Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 172 Borrowing troops? No way!
"Who is speaking!"

The paper craftsman turned his head at the sound and looked coldly in the direction of Daoist Xiyun.

Master Xiyun slowly walked out, escorted by paper soldiers, his peach wood sword held diagonally in his hand, ready to strike at any moment.

"Who are you?"

Upon seeing Daoist Xiyun, the paper craftsman stopped what he was doing and cautiously asked.

"Qingfeng Temple, Xiyun".

"Qingfeng Temple?"

The paper craftsman's eyes flickered.

"How can you Taoist priests from Qingliang Mountain manage the affairs of Fenshan Town?"

“There are demons and ghosts causing trouble here, treating the people like prey. We cultivators cannot tolerate such evil deeds, so we must come and take care of them.”

"Ah……"

The paper craftsman chuckled softly.

"What a high-sounding excuse! You don't care about the demons that eat people in that whole town of Fenshan, so why should you care about me, someone who cultivates using corpses?"

"Respect for the dead is paramount; burial brings peace. How is it any different for you to use human corpses to enhance your cultivation, or for demons to devour humans and absorb their blood?"

The paper craftsman threw down his hoe and burst into laughter.

"You're so pedantic. You yourself said that in this chaotic world, cultivators should deal with evil spirits. If I don't improve my cultivation, how can I deal with these evil spirits? Wouldn't I just be throwing my life away in vain?"

“You famous sects have excellent cultivation methods, as well as elixirs and magical artifacts, so you naturally have a lot of confidence in saying such things.”

"I'm just a rogue cultivator who was lucky enough to obtain some cultivation techniques; I'm nothing compared to others."

"Rogue cultivator?"

Master Xiyun stared at the magic bell and paper soldier in his hand and snorted softly.

"I had no idea that someone who could learn the Meishan Paper God Technique was also a rogue cultivator."

The paper craftsman's expression suddenly changed.

"You recognize this technique?"

"I had the opportunity to see it several years ago. The paper figures, which contained spirits, were used by soldiers to perform magic tricks. It was extremely shocking."

"Even these few beside me were created after I learned the Paper God Technique from him back then."

"Indeed."

"Since you know this, then we are kindred spirits. I... will not keep you any longer."

The paper craftsman picked up the ritual bell and nodded with a smile.

His face was calm, but his eyes held a murderous intent.

The magic bell in his hand shook, and several more identical paper figures flew out from his body.

However, upon closer inspection, they are not all human-shaped; there are also other demonic forms. They swell in the wind and, upon landing, become like real demons.

Chen Ji recognized the origins of these demons and ghosts.

The one with a blue face, fangs, and four arms is a Yaksha demon, rumored to be a jailer in the underworld, though some have escaped to the human world to do evil, and they enjoy eating people.

The three-headed parrot with sharp claws and iron wings flies through the air. This demon can speak the languages ​​of humans, ghosts, and demons at the same time. Originally, it was more suitable to be a messenger than the blue sparrow, but because of its jealousy and violent nature, it easily hurts people's feelings and can only be reduced to a demon beast.

There are also long-haired monkeys that resemble humans. These are demons born from the combination of mountain apes and ghosts. They are good at learning human chivalry, but they also like to eat people and plunder.

……

As such.

Including the paper figures from before, there were actually six paper demons gathered around this paper craftsman, exuding a chilling aura, more than the paper deities beside Master Xiyun.

The talisman bell jingled, and all six paper effigies stared at Daoist Xiyun, their eyes flashing with a red light.

"I see……"

Master Xiyun gazed at the paper and slowly spoke.

"I wondered why you had to dig the soil yourself before. It turns out you've been relying on the barbarians for all your skills."

"You have acquired the paper-making technique of Meishan, but you have not learned their methods of making food for soldiers. You can only use your own soul to suppress them and feed them blood."

"You just didn't expect that the rampaging soldiers were already ferocious. After eating blood, their ferocity became even greater. Your cultivation level was completely unable to suppress them. Even with the magic bell from Meishan, you could only barely suppress them."

