pertwk Chapter 241 I Recognize the Dao!
Chapter 241 I Recognize the Dao!
Chapter 241 I Recognize the Dao! (5200)
As soon as the human figure formed from the white smoke appeared, the surrounding blue and white lights all shrank inward, as if the entire banquet table began to recognize this "guest" the moment he appeared.
Lu Yuan's eyes turned cold. He held the short sword horizontally in front of his chest and hissed, "Don't let it get a foothold!"
"Once it stands firmly, it's considered to have chosen its seat!"
Before the words were finished, the humanoid white smoke had already raised its head.
It had no face, only a fog-like blank space, but in the center of the blank space a very thin red dot slowly emerged, as if someone had poked the paper with the tip of a needle.
Immediately afterwards, a second red dot appeared.
One on the left and one on the right, just where the eyes are positioned.
"It's using air to attract attention!"
Song Qinghe lost her voice.
Instead of retreating, Lu Yuan advanced, gripping the short knife in his right hand while his left hand swiftly twisted and clenched his fingers into a "Soul-Suppressing Finger Seal," chanting rapidly, "No light in the sky, no door on earth!"
'
"Paper has no eyes, smoke has no body!"
"I'll sever your shadow with my blade's energy, I'll burn your very core with my true fire!"
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"
As soon as the last four words were uttered, he suddenly slashed diagonally with his sword. The wind from the sword carried the remaining fire from the yellow talisman used to suppress the road, and swept straight towards the brow of the white smoke-shaped human figure.
"laugh!"
The white smoke was immediately split open, and the mist swirled, revealing the outline of a dark blue spine inside.
Only then did everyone realize that it was not a complete human figure, but a "yin seat" made of layers of paper, ash, incense, and earth.
It's like a substitute specially prepared for an empty seat at the table, waiting for a living person to respond before its soul is swallowed up.
"So it was a bad omen caused by the seating arrangement!"
Zhou Heng spoke in a deep voice.
The coldness in Lu Yuan's eyes deepened:
.
"It's not a bad feng shui arrangement, it's a 'guest-hosting' situation."
"Whoever claims the seat will sit there."
Having said that, he began his Yu Step again, his steps extremely short yet forming a straight line, pressing down step by step towards the dark path between the mound and the coffin.
He chanted as he walked: "Left step on the Azure Dragon, right step on the White Tiger."
"The Vermilion Bird is in front, and the Black Tortoise is behind."
"One step cuts off the road, two steps block the door."
"Three steps to seal the seat, four steps to stabilize the soul!"
"I will use the Taoist ritual steps to follow your Yin energy's orthodox path!"
"retreat!"
Lu Yuan's last step landed heavily, and the black and gray circle on the ground vibrated with a "hum".
A layer of light yellow earthy smell rose from the gray line, as if it were alive, forcefully supporting the lower body of the white smoke-shaped figure.
Seeing his opportunity, Lin Zhaoxuan immediately flipped the Thunder Token, pressed two fingers together on its back, and shouted, "Thunder and fire do not fall on the lamp on the mat, Heaven's might only strike the root of the underworld!"
"Lend me a wisp of Five Thunder Qi, and I'll command your paper bones to scatter into dust!"
The blue-white lightning bolts shot out as commanded, but instead of striking the white smoke-shaped figure directly, they slanted into the crevice of the shrinking coffin.
"boom!"
A muffled scream suddenly came from the coffin, as if someone underground had their throat burned by lightning.
The white smoke figure trembled, and the two red lights between its brows suddenly jumped wildly, as if its eyes were about to burst open.
Seeing this, the paper-masked man suddenly flipped to the last page of the booklet, pressed his finger on the five red dots, and whispered, "One person is missing, the party cannot end."
As he pressed the button, the red dots lit up all at once with a "snap".
Lu Yuan's expression changed abruptly. He turned sharply to look at Zhou Heng and Song Qinghe, and said sternly, "It wants to use living people to complete the last one!"
"Zhou Heng, cut the back of the paper banner!"
"Song Qinghe, aim your compass at my feet!"
"Lin Zhaoxuan, lightning strikes the book, don't let it turn the page!"
Zhou Heng sprang up in response, slashing horizontally with his sword towards the back of the nearest white banner.
As the sword flashed, the banner tore open, and a string of black paper figures fell out, turning to ashes upon landing.
