Chapter 411: Chapter 129 Yin Soldiers
After the great battle had ceased for a long while, a cold breeze belatedly arrived, stopping mid-air and revealing three imposing figures.
Leading the group was a man dressed in a red official robe, with a head like a leopard and ringed eyes, an iron face with curly whiskers, and a strange appearance—it was indeed Zhong Wuqi, the judge of the Yin Law Department. The two people behind, dressed as court officers with long beards and fierce faces, were no less tall and big than Zhong Wuqi.
The three came to this place, and with one glance, they saw the scattered sword marks on the mountain and the collapsed mountain walls; they could even sense the Sword Qi still hovering in the air.
"This Sword Qi is unmistakable, definitely from Li Qinglian," one of the burly men said, "but the other person, capable of contending with Li Qinglian to this extent, is one I do not recognize as any known divinity."
"Jiang Li." Zhong Wuqi spoke.
He looked up at the sky, seeing that directly above was a clear expanse devoid of clouds, but around it, clouds gathered, casting gloom over the mountains.
Such a peculiar scene had appeared above Divine Capital’s Dragon Abyss Lake on the first day of the ninth lunar month, exactly what Jiang Li had led to manifest.
"Li Qinglian has confronted Jiang Li here, clashing so fiercely as to destroy the path,"
Zhong Wuqi’s eyes swept over the mountain wall and then shifted towards the waterfall on the opposite side, "The waterfall has stopped flowing; the ultimate outcome..."
His gaze fixed on the array map formed by the sword marks, "It must be that Jiang Li was superior in skill, and Li Qinglian has been injured."
Upon saying this, Zhong Wuqi’s expression changed.
Looking at the situation now, Li Qinglian had clearly been at a disadvantage and suffered considerable damage; Taibai True Monarch’s incarnation, who had been challenging the great heroes with the lawless freedom of the sword these past days, seemed to have been defeated.
This without doubt refreshed Zhong Wuqi’s cognition.
However, Li Qinglian’s defeat was not necessarily a bad thing, at least not for the present Yin Law Department.
In this period, Li Qinglian, using the Xiyi Sword Skill to conceal his traces, appeared and disappeared unpredictably. Although the Yin Law Department had pursued relentlessly, they had still been evaded multiple times. Now, with Li Qinglian severely wounded, more traces were actually revealed.
Taking this chance to capture Li Qinglian was also not a bad idea.
At that thought, Zhong Wuqi’s eyes emitted a ghostly light, his eyes filled with a deep blue color, scanning the surroundings, his sharp senses detected a whiff of lingering Five Vile Qi.
"Send out the signal, assemble the team, and pursue."
The three simultaneously emitted Yin Qi, following the direction in which the Five Vile Qi dispersed.
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Following the path forward, crossing this large mountain, and continuing along the road for ten miles, one could see a small tavern.
At this moment, Jiang Li was inside the tavern, floating as he sat cross-legged, circulating Innate Qi to digest the Elixir he had just consumed.
As for the tavern’s owner and the servant...
They were the wolf and the bear-like creature lying on the ground.
Many people think of dark caves, deep pits, or some eerie place when they hear ’demon, ghost, and monster,’ a common misconception among ordinary people.
Perhaps real demons, ghosts, and monsters might have such wicked tastes, but nowadays, these beings are mostly Human Race cultivators transformed through Dao Fruit. Even if their beastly and demonic nature is intense, they wouldn’t degrade themselves by staying in such broken places.
Most Devil Cultivators and Demon Cultivators live in houses.
Just like the current tavern keeper, opening a store in this area provided both a place to live and an opportunity to operate a sinister business, killing two birds with one stone.
Of course, this was also why they ended up as the souls under Jiang Li’s sword. If not for currently needing to disguise himself as Li Qinglian, they would also have become materials for Jiang Li to test his Innate Qi.
At this moment, Jiang Li, dressed in a blue robe and wearing Li Qinglian’s face, with his eyebrows reaching into his temples, radiated an intense sharpness. He was quickly digesting the medicinal power and replenishing his True Qi while awaiting the arrival of his pursuers.
If the Yin Law Department was so persistent with Li Qinglian, allowing Li Qinglian to even find chances to escape and fight Jiang Li, they were even less likely to manage the multifarious escape techniques and more powerful Jiang Li.
As the ninth cycle of his practice rounded, his Qi Sea gradually filled, and seeing that he had recovered more than half of his power, suddenly, Jiang Li furrowed his brow and opened his eyes.
A compass appeared in his hand, spinning and calculating. With a glance, Jiang Li already knew.
Mountain Earth Stripping, a sign of extreme Yin Qi.
Simultaneously, Jiang Li keenly sensed the appearance of a sinister aura.
The people from the Yin Law Department had arrived.
But that Yin Qi was always lingering outside, hesitating to approach, seemingly undecided.
Seeing this, Jiang Li pondered for a moment and then loudly said, "Since you have come, why not show yourself?"
As he spoke, he continued to digest the medicinal power and replenish his power.
