Chapter 27: Danger in the Night
Chapter 27: Danger in the Night
"Feathered Transformation? The Biyou Palace's Biyou Dao Lord? The strongest in the history of the Ghostly Realm of You?"
Li Qingyun's heart surged with awe, and he quietly committed the Dao Lord's dharma name to memory.
Without a doubt, this was a supreme and almighty being!
He had never seen the Dao Effigy of the Biyou Dao Lord before — back in Qinghe County there had been no trace of this figure, and the Marquis of Qinghe's Manor did not enshrine this deity either. It was clear that not just anyone could invite such a presence!
Moreover, the word "Feathered Transformation" was the first time he had heard a cultivator of this world use it, and it faintly corresponded to something from his previous life.
Wasn't Feathered Transformation simply becoming an immortal? But why was "immortal" a great taboo in the Yin Heavenly Domain — a word that could not even be spoken?
"Junior Brother needn't envy them. Our Lingbao Temple's founding Dao Lord is no lesser figure. Here, catch!"
Zhao Yifan chuckled lightly, drew a small nanmu-wood Dao Effigy from the satchel at his chest, gave it a gentle push with his Dharma Power, and sent it floating toward Li Qingyun.
"I can tell, Junior Brother, that you really have no experience traveling outside. You came down the mountain without even bringing a Dao Lord effigy!"
Li Qingyun nodded in thanks and offered no argument.
He took the nanmu-wood effigy and recognized the figure — it was one enshrined within Lingbao Temple, bearing the title Lingbao Pure Yang Dao Lord, and also the presiding deity of the former Hall of Seeking Sons.
He channeled a thread of Dharma Power into the nanmu effigy and silently recited:
"Disciple of Lingbao Temple, reverently inviting the Ancestor's divine authority!"
Hum!
The Lingbao Pure Yang Dao Lord effigy immediately shuddered with radiant patterns, releasing a ring of brilliant golden light that enveloped Li Qingyun, the big black cat Yuanbao, and the yellow-maned horse beneath them.
What appeared to onlookers as a gentle luminous glow was, through Li Qingyun's cultivator's eye, suffused with a blazing, sun-like majesty — scorching, forceful, and domineering.
"Our temple's Lingbao Pure Yang Dao Lord truly has no weak divine authority either…"
He couldn't help but think.
A cultivator activates the Dao Lord's divine image through focused intent, then channels a thread of Dharma Power as a catalyst to instantly summon the divine authority.
For ordinary people to summon a Dao Lord's divine authority, they must rely on sustained and devout worship over time — offering incense and prayers until they reach the state of "sincerity moves the divine."
When they need to invoke the effigy, all they must do is focus their mind with reverence and recite the Dao Lord's dharma name a few times.
Cultivators like Li Qingyun barely had enough time for their own cultivation, let alone long-term devotional offerings. Naturally, they used a thread of Dharma Power as a catalyst to summon the divine authority quickly and conveniently.
Among all options, the founding Dao Lord of one's own sect was naturally the easiest to communicate with and the easiest to invoke.
That said, a Dao Lord effigy of considerable divine authority was far from cheap — worth at least ten gold pieces.
Li Qingyun's purse was thin at the moment, so naturally he could not afford one, but there was no need to say that to Zhao Yifan.
Ordinary commoners could not afford a decent effigy either. Most carved their own from memory or imagination, or bought cheap ones from effigy shops.
Such effigies that had never been "consecrated" — even if kept at home with years of incense offerings — rarely showed any divine light, and served mostly as spiritual comfort.
Common folk mainly relied on pasting various spirit talismans and Daoist talismans to seek peace and safety.
Merchants and travelers who roamed the four seas and spent years away from home were mostly not ordinary people, and could afford to procure a proper Dao Lord effigy.
"Wuuu…"
The moment night fully descended, rustling sounds and vicious, low-pitched snarls began rising from the dense thickets on both sides of the official road.
One after another, corpse-dogs and rot-wolves crept out from their hiding places, lurking among the trees and darkness, their eyes glowing like rows of green lanterns.
They drooled with putrid, reeking saliva, eyes gleaming green, restless and eager.
As their numbers grew, they began to close in, prowling along the edge of the Dao Lord's luminous barrier, provoking and testing its limits.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sizable Sihai Pavilion merchant convoy ahead had guards who began to act — drawing bows and loosing arrows that flickered with talisman light, shooting toward the corpse-dogs that dared to lunge close!
Some corpse-dogs let out wretched howls as they were brought down by a volley of arrows. Their carcasses — as large as small calves, covered in bulging pustules — collapsed twitching by the roadside.
But the corpse-dogs and rot-wolves were not frightened off. They let out deep, bloodthirsty roars and grew only more frenzied.
Soon, beyond the relentless pack of corpse-dogs, drifting shadows of ghostly yin energy began to appear in clusters.
"Crack!"
