Blade - Unbound

Squeak! Squeak!

The rat stayed in the distance, chittering without daring to come any closer. Yin Lightning rumbled softly. Though it had yet to fully manifest, all living creatures instinctively sensed its danger.

Catching the rat's scent, Li Yan slowly ended his cultivation and opened his eyes.

Only then did the rat dart over, scampering back and forth in front of him. After removing the strip of cloth from its leg and reading it, Li Yan picked up a charcoal pencil and wrote: Wait at ease for the enemy to tire themselves out. Act when the opportunity presents itself.

He tied the message back onto the rat's leg and sent it on its way.

Watching it vanish swiftly into the darkness, Li Yan couldn't help praising, "Brother Lu San's abilities really are incredibly useful!"

In truth, ever since Lu San had turned back at Wu Family Gully and taken sole responsibility for the entire affair, Li Yan had already wanted to invite him to join them.

There was no complicated reason. Although everyone in the jianghu constantly spoke of loyalty and brotherhood, men truly willing to shoulder responsibility had become increasingly rare.

Moreover, Lu San's abilities were genuinely extraordinary. He could understand the language of birds and beasts. Whenever they entered unfamiliar territory, he could always obtain a wealth of reliable intelligence from the local animals.

After all, animals didn't lie. In addition, Lu San possessed a beast-taming technique that allowed him to temporarily command nearby animals.

Fierce creatures like hawks could only be tamed one or two at a time. But rats and snakes, which could be found virtually everywhere, could be effortlessly brought under his command.

To be honest, even Li Yan found himself a little envious. However, the threshold for learning such a technique was extremely high. Opening one's hearing divine ability and understanding the speech of birds and beasts was merely the foundation. Its lineage also required a naturally pure heart and an affinity with nature before one could cultivate it.

Back then, the village guardian had been a rather simple-minded fellow. No one knew where he had learned it. Even Lu San himself had mastered it in a muddled, half-understood fashion.

Their journey to Huayin had been so smooth largely thanks to Lu San. After all, they had all become targets throughout the jianghu. They had obtained a total of twelve qualification tokens from Chang’an. After Shopkeeper Wan took two, he absolutely refused to accept any of the remaining ones, insisting Li Yan keep them all.

As an old hand of the jianghu, Shopkeeper Wan naturally saw through Li Yan's intentions. By killing Xiong Baodong, Li Yan had eliminated a future threat for all of them. Although the old man never spoke of it out loud, he remembered the favor in his heart, and fully intended to repay it. How could he possibly divide the spoils with Li Yan?

Of the ten remaining tokens, Li Yan kept one for himself and entrusted the other nine to Night Crier. That quiet fellow rarely spoke, yet he possessed an astonishingly extensive network within the mystic path.

What Li Yan hadn't expected was just how valuable those qualification slots truly were. The nine tokens had sold for over ninety thousand taels in total!

Night Crier kept ten thousand as his commission and converted the rest into banknotes before personally delivering them. The commotion had been enormous when the sale was completed, so much so that it inevitably attracted greedy eyes.

Naturally, their enemies had done their part to fan the flames. Although Xiong Baodong was dead and the Fire Bear Gang had already been plundered by numerous jianghu factions, likely to disappear entirely, some of Xiong Baodong's old followers still retained a measure of loyalty. Risking their lives, they managed to recover a portion of the gang's silver and joined forces with the Qiao Family of Fengyang to place a bounty.

Five thousand taels for Li Yan's head alone might make people in the jianghu think twice. But once another eighty or ninety thousand taels in wealth entered the equation, the pursuers would come wave after wave.

Li Yan shook his head slightly. "The Guanzhong Plains isn't a place we can stay much longer..."

He settled back into a cross-legged meditation posture. There was a reason he had chosen this place to cultivate. The Mount Hua Wine Unsealing ceremony was far from a simple matter.

After all, the money and spiritual materials had been buried when the Great Xuan Dynasty was first founded. They had then been nourished within the spiritual node of a blessed land for nearly a hundred years.

After such a long time, they were scarcely different from natural heavenly treasures. If the unsealing ceremony was conducted improperly, the astral qi and spiritual qi attached to those treasures would dissipate.

This year, the Beginning of Spring had fallen on the tenth day of the first lunar month. From that very day onward, the Daoists of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect atop Mount Hua had begun performing elaborate ritual ceremonies.

The rituals would continue uninterrupted for fourteen days. Only after the spiritual essence within had fully settled would the vault officially be opened.

