The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 250 - 173 Vermilion Bird Fish Dragon Dance_2

Chapter 250: Chapter 173 Vermilion Bird Fish Dragon Dance_2

Guo Luquan and his companions formed a formation, and no matter how much the other side charged and flushed in anger, they couldn’t shake their Divine Tower.

They carried the tower while charging, a huge drain on energy.

Watching as the opposing team was soaked in sweat and breathing heavily, Guo Luquan wouldn’t miss the opportunity and bellowed, "Invade like fire!"

This was the very reason Manager Wan had hired him.

Those carrying the palanquin from East Village had even devised a method for carrying the Divine Tower based on military tactics in the past.

As long as there was no foul play, they truly feared no one.

Following Guo Luquan’s command, the team immediately transformed, with those at the rear starting to exert force, pushing against the chests of the people in front.

One after another, they continued to pass on the force like a relay.

Like the tide or flames, by the time this force reached the front, it had already multiplied.

And the people at the front were ready, shouldering the bar on one side, bracing with their arms, and forcibly pushing the other side back.

The entire team, as if one person, suddenly exerted force, and the formation of Yulin’s Divine Tower carrying team immediately broke down.

Bear in mind, they were still carrying the Divine Tower.

With their center of gravity unstable, the Divine Tower also wobbled, and as the people in front stumbled, rolling to the side, those at the back also couldn’t bear the weight of the Divine Tower.

Boom!

The massive Divine Tower slammed heavily to the ground.

Just like a coffin, once the Divine Tower is lifted, it mustn’t touch the ground unless it has reached its destination.

Touching the ground is seen as an ominous sign.

And in this context, it naturally meant failure.

"Cowards!"

"I’m so angry!"

The men who had fallen to the ground were furiously slapping the ground.

They felt aggrieved; they were eager to compete at the Drum King Contest, only to be set up by someone, becoming a mere roadblock meant for defeat. Anyone would be upset in their shoes.

But the old man in the sheepskin coat took it in stride and stood up to bow with clasped hands, "Manager Wan, that was a wonderful move. If there is a chance, please help a brother take revenge!"

With that, he took down the Magic Flag from the Divine Tower, swung his arm, and threw it over like a javelin.

Manager Wan, being an elder experienced in craftsman spells, not only practiced the craft but also trained in martial arts. With a skillful move, he caught the Magic Flag and returned the greeting with a clasped fist salute, "Brother, you flatter me!"

After saying this, he respectfully planted the Magic Flag on the other end.

Li Yan watched with amusement.

He could smell that as the Magic Flag was taken, the scent of incense gathering in the opponent’s Divine Tower, and even the Divine Astral energy that had condensed on the Divine Statue, all surged with the Magic Flag, pouring onto their Divine Tower.

And the Yulin’s team was very conscientious, carrying their Divine Tower aside after their defeat to avoid blocking the path and uniformly clasped their hands in salute:

"May the wind be smooth and the sea be calm! May the nation be peaceful and the people safe!"

Li Yan and his companions also clasped their hands in unison:

"May the wind be smooth and the sea be calm! May the nation be peaceful and the people safe!"

This adhered to the original spirit of performing the Divine Tower ritual, derived from the ancient rain dance, intended for disaster relief and blessings, not purely for competition.

"May the wind be smooth and the sea be calm! May the nation be peaceful and the people safe!"

The commoners also followed with cheers, holding incense, gathering once again, and following behind Li Yan’s team, moving forward.

Further ahead lay a straight line; the road was clear.

They passed through An Yi, Changxing, and the three neighborhoods of Qinyin along the way.

Shadow Puppetry performances on both sides of the Divine Tower continued, with commoners waiting outside the neighborhoods, marveling upon seeing it, some burning incense along the street to pray, while others carried their own incense and followed behind.

When the team passed through An Yi and arrived on Vermilion Bird Street, the crowd behind them had already become a sea of people, entwined with incense smoke, forming a dragon that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Li Yan, following in the procession, was quietly astonished.

The power of incense on the two Divine Towers became increasingly intense, as if in a short time, they had undergone decades of offerings, and the Divine Astral fully formed.

Even more intense than at the Land God Temple of Li Family Castle.

Moreover, he could smell that this incense scent was rising from the Divine Tower, converging towards the northwest.

And that place was the location of the City God Temple!

Boom!

Entering Vermilion Bird Street, a sea of lights came rushing towards them, crowds of people everywhere, a myriad of lights, and the clamor sounding like the tide.

