"But there's still one problem: how do we find the demon lurking at the bottom of the river?" Ji Yuan asked after putting away the blood-red talisman in his hand, pondering for a moment.
This time, however, Zhao Yuansong did not answer. Instead, he looked at the young girl behind him.
Seeing their gazes fixed on her, Xu Qiqi giggled, took a step forward with great 'bravery', and then proudly said, "I am naturally attuned to lightning... I am naturally close to lightning magic, and possess an almost instinctive sense for all evil spirits, ghosts, demons, and sinners."
Among all the magical arts, lightning magic is the most powerful, and it is the nemesis of all ghosts, evil spirits, and demons, possessing the ability to mete out punishment on behalf of heaven.
Ji Yuan had not expected that Xu Qiqi, who was around his age, would be naturally attuned to lightning magic, and that the Nine Xuan Sect happened to possess the orthodox inheritance of the Five Thunder True Method. It was foreseeable that this girl, who had achieved enlightenment and embarked on the path of cultivation at the mere age of fifteen or sixteen, would achieve no less than the third realm in the future. A master of the Ming Dao realm proficient in lightning magic would be a top figure throughout the entire Great Yu Dynasty. Not only would they be unrivaled in combat within the same realm, but they would also possess the ability to challenge those in higher realms. If they were to face ghosts, evil spirits, or demons, their killing power would multiply severalfold, and they could even contend with opponents across a great realm.
Since Xu Qiqi had the ability to locate the demon, it was only natural that she would lead everyone along the banks of the Xi Yu River.
The residents living on both sides of the Xi Yu River, as well as the passersby and boatmen, cast curious glances at the rather unusual group. Two Daoists, one large and one small, a young monk, a pair of young man and woman, and a young master and lady – no matter how one looked at it, it seemed peculiar.
"Junior Brother, why didn't you notify the county yamen?" While searching for the demon's hiding place, the fifth senior brother thoughtfully asked in a low voice.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan first pondered, then replied, "If we notify the county yamen, there will surely be many soldiers and constables present. Sometimes, having too many people is not a good thing, as it can lead to many accidents." It wasn't that they wanted to play the hero, but with too many hands involved, it was inevitable that variables would increase. Moreover, even the county yamen would need their talismans and formation flags to slay the demon in the river. In such a case, it would be better for them to handle it themselves. If arranged properly, killing a demon that had not yet cultivated any magical power should not be too difficult. Even if, in the worst-case scenario, an unexpected turn of events allowed the demon to escape, it would surely be severely wounded and unable to cause further trouble. By then, it wouldn't be too late to notify the county yamen.
"Precisely for this reason, I had initially only intended to invite that foolish scholar and Hui Xin from Bai Yun Temple, and not to widely invite other cultivators in the city," Ji Yuan said with a serious expression. There were quite a few cultivators residing in the entire county town, but few came from the Daoist, Buddhist, or Confucian schools. While other cultivators possessed the power to slay demons and eliminate evil, it was solely reflected in their destructive capability. Unlike cultivators from the three main schools, they lacked the natural means and techniques to restrain ghosts and evil spirits. It was a pity that the Confucian scholar had gone out and could not be found for the time being, otherwise, this endeavor would have been even easier and smoother.
After listening to his junior brother's analysis, Guo Tao nodded repeatedly. However, how much he had actually absorbed and understood from his words was known only to himself. It wasn't that he was dull-witted, but rather that the fifth senior brother, who usually enjoyed doing household chores the most, had always been uninterested in matters outside the Daoist temple. Apart from occasionally accompanying his senior brothers and junior brothers on rituals or purchasing artifacts for the temple, he rarely ventured outside the temple gates. Because of this, Guo Tao knew very little about certain things, but it did not mean he was a foolish person.
"When the fight breaks out later, Senior Brother must keep his distance," Ji Yuan said, his mouth opening. Although it was somewhat hurtful, he still gave this reminder. Once the demon was lured out, it would inevitably be a fierce battle. After all, even if the water surface was sealed off, it was still on the demon's home ground. Even demons that were not of high cultivation possessed innate supernatural abilities, whose power was not much weaker than the spells that could only be cast by cultivators of the second realm. Let alone mortal people, even cultivators and warriors who had embarked on the path of cultivation could not guarantee that they would not encounter danger.
Hearing this, Guo Tao nodded silently. He did not argue on this point, though his expression was somewhat dejected. Ji Yuan naturally noticed his expression and hesitated before wanting to offer some comfort. However, just as the words were on his lips, the young girl walking at the forefront suddenly stopped.
"The demon is at the bottom of the river, right in the center!" Xu Qiqi pointed at the river surface a few feet away, her face grave. "The demonic energy has grown stronger. It is likely on the verge of breaking through!"
Everyone's expressions turned grim. In fact, they could feel the demonic energy from the riverbed without the girl's reminder. The scattered demonic energy was continuously spreading with the underwater currents. The river surface remained calm and undisturbed, giving a strange feeling, as if a fierce beast was lurking within. And indeed, a very dangerous demon was hidden at the bottom of this river.
"Junior Sister, Junior Brother, you two first go and evacuate the surrounding people." Zhao Yuansong immediately ordered in a low voice. Behind him, a young man and woman cupped their fists in acknowledgment and then separated, beginning to evacuate the local residents along the banks of the Xi Yu River. However, despite being cultivators, they were merely commoners. The surrounding residents had no intention of believing their words, and an old woman even cursed them in the street.
