Chapter 103
The abandoned formation site in the back mountain is a huge open space.
The magical thing is that the grass and trees around the back are growing extremely lush, but there is nothing on this open space, it is bare as if it has been burned by a fire.
Chi Bai looked at the mud stains that were obviously darker than those in other areas, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he seemed to have guessed something in his heart. He bent down, picked up a little mud with his fingers, put it under his nose and sniffed hard.
Just this one move almost sent him away.
Chi Bai retched twice and quickly brushed off the remaining mud on his fingers, revealing a look of disgust on his face: "Fuck, it smells like blood. This floor is almost soaked in blood, right?"
Ah Qiu was speechless: "You can guess it, and you even went to smell it."
Chi Bai: "Then I just want to confirm it."
Who knew the smell would be so strong.
Rong Jing listened to their conversation with perked ears, but his gaze fell on the marks on the clearing. Besides the thick blood, strange lines could be faintly seen on the charred ground. Rong Jing walked along the lines and traced them again on the palm of his hand, confirming that these marks were the remains of the sacrificial formation.
"Where are the little devils?"
"Here." Si Liu snapped his fingers, and several weak black shadows floated over cautiously from the corner, staring at Rong Jing and others with eyes full of fear.
It can be seen that they are very afraid of Si Liu. Even though they were summoned by Si Liu, they still maintain the principle of staying as far away from Si Liu as possible.
Rong Jing waved at them, and the little ghosts looked at each other. They all felt that the handsome man in front of them was much gentler than the handsome evil ghost, so they floated in front of each other and stood side by side obediently.
Rong Jing looked at their appearance and thought they looked stupid and didn't look like evil spirits, so he spoke in a gentler voice: "Hello, I just wanted to ask you a few questions. Don't be afraid."
"What do you want to ask?" one of the little ghosts asked in a low voice.
"Do you know the people who usually live here?"
People who live here?
The little ghost stared blankly at Rong Jing. Its 'clever' eyes made Rong Jing think she had found the wrong ghost, but it suddenly spoke: "You haven't seen any people, but there are ugly monsters."
Rong Jing: “…”
Chi Bai: “…”
Aqiu: “…”
Chi Bai gave the little ghost a thumbs up: "Little ghost who loves to tell the truth, I like him."
Aqiu was speechless.
Rong Jing nodded to the little ghost: "I'm talking about that ugly thing."
The little ghost rolled his eyes and looked at his friends. Then, unexpectedly, he said, "I can tell you something, but can you let us leave here? That's our exchange condition."
They are earthbound spirits, and their souls are trapped in the back mountain after death. Without the help of Taoist priests, they will have to stay in this place for the rest of their lives.
Of course, before that ugly thing came here, they lived quite happily here. After all, the scenery here is beautiful and there is the atmosphere they like.
These gentle breaths come from the Taoist temple on the mountain.
But when the ugly thing came, everything changed.
The living creatures here vanished into thin air, and every day was filled with a foul, disgusting odor, and occasionally, heart-wrenching screams would echo throughout the entire area. If they hadn't hidden far away, by the time Rong Jing and his party found them, their minds would probably have been contaminated by the aura here and turned into evil spirits.
Where else can you find such clear and innocent eyes?
"Senior Si, what a joke! These kids are so smart, how can they be so stupid?" Chi Bai grumbled to Aqiu, "They even know how to exchange conditions."
Aqiu nodded. He also felt that Senior Si was deceived by the appearance of these little kids.
But that's not the point.
Rong Jing nodded without even thinking, "Of course I can let you go. Whether you want to be reborn or become a wandering soul is up to you."
Anyway, this is very simple for them.
When the little ghosts heard Rong Jing's affirmative reply, their eyes lit up and they almost couldn't wait to speak: "What do you want to know? As long as we know, we will tell you."
Rong Jing: "Let's start from the moment you discovered his existence."
"Actually, he hasn't been here very long, and he doesn't stay here very often," the little ghost said. "But every time he shows up, he brings a group of people with him. They're like puppets, walking in step by step at the command of that ugly thing."
That place is the center of the sacrificial formation.
Rong Jing nodded: "Go on."
"Every time the formation is activated, the weather here changes dramatically. We don't dare get close, for fear that the ugly thing will capture us or accidentally get sucked in." The little ghost said, touching his nose again and whispering, "But I know he must know of our existence. It's just that we are as weak as ants, so he looks down on us and ignores us."
"Although I didn't see the true appearance of the formation being activated, once it ended, the smell of blood here became very strong and particularly pungent."
"By the way, there was one time when the people the ugly thing had captured seemed quite formidable, and they had a fight."
Is the person they caught quite powerful?
Rong Jing and the others looked at each other, and the identities of two people popped up in their minds.
Chi Bai interrupted, "Are those two people a man and a woman, where the woman looks very young and beautiful, and the man is an old man, only a little over one meter tall?"
The little ghost's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes, that's them, they fought very fiercely."
"Won't the fierce fight be seen by other people in the Taoist temple?" Aqiu asked doubtfully.
