Chapter 238: Water God Longevity Art

"Interesting..."

Li Yan was already used to the phenomenon of dense fog rising around him. Whenever it happened, it was either some sort of spirit communication or a mission from the Underworld.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately strode forward. It didn't take long before the thick fog dispersed, and a figure appeared ahead.

A local deity had half-emerged from a pool of water. He had red hair, a yellow beard, blue-green eyes, a sallow face, and wore golden armor. His appearance was somewhat strange, but his circumstances were even more miserable.

The deity was hunched over with both hands braced against the bank. Massive bronze spikes had been driven through the backs of his hands, pinning them to the ground. Iron chains hung from the bronze spikes and ran across his neck. The whole thing looked like some kind of cruel punishment.

"Wuu... wuu..."

A mournful crying sound rang out, coming from his mouth.

So he's been sealed and suppressed!

Li Yan narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. This should be the Huangmo God, the water deity of the Three Gorges. Judging from the old records, he had once been a benevolent deity who protected passing ships. Once he had been sealed, he naturally stopped answering prayers, and his incense offerings had gradually withered.

For him to have endured so long meant he must once have been exceptionally powerful. Most likely, he could no longer hold on and sensed that his end was near, which was why cries could be heard at night.

But who has done this to him?

Curious, Li Yan stepped forward to investigate.

Clatter!

The chains rattled as the Huangmo God raised his enormous head. A pair of blue-green eyes, clear as river water, met Li Yan's.

In an instant, the surroundings changed again. Li Yan found himself deep beneath the river, where silt churned and aquatic plants swayed. Two raised earth veins extended from the shore, looking almost like arms reaching out from the land and stretching into the river.

At the ends of those earth veins stood two bronze pillars as thick as barrels. Their surfaces were mottled with verdigris and covered in algae and shells. Chains wound around the bronze pillars and extended down toward the riverbed.

The scene before Li Yan changed once more, as he seemed to follow the chains deeper and deeper. Eventually, what he saw left him stunned.

Deep beneath the riverbed was a stone coffin, with bronze beast-head handles on either side connected to the chains above. As he continued to stare at it, the stone coffin's lid gradually became translucent.

A corpse lay inside. There was no telling what era it came from, but its entire body was swollen and pale, while long black hair billowed around it, obscuring most of the body and making it look exactly like a water ghost...

Soon, the illusion changed again. This time, however, what appeared was the well used by the Underworld to issue missions. It was only an ordinary well, not one filled with blackened blood.

By now, Li Yan had already figured out the pattern. An ordinary well meant capturing Underworld sinners who had disrupted the cycle of life and death. A black well filled with blood meant suppressing demonic qi that had escaped into the mortal world.

He already had a rough idea of who the sinner was as he placed both hands on the rim of the well.

Sure enough, the water began spinning rapidly into a vortex. The coffin appeared first, then the light and shadows flickered, revealing another scene. An elderly Confucian scholar with completely white hair stood beside the river, looking utterly hopeless.

He then threw himself into the water. Then, from the darkness at the bottom of the river, long strands of black hair rose like aquatic weeds and slowly wrapped around him...

Good grief! Spirit communication and an Underworld mission had appeared at the same time!

Li Yan was shocked, and the illusion before him immediately vanished.

Spirit communication happened extremely quickly. To everyone else, only an instant had passed, and no one noticed anything unusual.

Li Yan's expression was grave as he stepped into the main hall. The shrine had long since fallen into ruin. If not for the old temple keeper cleaning it, it probably would have collapsed already. However, the old man had difficulty walking, after all. Thick cobwebs covered the corners near the ceiling, and rats scurried through the darker corners.

Li Yan formed the Yang Seal with his hands and took a deep breath. As expected, a faint trace of divine astral energy still lingered within the statue, but it was extremely weak, close to shattering, and mixed with a current of yin killing qi.

Daoist Feng knew what he was doing and hurriedly asked, "How is it?"

Li Yan did not answer immediately. Instead, he asked in a deep voice, "Have there ever been water ghosts causing trouble near Guizhou City?"

"Of course there were cases like that." Daoist Feng said casually, "The Three Gorges waterways have been strategic thoroughfares and dangerous waters since ancient times. Countless souls have died here. Water ghosts appearing is perfectly normal."

