Chapter 116: So What If I Burn Your Golden Body? |
“This fog is wrong!” the Martial Judge was the first to react.
It was not ordinary natural mist, but mist mixed with a faint trace of spiritual energy.
The magic artifacts in the hands of the dozen or so underworld deities trembled slightly. Their gazes swept across the surroundings, yet they found nothing.
At that moment, the Civil Judge suddenly seemed to sense something and abruptly looked toward the City God Temple.
“A Soul-Dispersing Talisman!”
This kind of talisman, specially used to accelerate the dispersal of the seven souls, was not common.
In his previous life, the Civil Judge had been a second-rank Minister of Rites.
At first, he had been a teacher, only later taking the imperial examinations.
His students were spread throughout the land, and he had taught many good officials and honest officials.
“Not good. Someone wants to disperse that great general’s seven souls and make him reincarnate!”
The auras of the Civil Judge and Martial Judge instantly turned much gloomier.
They could accept him burning his blood fiend energy to extend his life.
But if this great general of the current dynasty reincarnated, they would have no way to report back to the City God.
However, the blood fiend aura inside the temple had yet to dissipate, so they still did not dare act rashly.
They could only wait for the blood fiend energy to burn out completely, then charge into the City God Temple in one move and seize Liao Shouyi’s soul.
Inside the City God Temple, Chu Xun was covered in sweat, all his attention focused.
The judge’s brush in his hand seemed to weigh ten thousand jin. Empowered by spiritual energy, it moved slowly across the page.
A moment later, the final hook of the brush lifted.
On the Book of Good and Evil, a dark green light immediately lit up.
A complete Soul-Dispersing Talisman was finally born.
It had taken nearly a full day and night to complete just this one Soul-Dispersing Talisman.
Chu Xun directly reached out with two fingers, pinched it, and came before Liao Shouyi.
At this moment, there was no longer any light in Liao Shouyi’s eyes.
The dozen or so ginseng slices had already been completely used up.
Burning blood fiend energy for an entire day and night was pain unimaginable to ordinary people, yet he had forcibly endured it.
Having lost the blood fiend energy accumulated over a lifetime of war, his aura had become more like that of an ordinary old man.
Seeing Chu Xun approach, Liao Shouyi slightly opened his mouth.
It seemed as if he wanted to say something, but no longer had the strength.
Chu Xun said softly, “Stone, I’ll send you to reincarnate.”
Liao Shouyi could barely even control his expression. Only in his eyes could one clearly see a faint, relieved smile.
The Duke of Wei, once famous for roaring on the battlefield as he charged at enemies with fearless courage, now simply looked at the person he had admired most all his life.
When the final trace of blood fiend energy burned away, the vitality in his physical body vanished in an instant.
Chu Xun tossed out the Soul-Dispersing Talisman. The talisman stuck to the body, its dark green light flickering continuously.
Liao Shouyi’s soul left his body, and there was not much confusion in it.
He saw Chu Xun, and also saw the City God and other underworld deities standing not far away.
Liao Shouyi already understood something. He sighed and said, “Looks like I can’t help you much.”
“You’ve already helped plenty.”
Chu Xun beckoned the City God over and had him protect Liao Shouyi’s soul.
The light of the Soul-Dispersing Talisman flickered faintly over the soul. It would take at least seven double-hours to completely disperse the seven souls.
The Zhangnan County City God faintly sensed the threat outside and said, “Exalted Immortal, the Civil Judge and Martial Judge under the prefectural City God are about to arrive. We can also help bolster your might.”
Previously, when two county City Gods had attacked, they had helped him.
However, although the underworld deities under the prefectural City God held similar divine offices, the actual difference between them was vast.
Chu Xun said, “There’s no need for you to act for now. Just protect his soul.”
Outside the City God Temple, the Civil Judge shouted in a low voice, “The blood fiend energy has burned out. Go in and seize the soul!”
The Black and White Impermanence stood closest to the main gate. One held a mourning staff, the other held shackles. They immediately drifted toward the temple.
The moment they reached the entrance, an urgent and piercing howl of wind sounded.
A blast of wind-fire as thick as a bucket came rushing over with the speed of lightning.
Black Impermanence was startled and quickly blocked with his shackles.
Whoosh!
The wind-fire howled past, smashing the shackles into pieces.
Flames wrapped around Black Impermanence, burning him until smoke rose from his entire body.
The Civil Judge roared angrily, “Insolence!”
Unlike a county-level Civil Judge, one of his hands held a judge’s brush, while the other did not hold a Book of Good and Evil. Instead, it held a two-sided black-and-white Mirror of Good and Evil.
The dark side of the mirror observed evil, while the bright side observed good.
A person’s lifetime of good and evil could be seen clearly within the mirror.
The Civil Judge raised the Mirror of Good and Evil and shone it at Black Impermanence.
A flash of white light swept out, directly absorbing the wind-fire that enveloped Black Impermanence.
Black Impermanence’s entire body had been burned ragged, and he had suffered serious injuries.