In other words, there were still four days to go.

Ever since mastering the Northern Emperor Yin Mountain Rite, Li Yan had used the Great Luo Dharma Body to repair his soul. As a result, his cultivation speed had become faster and faster.

The timing was perfect. He intended to completely stabilize his cultivation at the first level before ascending Mount Hua, then construct the second floor when he was up there. Before reaching the third layer, all cultivators were still considered ordinary practitioners.

With the Luofeng Scripture at his disposal, his cultivation naturally progressed at astonishing speed. This abandoned Tang imperial mausoleum had originally been built by a regional prince during the late Tang Dynasty. By then, the empire was already in decline. The mausoleum itself had been constructed rather crudely.

After centuries of repeated tomb robbing, it had long since been emptied. However, its accumulated yin killing qi made it the perfect place for Li Yan's cultivation. The Northern Emperor Yin Mountain Method could only be cultivated at midnight. The bandits who had come to ambush him earlier had simply been unlucky enough to run headfirst into the gathering hordes of wandering ghosts.

During the daytime, Li Yan cultivated another technique, the Northern Emperor Yin Lightning Palm! The so-called Yin Lightning, was lightning that belonged to the Underworld.

Of course, that was merely a manner of speaking. It was heavy, gloomy, turbid, and lingered whenever summoned. It excelled at injuring the soul. Once struck by it, recovery was exceedingly difficult.

Yang Lightning, by contrast, was incomparably fierce. One strike would end everything. Like every other mystic art, the Northern Emperor Yin Lightning Palm served merely as the foundation for future lightning arts.

This technique resembled the Lightning Palm. When casting it, one simply formed the appropriate hand seals before striking outward with the palm. Its power depended entirely upon one's cultivation.

Under Madam Li's guidance, Li Yan had already fused Pigua Palm with Red Fist. Coupled with the Thundercloud Resonance he had trained in, his martial arts already carried the essence of lightning.

If he mastered the Northern Emperor Yin Lightning Palm, then later found an opportunity to learn the Lightning Palm, he would be able to combine the yin and yang.

With that, his martial path would finally possess a true foundation. At that point, even the Core Jin Realm, or the Astral Jin Realm would no longer be beyond reach.

Thinking about it, Li Yan once again formed the hand seals. After igniting a Yin-Gathering Talisman, he smeared its ashes across his palms. His left hand formed the yang seal while his right hand formed the yin seal. From time to time, he switched the two seals while slowly rubbing and rotating his palms together.

The yin killing qi that had gathered around him quickly split into different properties.

Crackle! Crackle!

***

At the same time, the bandits arrived at the foot of the mountain.

"We're here. The target's hiding somewhere in this mountain!" Gazing up at the hill before him, Peerless Yuan sneered. "The bastard's hiding inside a tomb. There's no telling what kind of wicked art he's cultivating.

"As long as you three seniors break his mystic arts, we'll simply bombard the place.

"No matter how great his martial arts are, if he doesn't die, he'll be crippled."

The three cultivators of the unorthodox path looked toward the mountain.

They were already deep into remote wilderness. The bandits killed two days earlier had been left where they fell, their corpses ripped open by wild beasts. Others had already begun turning black.

Even from a considerable distance, the stench of rotting flesh assaulted their noses.

The three exchanged glances.

Eventually, the old woman in black stepped forward, pried open the eyelids of one of the corpses for a careful look, then turned around and said hoarsely, "Find some black cloth. Block out the sunlight. This old woman is going to question him."

Question... a dead man?

The bandits instantly felt chills crawl down their spines. They looked at one another uneasily.

Peerless Yuan frowned and cursed, "What are you all standing around for? You've got the guts to chop living men to death. Now you're scared of a corpse?

"Go. Find some black cloth."

"Brave fellow." The one-eyed monk gave him a thumbs-up. "Yin spirits are born from the lingering attachments of the seven emotions. They emerge when the density of yin killing qi grows strong. With such a murderous aura surrounding Brother Yuan, ordinary ghosts wouldn't dare come anywhere near him."

Peerless Yuan laughed it off. "You flatter me, Senior Xiaoyue."

Inside, however, he grew even more vigilant. Although he appeared completely unconcerned, even producing explosives earlier to intimidate the three of them, he had never relaxed his guard for a single moment.

Since he had dared to cooperate with them, he had naturally investigated their backgrounds beforehand.

