Chapter 229: First Appearance Of The Yin Soldiers

The plank road outside Sanyou Cave was not only old and poorly maintained, but also no more than five chi wide and slick. In some places, the wooden planks had already splintered apart. With arrows raining down, there was nowhere to hide.

Li Yan's expression changed slightly, and he twisted sideways, flipping back into the cave.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Arrows struck the ground outside one after another. Although they could not pierce the stone, they still gouged out small pits, sending rock chips flying everywhere.

Before Li Yan even landed back on his feet, he suddenly felt a chill behind him.

At the same time, a shrill, eerie laugh sounded beside his ear as one of the human-skin shadows attacked.

"Heehee..."

Human-skin puppets were astonishingly difficult and time-consuming to refine. The fact that so many evil cultivators valued them as a secret art naturally meant they could not be underestimated. Once successfully refined, they became bloodthirsty spirits.

Spirit soldiers were powerful, but in the end, they were still only souls. Their strengths were obvious, but so were their weaknesses. After all ,the physical body was the vessel of the soul. Without a body, the soul was free of physical restraints, but at the same time, it was also vulnerable to the astral and killing qi of Heaven and Earth.

This was the exact situation the Cold Altar Soldier that had ambushed Li Yan back at Li Clan's Fort had faced. Normally, it had to reside within the body of a vicious wolf, yet even after transforming into a soul to attack, it had never been able to enter through the main gate of his household, which had been protected by the plaque.

Human-skin puppets were different. Human skin served as the puppet body, while the seven emotions and six desires mixed with yin killing qi formed their soul. Naturally, they were stronger than ordinary spirit soldiers.

Two of the human-skin puppets swooped through the air, entangling themselves with the spirit soldiers and gradually drawing them away, while the third seized the opportunity to ambush Li Yan.

The boatmen inside the cave were terrified, their faces deathly pale. In their eyes, a mysterious figure in a red paper bridal gown had suddenly appeared behind Li Yan. Its face was white, as if coated in powder, with its lips smeared blood-red, yet its eyes were completely hollow.

Eerie laughter immediately echoed throughout the cave. At the same time, Li Yan felt his entire body stiffen. A cold, snow-white hand, reeking of a pungent corpse stench, slowly reached out over his shoulder.

Ring ring!

Li Yan snorted coldly, and the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin tassel jingled sharply. The chill faded, and control returned to his body. He spun Earth Breaker in a flourish, then thrust it backward with a reverse grip.

The power of Earth Breaker was beyond question. Its core had been forged from Shoushan Copper Essence, which had been struck by heavenly lightning for a hundred years. It naturally carried the murderous force of lightning astral qi, and after being refined through the exquisite craftsmanship of the hidden master of Mount Hua, it had become a high-grade spiritual artifact.

"Yah!"

Thus, even before the blade even reached it, the human-skin puppet shrieked and retreated.

However, Li Yan wouldn't let an opportunity like that slip away.

Clatter!

The invisible Soul-Hooking Chain whistled out, freezing the human-skin puppet in midair. A blade light flashed, and the puppet was split cleanly in two. Its yin killing qi dispersed, and with a soft slap, it fell to the ground as two limp pieces of human skin.

Li Yan abruptly turned his head toward the other human-skin shadows flying outside the cave.

"Yaaaah!"

Sensing his killing intent, the two shadows shrieked and quickly vanished into the darkness.

At the same time, on the plank road outside, a muffled grunt escaped the old Daoist controlling the human-skin puppets as he nearly fell over.

Controlling spirit troops could cause backlash. How could vicious and uncanny things like human-skin puppets be any exception? Having one destroyed by Li Yan immediately shook his mind and spirit. Worse still, in that brief opening, two sharp figures whistled through the darkness in quick succession.

It was the remaining two human-skin puppets.

The old Daoist was startled and hurriedly raised up the small bronze gong and locust-wood rod in his hands. The bronze gong was the kind used by a shadow-puppet troupe's musical ensemble, while the locust-wood rod was used to manipulate shadow puppets.