If not for the Civil Judge’s intervention, that single blast of wind-fire would have killed him.
The Civil Judge had already sensed that inside the City God Temple, aside from the auras of many incense-burning underworld gods, there was also a detestable aura belonging to a wild god.
“Songliu Wild God! So you’re the one causing trouble!”
A hint of scarlet lit up in the Civil Judge’s eyes. Not only him, all the underworld incense gods from Mingxiu Prefecture reacted the same way.
The time for the divine office to reveal itself had not yet come. Chu Xun had deliberately exposed it.
These incense gods were all stubborn and only recognized the aura of the Songliu Water God’s spirit.
So changing identities made things more convenient.
After extinguishing the wind-fire with the Mirror of Good and Evil, the Mingxiu Prefecture underworld deities, led by the Civil Judge and Martial Judge, attacked the City God Temple.
Inside the temple, Chu Xun held a wind bone in each hand.
Spiritual energy poured into them, and four blasts of wind-fire shot out from the holes one after another.
The Civil Judge immediately used the Mirror of Good and Evil again. White light collided with the wind-fire and was instantly scattered.
The wind-fire directly struck the Mirror of Good and Evil. The white surface of the mirror gave a cracking sound, and several cracks appeared.
“What a powerful monster magic artifact!”
A pained expression appeared on the Civil Judge’s refined, scholarly face.
Underworld magic artifacts, like incense gods themselves, relied on incense offerings to sustain them.
In a county City God Temple, few commoners specifically worshipped the Civil Judge or Martial Judge. The same was true in Mingxiu Prefecture.
Although more people went to prefectural City God Temples to offer incense, making them and their artifacts stronger, the artifacts also became harder to repair.
Now that his artifact was damaged, the Civil Judge naturally felt great pain.
In reality, his strength was not this weak.
It was only because he had come from the prefectural city to Zhangnan County that his strength had been weakened by half.
With the Mirror of Good and Evil alone, how could he possibly block four blasts of wind-fire?
The judge’s brush in his hand swept out. Several drops of ink fell and transformed into underworld decrees that blocked in front of him.
Boom!
The wind-fire smashed the decrees to pieces, and the Civil Judge’s body trembled.
Fortunately, he had neutralized the power of the wind-fire.
He looked at Chu Xun standing inside the temple, then glanced at Liao Shouyi’s soul, which was being protected behind the Zhangnan County City God.
His final glance fell on the wind bones in Chu Xun’s hands.
Five blasts of wind-fire had almost reached the limit of that magic artifact.
After all, it had been made from the bones of an old bat that had not yet become a true monster. Possessing such power was already quite remarkable.
“You insignificant evil wild god, relying on the advantage of magic artifacts to disturb the heavenly order! You—”
Before the Civil Judge could finish speaking, Chu Xun ignored him completely.
With a thought, the guards outside who were holding swords all discovered in astonishment that every sword trembled at the same moment.
From inside the City God Temple came Chu Xun’s voice.
“I once read a book. It described what a sword cultivator is.
When faced with injustice, cut it down with one sword.
When faced with demons causing trouble, cut them down with one sword.
When faced with chaos under heaven and earth, still cut it down with one sword.
I am not a sword cultivator. I cannot cut down all affairs beneath heaven with one sword.
But I have many swords. If one sword cannot cut everything down, then cutting a few more times should be enough.”
Hundreds of longswords broke free from the men’s grasp at once, like thunder splitting the sky.
The hissing sound of blades tearing through the air connected into one continuous roar, shaking heaven and earth.
Hundreds of sharp edges carried no obscure demonic power, no underworld hostility, only the grand spirit of what Chu Xun had called “cutting down injustice, cutting down demons, and cutting down heaven and earth.”
The sword cries rolled like furious thunder. The gathered momentum could break evil, shake the underworld, and cut down injustice.
Cold light blotted out the sun, unstoppable and invincible.
Chu Xun lowered his gaze and glanced at the dozen or so underworld incense gods before him, then shouted coldly, “Cut!”
In an instant, sword shadows poured down like torrential rain, like the Milky Way crashing from the heavens. Their sharp whistles hurt the ears.
Fierce sword qi rushed toward them, as if it would cut all these underworld deities into dust.
Although the guards could not see the gods, they could clearly see the longswords flying through the air.
Their faces were filled with shock, gradually turning somewhat fanatical.
A sword immortal!
A legendary sword immortal actually lived in Pinecone Village!
Even Liao Shouyi’s soul was stunned when he saw this scene.
He subconsciously looked toward Chu Xun not far ahead and felt as if he were dreaming.
“Brother Xun… was this fierce all along?”
The expressions of the Civil Judge and Martial Judge changed drastically. They sensed a fatal threat and shouted in unison, “Do not hold back!”
Even without their words, the other underworld incense gods would not have spared the slightest effort.
The judge’s brush scattered ink. The Mirror of Good and Evil shone with black light.
An iron ruler several zhang long shook the heavens. A black iron command plaque became like a house.