"There are traces of other formations here," Rong Jing replied, pointing to the ground. "This old ancestor wouldn't be so foolish. The back mountain must have used some kind of formation to conceal everything."
"Yes, it's the same as usual. There is always a formation here, and no one else can get in." The little ghost nodded firmly.
"But we didn't come here with any formations this time." A flash of light flashed through Ah Qiu's mind, and he instantly realized that something was amiss. At the same moment, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Chi Bai's back. His relaxed expression suddenly dropped, and his gaze darkened as he scanned the surroundings.
Could it be that he deliberately set a trap for them to fall into?
Rong Jing, who guessed Chi Bai's thoughts, hesitated and said, "I think there might be other reasons."
He looked around and explained, "Senior Si Liu said he's no longer here. So, rather than trying to lure us in, it's more like he doesn't want this place anymore."
I don't need it anymore, so there's no need to keep the formation.
If this speculation is correct, then the disappearance of the people in Taozi County... Rong Jing also had some ideas.
If you want to confirm whether this idea can become a reality, just ask these little kids.
Then, Rong Jing opened his mouth and asked, "When was the last time you saw that ugly thing bringing people here? How many people did he bring?"
"About a week ago. We didn't count the number of people they brought, but there were probably about a dozen, and they all seemed to be Taoist priests."
A dozen Taoist priests.
When he heard these key words, Rong Jing knew that his guess was confirmed.
Turning to face Chi Bai and the other man, the latter murmured, "So, the old man's last sacrifice was to those Taoists at Taozi Temple?"
Rong Jing: "It seems so."
Aqiu took a deep breath and looked down to see that a thin layer of goose bumps had appeared on his exposed arms.
I thought to myself, this old guy is really cruel.
Taoziguan was built by him, but he didn't expect that in the end, he would be the one to kill this group of people with his own hands.
But on closer inspection, the old man himself wasn't a good person either. Perhaps he had harbored such malicious intentions when he first established Taozi Temple. And the Taoist priests who were sacrificed were all bad in their own ways. They deserved their own death at the hands of the old man.
Even though that old guy sacrificed so many people, no one knows what his current strength is.
"Fortunately, the three leaders of Taoziguan died outside."
These three are also very powerful. It would be a huge loss if they were sacrificed!
Aqiu's words were nodded in agreement by others.
With the Taozi Taoists' whereabouts now confirmed and the old man already gone, it was pointless for Rong Jing and his group to remain. Furthermore, Rong Jing suspected that the old man had most likely gone to Nanling, so they should be heading towards Nanling.
"Shall I send you to reincarnate first?" Rong Jing asked the little ghosts.
The little ghosts nodded obediently and got ready.
Dozens of minutes later, the little ghosts went on the road to life, and Rong Jing and his party also left from the back mountain.
As they walked, Chi Bai asked, "Rong Jing, why do you think that old man went to Nanling instead of realizing something was wrong and running away?"
Rong Jing: "Because the Taoziguan that he used to support the situation is now completely deserted, this means he has already blocked his own escape route."
Rong Jing's gaze fell on the distance, which was the direction of Nanling.
He lowered his eyes and said softly, "I think that old man, with his abilities, must have known that his leaders were dying one after another. The more secrets about Taozi Temple were exposed, the smaller his survival space would be. And judging from previous events, he seemed to have a special liking for destroying the dragon veins... Even if he was forced into a desperate situation, he would not give up this obsession."
"Isn't it very dangerous under the dragon vein now?"
"If my guess is correct, it's indeed very dangerous. And although Uncle Feng Si and the others are still on the dragon vein's side, the area covered by the dragon vein is too large. Even if everyone in Xuantian Temple were present, they might not be able to catch the enemy in time."
He looked at Chi Bai and suggested, "You'd better get all those people from the special department back. They can't beat that old man. In fact, more than that, they are also an excellent tonic for the old man."
Having said this, Chi Bai's face had become as ugly as the bottom of a pot.
Although everyone had prepared for the possibility of not being able to return before the plan was drawn up and the troops split into two groups, some sacrifices were unnecessary. Just like his old man said, those members of the special unit were all young people... they couldn't be sacrificed.
"I'll contact them immediately. Please tell me what's going on over there and whether it's possible for us to go there."
Chi Bai didn't want those members to die, but he was not a coward who would run away.
A few minutes later, Rong Jing collected the tortoise and the copper coins and gave the ancestor's answer: "You can go, and the ancestor has pointed out several directions where we can find the 'god statue' first."
Chi Bai, Aqiu and Xue Cang's eyes lit up.
"Then don't delay, let's go."
…
At the foot of Jiangyang Mountain.
After receiving the call from their superiors, the members of the special departments of various states looked at each other in confusion.
"What do you mean, we don't need to look for it anymore? We've come all this way, and you're just asking us to go back like this. Isn't that a bit unreasonable?"
The person who spoke was a young man who looked to be in college. He pulled his hair and had an unhappy expression on his face, obviously very dissatisfied with the decision made by his superiors.