Song Qinghe held the tray with both hands, and the yin-yang symbol suddenly spun around, its cold light shining directly at Lu Yuan's feet.
Using that sliver of light, Lu Yuan suddenly saw a very thin handprint emerging from the black soil at his feet, slowly reaching outwards.
His pupils contracted, and he shouted, "So this is where the gate is!"
The next moment, without hesitation, he pressed his left hand to his brow and plunged his short sword into the ground with his right hand.
"The sky is clear, the earth is spiritual, and I borrow three inches of light from the soil."
"I borrow your door to lock my door, I borrow your yin energy to suppress the ghost's form."
"seal up!"
The moment the knife tip pierced the earth, the first patch of earth within the black and gray circle that had been lit by footsteps suddenly receded, like an invisible net tightly gripping the handprint underground.
For the first time, something underground finally uttered a true human voice.
It was a very low, hoarse wail, like that of a child or an old man, seeping intermittently from the bottom of the coffin: "Don't—call—the—roll—out—!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan's eyes suddenly darkened.
"So you're not the host."
"You were the one who was clicked in."
As soon as Lu Yuan finished speaking, he flicked the short sword upwards with his hand, the copper coin on the back of the blade ringing out, and a very thin but very bright white light shot straight towards the brow of the white smoke-shaped figure.
"Broken mat!"
The white smoke and humanoid figure exploded on the spot, while the blue and white lights simultaneously caused a loss.
The paper-masked man suddenly took half a step back, and black blood began to seep out from the red line along the edge of the thin book.
Just then, the coffin lid was slowly pushed open a crack by the things inside.
A bright black eye opened from the crack in the coffin.
The moment that eye opened, all the blue and white lights in the stone passage trembled simultaneously.
It wasn't the wind blowing, nor was it people moving; rather, it was as if something heavier, older, and more indescribable was slowly pulling the vital energy back from the bottom of the coffin.
That eye was so black and shiny, so bright it didn't seem alive, but rather like an ancient well that hadn't seen the light of day for many years.
Deep within the well water lurked a lingering shadow, coldly peering out through the cracks in the coffin.
Lu Yuan felt a chill run down his spine, but he dared not loosen his grip on the short knife and whispered, "Don't stare at its eyes."
"It recognizes people as soon as it puts its eyes on them."
Zhou Heng immediately turned his head, veins throbbing on his forehead: "Fellow Daoist Lu, what kind of thing is this?"
Lu Yuan did not answer, but his feet had already quietly taken three short steps.
The left foot lands, followed by the right foot; the third step is a half-pause, half-press, like driving an invisible wedge into the ground.
He chanted in a low voice, "The gates of heaven are closed, the gates of earth are blocked."
"Eyes visible in the coffin, yin and yang reversed."
"I will use three steps to lock your soul, and forbid you from uttering an inch of your edge."
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"
These words were read very steadily, neither too fast nor too slow, but each word was like a nail, driven firmly into the ground.
He lifted the light yellow earthy aura around the edge of the black and gray circle and slowly pressed it towards the direction of the shrinking coffin.
Song Qinghe was shocked and quickly pushed the Tai Chi Sealing Plate forward. The yin-yang fish in the plate spun like a millstone, and the cold light covered the seam of the coffin.
"Fellow Daoist Lu, my inner energy can suppress it for a moment, but it won't last long!"
"That's enough," Lu Yuan said in a deep voice. "If it closes that eye for just half a second longer, I can send a second letter."
As soon as he finished speaking, the black eye in the coffin suddenly rolled upwards, revealing a pale white sclera.
In that instant, everyone felt a "buzz" in their ears, as if someone were hitting a bronze bell with an iron spoon.
Xu Erxiao swayed on the spot, almost kneeling down, and uncontrollably let out a low "Hey".
"Oh no!"
Wang Cheng'an quickly covered his mouth: "Don't answer!"
But it was too late.
The soft "hey" seemed to be heard by the thing inside the coffin. Immediately, a wisp of black smoke emerged from the crack in the coffin.
A thin strand, like an invisible needle, swiftly pierced towards the back of Xu Erxiao's neck.
Lu Yuan reacted swiftly, parrying with his short sword. The copper coin on the back of the sword vibrated, making a crisp sound.
"Ding!"