The mourning staff swung, sending out countless afterimages.
The ten ghost officials released their black chains and hooks at once.
The longswords carried over by the guards numbered seven hundred and seventy-nine in total.
With Chu Xun’s current control over the Metal Movement Art, at such close range, he could almost control them as naturally as his own arms and fingers.
Seven hundred and seventy-nine longswords howled so loudly they deafened the ears.
Although the strength of the underworld incense gods had been reduced to only fifty percent due to crossing territories, their artifacts were not affected by this restriction.
For a time, sword fragments filled the sky.
The Civil Judge and Martial Judge were still fine. Even the Black and White Impermanence did not suffer much damage.
With their strength, even reduced by half, they were far stronger than a county City God.
Only the ten ghost officials were roughly a level weaker than the City God.
When the longswords howled toward them, the black chains and hooks were struck until black smoke continuously emerged, and their surfaces became covered in cracks.
Several ghost officials failed to dodge in time and were pierced by the longswords.
The longswords that collided with them were not so lucky either.
Their cracks multiplied, and they nearly shattered.
The Martial Judge held his iron ruler and casually swung it, shattering dozens of longswords.
He said coldly, “Insignificant tricks, not worth mentioning!”
His words were filled with the disdain and contempt of underworld deities toward evil wild gods.
However, after the longswords shattered, white sword shadows flew out.
The Martial Judge froze.
“Metal essence qi?”
And it was not one strand, nor ten, nor even a hundred.
Every longsword that shattered released metal essence qi.
The Martial Judge quickly shouted, “Stop! Do not break the sword bodies anymore!”
But realizing it only now was already too late.
At least two or three hundred longswords had been shattered. Densely packed white sword shadows rushed over again.
Before the Martial Judge, the black iron command plaque stood firmly in front like an iron wall.
Metal essence qi continuously collided with it, blooming like white fireworks in the dark night.
They were not dazzling, yet extremely forceful.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Amid continuous loud explosions, black smoke rose from the black iron command plaque.
Only now did the Martial Judge finally cast aside his contempt and reveal a trace of astonishment.
It was already extremely impressive for an evil wild god to possess a monster magic artifact capable of killing a prefecture-level Black Impermanence.
But a metal essence magic artifact was the proper and righteous power of the Five Elements.
Either cultivators who had attained the Dao or natural Five Elements monsters could gather such power.
Yet this evil wild god before them was clearly called the Songliu Water God, but he stubbornly refused to use any water-related methods.
One hand used wind-fire, the other metal essence.
What kind of water god was this?
Moreover, there was far too much metal essence qi!
Two or three hundred strands of metal essence qi quickly caused cracks to appear on the black iron command plaque.
The other underworld deities sensed something wrong and no longer dared shatter the longswords.
But even without exposing the metal essence qi inside the swords, the swords themselves still possessed terrifying killing power.
The Black and White Impermanence and ten ghost officials were the first to fail under the pressure. They had no choice but to shatter the incoming longswords.
Although this spared them from the danger of being pierced by the swords, it brought even stronger metal essence qi upon them.
They all understood very clearly that this was like drinking poison to quench thirst, but they had no other choice.
White Impermanence swung his mourning staff, but he did not dare use too much force. He only dared knock the longswords away.
Yet the longswords showed no restraint. They struck the mourning staff until it was covered in cracks and nearly unable to endure.
The bright side of the Civil Judge’s Mirror of Good and Evil had already been broken at one corner, and its dark side had cracked into five pieces.
The ink splashed from his judge’s brush grew less and less.
Although over a hundred strands of metal essence qi had been shattered by various methods, as the longswords continued attacking and naturally broke apart, the number of metal essence qi strands attacking did not decrease but increased.
From two or three hundred, it had already reached nearly five hundred.
Even the black iron command plaque was about to fail. Cracks were clearly visible, and through them, one could even see Chu Xun not far away.
Two ghost officials truly could not withstand it and were pierced through by several white sword shadows. They screamed as black smoke surged around them.
The other ghost officials were also injured one after another, all in danger.
The Civil Judge had no strength left to use the Mirror of Good and Evil to save them. Seeing that the situation was turning bad, he immediately shouted, “Join forces! Invite the City God’s golden body!”
The many underworld deities immediately responded. They threw out the magic artifacts in their hands and chanted together:
“Nine Heavens patrol and roam, Heavenly Dipper aids destruction. Evil spirits lose courage, ghosts and demons submit and hide! Iron barriers join the sky, locking away demonic light. City God’s golden body, swiftly descend with divine might!”
The Zhangnan County City God saw the clue and quickly shouted a warning, “Exalted Immortal, be careful! They are using incense power to invite the City God’s golden body!”
The Mingxiu Prefecture underworld deities held their breath and assumed wrathful expressions. They stepped in a T-shape, both hands rotating from the Zi position clockwise to Hai, then counterclockwise from Hai back to Zi. They pinched the middle joint of the middle finger, hid all five fingers, and clenched their fists tightly. The incense power used to summon the City God’s golden body continuously surged from their palms into the many underworld magic artifacts.
