The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 552 - 315 Covenant! _2

Chapter 552: Chapter 315 Covenant! _2

Underground water veins were as difficult as ascending to heaven for them, but for the massive Tuo Master, it was merely a matter of raising his hand, merely needing to seal off the waterway leading to East Lake.

Li Yan spoke while also taking out a silver note of one hundred taels from his bosom, "You’ve all worked hard tonight. I have other matters to attend to. You guys should go have a drink to calm your nerves."

"How can we accept this?"

"Take it, we’re all brothers here, no need to be polite, and, this brother should buy some medicine to replenish his energy and blood, get more sunlight during the day, and let’s pretend tonight’s events never happened."

"Thank you, Young Hero Li."

The government officials looked at each other and accepted the silver note.

They knew it was hush money.

But firstly, the matter could be resolved, and secondly, Young Hero Li had a good relationship with the Baotong Zen Temple, speaking up might even offend people.

Having worked as clerks for many years, they knew well when to keep silent.

After resolving this matter, Li Yan and Lv San hurriedly left.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

They had not gone far when the ground nearby trembled, large patches of muddy water churned in the well.

The well water was still murky, but the fishy smell had disappeared...

...

Taking advantage of the city gate still being open, Li Yan and Lv San immediately rode out of Wuchang City, crossed the ferry point, and headed towards a river outside the city.

Under the moonlight, the two rode swiftly, gradually encountering no one.

Before long, they arrived at the riverside.

This river connected to the Yangtze River. According to the arrangement, the Tuo Master would first enter the Yangtze River, and then come to this river to receive treatment.

Li Yan dismounted and directly took out a wooden box from his bosom, which astonishingly contained half of Feiyi’s mummified corpse.

Lv San, feeling a bit heartbroken, said, "Do we have to use all of it?"

Li Yan shook his head, "Old Sha and I collected information. The most famous Daoist Doctor in the three cities of Wuchang is a descendant of ’Doctor King of Northern Song’ Pang Anshi, who is proud and difficult to deal with, now serving as a Medical Officer in the Prince Mansion."

"Now that the Prince Mansion has closed its doors, even if we could invite him, he might not be able to handle this Gu Technique. We must use Feiyi."

"Rest assured, out with the old, in with the new, as long as we can reach the alliance, it’s better than anything..."

As they spoke, the water in the distance suddenly surged.

A dense fog rose on the water, and a huge black shadow slowly emerged—it was the giant Tuo.

Such a high-level Great Demon, filled with Yin Evil Qi and active in the water, typically appeared with fog, also a major characteristic.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Accompanied by heavy footsteps, the giant Tuo slowly crawled to the shore, resembling a black locomotive engine, just laying there, emitting a suffocating aura.

"Greetings, senior."

Li Yan and his companion bowed and then cautiously approached to inspect.

Perhaps because of Lv San, the Tuo Master trusted them considerably, quietly laying there, allowing them to inspect.

As they approached, Lv San lit a torch, and both widened their eyes, feeling chills all over.

Between the thick scales of the Tuo, many worm-sized flesh protrusions were slowly writhing, as if covered with a layer of fur.

These creatures, specifically parasitic in the gaps of the scales, rapidly retreated like snails into the flesh under the scales as Lv San’s torch approached.

Although the scales appeared intact, the skin underneath was riddled with holes.

"Such formidable Gu worms!"

Li Yan’s expression grew solemn; luckily he had acted decisively. Given the Tuo Master’s massive size, even inviting a Daoist Doctor probably wouldn’t solve the problem.

Without any hesitation, he took out the remaining half of the Feiyi corpse, let the Tuo Master open its large mouth, and threw it in.

"Roar—!"

After the Tuo swallowed it, it immediately reacted, continuously roaring lowly, appearing in great pain, its body also twisting continually.

Ssshhh! Ssshhh! Ssshhh!

Countless Gu worms, each about half a foot long, twisted frenziedly as they burrowed out of its scales, a sight horrifying to behold.

Yet, even after swallowing the Feiyi, these Gu worms were reluctant to leave the Tuo Master’s body, with tiny sections still clinging to the skin.

Seeing this, Lv San patted his demon gourd on his waist.

Buzz!

The Poison Bees surged forth like dark clouds.

That evening by the lake during the ritual, not only Little Fox and the hawk benefitted, but even the demon gourd gained something good, harboring even more Poison Bees.

These Poison Bees specifically fed on Gu Poison.

They swarmed up, their stingers penetrating the bodies of the Gu Worms, causing them to detach and then, their mouthparts wriggling, engulfed them.