"No, not ordinary water ghosts." Li Yan shook his head and continued to press, "I mean the kind that openly harms people, enters the dreams of commoners, demands blood sacrifices, and tells them to build temples for worship."

Daoist Feng's expression immediately grew solemn. "Are you talking about a demon? I was transferred to Zigui County only a few years ago, so I haven't encountered such a case. I would have to go back and check the old records.

"Young Hero Li, did you discover something?"

Li Yan raised his hand and stopped him from going further. "I'll explain in a moment."

Only after the three left the ruined temple did Li Yan lower his voice to explain, "Someone tampered with the Three Gorges water deity here. I suspect it is connected to one of the evil arts recorded in the Immortal Longevity Treasury."

The earlier illusion had already made things clear to him. The Immortal Longevity Treasury contained quite a few longevity arts related to water, and the arrangement he had just seen strongly resembled the Water God Longevity Art.

Longevity did not refer only to the physical body. If the soul could live forever, that was also a form of longevity. The Water God Longevity Art was one such method. The practitioner first had to devour the fortune of a deity. Afterward, they would transform into a ghost god, have people build temples and worship them with incense, then demand blood sacrifices.

The advantage of the method was that the practitioner could indefinitely preserve the memories of their soul. They could also possess others and survive by borrowing another person's flesh.

The demonic god worshipped by this art was named Lu Li. According to legend, this demon had originally formed from a carp spirit, appearing as a woman dressed in white mourning clothes who often sat crying beside rivers. Anyone drawn to the river by her crying would be killed.

Of course, although this art was profound, it also had a weakness. The possessed body would decay after only a few years, forcing the practitioner to find another host. That interval was the best time to deal with the caster.

The Huangmo God, water deity of the Three Gorges, had already reached his limit. The only reason he had lasted so long was because he was being used to bear calamities on behalf of the cultivator who had trapped him there. Once the person who cast the technique was destroyed, the Huangmo God would also dissipate. Clearly, he wanted Li Yan to avenge him.

"The Water God Longevity Art?!" Daoist Feng clearly knew something about it. His eyes filled with shock, and it took him a long while to recover before shaking his head. "This is the Three Gorges. There are countless water deities worshipped along both banks. Almost every village has its own water-god temple. Finding the culprit won't be easy..."

But Li Yan said thoughtfully, "It's not as though we have no clues. The evil practitioner is currently possessing an elderly Confucian scholar. I suspect it is Liu Danqiu, the Master of Sacrifices from Danyang Academy."

Daoist Feng stroked his long beard and nodded. "That is possible. Ever since his grandson died, he has lived alone in the mountains and kept his movements secret. Perhaps he didn't want anyone noticing the stench of decay coming from his body."

Sha Lifei stared at them dumbfounded. "Wait. Didn't the Huangmo God Temple only fall into ruin during the Great Xing era? Are you saying there really is some old monster who has survived until now?"

Li Yan's gaze grew solemn. "Most likely. That fellow may well be one of the Ghost Sect remnants from back then. When he saw that things were going badly during the Great Xing era, he used an evil longevity art to cling to life while secretly rebuilding the Ghost Sect..."

By this point, Li Yan could see the vague outline of the scheme. The remnants of the Ghost Sect had secretly spread their teachings in this region long ago. Red Maiden had arrived and was now working with them, though what conspiracy they were plotting was still unknown.

Or perhaps both Red Maiden and Zhao Changsheng were members of the Ghost Sect!

After all, the present Zhao Changsheng had also originated from a Daoist of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect who had traveled to the northern frontier, accidentally touched a restriction, and had been possessed by someone else.

A chilling thought surfaced in Li Yan's mind.

The Ghost Sect had never truly been exterminated.

As it turned out, its members might have hidden throughout the Divine Continent using various evil longevity arts, either transforming themselves into evil entities or escaping the cycle of life and death.

The reason Zhao Changsheng had spent all these years moving throughout the Divine Continent was because he wanted to awaken every last one of them!

The thought sent a chill down Li Yan's back.

Although Daoist Feng did not know what he was thinking, he could still sense the seriousness of the situation. He sighed and shook his head. "What do we do next?"

Li Yan said solemnly, "For now, don't alert the other side. We continue investigating and pretend we know nothing, so we don't startle the snake.