Incense power merged with the artifacts, transforming into a black-and-white pillar of light that shot straight through the temple roof, piercing the dome of the City God Temple and rising into the clouds.
Chu Xun became vigilant. The metal essence qi grew even fiercer, striking toward the underworld deities.
In Mingxiu Prefecture, the City God Temple trembled.
The City God’s golden body glowed with bright golden light. The pillar of light grew increasingly dense, thrusting into the sky and resonating with the spiritual light of his golden body.
Before the metal essence qi could reach the underworld deities, it was blocked.
Although the pillar of light trembled and partially collapsed, it did not suffer serious damage.
Chu Xun’s gaze sharpened. He clearly sensed the majestic divine might of an even stronger incense god slowly descending along the pillar of light.
That pressure was several times stronger than the county City God’s.
The pillar of light suddenly expanded, scattering the fog outside the temple.
A huge golden phantom slowly appeared. It was the incarnation of the prefectural City God’s golden body.
The golden body had a majestic face, wore official robes, held a jade tablet, and had eyes like torches.
As its gaze swept across the hall, the sharp whistles of the white sword shadows weakened slightly, and their sharpness diminished somewhat.
The Civil Judge, Martial Judge, and the others bowed respectfully.
“Respectfully welcoming the prefectural City God’s golden body! We beg the golden body to descend with divine might, suppress and kill the evil sacrifice, and protect our underworld!”
Chu Xun stood in place, lightly rubbing his fingertips. Looking at that golden phantom, his gaze darkened slightly.
He had not expected incense power to have such a use. Although the true body of the Mingxiu Prefecture City God had not arrived, the underworld deities could still work together to summon an incarnation.
Though it did not possess the true body’s peak combat power, it was still suffocatingly powerful.
The underworld deities of Zhangnan County trembled under the pressure.
Liao Shouyi also felt immense pressure, yet he showed no fear at all. Instead, he straightened his spine.
You are merely a fourth-rank prefectural City God.
I was first rank!
So what if I now fall under your jurisdiction? My head may be cut off, my blood may flow, but my backbone cannot be lost!
Without that backbone, Liao Shouyi could not have gritted his teeth and risen from a small soldier in Mobei all the way to Duke of Wei.
He was like this.
Chu Xun was even more so.
So what if they borrowed the City God’s golden body?
No matter how many methods the underworld had, today he would protect Liao Shouyi completely!
The phantom of the prefectural City God’s golden body swept its cold divine gaze over the sky full of metal essence qi before locking onto Chu Xun.
In that instant, the pressure on Chu Xun multiplied.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
All the longswords exploded at the same time. White sword shadows covered the sky and earth, unstoppable.
The Mingxiu Prefecture City God’s incarnation slowly raised the jade tablet.
Golden light surged from the jade tablet.
This pure merit magic artifact was indestructible. A thick golden pillar of light emerged from it.
It crashed down, and a deafening roar exploded.
Wherever the pillar of light passed, the white sword shadows instantly turned into fragments of metal essence and scattered.
A vast voice like rumbling thunder sounded from the phantom of the City God’s golden body.
“Under the heavenly order, evil wild gods are not allowed to run rampant!”
The golden light on the jade tablet grew more blazing, and the pillar of light swelled with it. Like splitting bamboo, it crushed downward, attempting to annihilate all the white sword shadows.
As the most unyielding representative of the Five Elements, how could metal essence qi retreat?
Even though most of it was annihilated by the light pillar, the rest remained incomparably sharp.
It was only that their quantity was too light. They could not shake the City God incarnation summoned by the incense power of more than ten underworld deities.
Liao Shouyi anxiously shouted at the Zhangnan County City God, “Why didn’t you say something earlier about such an important matter?”
The Zhangnan County City God panicked and quickly explained, “This action consumes incense power, similar to how you burned blood fiend energy earlier, except it does not defy heaven.”
He had not expected the Mingxiu Prefecture underworld deities to be so decisive.
They did not hesitate to spend a large amount of incense power to summon the City God’s golden body to kill Chu Xun.
The main reason was that Chu Xun was simply too strong.
Seven hundred and seventy-nine metal essence magic artifacts, who had ever heard of using them so extravagantly?
If they did not summon the City God’s golden body, not a single one of the Mingxiu Prefecture underworld deities would escape.
Both sides had things they had not expected, and that was what created the current situation.
Chu Xun’s heart stirred when he heard this.
The City God’s golden body had been invited by the underworld deities using incense power?
With a thought, more than ten Heavenly One Divine Water Beads shot over from all directions.
These had taken over ten years to condense. Chu Xun had no time to think about whether using them was wasteful.
If he could not overcome this calamity, today would be his final day alive in this world.
As long as he survived, he could refine ten or even a hundred times more water essence in the future.
Compared to the fierce metal essence qi, water essence was soft, but it had extremely strong restraining effects against the artifacts of underworld deities.