Soon, the Tuo Master’s body was swarmed with Poison Bees.

Seemingly finding relief, the Tuo Master remained motionless, allowing the Poison Bees to pluck the Gu Worms from his body one by one.

In about the time it took an incense stick to burn, all the Gu Worms were removed, and the Tuo Master retched, spewing a large amount of mucus.

Inside the mucus were densely packed, rice-sized eggs, some of which were slowly moving, already hatching new Gu Worms.

These eggs were naturally all devoured by the Poison Bees, which then flew into the gourd.

Having not feasted on meat for many days, the demon gourd finally had its fill, trembling slightly to show its pleasure.

Then, an ancient ritual began by the riverside.

Beneath the moonlight, Lv San took out a large basin he had prepared earlier, filled with sacrificial wine purchased from the temple, and both he and the Tuo Master made cuts on themselves, dripping blood into it, then reciting ancient hymns together.

Astral Bane Energy lingered, the blood in the basin blending together, and was then drunk by one human and one demon.

The blood pact was an ancient oath. It was mentioned during the Pre-Qin era that "in all pact rituals, livestock are killed, blood is shared, vows are made to the divine, and should there be betrayal, it is desired that divine retribution make them as such livestock."

Tracing back to even more ancient times, it was between tribes, totem amalgamation, and pacts made by tribal leaders who were wizards, with divine spirit monsters.

And blood contained many taboos.

It offered protection but also implied curses; even now, some powerful rituals and spells still required the use of blood...

Ding ding! Dang dang!

Before dawn, Li Yan was awakened by the sound of hammering.

He dressed and upon opening the window, the towering pagoda of Yuquan Temple immediately came into view.

After the hectic evening, the gates of Wuchang City had closed, and they had simply ridden their horses to Yuquan Temple, handing over all the Cold Spring Water from Overlord’s Well to Master Lu.

Thinking of this, Li Yan turned his head to look at the table.

There was a map of Ezhou on it; he approached the table to inspect it, deep in thought.

Having reached an alliance with the Tuo Master, some information was no longer hidden, all was revealed.

The first thing Li Yan asked about was the Yun Meng treasures.

Some things might have been lost to the Human Clan, hidden in distant mountains and great marshes, but the demons still knew something of them.

The Yun Meng treasures consisted of Yunzhongjun Temple, Soil, and Wang Chan’s Scripture Storage Forest.

Although these were only stories circulated among humans, the Tuo Master also provided quite a bit of information.

Most information was about Yunzhongjun Temple.

According to the Tuo Master, she didn’t specifically understand what it was, only knowing that when it was built in Ancient Chu, many demons participated.

After all, Yunzhongjun, that ancient deity, once ruled over Yun Meng Marsh, and the nearby creatures all worshipped it; though called by different names, a common feature was that of clouds and thunder.

The Tuo Master’s ancestral lineage, namely the Great Demon, carried chains, dragging the Yunzhongjun Temple through Yun Meng Marsh.

Indeed, the Yunzhongjun Temple was a gigantic ship!

But as eras changed, this ship forged from various Heavenly and Earthly treasures became increasingly mysterious; after the marsh dried up, its whereabouts became unknown.

The only way to access it now was at those ancient ritual sites of Yun Meng Marsh during the clash of clouds and thunder, to worship Yunzhongjun, and then enter the temple in dreams!

This thing now, more like an old dream lingering near Yun Meng Marsh, could only be entered in dreams by the Divine Soul.

Entering the Temple, one might occasionally obtain something, but it was entirely uncontrollable; for example, the Mountain and Sea Spiritual Response Scripture was found there, which was of no use to the Tuo Master.

But entering it also had many taboos.

The Tuo Master once tricked Lv San, letting him steal something there; though compensated by the Mountain and Sea Spiritual Response Scripture, Lv San can never enter again, or else his Divine Soul would be trapped inside.

Of course, given their relationship at the time, the Tuo Master not betraying him afterward and even giving him something was already quite considerate.

And that Five-Colored Token was an ancient token of the Chu Water God; possessing it, the Tuo Master could open a Water Mansion, drawing many disciples and descendants.

One, to provide protection, and two, to transform into a Mortal God.

Indeed, whether it was the Tuo Master or the Old Ancestor of East Lake, both were advanced in age; precisely for this reason, they appeared in the Human World, each seeking their own path.

The Tuo Master also harbored ulterior motives, knowing that nowadays the Human Clan possessed the Qi Fortune of heaven and earth, so he signed an alliance with Lv San, hoping also to mediate and become one of the Yangtze River water deities!