Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 162 The Death of the City God
"I really don't know."

Chen Ji shook his head.

He was not from this place; he only knew about the events in Fenshan Town from what other people, ghosts, demons, and foxes had told him, and what he knew was all recent.

I really don't know anything about the past of Fenshan Town.

As the City God recalled the past, the coldness in his eyes dissipated for a moment, as if a trace of warmth lingered.

“Back then, there weren’t so many demons and ghosts in Fenshan Town, and I was already the City God of Fenshan Town.”

Chen Ji couldn't help but glance at him sideways.

According to Miss Bai, the name Fenshan Town probably dates back a thousand years.

The City God statue before us is actually a thousand years old?
However, he did not speak, but patiently waited for the City God to continue.

"Back when there was no war, life in Fenshan Town was quite prosperous."

"Surrounded by mountains and water, with fertile fields and abundant harvests, it is a rare and wonderful place on earth."

"Unfortunately, after a great battle, all the thousands of people in Fenshan Town became wronged souls, and not even a live chicken could be found."

"The blood offerings and the vengeful spirits attracted the demons from the surrounding mountains."

"But do you know what I saw?"

"What? They're feeding on corpses?"

"it's not true."

The City God shook his head.

"If that's the case, then there's no need to tell you specifically."

"I saw those demons and ghosts actually moving corpses and digging pits to bury them."

"Tree demons, wolf demons, fox demons, rabbit demons, rat demons... demons that were never seen before have all appeared on the mountain to prepare the bodies of these villagers who died unjustly."

"Since the ghosts couldn't disturb the earth, they sought a good place underground, avoiding tree roots and waterways. In short, all the corpses in this village and mountain were collected and buried by demons and ghosts."

"Ok?"

Chen Ji was taken aback upon hearing this, and the image flashed through his mind, leaving him somewhat surprised.

How can a demon, without any guidance, accomplish this?
Even among the foxes on Mount Sendai, only a handful can do this nowadays.

Moreover, even Miss Bai herself hadn't mentioned this.

The City God glanced at him and nodded slightly.

"This matter is very mysterious, so very few people know about it. Only the demons and ghosts who experienced it back then are still alive and have some memories. Others don't know anything about it."

"Demon, why are you doing this?"

"Repay the favor."

The City God spoke slowly.

“This place is prosperous, and the people are mostly kind-hearted. They also offer sacrifices to the mountain demons during festivals. These demons enjoy the sacrifices and know that the people in the town are kind-hearted, so they come to see them off.”

"Later, the people who were not in Fenshan Town returned for some reason and learned about these things. They invited the demons and ghosts to stay with them, so that they could take care of each other."

"It is indeed a good story."

Chen Ji said seriously.

The events in Fenshan Town are quite extraordinary, even by the standards of supernatural tales.

But he didn't understand.

If this is the case, the townspeople are virtuous and the demons and ghosts are also good, so this place should be a good place. How did it become like this?

"They are the wronged souls of those soldiers who died tragically."

The City God explained.

"The demons in the town only collected the corpses of the villagers; they did not deal with the soldiers who died in battle."

"Those soldiers were already living souls, and after this incident, they were filled with resentment. Taking advantage of the day when the gates of hell opened, they were enveloped in ghostly energy and transformed into vengeful ghosts."

"If it were just a vengeful ghost, that would be one thing, but they even transformed this place into a corpse-raising ground where yin energy gathers."

"The demons and ghosts lived here without any problems at first, but gradually, some of them were corrupted by the ghostly aura of the vengeful spirits of the soldiers and turned into blood demons hiding in the town."

"The incense is still offered as usual, but they have already committed cannibalistic acts."

“I didn’t have such magical powers at the time, and I didn’t notice the abnormality of the incense. By the time I did, it was too late to do anything about it.”

"Ok?"

Chen Ji looked at the City God with a cold smile.

"Is it beyond repair, or is there simply no desire to repair it?"

“You could have reported to the City God of the world that the incense burning here was unusual, and that even if the incense had been purified for a hundred years, it wouldn’t have any lasting impact.”

"Ah!"

The City God scoffed disdainfully.

"You make it sound so easy, Taoist. Do you know how many years a City God has to wait for a chance?"

"I only accepted some incense offerings that I shouldn't have, and did some things that all city gods do. Why should I have to go to prison to cleanse the incense offerings?"

"If I were to go to every place I unintentionally received offerings of incense, then all the city gods in the world would fill the prisons of all the city gods in the world!"

……

Chen Ji shook his head, not wanting to say anything more.

The city god's words implied the same thing: he was innocent.

Unfortunately, Chen Ji had been dealing with the Incense God all this time and knew the Incense God's situation best.

Even if there's a problem with a stick of incense, you can find out where it came from and who offered it.

The City God of the cemetery was simply implying that he was framed and deceived, which led him to do such a thing.

pity……

Chen Ji had seen far too many people like this.

The City God of the cemetery was not repentant at all, but rather afraid because he knew his life was coming to an end!

Such a deity is indeed not worthy of pity or sympathy.

"If every deity gave you the same reason, would all the city gods in the world be innocent? You have already committed a crime, and you cannot be forgiven, but..."

