Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 306 A Stick of Incense in the Mortal World
The ground was shaken.

Although the bull's mountain-shaking power was somewhat exaggerated, at the point where the two clashed, cracks appeared on the ground beneath their feet, and then a large area of ​​the ground collapsed, forming a giant crater about ten feet in diameter.

Both of them were thrown back by the immense force, and cracks more than ten feet deep appeared in the ground beneath their feet.

—Disordered Qi, damaged meridians, moderate injury.

This was the first time Duncan had suffered a setback in this world when he clashed head-on with someone. Even with the innate true energy transferred from the Jade-Faced Goddess, he was slightly at a disadvantage and was forced back by the bull-headed beast's immense strength. The Jade-Faced Goddess behind him swallowed the blood in her mouth, wrapped her arms around the boy, and gracefully rose to land in front of the City God Temple dozens of meters away.

"My foundation in this world is still too shallow."

"Ordinary martial arts masters pose no threat to me, but someone like Niu Tou, who possesses the rank of Yin God, is not so easy to deal with."

"It is at least at the level of an otherworldly divine messenger, and can even be regarded as a kind of divine power of the death pantheon."

Duncan couldn't clearly measure the strength of those top players, so he could only use the Western world's system of comparison.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face are considered mid-level beings in the underworld, comparable to otherworldly deities from Western countries.

Beneath the distant banner, the bull-headed creature looked utterly terrified. Its breathing was unsteady, panting heavily, indicating it was also seriously injured. Even its steel fork had been chipped in the process. Duncan's Blood Fiend Qi was truly domineering, and combined with Yun Wangji's Demon-Slaying Sword, a divine weapon, they managed to cut a piece off the bull-headed fork.

When did mortals become capable of fighting it?

Since the Tang Dynasty, there have been fewer and fewer extraordinary people in the mortal world, and the underworld has not seen any new blood added for a long time. The only one who can be considered a famous figure is a person named Zhong Kui.

This bull-headed creature possesses the rank of a Yin deity in the underworld. Although it is not a high-ranking Yin deity, it is still quite important in the underworld.

Ordinary evil spirits and demons would be terrified at the sight of it.

"May the Thunder God help me!"

Yun Wangji pointed his wooden sword straight at the sky. A thunderous roar resounded, and a bolt of lightning struck down, forcing the bull-headed creature to stop its pursuit. Instead, a black token appeared in Yun Wangji's palm, which he used as a magical artifact to draw the lightning bolt to the ground.

The true teachings of Taoism!

This guy is also very troublesome. Taoist spells inflict real injuries on him, and it seems he also knows quite a few witchcraft techniques. After the fusion of witchcraft and Taoism, the Maoshan Sect absorbed the most witchcraft spells, rituals, and ceremonies. Yun Wangji's thunder magic is already comparable to the true teachings of Maoshan.

A black mist surged from the summoning banner.

Behind the bull-headed demon, the group of underworld ghosts remained silent, exchanging bewildered glances, none daring to make a move.

Where did this bunch of hotheads come from!

They showed no fear even of the underworld; if they were killed by them, their souls would likely be scattered on the spot. When a person dies, they lose their physical body and become a ghost. If a ghost dies again, its three souls and seven spirits are scattered, which is what mortals call "souls scattered."

However, there is another saying: "When a person dies, they become a ghost; when a ghost dies, they become a spirit; when a spirit dies, they become a rarity; when a rarity dies, they become a subtlety."

However, even the underworld officials don't believe this. Those ghosts whose lifespan has run out are either sent into reincarnation or simply vanish into nothingness. This situation is no different from a human body being directly decomposed into atomic levels.

In any case, none of the Yin messengers who were killed were resurrected.

—Pure Yang Sword Qi.

—The Chaotic Cloak and Demon-Subduing Staff Technique.

Fu Jianhan and Monk Bujie pushed their true energy to the limit. Although they didn't have the power of Duncan, they still made the Bull Head quite wary. These mortal experts had cultivated secret techniques, and their attacks could still cause damage to the Bull Head, although they weren't as powerful as those from the Taoist sect.

Ordinary martial arts masters cannot harm ghosts, but as long as their swords are smeared with black dog blood, they will have some effect, just like applying holy water from the church in the West, giving them the property of 'slaying spirits'.

