"Caw! Caw!"
In the darkness, a flock of crows flew about in chaos.
The dense forest crisscrossed overhead, while candlelight and lanterns flickered.
Perhaps because too many dead had been buried here, the Mass Burial Grounds were not desolate at all. Instead, green trees formed a canopy, and wild grass grew especially thick.
Yin mist billowed upward, making it impossible to see a person clearly from a hundred meters away.
The light was dim, and the ground was slick after the rain. People stumbled and fell from time to time.
There were more than a few timid people in the group.
As they walked, they kept glancing around. They always felt as if something in the dark Yin mist was watching them, making their scalps prickle.
But remembering Wang Dao Xuan's instructions, no one dared speak.
Li Yan naturally walked at the very front.
His left hand pressed against the hilt of his saber, while his right carried a bamboo pole.
The advantage of his Olfactory Mystical Power was most apparent at this moment.
The surrounding mist was thick, and the darkness profound, but all kinds of scents could easily be distinguished through his nose.
He could smell rotting leaves and venomous insects moving through the grass. He could smell venomous snakes coiled on branches dozens of meters away. Even rats burrowing several meters underground could not escape his nose.
This dark forest was no different from broad daylight to him.
But what drew Li Yan's attention even more was the Yin Energy here.
He had traveled throughout Xianyang City several times. The city was brimming with human presence, and as a thousand-year-old grand city, it had many temples with flourishing incense. It was highly suitable for people to live in.
Only a few wells and hidden passageways contained faint traces of Yin energy.
But on these Mass Burial Grounds, the Yin Energy was extremely distinct.
Unlike the Cold Altar Rampaging Soldier he had encountered before, this was a cold, deathly, rotten scent. It filled every corner, seeped into the earth, then clung to the vegetation along the roots.
That was why the vegetation here was unusually lush, and why there was thick mist even on clear days.
Rustle! Rustle!
As the bamboo pole prodded about, all kinds of venomous insects and snakes were startled and fled.
Wang Dao Xuan naturally knew what he was capable of. He concentrated on surveying the terrain while carrying a lantern and observing the compass.
Feng shui geomancy was vast and profound.
Someone who could discern feng shui was not necessarily capable of creating a feng shui formation.
Wang Dao Xuan had dabbled in all kinds of methods, but for most he merely had a superficial understanding or had just entered the field. Only feng shui and divination had received the full force of his study.
Before long, he had found a suitable place. He passed through a stretch of dense forest, then waved for everyone to stop.
It was a strange region.
It lay close to the dense forest, yet not a blade of grass grew there. Many jagged, grotesque rocks stood all around, each jutting upward like an inverted halberd, resembling a naturally formed ruined temple in the mountains.
Li Yan twitched his nose, and curiosity appeared in his eyes.
He could smell the Yin Energy converging here, like an undercurrent in a river channel, circling and coiling until it faintly formed a kind of momentum.
The moment he stepped onto the open ground, he felt the temperature around him drop several degrees.
Li Yan understood at once. This was most likely the "momentum" Wang Dao Xuan had spoken of!
Between heaven and earth, astral energy and Baleful Intent flowed and formed "momentum." Taking it a step further, they could form a "formation."
The greatest difference between "momentum" and "formation" was that one was like a vortex or an undercurrent and still relied on the external environment, while the other formed a closed environment.
They were merely different names; neither was superior to the other.
The "momentum" of famous mountains and great rivers was vast and magnificent, like a heavenly god raising a sword and standing upon the earth. It was far stronger than the "formations" hidden away in remote corners.
All the world's arrays, feng shui, and even treasure sites were related to them.
This was clearly a good place for a ritual.
But Wang Dao Xuan was in no hurry. He stepped forward several paces, turned in a circle with his compass, then used an iron spade to dig away the surface soil and put a pinch of earth into his mouth.
Pah!
After tasting it, Wang Dao Xuan hurriedly spat it out. He then picked up a branch, drew a circle on the ground, and nodded to everyone.
Sha LiFei immediately stepped forward and had several people unload the bundles from their backs.
Inside were wooden boards and poles, all fitted with mortise-and-tenon joints. In just a few moves, they assembled a square table, then covered it with yellow cloth, talisman paper, and the Five Offerings—incense, flowers, lamps, water, and fruit. In an instant, it became a temporary altar.
Only then did Troupe Leader Zhou carefully step forward.
He was carrying a wooden chest on his back as well, covered with red cloth. After carefully opening it, he revealed a painted clay doll idol. It wore a red bellyband, held a shadow-play rod in its hand, and had a simple, foolishly endearing smile.
This was the ancestral idol of the Spring Breeze Troupe.
Li Yan could smell only traces of incense on it. Clearly, something had once been worshiped there, but it had already dissipated.
This sort of situation was not uncommon.
Whether an idol or a temple dedicated to the earth god or City God, to a certain degree, it was also a kind of "momentum" or "formation," only with divine astral energy as its foundation.
If fate ran its course or the soul was not strong enough, once the incense offerings were cut off, the "momentum" would disperse as well.
Something as ferocious as the Cold Altar Rampaging Soldier might even cause trouble and harm people.
That morning, Wang Dao Xuan had already opened the idol and cleaned it carefully. He had smoked it with pine-resin incense, then placed inside it beads symbolizing internal organs, Locust Wood, and other objects.
This was called "Filling the Statues."
It could not compare to the idols in those temples, but if a sufficiently powerful entity were invited and incense offerings continued without interruption each day, it could still protect the Spring Breeze Troupe.
Once everything was done, everyone waited at ease.