Before Chen Ji could finish speaking, the City God of the cemetery burst into arrogant laughter.

"But you can't kill me, can you?"

"I am a local deity jointly certified by the City God and the Underworld. You are a cultivator; if you dare to kill me, you will never advance in your spiritual path again!"

“The City God wasn’t like this before.”

Chen Ji looked at the City God and felt that he seemed to have suddenly changed his demeanor, becoming extremely wild and unrestrained.

"You Taoist priest!"

"You dare to call yourself clever? How could you not have imagined that my talking to you was just a delaying tactic to buy time for the corpse-raising ground and the soldiers' souls outside the town!"

"The corpse-raising site has been successfully set up, and the soldiers' ghosts know I'm not in town. They'll be here soon, and the town will be a ghost town."

"Don't even mention you, even if there were several more Taoist priests, they wouldn't be able to stop this army of ghosts."

"Ghost soldiers?"

Chen Ji's eyebrows twitched, and he suddenly thought of something.

However, it was not the right time to delve into the matter, so I suppressed my thoughts and continued to look at the City God.

"You're saying the corpse-raising grounds on the mountain were created by humans?"

"I'll let you die a conscious death."

The City God is a figurative term for the burial mound.

"The villagers' remains on the mountain were buried normally, but the bones of those soldiers were mostly killed by weapons, and their evil aura was extremely strong, making them the most suitable for refining Yin soldiers. My rampaging soldiers were raised from there."

"Now that these vengeful ghosts have descended the mountain, and with my rampaging soldiers to their aid, you, Taoist priest, won't live much longer."

Chen Ji sighed upon hearing this.

I don't know whether to call this City God arrogant or just plain stupid.

You dare to face him alone? Do you really think you have no trump cards up your sleeve?

However, looking at the City God's current state, Chen Ji knew why he dared to overturn the table first.

The City God also had a trick up his sleeve.

At this moment, the City God had completely lost his previous righteous aura.

His divine body swelled up, becoming half again as tall as an ordinary person, yet it looked as if he had crawled out of a mud pit.

It was covered in ghostly energy and kept dripping onto the ground.

Chen Ji knew that this was not the ghostly energy that had previously escaped from the body of the ghost, but rather a ghostly energy that was mixed with poison and corrosiveness.

At this moment, the City God's divine body completely transformed into a decaying incense offering.

Although I don't know what other magical abilities it possesses, just looking at such a divine body is somewhat disgusting.

"Taoist, now I'll show you my power!"

The City God shouted, and his ghostly aura swept out, rushing straight towards Chen Ji's face.

Chen Ji continued to fight back.

The wind and the ghostly energy collided and were perfectly blocked, with not a single trace of ghostly energy rushing towards them.

The City God's lips curled into a cold smile.

Do you think I'm unaware of this spell?

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Ji instinctively dodged and flipped to the side. As soon as he landed, he saw a flash of cold light in the spot where he had been standing.

It turned out to be several magical longswords.

At this moment, under the control of the City God, it gleamed with a chilling light, exuding a bloodthirsty aura.

These are the weapons of the rampant soldiers.

Chen Ji recognized at a glance that these were the weapons used by the rampant soldiers summoned by the City God earlier, but he never expected that the City God could also use them.

"They are tyrannical soldiers, and I am a tyrannical soldier too, so why can't I use them?"

The City God laughed maniacally, recalled his longsword, and charged forward, slashing at Chen Ji. "Cloud and Mist Transformation!"

Upon seeing this, Chen Ji subconsciously activated his magic, turning his entire arm into mist to dodge the longsword's slash. The rest of his body collided head-on with the sword, using petrification magic to protect himself, and he slammed solidly into the City God's body.

"Boom!"

A sound as grand and majestic as a great bell resounded.

The outer layer of the City God's body shattered into dust again, just like before, and fell to the ground.

"What a tricky spell!"

The City God sighed and looked coldly at Chen Ji.

"You Taoist priest are even more troublesome than the Taoist priests in the temple. If you could transform into a mad soldier, you would be incredibly powerful."

"Looks like I'll have to show some real skills."

The City God stopped and began to chant incantations while making hand gestures.

But a moment later, he looked at Chen Ji in shock.

"Impossible! Where am I? Why did the spell fail?"

"This is a dream; your magic is useless."

Chen Ji answered slowly.

He didn't listen to what the City God was saying.

He only felt something tearing at his soul, and he knew that this was one of the few spells he knew: the Soul Binding Technique.

Having used it frequently, Chen Ji naturally knew how to defend against this technique.

Holding firm to one's beliefs, without thinking about anything else, the soul and spirit merge, making it impossible to easily capture the soul.

What else needs to be done?

The City God suddenly changed his expression, clutching his arms and feet and shouting.

"No...you can't! You can't do this! Ah! My legs, my arms!"

"You're trying to kill a god."

"Have you forgotten who once protected you? This town, your ancestors were all under my protection! How dare you do this!"

……

The sound only lasted a few breaths before completely disappearing.

Even Chen Ji found it strange.