The monk was called Venerable Xiaoyue. He had originally been the abbot of a small temple, but he was greedy and lustful by nature. After cultivating depraved mind-bewitching arts, he violated female worshippers who came to burn incense at the temple. When his crimes were exposed, he fled into the jianghu. Not only had he survived, he had grown increasingly powerful.

The Daoist carrying the gourd was nicknamed Daoist Bao, hailing from Mount Lao. Obsessed with forbidden arts, he had been expelled from his sect. Much like Peerless Yuan, he made his living taking money to kill people.

As for the old woman, her nickname was Silver Snake. She was a Gu Witch from western Xiangxi, equally notorious for her cruelty. However, she possessed an influential backing, allowing her to survive unscathed to this very day.

None of the three were decent people. They were unwelcome throughout the mystic community, and acted with utter lawlessness. Had they not always cleaned up their tracks so thoroughly, they would have been arrested by the Enforcement Hall long ago.

Of course, Peerless Yuan did not harbor good intentions either. He had already made up his mind. The moment Li Yan's mystic art was broken, he would immediately make his move and blow all three of them to pieces.

While the two sides exchanged empty pleasantries, the bandits worked with remarkable efficiency. They stretched a large sheet of black cloth over Silver Snake and one of the corpses.

Silver Snake reached into her robes and produced a handful of dried grass. Lighting it with a tinderbox, she held it suspended above the corpse's head.

Three circles to the left, three circles to the right. All the while, she muttered an incomprehensible incantation beneath her breath.

"It's... It's alive!"

Before long, everyone around them had widened their eyes in shock. Even Peerless Yuan couldn't resist leaning forward for a closer look. The pungent smoke rising from the burning grass flowed entirely into the corpse's nostrils, as though the decaying body were actually breathing.

Silver Snake continued rocking her head back and forth. The strange chant pouring from her mouth grew louder and louder until the bandits felt chills creeping down their spines. Some instinctively rubbed their eyes, convinced they had just seen the corpse suddenly turn its head.

Then, its deathly pale eyes opened, and it grinned viciously straight at them.

"Ahhh!"

At last, someone couldn't contain himself any longer and cried out as he stumbled backward. Life and death had always been taboos. Though these men killed without blinking, when confronted with something as unnatural as this, fear still took over.

"What are you all doing?!"

Crack! Crack!

Though Peerless Yuan also felt uneasy, he was born with extraordinary courage. Immediately pulling out his riding whip, he lashed it wildly from side to side. Bloody welts grew across the faces of several retreating bandits.

The whipping hurt, but it also drove away much of the fear in their hearts. After all, while they didn’t know whether ghosts would actually kill them, the living monster standing before them certainly would. They all knew Peerless Yuan would kill without hesitation.

Fortunately, Silver Snake's spell soon came to an end. Looking toward the small mountain ahead, she shook her head and sneered. "These men attacked at night and stumbled into something unclean.

"This place gathers yin killing qi. The other side must have summoned a host of ghosts to create a labyrinth. Right now it's noon, when yang qi is at its strongest. This is precisely the time to strike."

That had been Peerless Yuan's intention all along. "Excellent!"

Upon hearing her confirmation, he revealed a savage grin. "That fellow is hiding inside the tomb. Does he really think I'll be as stupid as those fools? Digging into the robbers' tunnels to find him?

"Light the wolf-smoke, and force him out!"

"Yes boss!"

The bandits immediately climbed the mountain.

Before long, they located several robbers' tunnels. They quickly pulled out several enormous bundles of dried grass from the packs on their backs. After igniting them, they piled them over the tunnel entrances and furiously fanned them with large hand fans.

Whatever the grass bundles were made of, they immediately produced thick, acrid smoke. The smoke poured directly into the robbers' tunnels and spread deep into the mountain.

***

Naturally, Wang Daoxuan and the others witnessed everything. The three of them lay hidden upon a ridge overlooking the scene, all wearing grave expressions.

"It seems this group came fully prepared."

"What should we do?"

"We attack."

"We can't let Brother Yan become trapped inside."

Although vastly outnumbered, none of the three showed the slightest fear. Wang Daoxuan had already finished preparing the ritual altar. However, it was midday, when yang qi was at its strongest.

He could not summon his spirit soldiers. Thus, the main fighting force would have to be Sha Lifei and Lu San.

Sha Lifei first swiftly loaded his flintlock firearm and set it aside. He then picked up his longbow and nocked an arrow. Bound to the arrowhead was a bamboo tube.

