Chapter 28: Azure Mountains, Dusk Clouds
With Zhao Yifan and Li Qingyun leading the vanguard, the merchant convoy felt considerably more at ease, maintaining their vigilance as they quickened their pace.
Perhaps it was the imposing aura of the Dao Effigy's divine might, or perhaps it was the thunder arts Li Qingyun had unleashed moments ago — combined with the sight of the convoy's tight, gap-free guard formation — that kept the corpse-dogs and rotting wolves trailing close behind without daring to launch an attack.
Yet as the pack of corpse-dogs and wolves continued to swell in number, everyone knew that waiting like this would only make things more dangerous!
Behind the pack of corpse-dogs, shadowy figures lurked — ghostly silhouettes, sinister and cold.
Li Qingyun furrowed his brow, a sense of unease creeping over him.
He could sense that as the convoy pressed forward, the wandering spirits out in the wilds were being drawn in by the living presence of the group.
He channeled his Dharma Power into his eyes and peered into those shifting shadows, making out the forms of ghostly entities.
Before he had cultivated Dharma Power, he had been unable to see the forms of ghosts and spirits clearly — even the weakest wandering spirits had been invisible to him.
Unless those malevolent ghost creatures chose to manifest, even an ordinary person standing right beside them would see nothing — they would only feel a bone-deep chill, instinctively break out in goosebumps, and be seized by inexplicable dread.
During his days at Lingbao Temple, Li Qingyun had often gone out at night to meditate and cultivate, yet he had never encountered a single ghostly shadow. This was precisely why the mountain gate and its Daoist groves were so revered by the people of the world.
But now that he had left the temple grounds, his cultivator's eye revealed a night thick with ghostly shadows.
"How can there be so many demons, monsters, and strange creatures in this world? With all those temples, sects, and Transcendent noble clans — after hundreds and thousands of years — they still can't wipe them out? And this area should still be within Lingbao Temple's patrol range, yet it's this unsafe!"
"And stranger still — these ghost creatures and wandering spirits keep gathering, yet they won't make a move. What are they waiting for?"
Li Qingyun's heart stirred with alarm, and he couldn't help glancing toward Zhao Yifan.
At that very moment, Zhao Yifan was also looking his way, worry plain in his eyes. Li Qingyun's heart sank.
"Junior Brother, something's not right. The wandering spirits and wild ghosts following us have already numbered over thirty! We need to pick up the pace — once we reach that abandoned temple ahead, things should improve..."
Zhao Yifan transmitted his voice in secret.
Then he raised his voice in a firm shout.
"Everyone, push harder! We must reach the abandoned temple at the boundary ahead before late night!"
The Four Seas Pavilion's steward, Qian Fuguang, was a seasoned veteran of the road and had already sensed that something was wrong. He urgently called out for the convoy and the other travelers to speed up.
"Yes, listen to the two Fellow Daoists — move faster!"
The steward's eyes were wide with fear, sweat streaming down his fleshy face in rivulets. He kept wiping it away with his hand, all while silently mouthing prayers to the jade statue of the Nine Heavens Azure Sky Dao Lord atop the carriage.
As long as the Dao Lord statue's pure light did not go out, ordinary wandering spirits would not dare approach — any that did would be incinerated to ash.
But if the ghost creatures charged recklessly without fear of death, the pure light would be exhausted, and the statue would become nothing more than an ordinary carving.
The group's hearts were in turmoil as they hastened their steps.
The convoy moved in tense silence, the sound of hooves, turning wheels, and the increasingly ragged breathing of the travelers all clearly audible in the night air.
On both sides of the road and behind the convoy, the trailing corpse-dogs, rotting wolves, and ghostly shadows continued to multiply.
Eventually, even the horses and pack animals grew restless, stamping and neighing without cease.
"Mrow!" The great black cat Yuanbao's fur bristled, and it let out a continuous low, rumbling growl of warning.
"Fellow Daoists, please guard everyone and keep moving at full speed. I'll go scatter the first wave..."
From the curtained carriage in the middle of the Four Seas Pavilion convoy, a pale, delicate hand drew back the curtain, and out stepped a beautiful female cultivator in a pale jade-green robe. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, graceful in bearing, tall and slender, with a sharp, heroic air between her brows.
Li Qingyun instinctively looked over, and through the darkness, his eyes met hers for a brief moment.
The two gave each other a wordless nod.
Then the female cultivator's figure flickered, and she rose to hover in the air.
A crimson dharma pearl leapt out from the treasure pouch at her waist in a flash.
She seized the pearl — its aura unmistakably extraordinary — and with Dharma Power surging around her entire body, she hurled it toward the dense shadows massing behind the corpse-dog pack!
