White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 77 Finally meeting
Skeletons flew through the air, crashing into every household, their screams echoing everywhere. Under the moonlight, the snow and ice were frosty, and the whole city was filled with terror.

In the prefect's residence, Xu Zhengchen stood in the courtyard in front of the hall, looking at the skeletal demon spirit in the night sky, and roared, "Find Liu Fangyun immediately and kill him on the spot!"

"Yes! Your lord!"

Several responses came from the shadows.

"Send someone to invite Master Fang to come and have him take charge of this prefecture and guard against demons."

"Yes! Master!"

His butler hurried away.

Xu Zhengchen stood with his hands behind his back on the snow in the courtyard and sighed softly, "This time, I'm afraid my career is ruined."

A figure flew onto the rooftop, leaped onto the drum tower, and faced the surrounding skeletal demons, coldly rebuking them: "You mere demons and monsters, how dare you wreak havoc on the human world?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged Taoist took out a rope from his sleeve, chanted an incantation, and threw the rope into the air.

Instantly, the rope flew into the sky, like a python or dragon darting through the air, and any skeleton spirits it touched were reduced to ashes.

The soldiers of the city were alarmed, and their military aura scared away many of the skeleton spirits.

Thousands of people dispersed into the city, searching for Liu Fangyun's whereabouts.

In the dilapidated hut, Liu Fangyun closed his eyes and listened to the screams coming from all around, finding them quite pleasant.

But before long, the screams subsided considerably.

Liu Fangyun opened his eyes, looked at Wuxiangtu and laughed, "Baotu'er, have you already killed them all?"

"Whoosh~"

A flying knife pierced through the house and struck his heart.

Liu Fangyun instinctively clutched his chest and turned to look, only to see four or five figures dressed in black tight-fitting clothes staring intently at him in the snowy night.

"Cut off his head and report back to the lord."

"Yes!"

A figure walked into the room and looked at Liu Fangyun, who was lying on the ground struggling helplessly, still reaching out to grab the painting that had fallen to the ground.

The guard glanced at the picture curiously, then his pupils suddenly widened, and a faint light shone in his eyes.

He put the painting away, then approached with a sinister grin under Liu Fangyun's horrified gaze, slitting his throat with practiced ease.

The headless corpse lay on the ground of the dilapidated house, with crimson blood flowing everywhere.

A black raven perched on the roof beam, watching him silently, before dying without a sound.

The moment the Wuxiang Diagram was put away, the skeleton demons in the city turned into yin energy and disappeared like a gust of wind.

Fang Rui, who was on the roof of the prefectural government building, also put away his magical artifacts and flew down.

Xu Zhengchen smiled and cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you for your protection, Daoist Master!"

"It is only right." Fang Rui bowed and said, "Now that the demon has retreated, I will also go into the city to see if I can find any trace of it!"

"The Daoist Master is truly devoted to the people, which is admirable. Should I send some men to accompany you?" Xu Zhengchen asked with concern.

"No need. Ordinary people should not get involved in matters of demons and monsters!" With that, Fang Rui turned and left.

"The Fang family members are all aloof and arrogant," Xu Zhengchen chuckled.

"My lord! I have successfully completed my mission!"

Several dark figures appeared in the courtyard. One of them unwrapped a head covered by a black cloth. Xu Zhengchen glanced at it without changing his expression and nodded, saying, "Since he has been executed, then just dispose of him properly."

What about a phaseless diagram?

"A diagram?" The men were surprised. "We haven't seen a diagram."

"Heh, without the Formless Diagram, how could this wandering sorcerer have such power to commit such heinous acts?" Xu Zhengchen sneered. "What? Rumor has it that the Formless Demon is good at bewitching people's hearts. Have you also been bewitched by this Formless Diagram?"

"My subordinates dare not!"

The group knelt down and said.

"Do you want me to do it myself, or will you hand it over yourselves?"

Xu Zhengchen said expressionlessly.

"I……"

"Pap~"

Suddenly, a painting fell from the sleeve of the man in black who had cut off Liu Fangyun's head.

Prefect Xu scoffed, "This Wuxiang Diagram is quite strange. If it is allowed to circulate in the world, I'm afraid it will cause countless troubles."

"Go and escort this map to the Great Freedom Buddhist Temple, and hand it over to the abbot."

As he spoke, he took out an object from his chest, which was a jade-colored Buddha pendant, carved with the image of a Bodhisattva with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes.

“Since you have hidden the Formless Diagram, then this diagram can only be kept on your person. Wear this jade, and you will go with him to send this strange and evil treasure to the Buddhist temple to settle the matter.”

"Yes! Your lord!"

After they finished speaking, they immediately turned and left.

The disaster in Fuyun City had just ended when the sun rose the next day.

Demons wreaked havoc, and wicked people and bandits took advantage of the chaos. The entire city was in utter chaos, but fortunately, government troops suppressed the unrest; otherwise, the city would have remained in turmoil for several more days.

