"We are already very close to the Canyon Plain."
In the morning, a patrol team set out on time for their patrol, and the Canyon Plain is within their patrol range.
Riding wild horses, they crossed the Canyon Plain and reached the northern wilderness.
"Boss, we're about there."
"Sigh—"
The leading captain is Yu Hai. He stopped the horse, looked around, and said, "Dismount, take a break, then head back to the village."
The team members dismounted and started resting on the spot.
One of the members needed to urinate, walked into the reeds, unzipped his pants, and whistled.
The sound of water splashing resonated.
He didn't notice that there were three people lying in the nearby reeds.
These three individuals were quiet as if not breathing.
But at this moment, their eyes were wide open, watching a person walk over, urinate beside them, the pungent smell almost giving them away.
And that unknown liquid was flowing toward their lying position.
One of the three individuals' eyeballs twitched; it seemed like he wanted to attack.
Another person used his eyes to stop him: "The person in the sky is watching us; we can't move."
Suppressing the urge to attack, the person had to lie low again.
The patrol team member, unaware of his close encounter with danger, pulled up his pants after urinating, turned around, and walked away.
Just as he walked away, three flaming arrows suddenly shot up into the sky!
Aimed at the reeds behind him!
The three individuals who were originally playing dead immediately sprang out from the reeds!
"Who are they?" Yu Hai and his group exclaimed.
"Get away," came the voice of Lu Yan. Yu Hai and the others then realized that Lu Yan was in the sky.
They didn't know what had happened, but subconsciously followed Lu Yan's command.
In the moment Yu Hai and the others moved away, hundreds of flaming arrows once again descended from the sky, blocking the path of the three black-clothed individuals and pinning them to the ground!
"Ah!"
The three pinned individuals screamed, their bodies suddenly contorting strangely into a mass of snake-like shadows, attempting to escape the encirclement of flames.
Their screams didn't sound human; they were sharp and hoarse, resembling monsters.
Yu Hai and his group were stunned by this sight.
They had encountered barbarians and mythical beasts before, but they had never seen humans transform into snakes.
What is this thing?
Lu Yan, seeing this clearly from above, was immediately aware of the unusual situation when he arrived on the plain.
There was a faint strange and fishy odor on this seemingly quiet wilderness.
He remained vigilant and scanned the surroundings with his spiritual awareness.
However, these three individuals somehow managed to evade his spiritual scan.
Just when he was about to be deceived, the patrol member's urination disturbed the three individuals. One of them showed a hint of murderous intent, even if it was fleeting, Lu Yan captured it.
What he didn't expect was the bizarre ability of these three individuals. How is this different from monsters?
Lu Yan's intuition told him that this was one of the dangers mentioned by Yu Su.
So, he mercilessly struck.
Fiercer flames attacked the three, and the snake-like shadows they transformed into wriggled in the ring of fire.
They wanted to escape but couldn't find a way out.
Lu Yan raised his bow and arrows again, and a dense rain of fire fell.
The three injured monsters couldn't hold on and wailed in the flames, turning into ashes.
Yu Hai and his group watched this scene, feeling a chill down their spines.
When Lu Yan descended from the sky, they approached him.
"Leader Lu!"
"What were those monsters?"
"They were hiding in the reeds; we didn't notice."
The patrol member who urinated in the reeds turned pale; those things were so close to him. If it weren't for Lu Yan, he might have died at the hands of those monsters.
Lu Yan extinguished the flames, walked over, and inspected the ashes, frowning.
He turned to Yu Hai and the others.
"I don't know what those monsters were. Perhaps there are more on the plain. Quickly go back and tell Lord Yun Chuan not to assign regular soldiers for patrols in the recent period. Let the Five Elements warriors handle it."
"Yes," Yu Hai quickly responded.
They hurriedly mounted their horses.
"Leader Lu, aren't you coming back with us?" Yu Hai asked.
"I'll continue to investigate. You go back first."
"Be careful then."
After Yu Hai said this, he and his team left, riding back to Yu Village.
After they left, Lu Yan continued flying towards the depths of the plain.
...
Yu Hai and his team returned to Yu Village and quickly reported to Jian Yun Chuan.
Jian Yun Chuan frowned upon hearing their report.
He immediately had cultivators at the fifth Qi Refining level and above form three teams to patrol the west, east, and south of Yu Village.
Then he went to find Yu Su.
At this moment, Yu Su was in a meeting with guests in the council chamber.
Guests who came to observe the ceremony yesterday had gradually awakened. As someone with a prestigious status, Yu Su, as a shaman, couldn't neglect personally hosting important figures like the chief of the barbarians.
When Jian Yun Chuan entered, he saw that the chief of the barbarians and others were discussing yesterday's miracles with Yu Su.
Seeing Jian Yun Chuan enter, they all stood up and respectfully greeted him.
