Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 76 The Cold Moon Shines on the Corpse, the Clay Figurine Tide

The night wind, carrying a chill, shattered the words "Buy clay figurines?" into fragments, almost making Gu Yan think it was an insult when it reached his ears.

After the mud peeled off the boy's face, no flesh and blood were revealed, but a dark, empty hole. His internal organs had long been burned away by the high temperature, leaving only a shell that was being manipulated.

"Playing tricks!"

Xiao Chen let out a cold shout, and his long sword was suddenly drawn from its sheath.

The sword light, as sharp as frost, pierced the night, carrying the sharpness of a peak-level cultivator, aiming straight for the mud boy's throat.

"Ding!"

A crisp, metallic clang rang out.

The seemingly fragile mud neck was as hard as iron; when the longsword struck it, sparks flew, and only a small nick appeared.

When the Mud Boy was attacked, two eerie green flames suddenly lit up in his empty eye sockets, and his previously stiff movements instantly became as agile as a monkey.

It landed on all fours, sprang up suddenly, and rushed towards Xiao Chen on horseback with a stench. Its ten fingernails were sharp as cones and gleamed with a ghostly blue poisonous light.

"Be careful, this clay model has undergone a special firing process, making it as hard as refined iron!"

Gu Yan remained seated on his horse, his voice calm and steady, showing no trace of his previous panic.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and with his powerful divine sense, the structure of the clay figurine was completely visible to him.

It was not simple soil, but a mixture of corpse oil, bone powder, and some kind of special adhesive. What flowed inside was not blood, but a dark red, malevolent energy pathway.

Xiao Chen changed his sword stance, parrying horizontally and using the force to drift backward.

At the same time, Song Hongsu raised her hand, and three willow-leaf throwing knives shot out in a triangular formation, accurately nailing into the joints of the mud boy.

"Snap!"

The mud-child paused for a moment, then its malevolent energy surged, forcibly squeezing out a flying knife, and it continued its attack with a strange cry.

"Can't be killed?" Song Hong's expression changed.

"It's not that you can't kill him, it's that you're hitting the wrong spot."

Gu Yan rode his horse forward slowly, forming a hand seal.

Now that he has taken on this command, constantly showing weakness will only make people look down on him and may even affect his control of the situation.

He only needs to demonstrate skills befitting an elite inner disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect.

"Senior Brother Xiao, attack its brow three inches from the center! That's where its soul is sealed!"

Gu Yan gave a low shout and pointed his finger in the air.

Suddenly, the ground cracked open, and several thick, green vines burst forth from the soil, coiling around the mud boy's limbs like serpents.

This is the Wood-type spell Entangling Technique that comes with the "Evergreen and Withering Technique".

However, in Gu Yan's hands, the vine was not merely a condensation of spiritual energy; its surface was also covered with a layer of spirit-absorbing runes that were difficult to discern with the naked eye.

The mud boy struggled frantically with astonishing strength, only to find that the vines tightened their grip, frantically drawing out the evil energy within his body.

"A great opportunity!"

While Xiao Chen was amazed by the decisiveness and precision of his junior brother Gu's move, he quickly reacted.

The sword energy surged, and a cold glint appeared first.

"puff!"

The longsword pierced precisely three inches between the mud boy's eyebrows.

A piercing scream rang out, like the breaking of a sealed earthenware jar.

A plume of black smoke billowed out of the sword hole, and the ghostly fire in the mud boy's eyes quickly went out. His body, which was originally as hard as iron, lost its support and became fragile, shattering into a pile of mud tiles with a crash.

Only a fragment of bone, covered in eerie runes, lay quietly in the mud.

"Dead?"

Song Hong retrieved the throwing knife and glanced at Gu Yan with some surprise. "Lord Gu has sharp eyes; how did you know that?"

Gu Yan remained calm, withdrew his magic spell, and the green vines quickly withered and disappeared into the soil.

"The sect's scriptures are vast and numerous. I once read about the Soul Sealing Technique of Pottery Figurines in a miscellaneous book. This technique is insidious. It requires sealing the soul of a living person into a clay figure and then firing it in a kiln for forty-nine days to achieve its full potential."

He casually made up a source, packaging his powerful divine sense as erudition.

Xiao Chen sheathed his sword and looked at the broken bones on the ground with a solemn expression: "A mere gatekeeper with the strength of the mid-stage Qi Refining Realm, this Guanyao Town is probably not simple."

"It's really not simple."

Gu Yan raised his head, his gaze piercing through the night rain, looking into the depths of the town.

That scream just now was like stirring up a hornet's nest.

The once desolate town suddenly came to life.

The flickering red light from the kilns suddenly blazed brightly, spewing out billowing black smoke.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Heavy footsteps came from all directions, as dense as drumbeats.

In the shadows of those kilns and in the dilapidated alleyways, countless figures staggered out.

There were old women holding porcelain pillows, men carrying hoes, and children holding rattles...

Without exception, their faces were stiff, their skin was an eerie grayish-white, and their mouths were split into uniform smiles.

Hundreds of living people in this town were turned into clay figurines!

"Damn it! This is a massacre of the town!"

Song Hong gasped, the veins on the back of her hand gripping the throwing knife bulging. "What kind of evil heretics dare to be so utterly depraved!"

Even Xiao Chen felt his scalp tingle at the sight of such a massive horde of zombies.

"My lord, there are too many of them. We cannot fight them head-on. Shall we retreat first?" Xiao Chen looked at Gu Yan, seeking his opinion.

Gu Yan shook his head.

"It can't be withdrawn."

He pointed behind him.

Everyone turned around and saw that a thick earthen wall had been erected on the official road they had come from, blocking their way back.

On the earthen wall, countless pale arms are densely embedded, waving in the wind.

"It seems they've been waiting for quite some time."

Gu Yan dismounted, patted the frightened horse, and let it run away on its own.

He stood in the rain, not showing despair, but instead straightening his sleeves, his tone unusually calm:

"Since the road is blocked, let's charge in."

"Since they are terracotta figurines, they are afraid of breaking, afraid of fire, and even more afraid of breaking the connecting thread."

Gu Yan took out a stack of ordinary talismans from his storage bag and handed them to the two of them.

"This is a Flame Burst Talisman bestowed by the sect; it's most effective against this kind of cold and yin substance. Don't be stingy, just throw it away."

After Xiao Chen and Song Hong received the talisman, Gu Yan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the blue light in his eyes was even stronger.

"Come with me, I know where the guy who controls the lines is."

In his perception, although the countless clay figurines were terrifying, their movements all seemed to point to the same central point.

That was the largest official kiln in the center of the town.

It possessed an aura that both disgusted and excited the life force within him.

"Senior Brother Xiao, Senior Sister Song, today let's see just how many heads this mastermind behind this charade has."

Gu Yan took the first step, his hands forming a hand seal.

The ground trembled, and countless thorny vines spread out beneath his feet like dragons, clearing a path for the three of them to the heart of hell.

Looking at Gu Yan's not-so-broad, yet exceptionally reliable back, Xiao Chen and Song Hong exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

This seemingly frail Lord Gu is not as simple as they imagined.

"Walk!"

Xiao Chen let out a long roar, his sword light protecting him, and followed closely behind.

Song Hong, dressed in red, flew her knives like rain.

The three of them were like a sharp knife, piercing fiercely into this dead land built of mud and vengeful spirits.