The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 36 Midnight Worship at Ghost Mountain

Chapter 36: Chapter 36 Midnight Worship at Ghost Mountain

"Wow! Wow!"

In the black of night, crows flew chaotically.

The dense forest was crisscrossed, the light of candles and lanterns flickering.

Chaotic Burial Mound, seemingly because of the numerous dead buried there, was not desolate; instead, it bloomed with green trees and dense undergrowth.

Yin Fog rose, blurring any human figures within a hundred meters.

The dim lighting, combined with the slippery ground after a rain, caused people to fall occasionally.

Among the group, there were those who were faint-hearted.

As they walked, they surveyed their surroundings, always feeling as if something lurking in the dark mist was watching them, sending chills down their spines.

But remembering Wang Daoxuan’s instruction, no one dared to speak.

Li Yan, naturally, led the way at the front.

With his left hand on the hilt of his blade, and in his right, he carried a bamboo pole.

The advantage of his smell superpower was particularly evident now.

The heavy mist enveloped everything, and the darkness was almost like pitch, but various smells passed through his nostrils, easily distinguishable.

He could smell the rotting leaves, the poison insects moving through the grass, the venomous snakes coiled on tree branches tens of meters away, and even the rats burrowing underground—none escaped his nose.

To him, this dark forest was no different from broad daylight.

What caught Li Yan’s attention more, however, was the Yin Evil Qi in this area.

He had traveled back and forth to Xianyang City several times, where the human energy was vibrant, plus with the millennia-old fortress and temples abundant with incense, it was very suitable for human habitation.

Only a few wells and secret passages faintly retained some Yin Qi.

But here, at Chaotic Burial Mound, the Yin Evil Qi was very distinct.

Unlike the previously encountered Cold Altar Rampaging Soldier, this was an icy, deadly still yet decaying presence, pervading every corner around, seeping underground, and adhering to the roots and vegetation.

Thus, the vegetation thrived here, and even on clear days, thick fog was present.

"Swish! Swish!"

As bamboo poles stirred, various poison insects and snakes were frightened away.

Wang Daoxuan, aware of his capabilities, focused on surveying the terrain while holding a lantern and observing the Compass.

Fengshui is profound and extensive.

Being able to interpret Fengshui didn’t necessarily mean one could construct a Fengshui setup.

Wang Daoxuan had dabbled in various Magic Methods, but mostly just scratched the surface or achieved a beginner level; only Fengshui and Divination were areas he had deeply researched.

It didn’t take long for him to find a spot, and after passing through a dense forest, he waved his hand to signal everyone to stop.

This was a bizarre area.

Near the dense forest, yet not a blade of grass grew; around it were many rugged, strange rocks standing tall like inverted spears, as if it were a natural temple amidst the mountains.

Li Yan sniffed, his eyes reflecting curiosity.

He could smell it—the Yin Evil Qi congregated here, like an underground stream in a river, swirling around, faintly forming an imposing force.

As soon as he stepped onto the open ground, he felt the temperature around him drop several degrees.

Li Yan knew in his heart, this was likely the "Force" Wang Daoxuan had spoken of!

Between heaven and earth, Divine Astral and Evil Qi flowed, forming a "Force", and further still, could form an "Array".

The primary difference between a "Force" and an "Array" was that one, like a whirlpool or undercurrent, still relied on external environments, whereas an "Array" could form a closed environment.

The two terms merely described different aspects, neither superior to the other.

The "Force" of a famous mountain or river was powerful and majestic, like a Heavenly God wielding a sword, standing firmly on earth, far stronger than any cornered "Array".

The arrays, Fengshui, and even treasure sites around the world were all related to this.

This place was an excellent site for a ritual.

But Wang Daoxuan wasn’t in a hurry; he stepped forward a few paces, turned his compass in a circle, then dug up the surface with a shovel and scooped up a handful of soil into his mouth.

"Ptui!"

After tasting it, Wang Daoxuan quickly spat it out, then stood and took a branch to draw a circle on the ground, nodding to the people around.

Sha Lifei immediately stepped forward, unloading the packs on their backs.

Inside were wooden boards and sticks, all designed with mortise and tenon joints; quickly assembled into a square table, then draped with a yellow cloth, talisman paper, and Five Offerings, including incense, flowers, lamps, water, and fruit; immediately, it became a temporary magic platform.

Lastly, the leader of the Spring Breeze Class carefully approached.

Behind him, he also carried a wooden box, covered by a red cloth; gently opening it revealed a colorful clay doll divine statue wearing a red bellyband, holding a shadow puppet stick, with a simple and kind smile.

This was indeed the ancestral Divine Statue of the Spring Breeze Class.

Li Yan could smell only some residual incense on it, indicating it had once been offered something, but that had since dissipated.

This was not uncommon.

Whether it was a divine statue or a City God Temple, to some extent, they represented a "Force" or "Array", only dominated by Divine Astral.

If the affiliation ended, or the soul wasn’t strong, or the incense was interrupted, the "Force" would dissipate.

Fierce ones like the Cold Altar Rampaging Soldier would even haunt and harm people.

In the morning, Wang Daoxuan had already opened this divine statue, carefully cleaned it, fumigated it with rosin incense, and placed inside symbolically internal organs like beads and sophora wood.

This was known as "organ installation".

