Resonance
The old Daoist priest flicked his fingers, and a hidden aura, moving close to the ground, suddenly appeared beneath the Old Ma.
Beneath Old Ma's body were numerous talismans and spirit scrolls, forming Dragon Suppressing Formation, a specialized formation used by Daoist sects to deal with dragons. It was unknown where they had learned it from.
This formation can restrain the physical bodies of various dragons and suppress their instincts. Moreover, it is very widespread. Daoist sects seem to be quite enthusiastic about subduing dragons and tigers and eliminating demons, so there are quite a few of these methods.
The Daoist sect has countermeasures for almost all types of enemies, and these methods are widely used, suggesting that someone is deliberately spreading these formations.
Various Technique Method, including those for dealing with zombies, Yin Ghost, warding off evil spirits, summoning gods, exorcising demons, and dispelling nightmares, have been widely spread and are very common, with almost everyone having a copy.
Although their qualities vary, some can only suppress ninth-rank officials, while others can even restrain true dragons.
The current Dragon Suppressing Formation is naturally an eighth-grade formation, which is just right for Old Ma.
However, such temporary formations are very fragile because their core is not protected by any treasures and their base is not strong enough. Generally speaking, portable formations have a set of formation plates and flags for easy deployment.
These two Yang Spirit True Person clearly did not have array plates, because array plates are much more expensive than Law Treasure of the same level, and they were not among those who could afford them.
Therefore, they could only use people to set up the formation and arrange the talismans to suppress the dragon.
But it does have an effect.
Only--
Suddenly, a strange wind blew up, and many Daoist priests raised their hands to block the wind.
Just then, a strange gust of wind suddenly snapped a tree branch, which hit the Old Ma's tail.
Old Ma suddenly felt his tail twitch uncontrollably.
Unexpectedly, this attack landed squarely on one of the important talismans on the array plate!
Perhaps it was a coincidence, but this talisman happened to be in its most vulnerable stage, lacking sufficient Law Power to protect itself.
As a result, the Dragon Suppressing Formation was actually breached by a tail!
Old Ma! Without hesitation, he flipped over, shrunk to the size of an earthworm, and burrowed into the ground! He then ran away in a flash!
Before running, he looked back and remembered the characteristics of the energy he had just encountered.
There are some decent people among this group of Daoist priests, but what are they here for? They say it's for... Mount Luofu?
Let's go find the boss first.
Old Ma fled quickly and disappeared without a trace.
Only a group of Daoist priests were left bewildered.
But after the initial shock came fury!
"Who?! Who actually let this monster go?!" An eighth-grade Yang Spirit roared furiously, flying up and shouting at the crowd!
The old Daoist priest was immediately filled with righteous indignation and said, "That's right! Who did it? That gust of wind just now was clearly Technique Method. Who did such a bad thing and let True Man Ouyang's guardian beast go!"
His words left the others speechless.
True Man Ouyang calmed down, landed on the ground, and coughed lightly. "Ahem, Layman Wang, you are mistaken. We captured this Demon Dragon to repay a debt of gratitude and to rid this place of a scourge. As for the so-called mountain-guarding beast, it is not important."
"So that's how it is. I misunderstood True Man Ouyang. I'm so sorry!" The old Daoist bowed and apologized solemnly.
True Man Ouyang felt stifled, but since he had already said all that, it wouldn't be good to get angry now, as it would only make it seem like he really wanted to use the power of the crowd to benefit himself.
Although... it can't be said to be wrong.
So, he helped the old Daoist priest up and said, "We are all Yang Spirit and have all received the blessings of Mount Luofu. We should work together to drive away that kind of demon from here. There's no need to apologize. Let's go first. We've only driven away one so far. According to our divination, there is at least one more, and there may even be two."
"That's right, True Man Ouyang is right. In fact, we should be even faster. At night, Yin Ghost roam freely. Although we are not afraid, it's not good for our health to stay in a place with such Yin Qi all the time. Let's try to finish during the day." The old Daoist priest, holding his whisk, looked like a wise and righteous man and said this to the others around him.
The other Daoist priests didn't know what they were thinking, but they didn't object too much. Everyone responded in their own way, and then they lined up according to their respective lineages. They set up their Law Artifact, beat the gongs and drums, scattered various talismans for exorcising evil spirits, and set off again.
