Minglong

Chapter 458 Hundred Insect Dock

As the sun sets in the west, the endless mountains and fields gradually darken.

Waves crashed against the coastal rocks, and three figures gathered on the sea cliff, the atmosphere desolate and solemn.

Yang Huaxian, a twenty-year-old man, looked back at the vast landscape to the north and frowned, saying:
"The righteous path has already pressed on to the southern border, and the three of us are not like Shang Lianbi, who can jump left and right. Now we are standing on the edge of the sea cliff with nowhere to go."

“If Nephew Sikong is not confident, then speak plainly. If I have a spar with Fellow Daoist Kongkong, then at least the heretical path can still have a sliver of its incense offerings.”

The Taoist priest, holding a wine jug, gazed at the vast sea, having already given up all hope.

After all, there was only one chance to obtain from the Northern Sea of ​​Darkness. This meant that if they couldn't snatch one from the righteous path, he and Yang Huaxian would have to rely on their strength to decide who would stay in the world.

With his strength, there was no way he could possibly overpower the Immortal Ancestor who had dominated the mortal realm for three hundred years. Therefore, as long as Sikong Tianyuan couldn't turn the tide, he was almost certain to die.

Sikong Tianyuan, cloaked, stood between the two men, sensing their distrust, and spoke in a rather calm tone:
"If I'm not confident in planning for the next 60 years, why would I involve two seniors? But if I want things to succeed, I need your help to restrain the righteous path."

"Xie Jinhuan will be arriving in the Southern Frontier soon. The Valkyrie and Qixia Zhenren should be among them. I will try to deal with them. As for Lu Wuzhen and the others, the more of them you can hold off, the greater the chance of success."

The Taoist priest turned his head, his eyes filled with suspicion:
"What will you use to restrain Master Qixia and the Valkyrie?"

Sikong Tianyuan shook his head: "The Southern Frontier is so vast. If you throw a pig into the deep mountains and forests, even the righteous path will take several days to find it, let alone a person as big as me. You two seniors don't need to worry about this."

Upon hearing this, Yang Huaxian nodded slightly:

"As expected of the leader of the Gu Poison Sect, his style is consistent from top to bottom. Since Nephew Sikong is confident, I will trust you this time. If things don't work out, this will be the last time the three of us meet."

After saying this, Yang Huaxian rode away on the wind, and the Taoist Kongkong did not say anything more, carrying his sword and disappearing at the edge of the sea cliff.

Sikong Tianyuan stood by the sea cliff, watching them go. After a long while, a disciple quietly emerged from the night and whispered:
"Master, Xie Jinhuan has arrived at Hundred Insect Valley."

Sikong Tianyuan was not surprised at all. After remarking, "This boy is truly efficient," he turned and entered the deep stone cave...
-
Huaijiang River flows south into southern Xinjiang and finally empties into the sea at Fenghuang Port. Baichongwu is located in the middle of the river surrounded by mountains. Looking up, you can only see a sliver of starry sky. The buildings inside are all suspended on the cliff or built on the river. There are also many boats moored on the river.

As night fell, Xie Jinhuan quietly landed on the top of the precipitous cliff. Peeking down, he could see that the water fortress, which could accommodate more than a thousand people, was brightly lit, with many disciples busy inside. There were also many caves carved out on the mountain walls on both sides.

Lin Zisu, draped in a cloak, squatted down beside him, surveying the scene below with Meiqiu, her eyes filled with surprise:

Wow~ This sect is really rich.

"Oh?"

Xie Jinhuan looked at the ordinary-looking buildings and asked in confusion:
"Have it?"

Lin Zisu, a poison master, gestured to the centipedes crawling on the cliff face:
"This is a centipede. Soaking it in wine has miraculous effects on male enhancement, allowing one to sleep with ten women in one night. In the capital, it's sold by the centipede. A centipede this size would fetch at least two taels of silver. Nobody here is even looking at it. I reckon the Ten Thousand Snake Cave is full of great treasures."

