Chapter 67

Listening to the rustling of the wind through the grass, a path appeared beside the pile of rocks, and several dark figures rushed over—clearly, they were the fellow disciples from the mountain!

At that moment, Ding Qi shouted with joy, "You also escaped?" As he spoke, he was about to step forward to greet them, but before he could take a step, Bai He grabbed his arm and shouted, "Don't go! They are no longer our people!"

His words struck everyone's hearts, and they did not dare to hesitate, immediately putting on their shoes and socks and drawing their weapons in preparation!

In an instant, the figures were less than a hundred meters away, and their faces became clear. The familiar disciples all had vacant, lifeless eyes, tightly closed lips, and slightly stiff limbs, yet they moved with extraordinary agility, completely ignoring the branches and leaves that slapped against their faces and bodies as they rushed forward, looking like puppets or ghosts.

Just as everyone was about to charge forward to fight, Bai He suddenly shouted, "No! This is the Corpse Transformation technique, which makes people incredibly strong and immune to pain. We cannot fight them head-on..." He waved his hand in the direction opposite to the figures: "Quick, leave!"

A group of people rushed down the path, with the dark figures chasing them closely. In the midst of the chaos, Bai He turned back, raised a talisman into the air, and shouted, "Zhao Feng, ignite the Five Elements Fire!"

As he shouted, he caught a glimpse of a dark figure flashing by, and it seemed somewhat familiar—this made him turn around hastily. One, two, three, four... including himself, there were only five people left!

"Zunzun Bao!" Bai He whispered, crouching down and moving closer.

Beside him, Zhao Feng had already assumed a stance, his hand seals rolling as he shouted, "Fight! All Five Elements present! Great Momentum! Three Realms!" He changed his hand seal: "Fire! Fight!"

The Lion Hand Seal suddenly loosened, and he waved it at the suspended talisman—immediately, there was a loud explosion in the air!

Flames erupted, burning a large patch behind the group!

Bai He had just taken a few steps when a pair of arms suddenly grabbed him. Zhao Feng urgently said, "Uncle, you can't go! Your body..." As he spoke, Ding Qi also rushed back and grabbed his other arm, "Uncle, let's go!"

"Zunzun Bao..."

"Zunzun Bao will find a way. Uncle, let's go!" The two men, without further ado, carried Bai He away.

Bai He, being small and still recovering from illness, could not struggle and did not dare to shout loudly, so he was carried away by the two men, leaving behind the flames and the transformed disciples...

***

Zunzun Bao knew that Bai He did not want him to go up the mountain alone, so he took advantage of the chaos to slip back to the pile of rocks. The transformed people, with their souls extracted, were like walking corpses, unable to recognize anyone. They moved only by the commands of their master, and their ability to recognize people and objects relied on the Three Fires Yang Qi. If anyone else had hidden behind the rocks, they would have been detected, but Zunzun Bao was different.

What Three Fires did Zunzun Bao have?

He hid behind the rocks, watching the transformed disciples struggle to navigate around the pile. When they were closest, he pressed his body as low as possible, hiding under the rocks, holding his breath and not moving a muscle, not even daring to breathe heavily.

The transformed disciples moved more slowly on the rocks, often stepping into the crevices and cutting their legs, but they did not seem to notice, pulling themselves out and continuing to move. Zunzun Bao watched in amazement—among them was a familiar face, Qu Qianli, who had a broken arm and a face covered in blood but still fell and got up in the pile of rocks.

"Hmph! I didn't think Miao Feng would leave you behind too!"

Suddenly, a face appeared in front of him, belonging to someone who had fallen right in front of Zunzun Bao. The person's eyes were vacant as they glanced over Zunzun Bao's face and then got up without stopping...

"Can't they see me?" Zunzun Bao thought.

After a while, the transformed people gradually moved away, and Zunzun Bao slowly got up and started up the mountain. The only way to the mountain ridge where the Wu Lun Sect was located was the Iron Chain Crossing, but there were multiple paths leading to it. A year ago, when Zunzun Bao and Qingmei went up the mountain, they had taken a small path, which was more secluded though it took longer. Deciding to take the same path, Zunzun Bao carefully made his way up.

He began to climb the mountain, being extra cautious of the controlled disciples. The journey was smooth, and he found some wild fruit to eat. By afternoon, he was not far from the Iron Chain Crossing.

He couldn't verify whether he was truly invisible.

