From a carp to a dragon god

Chapter 176: Gambling with the Eastern Demon Sect
Since that day, Li Zhen got the tip and took the opportunity to perform a big opera. Most of the people from all walks of life came to listen to the opera, so he asked Cao Baotou to help introduce them.

So, Li Zhen took his eighth brother-in-law Huang Wenxun and spent another two days visiting all the branches of the Five Societies and Eight Lines that he could make friends with.

By the third day, both of them were tired of it, but Huang Wenxun wanted to wait for two more days. After hearing the result, he felt relieved.

Yu Shuyang had long been fed up with waiting. Li Zhen's business deal had been negotiated long ago, and he had sent out a flying talisman a few days ago. The treasure ship had already sailed over the Huai River and was waiting.

However, Captain Cao's goods were not complete, and his ship had to wait for two days. He couldn't leave anyway, so he had to stay here.

Yu Shuyang didn't ask other people. In fact, Shui City had been closed to entry and exit for the past few days, and everyone was trying to find ways to delay it.

We will wait until the night of the 19th, when the Five Associations and Eight Lineages will have three gambling matches with the Eastern Demon Sect. After the results come out, we will discuss the follow-up.

As per the agreed three-day period, nearing the final hour, more than 150 managers still had not reached a conclusion, and it was still not decided whether to fight or not.

It also shows how cunning the merchants are. They are all afraid of being at a disadvantage and being taken advantage of by others. Each of them has seven or eight plans, and these 150 or 160 people together have more holes than a hornet's nest.

Without waiting for the result, Hai Damu led his five brothers to the small temple of the God of Goods and took out the statue inside.

The God of Goods in this small temple is a small statue, no more than three feet tall, carved out of a piece of peach wood. The statue is also holding a treasure bowl in both hands.

When a Shinto monk presides over a life-and-death fight, he must ask his own deity to witness it. The god of wealth in the big temple is not effective, so he has to invite the god from the small temple.

A small altar temple was specially built for this purpose. The rituals involved were extremely complicated and had to be reported in advance. A red cloth was used to cover the place along the way, and several senior brothers carried the sedan chair to invite the deceased over.

When you arrive at the altar outside the temple, you have to burn incense and pray, and offer incense, candles, clean water, and fragrant flowers, only then can you invite the statue of the god to reside there.

After being busy for most of the day, they invited the spirit to descend and, under the inspiration of the spirit, wrote two copies of the life and death certificate, one in red and one in white, making six copies for three sessions.

None of the five senior brothers can do this job. Now they are all priests of the God of Wealth and can no longer worship the God of General Merchandise.

Although the God of Wealth and the God of General Merchandise are both True Lord Xuantian Duobao, for Shinto practitioners, they belong to two different branches with different doctrines.

To be honest, Hai Damu went to so much trouble, and he also meant to cause trouble for his five senior brothers. He invited the statue from the small temple and had no intention of sending it back. When the time comes, the believers will naturally worship it when they see it.

After hundreds of years of worship, this god of general merchandise has become extremely effective. He is a hundred times more powerful than the god of wealth in the temple, whose effectiveness is sometimes ineffective.

Therefore, when the five brothers went to the small temple to carry the statue of the god, they looked as if their parents had died, with mournful expressions on their faces.

When it got dark, Hai Damu took out the pennant and shook it three times from left to right to send a signal to the three demons of the Eastern Demon Sect.

In just three or five breaths, the demons of death, decay, and disease arrived in front of the temple.

Now everyone in the five associations and eight trades was in a panic. Earlier, Liu An took the lead and challenged Hai Damu to a bet. At that time, they were fighting to the death to protect Shui City, and everyone was united in their determination.

Now that the three demons are right in front of us, anyone who is willing to stand up and fight to the death will be tantamount to committing suicide. If they risk their lives earlier, it can be said that they are forcing others to die.

The problem is, he has already said that he doesn't want Shui Shi no matter whether he wins or loses, he just wants to accept thirty-six disciples.

"Whoever is in charge, come out and speak." The zombie came out to speak first.

A group of managers looked around and finally looked at Liu An. Among the five associations and eight trades, the salt association was the largest, and among the salt associations, the tribute salt was the largest.

Besides, he was the one who took the lead last time. Under the stares of everyone, Liu An ran out tremblingly. It would be a lie to say that he was not afraid.

The zombie in front of him released his own power, which was definitely that of a third-grade True Immortal. His aura manifested and took shape, with eighteen kinds of Netherworld death flowing through him.

"Senior." Liu Anqiang remained calm and struggled to speak.

"Black Tiger from Shuchuan, your last name is Zhang?" the zombie asked with interest.

"In reply to your question, senior, we are from the Liu family of Pengxi." Liu An replied bravely.

The Zhang family of the Jiuzhou Black Tiger clan is the largest, but the Pengxi Liu family is also well-known, and their distant ancestors are also related to the Taoist Alliance.

"Have the thirty-six people been selected? Let's sign the life and death agreement." The zombie demon didn't waste any more words and went straight to the point.

Liu An froze for a moment, his lips were tight and his teeth were clenched, he couldn't open his mouth and couldn't say a word.