The Ten Thousand Snake Cave was normally used to raise snakes, but other venomous insects were certainly also concentrated and managed nearby. Since the Gu Poison Sect started out by relying on venomous insects, over time, the 'Ten Thousand Snake Cave' became a synonym for the sect's storehouse.

Xie Jinhuan was skilled at robbing gold and silver treasures, but he wasn't very knowledgeable about poisonous insects. He glanced at the centipede briefly, found nothing special, and then had Coal Ball keep watch in the sky while he descended with Perilla.
"Go in and take a look. You're an expert. If you see any unusual drugs or poisonous insects, please let me know."

"Understood, a thief never leaves empty-handed."

"Huh? No, it's about finding evidence..."

"Oh~"

Lin Zisu was just joking. Everyone has their own expertise, and when it comes to questions about poison masters, they are definitely the most knowledgeable. At this moment, Xie Jinhuan held her in his arms, and they carefully scanned the buildings below on the suspended wooden corridor, finally pointing to a house in the center of the dock:
“Something’s not right. The disciples outside are pounding Crimson Sun Fruit and Dew-Condensing Flower. These two medicinal materials are yin and yang, and their medicinal properties are completely conflicting. They can only be used in ‘Cold Flame Powder’, which is a necessary ingredient for making puppets.”

"puppet……"

Xie Jinhuan knew that puppets were strictly forbidden by the Gu Poison Sect, but the reason for the ban was that they were inhumane, not because of their power.

Faced with this situation, even if Patriarch Sikong produced thousands of low-grade puppets, it wouldn't be of much use, so it shouldn't be related to Patriarch Sikong's backup plan...

Xie Jinhuan pondered for a moment, and in order to find out more, he silently drifted down into the night with Zisu and looked into the building...

……

At the center of Baichongwu is the residence of Zhang Nanhua, the sect leader.

As a mid-level leader of the Gu Poison Sect, Zhang Nanhua is only at the first rank of Daoist cultivation, but he has a deep understanding of cordyceps and has served as an academic advisor to various sects for many years, so his position within the sect is not low. Under the moonlight, Zhang Nanhua sat in the dimly lit, spacious hall, holding a book in his hand and turning the pages. Outside the door, there was the sound of pounding medicine.

The book is called "Xingwu Jing" (行巫经), compiled by Sikong Tianyuan. It records the various witchcraft and sorcery potions researched by Mo Hunsheng, the sixteenth generation disciple of Chilong Cave, who is also known as the Corpse Ancestor.

There was nothing in it to whitewash the Corpse Ancestor or to express self-blame and repentance. It was simply a technical document that Sikong Tianyuan had restored based on various materials. Although it only recorded less than half of the Corpse Ancestor's achievements in his life, it was enough to make Zhang Nanhua respect him as a god!

After all, putting everything else aside, the body-strengthening divine formula 'Dragon Blood Pill,' which the Imperial Pharmacy of the Great Qian Dynasty had a monopoly on for a hundred years and was only recently surpassed by a genius, originated from the Corpse Ancestor.

After the demon army was wiped out, the righteous path burned the scriptures to erase all traces of the Corpse Ancestor, but these good things were still left behind and divided up by various forces, but their origins were not marked.

When Zhang Nanhua learned that Sikong Tianyuan had deviated from the norm and colluded with Yang Huaxian, he was initially puzzled and went to ask the sect leader what his intentions were.

But Sikong Tianyuan convinced him with just this one unfinished scroll that there was nothing the Corpse Ancestor couldn't do. The 'Witch Cult Rebellion' back then was probably just a bunch of righteous fools trying to stop a genius from changing the world.

With such an unparalleled genius, why wouldn't the righteous path believe that the Corpse Ancestor could succeed? If he were born back then, and the Corpse Ancestor said there were two suns in the sky, he would rather doubt his own eyesight than doubt that the Corpse Ancestor's decision was flawed...