There were more than ten Heavenly One Divine Water Beads. Each one condensed over twenty-eight wisps of water essence, which converted to two strands.
It was not much, but they still rushed forward one after another. When only two or three beads remained, they forcibly drilled a hole through the light pillar.
The beads dropped one by one and suddenly exploded, turning into rain mist that covered an area of over ten meters.
“What is this?”
“Water essence!”
“My Mirror of Good and Evil!”
The many underworld deities cried out as they saw their artifacts covered by rain mist, their spiritual light gradually dimming.
The power of the golden light pillar weakened, and the remaining white sword shadows struck it until ripples shook through it.
“Nothing but petty tricks.”
The Mingxiu Prefecture City God’s phantom waved the jade tablet, and the rain mist quickly dispersed.
A merit magic artifact did not fear water essence, so it naturally seemed sharp and powerful.
The Civil Judge was overjoyed.
With the City God’s incarnation here, they could definitely kill this evil wild god.
However, Chu Xun said coldly, “Isn’t it just incense power? If you can invite a god, so can I!”
The Civil Judge froze.
They were inviting their superior, the Mingxiu Prefecture City God.
You are an evil wild god. Who are you inviting?
Do you have someone above you too?
Chu Xun did not understand heavenly-dipper steps or incantations, but after studying incense power for many years, he understood something in his heart.
This thing could empower incense gods, sustain longevity and existence, and also represented the thoughts and wishes of all living beings.
The wishes of living beings could manifest, and the same was true for incense gods.
With a thought, several thousand incense points accumulated over the years vanished instantly.
“Inviting the spirit of the Songliu Water God!”
The moment these words came out, all the underworld deities froze, and even the motion of the Mingxiu Prefecture City God’s phantom paused.
In an instant, a phantom also emerged from Chu Xun’s body.
It was tall, but had no face.
One hand held a green and white pair of snakes. One foot stepped on a black turtle. Around its body burned invisible and colorless flames.
The moment it appeared, it flew toward the City God’s golden body phantom.
Its movements were incredibly swift, without the slightest hesitation, and it slammed fiercely into the light pillar.
The light pillar that could destroy metal essence qi was instantly burned open when it came into contact with the invisible, colorless flames.
“What is this? Karmic fire?!”
A shocked voice rang out as the City God’s golden body phantom trembled violently.
The spirit of the Songliu Water God passed through the light pillar and pounced viciously toward the City God’s golden body phantom.
The flames continuously burned everything around them, whether yin qi, underworld magic artifacts, or even the phantom of the City God’s golden body.
A deep voice filled with disbelief, rage, and terror sounded.
“You wild god!”
“Damn you!”
The City God’s golden body phantom did not hesitate at all and instantly dispersed.
The golden light pillar suddenly vanished, exposing the many underworld deities outside it.
The karmic fire spread rapidly. This thing was far more ruthless than metal essence qi or water essence.
Once contaminated by it, one became entangled with cause and effect, unable to escape even by running.
Underworld deities were themselves similar to souls, making them even more afraid of this thing.
They screamed in terror, but who would pay them any attention?
Chu Xun glanced at his incense points and saw that the original fourteen or fifteen thousand had been reduced by half.
The corner of his eye twitched.
“How did it consume so much…”
What he did not know was that when others invited the City God’s golden body, there was an actual being to invite, the other party cooperated, and multiple people helped together.
When Chu Xun invited the spirit of the Songliu Water God, in truth, no one had ever seen this incense god.
Even its appearance had been made up.
It was equivalent to creating an incense god out of thin air, one with no thoughts of its own, existing only by relying on Chu Xun.
Perhaps one day, if Chu Xun vanished and his soul scattered, this god might truly exist in the world through large amounts of incense offerings.
Before that, it was only half-real and half-illusory.
Therefore, inviting it out consumed an exceptional amount of incense points.
Nothing consumed more spiritual effort than something imagined from nothing.
With a thought, the spirit of the Songliu Water God immediately returned and merged back into him, disappearing.
The Civil Judge, Martial Judge, and the other underworld deities looked both shocked and terrified.
Why was he not afraid of karmic fire?
Naturally, Chu Xun would not explain any of this to them.
Strike while the enemy is sick, and take his life!
Over a hundred remaining strands of metal essence qi all rushed toward the underworld deities.
Amid flashes of blades and swords, these underworld gods who had traveled from Mingxiu Prefecture in full confidence were all slain.
Black smoke blotted out the sky and almost covered the entire Zhangnan County City God Temple.
Without the support of the underworld deities, the various magic artifacts fell all over the ground.
Finding no host to spread to, the karmic fire finally began to gradually extinguish.
At the same time, inside the Mingxiu Prefecture City God Temple.
The several-zhang-tall golden statue of the City God gave a cracking sound.
Furious, almost exasperated thunderous rumbles sounded continuously.
“Damn it! What great sin has he committed to have karmic fire burning on him?!”
“Why has the karmic fire not destroyed his soul?!”