The black needle was deflected, grazing past Xu Erxiao's ear before striking the stone wall behind him, leaving a very thin black mark with a "poof," like ink seeping into paper.
Lu Yuan's face darkened: "It's using the Soul-Stimulating Needle."
Lin Zhaoxuan's expression turned solemn. He had already raised the Thunder Token to his chest, with bluish-white lightning patterns constantly moving around its edge: "I'll cut off its vision!"
He joined two fingers together, flipped his back over, and chanted rapidly, "Nine Heavens Thunder Ancestor above, lend me a ray to pierce the dark light."
"Thunder is the eye, lightning is the blade; it pierces through the darkness, leaving no trace."
"Eastern thunder opens, western thunder closes, southern thunder cuts, northern thunder binds."
"The true Qi of the five directions suppresses the evil light."
"Imperial Edict!"
As the last word "敕" was uttered, the Thunder Order was suddenly thrust forward.
A streak of bluish-white lightning shot out from the tip of the coffin, but instead of splitting the coffin, it struck diagonally towards the black eye in the coffin's seam.
"Snapped!"
Lightning flashed past the edge of the coffin, and Black Eyes suddenly narrowed. A very low and deep groan came from inside the coffin.
With that muffled groan, it was as if a breath had been forcibly held back along the entire stone path.
At this moment, the paper-masked man slowly raised his head, and the black light shining through the cracks in the white paper mask became even stronger.
He raised his hand and turned to the middle page of the booklet, lightly pressing his finger on the corner of the page. His voice was so cold and flat: "After you have finished calling the soul, take your seats."
"Those who have taken their seats are not allowed to leave."
Lu Yuan's eyes turned cold: "This isn't an invitation; it's using a name to lock away lives."
The paper-masked man didn't answer, but simply turned another page in the book.
The page that was just revealed was not blank, but covered with a row of pale red fingerprints, densely packed, as if many people had pressed their hands on it, making the paper slightly bulge.
As soon as those fingerprints appeared, the blue and white lights seemed to be nourished and suddenly surged.
"We need to add more lights!"
Song Qinghe exclaimed in surprise.
"We can't add any more." Lu Yuan replied coldly, "It's dredging up old grievances and calling on the shadows of those who filled the banquet before to help."
As soon as he finished speaking, the faces on both sides of the stone path, which were originally just paper replicas, suddenly began to slowly change.
What were originally just black hole-like eye sockets have now developed several bulging noses, and even faint bluish-gray human skin texture has emerged from the corners of the cracked mouth.
It didn't look like paper; it looked more like a real person's outline had been pasted out with a thin layer of adipocere and paper pulp.
"It's using an old soul to nurture a new shell!"
Zhou Heng shouted.
Lu Yuan nodded, his eyes almost hardening into blades of coldness: "That's right. It first uses the names on the mat to nourish the paper, then uses the paper to nourish the skin, and finally uses the skin to borrow human energy."
"If we let it take just half a step more, the whole game can be saved."
After saying that, Lu Yuan suddenly raised the short knife upright, with the blade pointing upwards, and pressed his left hand against the spine of the knife in a hand seal.
When the five fingers of the right hand are folded together, it forms a perfectly standard "sealing technique".
"The mouth of heaven is closed, the mouth of earth is closed."
"The yin mouth is locked, the yang mouth remains open."
"I use the knife as my mark, and my blood as my nails."
"I'll seal your mouth shut with paper and sew up your vaginal opening."
"close!"
As he finished speaking, he slammed his left hand down on the spine of the knife.
The blade emitted a very fine, long tremor, like iron entering cold water.
The sound wasn't loud, but it seemed to emanate as a thin ring of vibrations that stretched outwards along the stone path.
Where the tremor passed, the red and white banners trembled together, and the several paper faces that had just swelled up deflated with a "whoosh".
The paper masked man paused for a moment for the first time.
Taking advantage of this brief respite, Lu Yuan suddenly turned to Song Qinghe and said, "Give me half a turn of the plate!"
Song Qinghe immediately understood, and with a quick movement of her hands, the Tai Chi Sealing Disc shifted slightly.
The yin-yang symbol on the plate rotated halfway around, and the cold light changed from horizontal to oblique, shining directly on the thin book in the hand of the masked man.
When the cover of the thin booklet was exposed to cold light, the red thread suddenly contracted.