"Daoist, is there any way to contact True Martial Palace quickly?"

"No." Daoist Feng shook his head. "The Taixuan Orthodox Sect has a thousand-li sound-transmission art, but it can only be used within blessed lands or atop high mountains filled with innate astral qi. It also requires a large-scale ritual ceremony and is activated only when the safety of the Divine Continent is at stake.

"The fastest method is still the imperial courier stations. But with the river monster causing trouble in the Three Gorges, we can only travel by mountain roads. Even reaching Yichang would take one or two days.

"Didn't Assistant Prefect Zhou say reinforcements would arrive tomorrow? The river monster will probably be suppressed and killed by then, so sending messages will be much easier."

Li Yan thought for a moment and did not insist further. "That works."

In truth, the person he most wanted to contact was Luo Mingzi. The other man had been transferred to the capital specifically to investigate Zhao Changsheng. The two of them were extremely close, so he would certainly take this matter seriously as well.

Although they had uncovered an important clue at the Huangmo God Temple, the three did not stop. They continued along the stream, circled around Guizhou City, and headed north.

Peach trees lined the banks all along the way. Blossoms covered the branches, their petals drifting down into the stream. The scenery was exceptionally beautiful beneath the hazy spring rain.

Sha Lifei casually glanced at the water, then suddenly widened his eyes. "Look! Those peach blossoms are moving!"

Daoist Feng shook his head as he explained, "They're called peach-blossom fish. The peach blossoms along the stream are also one of Guizhou's famous sights. In previous years at this time, the scholars of Danyang Academy would go out for spring excursions, gathering friends to compose poetry and exchange couplets beside the stream.

"This year, I doubt anyone will still be in the mood..."

As they spoke, they had already left the western side of the city.

There were many streams and rivers around Guizhou City, but there were far fewer villages here compared to the area near the southern docks. Only occasionally did they encounter people heading out to sweep graves for Qingming.

The roads were remote, and they often had to make detours to cross bridges, so the journey took somewhat longer. Thus, it was already noon by the time they reached Bao'en Guangxiao Temple.

On the way, Daoist Feng had already explained that Bao'en Guangxiao Temple was likewise very old. Lu You had once stayed there when he had visited Guizhou during the Song Dynasty.

But before they even approached, the three noticed something was wrong. Although it was raining lightly and it was the Qingming period, the temple gates were tightly shut in the middle of the day.

According to Wu Dehai, his son Wu Shiqing had been fond of studying Buddhist doctrine. He had frequently visited Bao'en Guangxiao Temple to drink tea and discuss Buddhism with the abbot.

On the day Wu Shiqing met with disaster, he had also returned late at night from this temple. Yet according to the information from the courthouse, the monks here merely chanted sutras, meditated, burned incense, and worshipped the Buddha. None of them knew any mystic arts. It was simply an ordinary secular temple.

Li Yan had originally only intended to take a look, but from the looks of it, something was clearly suspicious.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes. "Someone's coming. Hide first!"

He led the other two into a small grove nearby. Once they were hidden, several men dressed like merchants appeared, riding from the direction of Guizhou City's north gate. Upon reaching the temple entrance, they began pounding on the gate.

"Why are they keeping the doors shut in broad daylight?"

"Could it be because of Qingming?"

The men spoke with accents from other prefectures, and were clearly ordinary merchants.

The gate slowly opened a crack, and a monk peered through it before addressing them. "Benefactors, what brings you here?"

A wealthy-looking merchant smiled. "These gentlemen are all friends of mine. We heard the temple possesses authentic calligraphy by Lu Fangweng and wanted to admire it. We intend to burn some incense and make a donation to the temple."

The monk remained expressionless. "My apologies, benefactors. Our temple has matters to attend to today, and is not receiving outside visitors. Please return another time."

With that, he simply shut the gate.

"Now, really..." The merchant leading the group was obviously annoyed. "These monks, what are they thinking? I've donated no small amount of incense money here over the years. What kind of attitude is this?"

As he spoke, he moved to knock again.

"Brother Wang, forget it. Perhaps they really do have something important to deal with. Let's go back."

After being persuaded by those beside him, the merchant left indignantly, leading the others back toward Guizhou City on horseback.