Before they knew it, the hour of Yin had arrived.
At a signal from Wang Dao Xuan, the members of the Spring Breeze Troupe immediately followed Troupe Leader Zhou in burning paper money and ingots. Holding Three Incense Sticks, they kowtowed devoutly while silently reciting the Inviting the Gods Incantation.
Wang Dao Xuan, meanwhile, held a bag of incense ash. He circled the offering table, scattering three squares, each nested within the next.
The three incense-ash circles symbolized city walls.
This was the act of building the parasol tree to lure the phoenix.
But Wang Dao Xuan himself had no idea what might be drawn here.
Following the same procedure as before, he stood before the altar and chanted scriptures and incantations, performed Pacing the Gang and Stepping the Dipper, then held pure water in his mouth and suddenly sprayed it out.
In an instant, wind and water stirred, and the entire altar formed "momentum."
But unlike last time, the surrounding Yin Energy flowed along with it, circling the altar and forming an even stronger "momentum."
Naturally, ordinary people could not detect any of this.
But as Yin Wind suddenly rose around them and the temperature dropped again, even Troupe Leader Zhou began to feel uneasy. He held Three Incense Sticks and kept kowtowing and praying.
As for Li Yan, he stood far away with his saber in hand.
He had another task, one that concerned the success or failure of this ritual.
Whoosh~
All of a sudden, the surrounding Yin Wind began to strengthen.
A hissing sound arose in the night mist.
The sound seemed faint and indistinct, yet it entered every person's ears with perfect clarity.
Troupe Leader Zhou brightened and looked up at Wang Dao Xuan.
This was the sign that something had been attracted. At this point, all they had to do was cut an opening in the incense-ash circles on the ground. That would mean opening the city walls and inviting the god to take up residence.
They had never had things go so smoothly before.
However, Wang Dao Xuan was not in a hurry. Instead, he looked toward Li Yan.
Li Yan drew a deep breath.
He could smell a cold, fishy scent of snakes circling in the distance.
Judging by the concentration of the scent, it was only slightly stronger than an ordinary Yin Soul.
This thing was nowhere near enough...
Li Yan gave Wang Dao Xuan a slight shake of his head.
Wang Dao Xuan understood. He pretended not to hear and led everyone in continuing to invite the gods.
Sure enough, after circling for a while, the snake's fishy scent quickly dispersed.
Another half-incense stick's time passed.
"Caw! Caw!"
The cry of an old crow rang out in the black mist.
It was likewise faint and indistinct, yet clear to the ear.
There was no need for Li Yan to make a judgment. Troupe Leader Zhou's face darkened, becoming exceptionally ugly.
Old crows were the most inauspicious things of all.
They were not merely birds. They meant that the troupe would suffer the hardship of rushing from place to place. Their cries could also easily attract evil entities, symbolizing death.
Inviting such a thing was no different from inviting disaster to one's doorstep.
Helpless, everyone could only continue inviting the gods.
But a trace of worry appeared in Wang Dao Xuan's eyes.
There were taboos regarding the number of times one could invite the gods. They could only do so three times.
No matter what appeared the third time, they had to pinch their noses and accept it. Otherwise, tonight's ritual would fail.
Not only would they invite nothing, but when they descended the mountain, they would also draw the attacks of evil spirits.
At this thought, doubt arose in Wang Dao Xuan's heart.
The place he had chosen was the convergence point of Yin Energy on the Mass Burial Grounds, commonly known as the "Old Yin Coffin." There were bound to be powerful entities roaming outside.
If a "formation" took shape, it might even trigger a struggle among Yin entities.
So how had only these small fry come? There was not even a single Qingfeng.
That made no sense...
Not good—someone was interfering!
Wang Dao Xuan understood in an instant. Forgetting all the taboos, he went to Li Yan's side and said in a lowered voice, "Someone has set up a formation to interfere with us. Find a way to drive them away. Otherwise, if some evil thing is drawn here, none of us will escape!"
Li Yan nodded and charged into the darkness.
His Olfactory Mystical Power activated. The dark forest was no obstacle to him at all. Carrying his saber and lowering his body, he moved through it like a ghost.
Soon, he caught an abnormal scent.
It was the rank smell of wild dogs, mixed with a strong stench of corpses. There were many of them.
Li Yan immediately changed direction, then leaped up onto a small earthen slope in a few bounds. He lowered his body and hid behind a tree, looking outward.
Down below the slope, the open ground was packed with wild dogs. They were enormous, their eyes radiating bloody glints in the darkness, scattered like stars and unnervingly sinister.
Behind the pack stood several beggars.
Their clothes were tattered and ragged. Each held a Dog Beating Stick in one hand, while with the other they tossed blackish objects from a ragged cloth sack.
They carried the stench of corpses, yet an intoxicating fragrance wafted from them.
The wild dogs fought over them everywhere, yet remained utterly silent.
Dead men's flesh!
Li Yan narrowed his eyes, instantly recognizing what it was.
Although he did not know why these Evil Beggars traveling west were causing trouble, nor what secret method they had used, he understood that they certainly had another move prepared.
He had to stop them immediately!
At this thought, Li Yan looked left and right, picked up a stone, swung his arm in a full circle, and hurled it with the technique of the Flying Locust Stone.
Whoosh!
The moment the sound of something tearing through the air rang out, one of the beggars was struck until his head split open. He screamed and collapsed.
That immediately startled the wild dogs.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
As if they had caught the scent of blood, the pack instantly erupted. Saliva dripped from their mouths as they pounced at the beggar like mad dogs...
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