The morning mist had not yet completely dissipated, and it wetly entangled the low fences and gray tile roofs of Liuxi Village. Unlike the dead Yaojin Village, there was actually some life here. The crowing of chickens and barking of dogs could be faintly heard, and a few wisps of smoke rose straight into the lead-gray sky. However, this seemingly ordinary smell of fireworks, in the eyes of Li Hua and Mei who had just experienced an ambush in the dense forest, revealed an indescribable awkwardness.
"It's too quiet." Mei whispered, her fingers unconsciously stroking the copper ring magic weapon hidden in her sleeve, and the light of the remaining talisman paper on it had dimmed. Those "shadow puppets" that chased in the forest like maggots on the tarsal bones and were not afraid of ordinary spells suddenly retreated like a tide when they approached the edge of the village, disappearing without a trace, leaving only the mess on the ground and the heavy breathing of the two.
"Quiet?" Li Hua took off his crooked straw hat, wiped the sweat and unknown stains on his face, and showed his usual, slightly sarcastic smile, "Compared to the 'warm' welcome ceremony just now, it is indeed quiet. But..." He took a deep breath and frowned slightly, "There is a smell of incense ash and herbs mixed with... rotten sweetness in the air. It's very fake."
At the entrance of the village stood a small land temple, with mottled red paint, and newly burned incense sticks in the incense burner, with smoke curling. Several villagers were busy in front of the temple, wearing coarse cloth clothes that were washed white, but their movements were a little too uniform, as if they were being pulled by invisible strings. When they saw Li Hua and Mei approaching, they stopped their work and looked up.
At that moment, Li Hua and Mei felt a chill.
The expressions on the villagers' faces seemed to be painted on. The arc of the smile was almost the same, but the eyes were empty, staring straight at the outsiders, without any curiosity or vigilance, only a creepy calmness. As if they were just moving clay sculptures placed in front of the land temple.
"Strangers?" An old and hoarse voice sounded. An old woman in a dark brown cloth jacket, leaning on a cane, tremblingly walked out of the hut next to the temple. Her face was full of wrinkles and her eyes were turbid, but compared to those "smiling" villagers, she at least had a little more breath of life. She looked up and down at the sword behind Li Hua and the remaining mana fluctuations on Mei's body, and a very fast and elusive emotion flashed in her turbid eyes.
"I'm passing by and asked for a bowl of water." Li Hua smiled and said, as if he didn't see those weird villagers, "Old lady, your village is really... peaceful." He bit the word "peaceful" meaningfully.
The old woman didn't respond to his words, but just tapped the ground with her cane: "Liuxi Village doesn't like outsiders. Drink water and leave early." The tone was flat, but it carried an unquestionable intention of expelling.
"Grandma," Mei stepped forward, her voice soft but clear, "We didn't mean to disturb you. It's just... I encountered some unclean things in the woods last night, and I came here in a panic. May I ask if there is anything in the village that needs help? Or... Are there any taboos?" She subtly tried, her eyes swept over the villagers who were still standing "smiling".
The old woman's eyelids drooped for a moment, and she was silent for a moment before she slowly said: "Help? Ha... The village is very good. As for taboos..." She raised her withered hand and pointed to a building in the depths of the village that was slightly taller than other houses and hung with many faded colored silks and wooden signs, "Don't disturb the 'Nuo Temple'. The gods in the temple have a bad temper, especially... they can't stand strangers."
"Nuo Temple?" Li Hua's eyes flashed. Nuo opera is an ancient ritual to exorcise evil spirits, but if you collude with evil spirits or are occupied by evil things, the temper of the "god" may not be something that ordinary people can bear. He noticed that when the old woman said "new faces", her eyes seemed to glance at the villagers very quickly.
"Thank you for your advice, grandma." Mei nodded slightly.
The old woman stopped talking, turned around and walked back to the hut slowly, closing the door. Those smiling villagers seemed to have received silent instructions, and they also dispersed and continued their mechanical work, as if the gaze just now had never happened.