This weapon was called a Bamboo Thunder Arrow. Because it was simple to manufacture, every garrison in the Great Xuan Dynasty was equipped with them.

Its killing power was mediocre, but it was very useful when one needed to frighten horses. During the Battle of Niubei Ridge, government troops had relied upon these very arrows to frighten the bandits' mounts into a panic, routing their cavalry and winning a decisive victory.

Sha Lifei raised an eyebrow at Lu San. "Brother Lu San. Your firearm's certainly powerful, but when it comes to using this sort of thing, I'm the expert.

"See that? Their horses are definitely going to panic. At least a few of them are bound to fall to their deaths."

Lu San glanced at him indifferently. "You talk too much."

Sha Lifei paid him no mind. "Heh."

Drawing the bowstring taut, he lit the bamboo tube's fuse before releasing the arrow. The flaming arrow whistled through the air toward the bandits' horses.

Peerless Yuan possessed the keenest martial senses. The instant he heard the sound, he reacted.

"Watch out!"

"Hidden weapons!"

But when he wheeled around to face the source of the noise, his pupils contracted violently. Hidden force immediately exploded through both legs as he leapt high into the air and dove behind a massive boulder.

The three cultivators all possessed supernatural perception as well. Realizing something was wrong, their faces changed drastically as they scattered in search of cover.

Sha Lifei's arrow struck a bundle hanging beside one bandit's saddle.

The moment the bandit saw the smoking bamboo tube... His pupils shrank.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A succession of explosions erupted like muffled thunder. Sand and stones flew in every direction as blood and flesh splattered across the mountainside.

It was the first time those bandits had ever used explosives. Believing that more was always better, nearly every horse carried two explosive packs. Worse still, they had all been riding close together. Most terrifying of all, the gunpowder had been purchased on the black market. Its crude workmanship meant it ignited almost instantly.

The earth trembled violently. Loose soil and rocks cascaded down the mountainside.

Even Sha Lifei was startled.

Covering his head with both arms, he waited until the explosions finally ceased before cautiously peeking out. Finally seeing the aftermath, he stood there utterly dumbfounded.

Seeing the ghost-like look on Lu San's face, Sha Lifei hurriedly shook his head. "That wasn't me! These idiots actually carried explosives on their horses..."

As he spoke, pride had already crept into the corners of his eyes. "See? Not just anyone knows how to use these things."

Lu San fell into thought before letting out a sharp whistle toward the sky. The hawk circling overhead immediately folded its wings and descended.

"Do we have any more? Make the fuse longer."

Sha Lifei instantly raised his thumb. "Brilliant!"

Running to an earthen cave opposite the ruined shrine, he carefully retrieved a clay jar embedded with numerous iron fragments. Only about the size of a fist, it had a chain attached to its top, resembling a meteor hammer.

"This thing's called a Fire Caltrop." Sha Lifei grinned proudly. "A military firearm from the Song Dynasty. I improved the design using the Military Classic.

"It's quite powerful. Can your precious hawk carry it?"

Lu San examined it briefly before nodding. "Just about."

Sha Lifei's face immediately lit up with excitement. "Excellent. I'll lengthen the fuse."

While they busied themselves with preparations, Peerless Yuan crawled out from behind the boulder, covered in dust and dirt. The sight before him instantly turned his eyes blood-red. "They're Li Yan's companions! I'll kill every last one of them!"

He charged up the mountainside. Already at the peak of the Dark Jin Realm, he drew both blades with a metallic shing. Hidden force erupted beneath his feet and the earth exploded behind him as he raced toward the ridge.

Although Silver Snake possessed mystic arts, she knew nothing of martial arts. When the explosions had gone off, she had reacted a moment too slowly. Flying rocks had struck her squarely in the face, leaving it covered in blood.

Her expression twisted with fury as she shrieked, "Fellow Daoists, hurry! Capture the people up there! Force that brat to hand over the goods!"

The one-eyed monk Xiaoyue and Daoist Bao immediately understood.

Monk Xiaoyue hefted his crescent moon spade. "Hmph!"

Hidden force burst from his legs as he bounded forward in rapid succession, closely following Peerless Yuan. Daoist Bao, meanwhile, removed the large gourd from his back and set it upon the ground. He pulled out the stopper, ignited a yellow talisman, chanted an incantation beneath his breath, then suddenly pointed at the ridge.

"Go!"

Buzzz! Buzzz! Buzzz!

A swarm of enormous hornets immediately poured out of the gourd, buzzing as they flew toward the mountaintop.

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