Splash!
The High Priestess jumped onto the bamboo raft. The force was so great that the raft sank slightly, splashing up streaks of river water.
Much of the river water splashed onto the High Priestess's face, wetting her clothes all over.
The High Priestess didn't care about any of this, raised the bamboo pole, and slammed it into the water.
Suddenly, a huge splash of water was stirred up, pushing the bamboo raft away from the painted boat quickly.
This small bamboo pole was more useful in the hands of the High Priestess than a large oar.
Pa pa pa!
The High Priestess stirred the bamboo pole forcefully again and again, urging the bamboo raft to rush outwards.
She only wanted to escape this place as soon as possible, away from Su Yuqing, this terrifying woman.
She had no intention of confronting Su Yuqing at all.
As the daughter of Guang Chanzi, she had naturally seen martial arts grandmasters.
The Evergreen Sect was, after all, the state religion of the previous dynasty, and the High Priestess Jin Haier had also been glorious.
She had naturally seen the skills of grandmasters.
After cultivating with Li Changchun, she entered the nineteenth level of the Jade Clarity Skill, finally turning this health-preserving skill into a peerless martial art with powerful killing methods.
She was confident that she would not be afraid of ordinary grandmasters who had just entered the realm.
But after seeing Su Yuqing's sword, she panicked.
This was not the method of a grandmaster who had just entered the realm at all.
That small metal ball was actually a sword pellet quenched from hundreds and thousands of swords, extracting the essence of the sword threads.
Cutting iron like mud, wrapping around the finger with softness.
What a terrifying method this was?
Beyond imagination.
However, Su Yuqing did not give her a chance to escape.
She saw the metal ball on her wrist spread and burst like a ball of yarn, turning into hundreds and thousands of tiny metal sword threads, sweeping towards Jin Haier overwhelmingly.
"Su Yuqing, you insidious villain!"
Jin Haier shouted angrily.
She saw that the bamboo raft was surrounded by sword threads, and even more endless sword threads were shooting towards her, each sword thread carrying an invincible sharpness.
Knowing that she could not escape, she immediately raised the bamboo pole inserted into the water and slammed it outwards.
More than ten sword threads were shaken away. At the same time, she stimulated the Jade Clarity Skill, her body was almost transparent, emitting a white light, and her entire body formed a layer of white luster, resisting the sword threads…
But the sword threads were too many and too strong, simply endless.
"Su Yuqing, my father is still here, He Nanfeng is still here, and the Prince of Huainan is still here.
How dare you…"
… …
Jin Haier died.
When Su Yuqing stepped on the bamboo raft, Jin Haier became a cold corpse.
Su Yuqing raised her right hand, pinched a sword gesture, and thousands of sword threads flowed back to her palm, re-condensing into a small metal ball, which was once again worn on Su Yuqing's neck.
It was as delicate and beautiful as a fine necklace.
She looked up at the direction of Dayin Mountain, "This guy really didn't disappoint."
Afterwards, Su Yuqing turned into a phantom and went straight to Dayin Mountain.
… …
The matter of Dayin Mountain happened suddenly and secretly.
The people living in the towns around the foot of the mountain had no idea what had happened.
They were still doing their own work, lively and bustling.
The wharf of Shuideng Town was still prosperous, and the girls on the flower boats were still singing and dancing, no different from usual.
The wharf was brightly lit, and the night market was bustling.
The peddlers set up stalls and shouted, and the walking guests stopped to buy goods, haggling over the price of a certain item.
Suddenly—
The ground trembled violently.
The tremors made people feel uneasy, and they turned their heads to look.
They saw a group of sturdy horsemen galloping from the road ahead, a full hundred steeds neatly on their way, raising countless dust.
"The Demon Suppression Division is handling a case, irrelevant people retreat!"
"The Demon Suppression Division is handling a case, irrelevant…"
The riders on the horses were all sturdy men wearing the uniforms of the Demon Suppression Division, each holding weapons, mighty and majestic, rushing forward.
Some members of the Demon Suppression Division shouted loudly.
The crowds on both sides gave way one after another, watching the horse team cross the street, raising dust all over the ground.
Even though the horse team was moving very fast, the team of a full hundred people still took some time to cross the street.
The surrounding villagers were dumbfounded.
Although Shuideng Town was a prosperous large town, and the villagers were somewhat knowledgeable, such a huge horse team was still the first time they had seen it, attracting a lot of discussion.
"The people from the Demon Suppression Division came before and beheaded that Young Master Li who set fire to the people's homes.
What are the Demon Suppression Division doing here this time?"
"This time the formation is much larger than the previous time, I'm afraid something big has happened again."
"… …"
The horse team crossed Shuideng Town and went straight to the direction of Dayin Mountain.
The leader was the brawny man Chen Tie.
His attire was very different from when he was playing chess with the old director.