Once the evil art had been successfully refined, these two objects became the very tools used to restrain the human-skin puppets.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The gong rang out in rapid succession.

To everyone else, it merely sounded noisy. But the two human-skin puppets immediately shrieked in agony. After spiraling through the air twice, they stopped moving.

Even the members of the Rising Dragon Army nearby felt their scalps tingle at the sight of such eerie things as a chill rose in their hearts.

A trace of displeasure flashed through the old beggar's eyes as he snapped, "Daoist Cheng, just hold back their spirit soldiers!"

These cultivators and assassins had all fled into the Jingchu mountains to evade imperial arrest. Later, their lord had hired them at great expense to assist him with this mission. They talked really big, but when it mattered, not a single one of them was useful.

The old Daoist's expression turned ugly, but he said nothing more. He focused entirely on controlling the human-skin puppets as they tangled with Wang Daoxuan's spirit soldiers.

At this moment, Li Yan and the others had been forced back into the cave. But the plank road outside Sanyou Cave was narrow, so even though the attackers had more men, forcing their way inside would not be easy.

The old beggar's escape art was formidable, but after suffering once already, he no longer dared sneak inside and fight Li Yan at close range.

At that thought, a vicious gleam appeared in his eyes. He snorted coldly. "Get ready. Use miasma!"

Several black-clad men immediately stepped forward, unfastened bamboo tubes from their waists, and hurled them toward the cave entrance. At the same time, several archers loosed arrows in rapid succession.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bamboo tubes shattered in midair, releasing clouds of pink smoke. Although much of it was blown away by the mountain wind, some still drifted into the cave.

Captain Yuan's pupils contracted at the sight, and he quickly barked, "Fall back, quickly!"

Everyone hurriedly retreated. Two boatmen, however, froze in terror and failed to run in time. After inhaling the pink poisonous smoke, their bodies immediately began convulsing, white foam spilling from their mouths as their faces turned pitch-black.

Fortunately, Sanyou Cave was quite spacious, with larger caverns connected to smaller ones. After retreating through two chambers, the poisonous smoke could no longer reach them.

Captain Yuan said urgently, "That smoke is refined from poisonous miasma gathered by Jingchu rebels in the forests. It's extremely toxic. Even the imperial troops around Yunyang Prefecture have suffered losses from it. We have to find a way to break out!"

Sha Lifei shouted irritably, "The entrance is blocked! Where are we supposed to run?"

He glanced at Li Yan. Although the bundle containing the gunpowder had gotten wet, he had packaged some of the powder separately, so a little was still usable. They could blow up the plank road at the cave entrance and block the enemy.

The only problem was that Captain Yuan was present, making things somewhat inconvenient.

Li Yan merely shook his head slightly, then said in a deep voice, "Everyone, turn around. No matter what you hear, do not turn back and look."

Captain Yuan and the boatmen were taken aback, having no idea what he intended to do.

Sha Lifei cursed anxiously, "What are you standing there for? Turn around, quickly!"

As for Wang Daoxuan and Lu San, they had already turned their backs and closed their eyes. They knew that Li Yan was preparing to summon yin soldiers.

But these were not ordinary spirit troops. They came from the Underworld itself, equivalent to the registered spirit soldiers of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect.

Ordinary spirit troops were usually wandering ghosts, vicious spirits, mountain sprites, or evil demons. If an ordinary person accidentally bumped into them, their soul could be damaged, with even a minor encounter leaving them seriously ill. That was why, back when the Taixuan Orthodox Sect's troops had arrived during the attack on the mountain stronghold outside Shangjin City, everyone had been warned not to move recklessly.

As for the yin soldiers of the Underworld, it was best not even to look at them. If someone was frightened badly enough to lose part of their soul, that would only create another problem.