"They even wanted to eat your soul. They'll only leave you alone when they're feeding on your blood. Pretty good, right?"

The paper craftsman's expression changed several times.

"Since you know so much, you are even more culpable. Die!"

After saying this, he rang the bell, pointed at Daoist Xiyun, and shouted.

"Kill him, and I'll allow you to eat his flesh and blood for nourishment. He's a cultivator; one of him is equivalent to the blood and flesh of dozens of ordinary people!"

"Ow!"

"Roar!"

"Gah!"

……

The paper demon roared and charged towards Master Xiyun.

Master Xiyun swung his sword and pulled out a cinnabar talisman, chanting incantations.

"disease!"

The talisman was thrown out, and a wall of fire appeared on the ground.

The paper shrugs suddenly stopped.

Chen Ji realized that this was a drawback of the paper magic.

Even when they are alive, demons and ghosts fear fire, let alone when they are dead.

Paper talismans are made of talisman paper, and while they have some methods to resist ordinary fire, they don't have a very good way to deal with talisman fire.

"Fellow Daoist, your paper-throwing is nothing special!"

Daoist Xiyun laughed and brandished his sword, directing the wall of fire to transform into several fire dragons that rushed towards the paper demons in the air and on the ground.

"You think you can play dumb and be afraid of fire with this paper tiger? Get him!"

The paper craftsman also takes out talismans and chants incantations.

Rain began to fall from the sky, forming water dragons in the air before it even hit the ground.

After a sinister dragon roar, it swooped down and collided with the fire dragon. Although it did not completely extinguish the fire dragon, it did reduce the fire's intensity considerably.

The paper demons were Chen Ji's attack on Daoist Xiyun.

"Well done!"

Daoist Xiyun shouted and threw out several more talismans before the paper demons could get close.

This time, however, the attack didn't target the Paper Demon, but instead landed on the divine general beside him.

The talisman fell to the ground and spontaneously combusted without any wind.

The characters on the talisman were then imprinted on the divine general's body, flashing with several rays of light.

When the light faded, some traces of the paper embroidery could still be seen.

Now he was no different from a real god, his armor gleaming with a cold light, his swords gleaming menacingly, and his eyes incredibly vivid.

"What kind of demons and monsters are causing trouble here!"

The paper-figure general roared, and his body suddenly grew three times larger, becoming even larger than the largest Yaksha demon among the paper-fiends.

"Please, divine generals, arrange the formation!"

Master Xiyun nodded respectfully.

Four paper-figure generals stepped forward to protect Daoist Xiyun, their fists clenched, their tiger eyes wide open, and their aura emanating from their bodies, directly attacking the paper demon, even breaking through much of its bloodthirsty energy.

Master Xiyun continued his actions, tossing four more talismans into the air while chanting incantations.

"Your Excellency, the Ancestral Master of Qingfeng Temple, your disciple Xiyun humbly requests the Heavenly Palace to temporarily lend you a magical treasure to vanquish evil spirits and demons! We beseech Your Excellency to bestow upon us a treasure to slay the monsters!"

After reciting it three times, the talisman suddenly burned to ashes, leaving only a wisp of smoke that disappeared.

In Chen Ji's eyes, these talismans seemed to dissipate into the air as if guided away.

In the blink of an eye, as if sensing something, the four divine generals simultaneously reached out and grasped several weapons from the air.

It has everything: swords, spears, shields, whips, and more.

Moreover, it showed no signs of awkwardness; once held in hand, it was easy to use, directly attacking the Paper Demon.

"Jie!"

The paper demons, though unarmed and possessing considerable strength, still suffered a great loss when suddenly confronted by the paper god general.

The artifact had wounded his body, causing him to scream in agony.

The paper craftsman could not tolerate it.

He quickly shook the magic bell to send the six paper demons rushing up to attack.

Then he looked at Daoist Xiyun with a cold smile.

"You've used the Paper God Technique and the Spirit Summoning Technique, I'd like to see how many more spells you can pull off!"

