Mountain Search and Demon Subjugation, Ten Thousand Ghosts Cannot Bar the Way!
Guanyin Hall, a floor tile slowly rose, revealing a pair of terrified eyes through the tiny crack.
Under the dim moonlight, as he watched one Mountain Ghost after another being slaughtered, A Liang hurriedly put down the floor tiles and turned to look at Lin Guiyong beside him.
"Oh no, oh no, Steward Lin! What should we do now? If we're discovered, the master will kill us."
"Don't panic! What's there to panic about? They can't find this place, so what can they do to us? Last time, those constables didn't find the Earthly Dao either, did they?"
Lin Guiyong's stern rebuke calmed the flustered A Liang down a bit.
Yes, their location is extremely well hidden; unless they dig three feet into the ground, they have no need to worry about being exposed.
When Fahua Temple was at its peak, women would come to the Guanyin Hall every year to pray for children, and the prayers were said to be exceptionally effective, so much so that people would travel from afar to burn incense and worship Buddha.
It is said that when the night is deep and quiet, women would enter the Earthly Dao under the statue of Guanyin Great Master, and when they came out, they would be pregnant.
Those who travel thousands of miles to seek a child are mostly wives and concubines of high-ranking officials and nobles. Naturally, one must be careful in one's actions, or one's remains will be lost.
The Earthly Dao was dug exceptionally well hidden, and even after the entire temple was massacred, no one discovered the underground space in front of them.
The two of them had been using this place as a breeding ground for the Mountain Ghost.
Thinking of this, A Liang relaxed, but suddenly, a chill pierced through his chest.
He looked down and saw a bloody knife tip protruding from between his ribs, and excruciating pain spread throughout his body.
Before he knew it, Lin Guiyong appeared behind him and stabbed him through the heart with a dagger.
A Liang stared in disbelief at Lin Guiyong behind him. His heart was bleeding rapidly, his limbs were growing colder, but he couldn't make a sound.
"You've worked hard these past few days, take a good rest."
Lin Guiyong witnessed that A Liang's pupils had lost their light, so he pulled out a dagger and pushed A Liang to the ground.
Three years, a full three years.
Every ten days, I must come here one day to keep company with the foul-smelling Mountain Ghost, feeding and driving them.
Watching the Mountain Ghost plant their eggs and hatch, he sometimes wondered if he was a human or a ghost.
The sounds of fighting outside were so pleasant to hear that he was overjoyed.
To prevent the Mountain Ghost from not waking up, Lin Guiyong even sprinkled Awakening Powder in advance, and everything went just as the master had predicted.
It's all over, it's all over, he's about to escape this sea of suffering! Lin Guiyong wiped the dagger clean with the dry grass on the ground, then hurriedly got up, cleaned up the scene, performed some simple rituals, and ran down the mountain along the secret passage.
Inside the temple.
The smell of blood didn't dissipate over time; instead, it became increasingly strong and foul.
The blood of the Mountain Ghost is completely different from that of ordinary creatures.
It was thicker, darker in color, and smelled like fermented rotten matter. When it was spilled on the ground and piled up, the stench became even stronger.
Black Fang was so smelly that he lay on the ground, covering his nose with his paws.
Lu Gang leaped back and forth, taking down most of the mountain Mountain Ghost with just his iron hands, either snapping their necks or smashing their heads.
Everywhere were shattered rocks, as if the place had been bombarded by artillery shells.
Xu Zishuai mainly deals with medium to large-sized Mountain Ghost. There are severed limbs all around him. He moves swiftly like the wind, and his white clothes are spotless.
Occasionally, a fish of medium size would slip through the net, only to be shot dead by Hu Qi, who was standing in a corner of the courtyard.
Each arrow shimmered with light, piercing the Mountain Ghost's body like a meteor and pinning it firmly to the ground, its fletching trembling.
The Mountain Ghost that managed to slip through was smaller than the one at the River God Sacrifice, and it was used by Xiang ChangSong and Liang Qu for practice.
Lu Gang and the others brought Xiang ChangSong and Liang Qu here with the intention of training their junior brother.
To avoid being caught off guard in the chaos of future battles, this approach became the best way for Liang Qu to gain experience.
With his Senior Brother Xiang restricting the Mountain Ghost's movement, Liang Qu wielded his spear with unrestrained abandon, his muscles twisting together like iron ropes.