The bull-headed creature stomped its foot on the ground, sending stones flying. Its earth-shaking strike, like a cloud-turning hand from the martial arts world, directly lifted a section of the ground, blocking the oncoming sword fire and staff shadows.

As a spirit of the underworld, it possesses supernatural powers, including martial arts and magic.

The god-like power in this world is very similar to the legends in classical mythology; to be precise, their strength is more like that of the Black Myth.

The way underworld officials apprehend evil spirits is no different from how constables in the mortal realm arrest notorious thieves.

These mortals before him were all quite powerful. If this were at the Gates of Hell, Ox-Head could have mobilized his ghostly soldiers to surround and kill them, but here they were in a rather troublesome situation.

—Bullhead (Yin God) (Soul Reaper) (Six-Star Silver Gray)!
"Son."

"Are you okay?"

The Jade-Faced Lady channeled her inner energy, attempting to heal Duncan, whose lips were stained with a trace of blood. However, he shook his head and refused. Duncan then shielded the Jade-Faced Lady behind him, calmly saying, "I'm fine."

This little injury is nothing.

When he was a barbarian, he couldn't unleash his true potential unless he was seriously injured and on the verge of death.

However, the Eastern cultivation system does not have the same powerful vitality as the Western bloodline activation. The barbarian can still be lively and energetic even after being hit by dozens of arrows, but the martial arts masters in this world will have their combat power greatly reduced after being hit by a few arrows, unless they have cultivated some powerful life-saving secret technique. Otherwise, most people are still just mortals.

Actually, when the bull-headed demon appeared, he could have sheathed his sword and spared the demon general's life.

But he couldn't bring himself to stop at that point.

It's just the underworld.

So scared!
If he were truly provoked, he would even overturn the fundamental laws of this world and directly inscribe the abilities of another world. Even if the world were to change drastically, it would not be able to stop the true Great Freedom Demon Lord from overturning the entire Nine Netherworld.

However, it's best not to do this unless absolutely necessary.

The mutation of the fundamental law has triggered a massive chain reaction.

At this moment, the bull-headed creature also looked somewhat doubtful and uncertain. It was not confident of winning in a head-on confrontation, but going back like this would make it difficult to explain itself and it would be unwilling to accept defeat.

Since the spirits of the underworld enjoy the incense offerings from the divine altar, they are naturally also subject to the constraints imposed by the divine altar.

Although it possesses magical artifacts such as the Soul-Binding Decree and the Soul-Hooking Rope, it cannot be used indiscriminately. Moreover, if it encounters a master who has condensed the three flowers of essence, energy, and spirit, these soul-hooking messengers may not be able to hook out the opponent's three souls and seven spirits.

In a Western world, this would be a combination of soul-capturing and soul-binding techniques, and legendary powerhouses would have a good chance of being exempt.

The souls of mortals are naturally easy to capture with a single strike.

If they truly have the ability to lure the soul of the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, and can get close to Zhang Daoling's body, they can be considered top-tier Yin spirits in the world.

When highly accomplished Buddhist or Taoist masters pass away peacefully, the messengers who come to collect their souls politely invite them to the gates of hell.

Some people don't even enter the cycle of reincarnation.

Just as the bull-headed creature was caught in a dilemma, a tiger's roar suddenly echoed through the mountains and forests.

"Come when you want and leave when you want?"

A towering figure, as imposing as a mountain, emerged from the distant mountains. With a burst of energy, he leaped over a hundred meters, appearing swiftly outside the City God Temple as if shrinking the distance between land and sky.

Lu Shanjun's tiger-like eyes were filled with a fierce aura, and a strange human head was tied at his waist. He stared at the bull's head in front of him with murderous intent and said coldly, "I am acting on behalf of Heaven to slay evil spirits?"

"How come you're the ones who got injured instead?"

A green marker appeared on the projection page of the dimensional space, covering a distance of more than ten miles in an instant, arriving as swiftly as if riding the wind.

The clouds follow the dragon and the wind follows the tiger.

Lu Shanjun's movement skills had improved significantly, but they didn't seem like martial arts from the Jianghu; rather, they seemed like a supernatural ability he had cultivated.

Mountain Lord.

Ghost.

The bull's expression changed slightly, as if it recognized Lu Shanjun. It gripped the steel fork in its hand tightly, and its wide bull eyes met the tiger's eyes surrounded by bloodlust.

Working for the tiger.