Lu Yuan seized the opportunity, spun around, reversed his grip on the short sword, and used the momentum of his steps to leap forward. However, the tip of the sword did not pierce the person directly, but instead slanted at the spine of the thin book.
"First cut off the register of names, then sever the path to power!"
"If you want to order a table, I'll first tell you there are no names available!"
With a flick of the knife, the spine of the book split open with a "rip".
At that moment, a sharp, almost piercing cry suddenly rang out from the end of the stone path, like many women screaming at the same well.
As soon as the crying began, all the paper banners shook wildly as if they were in a frenzy, and the blue and white lamplight began to flicker erratically.
The paper-masked man's wrist twitched, and the thin book almost slipped from his hand.
For the first time, it finally took a full step back.
"It's done!"
Zhou Heng snorted softly.
Lu Yuan showed no joy whatsoever; instead, he shouted, "Don't let go!"
Before he could finish speaking, the black eye in the coffin suddenly opened wide.
Immediately afterwards, a second and a third eye emerged from the crack in the coffin.
It's not just one thing watching, it's many.
Like layers of overlapping eyelids, layers of resentment, squeezed out of that coffin.
Song Qinghe's face turned deathly pale: "This—this is a group of Fiends?"
Lu Yuan's voice was frighteningly deep: "It's not a group of eyes, it's a thousand-eyes knot."
"Some people put hundreds or even thousands of soul skins at the bottom of the coffin so that it can see the way."
"Each time an eye appears, it means that another layer inside has awakened."
At this point, he suddenly bit his index finger, and the blood droplet immediately landed on the copper coin on the back of the short knife.
The copper coin, stained with blood, faintly gleamed with a dark gold color.
"Zhou Heng, take three breaths for me!"
"Lin Zhaoxuan, lightning strikes the right rear light!"
"Song Qinghe, keep the coffin seam facing you, don't move it!"
"Cheng'an, Erxiao, sprinkle salt on my feet, quick!"
Everyone did as instructed.
Zhou Heng drew his sword and stood horizontally, pressing down on Lu Yuan's side like a wall.
Lin Zhaoxuan's lightning command pressed down diagonally, and the lightning forced the white lamp that was about to light up to the right rear back to half-dark.
Wang Chengan and Xu Erxiao frantically grabbed salt and frantically sprinkled it around Lu Yuan's feet.
When the salt landed, it made a very faint hissing sound under Lu Yuan's feet, like water dripping into a hot pan.
Lu Yuan took a deep breath and recited the short incantation three times: "Salt is the bone of the earth, fire is the sinew of the heaven."
"If the earth's sinews are not broken, the path to the underworld will not be open."
"With one scattering, three breaks are severed, and a hundred evils are extinguished."
"Urgent! Urgent! Urgent!"
As soon as he uttered the last word "urgent," he suddenly turned around and swung his knife.
The blade, carrying the bloody glint of copper coins, slashed fiercely at the unseen, dark path in the center of the stone road.
"Click!"
The sound didn't just ring in your ears; it felt like it resonated deep within your bones.
The "seat road" that was originally trampled by the Red and White Road team was suddenly slashed off course by him with a single stroke.
A violent churning immediately came from beneath the black soil, as if some enormous creature had lost its bearings and was frantically trying to find its way back down.
The paper-masked figure took the opportunity to lower his head and flip through the book, his voice finally becoming a little hurried: "Replenish the seats—replenish the seats—"
Lu Yuan's eyes suddenly turned cold: "It panicked."
Lin Zhaoxuan suddenly looked up: "Can I just chop up the book directly?"
"No," Lu Yuan said decisively. "This is a living ledger; splitting it would only scatter the names to the ground."
"What it fears most now is not you chopping it up, but that it can't recognize who's sitting at the table."
As he said this, a thought suddenly struck him, and he turned to look in the direction of the mound.
The "Hand Gate" that they had driven back with swords and blades had slowly retreated, leaving only a deep palm print on the ground.
Within the palm print, however, there was a tiny, faint white light that flickered gently.
Lu Yuan's eyes sharpened, and he suddenly understood.
"I see."
"This game isn't about a single substitute player."
"The idea is to first light up the 'main seat,' then force the living to sit there themselves."
Song Qinghe was startled: "Master?"
