The convoy had not yet reached the destination, and the sight along the way was already shocking.
Tattered clothes were scattered on both sides of the road, with a few dead bodies lying in the wild grass, left for wild dogs to gnaw on—this was the norm in such troubled times, human life was as insignificant as grass, and life and death seemed commonplace.
The convoy came to an abrupt stop a kilometer away from the Lin Family Post.
Deputy Mo raised his binoculars, and the outline of the town gate loomed in the morning light, clearly visible through the lenses.
Scattered on the ground were ghastly white bones, the earth crisscrossed with dragging marks, as if something had dragged the corpses into the town.
Dark brown bloodstains deeply soaked the land, yet bizarrely, not a single complete corpse was in sight.
"Infinite Heavenly Venerable."
A Taoist priest lightly swept his Duster, his expression solemn, "These remains are heavily tainted with corpse aura, it seems the victims have all turned into corpses. I fear... the walking dead of the entire town are gathered inside."
The elder Taoist beside him added, "Judging by the terrain, yin energy has gathered here, it’s likely become a corpse breeding ground."
At this moment, Deputy Mo put down the binoculars, "The entire army is to heed—bullets in the chamber, Divine Talismans ready, prepare for battle!"
With the order given, the soldiers quickly formed a battle formation.
"Leave two hundred men to build a defensive line on the outskirts, let no evil escape."
Following that, Deputy Mo waved a large hand, "The rest, follow me into town!"
Upon receiving the order, two hundred soldiers jumped off the military vehicles’ rear, swiftly setting up machine gun positions on the outskirts, forming a tight blockade line.
The remaining eight hundred soldiers lined up neatly, the gleam of well-maintained oil shining on their rifles, each adorned with red talismans already attached to the firearm.
Into the town!
The doors and windows of the earthen houses on either side of the street were shut tight, like airtight coffins, even sunlight struggled to penetrate a single ray.
The yellow talismans scattered all over the ground had long lost their spiritual glow, swirling in the yin wind.
"Amitabha." The old monk couldn’t help but sigh mournfully, his withered fingers slowly removing the Buddha Beads from his neck, "It seems a fellow practitioner has perished here."
Just as he finished speaking, the Buddha Beads in his hands suddenly burst into brilliant golden light, the sound of sutra chanting resounding like a great bell, echoing continuously through the dead streets.
Several Taoists in green robes simultaneously took action, the talisman paper on their Peach Wood Swords ignited spontaneously, transforming into streams of fire.
The Jianghu warriors each displayed their Divine Techniques, copper coin swords, plumb lines, and soul summoning bells all made their appearance.
The figures of the group flashed, instantly closing in on the earthen houses by the roadside.
The old monk pressed the Buddha Beads against the door, golden light burning the wood like a branding iron.
The Taoist’s sword tip lightly touched, the talisman fire slipping through the door seams, the Jianghu guest’s copper coin sword breaking through the windows directly.
"Aooo—!!"
A shrill howl erupted from within, accompanied by frenzied banging sounds.
The entire earthen house shook violently, as if something dreadful was about to break through the door.
But when the door burst open from inside, several matured Copper Armor Fur Corpses were exposed, their bodies emitting white smoke under the sunlight.
In an instant, the howls from within several earthen houses abruptly ceased.
Just as everyone breathed a brief sigh of relief, the sky darkened without warning.
The bright sun moments ago seemed swallowed by an invisible giant mouth, the yin wind sprang up, and dust and sand were swept up.
"Heavenly Dog Devours the Moon, ominous air soaring to the heavens!" A Taoist cried out in shock, the compass needle in his hand spinning madly.
The old monk’s expression changed, "Not good! It’s the emergence of the Golden Armor Flying Corpse..."
"No!" A Jianghu magician suddenly threw out a copper coin divination, "Not fully formed yet, but it can already cause celestial changes!"
The crowd looked up to see a pillar of blood-red light shooting up from deep within the Lin Family Post.
A fierce wind arose, stones and sand flew!
The sky darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye, instantly as black as ink, one’s hand invisible in front of their face.
Yet, in the face of such a heavenly change, Deputy Mo and the eight hundred soldiers remained cold-faced, showing not a hint of panic.
"Light the torches!"
At the command, the front row of a hundred soldiers moved in unison, efficiently lighting the torches in their hands.
More astonishingly, each torch handle was tightly wrapped with a bright red talisman.
The roaring wind tried to swallow the light, but those hundred flames stood as if frozen in another dimension, not moving an inch, illuminating the area around them as bright as day.
"This... this is..." The old monk’s pupils shrank suddenly, forgetting to recite his Buddha chant.
"Watch out—!!"
The next second, the old monk’s warning tore through the night sky.
His gaunt form rose into the air, arms raising the Buddha Beads high, true words thundered from his mouth.
The prayer beads bloomed with ten thousand golden glows, forming a barrier that met the nebula above.
"Boom!"
With a dull thud, the golden light fiercely collided with a mass of ink-black ominous aura.
The old monk fell like a kite with a broken string, hurriedly caught by a few young monks.
His throat tasted sweet, blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, and the golden light on the Buddha Beads in his hand slowly dimmed, with fine cracks appearing on its surface.
In mid-air, a shadow slowly emerged.
It wore a tattered black funerary garment, its face blue-black and twisted, features rigid in death, the chill aura emanating from its body froze the ground within several feet.
"Amitabha..." The old monk struggled to stand with the support of his disciples, "What a fierce wraith! It has grown powerful!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just as his words fell, a dozen gunshots pierced the darkness, the fiery flashes of gunpowder instantly illuminating the night sky.
The bullets streaked through the air, accurately hitting the wraith above.
The wraith, moments ago exuding fierce aura, its body was instantly riddled with holes, dense white smoke pouring from the bullet wounds.
The wraith emitted a series of excruciatingly sharp wails, twisting madly in the air, eventually dissipating into nothing under the gazes of the crowd, turning to dust.
The scene fell silent.
All the skilled mystics stared blankly at the soldiers who had fired their guns.
Only to see that their rifles were, impressively, each adorned with a red talisman identical to those on the torches.
"Catch, Master!"
With an unchanged expression, Deputy Mo casually tossed a rifle affixed with a talisman to the old monk.
"In these times, even Buddha must learn to shoot demons."
The old monk instinctively caught the cold firearm, he looked down at the rifle in his arms, then looked up at the soldiers holding their guns.
What the hell is this!!!!!!