Although only the golden body phantom of the Mingxiu Prefecture City God had gone over, karmic fire was the embodiment of cause and effect. It did not care whether it was an incarnation or the main body.
Once it clung on, it could not be thrown off.
Although he had returned extremely quickly, he had still brought some back.
Merit golden light surged from the jade tablet and shone upon the karmic fire, gradually extinguishing it.
However, the merit golden light dimmed somewhat as a result.
Karmic fire was cause and effect. Only merit could dissolve it. Aside from that, there was no other method.
Incense could be accumulated through offerings from believers, but merit came from one’s previous life identity.
Now that he was in the underworld, he no longer had the chance to accumulate merit.
Use one portion, and one portion was gone.
The loss suffered by the Mingxiu Prefecture City God was far greater than the losses of his incense gods.
The Day Patrol God and Night Patrol God, who had not participated in this matter, appeared one after another.
When they saw the merit golden light on the jade tablet dim, then turned and saw that the golden statues of the Civil Judge, Martial Judge, and Black and White Impermanence had all shattered into pieces across the ground, they were instantly shocked.
“City God, what happened?”
They only knew that the Civil Judge and Martial Judge had gone to Zhangnan County to bring back the soul of a great general of the current dynasty.
Who could have imagined they would be completely wiped out?
Even the City God’s summoned incarnation had suffered a loss.
The Mingxiu Prefecture City God did not explain the details. Instead, after his fury, he gradually calmed down.
A moment later, a deep voice sounded.
“Order the City Gods of every city and county under my command: if they encounter the Songliu Wild God, they must not fight him head-on.”
“Flee!”
After saying this, the City God concealed his form and made no further sound.
Facing the mysterious Songliu Water God, the Mingxiu Prefecture City God did not have much confidence.
The main reason was that the other party could actually trigger karmic fire, which made him deeply wary.
“But he is only an evil wild god. No matter how strong, he can only go this far!”
The Mingxiu Prefecture City God had every reason to believe that the other party would not dare come here to run wild.
After all, in terms of incense acquisition, a prefecture far surpassed a county.
If he truly dared come, the City God would make him understand just how powerful he was at full strength!
The Day Patrol God and Night Patrol God exchanged glances, shocked beyond words.
It had always been the underworld deities who took the initiative to erase evil wild gods.
When had they ever been told not to fight one directly?
And the word used was flee.
The two Mingxiu Prefecture incense gods looked at the City God’s towering golden statue, their hearts filled with terror.
What exactly was this Songliu Wild God?
To make even the City God so wary!
Inside the Zhangnan County City God Temple, Chu Xun looked at the underworld magic artifacts scattered across the ground and finally let out a long breath.
He felt sweat covering his entire body, and he was somewhat unsteady on his feet.
This battle had been the most difficult and dangerous one since he had been born in this world.
He had used almost every trump card he possessed, even the method of “inviting a god” that he had never used before.
But then again, if the Mingxiu Prefecture incense gods had not invited the City God’s incarnation, he would not have needed to go through so much trouble.
The Zhangnan County City God walked over nervously and bowed.
“Exalted Immortal, please forgive me. This minor god truly did not know they would use this method. It almost caused a great disaster.”
Chu Xun waved his hand.
He held authority over the Zhangnan County City God. Although the incense gods here still belonged to the underworld, they would absolutely not harm him.
If he said he did not know, then he truly did not know.
However, Chu Xun was very interested in this god-inviting spell.
He sat directly on the ground, panting heavily as he asked, “As long as there is enough incense power, can any god be invited?”
“In theory, one can only invite gods one is familiar with, and who are willing to come.”
The Zhangnan County City God said, “But if other immortals and gods wish to come, that is not impossible either.”
As he spoke, the Zhangnan County City God’s hand transformed again, producing a scripture that he presented.
Chu Xun took it and glanced over. On the cover were the large words:
True Manual of the Shangqing God-Inviting Rite.
“Exalted Immortal, this method originates from the Daoist Methods Unified Origin. It belongs to the path of incense and is divided into yin invitation and yang invitation, corresponding to underworld deities and heavenly deities.
There is also a section on summoning and examination. It does not require incense. Instead, it borrows earth qi to bind gods, using spell arts to restrain the body and forcibly summon the true body of an immortal or god. But it requires extremely high cultivation. Otherwise, one may be counterattacked by the immortal or god and suffer damage to the soul.
This minor god does not possess that section. The Exalted Immortal must seek it elsewhere.”
Chu Xun nodded slightly.
Just the True Manual of the Shangqing God-Inviting Rite, along with the Soul-Dispersing Talisman he had learned earlier, was enough for him to study for a while.
Biting off more than one could chew was unwise. He had too many matters to handle right now and did not have that much energy to divide his focus.
At that moment, Chu Xun sensed something.
Metal Movement: Great degree of control over the metal of heaven and earth within one thousand zhang.
Wood Movement Art: 17,238 out of 100,000. Limited control over the wood of heaven and earth within one thousand zhang.