Zhang Nanhua was a staunch supporter of the Gu Poison Sect and naturally wanted to work with the sect leader to achieve great things. However, he was just a small fry and could not affect the overall situation. He was sitting here to help the sect leader receive a guest.

dong dong dong~
The sound of pounding medicine echoed outside the door. Just as Zhang Nanhua was intently observing, he suddenly noticed that the doorway had darkened.

Looking up, two figures appeared in the hall, one tall and one short, both wearing cloaks, looking like poison rats from the Gu Poison Sect, with the waist tokens of the Crescent Moon Manor hanging from their waists.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Nanhua put down his book and inquired:
"You two have come here to investigate the ship in Phoenix Harbor?"

Xie Jinhuan did not reveal his identity, but simply asked:
"The book in your hand is a forbidden item; only Sikong Tianyuan should have it. What is he planning to refine? Where is he? Confess honestly, and I'll give you a quick death out of consideration for our shared sect."

Zhang Nanhua shook his head and smiled:

"Southern Xinjiang is Senior Brother Sikong's territory. Many people think that since he operates in the shadows, he won't know. Little do they know that all the forces in Southern Xinjiang are under Senior Brother Sikong's control. He just didn't bother with it before."

"Take Taishu Dan for example. He thought he was clever and had been able to roam freely in the Southern Frontier for decades without dying. In reality, his senior brother wanted to help the Second Prince of Daqian but couldn't do it himself, so he had the clever Taishu Dan steal the treasures and cultivation techniques and escape to Linglu Valley to help. In the end, Linglu Valley was no longer useful, so the Underworld God Sect recruited him and let him take all the assets back to their command."

"Outsiders call him a traitor who has served three masters, but Taishu Dan never knew until his death that he was always his senior brother's disciple. It's laughable, really..."

Lin Zisu stood tall and proud in front of him, striking a pose, and then interjected upon hearing the voice:
"You mean, our arrival was also part of that old scoundrel Sikong's scheme?"

Zhang Nanhua nodded:
"Your senior brother knows better than any of you who came from Blood Rain Tower. That ship was specifically designed to be seen by Blood Rain Tower, and the news will definitely reach Young Master Xie's ears in the end. This place is only a few hundred miles away from Crescent Moon Manor, and the matter is neither too big nor too small, so Young Master Xie will naturally have to come and take a look when he is passing by."

?

Xie Jinhuan was quite surprised to see that the other party had come prepared, and glanced around:
"Is Sikong Tianyuan lying in ambush here?"

“Young Master Xie has immense resources and is not so easy to kill. Killing him would not change the overall situation. Senior Brother’s move is just a delaying tactic. Although he lost many men in the past, he still has some loyal followers scattered like stars in the sky. If Young Master Xie picks them off one by one, it will take him a long time to settle things.”

As Zhang Nanhua finished speaking, he looked up at the door.

At that moment, chaotic footsteps could be heard within the complex of buildings constructed entirely on the river.

stomping on...

Countless wizards emerged from all directions, and two figures draped in black cloaks also appeared from the houses, landing on the roof ridge outside the hall, with green mist rising around them.

Lin Zisu's eyes lit up when she saw the ambush scene, and she asked:
"So, you can start now?"

"Ok?"

Xie Jinhuan thought Zisu would be scared. Seeing Zisu sharpening her knife, he was genuinely afraid that she would pull something extraordinary out of her underwear. He slightly raised his hand:

"Don't be afraid, just leave it to me."

"I'm not afraid for you to deal with those two cloaked men. I'll handle the remaining few hundred. I guarantee no one will be left alive..."

"Don't rush. We are righteous people, not notorious bandits. Let's first assess the intruder's background. We should still give those who are not disciples of our sect a way out..."

"Oh, then I'll beat you to a pulp..."

……
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There's a big event at 8 PM tonight, feel free to check it out if you're interested!
(End of this chapter)