Chen Tie was wearing a black close-fitting suit, and a golden hammer, twice the size of a human head, was hanging on the left side of the horse's back.
It emitted a faint golden light under the moonlight.
Presumably, the golden hammer was too heavy, causing the BMW under him to tilt to one side.
Fortunately, this BMW was not an ordinary bloodline, and it was able to actively adjust its balance and gallop all the way.
Galloping on Chen Tie's sides were a heroic and extraordinary woman and an arrogant youth.
It was Zhao Qing'er and Wei Haoran.
Chen Tie stared intently at Dayin Mountain in front of him, constantly urging everyone to speed up their journey.
And Zhao Qing'er and Wei Haoran's attention was focused on the golden hammer on Chen Tie's horse's back, their eyes fiery, with a bit of eagerness to try.
Wei Haoran said: "Senior Brother Chen, it is said that your golden hammer weighs eight hundred catties.
This is the first time I have seen you bring it out.
Can you let Junior Brother play with it later?"
Zhao Qing'er added, "Junior Sister also wants to play with it."
Chen Tie glanced at the two of them speechlessly, "Heh, you're eyeing Chen's golden hammer, aren't you?
Alright, if you can successfully wipe out the Corpse Refining Hall this time, and you have made great contributions.
Chen is happy to let you play with this golden hammer!"
Wei Haoran was overjoyed, "Senior Brother Chen is generous.
Then I'm determined to play with this hammer.
It is said that it can be used to forge spiritual weapons."
Zhao Qing'er said: "Senior Brother Chen is naturally generous, but I am a daughter, naturally I come first."
Wei Haoran immediately snorted: "I opened my mouth first, don't you understand first come first served?
Of course, it's my turn to play first."
Zhao Qing'er: "Don't you know how to respect women?"
Wei Haoran: "Can you even be considered a woman?"
"Wei Haoran!" Zhao Qing'er drew her sword out of its sheath with a clang, "You dare to despise me!??"
Wei Haoran said: "You can't accept it if I tell the truth, you're so unable to play… What are you even following me here for."
"Alright, alright, alright, I will kill you here today."
"Am I afraid of you?"
Saying that, the two were about to fight again.
Chen Tie shouted very speechlessly: "If you ruin the Long Princess's major event, don't even talk about playing with the war hammer.
It's another matter whether you can even keep your butts."
Hearing the words "Long Princess", Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er stopped fighting.
"Today, for the sake of the Long Princess, I won't bother with you."
"… …"
… …
However, Xie An was standing on the top of the ancient tower, watching the Immortal Box and the Great Bronze Bell compete with each other.
At first, when Xie An saw that the power of national fortune on the Great Bronze Bell exceeded that of the Tong Stele by a lot, he couldn't help but sweat for the Immortal Box.
He was worried that the Immortal Box might not be able to absorb such a strong power of national fortune.
But very quickly, Xie An realized that he was overthinking.
The Immortal Box became stronger when it encountered the strong, and it actually burst out with power far exceeding the previous one, forcibly absorbing the power of national fortune on the Great Bronze Bell.
As the last trace of national fortune was absorbed, the engraved characters of the national seal on the Great Bronze Bell also disappeared.
Xie An knew that the situation was critical, and he couldn't bother to check the changes in the palm prints on the Immortal Box, so he immediately put away the Immortal Box.
Then, he circulated the Jade Clarity Skill to the limit, and suddenly slammed a punch on the Great Bronze Bell.
Dang!
The clear and melodious bell rang, resounding throughout Dayin Mountain.
Although Xie An was knocked back more than ten meters and almost fell from the ninth floor, fortunately, Xie An's Jade Clarity Skill had already been cultivated to the tenth level, and he unloaded the recoil force of the Jade Clarity Skill engraved characters on the Great Bronze Bell at the last moment.
Even so, Xie An was still quite surprised.
"A hundred years ago, Li Changchun relied on the eighteenth level of the Jade Clarity Skill to engrave the Great Bronze Bell.
A hundred years have passed since then, and it still has such power.
It's really terrifying.
If it had been a few months ago, if I had come here rashly… even if the Immortal Box had absorbed the national fortune on it, I would not have been able to break this Great Bronze Bell.
But now, I can."
Xie An was slightly stunned, then clenched his fist again, pushed the Jade Clarity Skill to the limit, charged forward, and slammed his second punch on the Great Bronze Bell with a bang.
Dang!
Another loud and ear-piercing bell rang, exploded.
This time, having been mentally prepared, Xie An only staggered back five or six steps before standing firm.
He clearly felt that the Jade Clarity Skill power remaining on the Great Bronze Bell was constantly weakening.
"Five or six more punches, and it should be about the same."
Dang dang dang dang!
Xie An knew that the risk had been completely eliminated, and he didn't hesitate any longer, launching a series of heavy punches.