Boom!
Red light blazed, scorching the night sky.
Roaring dharma flames instantly incinerated over a dozen wandering spirits and wild ghosts!
"Impressive! This female cultivator from Biyou Palace — her fire arts are masterful. Her cultivation must be at the seventh layer of Qi Refining or above..."
Li Qingyun was mildly startled. Based on the force of the Dharma Power she had just unleashed, he estimated her approximate cultivation level.
The female cultivator appeared to be no older than twenty or so, yet she had cultivation at least at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. At Lingbao Temple, someone like her would have long since qualified as an Inner Sect Disciple, cultivating in peace within the mountain gate — she would never need to lower herself to escorting merchant convoys!
It must be that Biyou Palace was overflowing with talent, the competition too fierce, and even disciples of her caliber were forced to set aside their pride, take on missions, travel the world, and accumulate resources.
Zhao Yifan, witnessing the female cultivator's formidable display of power, couldn't help but show admiration on his face. He quickly offered a respectful bow.
"Well done, Fellow Daoist! I am Zhao Yifan of Lingbao Temple, and this is my Junior Brother Li Qingyun. May I ask your honored name?"
The female cultivator hovered in the air, her tall figure all the more striking from above. She glanced down at Zhao Yifan and Li Qingyun in turn, then gave a slight nod and a faint smile.
"Biyou Palace — Wang Muyun. Greetings to you both, Fellow Daoists!"
Her gaze lingered on Li Qingyun a moment longer, as though she had taken some interest in his thunder arts.
"I must trouble you both to drive off the corpse-dog pack with full force and keep the convoy moving as fast as possible..."
Wang Muyun spoke with a serious expression, and at the same time the crimson dharma pearl flew out from her hand once more, flames erupting outward, burning another dozen or so rotting wolves and corpse-dogs to death.
"Understood — we'll give it everything we have!"
By now, Zhao Yifan had shed every trace of arrogance. He quickly agreed and, with a pained expression, pulled a thick stack of talisman paper from his satchel. Channeling his Dharma Power, he transformed them into fireballs and hurled them at the ever-growing pack of corpse-dogs ahead.
Even if his cultivation was no match for a Biyou Palace disciple, Zhao Yifan was not about to let Lingbao Temple's reputation suffer. What his power lacked, his talisman paper would make up for — he had prepared a large stock of low-grade talismans for this mission.
Using talismans in place of direct spellcasting greatly reduced the burden on his Dharma Power.
"Wang Muyun — azure mountains, dusk clouds. A fine name indeed..." A thought drifted through Li Qingyun's mind.
Boom! Boom!
Flames erupted again and again, blasting the corpse-dogs and rotting wolves and leaving them riddled with wounds.
Li Qingyun, preferring to keep a low profile, only unleashed a thunder arts strike here and there — but every strike hit its mark.
At the same time, he made a show of pulling out a couple of Minor Herb Pills, pretending to swallow them to restore his Dharma Power, though in truth he couldn't bear to waste a single one. It was all for appearances.
Whenever a corpse-dog broke through Zhao Yifan's defensive line and reached him, he would give the great black cat a pat, and with a mrow, Yuanbao would move like lightning — a swipe of its paw, and the creature's skull was smashed to pulp!
For any that slipped through the cracks, a flash of his bronze sword's light would do the job. With Dharma Power channeled into the blade, the sword's edge grew razor-sharp, and the corpse-dogs fell like cut weeds.
Zhao Yifan was reluctant to use the thousand-year peach wood sword on his back, relying mainly on throwing talismans. When a corpse-dog got close, he would strike it with a palm to drive it back.
His movement and footwork techniques were something to behold, and he refused to waste even a thread of Dharma Power — the mark of a seasoned veteran through and through.
The two elderly men from the Four Seas Pavilion convoy who cultivated the Unorthodox Path also began to reveal their strange abilities.
One of them — a goateed old man — bit down on his own finger, smeared the blood across his forehead, and began rapidly chanting an incantation. Dense white fur rapidly sprouted across his cheeks, his eyes grew increasingly bloodshot, and the nails on all ten fingers of both hands extended forcibly by a full length, sharp as fox claws.
He looked like an entirely different person!
The old man let out the piercing shriek of an old fox, his figure darting with fox-like swiftness along the edge of the Dao Lord's pure light barrier. He swept his claws in wide arcs, overturning and tearing apart one corpse-dog and rotting wolf after another as they slammed against the protective light shield!
When a corpse-dog lunged and bit into the old man, the wound oozed green corpse-poison blood — yet the old man seemed not to notice at all, his movements completely unaffected.