Blood dripped from the red tassels, and the spearhead whistled sharply.
He felt the gun blade cutting through his skin, muscles, and bones, bringing forth bursts of hot blood that turned into thick fog. His body was covered in sweat, a feeling that was both terrifying and exhilarating.
A sweep of a patch, a bunch of them, a string of them.
The more he used the Subduing Waves Spear, the more comfortable he became with it. When cutting into the Mountain Ghost, which were difficult for ordinary knives and spears to penetrate, it was no different from cutting butter with a hot knife; there was only slight resistance.
[Mountain Search and Demon Subjugation Progress: 8]
[Mountain Search and Demon Subjugation Progress: 9]
[Mountain Search and Demon Subjugation Progress: 13]
"I can't do it anymore, Senior Brother Xiang, I can't cut anymore."
The Spear Tally, also made of Tungsten Gold, fell to the ground, shattering the stone slab and embedding itself into the soil.
Liang Qu gripped his spear, his heart pounding violently. He had killed seventeen Mountain Ghost in a row, exhausting all his Qi and Blood. His arms were weak and sore, and he had no strength left.
Xiang ChangSong didn't say anything, he just blocked all the Mountain Ghost, making sure no one escaped.
The moon gradually rose, passing over the vines that blocked it. The rooftops seemed to be covered with a layer of mercury, but beyond the rooftops, the wide courtyard walls were filled with blood and corpses.
Snap! After snapping the neck of the last Mountain Ghost, Lu Gang looked around and saw that there wasn't a single Mountain Ghost still standing.
There were over a hundred lying dead in the yard alone, an astonishing number.
A few fish that escaped the net clung to life, their legs cut off by Xu Zishuai, leaving only their upper bodies to crawl.
After a short break, Liang Qu, who had regained some strength, quickly went up to finish them off, piercing their necks with his spear.
[Mountain Search and Demon Subjugation Progress: 21]
Liang Qu heard Hu Qi say that Senior Brother Xu's talent in weaponry was the best among all his fellow disciples. He was not only good with swords, but also with knives, spears, and clubs. Liang Qu told him to ask him for advice. Now that he saw it, it was indeed true.
Looking at Xu Zishuai, dressed in spotless white, he couldn't help but wonder when he could be like that.
"Let's go check the neighborhood to see if we've missed anything. Black Fang, it's up to you."
The group began searching the mountain around Fahua Temple.
Black Fang lived up to expectations, making discoveries almost every now and then. Hu Qi shot down the Mountain Ghost, and Liang Qu rushed up to finish it off.
The group searched all night until dawn. Liang Qu was too exhausted to even finish off his opponent, but Black Fang was still full of energy. He dragged Liang Qu to a cave entrance hidden by bushes and barked wildly, then started sneezing incessantly.
Something was clearly interfering with Black Fang's sense of smell at the entrance, which is why it took it so long to find it.
"He's a cautious person; he covers his mouth and nose and doesn't breathe carelessly."
Lu Gang, as always, took the lead and entered the Earthly Dao.
Following the Earthly Dao, the group eventually arrived at a long, narrow cave.
There were many pits in the cave, some of which contained Mountain Ghost smaller than three-year-old children, but Liang Qu pierced through them all and dealt with them one by one.
Xu Zishuai crossed his arms. "This is where they raise Mountain Ghost? They certainly know how to choose a place."
Fahua Temple has been abandoned for a long time. Because it is located on a mountain, few beggars come here, and it is a sparsely populated area.
This place is secluded enough and close to Ping Yang Town, making it arguably the perfect spot.
When you reach the end, there's a corpse lying on the ground. There's also an opening above the cave; climbing up leads to the Guanyin Hall.
Hu Qi examined the body.
"His heart was pierced by a knife, and he died within three hours."
Liang Qu frowned deeply. "Is someone watching us kill the Mountain Ghost?"
Lu Gang asked, "Black Fang, can you smell that person's scent?"
Black Fang returned to the cave entrance, sniffing intently, moving slowly and searching with great difficulty.
They came to a small river, and the group waded across it, hoping to get Black Fang back on the show.
But Black Fang's nose had been ravaged all night, and the escapee had the means to wash away the scent by crossing the river, so it was impossible to find him no matter what.