Each punch was stronger than the last.
Previously, Xie An was worried about being retaliated by the Jade Clarity Skill on the bronze bell, so he left some strength when punching, in case of accidents.
Now, there was no need for that.
With the sixth punch, the great bronze bell began to shake violently, and the power of the Jade Bright Art lingering on it was completely shattered.
Xie An became somewhat excited, as if he was fighting Li Changchun from afar. To be precise… it was fighting Li Changchun from a hundred years ago.
In the current situation, it was clear that Li Changchun was about to give way.
“One more punch!”
Xie An clenched his fist again, his feet turning slightly.
Power rose from the ground.
Transferred to his waist, then twisting his waist, transferring the power to his fist. The heat within his body also cooperated with his body's movements, all gathering on his fist.
A punch, thrown!
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Boom!
The great bronze bell let out a sharp hum, then cracks appeared on it, and with a "crack" it shattered. The black beam that was suspending the great bronze bell could no longer hold on…
The broken great bronze bell broke free from the beam and crashed down towards the bottom of the ancient pagoda.
“The great bronze bell, finally shattered.”
Xie An was greatly excited, and suddenly remembering something, he shouted loudly towards Yu He below, “Yu He, be careful!”
“I know.”
Yu He's voice came from below. Immediately after, the great bronze bell crashed to the ground, finally making a loud noise, shaking the outer walls of the ancient pagoda, causing countless cracks to appear. The ground around it shook non-stop.
And the great bronze bell was embedded several meters deep into the ground.
Xie An quickly ran down the stairs, arriving in front of Yu He, only to see Yu He's face covered in dust, but she was not injured. Only then did Xie An breathe a sigh of relief.
Yu He was overjoyed, “Master is amazing, you actually broke the century-old great bronze bell. Let's go quickly.”
Saying that, Yu He grabbed Xie An's hand and rushed out of the ancient pagoda's gate.
Outside, a fire had started, and dozens of corpse soldiers, wielding weapons, were rushing towards Xie An and Yu He like a dark cloud.
“Where are the thieves running?!”
“The thieves have cut off the roots of our Corpse Refining Hall, we cannot spare him!”
If it were copper corpses and silver corpses that came, Xie An, holding the Demon Suppressing Blade, would naturally not be afraid, but leading them were four gold corpses, comparable to inner strength martial masters. Moreover, there were several gold corpses rushing towards this place from a distance.
Xie An knew that once they were surrounded, it would be a narrow escape from death.
“No, back to the ancient pagoda.”
Without thinking, Xie An grabbed Yu He and was about to return to the ancient pagoda.
Yu He said, “Master, there is a small path next to us, follow me.”
At this critical moment, Xie An chose to follow Yu He, breaking through from the left.
Even so, they were still caught up by more than a dozen corpse soldiers. Yu He "snap" took out the whip from her waist and killed four copper corpses. Xie An drew the Demon Suppressing Blade and killed three silver corpses. Finally, the two of them worked together to instantly kill a gold corpse.
They forcibly cut out a bloody path, running for their lives.
“Catch the thieves!”
“Don't go put out the fire, catch the thieves!”
The corpse soldiers behind them chased after them frantically. Some corpse soldiers, unable to catch up, threw the weapons in their hands at Xie An and Yu He, and there were also corpse soldiers shooting arrows. It was very organized.
Fortunately, Yu He was familiar with the surroundings, pulling Xie An through two corridors, and finally smashing open the ancestral hall door, then closing it behind them.
After completing all of this, Yu He pulled Xie An to sit down under the eaves of the ancestral hall's entrance to catch their breath.
Even though both of them were inner strength martial master level experts, they couldn't withstand the relentless pursuit of so many corpse soldiers. After a round of competition, they were already exhausted and panting.
Actually, Xie An was fine, after all, he had the Jade Bright Art as a foundation. Although he was tired, his strength had not diminished. Seeing Yu He panting, he said, “Yu He, I'll carry you.”
At this moment, it was extremely critical, and there could be no delay. Once the corpse soldiers broke in, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Yu He gasped for breath, “Don't worry, if the Crystal Commander doesn't come, the corpse soldiers won't dare to break into this place rashly. We can rest for a while.”
Xie An looked towards the gate, and sure enough, he saw corpse soldiers constantly shouting outside the gate, telling the thieves to come out and accept their death, and some corpse soldiers were smashing the door with great force, but they didn't dare to rush in.
This made Xie An breathe a sigh of relief, while running the Jade Bright Art to take the opportunity to recover his energy, he curiously asked, “Why is this?”
Yu He said, “This is the ancestral hall of the Corpse Refining Hall. It is a forbidden area. Usually, except for the High Priest and Li Changchun, no one dares to enter. Even the Crystal Commander can only bring the corpse soldiers in when the ancestral hall is being invaded.”
