The Blade-Wielding Legend-Chapter 976 - 523: The Real Mastermind

The second is that it can allow the Soul-hooking Thunder Rope to absorb.

From this, the Thunder Rope no longer needs to absorb Heavenly Thunder, it can generate lightning on its own, although the supply is limited, it’s no longer afraid of being completely depleted.

Other Thunder Techniques will also be correspondingly enhanced.

What a good thing!

Li Yan’s heart was excited. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

If he could collect enough Thunder Astral, what would he be afraid of...

After receiving the task, the surrounding dense fog quickly dissipated.

"Benefactor Li, did you discover anything?"

A voice of inquiry from Hui Ming came from the side.

It was that Li Yan stayed for a comparatively long time this time, although it was just a few breaths on the outside, but Hui Ming keenly noticed.

"That ’Lang Wu’ is indeed a yin criminal."

Li Yan replied in a deep voice: "But he carries a Divine Artifact on him, which can conceal, so I only took the task, but don’t know his whereabouts."

There are more than just "Lang Wu" whose whereabouts are unknown.

There is also the one who smuggled down to the mortal world, "Li Wenyuan", and the mysterious person who threw the bamboo talisman into Ba Mountain, assisting his descent.

His figure is blurry,

It is exactly the manifestation of the artifact concealing the Heavenly Mechanism...

...

"Master Huiming, thank you."

Now that there’s a result, Li Yan had no leisure to tour the temple and immediately took his leave, being escorted out the gate by Hui Ming.

"Benefactor Li, no need for formalities."

Hui Ming nodded calmly, saying: "This monk helps you, also harbors private intentions. That person harmed many of my fellow disciples, but I am powerless for revenge, I can only rely on you."

Li Yan said solemnly: "Master, rest assured, once that demon is brought to justice, I will send word to you!"

Having said that, he cupped his hands and took his leave.

After leaving the temple with Wu Ba, he looked back, frowning slightly, deep in thought.

Thinking about it now, this matter isn’t that simple.

Those who practice cultivation, none aim for anything less than Ascension to Divinity, over the millennia, how many have fallen on this path.

How could anyone willingly smuggle down to the mortal world?

What’s even stranger is that someone responded to it!

Besides his Hook Paper, between the Daluo Law Realm and the human world, there are other communication channels, indicating they’ve long violated the Heavenly Rules.

And so many people, all possessing protective Divine Artifacts.

These aren’t cabbages; each protective Divine Artifact signifies the heritage of a dynasty.

To collect them, who knows how much power it would take.

Thinking of this, Li Yan became increasingly wary.

He always suspected the Sect Leader of the Ghost Sect was just another identity of Zhao Changsheng, with some people behind him.

For example, the "Lu Sheng" who also went to the Shu Prince Mansion.

This guy, daring to brazenly fish for the "Nine Tripod", has quite a strong background, and is certainly not one of Zhao Changsheng’s men.

Never mind, they’ve already taken up the task anyway.

Encountering these guys in the future, they’ll be cast into the Netherworld or struck by Heavenly Thunder as needed!

These people causing chaos in the human world, not one can be let go!

As Li Yan pondered, they had already reached the foot of the mountain.

A burly man had been waiting by the mountain path, wrapped in a white headscarf, and upon seeing them, hurried over, respectfully cupping his hands and saying: "Is it Young Hero Li? My boss had me wait here for you."

"Thank you."

Li Yan was about to refuse but glanced at the sky, which was still early, and seeing Wu Ba’s excitement, didn’t say much more.

Following the burly man, the two of them arrived at a large tent on the east side of the market, where people were already waiting outside, respectfully leading them inside.

The tent was quite large, filled with lively chatter from people crowding the seats, including even some elegantly dressed wealthy gentry.

In general, wealthy families would not want to visit such humble places to watch shows alongside the working folk.

To attract them here, the show must be something extraordinary.

Seeing this, Li Yan sat down with Wu Ba, waiting quietly.

Clang, clang, clang!

Suddenly, the sound of drums and gongs started, and a puppet show began.

Indeed, it was the "puppets" that appeared.

This puppet show was entirely different from what Li Yan had seen before.

Ordinary puppet dolls are not large, but the ones before them were over one person tall, carried and manipulated by performers below.

The puppets not only had robust figures but were also garbed in splendid attire. They had roles like sheng, dan, jing, mo, and chou, with vivid and expressive faces.

The craftsmen pulled the strings and made them seem alive.

This type of puppet show usually narrates myths.