Seeing this scene, Ji Yuan and the others' faces sank, as they felt the demonic energy of the demon at the riverbed rising, as if it were attempting to break through its bottleneck. If it truly entered the next realm and its essence transformed into magical power, then even a third-realm cultivator proficient in water magic would find it difficult to easily slay it at the bottom of the river.
"There's no time, let's act first!" Ji Yuan took out a blood-red talisman and said in a deep voice, "When the commotion starts later, these people will naturally leave."
Seeing his companions nod, he looked at Guo Tao beside him. The latter remained silent, finally sighing and turning to run towards the civilian houses by the riverbank, urging the local residents to quickly distance themselves and seek refuge.
At the same time, Zhao Yuansong also took out a set of formation flags and seven or eight spiritual stones the size of fists, square in shape. For a cultivator of the first realm to wield magical artifacts or formation flags, in addition to relying on the spiritual energy contained within these items themselves, they would need things with abundant spiritual energy such as spiritual stones or spirit coins as consumables.
"Amitabha, Junior Brother Ji, please proceed." Hui Xin clasped his hands together, his one hundred and eight prayer beads already removed.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan took a deep breath and then cast out the blood-red talisman in his hand. It transformed into an afterimage and, in just a few blinks, it reached the center of the Xi Yu River. In the next breath, the spiritual energy contained within the talisman core was activated, golden runes bloomed on the talisman paper, and waves of abundant vital energy erupted. This vital energy had no sickening stench; on the contrary, it emitted a faint fragrance. And it was precisely this hint of fragrance that was an irresistible temptation to demons.
The so-called Demonic Attraction Talisman was made by boiling a large amount of ox blood with various medicinal herbs containing spiritual energy for eighteen days, and then soaking it onto talisman paper. Ox blood contained spiritual essence and possessed strong vital energy. Coupled with the various medicinal ingredients, once the talisman paper was made and drawn with special golden ink, the unique vital energy it released was irresistible to any demon. In just a few breaths, the dense vital energy poured down, staining a large area of the river surface, looking somewhat strange and terrifying.
On the riverbank, Ji Yuan and the others concentrated, doing their best to conceal their presence, while staring intently at the river surface. One breath... three breaths... five breaths... Finally, after the twelfth breath, a powerful demonic energy rose from the riverbed with astonishing speed, quickly approaching the surface of the river.
Boom!!! In the next instant, a column of water shot up into the sky, and a bloated, massive black shadow flashed past, swallowing the Demonic Attraction Talisman floating on the river surface.
"Act!" Ji Yuan shouted in a low voice, his hand tightly gripping the talisman, ready to unleash them all at any moment. And in the moment before he spoke, Zhao Yuansong beside him had already swung his arm. Eighteen small, water-blue flags immediately flew out, turning into streaks of afterimages and appearing on the river surface. Following this, Zhao Yuansong threw a light blue jade disk forward. As his hands rapidly formed hand seals, the spiritual stones and jade disk he had prepared earlier floated up and down in front of his chest. Pure spiritual energy was absorbed by the jade disk. When Zhao Yuansong shouted, eighteen thin light blue threads immediately flew out from the jade disk in front of him, all entering the eighteen small flags. In less than three breaths, he had set up this Water Locking Formation Flag. The eighteen small flags emitted water-blue halos, completely covering an area of ten zhang. At this moment, the demon that leaped out of the water was about to dive back into the river, but it rammed into the water-blue halo. Not only could it not merge into the river water within reach, but a muffled loud noise also echoed out.
It was at this moment that everyone finally saw the demon's appearance: it was a giant catfish, as large as a calf, completely black, and covered in sticky mucus!
"Slay the demon!" Zhao Yuansong roared, and two figures immediately leaped out beside him. Xu Qiqi and Jiang He, the young man and woman, now had looks of grim determination. They drew the long swords strapped to their backs, and with a light tap of their toes on the water-blue halo, they were able to walk on the river surface.
Clang!!! Instantly, the sound of swords chimed. Amidst the heavy sword shadows, green and yellow sword qi erupted and, along with the long swords held by the young man and woman, slashed towards the giant catfish on the water-blue halo! However, the sharp sword edge and sword qi, which could break through anything, seemed to have lost their sharpness at this moment. They couldn't even cut through the demon's skin. Upon contact with the mucus on its body, they involuntarily slid to the side.
The expressions of the two changed. They immediately retreated decisively, each holding a talisman, guarding against a sudden surge from the demon. In fact, this catfish demon was indeed planning to counterattack. It suddenly opened its mouth, and a pale yellow, foul-smelling stench swept out. As soon as this stench touched the hem of the two people's clothes, white smoke immediately rose, and then their long robes and skirts directly lost a corner.
But at this moment, the demon suddenly closed its mouth and stopped spewing the foul-smelling stench. Instead, it began to roll violently on the spot. The group stared intently and saw a red light rapidly expanding on the catfish demon's abdomen.
"Did you really think my Demonic Attraction Talisman was so easy to swallow?" Ji Yuan snorted coldly. The hand seal he had formed in his left hand suddenly changed. At this instant, the backup he had left in the talisman erupted. The runes drawn with special golden ink transformed into a cluster of flames filled with supreme yang energy. And the abundant vital energy contained within the talisman paper was then ignited by this cluster of golden flames!