Lord Lushan possesses a secret method to transform people into ghosts, who should theoretically be taken away by the underworld. However, there are few soul-collecting messengers capable of taking these ghosts from him. They also have some past grudges against each other, and Lord Lushan's human form is not something that ordinary underworld officials dare to provoke.

"Lord Rosan!"

The bull-headed creature seemed to recognize him, its expression growing increasingly solemn. If it were an ordinary tiger transformed into a demon, it would have already found a way to kill it. But Lord Lushan's background was extraordinary; even the underworld couldn't uncover his origins, or rather, they had guessed some of them, but no one was willing to bother with it.

—Lu Shanjun (Tiger of the Year) (Great Skill Appears Clumsy) (Supernatural Power) (Six-Star Silver Gray)!
Long time no see.

Lu Shanjun's strength advanced by leaps and bounds. The baleful aura surrounding him condensed into the shape of a tiger, extremely powerful and yang. Very few demons could condense their true qi and magic power to this extent. His aura even overwhelmed the bull's head, showing the momentum of a vicious tiger devouring a bull.

His true energy, malevolent energy, and magical power had completely merged into one, and he had already entered the Dao and cultivated a supernatural power.

"He is indeed the reincarnation of the Tiger."

When Niu Tou first met Lu Shan Jun, he didn't have the strength he has today, but now they are evenly matched, and Niu Tou's aura completely overwhelms him.

Bitter!

Each of these people possesses an extraordinary destiny. Leaving aside the handsome young man, even Yun Wangji, Fu Jianhan, and others beside him exude an unusual aura, suggesting they have inherited something. Even a soul-reaping messenger like myself is somewhat unsure of their origins.

"Could it be that the Taoist sect has truly brought all the stars in the sky into the mortal realm to be reincarnated?"

The Taoists steal from the heavens, the Buddhists steal from the earth.

It is said that the Taoist sect plans to use some kind of secret technique, through the grand Taoist ritual, to send all thirty-six Heavenly Generals and seventy-two Earthly Fiends down to the mortal realm, but no one knows whether the rumors are true or not.

If we were to actually do that, the world would probably descend into chaos again.

Before Niu Tou could think any further, Lu Shan Jun had already attacked in anger, unleashing a domineering palm strike that came straight at him. It was extremely powerful and yang, seemingly clumsy yet skillful, leaving no place to dodge or avoid it. He could only grit his teeth and take the hit.

Rumble!
Lu Shanjun struck with a palm strike filled with rage, its force like a tidal wave.

puff!

The bull-headed creature spat out a mouthful of blood, its body flying backward with a horrified expression, no longer displaying its previous imposing aura. It raised the Yin Banner in its hand, and its figure instantly transformed into a wisp of smoke and vanished.

not good.

If Lord Lushan joins forces with these people, it is very possible that they could kill it here!
Listening to the truth has misled me!
The bull's figure transformed into a cloud of ghostly mist and fled. Lu Shanjun pursued relentlessly, and Zhigang's palm strike descended from the sky, even scattering a portion of the ghostly mist.

The underworld ghosts scattered and fled!
Duncan's figure flashed out, cooperating with Lu Shanjun to block the bull-headed creature that was using a stealth technique.

However, as Ox-Head fled, the others present also had their own thoughts. Jade-Faced Lady was definitely a love-struck fool. Without saying a word, she used her palm to transfer true energy to help Duncan fly through the air like a flying immortal. Fu Jianhan was bold and daring, and dared to fight even Ox-Head and Horse-Face. He directly unleashed a pure Yang sword energy.

However, the other two people present, Monk Bujie, looked conflicted. Niu Tou was a ghost or deity brought by Buddhism. If he took action, would it be considered a merit or a fault?

As for Yun Wangji, when Niu Tou attacked in anger, he immediately tried to stop him, but Niu Tou was thwarted and fled, while Yun Wangji stood still, motionless. They had only met by chance, and he didn't want to completely break ties with the Underworld.

If the bull's head is truly killed, this matter will likely be difficult to resolve.

Without the help of this true Taoist master to keep people in place, and given that Lu Shanjun was not skilled in magic, he really had no way to deal with the Ox-Head who had escaped using magic.

A thick cloud of ghostly mist dissipated.

When the bull's head reappeared, it had already fled several miles away. It turned back and glared at him hatefully before quickly turning into smoke and disappearing into the night.

For some reason, it felt a chill on the back of its neck, as if someone was watching its bull head.

