The Blade-Wielding Legend

Chapter 1649 - 836: Traces of the Enemy (2)

His figure cut through the rain curtain, twisting into distorted remnants, skillfully avoiding the giant trees broken by the gale and the sudden gullies underfoot.

Every time the tip of his foot touched the ground, he could leverage himself to slide several yards away.

Lv San felt the sound of wind, rain, and thunder mixed into a chaotic roar, his body drawn by a mighty force, traversing the perilous, slippery, steep mountain forest at an inconceivable speed.

He struggled to steady his mind, pushing his perception to the limit, listening intently for sounds beyond the wind and rain.

The dormant insects, the panic-stricken beasts, the mournful cries of birds... the sounds of hundred beasts in the mountain constantly fed back, mapping the outline and anomaly of this rain-drenched mountain forest.

"Left front!"

Lv San stared ahead, solemnly saying, "Many small animals are fleeing, there’s human presence in that area!"

Li Yan’s eyes sharpened, adjusted his direction slightly, wrapping around him in water vapor, drawing a more fierce arc towards the direction Lv San pointed.

The terrain suddenly sank.

The two passed through a primeval forest, and a huge fracture appeared abruptly before their eyes.

It was an unfathomable cliff, like a grim wound, stretching crosswise in front.

On the other side of the cliff were even more perilous peaks, their silhouettes blurred in the rain curtain.

And on the edge of this cliff, the scene was eerily extraordinary!

Below, the deep valley was not pitch-dark.

Dense, unyielding white misty water vapor was frantically surging upwards.

This column of water vapor was several yards thick, condensed like solid matter, roaring straight up to the top of the cliff a hundred yards high, violently colliding with the torrential rain, emitting a continuous muffled roar.

This sound was the source of the dragon’s cry they heard.

The water mist surged upwards, stirred and torn, forming a swirling giant cloud vortex over dozens of yards in diameter, slowly rotating in the air above the cliff, with occasional flickers of lightning, adding a touch of weirdness.

And on the giant rock at the cliff’s edge, stood several figures silently.

The leading person was hunched, skeletal as if dried by wind like an ancient tree.

He wore a tattered Daoist robe, washed white and stained with mud, his sparse white hair and grizzled beard roiled wildly by the wind, clung to his haggard face.

He tightly grasped a primitively styled bronze compass, the compass needle jumping violently.

At this moment, the skeleton-like old Taoist was fixedly staring at the surging water vapor in the deep valley, eyes crazed, "Soon! Soon! To induce the earth vein’s water evil, borrowing the might of heaven and earth..."

"This beast has been trapped for hundreds of years, its spirituality at the brink... Heaven assists me! Capture it, strip its tendons and refine its soul... my ’Earth Evil Dao Body’ shall be completed! Hahahaha..."

Behind the haggard Taoist, four figures stood ghost-like.

They were shrouded in wide black robes, hoods obscuring their faces.

So that’s it...

Li Yan was suddenly enlightened.

It wasn’t a walking flood dragon, but someone was capturing a dragon!

A mountain is renowned not for its height, but for the immortals within; water is reputed not for its depth, but for the dragons therein.

To Mystical Sect people, this old saying often implies another meaning.

Those renowned ancient peaks mostly attained fame due to the dwelling of immortals, and places where Mystical Sect masters linger are most certainly Cave Heaven Blessed Lands filled with Gang Qi nourishing Divine Souls.

Similarly, dragon cave points where earth veins gather, or unfathomable deep pools and great marshes with abundant water veins and pure Evil Qi, often become havens for spiritual exotic beasts.

Once these creatures gain spiritual intelligence, their traces become as elusive as a divine dragon’s, and some even become protectors of their region through human offerings, revered by locals as "dragons."

Li Yan crouched at the edge of the slippery cliff, cold rain flowing down his forehead, Zhao Lvzi’s words from casual chats flashing through his mind...

He mentioned, in the Hidden Treasure Man profession, there are those who specialize in this sort of spiritual exotic beast hunt as ruthless personas, and they have a deeply tacit name within their field—"Dragon Catcher!"

The haggard old Taoist atop the cliff, emitted an aura condensed like an abyss, suffocatingly heavy, yet mixed with a decayed, sweet-sour scent like that of a dried blood pool, not a common cultivator’s trait.

Clearly, an Earth Immortal hidden in the world, with profound cultivation!

