Chapter 338: Entering the Dao Through Martial Arts! Telekinetic Command! Jade Cicada Weeps Blood! Yang Family Town!

He could first focus on mastering the three saber forms. Afterward, he also enhanced the two martial manuals “Primordial Chaos Technique” and “Divine Astral Hands”!

Once again, he enhanced each three times in succession. However, Primordial Chaos Technique did not decrease in levels, instead, it increased further, which left Li Yanchu a little surprised. It had now been evolved to three hundred and twentieth stage, and this further strengthened the defensive power of his Qi Shield!

As for Divine Astral Hands, it was restored to thirty-six forms. It was majestic, overwhelming, and brutally domineering.

As a Grandmaster who had cultivated to the Martial Dao Manifestation realm, Li Yanchu’s martial aptitude was actually extremely high.

If I keep pushing forward, maybe I really can achieve the legendary realm of slaying immortals with martial power and shattering the void through the Martial Dao.

So he thought.

He began to practice these three martial manuals daily with eager anticipation. Once he mastered them fully, just how powerful would his physical body become?

***

That day, Li Yanchu was in the courtyard cultivating a new Daoist technique, Telekinetic Command. From the name alone, one could tell that this was a Daoist spell for manipulating objects, and it allowed one to control magical artifacts to strike down enemies.

With his primordial spirit now so strong, Li Yanchu could already control two magical artifacts at once, and he practiced diligently every day. Today, he was using the art to control the Jiaoslayer and the Eight Trigrams Mirror, sending them whirling through the courtyard.

But when he heard footsteps approaching from outside, his eyes flickered, and he immediately withdrew the spell, reclaiming the saber and mirror.

The innkeeper had come to find him with worry written all over her face. “Qinglan may be in trouble!”

Li Yanchu was slightly taken aback. “What happened?”

It was true that Fang Qinglan had been gone for quite a while.

But last time, the old Celestial Master had mentioned that Fang Qinglan was no ordinary wandering swordsman of the

jianghu

, but a wandering immortal sustained by incense offerings!

By reason, she shouldn’t have gotten into trouble so easily.

“Before she left, she gave me a jade cicada[1], saying that if she were ever in danger, the jade cicada would shatter,” the innkeeper said worriedly. “But look at this...”

With that, she took out a jade cicada. Once crystal-clear, its body was now oozing with bright, vivid blood, which was a sight truly chilling.

Just then, Li Yanchu’s face darkened. This was an ominous sign.

“I’ll depart at once, and head to Mount Jiuxuan to bring her back,” he declared.

***

Yang Family Village was also known as Yang Family Town, and it lay in the western reaches of Mount Jiuxuan in Beifeng Prefecture. The village held five or six hundred households, seven or eight in ten of which bore the surname Yang.

Departing at dawn and traveling until dusk, Li Yanchu, with his Cloud-Riding Immortal Physique, soon arrived at the village entrance.

The jade cicada still carried Fang Qinglan’s qi. He used the Art of Pursuit, which led him all the way here. But once at the village, the trail became hazy and indistinct, impossible to follow further.

Several children were playing about a tree, their laughter crisp and sweet. An older boy spotted the stranger and ran up eagerly. “Who are you, where are you going?”

Li Yanchu smiled and replied, “My surname is Li. I came from the north, and I’m looking for a beautiful lady who carries an iron sword.”

A little girl nearby brightened in surprise. “Are you here to find Ms. Fang?”

“Exactly. You’ve seen her?”

“Ms. Fang already left here half a month ago.”

Li Yanchu froze at those words. Then, he took a few candied fruits from his sleeve and gave them to the children. His Art of Pursuit had led only this far before cutting off, how could Fang Qinglan have left already?

He activated his Spirit Eyes, and golden light flashed in his eyes as he gazed at the village. What had seemed a peaceful scene of cooking smoke rising from chimneys was now nothing but ruined walls and shattered tiles. Thick yin energy and baleful qi gathered above like black storm clouds.

When he looked down again at the children by the village gate, they were no longer lively youths, but drifting phantoms.

The little girl who had just smiled at him, half of her head had been bitten away. Her belly was split wide open, a ghastly wound shocking to behold. The other children too; some decapitated, some with limbs severed, all dead in cruel and varied ways.

Then, Li Yanchu withdrew his Spirit Eyes, and the world snapped back to harmony. In his ears, faintly, came the sound of gongs and drums.

“Whose family is... holding a wedding?” Li Yanchu asked.

