Wet viviparity

Chapter 301: Outer City, Demon Illusion
A mask called a 魌头 (魌头) is a mask used by the ancient people to fight off ghosts and drive away epidemics.

At the west gate of the inner wall of the Demon Palace, there are two tomb towers, built with rammed earth on a high platform with a pavilion on it. Inside the second floor, there are many hangings, and more importantly, in the outer city in front of the tomb tower is the bamboo garden, the Prajna Bamboo Garden.

According to Zhang Xinmei, outside the Palace of the Wrongly Dead, the most dangerous places are the four gates of the inner city.

The east gate of the inner city is the end of the avenue built by Ji Ming. Outside the gate there are two large wooden statues of gods and men. They have been worshipped by the master for more than 200 years and have long been guarding the inner city.

At the west gate, the urn in the tower was made of hundreds of ghosts and a large amount of deadly evil spirits, and was managed by a ghost god brought from the underworld. In addition to guarding the west gate, this ghost god also had the responsibility of monitoring the bamboo garden.

The other two gates in the north and south each have their own mysteries.

Furthermore, since the outer city was built, the two masters have often invited evil spirits from the underworld, demons from the mountains, and even monsters and ghosts from Luoyin Lake to settle in the outer city, practicing evil arts together and discussing magic with each other, as if they were going to create another devilish land outside the palace.

Ji Ming and his two companions entered from the east gate of the outer city. It was as if they had entered another world. They saw merchants and peddlers, and a lot of people walking around.

At the foot of the wall, the cries of hawkers could be heard one after another, whether it was fruits and vegetables, or cloth and earthenware pots. In the streets and alleys, the banging sounds of craftsmen's shops and the laughter and chatter in teahouses intertwined.

"It's so hot!"

Mr. Jiehuo looked at the sun overhead and said.

They knew clearly that it was an illusory ghostland and a false scene, but the reality fed back by their five senses made it difficult for them to distinguish the truth from the false.

Under the sunshade curtain, there is the aroma of hot buns and steamed buns; inside the teahouse, there is a storyteller reciting a poem in a rhythmic and cadenced manner; on the left side of the road, there is a fake Taoist performing magic tricks and scooping ice from the water.

The various sounds and sights here heightened the sense of reality in the hearts of the three people.

The three of them walked among them with normal expressions.

They were not inexperienced young cultivators who had just started their practice. They knew that the illusion of the ghost realm was created by the cultivators' magic. Unless they were several times more capable than the cultivators, violently breaking the illusion would only play into the cultivators' hands.

Now, what the three of them have to do is to find the discord within the ghost realm illusion and then attack it.

Ji Ming had already noticed the discord, but he did not attack it. Instead, he wanted to use the illusion of the ghost realm to walk in the outer city so that he could safely reach the two towers in front of the west gate of the inner city.

As the sun rises higher, the market becomes more crowded with people. The sounds of bargaining between buyers and sellers and the clinking of coins are heard one after another. The sense of reality becomes stronger and stronger, and there is even an air of life.

The three of them had walked through several streets, and Erjun was sweating profusely behind Ji Ming.

"what happened?"

Jiming asked.

“The stronger our sense of reality is, the more we are assimilated into the surrounding landscape, and we begin to become no different from the peddlers around us.”

Lin Shuijun, who was sweating under the sun, said with a grim expression.

“Jintong, your situation seems to be much better than ours.” Lord Jiehuo looked at Ji Ming, who looked normal, and felt relieved. He said, “Luckily you are here, otherwise this time we wouldn’t be safe.”

"Brother, you are a bit too blindly worshipful."

Although he said so, Lin Shuijun felt somewhat relaxed.

"It may be related to a secret skill I practiced."

Ji Ming said thoughtfully.

The mirage technique he practiced was a pure illusion technique. In order to master it, Ji Ming swallowed Dantou·Void Flower and consumed a stick of Mirage Wax, so he had a certain resistance to illusions. After walking in the ghost realm illusion for a long time, Ji Ming felt hot in his mouth, so he led Er Jun to the wine shop to buy some wine, and took a few taels of dates from the date vendor's cart on the street.

Ji Ming took a sip of wine and a bite of dried dates, which was great for satisfying his craving and driving away the heat.

The two gentlemen held the dates and followed Ji Ming. They looked at each other, their eyes went from confused to bright. They knew in their hearts that Jin Tong must have been able to see through the illusion of the ghost realm, which was why he acted so recklessly.

"It's delicious."

Jie Huojun ate a date in one mouthful, drank the wine in big gulps, and laughed loudly, "This is interesting, this is interesting."

When they were almost outside the west gate of the inner city, Ji Ming and the other two saw sword lights flying into the air above the city and a yellow dragon flying up.

A sword and a dragon flew over the high wall of the outer city. When they were about to pass through the airspace of the outer city, the demons and monsters lurking in the city attacked one after another, pulling the yellow dragon down from the air and covering up the sword light.

Around Ji Ming and the other two, within the ghost realm illusion, the discordant aura became increasingly obvious.

Several evildoers here saw that they couldn't control the three people in the ghost realm illusion for a while, and their patience was worn out. They even wanted to abandon the three people and share the flesh and blood of the yellow dragon that fell into the city.

"Why worry? How about using this ghost realm illusion to send us off again?"

Ji Ming said in a negotiating tone.

The ghostly illusion that had been moving with the three people began to dissipate. The sunlight above was gone, revealing layers of demonic clouds and stalactites that were about to fall from the clouds.

The place is filled with a gray, gloomy and evil atmosphere.

The courtyard walls are plastered with blood and mud, the streets are paved with bone residue, big red lanterns are hung high, and colorful funeral figurines are everywhere. The true appearance of the outer city is revealed here.

Under the wall, beside the lanterns and the burial figurines, four people wearing red and green paper clothes, each holding a rope, a banner, a drum and other Yin instruments, stared at Ji Ming coldly, and one of them smiled and said: "To be able to see through the magic we practiced together, he must be extraordinary.

Now the Demon Palace in the inner city is covered by the master's magic weapon "Silkworm Smoke Net". The master and the several great masters who broke into the palace have been imprisoned and can't do anything to each other. It's a good opportunity for us to seize treasures and money.

How about we just go our separate ways and not bother each other?"

"That's useful news."

As he spoke, Ji Ming released the green light of the Yin-Heart Pearl behind his head, and three of the four people immediately fell to the ground.

Fire Master looked at the remaining one and thought that Jin Tong had left one for him to practice with. He was about to cast a spell when his elder brother stopped him and said, "Brother, take a good look. That man has already been subdued by Jin Tong."

The man under the lantern came forward with his eyes rolled back, holding a paper banner, raised his palms to bow to Ji Ming, and called out, "Master!"

"Well done, it should be credited."

Hearing Ji Ming's words, the man's face lit up with joy, and he emerged from his forehead, revealing a spiral-shaped ghost body, which was the Echo Ghost. This time, the ghost illusion was broken, thanks to this ghost lurking in it and possessing the enemy's body.

"Second Master, please go west."

Ji Ming said something to the two gentlemen, and they left sensibly, leaving Ji Ming alone here.

Looking at the four monsters that were knocked down, Ji Ming released the divine spirit cells in his body. He had always relied on ghosts and evil spirits for nourishment, but he knew that the effects of flesh and blood souls were stronger and the effects would be seen faster.

There are many monsters in the outer city, but it is a good opportunity for the spirit cells to grow stronger.

(End of this chapter)