Chapter 107 Dividing the Army into Five Routes
The interrogation went smoothly. Nogaoka Ichiro was terrified and answered almost everything. According to his confession, there were seventeen spies like him who were searching for nourishment for the ghosts of the Japanese devils, distributed across various provinces in China. There were also more than twenty evil sects infiltrated by their sweet-coated bullets, also distributed in various places. These Japanese devils were responsible for luring and killing people, while they were responsible for refining the ghosts. Afterwards, they would collect the refined ghosts into magical artifacts. Every once in a while, a Japanese sorcerer named Musashi Murayama would come to collect these ghosts and take them back to Thousand Peaks Mountain.
Half an hour later, the interrogation information reached Tian Wenzhong, and then Chairman Mao, immediately shocking the entire top leadership! Then came the fury: these damned Japanese devils, who had plagued us seventy or eighty years ago, were now real ghosts, still plotting to harm China. Did they really think we were easy to mess with? The top leadership immediately ordered the State Security Bureau and the 709 Bureau to combine forces, forming five teams. The first team sent Taoist masters to Qianfeng Mountain to destroy the temples dedicated to the Japanese devils. The second and fifth teams were dispatched to the four major regions of China—east, west, south, and north—to arrest spies and traitors!
Chen Cheng soon received a call from Tian Wenzhong, instructing him to immediately rush to Urumqi, Xinjiang Province, where he would meet with several of the strongest Taoist masters in the 709 Bureau, and then head straight for the enemy's lair!
With the assistance of the local security bureau, Chen Cheng boarded the fastest flight from Xi'an to Wuqi! As soon as he left the airport, he received a call from Master Jingyang. This time, he, along with Daoist Qianhe, and Master Zijin and Daoist Chengyunzi from Group One, and Master Wuxiang and Daoist Minglun from Group Two, were the main force of the first team to suppress the Japanese pirates. The only reason they were able to bring along Chen Cheng, this "second-rate" little Daoist, was because Chen Cheng had helped the country uncover such a huge cancer that he was able to participate in the operation with these Daoist masters.
By this time, it was already dawn, and the private jet carrying Jingyang Zhenren and his entourage had arrived at the airport. Calling him now meant waiting in the lobby, where someone would come to pick him up. A few minutes later, a uniformed staff member came over and extended his hand, saying, "Are you Comrade Chen Cheng? I am Gu Minghui. Please come with me!"
Chen Cheng nodded, shook hands with him, and followed him toward the west side of the hall.
Reaching a glass door, Gu Minghui swiped his access card and gestured for Chen Cheng to enter. After walking about a hundred meters, Chen Cheng came to a passageway with a minibus parked beside it. Chen Cheng guessed that this might be a special passageway at the airport, reserved for special people or high-ranking officials.
A car window opened, revealing Jingyang Zhenren's face: "Chen Cheng, get in the car!"
Chen Cheng jogged onto the minibus. Once inside, he saw that all six elderly men, including Jingyang Zhenren, were dressed in Zhongshan suits. Their imposing presence gave off a strong sense of pressure!
"This is Chen Cheng, Master Xiao's youngest apprentice!"
Master Jingyang spoke to an old man beside him.
"This young man is quite good. He handled the previous matters well and is a promising talent!"
The old man said with a smile.
Another old man spoke up: "Old Daoist Xiao has gone on a journey, leaving him behind is also a form of training for him."
Although Chen Cheng did not know the names of these people, he knew that they were from the same lineage as his master, so he bowed to them as a junior and said, "Junior nephew Chen Cheng greets all senior uncles and senior masters!"
"Sit down!"
After Master Jingyang finished speaking, he introduced each of the Taoist masters to Chen Cheng, who bowed to them one by one before sitting down again.
The car slowly drove out of the special passage and headed outside.