The two walked to a well in the village. The well water was clear, reflecting the gray sky and the slightly tired faces of the two. Li Hua scooped up a bucket of water, but did not drink it. He just dipped his finger in it, put it to the tip of his nose to smell it, and then flicked it gently. The water drops fell into the well, making a slight "ding dong" sound.
"The water is fine." Mei also checked it and whispered, "But those villagers..."
"The souls are 'fixed'," Li Hua's voice was very low, with a hint of coldness, "It's not an ordinary puppetry. It's more like... being 'pacified' or 'suppressed' by some more powerful existence, leaving only an empty shell to carry out daily life. The old woman is the only one who is still somewhat sober, but she is also bound by something and dare not say more." He remembered the flash of emotion in the old woman's turbid eyes. Was it fear? Or a warning?
"The Nuo Temple is the key." Mei's eyes were cast on the building with colorful silk hanging in the village. It stood quietly, but it exuded an invisible pressure, as if it was the core of the strange calm of the entire village. "The people of the Shadow Sect may have been one step ahead of us, or... the things here are part of their plan. The 'Nuo God' may be the guardian of the fragments we are looking for, or... worse."
"Worse?" Li Hua raised his eyebrows.
"It may be 'eating'." Mei's voice was chilly, "eating the remaining vitality of these villagers, eating their fear...even eating their memories. Those shadow puppets wandering outside the village but dare not come in, maybe not because they are afraid, but to 'offer'."
Li Hua was silent for a while, weighed the water scoop in his hand, and suddenly grinned: "No matter whether it is a god or a ghost, whether it eats meat or vegetables. Since it occupies what we are looking for, and makes this village neither human nor ghost...we have to go and meet it." The lazy cynicism in his eyes faded, revealing the sharpness like a cold pond underneath, "But, forcing in is the worst option. Didn't the old hag say that the 'god' has a bad temper and can't stand strangers."
He glanced at a family in the village who were drying clothes, and several coarse cloth clothes swayed in the breeze. "We have to change a 'familiar face' to go in."
An hour later.
The night was like ink, soaking Liuxi Village. The strange calm of the daytime fermented in the darkness, and the mixed sweet and rotten smell in the air seemed to be stronger. The village was silent, even the barking of dogs disappeared, only the whimpering of the wind through the dilapidated eaves.
In front of the Nuo Temple, two figures appeared silently. They were wearing coarse cloth clothes commonly seen in Liuxi villagers, wearing wide hats on their heads, covering most of their faces, and their steps were slightly stiff, imitating the postures of the villagers in the daytime. It was Li Hua and Mei in disguise.
The temple door was ajar, and the swaying dim light shone from inside, and there was a strong and pungent smell of incense, mixed with some old wood and... a faint smell of blood.
Li Hua winked at Mei, and the two of them pushed open the heavy wooden door with a slightly delayed movement like real villagers.
The space inside the temple is not large, but it is unusually tall. In the center, there is a huge, colorful and peeling wooden statue of Nuo. The statue had a green face and fangs, three eyes wide open, one holding an axe, the other holding a blurry heart that seemed to be still bleeding, and underfoot was a twisted and struggling human relief, revealing a hideous evil spirit. On the altar in front of the statue, candlelight flickered, but the tribute was only some shriveled and blackened fruits, and a few equally hideous wooden Nuo opera masks were scattered next to it.
Several people wearing dark robes embroidered with strange cloud and thunder patterns knelt in front of the statue with their backs to the door, muttering something in a low and ambiguous voice, like a dream. They were the "smiling" villagers in the daytime! At this moment, the stiff smiles on their faces disappeared, replaced by a fanatical and numb piety, and their bodies swayed slightly rhythmically with the low chanting.
The walls of the temple were hung with various cloth banners with twisted runes, casting fang-baring shadows under the candlelight. The air was as thick as glue, and the magic power seemed to be suppressed invisibly here, and it was particularly sluggish to operate.