Fortunately, Hai Damu came to the rescue and said, "We agreed to three fights, so why do we need thirty-six signatures?"

The zombie looked at Hai Damu, snorted coldly, and ignored him.

The evil beggar at the side said, "It's right to bet on three fights. We also said that we would choose thirty-six disciples.

Naturally, there will be thirty-six people to sign, and they can go on stage at will. If it is really difficult to choose, you can all go together."

After the evil beggar finished speaking, he stretched out his hands, revealing his palms. One palm was as black as iron, and the other palm was bright red. These were the unique skills of the evil spirit, the Black Evil Palm and the Red Evil Palm.

These two palms are powerful in their own way. If the black palm hits someone, they will fall to the ground and die instantly. If the red palm hits someone, all their luck will be gone and they will die miserably.

On the other side, the devil doctor took out a colorful banner with the five plagues and six diseases written on it in ancient spiritual language. This is the famous magic weapon for disease control.

"Everyone, if you have no objection, then come along. It doesn't matter anyway."

As the devilish doctor spoke, he also released his own mighty aura. It turned out that he was also a third-grade True Immortal. The plague energy all over his body took shape, and thirty-six symptoms of disease appeared one by one.

In an instant, the one hundred and fifty or sixty managers became helpless, unable to open their mouths or move their legs.

"Three of you, we must abide by the bet. The God of Goods should be here right now. Do you intend to massacre the followers of the God of Goods Temple?"

Hai Damu held the pennant tightly in both hands, and his heart was shaking at this moment. He didn't expect that these three demon cultivators were all evil stars.

It was as if if we had a disagreement, blood would be shed on the spot at any time. Although I knew that he would not be beaten to death, I was still afraid.

"You were the one who proposed the three-match bet, and you also agreed to the condition of thirty-six disciples. Why are you acting like a coward now?

Today, considering that the Divine Sect and the Demon Sect are of the same lineage, I will not kill them. I have thirty-six bamboo leaves here, and I will throw them to whoever they are.

"Remember to come over and sign the life and death agreement later. I'll only give you this favor once, so don't make it difficult for me." The zombie said expressionlessly.

The zombie took out a bamboo mirror and when he stroked the mirror, a handful of bamboo leaves appeared, each of which was withered and yellow.

He casually threw it out, and it happened to fall into the hands of thirty-six people, exactly as if someone had handed it to them personally.

For a moment, there was constant sobbing. The thirty-six people who were chosen were all managers of the same lineage, and they were usually respectable people who acted arrogantly and domineeringly.

Hai Damu's forehead was covered with sweat. He didn't know who the zombie was, but he recognized this bamboo mirror. It was the only magic weapon in the East that was made by grinding bamboo into a mirror.

This item, called the Reflecting Bamboo Mirror, shines a light on a person's forehead, instantly capturing their soul. Then, a bamboo leaf is torn apart, instantly killing the person. This magical weapon, even more renowned than the Five Plagues and Six Diseases Banner, is a fortune-suppressing device used by the Eastern Demon Sect, specifically to send gods home.

"Senior, I've only written three death warrants. I don't have so many ready. Please wait for me to write them."

Hai Damu no longer dared to say anything harsh. He had more suspicions about the zombies in his mind and felt even more scared.

The Shinto monks of the Divine Sect and the Demonic Sect cannot escape the calamity and ascend to heaven in the end. After all, gods are the manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth and cannot escape from this world.

Therefore, whether it is the Divine Sect or the Demon Sect, there are always a group of people whose cultivation has broken through to the first level, and the zombies are one of such people.

During the last killing calamity, the Eastern Demon Sect's lair was destroyed and the Demon Sect's inheritance was almost cut off, which aroused the suspicion of many insiders.

How could his lair be destroyed if there was such an old demon? The Wenxiang Sect was said to be so powerful. Those two ladies had not escaped the calamity and ascended to heaven, so how could they have won at that time?

In private, there were many speculations that this was a deliberate attempt to escape, just like the White Bone God and the Intestinal Snake God.

Hai Damu did not dare to delay and quickly wrote a death statement. He was shaking in his heart while writing. Every death statement was equivalent to the death of one person.

In less than a quarter of an hour, all sixty-six red and white petitions were completed. Together with the six just written, there were exactly enough for thirty-six people.

"Senior." Hai Damu was a little reluctant, but he didn't dare to stroke the tiger's whiskers, so he finally forced himself to say something.

The sick devil doctor picked up the red contract, took the writing brush and ink, and walked towards his subordinates holding bamboo leaves, saying, "Please, everyone, don't make it difficult for me. If I lose face, I won't be able to pick it up again."

All the managers were as if their bones had been pulled out, unable to move. Only those holding dry bamboo leaves were trembling all over and crying bitterly.

Seeing that no one stepped forward to sign, the ghost doctor pounded his banner into the ground, making a sound of metal and stone cracking, and urged, "Are you really going to kill them all?"

For a moment, all sounds were silent. Then someone got up and signed the death agreement tremblingly. After signing, all blood turned pale from his body.