"When the time comes and you are without weapons, all of you divine generals will become food for my rampant army!"

After saying this, he shook the Dharma bell.

"Take them down, and these divine generals will also be your prey!"

"Roar!"

They received a new promise of blood offerings.

The paper craftsman's soldiers, their eyes even redder, attacked him like madmen.

However, Master Xiyun's four divine generals cooperated extremely well, with shields in front and swords and spears behind, making them virtually impenetrable.

They could also occasionally ambush the paper craftsman's cunning soldiers with whips and talismans.

"Tian Sanliu!"

Master Xiyun suddenly spoke while performing his magic.

The paper craftsman hadn't yet realized what was happening.

Then the whip-wielding deity raised his hand and lashed out, actually wrapping the whip around the three-headed parrot's sharp claws and pulling it down. "Eek!"

The three-headed parrot let out a howl and flapped its wings, trying to fly away.

Unexpectedly, the divine general reacted extremely quickly. The two of them worked together and pulled him down, bringing him down to within two feet of them.

The three-headed parrot tried to fly away, but it was too late.

With a "rip" sound.

The sword-wielding deity drew his sword and slashed. After the sound of tearing silk, half of the three-headed parrot's iron wing was cut off and fell to the ground, transforming back into the shape of a talisman.

The injured three-headed parrot was unable to maintain its balance and fell headfirst to the ground.

The swords and spears were thrust down together with great force.

After the scream, the three-headed parrot paper beast turned into a piece of paper, squeezing out a phantom image that lay on the ground.

The phantom was still trying to escape.

Master Xiyun, however, was prepared. He lit a talisman and it flew out, landing perfectly on the phantom.

The three-headed parrot's spirit was frozen in mid-air, unable to move.

"Now that you've eaten blood, don't leave!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a red light flashed, and the three-headed parrot was completely lifeless.

"puff!"

The paper craftsman coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his face paled.

"you wanna die!"

The paper craftsman, seeing that the three-headed parrot had been destroyed in a single encounter, turned pale with rage.

Although he obtained the method of raising paper soldiers in Meishan, this technique has extremely high requirements; one must find a complete demon or ghost soul to successfully refine it.

He has exhausted his family fortune to produce these tyrannical soldiers.

Moreover, Master Xiyun is right; he used his own soul to suppress these paper soldiers, and they have already become one.

Now one of them is dead, and I myself am seriously injured.

but……

This can be considered a great help to him.

The paper craftsman's eyes were cold and sinister.

"Previously, I had to suppress these rampant soldiers, but now that one of them has died, I can spare some energy to use more talismans."

"You Taoist priest have done a good deed, I'll let you die a quick death!"

The paper craftsman spat out a mouthful of blood, then took out five talismans and chanted incantations.

It turns out they were also borrowing a magical artifact.

However, this is different from Master Xiyun's borrowing of divine artifacts.

The paper craftsman's incantation was actually borrowing ritual implements from the underworld.

"Heavenly Fiends return to Heaven, Earthly Fiends return to Earth, fierce and malevolent spirits, wielding Yin soldiers, we beseech the gods of Meishan to quickly bestow upon us weapons!"

Upon seeing this, Master Xiyun frowned.

Invoking deities and seeking yin energy is not an ordinary divination practice.

It's just a request from the caster, and only a person with great supernatural powers can stop it.

He was powerless to stop it and could only watch helplessly as the incantation was finished and the black energy surged into Haoli.

With a sigh, knowing he didn't have much time left, he hurriedly swung his sword again, aiming it directly at the Yaksha demon.

"May the gods follow me to slay this demon!"

Without hesitation, the four divine generals immediately changed formation.

The shield general stepped forward to block in front of Daoist Xiyun, the spear general brought up the rear, the knife general was on the left flank, and the whip general was on the right flank.

One man and four divine generals charged straight at the Yaksha demon, their qi as sharp as knives, forcefully breaking through the malevolent aura formed by the five rampant demons.

"Ow!"