After they had left, Daoist Feng stroked his beard. "Looks like there really is something strange going on. I have never met the abbot here, but I have heard of him. The man is extremely greedy for money. How could he ever turn away a donation delivered straight to his door?"

As he gazed at the temple through the rain, Li Yan fell into thought. "No rush. Let me take a look first."

With that, he stepped according to the formation of the Big Dipper, formed a hand seal, and lightly hooked his little finger. A yin wind suddenly rose around them, and a white paper effigy shot out from the leather pouch at his waist, gliding close to the ground toward the temple.

One convenient feature of the Northern Emperor Straw Spirit Technique was that many paper effigies could be prepared in advance. When casting the spell, there was no need to chant an incantation, saving considerable time.

Using straw effigies in the rain was normally a major taboo. After all, once it became soaked, it would lose its effect.

Fortunately, they were not far from the temple. The straw effigy moved extremely quickly, using the surrounding trees as cover. Although a few droplets landed on it, it still remained barely usable after slipping inside.

Li Yan maintained the hand seal and closed his eyes. As he looked through the straw effigy, the interior of the temple became completely visible to him.

The main gate was tightly shut. Two monks stood behind it holding sabers, sheltering from the rain while cursing under their breath.

"Damn it, those fools don't know what's good for them."

"If it were up to me, we should've let them in and finished them off right there."

"Forget it. Don't jeopardize the real deal."

There really is something wrong with this temple!

Li Yan's heart tightened, and he continued guiding the straw effigy forward.

The temple's ancient buildings had sweeping eaves and interlocking bracket sets. The old wooden mortise-and-tenon construction was beautifully intricate, but it also contained numerous gaps, which the straw effigy quietly slipped through.

Li Yan guided the paper effigy into one of the side halls and was immediately startled. The floor was densely covered with corpses, all dressed in yellow monk robes. They were clearly the monks of the temple. Each one had been decapitated, and their abdomens were drenched in blood as their livers had all been removed.

Li Yan pondered over it for a moment, and continued searching with the straw spirit.

All the corpses had been gathered inside this single side hall, whose doors and windows were locked tight, while every other hall stood completely empty.

Where has everyone gone?

Just as Li Yan was wondering, he saw a mud-covered man climb out of a well beside the vegetable garden in the rear courtyard.

The man hurled the iron pickaxe in his hand onto the ground in frustration. "Damn, this thing is a crapstick to dig!"

After cursing, he ran toward the front courtyard and shouted, "Hurry up! The brothers are hungry. Get us something to eat! The chief said we have to dig the thing out today!"

He then turned around, climbed back into the well, and disappeared. Meanwhile, the two fake monks headed into the kitchen and began preparing food.

All of a sudden, the straw effigy burst into flames and turned to ash.

In the grove, Li Yan abruptly opened his eyes and described everything he had seen.

"Ssss..." Daoist Feng's expression shifted between shock and uncertainty as he mumbled, "There's an old legend in Guizhou City that an ancient Chu tomb lies behind Bao'en Guangxiao Temple, but no one has ever found it despite searching for many years. Could those evil practitioners have actually located it?"

Li Yan replied solemnly, "Whatever they're digging for, there's no doubt these people are from the Ghost Sect. Daoist Feng, the city gate isn't far from here. Return immediately and tell Assistant Prefect Zhou to bring men and arrest them.

"We'll stay here and keep watch so none of them escape."

"This..." Daoist Feng revealed an awkward look and muttered in embarrassment. "Why don't we all go back together? I’m a little concerned something might happen if I go alone."

Sha Lifei laughed. "Daoist, it's barely any distance at all. You'll be there in the blink of an eye. What are you afraid of?"

Daoist Feng shook his head. "Ah, you don't understand. The old records say the Ghost Sect's methods are vicious and insidious. More troublesome still is that you never know how many followers they have.

"There must be plenty of their eyes and ears inside the city right now, and the government offices are even more dangerous. After all, I don’t know martial arts. If anyone notices me, I might not even return alive."

Seeing the old Daoist so plainly afraid of death, Li Yan did not force him. He simply decided on another course of action. "Since that's the case, we'll capture them first and deal with the rest afterward. Uncle Sha, let’s move!"

The two immediately rushed toward the temple.

As for old Daoist Feng, he knew going with them would only get in the way, so he slipped deeper into the grove and hid there to wait.