——Marked successfully!
Duncan's gaze was icy as he watched the bull's figure disappear completely, his eyes fixed on the distance, in the direction of Fengdu, lost in thought.

"How did you manage to provoke the soul-reaping messengers of the underworld?"

Lu Shanjun looked at Duncan behind him and said in a deep voice, "If I hadn't arrived in time, you would have suffered a great loss!"

This is a soul-reaping messenger with the status of a Yin deity.

Although Buddhism was introduced to the Central Plains, the status of these foreign spirits was not yet stable, but they were not people that ordinary people could deal with. Even Taoist masters had to treat Ox-Head and Horse-Face with respect.

As they spoke, Lu Shanjun took out several unusual-colored fruits from his bosom, giving one to each person and distributing them cleanly.

Lu Shanjun was blessed with good fortune. In Dangshan, he discovered a branch of the Vermilion Fruit. When he went to Fujian, he found many strange flowers and fruits in the mountains. Now that he has broken through to the Dao and condensed his true essence, these strange fruits are no longer of much use to him.

He could have easily forced the bull-headed creature back during their fight, but instead he brazenly injured it, intending to hold a grudge against it since it wasn't under the jurisdiction of the underworld anyway.

To capture his soul, go and invite the Great Emperor of Fengdu.

"Amitabha."

Just then, a human head hanging at Lu Shanjun's waist suddenly spoke, uttering "Amitabha," which left even the monk Bujie stunned.

Only then did the others notice the strange, demonic monk's head.

Now, only a human head remains of Kumarajiva, transformed into a demon. His eyes glow with an eerie blood-red light as he gazes at Duncan before him, scrutinizing his physique. His eyes light up as he says, "Benefactor, your potential is extraordinary!"

"Would you be willing to study my 'Great Wisdom and Love Sutra'?!"

"In the future, I will surely attain the fruit of great joy!"

Where did this head come from?

His sudden outburst startled everyone.

"Shut up!"

Lu Shanjun shouted angrily, and the demonic monk's head immediately shut up, but his eyes were still fixed on the boy in front of him.

This child should enter my gate of great joy. In the future, he will surely cultivate to the third realm of the Great Wisdom and Love Sutra, the wondrous existence of emptiness, and enter the great bliss meditation.

Unfortunately, he is now dead, turned into a ghost, with no freedom, his life and death entirely in the hands of Lu Shanjun.

This wicked monk came from India and showed no respect for the bull-headed demon.

Yun Wangji looked at Lu Shanjun's figure with great vigilance. Among the people present, apart from Fu Jianhan and the Jade-Faced Lady who had already met Lu Shanjun, everyone else looked wary and seemed hesitant to approach.

The monk Bujie remained completely silent.

That's too fierce.

It seems only Brother Bu Tan can keep the other side in check. No, we need to find a way to notify Brother Bu Tan.

Lu Shanjun was somewhat lucky to arrive here. After leaving Fuzhou, he planned to search for Duncan's whereabouts. He happened to see ghostly energy rising dozens of miles away. Not knowing what was going on, he decided to come and investigate.

If he hadn't shown up, Minotaur might not have been so easily forced to retreat.

Dawn breaks.

Yun Wangji, who was adjusting his breathing, opened his eyes, first glancing at the burly Lu Shanjun, then cupping his fists to the leading youth and saying, "This matter is settled."

"I shall take my leave now."

"If you all have time in the future, you are welcome to visit Kunyu Mountain in Qingzhou."

Not everyone dares to travel with the mountain king, but the young man was very bold. Even when he was with the mountain king, he felt uneasy, as if he was intimidated by the kingly power of the tiger and could not calm down no matter what.

Yun Wangji left without hesitation, a talisman appearing at his fingertips, his figure already more than ten feet away.

"He's quite an eccentric."

Lu Shanjun stroked the tiger's whiskers, his expression quite appreciative. He already knew the ins and outs of the matter. Yun Wangji's pursuit of that ghost general across thousands of miles was quite different from the Taoist people he had known before.

Everyone gained a lot from this battle.

Fu Jianhan's sword energy has improved significantly, and his courage has been concentrated into his will, showing signs of reversing the innate from the acquired. Although Monk Bujie did not make any contributions in this battle, he did not hold everyone back either. However, for some reason, he frowned and remained silent, as if he had been practicing silent meditation.