Joy rose in Chu Xun’s heart.
Killing the underworld deities from Mingxiu Prefecture had once again brought enormous benefits.
The Metal Movement Art had directly reached completion, and even the Wood Movement Art had advanced another level.
Now he was only a little over eighty thousand points away from perfecting all Five Elements.
Once all Five Elements reached perfection, they could merge and form Five Elements Dao arts.
Aside from extremely special existences like karmic fire and merit, the myriad Great Daos did not depart from the Five Elements.
At that time, there would be almost no Dao art beneath heaven that Chu Xun could not learn.
The only question would be whether he was skilled at it.
For Chu Xun, who held hope of immortality, skill should be the easiest thing on the road to longevity.
If one year was not enough, then one hundred years. If one hundred years was not enough, then one thousand, or ten thousand.
He had time.
“What a pity the Mingxiu Prefecture City God came only as an incarnation and did not descend in person, nor did he bring the City God’s seal. Otherwise, I might have had the chance to seize his authority directly this time.”
Chu Xun secretly felt regretful.
The chance to face a prefectural City God weakened by half was not common.
If he were in Mingxiu Prefecture, he would have to face a prefectural City God at full strength.
Judging from today’s battle, the strength of a prefectural City God was at least ten times that of a county City God.
Otherwise, his incarnation alone would not have carried such powerful pressure.
“If the increase continues like this, wouldn’t a capital City God be more than ten times stronger than a prefectural City God?”
Chu Xun frowned slightly.
This was not good news.
He had long known these incense gods were difficult to deal with, but he had not expected each of them to have some real ability.
“No need to rush. Take it slowly.”
Chu Xun took a deep breath, rose from the ground, and turned toward Liao Shouyi.
The remaining hundred or so strands of metal essence qi flew out of the City God Temple and turned into palm-length little swords, landing in the guards’ hands.
“Guard this place. No matter who or what dares enter, kill without mercy!”
Chu Xun’s voice rang clearly in their ears.
The guards’ faces were full of reverence. Holding the little white swords, they clenched their right fists and struck their chests heavily.
“As commanded!”
Although they had not seen the previous battle clearly, they could still sense the terrifying, majestic aura inside the City God Temple.
It was a pressure even more horrifying than facing thousands of charging soldiers and horses.
The countless longswords falling like clouds and rain were a legendary scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
The difference between immortals and mortals had existed since ancient times, far greater than the difference between officials and commoners.
There were indeed cultivators who had attained the Dao and played in the mortal world, mingling among ordinary people.
But only those with destiny could see and know them.
Now, one stood beside them. How could their hearts not surge with excitement?
Inside the temple, Chu Xun came before Liao Shouyi and asked, “Are you all right?”
Not much time had passed. The Soul-Dispersing Talisman had only dissolved most of the first soul, Corpse Dog. The remaining six souls, Hidden Arrow, Sparrow Yin, Devouring Thief, Non-Poison, Filth Remover, and Stinking Lung, had not moved at all.
Liao Shouyi looked at the temple gate and asked, “Are those things still coming?”
The Zhangnan County City God’s expression turned somewhat strange.
Those things?
But after glancing at Chu Xun, he did not dare make a sound.
Forget it. In any case, he wasn’t talking about me.
If I truly argue with him, I might offend the Exalted Immortal. Why bother?
Chu Xun shook his head.
“I don’t know, but they probably won’t come again in the short term.”
With the Civil Judge, Martial Judge, and Black and White Impermanence dead, more than half of the forces under the Mingxiu Prefecture City God had been lost.
Add to that the deterrence of karmic fire, and Chu Xun did not believe that City God would dare risk being entangled by karmic fire just to come seize Liao Shouyi’s soul.
These old things who stole merit from the mortal world and clung to life after death cherished their lives more than anything. How could they be willing to die?
Liao Shouyi looked at him, eyes shining.
“Have you always been this powerful?”
“Not always.”
“If I’d known, I would have learned Dao arts from you. Running out to become a soldier, wasn’t I sick in the head?”
“I couldn’t teach you.”
“That was sword control just now, right? Amazing! Even more powerful than ten thousand arrows firing at once in my army formation!”
Chu Xun scratched his head.
Did you not hear what I just said?
But he could tell that Liao Shouyi truly wanted to talk.
Because if he did not say a few more words now, then once his seven souls dispersed and he reincarnated, he would never be able to speak again.
For a moment, a sense of grief rose in Chu Xun’s heart.
So he simply calmed down and listened to Liao Shouyi ramble on.
Souls had no saliva, so naturally there was no such thing as dry mouth or parched tongue.
A long time passed.
Finally, the last soul, Stinking Lung, dispersed.
The Soul-Dispersing Talisman turned into sparkling light and vanished without a trace.
Liao Shouyi seemed to understand something and asked, “Am I leaving?”
The Zhangnan County City God walked over and cupped his hands.
“The tiger hour has arrived, and the human path will open. It is time to reincarnate.”