But the deputy leader of the team was very calm: "The above said that the ancestor of Taoziguan might be at the dragon vein right now. If we encounter him, we can't deal with him, and it's more likely that we will become a sacrifice to enhance his power. For our own safety, we should leave."
"The dragon vein is so long, how lucky are we to meet that old pervert?" The young man curled his lips, and was dismissive of the possibility raised by the deputy minister. But no matter how unhappy he was, he still had to listen to the words of his superiors. He could only hold his breath and follow the big guy, walking towards the outside of the dragon vein.
After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at a fork in the road. The young man was left at the rear and suddenly noticed that the person in front of him had disappeared.
He was stunned for a moment, then his expression suddenly changed and he shouted, "Brother Lin? Zhang Hai?"
"Hahaha! You really are scared, right?" A head suddenly popped out of the pit ahead. Zhang Hai smiled and waved at the young man. The smug look on his face made the young man's face turn black, and he immediately cursed, "Are you crazy? You scared me to death."
"I'm just not happy with you, so I just want to scare you."
"You scared me, and that made me even angrier."
"But you cursed." Zhang Hai climbed out of the pit, patted the young man's chest, and smiled. "Do you feel better now? The higher-ups made the decision for our safety. Please understand. They're under greater pressure than we are. After all, this... concerns the feng shui of the entire country."
After hearing this, the young man said nothing more.
Because he knew what Zhang Hai said made sense.
He curled his lips again and finally let out the anger: "Okay, I understand."
"It's okay as long as you understand." Zhang Hai clapped his hands at the people hiding at the other end. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a shadow with two heads put together on the bright stone wall. The shadow's movements were fierce and looked quite scary.
The corner of Zhang Hai's eye twitched, and he couldn't help laughing: "Come on, everyone, stop pretending, our little one has already been coaxed."
However, after he finished speaking, the shadow on the stone wall continued to sway as it pleased.
Zhang Hai's expression faltered slightly, his brow furrowed as he slowly retreated to his companion's side. At the same moment, the young man silently drew his peach wood sword. His fingers slowly tightened around the hilt, his brows darkening.
In this strange silence, there was a sudden loud bang, and the stone wall in front of them collapsed.
It was also at this moment that the shadow's true appearance was finally revealed.
The strange-looking creature, with two massive heads and a short stature, looked incredibly strange. Its clothing was torn, its exposed skin bulging and its veins throbbing, as if countless insects were crawling around inside. What caught both the young man and Zhang Hai's gaze was the remnant of clothing held in its clawed hands.
Black.
Their special departments in various states have special uniforms, and the color of the uniforms is black.
The young man stood there in a daze, his eyes completely consumed by the darkness. Zhang Hai gripped the Sanqing Bell, the tip resting against his palm. He seemed oblivious to the pain, letting the instrument pierce his palm. The smell of blood rose to his nose.
He asked word by word, "How did you treat my companion?"
The two-headed monster grinned.
Two heads that look exactly the same have the same smile on their faces, but one eye seems to be neither crying nor crying, and the other eye seems to be neither smiling nor laughing, and the expressions are particularly strange.
He slowly opened his mouth, and a hoarse voice with a foul breath came out: "Obviously."
His fingers loosened, and the black cloth in his hand was blown up by the wind.
In the blink of an eye, the two-headed monster disappeared on the spot!
Zhang Hai, however, did not breathe a sigh of relief at his disappearance. His body tensed without warning, a powerful and terrifying danger closing in. Before Zhang Hai could react, a massive red mark pressed down upon him. The mark was a vibrant crimson, like fresh blood, but the pattern depicted was strange and eerie. The aura emanating from it was terrifyingly powerful, and even had a terrifying attraction that tried to draw Zhang Hai in.
His heart trembled, and he swung the Three Purities Bell fiercely. The magical instrument emitted circles of golden light at this moment. When the light contacted the mark, an earth-shattering sound was emitted. But after this sound, the Three Purities Bell suddenly turned to ash and was blown away by the wind, while the red mark remained unchanged.
Zhang Qing's face turned extremely gloomy at this moment.
He thought that what the people above said was absolutely right. They really had no ability to resist the ancestors of Taoziguan.
Zhang Qing closed his eyes, swung out his magical weapon once more, and shouted to the stunned young man standing aside, "Go!"
The deafening scream echoed in his ears, and it seemed to carry a strong smell of blood. The young man suddenly came back to his senses from his daze. He bit his lip and stared at Zhang Qing who was trapped under the red mark for a second. He took a deep breath, rushed out and took out the communicator, shouting into it at the top of his voice: "We have found the ancestor of Taoziguan, he is here! He is in the area covered by the special department team of Zhuzhou!"
boom!
The moment the voice fell, the scarlet mark on his head trapped him tightly.
The young man paused and looked back at the two-headed monster in the distance.
As he stared at me intently, he suddenly curled his lips, as if mocking me, or perhaps talking to himself: "Sacrificing me to improve your abilities? That's impossible."
The talisman paper hidden in the fingertips was quickly and silently ignited, and at the same time, the young man's body was also ignited.
He grinned at the other person: "Sorry, goodbye."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
