to continue writing this, or would you like to adjust the details of this plot first?
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