"Have you signed them all?" The evil beggar was signing white deeds at the side. He signed thirty-six in a row, then ran to ask the evil doctor for the red deeds he wanted to sign.

In this way, the red and white contracts were signed. The evil beggar handed them to Hai Damu and said, "Hai Toad, let's get started quickly. We are all in a hurry."

Hai Damu didn't dare to talk back, and burned the red and white deeds one by one, and the matter was settled.

This is not a killing calamity. As a cultivator of the Demonic Sect, you cannot break the rules and kill people. All your actions just now were just pretense to force people to sign a life and death agreement.

In this way, the magic sect's divine cultivators could break their rules and kill people. Hai Damu had seen through the plot just now, but he didn't dare to expose it. He didn't dare to bet that these three old demons would not dare to break the rules.

After the burning of the contract was completed and the death agreement was in effect, the zombie demon threw up the bamboo mirror, emitting red and white lights in the air, and said, "Please invite the Eighteen Lords to descend."

Eighteen black lights flew out of the bamboo mirror, each looking for a person to possess. In just a moment, they all turned into skeletons and bones, and their flesh and skin seemed to be vaporized.

The sick demon doctor also raised his five plagues and six disease banners, shook them three times left and right, and eleven gray lights flew out, each looking for a human body to attach to.

"Please return to your seat, Shiyilang."

Finally, it was the turn of the zombie demon. He walked up to the remaining seven people and tapped each of them with the Red Evil Death Palm. After that, he bowed and kowtowed nine times.

"Please ask the Seven Decay Elders to manifest."

These Eighteenth Gentleman, Eleventh Brother, and Seventh Elder Shuai were all famous elders of the Eastern Demon Sect, and they all perished in the last killing calamity.

Unexpectedly, the three demons were not here to recruit disciples, but to find a replacement for the old demon's true soul. In this way, it wouldn't take long for the Eastern Demon Sect to recover its former strength.

"Everyone, this matter is settled. If anyone still refuses to accept, you can come to the Eastern Demon Island to seek revenge and die. The Eastern Demon Sect always welcomes you."

The zombie demon took the bamboo mirror and left with a group of demon cultivators. Now they had to take advantage of the situation and find substitutes for the thirty-six real demons. They had to find a place to recuperate and let them recover their previous life's cultivation as soon as possible.

"Master, the calamity energy in Wuzhou Taicang is rising. Why don't we go somewhere to practice in seclusion?" suggested the devil doctor.

“The aura of disaster there seems dense and sinister. I’m afraid it’s a trap set by the traitors. Let’s go to the East Mountain in the north.

I guess the little brats of the Wenxiang Cult are still afraid to go in, so this is a good opportunity to look for traces of the second demon girl's reincarnation."

After the zombie demon said this, the bamboo mirror in his hand flashed, and all the demon cultivators were taken into it. In an instant, he flew out of the water city and headed towards the East Mountain in the north.

In front of the God of Goods Temple, a group of managers were immobilized by the spells cast by zombies and could not move, including Hai Damu's five senior brothers.

There was no other way, so he took the pennant and cast a spell to lift the spell for everyone. However, those in charge were still stunned and stayed where they were.

"Everyone, no matter what the outcome, the Eastern Demon Sect has already retreated and will not return. We must muster up the courage to face the present."

Hai Damu felt pity. This group of people were useless now. They all had a mental barrier in their hearts. Just like what Zangmo said before he left, if they wanted revenge, they should go to East Demon Island.

This is not without reason. To break through the inner demon barrier, one must defeat the three demon cultivators today, so naturally one has to go to the East Demon Island to challenge them.

After saying this, Hai Damu turned around and headed straight for Jiang Dazhu's previous demon body without caring about the effect. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that no one was stopping him and quickly move the immortal root away to avoid any further disputes.

In front of the temple, Hai Damu's five senior brothers came out and persuaded everyone one by one, just like calling back souls, and only then did they help everyone regain their senses.

For a moment, there was a mixture of cursing, crying, and sighing. Some people swore and vowed revenge, while others gnashed their teeth and beat their chests and stamped their feet.

Finally, Liu An stood up and said, "Everyone, today our five associations and eight trades are in trouble, so we must unite as one.

Everyone has reported this to their families before and after. This humiliation must not be in vain. We will agree on a compensation plan later.

We must not let down the hearts of the 36 managers who sacrificed their lives and must take good care of their families."

After hearing this, all the managers agreed and discussed the compensation issue one after another.

Finally, it was decided to close the market and as usual, Liu An was entrusted to go to the Xiaomiao stage to announce the result.

The Five Associations and Eight Trades lost thirty-six managers, which is equivalent to a quarter of their strength being lost. It is difficult for them not to disband and close the market.

Liu An came to the backstage of the small temple. The play had not yet ended, and the three opera troupes backstage were waiting anxiously. When they saw Liu An coming in, they felt like they had found a savior.

The backstage was busy telling the front desk to hurry up and wrap up the show. In less than a quarter of an hour, the show was hastily concluded.

"The Huai River market opens for three years, and the water market closes for five years."

After saying this, Liu An turned around and left the stage. He was not in the mood to care about anything else at the moment.

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(End of this chapter)