Li Qingyun's fingers itched. Eager to test the power of his thunder arts, he completed the hand seals and incantation in an instant.
A bolt of lightning no thicker than a finger suddenly flashed through the night sky, striking with the speed of thunder before ears could register the sound, and blasted into the rot-wolf that had been eyeing him hungrily from afar!
The rot-wolf had no time to howl before it tumbled to the ground, trailing scorched smoke, dead in an instant!
The thunderclap rang out like divine might, startling the merchants and travelers ahead and behind into turning to look.
At that moment, Li Qingyun had just unleashed his lightning, and a faint aura of thunder intent radiated from his body — his handsome face bright, his dark eyes gleaming, his black hair billowing. To the eyes of the passing merchants and travelers, they could not help but silently admire him!
What a transcendent and distinguished Fellow Daoist of the Daoist path!
"You two esteemed masters — are you disciples of Lingbao Temple? I am Qian Fuguang, the branch manager of the Sihai Pavilion's Pengcheng chapter. Would I have the honor of inviting you both to travel together? There is a ruined temple about ten-odd li ahead — traveling in a group would be far safer for everyone…"
The manager of the Sihai Pavilion convoy — a plump, fair-skinned middle-aged man dressed in a brocade robe — came toward the two of them under the protection of his guards, his expression carrying a measure of respect as he extended a warm invitation to travel together through the night.
At this point, all the merchants and travelers visible on the official road had spirit talismans pasted on their bodies and were clutching weapons and torches, pressing toward the renowned Sihai Pavilion convoy.
Seeing two esteemed masters from Lingbao Temple — and especially the remarkably handsome and graceful young Fellow Daoist who was skilled in thunder arts — everyone's expressions brightened with visible relief.
With two Daoist masters standing guard, surely nothing terrible would happen over these ten-odd li of night road!
The Sihai Pavilion convoy also had over twenty burly men, among them two gaunt, gray-robed elders whose auras were far from ordinary.
Li Qingyun swept his cultivator's eye over them and recognized a familiar fluctuation of blight energy on the two elders — similar to the Yang Blight energy he had once nearly cultivated himself, though far more powerful than his had been at the time. These two had clearly entered the Unorthodox Path!
But it was still the Unorthodox Path — without access to true methods, the cost of cultivation and spellcasting was immense.
Such "castrated" Transcendent techniques, if used too frequently, would even erode one's lifespan and Vital Energy.
In the middle of the convoy, there was also a more ornate and finely crafted carriage, its curtains drawn at all times, with no indication of who sat within.
But Li Qingyun could sense it — inside the carriage was a Dharma Power fluctuation not to be underestimated. The cultivation of the person within surpassed Zhao Yifan's!
"Junior Brother, let's travel with them then! The temple has a standing order — when Lingbao Temple disciples travel outside, we should look after ordinary people whenever we can!"
Zhao Yifan turned to Li Qingyun and said.
"Agreed!"
Li Qingyun had no objection. He gave a nod and said nothing more.
Zhao Yifan felt a quiet satisfaction and immediately urged his horse to draw alongside the Sihai Pavilion convoy.
"My Junior Brother and I will clear the path ahead. Have your people guard the flanks. I'll trouble Sihai Pavilion's two elders to cover the rear. As for the Fellow Daoist in the carriage — please hold the center and respond as needed…"
Amid the respectful greetings from the Sihai Pavilion convoy and the other travelers, Zhao Yifan raised his chin slightly in acknowledgment, then took charge without hesitation and began arranging their formation.
For the moment, he was clearly the most powerful cultivator present, and it was only natural that he assumed the bearing of a leader.
"Agreed."
From within the ornate carriage of the Sihai Pavilion convoy came a calm, unhurried female voice.
A female cultivator!
Li Qingyun remained silent, riding shoulder to shoulder with Zhao Yifan, secretly forming the Thunder Seal in his hand, the incantation ready on the tip of his tongue.
He was a little excited.
Just moments ago, he had tested his thunder arts for the first time, killing a ferocious rot-wolf in a snap of the fingers. He now had a clear sense of what he was capable of.
Rot-wolves, corpse-dogs, and their ilk were among the more common fierce beasts of the wilderness.
They fed on the corpses of humans and animals, became tainted with death energy, and over time transformed into something half-corpse, half-demon — savage and brutal. Ordinary blades and swords could barely stop them even if you severed their heads, and ordinary people's weapons could only deal with them effectively if talisman-inscribed.
Back in Qinghe County, he had once used these rot-wolves to temper his courage and combat skills under the cover of the Marquis's Manor guards — but killing even one corpse-dog or rot-wolf had taken considerable effort, and he'd had to be extremely careful not to be contaminated by the death energy and demon qi that could make ordinary people gravely ill or even kill them.
How different it was now — with a seal and a thunderclap, he crushed them in an instant, effortlessly!