Although Li Yan’s team was large, upon entering Vermilion Bird Street, it was like fish swimming into the sea of lights, hardly stirring any waves.

And at this location, each family showcased their finest skills.

On the north side of their street was the team from Ezhou.

This team had indeed put all their efforts into the night.

Their Divine Tower was decent enough, but their real trick was the hundred-section lantern dragon.

Around the Divine Tower, tall and short wooden stakes had already been erected. Those men holding sections of the dragon’s body leaped high into the air, hopping with agility atop the stakes. With their skilled movements, it was clear they were all from the pugilistic world.

And those wooden stakes were clearly plum blossom stakes!

The hundred-section dragon, connected from head to tail, followed the men as they leaped skyward, creating the illusion of a fire dragon soaring and somersaulting around the Divine Tower.

"Excellent!"

"Excellent!"

After all, a monk from afar can chant the scriptures well.

The people of Chang’an had seen plenty of dragon and lion dances, but this huge hundred-section dragon lantern was a first. Watching such impressive performances up close, the crowd applauded loudly, and the flow of people kept converging.

Even the people behind Li Yan and his group were drawn over.

On the south side of the street was the team from Xiang Chu.

Their team was even more lively, not only sporting a Divine Tower of a novel design, completely different from Guanzhong’s, but they also played with dragons.

However, they had two dragons.

One was made of straw and incense woven together, danced up and down, weaving through fireworks, with an imposing presence.

And Li Yan could even smell the incense, which seemed to truly transform into the shape of a dragon, twisting and turning as if it was absorbing incense before returning to the Divine Tower’s Magic Flag.

The other was a Puppet Dragon fueled by medicine, lifted high, with fireworks splattering all over its body, capturing everyone’s attention.

This team also drew in quite the crowd.

Even the people behind Li Yan and his group had a large portion drawn away.

"Those are the Chenzhou Road Incense Fire Dragon and the Liuyang Medicine-fueled Puppet Dragon!"

Manager Wan’s forehead was drenched in sweat, "How did we run into these two teams? Left Squad Leader, quick, show our ace in the hole!"

"Alright!"

The squad leader from the Divine Tower’s backstage, hidden behind curtains, immediately opened a wooden box beside him and carefully took out an item.

That thing looked a bit like a bronze mirror but was thicker, and both sides were embedded with crystals. It had an aura of Yin Evil Qi swirling around it, its true nature unknown.

At the other end, his disciple also took out the same Magic Artifact.

Li Yan immediately widened his eyes.

He knew that this was the Left family’s troupe’s signature skill, the Eight-directions Projection Technique.

Hiss!

Around the Divine Tower, a large amount of thick smoke suddenly appeared.

This was prepared in advance by the Left family’s troupe.

The smoke lingered, and as several members of the troupe manipulated their spells, muttering incantations under their breath, their hands working with small shadow puppets, they projected images onto the dense smoke through the bronze mirrors.

These were images of divine beings, each three people tall and massive in size. Though blurry, they appeared even more mysterious and majestic.

From a distance, it looked as if the gods had descended, surrounding the Divine Tower.

Li Yan stared with wide eyes.

This was an Illusion Technique; he hadn’t expected it to be used in a shadow puppetry performance.

Not only that, the singing style of the Left family’s troupe had changed, using throat singing combined with ventriloquism, as if the deities themselves were whispering.

"Look quickly!"

"The lord, the lord has shown himself!"

"Ignorant folk! That’s the Eight-directions Projection Technique, a unique skill of the Huayin Left family’s troupe. I can’t believe I’m witnessing it today; my eyes are truly blessed..."

Once this Secret Technique was revealed, it immediately attracted a sea of people.

Even the teams on both sides couldn’t help but take notice.

In the Xiang Chu team, an elder wrapped in a black cloth immediately began cursing his disciple, "You useless coward, I told you to carry the gear, and you complained about it being heavy. Now look at what we’ve got, how do we match that?"

His disciple, dark and skinny, got smacked on the head by the elder a few times, retorting with an unhappy face, "Master, if it weren’t for your insistence on being Mr. Nice Guy, agreeing to help others get a spot, would we ever need to be in this mess?"

"Still talking back!"

The elder pretended to hit again, and the disciple quickly dodged while rolling his eyes, "Master, they have two flags; I’ll go take them on and get a flag for us."

With that said, he headed towards Manager Wan’s team.

The elder huffed but did not stop him, clearly confident in his disciple’s abilities.

Li Yan had already noticed the young man; he saw him run up to Manager Wan, greeted him with a playful smile and a bow:

"Uncle, daring enough to exchange a few moves?"