Ling Tian, facing Hu Lan, an elder of the Celestial Demon Sect, completely disregarded any notion of respecting elders and immediately launched into a tirade. This infuriated Hu Lan, making him explode like an old cat whose tail had been stepped on!
He directly reached inside his robe, and only then did Ling Tian notice that a satchel was slung over his shoulder.
A satchel is a rectangular pocket with an opening in the middle and sewn shut at both ends, typically worn on a belt or slung over the shoulder.
In ancient China, most people’s robes or clothes had no pockets. If they were going on a long journey or wandering through the streets, they would place valuables like money inside the satchel, much like people carry shoulder bags today.
However, Hu Lan’s satchel looked quite extraordinary. It was made of white linen and adorned with very intricate patterns on the outside.
Ling Tian could even faintly sense an energy flowing through it, and this energy felt very similar to his Spirit Realm Key. Ling Tian immediately understood that this satchel was no ordinary item; it was a storage bag akin to a Sumeru Mustard Seed space.
Hu Lan directly took out two scrolls from the satchel and quickly unrolled them. Ling Tian saw that these two scrolls were actually two New Year paintings!
Ling Tian observed the two New Year paintings with great interest. These paintings looked quite old, and the figures depicted were two martial generals, Qin Qiong and Yu Chi Gong.
New Year paintings are a culturally distinctive item in China, especially during the New Year period, when common folk would paste them on their doors to ward off evil spirits.
Legend has it that New Year paintings originated in the Tang Dynasty and are even related to Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin.
When Li Shimin launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident and seized the throne, he did so at the cost of killing his elder brother Li Jiancheng and younger brother Li Yuanji, and forcing his father Li Yuan to abdicate.
Even for someone like Li Shimin, such fratricide and usurpation had some psychological impact.
Especially at night, Li Shimin would have nightmares every day, unable to sleep soundly, always dreaming of vengeful spirits demanding his life.
So, a wise man advised Li Shimin to have his two great generals, Qin Qiong and Yu Chi Gong, dressed in armor and holding weapons, stand by Li Shimin’s bedside in the imperial palace to guard him through the night.
These two trusted generals of Li Shimin, also founding generals of the Tang Dynasty, had fought countless battles and killed innumerable people. Their imposing aura of killing was so potent that even vengeful spirits dared not approach them.
With them guarding his bedside, Li Shimin indeed slept soundly and without worry throughout the night.
However, it was impractical to have these two generals on duty every night. So, someone else suggested drawing their likenesses from the previous night and pasting them by the bedside. Ghosts and spirits would not dare to approach, and Li Shimin found that it worked.
Later, these portraits were passed down to the common people, who pasted them on their doors to ward off evil spirits.
Besides Qin Qiong and Yu Chi Gong, Shen Tu, Yu Lei, and Zhong Kui were also frequent figures in New Year paintings as popular door gods.
Hu Lan unfurled the two New Year paintings and blew on them. The next moment, something astonishing happened: the figures in the paintings came to life and leaped out, standing before Ling Tian.
Now, Qin Qiong and Yu Chi Gong had transformed into living, breathing individuals. Both were nine feet tall, robust and powerfully built, clad in armor.
Qin Qiong held his ancestral pair of seasoned copper maces, while Yu Chi Gong wielded two steel whips!
What made Ling Tian feel uneasy was that the eyes of these two figures shot out an eerie red glow.
It was evident that these two entities were controlled by Hu Lan. The two generals’ eyes were wide open like light bulbs, their gazes fixed on Ling Tian. Then, almost simultaneously, they swung their weapons and charged at Ling Tian!
Ling Tian immediately activated his Heavenly Eye divine ability. Soon, these two monsters appeared within Ling Tian’s vision, as if he were observing a human body through an X-ray machine.
Ling Tian was surprised to discover that Qin Qiong and Yu Chi Gong before him were not mere phantoms but solid entities formed from concentrated energy!
Qin Qiong took the lead, smashing down with his two seasoned copper maces, while Yu Chi Gong was not to be outdone. He took a step to the side and swung his twin maces horizontally.
Having fought side-by-side on the battlefield for many years, these two were intimately familiar with each other, and their coordination was seamless. The four weapons almost sealed off all possible escape routes for Ling Tian.
Ling Tian, unwilling to be a sitting duck, immediately pushed off the ground with his feet, propelling himself backward to evade their attack.
However, the martial prowess of these two generals was no joke. They charged forward fiercely, adjusting their weapons as they moved.
Ling Tian could feel the unstoppable momentum emanating from them. He knew very well that being hit by these two would have an impact force comparable to being struck by a car traveling at 80 miles per hour!
Seeing them charge at Ling Tian once more, Ling Tian’s thoughts flashed. The Crimson Flame Sword in his hand vanished, stored in his Spirit Realm space. In its place appeared a Ma Shuo, thirteen feet long.
The Ma Shuo is essentially a variation of the spear. After thousands of years of evolution, the tip of this weapon was usually crafted in the form of an armor-piercing cone, and at the base of the spear, there was often a counterweight.
Do not underestimate this counterweight; it is the essence of the Ma Shuo. With this, the Ma Shuo could not only be used for thrusting like a spear but also for smashing and chopping like weapons such as hammers or axes.
Of course, only exceptionally strong generals could wield such a weapon.
Ling Tian’s Ma Shuo was forged from various precious metals in the blacksmith shop within his Spirit Realm space.
The tip of the Ma Shuo was a three-edged armor-piercing cone, about two feet long, and at the base of the cone was an apple-sized iron ball!
It was forged as one piece with the shaft, which was thicker than a rolling pin and weighed dozens of pounds! Only someone as monstrous as Ling Tian could handle such a formidable weapon.
At this moment, the two generals arrived before Ling Tian. They both raised their weapons and smashed down towards Ling Tian. Ling Tian gripped the Ma Shuo with both arms and pushed forward.
“Clang!”
The two seasoned copper maces and two steel whips struck the Ma Shuo squarely. Ling Tian felt several immense forces transmitted through the Ma Shuo, and his feet sank nearly half a foot into the muddy riverbank!
However, Ling Tian, with his astonishing brute strength, managed to block the attack of these two generals!
Qin Qiong and Yu Chi Gong were jolted back over a meter. Ling Tian abruptly lifted his feet, extricating himself from the pits his feet were stuck in. With a powerful swing of the Ma Shuo, he charged towards Qin Qiong and Yu Chi Gong.