24: Blood Shadow Method, Uncle Master Xuansha.
After drinking half a bowl of spiritual liquid, the female corpse puppet showed a satisfied expression.
Her pale complexion, which had turned white from blood loss, slowly regained its color.
Witnessing this, Li Yan stroked his chin and mused, “She can convert the yin and evil substance she drinks into blood; this Corpse Puppet is truly unique.”
“Forget it, I’ll slowly research it later.”
Corpse Puppet Su Mo had previously shed a pool of Dead Yin Blood, and Li Yan didn’t want to waste it.
He took out a candle, lit it, and let his shadow fall upon the pool of blood, then secured the candle.
Li Yan began to Cultivate according to the Su Family’s secret scroll.
He formed a Blood Lotus hand seal with his ten fingers and calmed his mind.
“Shadow absorbs blood, blood nourishes shadow, Dead Yin entwines the root of the soul.”
As Li Yan chanted the incantation, driving his Qi to guide the pool of Dead Yin Blood on the ground, the System’s voice echoed in his mind.
“Detected host cultivating an extremely evil method; side effects are being corrected!”
The Cultivation process was incredibly long, requiring him to imagine his shadow as part of his body to induce it to devour the blood.
Li Yan focused intently on the shadow on the ground, his nerves taut.
Meanwhile, the female corpse, Su Mo, quietly guarded him nearby.
Time passed minute by minute, the candlelight flickered, and wax tears steadily rolled down, flowing along the candle body.
The Corpse Puppet did not disturb Li Yan’s Cultivation; she simply stayed by his side.
When the blood on the ground was almost dry, she voluntarily stepped forward and added Corpse Blood.
Visibly, Li Yan’s shadow began to emit a faint golden light.
The Immortal Cave was quiet and peaceful, but the situation within Broken Sword Valley was a different scene entirely.
Old Daoist Xuan Wang had been squatting here with his Disciples for nearly ten hours.
Within those ten hours, Old Ghost Xuanwang’s patience had worn thin.
“Why hasn’t that damned Rebellious Disciple come out yet?”
“It’s a pity that the tracking Restriction I placed on him is being shielded by this mist.”
Old Ghost Xuanwang paced back and forth at the entrance of Broken Sword Valley.
He didn’t believe Li Yan wouldn’t come out, nor did he believe Li Yan could hide in there forever.
Beside him, Senior Brother Ming Shan cautiously spoke, “Master, could Li Yan have already died inside?”
Second Apprentice-sister Ming Yue also chimed in.
“Yes, Master, Broken Sword Valley is full of dangers, and this mist can interfere with our Divine Sense; we can only see within ten or twenty steps.”
Facing the questions raised by his two Personal Disciples, Old Daoist Xuanwang snorted coldly and flicked his sleeve.
“He’s not dead!”
“If he were dead, this soul lamp would surely extinguish.”
The Old Devil took out a soul lamp with Li Yan’s name carved on it.
“Moreover, this kid didn’t even trigger any Formation traps, nor was he besieged by corpse hordes, which is clearly abnormal.”
“He must have some secret; as long as I can figure out that secret, I can move freely within this Broken Sword Valley!”
This Old Daoist Xuanwang was not foolish; the various extraordinary things Li Yan had displayed proved that he could see everything in the mist and was unaffected by the mist’s Restriction.
Therefore, Old Daoist Xuanwang could not let Li Yan go; he had to block the exit of Broken Sword Valley, waiting for Li Yan to walk into his trap.
Seeing his Master so stubborn, determined to capture Li Yan.
The Senior Brother asked again, “Master, what if Li Yan climbs the cliff and leaves?”
“Climbs the cliff? Ha!”
Old Daoist Xuanwang seemed to have heard a huge joke; he pointed to the cliffs on both sides.
“Do you know what is buried within those cliffs?”
“They are the remains of ancient Cultivators! If you dare to climb, just wait to be dragged in!”
The Old Devil illuminated them with his lamp, and only then did the Disciples see distorted faces on the stone walls.
Hiss!