Not comparable to those temple divine statues, but if enshrined with something sufficiently powerful and continuously offered daily incense, it could also protect the Spring Breeze Class.

After all these preparations, everyone peacefully waited.

Unnoticed, it had reached the hour of yin.

At Wang Daoxuan’s signal, the people of the Spring Breeze Class immediately under the leader’s guidance burned Paper Money yuanbao and, holding three sticks of incense, sincerely bowed, silently chanting the deity-invoking verse in secret.

Meanwhile, Wang Daoxuan, holding a bag of incense ash, circled the offering table, spreading out three square rings, one enveloping another.

The three incense ash rings symbolized the city walls.

This was akin to raising the phoenix tree to attract the phoenix.

But what could be summoned, Wang Daoxuan had no certainty at that moment.

It was still the same old process; he stood in front of the magic platform, recitating scriptures and chanting spells, stepped with Gang Qi, then held water in his mouth and suddenly sprayed it out.

Instantly, winds rose and waters stirred, and the entire magic platform gained "momentum."

However, unlike last time, the surrounding Yin Evil Qi also began to flow, swirling around the magic platform, forming an even stronger "momentum."

Of course, ordinary people couldn’t perceive any of this.

But as the surrounding cold wind abruptly rose and the temperature dropped again, even Zhou the leader started to feel uneasy, holding three sticks of incense, continuously bowing and praying.

As for Li Yan, he stood afar with a knife in hand.

He had another task, one that was crucial to the success or failure of the night’s ritual.

Hu~

Suddenly, the surrounding yin wind grew stronger.

A hissing sound arose in the night fog.

The sound was faint yet clearly entered everyone’s ears.

Zhou the leader was delighted and looked up at Wang Daoxuan.

This was a sign that something was being attracted; now they only needed to open a gap in the circle of incense ash on the ground, which symbolized opening the city gates to invite the deity in.

They had never had such smooth proceedings before.

However, Wang Daoxuan was in no hurry and instead looked towards Li Yan.

Li Yan took a deep breath.

He could smell a cold, fishy scent of snake circling in the distance.

Judging by the richness of the scent, it was only slightly stronger than an ordinary yin soul.

That thing wasn’t particularly noteworthy...

Li Yan shook his head slightly at Wang Daoxuan.

Understanding his implication, Wang Daoxuan turned a deaf ear and continued with the summoning along with others.

As expected, that fishy snake scent circled for a while, then quickly dissipated.

Another half incense stick’s time passed.

Caw! Caw!

The calling of crows echoed in the black fog.

Similar to before, faint yet audible.

Li Yan did not even need to judge; Zhou the leader’s face darkened, looking particularly grim.

Crows were the most inauspicious of creatures.

Not only did it imply their group would face hardships running east and west, but the cries could also attract evil spirits, symbolizing death.

Inviting such a creature was akin to summoning a disaster to their doorstep.

The group had no choice but to continue calling the deity.

However, a hint of worry appeared in Wang Daoxuan’s eyes.

There were taboos regarding the number of summonings, limited to only three times.

Whatever appeared the third time, they had to accept it, nose-pinched; otherwise, tonight’s ritual would be deemed a failure.

Not only would they end up summoning nothing, but descending the mountain would also provoke attacks from malevolent spirits.

Realizing this, Wang Daoxuan became suspicious.

The location he had chosen was the Chaotic Burial Mound, a converging site of Yin Evil Qi, colloquially known as "Old Yin Coffin," which should naturally attract a powerful entity.

If an "array" was formed, it could even incite skirmishes among yin entities.

Yet all that came were insignificant creatures; not even a Qingfeng.

That didn’t make sense...

Trouble, someone was sabotaging!

Wang Daoxuan instantly understood, and setting aside many taboos, he approached Li Yan, whispering, "Someone has set a trap to cause trouble. Find a way to drive them off, or else whatever evil entity is drawn here, none of us will escape!"

Li Yan nodded and instantly dashed into the darkness.

With his smell superpower activated, the dark forest posed no hindrance, and he moved stealthily like a ghost, knife in hand.

Soon, he sniffed out an unusual scent.

It was the stench of wild dogs mingled with a strong scent of decay, and there were many of them.

Li Yan immediately changed direction, leaping onto a small mound and crouching low behind a tree to peek out.

Below the mound in the clearing, numerous wild dogs stood densely packed, large in size with eyes emitting a blood-red glow in the dark, sparsely twinkling, chillingly eerie.

Behind the pack of wild dogs stood several beggars.

In tattered clothes, they held a stick in one hand for beating dogs and tossed some dark items from torn pockets with the other hand.

Carrying the stench of decay but oddly fragrant.

The pack of wild dogs scrambled everywhere for it, yet remained silent.

It was human flesh!

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, instantly recognizing what it was.

Although unsure why these mischievous vagrants from the west were causing trouble, nor understanding what secret techniques they used, he knew they surely had further ploys.

He must stop them immediately!

With this thought, Li Yan looked around, picked up a rock, swung his arm round and threw it with the technique of the flying locust stone.

Swoosh!

The sound of the air breaking was followed by one beggar’s head bursting open, he screamed and fell.

This act startled the pack of dogs.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

Seemingly smelling the blood, the dogs abruptly went frenzied, drooling from their mouths and crazily pounced towards the injured beggar...