Spirit Hunters of Maoshan Sect

Wang Ting replied, “They did; the cliff is too high for people to swoop down on the valley, so they just sent a few men to stand guard at a pass near the cliff . Originally, some of them were guarding the route you came by, but I moved them here . ”

Her words shocked Ye Shaoyang, “Why did they listen to you?”

Wang Ting threw him a mysterious smile, “I implanted Gu in them, and they will follow my command . Unless someone does a mind reading, they will appear normal . ”

Not only Xiao Ma, but Ye Shaoyang also looked at her in astonishment, “There is such a magical Gu craft?”

Wang Ting laughed, “Big Brother Shaoyang, you feel it’s magical because you are not expert in Gu craft . We, too, feel amazed at Daoist craft; a small piece of talisman paper can subdue demons and capture spirits . ”

Ye Shaoyang agreed with a nod .

After ten minutes or so, Ye Shaoyang and the rest who followed Jin Shuai and his men up the cliff stopped . Jin Shuai and his men had reached the dead end of the valley . Another cliff stood opposite them, and the two mountain ridges connected and formed a soccer field size area .

A group of ten people in black robes lined up orderly and bowed when Jin Shuai approached . Their hands formed a strange gesture as they mumbled some words . Although those words were incomprehensive, the men demonstrated great respect toward Jin Shuai .

“Showing off again, I will slap that pimple Jin with my size forty-five--”

Teng Yongqing interrupted, “Brother Ma, please stop saying things that we don’t understand . ”

“What?! If you don’t understand my joke, don’t assume the others won’t it too . ”

“Guys stop joking around . Look there,” Tan Xiaohui pointed at the men . Behind them was a big piece of white cloth that looked as though something lay under it .

Jin Shuai walked past the black witches, kneeled in front of the cloth and recited something softly . His hands moved back and forth, and he stood up a few minutes later to instruct four men to hold each corner of the cloth and lift it slowly .

Ye Shaoyang and the others stared with their eyes bulging and inhaled deeply at the same time .

Beneath the white cloth was a giant coffin embedded in a deep hole of which only the top could be seen . They were shocked by the size of it .

Based on its color, the cover was made of copper . It gleamed with a faint green light even during daytime, and pearls of the size of a dragon eye fruits were embedded along the sides . A cloud pattern engravement located in the middle divided the coffin cover into two .

A giant butterfly sculpture was carved on the upper part of the cover . The lines of the wings were prominent and beautiful, but a skull with four prominent fangs replaced the head .

The combination of the beautiful wings and the skull gave an odd and evil feeling which made one’s flesh creep .

In the center of the cover were three jade rings in a chain that resembled a Fengshui compass . The rings were packed with words and symbols, but Ye Shaoyang could not study them from where he was .

There were eight grooves as thick as an arm that formed an ‘asterisk’ sign on the cover . Each of the grooves connected to a deep ditch dug in the ground, and each ditch was connected to respective holes covered with red bricks .

The scene looked grand but also creepy from above .

Wang Ting explained, “When Yongqing and I came here, the coffin was already embedded in the hole, and they were digging the ditches . They just completed them this morning . ”

“So, the one in the coffin should be the undead king? But what’s the function of the ditches and holes?” Xiao Ma muttered to himself .

Ye Shaoyang made up his mind after observing . He pointed at the three rings, “That should be the switch . The eight ditches are the guiding path, and the eight notches form eight blood paths .

“Have you noticed that each blood path is slightly tilted as is the coffin cover to make sure the blood can flow toward the three rings, which would activate the switch and enter the coffin?”

“Where will the blood come from?” asked Xiao Ma .

“From the eight ditch,” Ye Shaoyang turned to Tan Xiaohui and continued, “If I’m not mistaken, the eight ditches are the place they kill the animal sacrifices to activate the switch with their blood . Once the blood enters the coffin, the undead king will absorb them and awaken . ”

Tan Xiaohui nodded, “I have the same conclusion even though I have never seen this before . ”

Xiao Ma shook his head and said in a doubtful tone, “What the hell? Those black witches set up all this to awake an undead king? The undead king must be mighty . Little Ye, are you confident that you can defeat it?”

“Nope,” Ye Shaoyang answered honestly . He looked at the coffin and said, “As virtue rises one foot, vice rises ten . This undead king has lived thousands of years and absorbed the power of countless rituals . Only God knows how powerful it is . The only way we can wins is to prevent it from coming out . ”

Tan Xiaohui agreed, “It will be a new moon tonight since today is the first day of the seventh month according to the lunar calendar . I guess they will start the ritual when the dark falls . We still have a few hours to think of some strategies . ”

Everyone stared at each other in dismay .

Teng Yongqing broke the silence, “There is only one way into the Dead Man Valley and no way for us to strike a surprise attack . We have no choice but to attack directly from the front, so it is going to be a tough battle . ”

Everyone said nothing . Ye Shaoyang looked down at Jin Shuai and the men in black and muttered to himself, “Too bad . There is no way to surprise them . They look so near to us now . ”

Suddenly, Xiao Ma tapped his forehead and said, “I have an idea! We can roll these rocks down on them . No matter how strong they are, their bodies will not be able to sustain the attack . I believe the rocks will squash them into patties . ”

Ye Shaoyang replied, “It is quite a brilliant idea, but there is only five of us here . They can avoid the rocks by standing in the center of the area . Besides, the time for rocks to roll down to the ground will make the plan fail . Unfortunately we aren’t superhuman, we can’t throw the rocks at them . Hmmm, it would be nice if we had the blood of black dogs . ”

“We have plenty!” Wang Ting replied excitedly .