The Yin Law Department temporarily could do nothing to Li Qinglian, letting Li Qinglian find opportunities to escape and fight Jiang Li; therefore, they were less likely to manage the various escape techniques and the stronger Jiang Li.
"However, for safety’s sake, it was still best to recover some power if possible."
The words reached outside the tavern, where the Yin Qi condensed slightly before becoming more cohesive and eerie, evidently sensing the presence and brazenly gathering strength.
At the same time, a deep and robust voice said, "It seems your injuries are indeed severe; otherwise, you would have already struck with your Sword Qi."
The speech carried a familiarity with Li Qinglian and concealed a probing intention.
He was testing Jiang Li—or perhaps it should be said Li Qinglian’s—condition of injury.
’Judging by the voice, the person’s stature is not small and he is familiar with Li Qinglian. It seems to be Zhong Wuqi, one of the four judges of the Yin Law Department.’
Jiang Li immediately made this guess and even sketched a rough burly figure on the Karma Collection using the voice as a clue.
This was his calculation of the other’s figure.
"Are you suggesting that I am trying to buy time?" Jiang Li laughed upon hearing this, "Then why don’t you make a move now? Or are you also buying time?"
The day was already turning late, nearing evening, the sunlight tinged with red, bringing about a reversal in the Yin Yang Qi.
Ghost Cultivators, including the Fifth-Rank Zhong Wuqi, unveil their strongest powers at night or in places dense with Yin Qi.
Although the Yang Qi of daylight could no longer affect Zhong Wuqi’s powers, the Yin Qi of night would enhance his abilities further. If it were a full moon or one of the four great Ghost Festivals, the strength of Ghost Cultivators could increase further.
Moreover—
The sinister Yin Qi grew increasingly intense, the sky near evening rapidly darkened, seeming to accelerate through time, the ruddy sunlight obscured, and frigid air pervaded everywhere.
"Woo!"
Sounds akin to weeping or perhaps horn-blowing followed, soon there seemed to be murmurs of flowing water approaching, the Yin Qi growing denser.
Among those sounds of water, there were synchronized splashing noises, and a thick black fog started seeping in from outside the tavern, bringing coldness and dampness.
’Yin Soldiers?’
Jiang Li’s gaze sharpened, intricate patterns emerging in his eyes as his vision suddenly pierced through the paper window of the tavern to the outside.
His eye power, enhanced by the Heavenly Dharma, had reached a microscopic level, allowing his sight to penetrate any gaps, however insignificant, to see the scene beyond.
If his vision could be further enhanced, even seeing through clothing would not be impossible—
Thus, Jiang Li saw the howling ghostly winds outside the tavern, with two groups of people in black armor approaching.
Their faces pale, skin largely withered, even rotting in places, their eyes dull, devoid of vitality, they moved forward like puppets.
A stream of black water, concentrated with Yin Qi, extended beneath their feet, eroding the land, stealing its life force.
Without doubt, these were Yin Soldiers.
The Yin Law Department collected various residual souls, creating Yin Soldier puppets to build military forces, not only to demonstrate Dao Fruit.
These Yin Soldiers, formed from condensed residual souls, left abundant Yin Qi wherever they passed, facilitating the use of the Yin Law Department. If gathered in sufficient numbers, they could transform an area into a den of evil spirits, amplifying the power of Ghost Cultivators and suppressing the enemy.
However, crafting Yin Soldiers required a multitude of residual souls; with the current state of the world, gathering such souls meant either a large number of living creatures had died, or one had to arrive at the scene shortly after their death, making the value of Yin Soldiers quite high, at least higher than ordinary ghosts.
After all, ghosts left behind Dao Fruits after death, which could be reused, whereas nothing remained after the death of Yin Soldiers, and residual souls had to be recollected.
The Yin Law Department would not deploy Yin Soldiers without significant cause.
As two groups were mobilized against Li Qinglian now, it showed the serious attention the Yin Law Department had towards him.
"I didn’t expect they would deploy Yin Soldiers against me..." Jiang Li remarked, mimicking Li Qinglian’s tone.
Even Li Qinglian himself was unaware of exactly what the Yin Law Department coveted, as they persistently pursued him without letting up.
If one were to say that the Yin Law Department was after the Book of Life and Death, Li Qinglian had never heard them state this; each encounter had involved immediate hostilities.
But if not for seizing the Book of Life and Death, pursuing Li Qinglian seemed less meaningful, especially at a critical time when the Taiping Sect was plotting something—not significant enough to warrant such relentless pursuit by the Yin Law Department.
Could the death of the Fourth Prince and the assassination of the Second Prince be more significant than Jiangshan Sheji?
Jiang Li was eager to unravel this mystery.
Alas, Zhong Wuqi allowed no opportunity.
"It seems you are indeed severely hurt, still trying to buy time."
Behind the two groups of Yin Soldiers, Zhong Wuqi appeared, holding the Black Heavy Sword, and declared gravely, "Kill! Regardless of life or death!"
For the Yin Law Department, physical death was never the end; as long as they captured the opponent’s Divine Soul, anything could be extracted from it.