The Blade-Wielding Legend

Chapter 1595 - 810: White Shadow on the Night Lake (2)

Only starting from Kong Shangzhao was this rule finally broken.

In matters like this, there’s no distinction of high or low, noble or humble.

The Emperor worries over the fate of the dynasty; even Fatty Lin, the most pampered young master in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, nearly had his family ruined and his life lost.

As for common folk, their suffering is naturally even greater.

So many times, they can only turn to Ghosts and Gods for help.

They did not make fun of them, just quietly kept watch from the side.

Unconsciously, an hour slipped by.

By now it was close to midnight; many of the incense-burning commoners gradually dispersed, yet the lake surface still showed no change.

In the end, only seven or eight people were left waiting patiently.

"Sigh, forget the whole damn thing."

Sha Lifei yawned. "Looks like she’s not coming tonight. Let’s just..."

"Look over there!"

Before he could finish, he was cut off by Wang Daoxuan.

The old Daoist formed a mantra seal and activated his Eye Divine Power, pointing toward the center of the lake.

Everyone raised their heads to look, but saw nothing, though all of them grew alert.

Wang Daoxuan’s Eye Divine Power excelled at Qi Observation, and could better sense certain changes.

Sure enough, before long, an anomaly appeared upon the distant lake surface.

On the mist‑shrouded water, at some unknown moment, a leaf‑thin skiff had actually drifted into view!

The hull was long and narrow, pure white from bow to stern, with neither sail nor oar, yet as if pulled along by invisible threads, it glided silently.

A white‑clad woman stood upon the boat, her figure vague and indistinct in the water‑mist.

Her face could not be seen, only her sleeves fluttering lightly in the wind, her bearing ethereal and transcendent.

At the same time, a singing voice, plaintive and sorrowful yet carrying the hidden edge of clashing spears and killing intent, pierced through the noisy hum of people and clearly entered everyone’s ears: "I hate, I only hate, that heartless Fa Hai who tore our love apart! I sigh, I only sigh, for the surging waves beyond Gold Mountain Monastery! To save my lord from iron bars and cage, I’ll dare to charge ’gainst Heaven’s hosts and saints in rage! All waterfolk heed my call, let waves and billows roar—drown that gold mountain, shatter that temple bell’s roar!"

It was precisely Bai Suzhen’s aria from "Water Overflows Jinshan"!

That voice seemed to carry Magic Power, piercing straight into the heart, making one’s scalp prickle and spirit sway.

"The White Lady has manifested!"

The few commoners still kneeling in worship immediately kowtowed like pounding garlic, shouting again and again.

"Lady, in your Compassion, bless us all!"

"Gold Mountain Monastery’s long gone, Lady, please quell your anger, take a look at my plight..."

"Tch! Playing tricks, pretending to be a Ghost God!"

Sha Lifei spat, his hand going to the Divine Fire Gun.

"Wait!"

Li Yan pressed his hand down, his gaze locked tightly on that white‑clad woman, while the corner of his eye swept over the crowd and the lakeshore all around.

His expression shifted slightly, then grew solemn.

The moment the woman appeared, the Hook Paper in his bosom suddenly turned scorching hot, but the heat quickly vanished.

This level of scorching was very much like sensing Demonic Qi at work.

Yet what puzzled Li Yan was that this sensing came in fits and starts, as if something were interfering with it.

Even if the other party possessed a National Sacrificial Divine Artifact, at most the sensing would be blurry; it wouldn’t behave like this.

This was the first time he’d ever seen such a thing.

Unable to accept a Yin Bureau assignment, he naturally could not probe the other party’s identity.

"Something’s wrong. Don’t move rashly..."

Li Yan’s face was grave as he whispered a warning.

However, something even stranger appeared once more.

The white‑clad woman’s ghostly singing carried a certain intangible Magic Power that easily pierced through Protective Magical Artifacts.

The faces of the kneeling commoners around them lost their earlier fanaticism, replaced by a kind of almost witless, blissful smile.

Their eyes were tightly shut, as if immersed in a beautiful dream they could not bear to leave.

This unseen force had reached them as well.

Before Wang Daoxuan’s eyes, a courtyard faintly took shape—it was his old residence in Xianyang City.

Inside, a woman held two children by the hand, smiling radiantly at him.

"Miss Mei, Huwa..."

Always composed, Wang Daoxuan completely lost control; his white beard trembled, his eyes brimming with tears.

In Lv San’s ears, what rang out instead was the bell of the ruined temple back home, along with the simple‑minded yet bold, hearty laughter of his village guardian master.

He seemed to be back in childhood again: the bonfire blazing, his village guardian master sitting with him by the fire, the two of them staring wide‑eyed as the chicken roasted...

Sha Lifei, meanwhile, was back in Chang’an in his dreams, seeing a few familiar faces.

He too was weeping freely. "Third Brother, Fifth, look—Old Sha’s finally made something of himself..."

Almost everyone had fallen into a nightmare.