Li Hua and Mei lowered their heads, imitated the movements of the villagers, slowly moved to the back of the crowd and knelt down, trying to reduce their presence. Mei's eyes quickly swept across the base of the statue and under the altar, looking for the mechanism or abnormal energy point that might hide the seal fragments.
At this moment, the leading "villager" suddenly stopped chanting. He turned around slowly. That was not any face he had seen in front of the land temple during the day! On his face, he was wearing a green-faced and fanged Nuo mask that was very similar to the statue! At the eye holes of the mask, two points of green fire jumped, coldly sweeping over the kneeling people, and finally, firmly nailed to Li Hua and Mei who came in last.
A cold, tyrannical, and endlessly greedy thought was like a real ice cone, stabbing the two fiercely!
"The smell of a stranger..." A hoarse, overlapping, strange sound like countless voices blended together came out from under the mask, stirring up a palpitating echo in the empty temple. The masked "temple keeper" slowly raised his hand and pointed at the pretender, "And... the familiar... Taoist stench..."
The bodies of the other "villagers" kneeling on the ground suddenly stiffened, as if lifted by an invisible thread, and raised their heads in unison. Their faces were no longer pious, but instantly replaced by a kind of ferocious madness! In the dim light, their eyes also glowed with a faint green light similar to that in the masked eyes of the temple keeper!
"It's bad!" Li Hua's heart trembled, and his disguise was instantly exposed! The evil aura emanating from the Nuo masked "temple keeper" was more condensed and ancient than the evil spirit that devoured the memory in the well, with a kind of pressure and blasphemy that was almost "divine"! It was obviously the source of the changes in Liuxi Village, and it was also the "guardian" that the Shadow Sect tried to use or control!
"The offering... came to us on its own..." The voice of the Nuo mask temple priest was filled with a twisted joy. He waved his arm violently!
The hideous Nuo masks on the altar seemed to be endowed with life, suddenly soaring into the air, emitting a shrill scream, like vultures that smelled blood, turning into several black and red intertwined streams of light, and pounced on the faces of the fanatical villagers closest to them like lightning!
"Ahhhh——!"
The shrill and inhuman screams instantly tore through the dead silence of the temple!
The mask was accurately buckled on the faces of the villagers! At the moment of contact, the edge of the mask squirmed like a living thing, producing countless tiny black granulations, and fiercely pierced into the villagers' cheeks, foreheads, and temples! Blood gushed out along the edge of the mask. The villagers' bodies twitched and swelled violently, their bones made a tooth-aching "crackling" crisp sound, and their coarse cloth clothes were torn by the surging muscles! Their auras suddenly became violent and chaotic, full of inhuman animality and evil power. Their eyes glowed green, and they let out a beast-like roar, locking onto Li Hua and Mei!
"Run!" Li Hua roared, and instantly tore off the hat and camouflage coat that were in the way. The long sword was already unsheathed, bringing a cold arc of light, and slashed directly at the nearest "Nuo mask corpse puppet" that pounced on him! The sword blade chopped on the opponent's arm that was swollen like a tree trunk, and it made a sound of metal clashing, leaving only a deep wound that could be seen through the bone and emitted black gas, but it failed to cut it off! The corpse puppet seemed to feel no pain, and the other sharp claw with a fishy wind dug into Li Hua's heart fiercely!
Mei's reaction was equally swift. She formed seals with both hands and shouted: "Clean!" A soft white light with purifying power spread out from her as the center, trying to dispel the sticky evil spirit and oppression in the temple. Wherever the white light passed, the cloth runes on the wall flickered and twisted violently, and the air seemed to be refreshed for a moment. The two Nuo-masked corpse puppets that pounced on her obviously stagnated, and let out a painful roar, and the black air on their bodies was sizzling.
However, the Nuo-masked temple priest who was sitting in front of the statue just snorted with disdain. He raised his finger with long, black nails and pointed it in the direction of Mei!