Once everyone had turned around, Li Yan took out his Summoning Writ, formed a hand seal, and chanted solemnly, "Qingjia! Dark Heavens above and Black Earth below; There is no light in the Dark Heavens, nor gates to the Black Earth. The dead march forth, the living withdraw. Seize evil and evil retreats; seize ghosts and ghosts perish. By command of the Great Emperor of the Northern Fengdu Underworld, quickly heed my request!"

The moment the incantation ended, a stream of bone-chilling yin qi shot from the Summoning Writ.

It was the astral decree used to summon yin soldiers!

The yin qi sank into the ground, and instantly, a violent wind erupted inside the cave. A freezing chill surged outward, frost spreading across the ground at a speed visible to the naked eye. The cold seemed to penetrate straight into their bones.

They had originally been holding torches, whose flames flickered restlessly in the draft. But now, darkness suddenly descended around them. Even the torchlight seemed suppressed by that darkness.

Then, the flames went out. The cave became so dark that they could not see their own hands in front of their faces. Yet an even stranger phenomenon followed. The sound of the wind, the rain, and even the approaching footsteps outside the cave all seemed to vanish into the distance, as though they were the only people left between Heaven and Earth.

Even Li Yan found himself surrounded by absolute darkness. He could still smell faint traces of various scents, but they were hazy and difficult to distinguish. At the same time, he could vaguely hear the sound of armor clinking somewhere nearby.

So these are the yin soldiers?

A chill rose in Li Yan's heart as he gripped the Summoning Writ tightly. He realized that his expectations had been wrong. The yin soldiers of the Underworld were on an entirely different level from ordinary spirit troops! They were even somewhat beyond his comprehension.

Clatter, clatter!

The sound of armor grew increasingly dense and this time, even the others could hear it. It was as though an ice-cold army had appeared and was marching past them, yet no one could sense any actual presence.

Outside the cave, chaos had erupted. The old beggar's divine ability was somewhat unusual. Red light flickered in his eyes. His divine ability gave him something along the lines of x-ray vision, except that he could see the flow of qi. Thus, when he saw Li Yan and the others being forced back by the poisonous smoke, he seized what he thought was an opportunity and ordered an assault, intending to rush directly into the cave and kill everyone with the miasma. After all, what he wanted was an object. He had never intended to take anyone alive.

But the moment he reached the cave entrance, fear suddenly rose in his heart. Then, darkness visible to the naked eye began spreading outward. The darkness moved with astonishing speed, accompanied by the dense clatter of armor. Wherever it passed, every black-clad man holding a torch was swallowed whole.

The old beggar roared, "Fall back!"

He hurriedly retreated, shocked and bewildered. He could not understand how these trapped prey still possessed such a terrifying spell.

What exactly is inside that darkness?

Curiosity surged in the old beggar's heart. He pushed his divine ability to its limit, and the red light in both eyes suddenly became dazzlingly bright, standing out starkly in the rainy night.

The next second, he froze.

Lin Silang, the young squad leader, hurriedly called out, "General!"

He turned to face the old beggar. To his surprise, the old beggar did not respond at all. His face had turned deathly pale, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like water, and nothing remained in his eyes except terror.

Lin Silang felt his scalp tingle, but before he had time to think, darkness rapidly closed in around him. Through the haze, he seemed to hear the sound of chains. Then, his consciousness began to dim, as though he had fallen into a black ocean and was sinking deeper and deeper...

"Run!"

The three experts brought by the old beggar naturally reacted quickly. The Confucian scholar turned and fled, but his martial arts were mediocre. He had not even cultivated hidden force, and after only a few steps, he was swallowed by the darkness.

The female assassin who wielded the sword was the most skilled. Hidden force erupted beneath her feet, as she leapt high from the plank road. She flipped in midair and dove from the cliff, disappearing into the surging river below with a splash.

The old Daoist who controlled the human-skin puppets was the unluckiest of all. Terrified out of his wits, he turned and ran, but in his panic he forgot to strike the gong in his hand.

Human-skin puppets were unlike ordinary spirit soldiers. Each time they were used, not only did they have to be activated and constantly guarded against backlash, but they also had to be suppressed again.

