Chapter 1696 - 859: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole (Part 2)

It is a fragment of the Taishan Stone Guardian left by Xu Fu!

The Taishan Stone is guarded by evil spells, a method I’ve never seen before.

Li Yan reached out towards the stone.

As his fingertip touched the cold surface, a bone claw suddenly erupted from a jar, clamping onto his wrist like iron pincers! The chilling aura penetrated straight to the bone.

"Don’t move!"

Longye quickly whispered a reminder, "You’ve disturbed the Earth-bound Spirit with your living energy..."

But her words were already too late, and with distant voices approaching, Li Yan merely gave a cold glance, without hesitation, he grasped the knife handle.

Swoosh!

The Duan Chen Blade flashed coldly, precisely cutting through the bone claw.

Li Yan didn’t hesitate, swiftly pulling out the Stone Guardian fragment and stuffing it into his waist oil skin bag.

"Oh~!"

A loud buzzing sound akin to thousands wailing erupted from within the jar.

The Yin Sha Qi surrounding them surged, shaking the palace walls and causing dust to fall from the green bricks.

"Go!"

Li Yan dared not delay, grabbing the female ninja and diving into the water, pushing the Mysterious Water Escape to the extreme, wrapping the two like an arrow shooting into the depths of the river.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Soon after, two eerie figures streaked through the air.

It turned out to be two ninjas, but their faces resembled the ghost soldiers, ferocious with green faces and tusks, their blood-shot eyes without a hint of madness.

"There’s a thief, and a master at that!"

"His Highness is at a critical moment, leave it to the others..."

...

At 3:45 AM, the rain fell like weaving threads.

Rain and the eerie lights of Yin Yang Hall intertwined, shrouding the area in a hazy Ghost Realm.

Sea Moon Monk, Wang Daoxuan, and others lay in ambush on the roof of an abandoned warehouse adjacent to the Observatory.

Rainwater flowed along the tiles, and Kuai Dayou took out a delicate wooden kite from his deer hide pouch, twisted the mechanism at the tail with his fingertips.

Clatter~

The wooden kite silently spread its wings, its claw tip hooked with a fire oil-soaked, sulfur-twisted cotton rope, slipping through the rain curtain, flying towards the eaves of the east side of the Observatory’s auxiliary building.

This object is purely mechanical, without a trace of Astral Bane Energy, so it won’t alert the enemy.

Soon, there was commotion from a distance.

"Fire! It’s burning!"

The patrol foot soldiers’ rough shout tore through the rain noise.

From the direction of the Library Pavilion within the auxiliary building, a thick smoke rapidly rose, writhing stubbornly in the rain, quickly igniting flames. Instantly, shadows bolted, shouts erupted everywhere.

Chaos is the perfect cover.

Lin Feng seized the moment, throwing the Flying Tiger Claw that latched onto the high wall of the Observatory’s west side, flipping nimbly into the courtyard like a wildcat. Sha Lifei followed closely behind, the flintlock gun barrel glinting coldly in the rain.

The third floor of the loft was filled with cobwebs and dust-covered.

Lin Feng cautiously pushed aside a drooping, old Scripture Banner with the knife sheath, revealing a shrine concealed behind. Within it was a bronze talisman plate, with animal heads of the twelve zodiac embossed on the plate surface.

It was the "Qingming Kikyo Seal."

This was intelligence acquired at great cost beforehand. But crucially, while Yin Yang Hall dispatched many experts to find them, they hadn’t expected their headquarters to be raided.

Even Zhao Changsheng didn’t anticipate the appearance of the Hai Cang Team, nor know that Sea Moon Monk had secretly plotted for years, finally finding the opportunity today.

Just as the treasure was acquired, the beams and columns of the entire Observatory groaned under strain, and the stone guardian dogs perched on the eaves blinked their eyes with terrifying red light.

"We’ve been exposed!"

Sha Lifei reacted swiftly, raising his gun to fire.

The lead bullet whistled, shattering the stone guardian dogs, and from the debris burst forth burning talisman paper.

"Go!"

Lin Feng made a decisive move, tearing through the rotted window frame and jumping down.

Sha Lifei followed closely behind.

As their figures vanished into the rain, a thunderous sound of collapsing buildings resonated from behind, with plumes of dust and rain pouring skyward.

Almost simultaneously upon landing, multiple dark figures lunged from the rain, glinting with fierce blade light.

It’s the Onmyoji and Ninja on guard.

Long Yan’er was already prepared on the opposite rooftop, her left hand performing a mantra, and with a flick of her little finger, the flying Gu Worms swiftly flew over and accurately penetrated into the intruders’ bodies.

A few individuals stiffened all over, falling straight to the ground.

"Retreat!" Kuai Dayou commanded softly, tossing out several smoke bombs.

Thick smoke mixed with rain swiftly spread, the figures of the group disappearing into the intricate alleyways, vanishing from sight...