They also needed to go forward and check on the condition of the City God.

Soon, the decay of his body completely disappeared, leaving his entire divine body on the ground. His limbs were scattered on the ground, charred black like withered wood, emitting a foul stench. He was clearly dead beyond any doubt, with only a remnant soul clinging to life.

Knowing that this must be because villagers from outside came and destroyed the statue of the City God, this is the result.

Without further ado, he picked up the Day-Roaming God Seal and captured the City God's soul.

Only then did Miss Bai fall from the sky.

"Sir, am I not late?"

"Just right."

Chen Ji pointed to the City God's remains.

"If it had been any earlier, there probably wouldn't have been enough time to get information out of them."

He then explained what he had heard earlier.

"That's certainly rare."

Miss Bai pondered the story of demons and ghosts collecting human remains, and after a moment of hesitation, she asked the question that had been bothering her.

"Did the demons collect the corpses and put them in the corpse-raising ground?"

Miss Bai raised her eyebrows, somewhat surprised.

"Using a large army as a place to raise corpses, I don't know who has such means. This should probably be reported to the underworld for handling."

"Need not."

Chen Ji interrupted Bai Gu Niang.

"I should know the details of this matter."

"Is it...the Ghost King?"

After a moment's thought, Miss Bai suddenly understood what Chen Ji meant.

The only one capable of commanding so many ghost soldiers is that Ghost King who escaped from the underworld.

The City God himself would certainly not use so many corpses.

In that sense, it makes sense why the Ghost King is hiding here and is connected to the Blood Demon.

However, it's not appropriate to ask about these things here.

Chen Ji decided to first help Bai Gu Niang escape the dream.

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, Chen Ji and Miss Bai returned to a dark room.

"fire."

Chen Ji blew a breath.

The room suddenly brightened up, vaguely resembling the previous layout of the courtroom.

A moment later, he understood.

This is the place the City God brought them to, but without the blessing of the City God's magic.

They can then easily see through the room's layout.

There were only some simple objects, no windows, no roof, not even windows.

"Where are we?"

"Little Yin Si".

Chen Ji looked at the trapdoor above his head and slowly opened his mouth.

There is a minor underworld in the City God Temple, which is responsible for dealing with those who die that the City God cannot handle immediately and need to be dealt with over a few days. It can be considered a prison in the City God Temple and is usually set up in the space below the City God Temple.

Previously, the City God chose this place to interrogate Chen Ji and the others in order to avoid being noticed.

Now it's convenient for them to kill the City God.

Chen Ji got up and pushed the trapdoor a few times.

Instead of pushing it away, it simply spewed out another burst of flame.

The scorching flames swept across the wooden planks, instantly turning into a cloud of black smoke that shot out. Even the trembling ghost messengers above were burned by the flames, their bodies scalded with large blisters.

They dared not dodge, and remained kneeling until Chen Ji appeared.

Chen Ji and Bai Gu Niang leaped off the ground.

"Mr. Chen."

"Taoist Master."

"Master Chen".

"Fellow."

Before anyone could speak, greetings rang out.

Chen Ji looked around and noticed that Madam Hongci, the Millstone Demon, and Daoist Xiyun were all standing at the back.

After bowing and greeting them, he looked at the villagers and the statue of the City God in front of him.

When the City God was on his procession earlier, one could still vaguely see the vibrant colors of his five-colored robes. But now, looking at the shattered clay and wooden sculptures on the ground, they have no color at all. An uninformed person might even think that they are monochrome statues.

Chen Ji knew perfectly well that this was what a god on earth looked like after losing his divinity.

Without the luster of human faith, it is indeed no different from rotten wood and old stone.

The villagers, talking amongst themselves, recounted what had happened.

Upon receiving news that they were coming to eliminate the incompetent City God, they immediately summoned almost everyone present.

The demons and ghosts in the town wanted to stop them, but Master Xiyun led the way with his sword, and no demon or ghost dared to step forward to block their path.

We arrived at the City God Temple.

Upon seeing the clay statue of the deity, I began to ride around.

The underworld officials and judges who had previously accompanied the City God are all here.

They wanted to protect the City God's entourage, but seeing the villagers and the Taoist priests behind him, they lost all their previous courage and could only let them curse and vent their anger, and then push down the City God's statue.

Since the incense offerings to the City God are mostly stored in the statue, there is no longer any divinity to speak of, and the City God in the dream becomes a piece of rotten wood.

"Thank you all for your help."

Chen Ji bowed and thanked him.

The villagers hurriedly returned the gift.

"Master Chen, you flatter us. It is our honor to be able to do something for you."

"Please call me again if you need anything next time, Taoist priest."

"This is definitely more exciting than farming, I want to give it a try."

Chen Ji laughed heartily upon hearing this.

This is indeed the most basic wish of humankind.

When they encounter a strange and mysterious world they've never seen before, they want to go inside and take a look.

I seemed to feel the same way back then.

Before Chen Ji could answer, a wisp of black energy burst forth from Chen Ji's token and transformed into a human form.

"How dare you kill a city god!"

"You've gotten yourself into big trouble, do you even realize that?"

(End of this chapter)