Even a loner still has a soft spot in his heart.

The most terrifying thing about this Illusion Technique was that it could stir up one’s most beautiful memories, making you instinctively want to sink into them.

Li Yan was no exception.

He seemed to see the Bailu Plain, under the moonlight, a lame old man waiting at the door, eyes full of Compassion.

"Grandpa..."

Li Yan let out a sigh, and then a surge of killing intent rose in his eyes.

He not only had the North Emperor Protection Spell, but his Daluo Dharma Body could also dispel the Illusion Realm at any time.

And this method had touched his reverse scale.

"Scatter!"

Li Yan reached into Wang Daoxuan’s backpack and took out the Ruyi Treasure Pearl, exhaling like thunder.

The cold, clear radiance of the Ruyi Treasure Pearl, coupled with his voice, instantly woke everyone up.

"What a powerful Illusion Technique!" Wang Daoxuan’s face was pale, cold sweat soaking his undershirt; he was still shaken.

"It’s Ghost Music! And it’s not just that woman!"

Lv San, having regained clarity, did not get angry. Instead, he immediately lowered his body, lying on the ground with his ear to the side to listen.

He let out several short, strange insect chirps and bird calls, and a few night birds and grass snakes lurking in the bushes and on the treetops instantly acted as if receiving a military order, silently plunging into the darkness, darting toward the dense forest by the distant lakeshore.

Soon, Lv San raised his head and said, "Found them! In the woods about a li from here!"

"Damn it, remnants of that Ghost Theater Troupe!"

Sha Lifei stroked the Divine Fire Gun, clenching his jaw.

They had seen this trick several times already; combined with the voice of the woman in the lake, it had made them fall for it in an instant.

"The old score on the Qinhuai River isn’t settled yet, and they still dare come out to cause trouble!"

Li Yan’s gaze turned icy. "The one in the painting is a demon possessed by Demonic Qi. Don’t go near him. Go take care of those remnants of the Ghost Theater Troupe!"

With that, he formed a Mantra with his left hand, invoked the North Emperor Divine Movement, and walked upon the waves, sprinting toward the center of the lake.

Demonic Qi was very dangerous—if it slipped away, it could possess someone else, so Li Yan going alone was the most suitable.

The others wasted no words and, under Lv San’s guidance, sprinted toward the forest hidden in the distant darkness.

Pa-pa-pa!

Li Yan’s figure was like a ghost, treading on waves and chasing the surge, leaving rings of ripples as he shot straight for the heart of the lake.

Very soon, he drew near that small skiff.

The Hook Paper in his arms was still sensing in fits and starts; even this close, it was the same.

But with Li Yan’s powerful eyesight, he pierced the thin mist and saw the woman’s true face.

Her plain dress was whiter than snow, her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her features were exquisitely beautiful, carrying a kind of inhuman indifference and aloofness.

What drew the eye most was the wisp of green between her right brow.

"This is..."

A flash of spiritual light crossed Li Yan’s mind as he recalled what was recorded in the Eternal Immortal Vault.

"Wang Yuzhen!"

His eyelid twitched slightly as he gritted his teeth and muttered.

In the Battle of God Sealing of the Ancient Times, not all Demon Gods were completely forgotten; some were later recorded by Fangshi in the Eternal Immortal Vault.

This Wang Yuzhen was one of them.

The book recorded that she was originally a White Snake Spirit from the Ancient Times, who had lived three thousand years.

Her form was like a little girl’s, wearing a moth-shaped crown and splendid robes, with extraordinary bones, beautiful looks, dressed in green clothes and red shoes, often leading two or three Maids, and in ancient times often dwelling in empty houses, rocky caves, altar enclosures, deep mountains and other sparsely populated places, using this to bewitch young men.

Of the men bewitched, nine out of ten died.

Anyone who saw her would notice a stalk of green hair between her right brow.

Unlike other Demon Gods, this Wang Yuzhen enjoyed songs and poetry and even blended into Ancestor Tribes to watch Nuodance.

As if sensing that Li Yan had seen through her identity, the woman in white finally turned her face slightly and cast a faint glance in his direction.

That gaze was ethereal and indifferent, as if looking at a dead object, yet also as if it passed right through Li Yan to gaze into some more distant void.

There was not the slightest ripple of emotion, only a void that made one’s heart palpitate.

Next, she lifted her pale hand, rose into the air, and vanished in a flash.

"Trying to run!"

Li Yan snorted coldly, continued tracking with his keen sense of smell, and plunged into the darkness.

Whether Demonic Qi or a yin criminal, no matter how powerful, to him they were nothing to fear.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Wang Daoxuan and the others had also rushed into the forest.

The sight before them, however, left them staring at one another.

There were indeed several people hiding inside, one of whom had long snake scales on his body and a single eye with a serpent’s pupil, looking exactly like that "Qing Chuan" who had killed their kin.

But they didn’t look fierce like demons at all; instead, they were playing and singing, eyes closed, faces full of enjoyment, as if completely lost in it...