Liao Shouyi seemed not to hear him. He did not even look at him, only staring at Chu Xun as he asked, “Will I be able to see you again in my next life?”
The reluctance in his eyes was so clear.
A lifetime of acquaintance, and now they had to part. How could it be so easy to let go?
Chu Xun did not know either, so he could only look toward the Zhangnan County City God.
The City God said, “If he has immortal fate, he can summon the Shuangling soul to break through the confusion of the womb and awaken memories of his previous life.”
Liao Shouyi laughed when he heard this.
“That’s good.”
“Brother Xun, live well. When I become an immortal in my next life, the two of us will fight side by side!”
How could immortal fate be so easy to obtain? Since ancient times, very few had ever had it.
Chu Xun did not cut off his hope. He nodded solemnly.
“Good. I’ll be waiting.”
Liao Shouyi laughed heartily, said no more, and turned toward the path of reincarnation.
The tiger hour had arrived.
The human path opened.
Before stepping inside, he turned his head and looked at the Zhangnan County City God.
“Today, you nearly caused Brother Xun to suffer a loss. If I become an immortal in my next life and something like this happens again, I will make sure your soul is scattered!”
Without waiting for the Zhangnan County City God to speak, he stepped inside and disappeared.
“Don’t be afraid. He was just scaring you. It’s fine.”
Chu Xun comforted him softly.
The Zhangnan County City God did not know what to say.
Was he really just scaring me?
It didn’t sound like it…
“But matters that should have been told to me truly should not always require me to ask first.”
The Zhangnan County City God turned his head and only then saw the dissatisfaction in Chu Xun’s eyes.
He could not help trembling.
Although incense gods relied on incense to live and would not die easily, with this person’s ability, smashing the temple here and forbidding people from making offerings was not impossible.
If there were no incense offerings for a long time, he really would die.
The Zhangnan County City God hurriedly said, “Whatever the Exalted Immortal wishes to know, this minor god will certainly tell everything without holding anything back!”
“Then tell me everything you know,” Chu Xun said.
“This…”
The Zhangnan County City God truly did not know where to begin.
After thinking for a while, he finally said, “The orthodox gods canonized by Jing Kingdom are City Gods because the nation’s strength is insufficient and it cannot canonize others…”
Through his explanation, Chu Xun finally gained a deeper understanding of the canonization of orthodox gods.
The immortals and gods beneath heaven were countless.
Those that had survived from ancient times to the present were beyond number.
Among so many immortals and gods, aside from those who truly attained the Dao through their own cultivation, all others required incense offerings.
The stronger they were, the more incense they required.
Thus, small nations canonized minor gods, and great nations canonized major gods.
The fact that Jing Kingdom was only qualified to canonize City Gods showed that its national power was among the lowest.
There were many nations stronger than it.
The surrounding countries that Wei Ting had told Chu Xun about in Fenggu City were all like this.
As for the truly great nations farther away, how could a mere escort know of them?
The orthodox gods canonized there were unimaginably powerful.
Not to mention gods such as Kuixing or the God of Wealth, just the orthodox gods of the eight departments, Thunder, Fire, Plague, Dipper, Water, Wind, Cloud, and Earth, were beyond ordinary comprehension.
Layer upon layer, relying on countless mortal kingdoms, they had constructed a vast heavenly order of immortals and gods.
Mixed within it were immortal cultivators, ancestral masters of various sects, and many others.
There were also talismans, formations, pills, and other spell techniques.
Only when the Zhangnan County City God had nothing left to say did Chu Xun stop listening, his head spinning.
He had originally thought he understood at least a small portion of things.
Now it seemed he was merely standing at the wooden base beneath a towering pavilion.
Layer upon layer of pavilions stretched high into the clouds.
Yet the wooden pillars and beams supporting this pavilion were rotten and decayed beneath a false replacement.
“In a thousand years, ten thousand years, I would like to see how many moves this pavilion can still withstand!”
A long time later.
Chu Xun walked out of the City God Temple carrying Liao Shouyi’s corpse on his back.
The guards turned to look at him one after another, their gazes reverent.
But when they saw Liao Shouyi’s corpse, their eyes dimmed.
These men, who had never retreated even before mountains of blades and seas of fire, knelt to the ground in grief.
Seventh year of Changning.
A generation’s God of War of Jing Kingdom passed away.
The whole world mourned.
Only the Zhangnan County City God found his golden body uneasy.
“He probably won’t have immortal fate… right?”
Several days later.
Tianqiong County, Qingbo County, Xingjing County, and Haixing County under Mingxiu Prefecture.
In a single night, the statues of the underworld deities of all four counties were destroyed.
Of the three cities and ten counties under Mingxiu Prefecture, the authority of eight counties had already fallen into Chu Xun’s hands.
The Mingxiu Prefecture City God’s golden body trembled, and more than half of the seal had turned gray.
Gloomy thunder rolled and exploded over the prefectural city.
“Songliu Wild God, this City God will wait for the day you come to Mingxiu Prefecture!”
[End of Chapter]
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