"Little guy, you're doing great. You caught such a big group of demons and monsters while you were catching ghosts. If they succeed in their scheme, we'll have a lot of headaches to deal with. This time, you must wipe out all these evil spirits in one go!"
Chen Cheng smiled as he looked at Daoist Cheng Yunzi who had spoken: "This junior also stumbled upon this by accident. These important matters still require the help of my senior uncles and elder brothers to oversee things."
His words pleased the elders greatly. He was neither arrogant nor impatient, and spoke with great composure. They heard from Master Jingyang that Chen Cheng's Taoist skills were among the best in the younger generation, and that the Taoist school had a worthy successor!
The group smiled at him and said nothing more, then closed their eyes to rest. Chen Cheng felt relieved. With these senior Taoist masters around, none of the Japanese sorcerers and the evil spirits they kept on Thousand Peaks Mountain could escape! He had been traveling for a day and a night without closing his eyes, and now he leaned back in his car seat and fell asleep.
Thousand Peaks Mountain is a peak in the Yunshan Mountain Range. Just from the name, you can tell how majestic and magnificent this mountain range is. The peaks stand tall like swords, piercing the sky, as if a giant axe has cleaved the heavens and earth, towering into the clouds, as if they want to pierce the sky, giving people a strong sense of oppression.
At the summit of Thousand Peaks Mountain, on a flat area, stands a small temple, hidden among the mountains and valleys, surrounded by green pines and trees. However, this temple differs greatly from traditional Chinese temples, exuding an eerie atmosphere. If a Taoist master with the ability to see through illusions were to witness it, they would be astonished. Traditional temples are solemn and dignified, with incense burning and golden light emanating from them, while this temple is shrouded in black mist, filled with a ghostly aura. Inside, instead of the Taoist Three Pure Ones, are enshrined statues of unknown monsters and tablets bearing the names of Japanese soldiers! There are hundreds of these tablets, densely packed together. These are the vengeful spirits of Japanese soldiers collected by the Japanese sorcerer Saito Binbu. Over the years, he has used various evil methods to worship and refine them, and has also used various means to collect Chinese spirits, allowing these war criminals' ghosts to devour them. He has now refined ten ghost kings and dozens of ghost cultivators. His goal is to refine all these ghost cultivators into ghost kings and release them to wreak havoc. If dozens of ghost kings were to appear simultaneously, it would cause immeasurable and severe consequences for China! Ordinary people wouldn't be able to see this temple at all, because it has been surrounded by a formation!
As evening fell, the group of seven arrived at the foot of the mountain. Looking at the majestic mountain, Jingyang said, "Let's rest here for a while and go up the mountain after dark, so as not to alert the enemy!"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Chen Cheng was in charge of logistics this time. He immediately took out some compressed vegetarian food and water from his backpack and respectfully distributed them to his senior uncles and elder brothers. Then he sat down to meditate on the ground, just like them!
"Ling'er, this mission is of utmost importance. You must keep a close eye on things for me!"
To be on the safe side, Chen Cheng asked Zhang Qian for the string of prayer beads she had received from Master Jingyang, and used it to make a small array. He brought Ling'er along, as she was an array spirit and very sensitive to arrays. In critical moments, she could provide timely warnings and quickly locate the array's core! This time, the Japanese sorcerer was probably a highly skilled individual. If they could foresee the array they had set up, it would be a form of protection for everyone. Although he knew that the experts who came this time could sense it, this was still a safer approach.
"knew"!
Ling'er's voice reached Chen Cheng's mind. She was not as respectful to Chen Cheng as Lü Xiachan, but she was not as cold as before either!
At 10:30 p.m., with Master Jingyang's command, "Let's begin," everyone stood up, checked their belongings, and prepared to climb the mountain.
Under Chen Cheng's astonished gaze, Daoist Qianhe took out a talisman and, with a change of technique, folded it into a paper crane in a moment. He muttered a spell and threw the paper crane, which seemed to come alive as it flapped its wings and flew towards the mountain!