Yaksha Paper roared, threw a punch, and jumped back.

Then he turned to the paper craftsman and shouted, as if demanding a weapon.

The paper craftsman swallowed hard, his face turning deathly pale.

He had used this troop-borrowing technique before, and the aura of all talismans sank into the grass.

There is a response in as many as five or six breaths, and in as few as three or four breaths.

It's strange that so much time has passed without any news.

So he quickly ordered the Five Rampant Ones to temporarily avoid the divine general's attack.

He then took out talismans and legally borrowed troops.

"Heavenly Fiends return to Heaven, Earthly Fiends return to Earth, fierce and malevolent gods, wielding ghostly soldiers, petition the gods of Meishan..."

"Quickly! Quickly! Grant them troops!"

The paper craftsman practically shouted out the last few words.

He even bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Pfft!"

The blood from the tip of the tongue fell onto the talisman, intensifying the ghostly fire. A red line appeared in the eerie green flames, which then sank straight into the wormwood.

"This time it's definitely going to work!"

The paper craftsman looked anxious, but suddenly heard his own voice coming from the open space not far away.

"We implore the gods of Meishan to quickly bestow upon us troops..."

"Ok?"

The paper craftsman froze, bewildered as to what had happened.

He had clearly requested troops from the underworld, so how could he be hearing voices here?

Could it be that someone from the underworld is here?
But why don't I feel anything at all?
Master Xiyun also stopped what he was doing and looked in surprise at where Chen Ji and the others were hiding.

Unlike the paper craftsman, he knew Chen Ji was there from the beginning.

Then it dawned on me why the paper craftsman couldn't borrow any weapons.

But I'm still a little undecided.

But the next moment, he heard an even more decisive response.

"No."

In an instant, a dozen or so talismanic auras exploded in the air and flew back to the paper craftsman's side.

Master Xiyun was completely relieved.

With a glint in his eyes, he took advantage of the paper craftsman's momentary daze and threw the peach wood sword into the air.

He then threw out several more talismans and quickly formed hand seals.

"Please, divine generals, help me capture this demon!"

The four divine generals remained silent, simply standing still and surrounding the paper craftsman and the five paper demons.

A dragon's roar echoed from the sky.

The peach wood sword actually transformed into a wooden dragon.

His body was covered in scorch marks from lightning and fire, resembling scales.

High above, thunderclouds formed a canopy, gathering into an umbrella-like shape.

"boom!"

Thunder rumbled for miles.

"not good!"

The paper craftsman was startled and suddenly opened his eyes, realizing that this magic was something he could not resist.

Just as they were about to escape, they discovered that there were no roads to the left or right.

Only the direction from which the sound had just come remained.

Although I don't know what's over there, I'm facing a life-or-death situation and can't think straight.

The ritual bell jingled, its face contorted in a ferocious grimace, directing the paper scribes.

"Quickly, protect me and get me out of here!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, the obstruction in the open space slowly dissipated.

Chen Ji and the others revealed themselves and raised their hands to stop him.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment."

"After doing so much, how can you leave without explaining yourself clearly?"

"Get out of here!"

The paper craftsman took a big gulp.

They threw out talismans and magical artifacts as if they were free, even activating paper soldiers and horses, their red eyes charging towards Chen Ji and his group.

It can evade one's own perception and refuse the spells that allow one to borrow troops.

At this critical moment of life and death, the paper craftsman dared not even be curious, and fiercely pulled out all the talismans and magical artifacts.

They didn't even dare to hold back the five rampaging ghosts, and charged at them all, hoping to find a way to survive.

Unfortunately, Chen Ji was even more formidable than he had imagined.

He was originally a yin spirit, and now he also had the authority of the city god.

Seeing that the Five Witches' soldiers only raised their hands and uttered the words "Soul Capture," they immediately imprisoned the five ghosts.

Then he blew a breath, and the ghost fire formed a circle, trapping even the paper craftsman in place.

Thunderclouds rolled in the sky, and a bolt of purplish-black lightning crashed down.

(End of this chapter)