Lu Yuan lowered his voice: "Yes. The real thing in that coffin isn't waiting to come out on its own; it's waiting for a breath of 'recognizing its place'."
"As long as someone acknowledges the offer in this game," it can take a seat by virtue of its name.
"So what we need to do is not to confront it head-on, but to destroy the path it uses to establish its own system."
Zhou Heng asked urgently, "How do we destroy it?"
Lu Yuan glanced at the red and white banners around him, then looked at the thin book in the paper mask man's hand, and said in a deep voice, "It uses names to indicate the seats and lamps to indicate the seating."
"The lamp is on the left rear, the name is in the register, and he sits in the coffin."
"Then cut all three at once."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly sheathed his short sword and simultaneously formed a very strange hand seal with both hands.
Place your left thumb on the base of your ring finger, and press your index and middle fingers together into your palm.
The five fingers of the right hand are spread out like holding a lamp, with the palm facing inward, but the outside seems to be protecting a ball of fire.
He slowly raised his hands and recited a very steady and slow invocation.
Like characters rubbings from an old temple stele, each word and phrase carries a weight that makes one dare not breathe: "Above, we beseech the Three Pure Ones to illuminate the altar; below, we beseech the Underworld to lock its gates."
"A mortal's fire in the middle illuminates the dark books and the ghost feast."
"I use my hands as symbols, and my heart as a furnace."
"True intention burns in the furnace, and true intention breaks through evil connections."
"I will not invite demons or ghosts, but only a sliver of sunlight."
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"
As he finished reciting, he slammed his palms together and then abruptly separated them.
Between his two palms, there was a wisp of extremely faint white mist, as if it had been plucked directly from the air.
The white mist was extremely fine, as fine as a needle.
"What is this?"
Song Qinghe lost her voice.
Lu Yuan's gaze remained fixed as he whispered, "It's the essence of the jar."
"Using the human heart as a furnace, a mouthful of truth is forced out."
"Can only be used once."
After saying that, he drew the white breath towards the short knife, and then suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing with cold light.
"Zhou Heng, take half a step back!"
"Lin Zhaoxuan, the thunder rises only half an inch, don't let it fall all at once!"
"Song Qinghe, align the center of the plate with the coffin opening!"
"Cheng'an No. 2 Primary School, get down!"
Although no one knew what he was going to do, they still instinctively did as he said.
The next instant, Lu Yuan raised his short sword high, the blade stained with the blood of the copper coins and entwined with the wisp of the altar's essence.
The whole person seemed to be suddenly stretched open by some invisible force.
He let out a long shout, his voice piercing through the stone path: "Heavenly Gang descends, Earthly Fiends vanish!"
"The lamp is broken, the name is broken, the mat is broken, the seat is broken!"
"I'll use you as a tool to sever your ancestral roots!"
"Break!"
With the final word "break," he suddenly chopped down.
This time, the blade's aura arrived before the wind.
The bluish-white lamp to the left rear of the stone path suddenly exploded into a ball of fire in mid-air with a "crack".
The spine of the book in the paper mask man's hand then cracked again.
At the same moment, the black eye that had been open three times in the crevice of the coffin suddenly shrank back, as if it had been cut by some invisible blade.
Immediately afterwards, all the paper faces, paper hands, paper feet, and paper banners along the entire stone path emitted a very light yet very dense "shh" sound.
Like a thousand sheets of paper having one corner blown off by the wind at the same time.
"Did it work?"
Xu Erxiao lay on the ground, his voice distorted.
Lu Yuan did not answer immediately.
Because at that moment, the coffin suddenly stopped moving.
It's not that it's being suppressed or sealed off, but rather like the thing inside, silently contemplating something.
After a full three breaths, a very low sound slowly came from the crack in the coffin.
This time it's neither a man nor a woman.
It was more like several voices overlapping, a mixture of the breaths of a child, an old woman, a mute, and a corpse, slowly squeezing out: "You—don't recognize the seats?"
Lu Yuan's eyes were icy cold. He pointed his short sword diagonally at the seam of the coffin and slowly replied, "I recognize the Dao."
"You accept the seat."
"Then let's see who dies first."
As soon as the words were spoken, the coffin at the end of the stone path finally opened up for the first time, creating a crack wider than a finger.
A dark, gleaming aura slowly seeped out from within, like a tide.