So that's how it is…
When Xie An looked at this place from the ancient pagoda before, he felt that there was a problem with this ancestral hall.
What would fearless evil cult demon people need an ancestral hall for?
Isn't the ancestral hall a place to worship ancestors?
The ancestor of the Corpse Refining Hall is Li Changchun. Are there any other ancestors?
Thinking of this, Xie An couldn't help but stand up straight, looking at the tightly closed ancestral hall door.
Just then—
Rumble!
The courtyard door of the ancestral hall was shattered by the corpse soldiers and collapsed to the ground. Countless fierce corpse soldiers were crowded at the door, but they didn't dare to come in, only shouting at Xie An and Yu He at the door.
“Damn thieves! If you have the guts, don't hide, come out and compete with us.”
“That's right, that's right. What kind of heroes are you hiding inside? Come out.”
“Come out for me.”
Xie An felt very speechless. He secretly sighed that these corpse soldiers had learned some of the human's polite words. They even knew how to use heroes.
But the problem is… Xie An never thought of himself as any kind of hero.
He just wanted to develop himself. This time, he came here to disrupt the situation because he was targeted by the High Priest when he absorbed the Undying Qi, and he had to make a deal with Su Yuqing to save his life.
If it weren't for that, Xie An wouldn't want to wade into this muddy water.
“Master, don't be afraid, if the Crystal Commander doesn't come, they won't dare to enter. Let's go into the ancestral hall.” Yu He got up and pushed open the main hall door of the ancestral hall, leading Xie An into it.
The ancestral hall was very large, with ever-burning lamps and candles lit everywhere, providing excellent light.
However, Xie An was deeply shocked by the scene inside.
It was like a hall enshrining hundreds of Bodhisattvas. However, what was displayed in the ancestral hall were not statues of Bodhisattvas, but transparent containers, each containing a heart.
In total, there were seven or eight thousand.
Seven or eight thousand hearts were installed in different utensils, and the hearts were still beating… This scene was truly astonishing.
Xie An's pupils shrank slightly.
What exactly is the Corpse Refining Hall doing?
Seven or eight thousand hearts, that's seven or eight thousand lives.
They have all been poisoned by the Corpse Refining Hall.
Suddenly, Xie An remembered what Su Yuqing had once said. When the previous dynasty was destroyed, the Eternal Life Sect slaughtered 100,000 people in the capital alone. Later, they fled to Nanyang Prefecture, causing the Nanyang Massacre, where hundreds of thousands of people were slaughtered.
Just a side branch of the Eternal Life Sect, the Corpse Refining Hall, ran to Qingwu County, causing the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Qingwu County.
Before, Xie An thought the numbers were a bit exaggerated.
After all, many rulers, in order to eliminate dissidents, would often deliberately exaggerate the ferocity of the enemy.
Now seeing these hearts, Xie An felt… that Su Yuqing's words were probably not exaggerated.
Coming back to his senses, Xie An couldn't help but ask, “Yu He, what does the Corpse Refining Hall do with so many hearts?”
Yu He explained familiarly, “Master and Miss have been together for so long, you should know the two great secret techniques of the Eternal Life Sect, which are corpse refining and soul refining. These hearts are all good hearts of living people carefully selected by the High Priest. After the High Priest refines living people into corpse soldiers, in order to facilitate control, he digs out their hearts and enshrines them here. At the same time, he can also absorb the corpse energy that is constantly growing in the corpse soldiers' bodies through the hearts.”
Sure enough… they are evil cult demon people.
“What does the High Priest collect so much corpse energy for?”
Yu He frowned, “I have been lurking here for so many years, and I haven't figured out what the High Priest is up to. But I feel that the High Priest should have greater plans. After all, killing so many people easily arouses the anger of heaven and resentment of people, and will also attract the jealousy of the imperial court. If the High Priest just wants to save his life, he doesn't have to do this.”
Xie An deeply agreed.
With the abilities of the High Priest and Li Changchun, if they just wanted to save their lives, they could be more low-key. At worst, they could change their appearance and live in another city, which wouldn't be a problem.
But now they are constantly killing people here, causing the anger of heaven and resentment of people. Undoubtedly, it will make them a thorn in the eyes of the imperial court.
Isn't this… what caused the Great Princess's great anger?
If it wasn't for something more important than survival, the High Priest would never have taken such a risky move.
Moreover, Yu He has been lurking in the Corpse Refining Hall for more than twenty years, and she still hasn't figured out what the High Priest wants to do. It can be seen that the plan is very big.
Just then—
Buzz!
The white Dao Talisman in Xie An's mind suddenly trembled violently, blooming with an unprecedented white light, causing Xie An's head to ache.
【Detected 8000 strands of Undying Qi…】
Hiss!
Xie An was greatly shocked when he saw this line of text.