This time, it was exactly the performance of Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea.

The sound of drums and music echoed as someone began to sing.

Honestly, compared to a proper Sichuan opera troupe, the singing was a bit lacking, but the people clearly weren’t there for the music.

The puppets alone were enough to dazzle the audience.

Some puppets undressed and dressed again, with movements as nimble as real people,

while Lu Dongbin’s horsetail whisk swung gracefully, sword light flickering.

At the climax, there was even a puppet of Han Zhongli blowing fire to light a candle, the flames leaping astonishingly and showcasing incredible skill.

The movements of these puppets were nuanced, their eyes changed expressively, lifelike and vivid.

"Good! Good!"

Wu Ba clapped and laughed with joy like a child.

Li Yan also wore a smile, watching intently.

After viewing the puppet show here, they immediately left for the dock to take a boat to Wolong Mountain.

The temple fair at Guangde Temple was even grander and more lively.

This time, nothing unexpected happened.

Li Yan took Wu Ba around to eat and drink, watched the money board performance, saw a divine play, and encountered many pugilistic world performers demonstrating their skills for money.

Unbeknownst to them, night descended.

The temple fair was equally lively at night, with lanterns like stars, dancers performing with grass dragons, and fire performers who were no less impressive than during the day.

Unfortunately, after wandering around all day, Li Yan was already feeling weary, and Wu Ba, with his large appetite, was also feeling a bit stuffed, so they decided to head back.

In the following days, they didn’t go out.

Sha Lifei continued his cultivation, Lv San and Wang Daoxuan were busy with their own affairs, and only Li Yan occasionally instructed Wu Ba in basic martial arts.

A few days later, it was Dongzhi.

As the saying goes, Dongzhi is as important as the New Year.

In Shu, Dongzhi is particularly significant.

Once Dongzhi arrives, people start slaughtering pigs and making sausages.

Dumplings are a must.

But more importantly, a good pot of mutton soup must be made.

Early in the morning, the Luo family’s servants began working, slaughtering three sheep to make mutton soup, cook mutton meat, and make mutton dumplings.

Li Yan and his companions enjoyed a peaceful festival.

Apart from eating, there are many Dongzhi customs in Shu.

For example, drying food in the sun, where people take their food and grains out to bask in the sun, saying it drives away cold...

There’s also the Stove God’s ritual, where each household places offerings in front of the Stove God statue...

Some even go to the mountains early in the morning to honor their ancestors.

As wanderers of the pugilistic world, Li Yan and his group naturally had none of these concerns, but Wang Daoxuan performed a ritual to bring everyone blessings and longevity.

With much excitement and joy, they passed through Dongzhi...

...

Dong dong dong!

The next day, before dawn, there was a knock at the door.

A Luo family servant opened the door to see a burly man standing outside, wearing a bamboo hat, a long robe, with a full beard and a face weathered by journey.

"Who might you be?"

Before the servant could inquire, Li Yan had already walked briskly out of the room, smiling and cupping his hands in salute: "Brother Wu, what brings you here? I was planning to set off for Fengdu tomorrow."

The visitor was none other than Wu Qu from Cangzhou.

Not only a Baji Fist expert but also a Huaguang Sect Mage.

It was back in Wuchang that Li Yan met him during a martial contest at Gui Mountain, and it was through his introduction that he got involved with the "Yellow Springs Organization."

"Let’s talk inside!"

Wu Qu’s expression was serious as he glanced around and spoke in a low voice.

"Oh?"

Li Yan frowned, quickly inviting him inside, then ordered the servant to pour a cup of hot tea before asking seriously: "What happened?"

Judging by Wu Qu’s demeanor, something was clearly wrong.

Looking as if he had been in a fight, the murderous aura had yet to dissipate.

Wu Qu’s expression was complicated. After taking a sip of tea, he spoke: "The living Yin messenger I assisted has been killed!"

"When?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yan immediately furrowed his brow.

The Yellow Springs Organization typically pairs a "living Yin messenger" with several martial artists as protectors, who support and rely on each other.

The relationship between them is very close.

Despite their camaraderie, Wu Qu never revealed the identity of the "living Yin messenger" he was protecting.

"Just the day before yesterday!"

Wu Qu’s eyes were filled with killing intent. "The living Yin messenger I protected was a coroner from An Yue County, whose martial arts skills and Dao were not high, thus his identity was secret, known only to me and another protector."

"I was on my way to escort him to Fengdu, but just a day before I arrived, he was killed in the county government’s jail!"