His gaze swept over the four black-robed figures ghost-like standing behind the old Taoist.

Though their wide hoods covered their faces, the inherent tyranny and the faintly visible unique short blade at their waist instantly reminded Li Yan of those Japan pirates who infiltrated the Divine State!

The old Taoist seemed completely unaware or indifferent to the pursuers and snoopers behind him, his desiccated fingers clutched the compass fiercely, muttering, "...the earth vein returns flow, water evil leads... trapped you for hundreds of years... today is the day I accomplish the ’Earth Evil Dao Body’! Compliant dragon, come forth! Do not futilely resist further!"

Each time he uttered a word, the pointer on the bronze compass would leap crazily once, and the water vapor columns erupting from the deep valley below would abruptly grow thicker.

Just as Li Yan held his breath, contemplating a countermeasure, the once chaotic noises mixed with the painful roars of giant beasts and the roaring of water waves suddenly halted beneath the cliff.

Deathly silence arrived too abruptly, as if the entire mountain range had its throat gripped.

Immediately after, a thick black mist, carrying icy, biting water vapor, surged from the bottom of the deep valley, rapidly spreading.

The black mist carried a sticky feel, accompanied by dense sounds of armor surging.

Almost at the same time the black mist emerged, the "Hook Paper" Li Yan was holding started to heat up fiercely without any warning!

Li Yan’s gaze grew somber; it was indeed the Yin Department Soldiers!

The Netherworld Yin Bureau was supposed to balance Yin and Yang, but now it was helping capture a dragon.

If it were driven by an Astral Order, it could be dealt with.

If there were collusion inside and out, it would be an enormous trouble.

At this moment, Li Yan suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

He could sense a cold gaze penetrating the rain curtain within the black mist, ignoring the cover of the North Emperor Mysterious Water Escape, landing precisely on the rock they were hiding behind.

Swoosh~

In an instant, the wind howled, the black mist surged, and a fierce murderous aura scattered everywhere.

Li Yan’s corner of the eye twitched slightly, his heart completely convinced.

Even his Escape Technique in conjunction with the Dragon and Snake Card couldn’t be detected by that old Earth Immortal. The Yin Department Soldiers clearly couldn’t pinpoint the sacrificial Divine Artifact.

The only possibility was the continuously heating Hook Paper he held.

Clearly discerned but revealing murderous intent, definitely not a friend but a foe!

Meanwhile, the withered old Taoist at the top of the cliff also sensed the anomaly, abruptly turned around, a twisted and greedy smile cracked on his face, shouting hoarsely: "Good! Good! I didn’t expect a ’sacrificial offering’ to come to my door, saving me trouble!"

He spoke, then stretched out dry fingers and started a mantra and chanting spells.

Quicker than him, were those Yin Department Soldiers, transforming into black mist and surging, releasing the white mist wrapped from the bottom of the cliff and rushing towards Li Yan.

The white mist then churned, vaguely forming something akin to a large spider, whirling once, suddenly plunging into the bottom of the cliff.

"What are you doing?!"

The withered old Taoist instantly became furious, looking at the black-robed man behind him, "The Black Earth Mother ran away, that beast excels in Earth Escape, why ruin my good deed!"

The lead black-robed man replied in stiff Divine State’s dialect, "Sir, someone is watching, let’s prioritize the main task..."

"To hell with your main task!"

The withered old Taoist cursed, he leapt out without saying another word.

Being an Earth Immortal, his Dao was profound, his figure swiftly wrapped in the black mist, disappearing beneath the cliff.

"Hmph! Ignorant..."

The lead black-robed man snorted coldly, then turned his head towards the direction of Li Yan.

Honestly, the sudden loss of control over the yin soldiers was also quite unexpected for him.

Compared to this, an Earth Immortal escaping was hardly significant.

On the other side, Li Yan moved swiftly as well.

He knew well the speed of the Yin Department Soldiers; escape was impossible, even casting spells to summon the Yin Department Soldiers couldn’t be done in time.

Luckily, he still had a trump card.

Swish~

A scroll was thrown by him, unfurling with the wind.

The surrounding sounds of the wind and rain seemed to cease.

On it was clearly written "Earth Official’s Absolution of Sins Treasure Decree."

The black mist of the approaching Yin Department Soldiers was forcibly halted five meters away...