Jian Yun Chuan returned the greeting and then looked at Yu Su.
Yu Su knew that Jian Yun Chuan had something to discuss, so he made an excuse and went outside.
Once outside, Jian Yun Chuan informed him of the message Lu Yan had sent back.
"I know what those things are."
Jian Yun Chuan was surprised by Jian Yun Chuan's words.
"They are Snake Golemists cultivated by witchcraft."
"Snake Golemists? What is that?"
"A kind of person cultivated using black magic," Jian Yun Chuan's expression turned grim as he spoke about these creatures, "By implanting snake golem larvae into a person's body, those who survive will turn into these monsters. However, not necessarily one person in ten thousand can survive. Therefore, this method of cultivating shadow guards is strictly prohibited and has always been a forbidden technique of the Shaman Temple."
But now, these things appeared here, proving that Fengcheng had already used forbidden techniques.
Furthermore, Fengcheng's team has also arrived on the plain.
Jian Yunchuan: "They are very adept at hiding, but they have a weakness, and that is they are afraid of realgar."
Yu Su nodded, "I understand. I'll go get some realgar."
These creatures, if they manage to infiltrate Yu Village without precautions, could cause significant trouble.
Fortunately, this time they had some forewarning.
Yu Su decided to go back and burn a few more incense sticks for Lord Baize!
...
Fengcheng's team.
After the three shadow guards died, the witch spirit sitting on Huanian opened its eyes again.
"The shadow guards are dead."
The words of the witch spirit shocked everyone in the team.
The shadow guards were powerful weapons cultivated by the Shaman Temple at a great cost. They had never failed a mission before!
But how long had it been, and they all died?
"Retreat, head northwest and hide in the mountains."
"Yes!"
The man standing beside Huanian immediately directed everyone to move northwest.
The witch spirit on Huanian kept its eyes open, its white pupils seeming to see something. After a while, it looked up at the sky.
A formidable person is approaching.
It "saw" the person flying in the sky.
If that person discovers their presence, they will surely die here.
However, it doesn't matter; it "saw" a place in the mountains to the northwest where they can hide.
But this time, they suffered a heavy loss by losing three shadow guards at once.
They need to be more cautious.
...
Lu Yan circled the plain but found no similar creatures or anything else.
Everything seemed calm.
But this was also the most unsettling place.
Those three creatures must have come from somewhere, yet there were no leads.
"Caw—"
A majestic eagle flew from the direction of Yu Village and landed on Lu Yan's arm.
Lu Yan gently stroked its back, returned to Yu Village on his sword.
He glanced at the north.
His intuition told him that something had hidden in the mountains to the north.
He would find out what it was.
Lu Yan returned to Yu Village with the eagle.
Yu Su was in the alchemy room.
He first went to see Jian Yunchuan and learned about the origin of those three creatures from him.
"Fengcheng?"
So, the ones hiding in the mountains are from Fengcheng?
Lu Yan said to Jian Yunchuan, "I haven't heard of Fengcheng having such things before."
Jian Yunchuan said coldly, "Fengcheng didn't have them before. The current leader is a treacherous betrayer with ambitions. They have no conscience."
A cold light flashed in Lu Yan's eyes, "They may be hiding in the mountains now."
Jian Yunchuan said, "We'll find them."
Lu Yan said, "I find it strange. The shadow guards are secret weapons cultivated by the Shaman Temple. They should have confidence in such creatures, but they are hiding in the mountains."
Jian Yunchuan said, "What you said makes sense. Those people from Fengcheng are arrogant, accustomed to being proud. It's somewhat inconsistent with their usual style to hide."
Lu Yan said, "So, I suspect they might have sensed something and hid before I arrived."
Jian Yunchuan said, "Could it be? Are they capable of foresight?"
Lu Yan said, "This is just my guess, and I can't be sure."
But there was an intuition telling him that the people from Fengcheng this time were not ordinary.
Jian Yunchuan thought for a moment and said, "How about I lead people to search the mountains to the northwest?"
Lu Yan said, "Let's wait and hear what Yu Su thinks."
Jian Yunchuan nodded, "Sure."
Yu Su was in the process of refining realgar powder. After a while, he took out a large bucket.
"After I reconfigure them, we can use them more effectively."
Lu Yan saw him covered in dirt and advised him to freshen up first.
When Yu Su went to freshen up, Lu Yan followed and shared his speculation.
Yu Su paused, able to foresee?
Isn't that a coincidence?
He can foresee as well.
Yu Su said, "I'll burn a few more incense sticks for Lord Baize."
It's just foresight; let's see who is more powerful.
TLN : Shout out to all my readers and followers, you are loved, I have to stop translating this for some time, it may be for some few hours, it may be for a day and it may even be for some days.. I have course to create, love you all