The older child grinned and said, “It’s Mr. Feng, the mayor’s son, he’s getting married. Come on, I’ll take you to see.”

Li Yanchu smiled and agreed, following the children into the groom’s house.

Inside, lanterns and banners were hung everywhere: red lanterns, wedding characters, red candles, and red paper decorated the place with great festivity. Relatives and friends bustled in and out, helping the hosts with the ceremony.

At one of the banquet tables sat an old Daoist priest, chatting warmly with the host. Beside him was a middle-aged man with a dignified bearing. When the two saw Li Yanchu enter, surprise flickered in their eyes as they exchanged a glance.

The old Daoist pulled out a small vial from his robe, dropped two beads of clear liquid into his eyes, then looked directly at Li Yanchu before he gave a slight nod to the middle-aged man.

By now the courtyard already had more than twenty banquet tables laid out, filled with guests. The old Daoist, smiling broadly, whispered something to the man beside him, then rose and walked toward Li Yanchu.

The middle-aged man followed closely behind.

“Sir, how did you end up wandering into Yang Family Town as well?” the old Daoist spoke in a low voice.

Hearing this, Li Yanchu raised a brow. He opened his Spirit Eyes and saw that these two were, in fact, living men!

Seeing Li Yanchu remain silent, the old Daoist tugged at his sleeve and pulled him aside. Through their conversation, Li Yanchu learned their names. The old Daoist’s surname was Huang, and he was a wandering priest. The middle-aged man was Guo Wei, and he was a leader of the Fuwei Escort Agency.

Their party had originally been escorting a shipment. Passing through Yang Family Town, they planned only to rest. But they discovered that the townsfolk here were all ghosts, damn it!

Fortunately, Old Daoist Huang was quick-witted and noticed something was off, and their group tried to flee at once. Yet no matter where they ran, once night fell, they always found themselves back in this strange town. And worse, dangers lurked all along the way.

Everyone from the Fuwei Escort Agency had perished in those repeated attempts to escape. Only the escort leader Guo Wei[2] and Old Daoist Huang had survived by sheer luck.

No longer daring to flee, they had stayed, waiting to see what would unfold. They hadn’t expected to run into yet another unfamiliar face. Old Daoist Huang hurriedly took out his vial of ox tears, and only after confirming this was indeed a living man did he step forward to acknowledge him.

Then, Li Yanchu asked the two about Fang Qinglan’s whereabouts. Old Daoist Huang explained that when they had first entered the town, they had indeed seen her. Unfortunately, not long after, Fang Qinglan disappeared, and they hadn’t encountered her again since.

Li Yanchu fell into thought at these words. Those ghostly children had claimed Fang Qinglan had left Yang Family Town half a month ago, yet Old Daoist Huang and his companion had seen her as recently as seven days ago.

At the banquet, the atmosphere was lively: wine cups clinked, and laughter and chatter filled the air. But the three of them sat on the ground apart, completely out of place in this “town.”

For this was a ghost town. Who would dare touch the food on those tables?!

Li Yanchu caught sight of the bride. Her features were decent, her skin a little tanned, yet her figure was full with round hips, carrying the raw, rustic allure of a country woman.

But this was Yang Family Town, a village of the dead. Wasn’t this nothing less than a ghost marriage?!

Li Yanchu and Old Daoist Huang exchanged a glance, choosing to keep a low profile. He had his Illusory Form, so ghosts would see him as a ghost, demons as a demon. It was easy for him to blend among spirits and fiends. Thus, seated at the feast, he drew little attention.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Yet he noticed, whenever Old Daoist Huang and Guo Wei relaxed their guard, the villagers of Yang Family Town would stare fixedly at them. The entire scene steeped in a chilling strangeness that made one’s skin crawl.

1. The jade cicada is an ancient Chinese cicada-shaped jade artifact, first appearing in the Neolithic period, serving both as an ornament and a funerary item. The jade cicadas unearthed at the Beicun site of the Liangzhu culture confirm that jade-working techniques had already been mastered during the Neolithic era.

Here is a reference

image

. ☜

2. 郭 (Guō) is a common Chinese surname, meaning “outer city wall” or “enclosure.” It gives the name a grounded, solid family lineage. 威 (Wēi) means “power,” “might,” “prestige,” or “authority.” It conveys strength, leadership, and commanding presence. To me, 郭威 is a strong, authoritative name, giving the sense of someone reliable, ambitious, and capable of leadership. ☜