...

Almost in the instant when the Vermilion Bird Gate’s Bone Urn buzzed and the Yin Yang Hall’s talisman plate vibrated, a vast and chilling will suddenly awakened deep in the ruins of the Monk Soldier Hall on Anma Mountain!

"Roar—!" An inhuman roar shook the mountain and field, causing accumulated snow to fall.

From the collapsed sinkhole in the center of the ruins, thick black fog surged out, mixed with a pungent scent of sulfur and blood.

Seven red-haired, fanged Ghost Child illusions whistled out, accompanied by black fog, visible even to ordinary people, screaming on the ice frost, freezing everything in their path.

Deeper inside, the wind and snow howled, and the enormous illusion of the Snow Woman hovered, her white clothes outshining the snow.

With her long hair covering her face, she blew out a chilling white mist, freezing the air.

The ruined Buddha Hall whipped up fallen leaves with fierce winds, and an angry voice sounded: "Someone has moved the Earth Nails! Quickly suppress the backlash of the Astral Bane Energy at the Vermilion Bird Gate and Yin Yang Hall, absolutely cannot let the Hundred Demons lose control prematurely!"

The order was like a mountain. Several black figures shot out from shadows throughout the ruins, their aura condensed, they were the top experts stationed here.

They either performed Escape Techniques or sealed and summoned Shikigami, aiming directly toward Kyoto. The guard forces in Anma Mountain’s core area were suddenly emptied of much.

...

Almost at the moment the experts from Anma Mountain left, Kyoto City seemed to be gripped fiercely by an invisible hand.

Near the Vermilion Bird Gate, the ground cracked with tiny fissures, wisps of cyan-black mist silently seeping through, carrying bone-chilling cold and nauseating decay...

In the street where the Yin Yang Hall was, paper lanterns suddenly ignited without wind, ghostly green flames flickered, casting passersby’s faces pale as ghosts...

From the corners of streets and alleys, inexplicable crying and whispers arose intermittently.

Though a true "Night Patrol of Hundred Demons" did not form, the Yin Sha Qi spread like a plague, bizarre incidents occurring frequently, scaring citizens back into their homes.

Some unlucky ones fell into illusions, running wildly in the streets with disheveled hair.

The magicians stationed at the Yin Yang Hall’s faces changed dramatically, rushing out in succession.

They wielded talisman magic artifacts, intently chanting spells to suppress, trying to re-stabilize the Earth Vein, repairing the disturbed "Nail."

"Everyone, be careful!"

The Sea Moon Monk, hiding in the shadows, glanced at a few companions.

The meaning was self-evident.

They had been hiding in Japan for years, all for this day.

If these Onmyoji are allowed to suppress the array again, then years of hard work will go to waste, and such an opportunity may never be found again in life.

"Take action!"

Ruan Amo hesitated not a bit, her thin fingers rapidly moving the Shell Divination.

Her mouth uttered ancient and obscure spells, an invisible pulling force stirred into the already chaotic Yin Sha Qi Field like ice thrown into a boiling pot.

Lin Feng’s flintlock gun first thundered, the lead bullet accurately shattering the talisman banner held by an Onmyoji sealing.

The sudden appearance of the Hai Cang Team, like boiling oil doused with cold water, completely ignited the situation.

The magicians from the Yin Yang Hall were both shocked and furious, immediately splitting up to confront them.

Talismans, Shikigami, Ninja blade lights, the roaring of firearms, the buzzing of Gu Worms, the sound of mechanical hidden weapons cutting through the air intertwined together. The narrow alleys instantly turned into blood-soaked chaotic scenes.

The Hai Cang Team, though brave and fierce, was thoroughly exposed to the enemy’s sight. They were mired in a bitter struggle, only to buy precious time windows for their companions on another line.

...

Anma Mountain, Monk Soldier Hall ruins.

Just as the chaos in Kyoto began and experts were redeployed elsewhere, Li Yan and others darted from their hidden spots in the dense forest like wildcats.

"Quick! Set up the platform!" Li Yan commanded quietly, his sharp eyes scanning around.

Wang Daoxuan had long taken out the Turtle Shell Compass from his backpack, setting up the platform with Wu Ba’s help, using a rope dipped in black dog blood to encircle a simple magic platform, talisman papers stuck in Nine Palace positions, placing an ancient, unadorned bronze oil lamp in the center.

"Wu Ba, Lv San, guard me!"

Li Yan ordered once, then sat cross-legged on the magic platform.

Among those present, only he could perform Yin Soul Patrol.

Wang Daoxuan sat cross-legged in front of the platform, performing a mantra with his hands, pointing at the lamp wick: "Three souls eternal, spirit not lost, leave form and knowledge, Divine Travel in Void... Command!"

The wick "poof" lit up with a small bean-sized ghostly blue flame.

Suddenly, Yin Wind howled around, swirling around Li Yan...