This way, demons and monsters would be kept at bay. The long dragon of thousands of cultivators from the Daoist sects was enough to defend against many enemies. However, a Law Power barrier, almost visible to the naked eye, rose from the mountains and forests, enveloping the thousands of cultivators. Water, jade, lingzhi, stone, pine, wood, Huangjing, Yunying, and other spiritual substances constantly appeared on it, seemingly circulating the Spiritual Qi of these spiritual objects. This way, a path could be cleared through the miasma and Yin Qi in the mountains.
After all, mountains in the world are not just large rocks with trees growing on them.
Throughout the world, everywhere possesses a strong energy, and its quality is far superior to that of other realms. This is a good thing for cultivation, but it also presents some dangers.
For example, a Human Path city is like the one Li Qi saw when he first used the Qi Gazing Technique to open his eyes and witness the city just as it was awakening. (See Chapter 38 for details)
Cities are filled with life, making Human Race feel comfortable living there. Human Path cultivators also benefit from the location. At the same time, cities also keep out other things such as Yao Qi and miasma from the mountains and forests, preventing them from interfering with the city.
Correspondingly, in the mountains, forests, waters, sky, and uninhabited areas, the settlements of various races will naturally have the same effect as cities, repelling external air.
Li Qi is Shaman, and he has a good affinity for all kinds of energy. He hardly rejects any kind of energy, so he usually doesn't care too much about these things. After all, the body of Shaman is the true world, and the energy of the outside world is not harmful to him, even miasma or poisonous gas.
This is also why many Shaman live in mysterious places. Human Path cultivators usually have to go to remote, uninhabited mountains and forests to find Shaman, because Shaman don't have requirements for the environment. But Human Path prefer to stay in Human Way city, just like demons hate cities.
However, precisely because of this, the Shaman's inner world is particularly 'filthy' to Human Path cultivators, containing all sorts of things, chaotic and unpleasant to look at.
In contrast, these Daoist priests are different. Their cultivation method involves breathing in pure qi, so their inner world is pure. When they go deep into this mountain forest where Yin Qi and miasma abound, they will naturally be corrupted.
Actually, it's not unbearable for a single person to come in, but it's like a person living by the sea coming to the desert; they will naturally feel extremely dry and uncomfortable. That's when you need a humidifier.
Of course, once you reach Shen Shuibi's level and possess Immaculate Body, these impure energies will naturally be unable to get close to you. At that point, it won't matter where you go, and you won't feel any discomfort.
Therefore, they formed a procession, arranged their imperial carriages, and dispersed the surrounding air as they headed towards Mount Luofu.
As the imperial procession was erected, it seemed to create some kind of disturbance in the mountains and forests.
So much so that—in the very center of Mount Luofu, that true central region, a resonance seemed to arise.
Old Ma dashed forward at top speed, without stopping, bursting forth at his maximum speed, and in a short time he had traversed nearly a thousand miles, rushing to Li Qi's side.
Li Qi swung the hammer and smashed the stone with all his might.
Nothing much. He dug up a piece of divine gold, but didn't know what type it was, so he planned to break off a piece for testing to determine its type and value.
But just as he was about to smash it down, Old Ma suddenly appeared.
"Brother! Something's happened!" Old Ma sprang out of the field, his body rapidly expanding into a dragon over ten feet long. He hurriedly said, "There were some ungrateful bastards who tried to capture me alive and take me back to be the mountain guardian beast! With these people around, I can't do anything. They're probably after my sister-in-law's family fortune!"
"Hmm? Family property? Oh, you mean, someone saw us digging and followed us?" Li Qi asked.
"That's right, that's exactly it. And those people were fierce and menacing, shouting and killing. They attacked me without saying a word when they saw me, and they even tried to coerce and bribe me to guard their door. I gave them a good scolding, and they even tried to kill me!" Old Ma immediately wagged his tail and said, "These bastards must not be allowed to live. Let's go and chop them all up! Chop them into mincemeat and bury them all!"
He gritted his teeth, clearly furious that he had been beaten up.
