Uncle Nine: Scattering beans to create soldiers? I'm using plants and trees to create soldiers.

Forest trails,

Uncle Nine stepped forward, reached out and pulled the peach wood sword out of the back of the Third Elder's head, and then wiped the corpse's clothes clean.

Lin Xuan walked over, flipped his wrist, and put the Third Elder's corpse, along with several magical artifacts scattered on the ground, into his system inventory.

After doing all this, Lin Xuan patted the spirit-storing yellow jade gourd at his waist.

A flash of red light appeared, and Li Qingshu's blood-red soul body floated out, hovering in mid-air with its eyes closed, sensing.

A moment later, Li Qingshu opened his eyes and bowed to Lin Xuan.

"Reporting to the Altar Master, we can no longer sense the bloodline aura of other members of the Li family within a ten-mile radius."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan nodded. "It seems these wretches have suffered heavy losses one after another and have learned to be smart and hide away."

Uncle Nine sheathed his peach wood sword and turned to look at the mountains to the north. "Ah Xuan, now that the outer strongholds have been mostly wiped out, where do we go next?"

"Keep heading north." Lin Xuan pointed to the mountain path ahead. "The Li family has been operating for many years, and their ancestral hall and old lair must be hidden deep in the mountains to the north."

"As long as we continue searching north along the original route, we'll eventually find their hideout!"

"Alright, then let's do as you say and set off now." Uncle Nine nodded in agreement.

With a thought, Lin Xuan put Li Qingshu back into the yellow jade gourd at his waist, and then continued to travel north along the mountain path side by side with Uncle Jiu.

Just a few miles from where the master and his apprentice were traveling, a secluded, desolate open space was filled with the sounds of gongs and drums, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

A tall wooden stage had been temporarily erected here, and red lanterns were hung all around to illuminate the night.

This is the Peking Opera troupe led by Uncle Sheng, currently putting on a lively night performance.

Dozens of long benches were placed below the stage, filled with people from nearby villages and towns who had come to watch the performance, their cheers rising and falling.

A young Taoist priest dressed in a bright red robe was sitting at an eight-immortal table near the front of the crowd.

This young Taoist priest was none other than Zhang Yan, a disciple of the Huaguang Sect who had met Lin Xuan once before!

Zhang Yan possessed the cultivation level of a mid-stage mage and had solid skills. At this moment, he was holding a teacup and watching the martial arts performer on the stage with great interest.

Nine out of ten traveling opera troupes have a shrine to the Huaguang Emperor backstage.

Firstly, opera stages are mostly built of wood and bamboo, which are most vulnerable to fire. The worship of the Fire God Huaguang Emperor is to pray for the suppression of fires and the protection of the opera troupe and the audience.

Secondly, Emperor Huaguang has a third heavenly eye on his forehead, which is most capable of seeing through the netherworld and identifying ghosts!

Pear Garden disciples often set up stages in desolate wilderness to perform, and the audience below the stage is often a mixture of humans and ghosts. Asking the Ancestral Master Huaguang to guard the stage can also scare away the wandering ghosts from all directions so that they dare not act recklessly.

For this reason, the successors of the Huaguang School have always been quite friendly to Peking Opera performers. If they encounter them while traveling, they will almost always stay and support them.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of the gong on stage suddenly became more rapid, and the two leading actors of the troupe, A-Jia and A-Gui, were putting on a fierce duel, each holding a wooden spear.

Logically speaking, the two have worked together for many years, and their moves should be perfectly in sync, stopping short of a direct confrontation.

Just as the two exchanged blows, a chilling whirlwind suddenly swept up from the edge of the arena and burrowed straight into the back of A-Jia's neck!

A-Jia shuddered violently, her once bright eyes instantly becoming fixed and her lips curling into a strange smile.

"Watch out for your gun!"

A-Gui, completely unaware of anything amiss, shouted loudly in accordance with the script, and feinted with his spear, aiming for A-Jia's shoulder.

However, this time, A-Jia did not follow the usual move of dodging to the side!

"Heh heh, go to hell!"

A-Jia let out a high-pitched, strange Chaozhou accent, gripped the wooden gun tightly with both hands, and with all her might, smashed it down on A-Gui's face!

A muffled thud!

A-Gui couldn't dodge in time, and his nose was smashed open. He screamed and fell backward onto the stage, blood gushing out of his face!

"Ouch! My nose! A-Jia, are you crazy?!"

Ah Gui rolled on the ground, wailing, his face covered in blood. The audience below, not understanding what was going on, thought something had gone wrong with the opera troupe and burst into laughter.

Uncle Sheng, who was backstage, was startled by what he saw and rushed onto the stage to try and break up the fight. "Ah Jia! What are you doing? Stop it!"

Seeing this, Zhang Yan, who was sitting in the audience, frowned and immediately noticed that something was wrong with A-Jia.

He made a hand seal with his left hand and swept it in front of his eyes, and a faint crimson flame flashed in his eyes.

In his sight, he saw a skinny Chaozhou ghost dressed in tattered funeral clothes, his face covered in bruises, clinging to A-Jia's back, using his hands and feet to control A-Jia and make him commit murder!

"You audacious beast! How dare you possess and harm people before the stage of Patriarch Huaguang! Get out here!"

Zhang Yan slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly. He pointed his right hand, fingers together like a sword, towards the stage.

Snapped!

A streak of crimson fire shot from his fingertips, striking A-Jia precisely on the back.

"ah!!"

With a piercing scream, the Chaozhou ghost was forcibly pulled out of A-Jia's body by the flames and crashed heavily into the center of the stage!

A-Jia rolled her eyes and fainted on the spot.

The Chaozhou ghost rolled twice on the ground, its yin energy sizzling as it was burned by the firelight, revealing its true form.

"A ghost...a ghost!"

"Oh my god! There are real ghosts on the stage!!"

The audience witnessed a blue-faced, fanged demon fly out from the back of a living person, and they were so frightened that they screamed, overturned their benches, and fled in all directions!

The Chaozhou ghost saw Zhang Yan in a red robe below the stage and felt the intense pure yang fire emanating from him. It was so frightened that it trembled uncontrollably.

He scrambled to his knees on the edge of the stage, kowtowing frantically to Zhang Yan and begging for mercy.

"Master, spare my life! This little devil was just passing by watching a play and got into a moment of confusion, which is why I possessed you and played this trick on you. I'll never do it again, please spare my life!"

Seeing this, Zhang Yan snorted coldly and was about to step onto the stage to subdue this unruly ghost.

call--!

Just then, a chilling wind suddenly swept through the once peaceful wilderness!

The red lanterns hanging around the stage swayed violently, and the candlelight inside turned a chilling, ghastly green in the blink of an eye.

Immediately afterwards, thick, inky gray-white mist surged out from the surrounding woods, instantly surrounding the entire stage!

The temperature in the air plummeted, and a chilling voice echoed eerily from the depths of the mist all around.

"A mere Taoist priest dares to boss me around on my turf? I think you're asking for trouble!"

As the words fell, the thick fog in front parted to both sides like a tide.

A figure dressed in a pale white mourning robe, with disheveled hair like tangled weeds, was seen walking out of the mist step by step.

It was an extremely hideous demon with bare, swollen, bluish-purple feet. With each step it took, it left a trail of wet, bloody footprints on the ground!