Those present were all intelligent people; how could they not know that there was something strange about everything that had happened today? Perhaps this ghost general was originally destined to be 'recruited' and incorporated into the system of the underworld.

Only Buddhists would say "lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot".

But the boy still managed to kill it.

The feud has been formed.

As for what the future holds, Monk Bujie was also quite bewildered. He did not know whether everything he had done today would be recorded as a merit or a fault.

This great monk valued merit very much.

He didn't know that once this achievement was recorded, whether or not the Buddha would acknowledge it when they met in the future.

As for the Jade-Faced Lady, no one knows when the mark on her body has turned into a five-pointed gold star. No one knows when she broke through. The mystery of her state of mind is beyond the comprehension of outsiders, but she has clearly stepped into the threshold of 'entering the Dao'.

Duncan's improvement should be the greatest, because the evil energy in his body is almost overflowing, and it is no longer confined to his meridians, but has entered his ancestral aperture, forming a black ball of energy.

Suddenly, a mana bar appeared on the projected screen.

"Has he cultivated magical power?"

Duncan did not fully understand the cultivation system of this world, but ordinary people in the martial arts world do not have magic power, while the true disciples of Buddhism and Taoism mostly have the ability to cast spells.

Magical power and true qi are condensed, one from the upper dantian and the other from the lower dantian.

The two do not interfere with each other and each goes its own way.

"It looks like I need to find an opportunity to break through to the Innate Realm."

The true energy within his body was already flowing like a great river, and the quantity had accumulated enough, but the opportunity for a qualitative change had not yet arrived.

The cultivation system in the East has actually changed quite a bit. Ancient Qi cultivators were ethereal and elusive, impossible to find. From Qin Shi Huang to Emperor Wu of Han, no one succeeded in seeking immortality through external alchemy. The art of dissolving oneself into immortality flourished for a period during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, then gradually disappeared until internal alchemy became the mainstream of Taoism today.

The methods of spiritual practice are constantly changing, and people change along with them.

To put it bluntly, it's true that heroes are made by the times. When the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is abundant, there are plenty of people who attain enlightenment, and even those who enter the Dao are not among the most prominent. But when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth declines, many people in the Daoist sect cannot cultivate magical power and can only follow the path of cultivating internal energy.

When there is no more spiritual energy outside, one can only seek it internally, relying entirely on refining essence into qi to condense one's inner strength and true qi.

Taoist masters during the Qin and Han dynasties never spoke of borrowing magic, but nowadays, Taoists regularly offer incense to the gods, yet in crucial moments they still need to borrow some of their magical power from them.

The people are still the same, only the environment has changed, and people can only adapt to the times.

The significance of the first human host is self-evident.

Before the group left.

Duncan had the monk Bujie clean up the dilapidated City God Temple, and then the severed head was reattached to the clay statue of the deity.

"I can offer incense to the City God."

Before leaving, Duncan picked up a stick of incense from the side, activated his inner energy, lit it, and casually placed it in front of the statue without even bowing to the gods.

I don’t know how long it took.

The group had long since left. Nearby villagers noticed the unusual situation. An old man, looking at the lit incense, tremblingly entered the City God Temple, cleaned it up, and then offered incense and other offerings.

Wisps of blue smoke.

Whether three or seven days had passed, the incense stick the boy had lit still hadn't burned out, a strange occurrence that drew the attention of many.

Finally, at midnight that day.

A strange light suddenly appeared on the headless statue of the City God, and then a middle-aged man who looked exactly like the statue walked in.

His expression was utterly blank, as if he were out of his mind. He instinctively came to the statue and became one with it.

It didn't take long.

Another figure appeared, still the same middle-aged man, but with more varied expressions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. His face was full of bitterness as he wandered aimlessly to the City God Temple, where he merged with the headless statue of the City God.

One soul and one spirit.

Time passed slowly, and the middle-aged men who looked exactly alike appeared one after another. They were invisible to the naked eye of mortals. Their expressions were different, and they looked blank, as if they were attracted by a wisp of green smoke and returned to this place from all directions of heaven and earth, and finally merged with the headless statue of the City God.

Before dawn.

The three souls and seven spirits finally returned to their places, and the incense stick lit by the boy burned out completely.

"Am I not dead?"

The broken neck of the City God statue had been completely restored at some point, and a bewildered male phantom slowly opened his eyes.

………………

(End of this chapter)