Just as he was about to continue, he saw a body hanging from a tree branch. Zunzun Bao cautiously approached and found it was a servant from the sect, his heart and abdomen cut open, hanging high on the tree, swaying like a flag.

Seeing this, Zunzun Bao felt a sense of relief. He thought, "If the enemy had set an ambush here, they wouldn't have left a body for us to see. This just means they are busy chasing and guarding, so they can't cover everything. They must have left the body to scare us..."

He decided to hide in a nearby grass pile, covering himself with dry grass and branches, waiting for nightfall. After a sleepless night and a tense afternoon, Zunzun Bao fell asleep in the warm grass and branches...

He woke up suddenly, as if someone had pricked his back with a straw. He didn't dare to move, lying still on the ground!

He heard a series of light footsteps approaching. The footsteps stopped at the tree, and a harsh voice said, "Hmm, no one has touched it. Shall we go back?" The voice was grating, like a saw on wood, causing a headache.

Another voice said, "Wait! We rarely get out, so let's not go back so easily—Amorai, do you want to have some fun?" The voice was softer but still metallic and forceful.

Amorai laughed, "Ah! Hutor, you really know how to speak to my heart. Do you have a way to find some people to play with?" His voice became lewd and dirty, filled with a sense of perversion.

There were two clinks, and Hutor sneered, "With this talisman, we can recall two of the dispatched children. Tsk, twelve-year-olds, with their tender skin, can really be a lot of fun... ha... ha!"

Amorai laughed lewdly in response.

Zunzun Bao, hearing the strange conversation, guessed they were enemies. He couldn't resist peeking through the grass and saw two bizarre figures. They had ancient features, double earrings, yellow robes, and curly hair like ram's horns, similar to the White Elephant he had seen in the Ghost Market, though their clothing was different. They were clearly from the same origin.

One of them held a bell with a rotating axis and six-sided pendant, which jingled as he shook it. It was Hutor, who chanted, "Masoba Yabumei, Nuguba, Tujiji, Mozapa..." The words were ancient and incomprehensible.

Amorai shook his head and sang a song, the words of which, though different, seemed to harmonize with Hutor's incantation, creating a sense of unity. Zunzun Bao couldn't understand the meaning, but suddenly, the two sat on the ground, legs spread, hands raised to the sky, and faces tilted back, making strange noises.

"Are they crazy?" Zunzun Bao thought, "The White Elephant I saw in the Ghost Market wasn't this insane. Where did these two come from?"

As he pondered, several figures rushed over. They were familiar disciples from the sect, standing stiffly in front of the two monks, motionless.

Amorai and Hutor exchanged glances and burst into laughter. They walked to the group of children, selected two, and clapped their hands, shouting, "Qierang Ecuo!" Then they pointed to the distance and said, "Gongzhuo Samo!" Immediately, the remaining children formed a circle around the two.

The two children Zunzun Bao recognized were boys with delicate, feminine features, rosy lips, and tender skin, often teased by others. "Are they going to cook and eat them?" Zunzun Bao thought.

He watched as the monks stripped the children, leaving them naked like white lambs, and began to touch and fondle them. Zunzun Bao confirmed his suspicion, "They are going to eat them!" He was extremely anxious, "How can I save them?"

Feeling helpless, he suddenly saw the monks grab handfuls of grass and rub them in their palms. An idea formed in his mind, "They must be preparing to start a fire. This will give me some time to move away. I can make some noise to lure them over and then come back to save the children!"

Taking advantage of the monks' distraction, he removed the dry branches from his body and slowly rolled away on the grass. He stood up behind a rock, ready to observe and then move, but suddenly...

The two monks were behind the children, one hand holding them down, the other pushing the crushed grass into their anuses!

His eyes nearly bulged out, "What... what is this?"

Before he could understand, the monks laughed and removed their own clothes, revealing large, erect penises, which they thrust into the children!

He saw the monks' bodies moving rhythmically, their buttocks slapping loudly, and their faces filled with perverse smiles.

Though young and inexperienced, Zunzun Bao knew this was not a good thing. A surge of anger rose within him. He crouched down and crept closer, drawing the dagger he had taken from the mountain.

Thinking of the encounter at the rock pile, Zunzun Bao thought, "I'll take a chance!"

PS: The chapter title is derived from a line in the "Jian Jia" from the "Book of Songs": "Tracing upstream, the path is obstructed and turns to the right. Tracing downstream, it seems to be in the middle of the water." It suggests that going against the current may not be smooth, and it might be better to go with the flow.

As for the term "Longyang"... no explanation needed.

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