"They must have absorbed the villagers' worship and offerings, which is probably why they became stronger."
"Furthermore, these things, though only human skin remains, are still controlled by the weasels. They might even retain memories from their past lives." Zhang Tian mused, a hint of worry creeping onto the胖子's face.
"Boss, with so many weasels and only Little Yellow Man alone, should we go help?" The 胖子 looked at Yimei Daoist who had already charged into the pile of human skins, a touch of concern in his voice.
Zhang Tian also felt a pang of worry, but Yimei hadn't called for help, and his strength shouldn't be too weak. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to rush in knowing there were so many weasels.
"Don't rush. Since Master is willing to go up, it means he has confidence." As Zhang Tian spoke, indeed, Yimei Daoist was seen putting on a yellow robe. Golden light emerged. Even the peach wood sword gained some golden traces, and he conjured a thunder talisman in the air.
"Boss, he knows thunder talismans too!" the 胖子 exclaimed from the side.
"Nonsense, I learned from him." Zhang Tian gave the 胖子 a look. His own techniques were learned from the Ban Shan Daoist, who in turn stole them from Maoshan. Thus, it was practically equivalent to Zhang Tian learning Yimei Daoist's techniques.
"Jiji." Beside Yimei Daoist, over a dozen Taoists wearing human skin made noises. Simultaneously, they drew talismans on the ground and made hand seals, appearing like Taoists. However, the sight became increasingly peculiar, like a blank piece of paper constantly fluttering.
"Jiji jiji." They continuously made sounds, and behind them, the tails of weasels appeared. The weasel tails tapped the ground, as if performing some kind of sorcery.
"Hmph, a meager skill, daring to show off before an expert!"
"Disciples, Master will now grant you liberation!"
"Thunder come!"
Yimei Daoist continuously inscribed with his peach wood sword before him. Following this, numerous blue talismans laced with lightning arcs were drawn. At the same time, above those human-skin Taoists, dark clouds condensed, and a large area of thunderclouds flickered. Yimei Daoist's thunder talismans didn't strike directly but first formed thunderclouds before unleashing the lightning. This kind of attack would be relatively more potent. After all, it was like a water gun; the longer you charged it, the further and more painfully it would hit.
Seeing this, the other human-skin Taoists trembled all over, flicked their yellow robes, and summoned various thunder talismans from the ground.
"Old Hu, look, these human-skin Taoists' techniques are also systematic, corresponding to metal, wood, water, fire, earth, and the Four Sacred Beasts formation. A dozen of them perfectly form three distinct formations." Zhang Tian said softly, while gnawing on wild boar meat. The wild boar was over a meter long, and with the low winter temperatures, the meat would spoil very slowly.
"Boss, now that you mention it, these Taoists are quite interesting. Will Celestial Master be in danger?" Hu Bayi asked. He wasn't worried initially, but he had seen too much.
"It's fine. These are likely techniques he taught them, so he should be able to break them." Zhang Tian waved his hand. If Yimei were truly outmatched, Zhang Tian would intervene immediately. The others said nothing more and focused their attention on Yimei Daoist. This was the first time everyone had seen him fight, and they were quite curious.
"Boom, boom." The thunderclouds above flickered, as if a fiery serpent would emerge from them at any moment. The pressure was immense.
"Jiji jiji." The human-skin Taoists seemed unfazed by their predicament, emitting a torrent of noises towards Yimei Daoist. Simultaneously, the symbols on the ground began to glow. In the next instant, several streams of talismanic light struck towards Yimei Daoist, scattering the surrounding snowflakes. Looking at the overcast sky, there was a sense of haziness.
"A dozen techniques attacking at once, Little Yellow Man is going to be at a disadvantage." The 胖子 murmured. After the smoke cleared, where the attack had landed, Yimei Daoist's figure was nowhere to be seen. In reality, the true Yimei Daoist had already appeared behind those human-skin Taoists.
"The formations I taught you, I can't break them? Then what kind of genius First Daoist am I?" Yimei muttered, then formed a hand seal. Golden light emerged. A thunder talisman pattern appeared.
"Descend." He uttered a single word. The next moment, the heavenly lightning that had been gathering overhead suddenly struck down. The powerful aura caused the surrounding trees to sway violently. And this scene was remarkably similar.
"Isn't this the move the Great Immortal Huang used before?" Seeing this, Hu Bayi couldn't help but exclaim.
Zhang Tian also shivered. That's right, he hadn't noticed it before, but now that he looked, Yimei Daoist's moves were almost identical to the Great Immortal's.
"At that time, the lightning arc released by the Great Immortal struck instantly. I suspect that Great Immortal Huang was imitating Daoist Master." Hu Bayi fanned himself with a fan, creating a gust of cold wind. Fanning himself in the middle of winter was probably a unique feat.
"There's a possibility of that." Zhang Tian nodded, saying no more.
As a lightning arc as thick as a wrist descended, those dozen human-skin Taoists turned to ash. Seeing this, a trace of reluctance flickered in Yimei Daoist's eyes. After all, they had fought alongside him against demonic creatures for years, for the sake of the villagers. It was a pity they had met such an end.
"Good disciples, wasn't I particularly imposing just now?" Yimei strode towards Zhang Tian, a hint of pride on his face, hiding his inner pain and forcing a smile.
Zhang Tian nodded earnestly. "Imposing, more imposing than any Daoist I've ever seen."
"Boss, how many Daoists have you met?" the 胖子 asked.
"Including those in Panjiayuan, at least a hundred!" Zhang Tian replied seriously. Hearing that he had surpassed hundreds of Daoists, a flicker of self-satisfaction crossed Yimei Daoist's eyes.
"Master, see? My disciple is not only talented but also excellent in conduct!" he thought. "He will surely be a great prospect in the future!" Yimei nodded in satisfaction. Then, he walked ahead, and the group headed towards the small hillside.
"Here, the terrain is high and low, with the essence of Dragon Seeking and Gold Breaking. Boss, this is a place with excellent Feng Shui." Hu Bayi exclaimed, observing his surroundings.
"Look, to our left are the Three Finger Mountains, which were the three peaks before. And beyond the mountains is Pengyue Gou. Outside Pengyue Gou lies the vast grassland, like a sea. This forms a natural, coiled sea dragon."
"And this tomb mound is quite interesting. It's at the center of both, protected by the Three Finger Mountains behind, and riding the dragon脉 in front. This is simply seizing the creation of heaven and earth!" Hu Bayi explained. Xie Yuchen's eyes lit up, and he looked at Hu Bayi with some admiration. He didn't understand, but it sounded very logical. Was this the protagonist's speech? However, everyone around Zhang Tian seemed to be extraordinary, except for that 胖子. If he could poach a few, wouldn't it be beneficial for the Xie family? Xie Yuchen thought to himself, but he was also quite loyal. If he poached Zhang Tian's people, what would he be? Xie Yuchen entertained the thought for only a moment before discarding it.
"Third disciple, I didn't expect you to know so much."
"This, is called Gui Long. In common parlance, Gui Long means having safety guarantees from both front and back, allowing the dragon脉 to rest here, while simultaneously forming the momentum of mountains and water." Yimei Daoist said as they reached the top of the small hillside. Zhang Tian hadn't expected Yimei Daoist to know so much.
At the top of the hill, a gravestone stood out prominently, with many offerings placed beneath the stone tablet. However, upon closer inspection, they were all chicken heads.
"Shrine of the Yellow Immortal Venerable!" Looking at the large characters, Yimei Daoist couldn't help but gasp. Good heavens, after a few years, he had grown from Great Immortal Huang to Immortal Venerable? What a bold claim!