The Blade-Wielding Legend

He gazed gravely into the depths of the dark river, "Already corrupted by evil technique, it has become a breeding ground for evil spirits. That Dark Five Immortals and Japanese evil beings must have made this their nest!"

Li Yan tightened his grip on the Duan Chen Blade, the blade emitted a faint hum.

"Be careful," he whispered a warning.

Then, he cautiously advanced with a few others.

The air inside the cave was stagnant and ancient, mingled with the acrid smell of sulfur and the musty scent of the dark river.

The wet and slippery rock path beneath their feet twisted downward, seemingly without end.

The stalactites on both sides and the hanging stalagmites cast distorted massive shadows under the faint light from the flints in their hands, resembling the bones of a giant beast.

Every step they took echoed hollowly, spreading and dissipating in the deep darkness.

Gu Linzi, one of the Five Dragon Sons, closely followed Li Yan, holding an ancient bronze compass.

The surface of the compass was dotted with stars, and the central needle was not a usual pointer but a miniature jade dragon, which was slightly trembling with unease, its head fixedly pointing into the depths of the cave.

Gu Linzi’s expression grew more solemn under the glow of the talismanic fire, occasionally bending down to touch the cold damp rock wall, sensing the faint pulse of the earth vein beneath it; occasionally calculating with his fingers, muttering incantations filled with Fengshui secrets like "Earth Qi entanglement", "acupoint deviation", "Evil Qi blockade".

"Something’s wrong... the course of this earth vein..."

Gu Linzi’s voice was extremely low, carrying a hint of incredulous suspicion, "Mr. Li, look at the strata direction and the veins of the underground dark river..."

His gaze was suddenly drawn to a large peeling area on the rock wall ahead.

The talismanic fire approached, illuminating the mottled and intricate ancient engravings on the stone wall.

They were prehistoric murals left by ancients, with rough and mysterious lines: a twisting and coiling giant serpent-like creature perched on the ground, beneath which countless small figures knelt in worship; the sky was a peculiar star chart, vastly different from the present; and some indescribable motifs seemingly between biology and mist.

The mineral pigments used in the murals had long faded, but the shapes could still be discerned.

Gu Linzi took a breath of cold air, his fingertips brushed over the engravings of the giant serpent totem, his voice carried an uncontrollable shock: "Dragon Vein! This place is actually an acupoint of Dragon Vein manifestation in a corner of Goryeo!"

He suddenly turned back, looking at Li Yan and the other fellow brothers, the light in his eyes flickering: "In the vast land of the Divine State, there are the three main Dragon Veins of Kunlun, Qinling, and Nanling, profound and mysterious, hidden in the depths of the earth, mortals find hard to glimpse their traces."

"The Nine Tripod roams among them, forging the supreme power of the Divine Artifact. Yet here... the natural endowment pales in comparison to Divine State, the Dragon Vein weak, shallow, even tainted by evil technique, thus its form appears in the belly of this mountain cave..."

"Though not a true dragon, it is a ’visible vein’ where the local mountain and earth energy gather!"

"Unexpectedly, there really is such a place in the world where the Dragon Vein manifests so visibly... Zhao Changsheng chose this place as a nest for more than just a small plot!" His voice trembled somewhat, evidently quite shocked.

Everyone felt a chill in their hearts, looking around at the jagged rocks with greater vigilance.

The manifestation of the Dragon Vein means this place is the core node where earth energy converges, also indicates any array or evil object laid here can draw far greater power than usual.

After a brief shock, Li Yan said in a deep voice, "Whether the Dragon Vein manifests or is tainted, the target is ahead, we cannot hesitate. Careful is paramount."

They continued forward, their steps lighter, their breaths restrained to nearly nothing.

The paths in the cave grew more numerous, like a labyrinth, the light from the flints could only illuminate a few meters ahead.

After walking for roughly half a cup of tea time, an ever-nearing dull sound came faintly.

Initially, like muffled thunder underground, faint and continuous, it soon became clear.

It was the sound of countless orderly yet dragging metallic footsteps!

This sound wasn’t coming from the main path they were advancing on, but from a larger, more inclined giant side passage.

"Silence!" Li Yan whispered sharply, waving a hand, extinguishing the flints instantly.

Everyone immediately pressed tightly against the cold, wet rock wall, each employing escape technique or concealing breath method, compressing their breath and vitality to the extreme, as if merging into the shadow of the rock.

The sound grew louder, like waves crashing against the shore.