Buzz!
A shock wave of evil thoughts that was a hundred times more powerful than the corpse puppets and condensed like a substance ignored the spiritual power shield that Mei hastily laid down, and hit her soul like a heavy hammer!
"Puff!" Mei was hit hard, her face turned pale as paper, and a mouthful of blood spurted out. The whole person staggered and flew backwards, hitting the cold temple pillar, and the seal in his hand instantly collapsed! The light of purification also went out, and the evil spirit in the temple instantly counterattacked, surging even more violently!
"Mei!" Li Hua saw it from the corner of his eye, and his heart sank. The power of this Nuo-masked evil creature was far beyond expectations! Seeing that the corpse puppet burned by the pure light rushed forward fiercely again, the cold and greedy eyes of the temple keeper locked onto the injured Mei again, and the evil light condensed on his fingertips, obviously ready to launch a fatal attack!
Can't hold back anymore!
The last trace of playfulness in Li Hua's eyes completely disappeared, replaced by the coldness of a deep pool and a trace of... resolute hostility. He bit his tongue fiercely, and a mouthful of True Yang blood containing pure magic power sprayed on the sword body!
"The sky and the earth are boundless, Qiankun borrows the law! True Yang's command, break the evil and show the righteous! Open——!"
The blood-stained sword body suddenly burst out with a dazzling red-gold light that seemed to be able to tear apart all the haze! A sword intent that was extremely yang and strong, and unparalleled in domineering, soared into the sky, and temporarily broke through the sticky evil suppression in the temple! The sword light fell to the ground like the scorching sun, carrying the destructive breath of burning the world. It no longer slashed at the corpse puppet, but turned into a red gold thread that tore through the long night. With the speed of thunder, it pierced the temple priest wearing a Nuo mask in front of the statue who was about to kill Mei!
This sword was one of Li Hua's best skills. The price was not small, but at this moment, he could not care about many things!
The Nuo masked temple priest seemed to feel threatened, and the two dark green pupils shrank suddenly! He gave up attacking Mei, and his hands quickly formed a complicated and strange black seal in front of him!
Boom——!!!
The red gold sword light and the black seal collided fiercely!
The dazzling light instantly engulfed the entire Nuo temple! The violent energy shock wave swept around like a tsunami! The cloth banners on the wall were torn into pieces, the altar exploded, and the villagers who were not possessed were thrown out like rag dolls, and their lives and deaths were unknown! Even the huge wooden sculpture of the Nuo God shook violently, dropping countless debris and peeling paint!
The light faded.
The temple was in a mess, filled with smoke and dust.
Li Hua half-knelt on the ground with his sword, his chest heaving violently, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. The sword just now was obviously very consuming. Mei struggled to stand up from the pillar, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stared at the direction of the statue vigilantly.
The smoke and dust slowly settled.
The Nuo mask temple priest was still standing in the same place, but the condensed black seal in front of him had broken and dissipated. On his face, the green-faced fang mask had a deep, charred sword mark at the center of his eyebrows! A few strands of black liquid as sticky as asphalt were slowly seeping out from the cracks!
Through the cracks in the mask, the dark green pupils stared at Li Hua with hatred. The greed in the eyes had been completely replaced by a violent rage of being hurt by an ant!
"Dao...men...young...young..." The hoarse and overlapping voices, each word was filled with murderous intent and a chill that seemed to come from the underworld, "You...destroyed my...god face...I will...swallow your soul...crush your bones...and turn you...into the most despicable...puppet slave!"
He suddenly opened his arms, and a dark evil force that was more terrifying and deeper than before, like an awakened ancient beast, began to surge out of his body and the damaged Nuo God mask! The temperature of the entire Nuo God Temple dropped sharply, and even black frost condensed on the ground!
In the depths of the temple, there was a faint, tooth-grinding friction sound of some heavy chains being dragged, as if some imprisoned behemoth was startled and awakened by this overwhelming evil spirit and anger!
The real horror has just begun.