When the government tallied the losses, they were shocked to find that most of the dead and injured were from wealthy families or notorious local bullies.

The historians recording the county annals were at a loss for words, finding it difficult to continue writing that this was the work of demons.

Outside the city, Bai Wuxiang watched as the black crows formed from death energy flew south, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

He had gathered the resentment of hundreds of people. If he were to deal with them one by one, it would take too long and cause unnecessary trouble.

Therefore, Bai Wuxiang deliberately took advantage of the demonic disturbances of the previous night to fulfill the wishes of those hundreds of people.

As a result of this incident, many wealthy and powerful families in the city hung white mourning clothes and held funerals for the deceased.

At the same time, the landlords and powerful families in the city were terrified of the word "Wu Xiang" and no longer dared to oppress ordinary people as they had in the past.

Because of this incident, the Wuxiang Sect attracted even more people to join.

Bai Wuxiang gazed in the direction of Fuyun City. The Wuxiang Sect had already established a foothold here, and he could leave now.

He sensed the Formless Diagram, but found that a Buddhist power had severed the connection between the Formless Diagram and him.

Bai Wuxiang's eyes flashed; it seemed he had something else to do.

The Formless Diagram must not be coveted by the Buddhist community, otherwise it may cause a lot of trouble.

He immediately tried to force his mind to connect with the Formless Diagram. Even though he couldn't activate it, he could still sense its location.

Bai Wuxiang pondered for a moment, then muttered to himself, "The Northwest? That means we're about to leave Nanzhao."

Just then, a group of people dragged several corpses into the burial pit.

Every year, many people freeze to death on snowy nights during heavy snowfalls.

Bai Wuxiang glanced at it and was about to leave, but he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. He reached out and beckoned, and a jade-like bone hairpin fell into his hand.

He gazed at the object, remained silent for a moment, and then the bone hairpin transformed into countless white specks of light in his palm, scattering away. This hairpin was given to him by the vibrant and lively woman he met when he first entered Fuyun City, after witnessing her graceful dance.

But now, as he was about to leave, the hairpin had returned to his hands.

It's truly a cruel twist of fate; destiny shows no mercy to the unfortunate.

Bai Wuxiang didn't bother to find which of the corpses was the sword-dancing girl from before; she was already dead, so there was no point in searching.

Chaotic times are always this cruel.

Black feathers unfurled, and Bai Wuxiang rose into the sky, leaving the border town like the wind and heading towards the northwest.

Not long after he left, four figures entered Fuyun City amidst the wind and snow.

Qinghe Fairy looked up at the city and frowned, saying, "The evil aura has not yet dissipated, which means that this fiend has not gone far."

"Look at the mournful cries throughout the city, this demon must have taken countless lives!" Hua Yi sighed.

“There are demon hunters in the city, so we don’t need to worry about them. Let’s just catch up with this demon. Further ahead is the territory of the Northwest Buddhist sect.” Ning Jue frowned and said, “I don’t want to deal with those monks.”

"Then let's just use our escape techniques to get there. It would be best to intercept them within the territory of the Southern Zhao Kingdom!" With that, Xiao Qianli made a hand seal, raised his sword, and transformed into a beam of sword light that shot into the sky.

The other three also used their own methods. Qinghe Fairy stood on green leaves and floated away lightly with a gust of cold wind.

Hua Yi also activated his golden magic sword and caught up on his flying sword.

Ning Jue, however, sank into the soil and could not disappear.

As the four pursued closely, Bai Wuxiang, who was ahead, continued to remotely activate the Wuxiang Diagram.

The five people escorting the Wuxiang Diagram braved the wind and snow, riding fast horses towards the northwest.

The Wuxiang Diagram was put into a wooden box and tied to Ren Dayun's waist. He was riding a horse and the wind and snow on both sides were whistling past his ears. In a daze, he heard some kind of decadent music. The wind and snow, like demons, changed shapes and rushed towards him with bared teeth and claws.

Ren Dayun's mind gradually sank into the illusion, and he slowly loosened his grip on the reins.

"Om~"

Just then, the jade pendant he was wearing around his neck lit up with a golden light, instantly clearing his mind.

Ren Dayun felt a lingering fear; if he had fallen off his horse in the snow and tumbled down the mountain road, his chances of survival would have been slim.

This picture is too eerie!

Recalling how he had inexplicably kept the Wuxiang Diagram that night, and the way the adult looked at him, Ren Dayun felt a vague unease.

Every so often, the image of Wuxiang in the wooden box would emit an aura that tempted inner demons, causing Ren Dayun's heart to gradually sink to the bottom.

A series of terrifying images flashed before his eyes, and after several hours of torment, the jade pendant on Ren Dayun's chest suddenly shattered.

Without the protection of the jade pendant and Buddhist teachings, Ren Dayun was immediately plunged into a series of illusions. He swayed, fell off his horse, and rolled down the mountain.

