Chapter 1654: Chapter 839: The Ancient Tribe
Upon hearing Zhou Qingyuan’s words, a layer of frost enveloped everyone’s face.
An incident at a single node leads to the catastrophic chaos of a village massacre with a blood sacrifice and rebellious Yin Constables, yet there are thirty-six such places.
The widespread distribution and deep implications are simply unfathomable.
What kind of force is this, secretly weaving such an extraordinary chessboard throughout Nanling and intending to shake the heavens and earth?
Wang Daoxuan tightened the satchel on his shoulder and broke the silence: "Let’s move forward first. Capturing those pirates might pry open a crack to glimpse a corner of this game."
Everyone nodded, composed their thoughts, and continued deeper along the slippery mountain path.
......
Elsewhere, Li Yan and Lv San had been running under the Armored Horse Skill for quite some time.
Enhanced by talismanic power, the two figures transformed into indistinguishable gray shadows in the forest, stepping over knotted roots and sweeping past jagged stone edges.
The wind whistled by their ears, mingling with distant, indistinct roars, adding to the urgency.
Finally, the mist ahead thickened, and the terrain abruptly became perilous, as a steep cliff seemingly split by a giant axe stretched into the clouds before them.
The middle section of the cliff wall, concealed by year-round milky white mist, holds secrets only discovered with intent.
"This should be the place." Li Yan halted, his breath mildly hurried, his gaze akin to lightning as he surveyed the fog that seemed solidified.
Before his words still settled, the sound of something suddenly cutting through the air arose!
Several black streaks silently shot from the mist, targeting their faces and vital spots, the fierce wind carrying malevolence, revealed as poisoned blow darts.
Li Yan remained unmoved, without even blinking, as the scabbard of the Duan Chen Blade swiftly struck sideways; only hearing crisp sounds, the poisoned arrows were entirely deflected, deeply embedding into an old tree trunk, instantly blackening and rotting the bark.
Lv San likewise responded quickly, placing the Bone Flute horizontally to his lips.
A string of urgent and uncanny tunes erupted, causing rustling sounds in the surrounding bushes and tree tops, as if countless small creatures were stirred by the flute’s notes.
"Ah—!"
Screams pierced the air as three thin figures resembling monkeys staggered out.
They were wearing colorful short jackets adorned with bird feathers and animal skins, necklaces of animal teeth hanging around their necks, their faces painted with ochre patterns, frantically slapping at the spiders and insects on their bodies.
This place in Lingnan naturally breeds poison insects, these minority witches, although possessing insect avoidance methods, could not withstand the urging of Lv San’s Beast Taming Skill.
Of course, relying on these poison insects wouldn’t hurt the opponent either.
They looked utterly angry, beginning to wave strange magic wands in their hands.
Li Yan sensed something was amiss and hurriedly sheathed his blade and stepped forward to communicate.
Luckily, these wizards spoke broken official language but could still communicate.
At first, the three wizards were quite hostile, especially the slightly older one amongst them, who had a dark blue spiral pattern painted on his forehead, his gaze sharp as an eagle’s.
But when Li Yan mentioned "Black Earth Mother," "Earth Vein Altar," the old wizard’s expression finally loosened.
He briskly whispered in his native tongue with his companions.
Ultimately, the hostility in his eyes transformed into worry and helplessness.
"Foreign Han Family Mage... you all have come too late."
The old wizard spoke in broken, gritty official language, then pointed towards the dense mist mid-cliff, "Those ill-clad guests with iron tools snuck into our ancestral forbidden land like Mountain Demons, vanishing like mist."
"The forbidden land... has been desecrated."
Li Yan’s heart sank.
After persuading the old wizard to lead the way, the three climbed through the misty area using ancient hanging vine ladders and hidden stone carved pits on the cliff face.
The dense fog was cold and bone-chilling, carrying the mixed scent of old incense and some decaying wood. Passing through a naturally formed narrow rock crease, the view suddenly opened up.
A massive grotto lay hidden in the mist.
The entrance was skillfully fortified with neatly piled green stones, engraved with ancient bird, beast, insect, fish, and Sun and Moon motifs, still faintly discernible despite erosive weather, clearly not crafted in modern times.
This was the entrance to the forbidden land of Ghost Master Cave.
The cave extended deeply, light was dim.
In the center lay a stone-built altar, chaotic with disarrayed animal hides, scattered clay pots, and hung feather ornaments, as if roughly ransacked.
A faint, subtle cold ripple lingered in the air.
Li Yan sniffed and suddenly understood.
The pirates summoned Yin Department Soldiers again.
Alas, after a battle with the Three-eyed Yin Constables and Five Dao General, they broke free from their control, whereabouts unknown.
Without the assistance of Yin Si Divine General, they couldn’t cause trouble here.
While pondering, human voices echoed from outside the cave.
It was Wang Daoxuan, Zhou Qingyuan, Sha Lifei, Kuai Dayou, Long Yan’er and others, under the guidance of the leading wizard "Amutu", arriving at the forbidden land.
Seeing the situation in the cave and after Li Yan’s brief explanation, everyone felt increasingly heavy-hearted. The pirates acted furtively and swiftly and apparently had knowledge of the earth vein in Nanling and its hidden heritage.
Amutu saw these Han Family Mages with solemn expressions, indeed here to resolve the dire situation, and observed their respectful attitude towards the tribe’s forbidden land, finally letting down his guard completely.
Li Yan glanced at the densely packed coffins and murals in the caverns, wondering: "Senior, the pirates must have a reason for coming here. Can you tell us of this place’s origins?"
The wizard leader Amutu approached the damaged altar, ran his hand over the ancient engravings, eyes taking on a distant look, using official language mixed with native dialect, he slowly divulged a long-hidden secret concerning the fundamental origins of Ghost Master Cave.
"Our roots are deep, very deep."
He lifted his head, gaze passing through the cave, looking into the distant overlapping mountains. "Deeper than the old vines in the mountains, deeper than the stone sunk at the bottom of the pool."
