Chapter 1554: Chapter 792: Crisis Approaches

Lin Zhongweng’s attitude was extremely humble.

If Li Yan saw this, he would undoubtedly become wary.

For no other reason, this old demon was a genuine Earth Immortal, and the many disturbances caused by the Silk Cocoon Sect and the Jianmu Organization in Jinling were presided over by him.

The method used to kill Tian Qianhu has yet to be uncovered by Li Yan and the others.

To be able to command such respect, his Dao and status must be even higher.

"Humph!"

The peculiar old Daoist known as the "Hundred Bone Master" took a step forward, with the deathly aura and resentment emanating from him causing the wild grass beneath his feet to wither and blacken instantly.

His skull staff thudded on the ground, emitting a dull thud that interrupted Lin Zhongweng, and he croaked, "Lai Yin’s insatiable greed led to her disgrace, ruining major affairs of the Holy Sect! If not for her many years of hard work, she would have been punished according to the sect’s rules by now!"

Meanwhile, the "Corpse Robe Grandmother" also let out a strange laugh from her throat, like the call of a night owl, saying, "This old woman always said, that Yangzhou Tripod is not something to be trifled with. However... her injury did save us some trouble."

"Next, it’s up to us two to take over."

This old woman’s appearance was even more peculiar.

She was dressed in a "corpse robe" pieced together from countless scraps of cloth of varying colors and textures, each piece stained with dark brown spots and inscribed with eerie incantations.

Her face was layered with wrinkles like dried orange peel, her eyes cloudy and yellow, and she carried an old clay jar that writhed and emitted strange gurgling sounds.

Where her filthy bare feet stepped, countless tiny poison insects emerged from the soil.

Listening to them, Lin Zhongweng quickly lowered his head, not daring to speak further.

Despite also being an Earth Immortal, he was keenly aware of the chasm between them.

He was merely the last disciple of the small sect "Mountain Guardian Sect," who by chance fused with the Mountain God’s bones after death, turning into a "Mountain Demon Immortal," with commanding beasts being his limit.

But these two in front of him were fearsome old devils notorious for centuries and core members of the inscrutable Jianmu, on equal footing with Lady Lai Yin.

Offending either side was not an option.

This topic was naturally one he dared not continue.

Hoo~

At that moment, another burst of Yin Wind inexplicably swirled up from the depths of the Chaotic Burial Mound.

The wind carried a faint, scratching "ss" sound, like nails on paper.

Five pale figures, wrapped in a whirlwind of withered leaves, drifted over from the graves.

Their forms were unsteady, their movements stiff and uniform, evidently five paper figures with faces powdered and cheeks rouged, dressed in burial clothes.

On their shoulders, the Papermen carried a lightweight sedan chair also made from white paper and bamboo strips.

The sedan’s curtain moved without wind, revealing an old man in a blue robe sitting inside.

The old man’s hair and beard were hoary, his face emaciated, with a faint scholarly air about him that, if not for the fact he was in the Chaotic Burial Mound, would make him resemble a well-read old Confucian Scholar.

In his hand, he held a string of jet-black, shiny prayer beads that were neither wood nor stone, with each bead’s surface faintly showing a visage of a distorted, pained human face.

The paper sedan landed without a sound.

The five Papermen stood silently by, their eye sockets hollow and lifeless.

Lin Zhongweng squinted slightly, forcing a smile onto his face, "Class Leader wasn’t in Lingnan, why have you come to Jinling?"

His words were polite, but his eyes were full of caution.

The visitor was the true core of the Ghost Theater Troupe, the mysterious "Class Leader"!

Years ago, he stirred up bloodbaths in the pugilistic world, then laid low for decades before reemerging and swiftly rebuilding the Ghost Theater Troupe to a scale a hundred times its former size.

To accomplish this, he was certainly no easy opponent.

He too was an Earth Immortal, yet no one knew his origins.

But Lin Zhongweng had witnessed with his own eyes the "Class Leader" extracting the soul of an erring actor and sealing it into a thin sheet of human skin shadow, that shadow puppet still wailing mournfully backstage performing a never-ending monodrama.

His cruel and powerful methods made Lin Zhongweng wary.

The Ghost Theater Troupe was involved in the affairs of Jinling due to a commission by the Jianmu Organization, and the sudden visit from the "Class Leader" based far away in Lingnan naturally put Lin Zhongweng on alert.

"Mhm."

In response to Lin Zhongweng’s inquiry, the "Class Leader" merely nodded slightly and then turned to the side, greeting, "Brother Hundred Bone, Daoist Corpse Robe, long time no see."

His voice was warm and mellow, starkly incongruous with this eerie place.

He nodded slightly, displaying the courtesy of an old-fashioned scholar.

Seeing him this way, Lin Zhongweng felt somewhat indignant, but hearing the direct address of Hundred Bone Master and Corpse Robe Grandmother as Daoists further shocked him.

No wonder Lai Yin instructed him to show more respect toward this "Class Leader."

It turns out his background was not simple either.

The green flame on Hundred Bone Master’s skull staff flickered slightly, and he uncharacteristically didn’t scoff, only pulling his lips into a skin-deep smile, "Now that the ’Class Leader’ is here, it seems the ’play’ in Jinling will be even more exciting."

In his words, there was evidently none of the arrogance shown to Lin Zhongweng.

Corpse Robe Grandmother fixed her cloudy yellow eyes on the Human-faced Beads in the Class Leader’s hand, letting out a gurgling swallow as if drooling with desire, "Heh heh... Class Leader’s ’Hundred Resentment Bead’ has grown more purely resentful... this old woman is quite envious."

"Just some petty tricks, hardly worthy of Grandmother’s eyes."

The "Class Leader" smiled gently, tucking the prayer beads into his sleeve, "I have come at Jianmu’s invitation for two reasons: firstly, to assist the two Daoists in succeeding, and secondly... to use Jinling’s ’stage’ as an opportunity to present my ’pledge’ to join the Holy Sect."

"I hope the two Daoists can put in a good word before the esteemed emissary."

Lin Zhongweng was left trembling, not daring to breathe loudly.

It turned out that this mysterious and unfathomable Class Leader was indeed under Jianmu’s scrutiny.

The standards for admission into Jianmu are incredibly stringent, only the top Earth Immortals would catch its attention. Once admitted, one would be on par with Lai Yin!