Fortunately, his companions were watching him closely, and the others quickly intervened to save the Wuxiang Diagram.

Ren Dayun, on the other hand, rolled down the mountain and was buried in the thick snow, disappearing without a trace.

"What should we do? Why hasn't this demonic image calmed down yet?" someone asked.

"Keep going! Once we reach the Great Freedom Temple, we'll be safe!"

"Failure to complete the adults' task means death anyway! Being killed by this demonic painting also means death."

"Then let's keep going! Spur the horse on!"

The group paused only briefly before continuing to whip their horses and urge them onward.

Ren Dayun, who had been abandoned in the snow, had red eyes and strangely twisted his head as he climbed up from the snow that had rolled down hundreds of feet.

With its palms on the ground, it ran wildly on all fours, roaring from time to time, chasing after the four people who had gone far away.

Upon sensing the disappearance of the Buddhist teachings, Bai Wuxiang, who was in the sky, was overjoyed. He immediately used his evil power to demonize the lifeless corpse of Ren Dayun and gave chase.

At the same time, chanting resounded again from the Formless Diagram, bewitching the next person.

But when he turned around suddenly, he saw a golden light, like a rainbow, crossing the mountains and rushing towards him through the vast snow.

"Is this... a powerful master from the mystical sect coming to take me away?"

Bai Wuxiang's eyes darkened slightly as he arrived at that very moment.

Although he possessed the body of a demon god, his physical form had not yet broken through to the Yuanzhen realm and was still quite far from it. At most, his demon god strength was only at the Great Transformation Yuan realm. There were many experts in the Xuanmen sect, and he did not want to provoke or get entangled with them.

Immediately, his wings flapped, increasing his speed by three points. He planned to catch up with the mortals and reclaim the Formless Diagram.

This painting took him a lot of effort to create, and he couldn't let it fall into the hands of the Buddhists at this time.

Behind him, Xiao Qianli, who was riding on his sword, had already spotted the black demonic light hundreds of feet ahead with his naked eye.

She formed hand seals and chanted an incantation, urging, "Four Seasons Gods, lend me your wondrous magic! Divine winds and heavenly snow, severing mountains and rivers! Go!"

The next moment, Bai Wuxiang, hundreds of feet away, suddenly realized that the wind and snow around him were heavy, like waves crashing down on him, and even the fastest flapping of his wings slowed down considerably.

A shadow crossed Bai Wuxiang's eyes. He flapped his wings, and countless black feathers pierced through the wind and snow like dark swords. He charged forward once more!
His pupils turned pure white, and through the obstruction of the wind and snow high in the sky, he finally saw a few people on the ground not far away.

Bai Wuxiang's body sank, plummeting from the sky and hurtling straight down.

"Whoo~"

The howling wind and snow sounded like the roar of a beast to him. Bai Wuxiang stretched out a palm and reached forward.

The falling snow gathered together and transformed into a giant snow-white hand, over ten feet long, which slammed down on the four people like an avalanche.

"Boom~"

In an instant, the four of them were knocked over by the heavy snow and collapsed to the ground.

Bai Wuxiang beckoned, "Come!"

The image of the formless figure in the wooden box slowly floated up, and the flying figure rushed towards him.

But at that moment, a golden Buddhist light suddenly appeared, transforming into a giant bronze bowl that enveloped the Formless Diagram and absorbed it into its contents.

Bai Wuxiang roared angrily, and the wind and snow in all directions suddenly dispersed. He opened his mouth and swallowed a huge skull ghost head, which swallowed the bronze-colored magic bowl in one gulp.

"You vile beast! How dare you defile our Buddhist treasures!"

A Buddhist chant rang out, and the hundred-foot-high sky in the north transformed into a wall of light with countless flowing scriptures, blocking the way to the north. A monk dressed in Buddhist robes appeared out of thin air.

Behind him, Xiao Qianli's sword light paused, stopping behind Bai Wuxiang.

Emerald green lotus leaves stretched out to form a pond, and amidst the wind and snow, a delicate pink lotus flower bloomed, upon which the Green Lotus Fairy paused.

With a golden light and the sound of swords, Hua Yi cautiously gazed at the demon before him, sword in hand.

Underground, the soil and rocks cracked, and Ning Jue burst out of the ground, looking at the demons in mid-air with a fierce look.

"Hehe, there are quite a lot of people."

Bai Wuxiang chuckled, patted his belly, and suppressed the pulsating Dharma bowl inside. As long as the Wuxiang Diagram wasn't lost, everything was fine.

“Formless Demon God, we have come on the orders of our master to take you to our Sanqing Mountain for cultivation!” Xiao Qianli said calmly, “We hope that this senior from the Buddhist sect will not obstruct us.”

"This humble monk will not obstruct the actions of Sanqing Mountain," the monk said with a smile. "I only ask that you return my sacred artifacts after you have subdued this fiend."

(End of this chapter)