Chapter 1695 - 859: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

Initiate the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade?

The group exchanged glances, understanding dawning in their hearts.

The Capital City is the power core of Japan, and at this time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi is aging, with many watching eagerly. Once in crisis and turmoil, the Yin Yang Hall, Kamo Tadayuki, and the stationed Japanese troops will be exhausted.

The Sea Moon Monk turned to Li Yan, speaking decisively: "Once this chaos begins, the outer defenses of High Heaven will be greatly constrained, and even the internal suppression may loosen!"

"This is the only opportunity for you to exploit the situation and directly strike at the core, seizing the Demon God’s Demonic Energy. We will split into two groups; we will cause disturbances outside, drawing out the enemy, while Master Li, you take the opportunity to infiltrate."

Silence pervaded the cellar as everyone contemplated deeply.

Outside the window, the faint sound of the Capital City lockdown’s golden gong mingled with the distant, indistinct barking of dogs.

The flickering candlelight cast shadows on their faces, alternating between light and dark.

Li Yan seemed contemplative, looking toward the Sea Moon Monk, he seriously clasped his hands and asked, "Forgive my directness, there is something I must clarify."

With these words, he gazed intently at the Sea Moon Monk, "I have heard that the master grew up in Japan since childhood, and your teacher was also a high monk from Japan. Although you have returned to the Divine State, we are concerned about the backlash of causing such chaos. Are you not afraid, master?"

Upon hearing this, the Sea Moon Monk chuckled, glanced at the companions behind him, and said in a solemn tone: "Some things are not fit for outsiders to know, but rest assured, Young Hero Li, we all harbor deep-seated revenge, wishing this island nation would sink, leaving not even a blade of grass!"

Hatred’s flames rose in the eyes of those behind him.

Li Yan squinted his eyes slightly, "Fine, let’s do it!"

.........

The candle flickered, as the Sea Moon Monk elaborated to the group.

"Initiating the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade is no ordinary spell; it requires shaking the foundation of Capital City’s thousand-year accumulated Resentful Evil." His voice was low, carrying a peculiar rhythm.

"The key lies in three ’Earth Nails’!"

Speaking, his withered fingers pointed to three locations on the simplified map of the Capital City.

"When Ping’an City was first built, Emperor Huanwu used the Four Gods array to guard the Royal City. Anma, representing Xuanwu, has the old site of the Monk Soldiers Hall buried beneath, with the ’Mountain Suppressing Eight-Inch Mirror’—cast in imitation of the Central Plains’ Nine Tripods of Yu King, the back of the mirror engraved with the true names of eighty million Japanese gods, the face gathering the thousand-year mountain Resentful Evil; it is the foundation of the northern defense."

"The fragments of the Sky Cloud Sword are buried at the Vermilion Bird Gate, drawing the aura of martial strife to guard the south."

"The Yin Yang Hall locks Abe Qingming’s ’Twelve Divine Generals Talisman Disc’, determining the eastern Qi fortune."

"These three places are the Earth Nails pinning down the earth vein of the Capital City, suppressing the Hundred Demons." The Sea Moon Monk raised his eyes, scanning the crowd with his gaze, "Once the three nails are removed, grievance will gush like a floodgate opening, the resentful spirits and demon ghosts imprisoned within High Heaven will be drawn out, revealing the spectacle of ’Night Patrol of Hundred Demons’ once more!"

"At that time entering will be much safer for all of you."

"How to remove them?" Li Yan asked directly.

"These three seals were set during the Heian era, by Abe Qingming and other Great Yin Yang Masters collaboratively, connecting the earth vein, extraordinarily solid, and are also related to the demon-suppressing methods left from Xu Fu’s eastward voyage." The Sea Moon Monk said solemnly, "In my early years, I found the ’Decryption Map’ deep in the Scripture Pavilion of Anma Temple, a secret record left by a high monk involved in the sealing, detailing the method to unlock the nodes of the three seals."

He paused, changing his tone, pointing to the map of the Capital City, "However, the Anma Mountain Monk Soldiers Hall is at the entrance to High Heaven; it must be heavily guarded by Kamo Tadayuki and his subordinates, alongside Earth Immortals from the Jianmu Sacrifice. A frontal attack is akin to seeking death; we must deploy the strategy of luring the tiger away from the mountain!"

"What does the master propose?" Kong Shangzhao pursued.

"First break the seals of the Vermilion Bird Gate and Yin Yang Hall!"

The Sea Moon Monk’s eyes flashed sharply, "While these two places are also guarded, they do not compare to Anma Mountain’s tight defenses. Once these two Earth Nails are loosened, the earth vein’s Resentful Evil in Capital City will stir up waves, like boiling oil in water, the Ghost Gods suppressed within High Heaven will be agitated."

"The Capital City is Japan’s critical land, Kamo Tadayuki in order to stabilize the situation and prevent the Hundred Ghosts from prematurely losing control and backlashing at him, will be forced to split troops or even personally go to suppress! By then, Anma Mountain’s defenses will be empty, providing us the perfect opportunity to directly attack the dragon, removing the last nail, completely triggering the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade!"

With the plan settled, everyone immediately took action.

......

The night was as dark as ink, the moat water cold and obscure.

Li Yan dragged the subdued female ninja Longye, fully activating the Mysterious Water Escape. The black water flow enveloped the two, isolating their breath, silently diving into the water.

Though Da Ao City was tightly defended, every city relies on water, besides the luxurious Japanese nobility have multiple garden water sceneries, the best passages.

Of course, these Japanese are not fools; the water is filled with numerous ninja hidden stakes and various mechanisms, poison arrays, truly impenetrable.

But before Li Yan’s Mysterious Water Escape, all are inadequate. The ninjas lurking in the water only feel a sudden darkness before losing consciousness.

Where the two passed, they left behind corpses.

Under the female ninja’s gaze guidance, Li Yan continuously quickened his pace, even burrowing past a rusty iron grate at a sluice, arriving at a spacious courtyard.

The two broke the surface silently and slipped into the bamboo forest.

In this wet and muddy patch under the palace walls, half-buried lay an unremarkable earthen urn.

Yes, the target Taishan Stone is hidden here; its purpose is House Protection. If deeply hidden in a storeroom, it would be of no use.

The urn mouth was sealed shut with talisman-covered clay.

Using the knife sheath, Li Yan scraped off the sealing clay; the scene inside the urn made him furrow his brows.

White skeletal fingers clasped a piece of a gray-black stone covered with cracks. The stone’s ancient texture had hidden mountain and river patterns and despite being covered in mud, it still exuded a calm and weighty aura.