"Uh, how did you escape? You seem to have residual aura from the Dragon Suppressing Formation on you. With your level of Technique Method, you shouldn't have been able to escape, right?" Li Qi didn't answer Old Ma's question. Instead, he examined Old Ma's body to see if there were any wounds or anything.
Fortunately, everything was mostly normal, with no wounds and the person was in good health, indicating that Old Ma had exaggerated and the situation was not serious at all.
However, it should be true that the aura of the Daoist cultivators was indeed sensed, and there were remnants of the Dragon Suppressing Formation on Old Ma's body.
There's one question Li Qi doesn't understand: how did Old Ma manage to escape?
Unlike Li Qi, Old Ma is a typical example of someone who is ignorant and incompetent. He is basically 0 in terms of Technique Method and doesn't learn anything. He usually just loafs around and waits to die, relying entirely on his physical talent for fighting and running. He doesn't even know the kind of martial arts that dragons use. When fighting, he can only sweep his tail and breathe blue lightning.
If he had seriously studied the martial arts and combat techniques of dragons, he wouldn't have been suppressed to this state by his physical body alone. As for Technique Method, which requires a lot of time and effort to learn, he had no interest in it at all. Therefore, he should have had no ability to resist when he encountered the Dragon Suppressing Formation.
Hearing Li Qi point this out, Old Ma chuckled sheepishly, "It's indeed not easy for me to get out on my own. However, not all those stinky Daoists are bad people. One of them helped me out by breaking a gap in the Dragon Suppressing Formation, which allowed me to shrink my body and slip away."
"Hmm... so you mean they're not on the same page? We could go check on them first, but as for cutting them all down... that's unnecessary. I think they might mean well," Li Qi said with a smile.
"What good intentions! They almost tied me up, boss. I didn't kill them without warning. I mentioned my sister-in-law's name and said we were here to collect the rest, but they didn't believe me!" Old Ma continued to persuade Li Qi.
Li Qi, upon hearing this, laughed out loud, "Haha! What's the use of mentioning Yu'er's name? Even within Mount Luofu, few people remember her, let alone these weeds outside."
Old Ma heard this, he was speechless for a moment, but he couldn't find a reason to refute it.
That's indeed the case. Shen Shuibi is a complete shut-in and hates anything unexpected happening. Her ideal life is to stay in a familiar environment and do familiar things with familiar people.
Ideally, nothing unexpected should happen in her life. Unlike Li Qi, she has no interest in new stimuli from the outside world. Her focus is on her inner world, even in cultivation.
"I am self-sufficient, I walk my own path, and I do not seek anything from outside" is the best description of her.
Commonly known as a socially awkward and reclusive person, although she has enough ability to socialize and even easily control all the underworld in a city, she really doesn't like it.
The consequence of this is that few people within Mount Luofu know her; at most, they've only heard of her name. Now that Old Ma has told others her name, they'll be completely clueless.
Shen Shuibi? The Moonlit True Person?
Who is this?
"Alright, I just used my Qi Gazing technique to examine these people. Their ceremonial vehicles have the shadow of the Mount Luofu sect. Moreover, you see, they even have a faint connection with the central area, seemingly forming some kind of resonance. It's clear that they are indeed related to Mount Luofu. We might as well go and see what's going on. Maybe they actually think we're here to plunder and want to protect Mount Luofu's property. If that's the case, we should thank them."
Old Ma rolled his eyes.
And what am I supposed to see? I don't know any Qi Gazing techniques. You're the boss, so you get to decide.
Seeing Old Ma's expression, Li Qi smiled and touched the dragon head, saying, "But don't worry, if they really have ulterior motives, then naturally we won't let them have an easy time."
"However, the situation is still unclear. We must not act rashly because of our own selfish desires, otherwise we will only cause trouble, get involved in karma, and easily wrong good people. We should understand and consider things before we do anything."
"Got it, boss. Shall we go over there now and show them what we've got?" Old Ma was delighted to hear that Li Qi was going to help him again.
"Of course we can't do it openly. Let's conceal ourselves and see what kind of people they are and what their relationship is with Mount Luofu," Li Qi said.
After speaking, he put the Old Ma into his palm, Body Merged with Nature, took a step forward, and walked towards the imperial carriage.