The moment the gong fell silent, one of the human-skin puppets came shrieking toward him and plastered itself across his back, as though he were carrying a person. The old Daoist's body stiffened. Both he and the puppet were then swallowed by the darkness.

The other human-skin puppet broke free of its restraints, flying through the air while cackling, seemingly intent on fleeing. Unfortunately for it, the sound of chains suddenly rang out from within the darkness.

The human-skin puppet jerked, as if seized by an invisible giant hand, and was violently dragged into the darkness. Then, there was no more movement.

In the blink of an eye, the entire mountaintop fell deathly silent. Inside the cave on the other side, no one dared move.

Li Yan held the Summoning Writ and gulped. He could sense that the yin soldiers he had summoned had completed their task, and their presence was rapidly fading.

A single astral decree could summon one battalion of five hundred yin soldiers.

He had originally worried that it might not be enough, but the yin soldiers were far stronger than he had imagined. There had been nearly a hundred Rising Dragon Army men outside, all seasoned fighters, along with four experts, each formidable in either close combat or mystic arts. Yet before the yin soldiers, they had been completely powerless.

Suddenly, the sound of wind returned around them. The torches still flickered unsteadily, casting swaying shadows behind everyone. The atmosphere remained exceedingly eerie in this remote mountain cave.

Despite the strange atmosphere, everyone let out a breath of relief. Compared to what had just happened, they felt as though they had returned to the mortal world from the depths of the Underworld.

The group exchanged looks before slowly walking toward the cave entrance.

The plank road outside was covered with corpses. Each one had a bluish-black face, some even covered in frost. Their eyes were wide open, and even the terror on their faces seemed to have been frozen in place.

Naturally, the boatmen and boatmaster were horrified beyond words. Everything before them had surpassed their understanding. Even Captain Yuan sucked in a cold breath and secretly glanced at Li Yan, his eyes filled with wariness.

This kind of power... Even an entire battalion of men might not be able to withstand it! No wonder the City God Temple values him so highly!

Li Yan had already put away the Summoning Writ. As he surveyed the scene, he spoke in a deep voice, "Search them. See what you can find!"

Although Sha Lifei and Lu San were also shocked, they knew their priorities. Both immediately stepped forward and began searching the black-clad men. Naturally, Li Yan did the same, activating his divine ability. Whatever these men were carrying, nothing could escape his nose.

The ordinary black-clad Rising Dragon Army men did not have much he could take note of. Sha Lifei and Lu San found several bamboo tubes containing poison and carefully put them away. They had already witnessed how vicious those things were.

Li Yan searched the dead old beggar, soon finding several items.

The first was the man's erhu, which was a fairly impressive spiritual artifact. Then there were several packets of medicinal powder, probably used for his illusion and escape arts, though unfortunately Li Yan had no idea how to use them. Finally, there was also a token and a letter.

The letter had been wrapped in oiled paper and had not gotten wet in the rain.

The lighting was poor, and the storm had yet to stop, so Li Yan simply tucked it into his robes to examine later inside the cave. When he was done, he searched the Daoist and the Confucian scholar.

The Daoist carried all sorts of miscellaneous items, including single-use ritual artifacts and paper talismans. Some of the other things were impossible to identify. His human-skin puppets had naturally also been destroyed by the troops of the Underworld. They were torn and ragged, giving off a nauseating stench.

As for the elderly Confucian scholar, Li Yan found a pleasant surprise on him. The man carried a small bamboo case on his back. Inside, apart from various bottles and jars, were several books.

Li Yan looked down into the pitch-black gorge below and shook his head slightly. "A pity. One got away."

After returning to the cave, the group began sorting through the spoils.

Li Yan first took out the letter. He casually skimmed it, but after only a few lines, his expression grew increasingly grave, and his face darkened. Without saying a word, he handed it directly to Captain Yuan.

Captain Yuan already had a bad feeling from Li Yan's expression. After taking the letter and reading a few lines, his own face immediately turned ugly.

"Damn traitor! How dare he scheme against me!"