Borrowing the eerie phosphorescent glow emanating from deep within the giant side passage, a chilling scene unfolded before them:

Dense figures, like surging black tides, gushing continuously from the depths of the side passage. They were not living people, but Japan Ghost Soldiers!

The decayed armor clung tightly to either shriveled or swollen bodies, with hollow eye sockets or twisted faces beneath the broken helmets. Some dragging rusty spears, some holding incomplete samurai swords, and many others unarmed, all stumbled forward with an eerie uniformity.

The numbers were far beyond imagination!

The ranks of ghost soldiers seemed endless, one unit after another, silently and grimly passing through the tunnel, heading in the direction of the cave’s other end, right at the rear of the Great Xuan reinforcements’ main forces.

Li Yan’s pupils suddenly shrank, instantly understanding Zhao Changsheng’s sinister plan.

This manifested Dragon Vein abyss had unexpectedly become a perfect, underground secret tunnel!

Tens of thousands of ghost soldiers, concealed by the Dragon Vein Earth Qi, were stealthily infiltrating, intending to bypass the front battlefield and strike directly at the army’s vulnerable rear!

This scale was by no means a small skirmish, but a fatal blow capable of tearing through defenses and creating massive chaos!

The torrent of ghost soldiers continued for the duration of two incense sticks, only then did the oppressive footsteps gradually fade away.

The cave was once again shrouded in deathly silence and darkness, leaving behind only the dense, lingering cold ghostly air.

In the darkness, everyone exhaled a murky breath slowly.

Gu Linzi said coldly, "What a ’Deceiving Heaven’ tactic! However, the Master oversees personally, bringing the Daoist incantations of Sui Lun True Monarch, and the Southern Heavenly Master’s collaboration. Such evil spirits and monsters dare not shake the foundations of our army, the Master surely has a way to defeat them, ensuring their return is impossible!"

"Go!" Li Yan hesitated no longer, the target was right ahead.

He took a deep breath and fully activated the Smell Superpower.

In an instant, the mixed aura around him surged into his perception like a tidal wave: sulfur, moisture, the earthy smell of rocks, the lingering decay of ghost soldiers...

Among the multitude of sinister auras, a trace of exceptionally subtle yet remarkably pure "incense" ember scent, mixed with bloodiness, hatred, and some ancient cold "inhuman" breath.

Following this faint "scent," Li Yan led the group to move quickly.

The terrain gradually rose, the air became hotter, and the sulfur smell grew pungently suffocating.

Finally, they stopped at the entrance of a giant cave.

The entrance was shrouded in darkness as thick as a living creature, a barrier formed by dense Yin Sha murky force. Inside the cave, faintly shone a blend of dark red and ghastly green light, accompanied by the low, chaotic chanting sound.

Li Yan made a gesture, and everyone held their breath, each occupying a strategic position.

The Jade Dragon on the Valley Scale Compass was spinning furiously, almost breaking free.

Li Yan’s eyes were sharp as an eagle, and the Smell Superpower and keen Spiritual Sense had roughly sketched the scene inside the cave:

In the center of the cave, three bizarre-shaped items, exuding rich yin energy, were suspended in mid-air.

One seemed to be an ancient stone tablet fragment soaked with filthy blood, another was a twisted wooden sculpture wrapped with numerous vengeful souls’ shadows, and the last was like an earthenware jar filled with black mud, already shattered.

Judging by appearance, these were the Evil God’s Relics from outsiders.

They pulsated like beating hearts, continuously absorbing the polluted power transformed from the Earth Vein Dragon Energy.

No wonder...

Li Yan suddenly realized, the power of these Foreign Evil Gods was indeed quite extraordinary.

They were tapping into the Fengshui Earth Vein’s power.

The broken clay jar should be the Plague God’s relic.

But the trouble was clearly not limited to these things.

Surrounding these three ominous items, were over a hundred figures sitting cross-legged.

They were dressed in the attire of the Dark Five Immortal Hall or the hunting clothes of Japanese Yin Yang Master, exuding evil energy, evidently maintaining some ritual or array with full efforts, channeling their evil power along with Earth Vein Dragon Qi into the Evil God’s relics.

The chanting sound, the sound of evil spells, and the teeth-gnashing grinding sound all emanated from among them.

However, what made Li Yan’s hair stand on end was not these numerous evil cultivators, but within the deepest part of the cave, hidden in the densest shadow, where an evil Divine Thought lay dormant.

Here, there was even an Evil God hidden...

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