Everyone recoiled in fear, not expecting so many corpses to be filled in Broken Sword Valley.
“These stone walls are ancient ramparts, the ancient city walls of a Demonic Sect Holy Land.”
“Ancient records state that countless Cultivators perished here back then, and after death, their bodies were mixed directly with bricks and filled into it!”
“What you see as cliffs are actually the Formation ramparts built by ancient Cultivators.”
Hearing their Master’s explanation, the Disciples couldn’t help but imagine how intense that battle must have been back then.
The dead, and enemies with only half a breath left, were all buried together within the walls, forming ramparts imbued with immortal power.
Now, with the passage of time, the ancient ramparts were covered in moss and overgrown with vines.
If someone were to pull back the green vines, they would see desperate and terrifying faces on the stone walls.
These ancient ruins, these ramparts, were filled with the bodies of Cultivators mixed with stones!
Just as Old Daoist Xuanwang was explaining the history of the place to his Disciples, a round of applause came from afar.
“Junior Brother Old Daoist Xuanwang, how elegant!”
“You still have the leisure to tell stories to your Disciples here.”
Old Daoist Xuanwang’s ears twitched slightly, hearing a familiar voice.
The cross-eyed Old Devil frowned and snorted coldly, “Xuan Sha, how dare you follow me?”
The Senior Brother and Second Apprentice-sister, seeing the person emerge from the mist, also bowed in greeting.
“Greetings, Senior Martial Uncle Mystic Fiend.”
The Daoist who walked out of the mist was distinctly different from Old Daoist Xuan Wang.
Old Ghost Xuanwang was a hunched, shifty Old Devil, while Xuan Sha was a large, burly Daoist with a full beard, exuding a bandit-like aura.
He didn’t look like a Daoist; he looked more like a bandit impersonating one.
And Xuan Sha was not at all polite; he walked straight up and put his arm around Old Daoist Xuan Wang’s shoulder.
“Junior Brother! What do you mean by following? Do we still need to be so distant?”
“What’s yours and what’s mine? It’s all ours!”
Xuan Sha let out a hearty laugh, his thick arm almost choking Old Daoist Xuan Wang.
The Old Devil snorted unhappily, yet this burly Senior Martial Uncle Xuan Sha smiled sinisterly.
“I heard everything you just said from outside.”
Old Daoist Xuan Wang widened his eyes and pointed at him: “You! Hiding in the mist and eavesdropping, what kind of skill is that?!”
“Eh, Junior Brother, that’s wrong!”
“That Rebellious Disciple of yours, Li Yan, can move unimpeded within Broken Sword Valley; if we work together to catch him, wouldn’t it be…”
Hearing Senior Martial Uncle Mystic Fiend’s suggestion, the Old Devil became slightly interested: “Oh?”
“As long as we catch Li Yan, we can make him lead us to explore Broken Sword Valley, and we’ll split the treasures in the depths of Broken Sword Valley fifty-fifty.”
“And I, Senior Brother, have brought a group of ‘two-legged sheep’ from outside the mountain to track Li Yan for us.”
Saying that, Xuan Sha snapped his fingers, and a large group of people emerged from the mist behind him.
Senior Martial Uncle Xuan Sha’s Disciples were escorting a large group of ‘two-legged sheep’.
The so-called two-legged sheep were actually a group of innocent commoners, brought here with talismans pasted on them.
The commoners’ eyes were vacant, with white talismans on their heads, and to the sound of the Daoists’ shaking bells, they hopped forward like zombies.
Ding-a-ling-ling ~ Ding-a-ling-ling!
The commoners, just like that, hopped forward with the sound of the bells, spreading out to scout ahead.
When the ringing bells reached the Immortal Cave, Li Yan suddenly opened his eyes.
“Where is that bell sound coming from? It’s probably Old Daoist Xuan Wang making trouble again.”
“It seems that Old Devil won’t give up until he finds me.”
Li Yan stood up and looked at his shadow.
At this moment, the shadow beneath his feet was emitting a ray of Yang Yin golden light.
The Blood Shadow Art has been mastered; the Dharma Idol has formed!