Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 173 Meishan Lineage
Lightning bolts fell like dragons, heading straight for the paper craftsman and the five paper demons.

Before they even got close, the thunderous energy had already enveloped the paper sage and the paper craftsman.

"Stop them! Stop them!"

The paper craftsman shakes the ritual bell and tries to command the paper demon to protect himself.

However, Wu Chang was completely unable to move after falling into Chen Ji's hands.

The paper craftsman had to deal with the lightning strike alone.

He unleashed all the magical artifacts and talismans on his body.

Originally, I planned to fight to the death and settle things with Chen Ji and Daoist Xiyun.

Now, however, he can't care about anything else; he only hopes to survive under the thunderclouds.

"disease!"

The paper craftsman bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Black, purple, blue, earth... countless rays of light spread out and supported the paper craftsman's head. Many talismans and paper figures that were not yet fully consecrated were also thrown out.

"boom!"

The thunderbolts struck at that very moment.

Numerous magical artifacts and talismans blocked the way.

However, since it is an evil ritual, it is inherently restrained by lightning, and it is not a very powerful thing in itself.

In a single breath, it left a spiderweb-like mark, and in less than two breaths, it was completely charred. Then it exploded, even affecting the paper craftsman who was taking shelter from the lightning below.

His skin was completely charred, with not a single patch intact; he was practically a human charcoal.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted.

"Roar!"

The paper craftsman fainted, but Wu Chang, who had been detained by Chen Ji, was only slightly affected.

Although severely injured, it can still barely maintain its original shape. However, the wounds are stained with the power of lightning and cannot be restored for the time being, turning back into the blank paper it was before.

"Amitabha Buddha, am I really going to die like this?"

The monk Zhenru stared at the paper craftsman's body with a puzzled expression.

Taoist Xiyun shook his head.

“Even the paper god is alive, so he must not be dead.”

As they spoke, they looked over and indeed found that the paper craftsman still had a lingering aura, though it was completely disordered.

"Then it would be best if you dispelled your magic, otherwise he won't live long even if he isn't struck by lightning."

Taoist Xiyun nodded slightly.

He raised his hand to disperse the lightning, then looked at the four divine generals beside him.

"Please, divine general, bind him."

The whip-wielding deity stepped forward and simply lifted up the paper craftsman, his whip transforming into a rope that bound him securely.

"hiss……"

With a scream, the paper craftsman woke up coughing up blood, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at Chen Ji, his mouth full of blood.

"Who...who are you? Why can't you grant me the talisman to borrow the Yin weapon!"

Chen Ji didn't speak, but simply took out the seal of the Underworld Day Wanderer and the seal of the City God, which were imprinted in the void.

The two radiant lights flashed by in an instant, but were enough for the paper craftsman to see clearly.

A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, and his face twitched.

"How...what virtue or ability do you possess to hold both the positions of the Underworld God and the City God? Are you perhaps the Lord of the Underworld's illegitimate son in the mortal realm?"

"..."

These words were spoken.

Before Chen Ji could react, Daoist Xiyun and Monk Zhenru froze, their expressions turning to look at Chen Ji simultaneously, a strange light flashing in their eyes.

Why didn't they consider this possibility before?

As expected, bystanders are often blinded by their own perspective.

Chen Ji could tell what they were thinking just by looking at their eyes, and shook his head.

"Let alone whether the Lord can have illegitimate children in the mortal world, if I really could, why would I need to cultivate like this?"

"Of course, I just happened to hear it and found it interesting."

Taoist Xiyun laughed heartily.

The monk Zhenru also put his palms together and apologized.

Bai Gu Niang shook her head slightly, ignoring their playful antics, and instead squinted at the distant Ghost King, who had not yet appeared.

"Is there any movement?"

"No."

"Thanks to Miss Bai's superb magic!"

"It's alright, asking them is the most important thing."

Miss Bai waved her hand and asked Chen Ji what he planned to do with the paper soldiers and the paper craftsman.

"There's a lot of trouble here, let's take it back first... wait."

Chen Ji suddenly thought of something while he was speaking.

He quickly stepped forward and used the wall-opening technique on the coffin.

"Tom!"

After a muffled thud, the coffin lid flew off, and the headless ghost leaped out and pounced straight at Chen Ji.

"You still dare to cause trouble!"

Chen Ji glared at the paper effigy and cast the Soul-Binding Technique.

He simply raised his hand slightly, and the headless ghost and the paper effigy were completely separated. The paper effigy continued to writhe and struggle in Chen Ji's hand, trying to bite him.

Chen Ji's eyes shifted, and a ghostly flame ignited in his palm.

"Ow!"

The paper effigy of a human head let out a final scream before turning to ashes.

The headless ghost regained its senses, swayed its shoulders from side to side, and knelt down after sensing Chen Ji and the others.

"Immortal, it was my fault for not doing a good job. I allowed this villain to control my mind. I am truly sorry..."

"Do not blame you."

Chen Ji waved his hand.

“You are a new ghost with no cultivation. This paper craftsman has the methods of the Meishan lineage, so it’s normal that you can’t compare to him.”

"Go back and cultivate diligently; perhaps things will get better in the future."

"Practice..."

The headless ghost was startled, then realized what was happening and bowed down in worship.

"Thank you for your grace, Immortal. Can I...can I really cultivate?"

"Naturally."

Chen Ji nodded.

He is a day-roaming deity, and he also has a number of ghost messengers under his command. The millstone demon is a ghost messenger, so he is not included.

This headless ghost is quite a coincidence; it's a good opportunity to take it in.

The headless ghost hurriedly and excitedly kowtowed, but without a head, it was still somewhat inconvenient, and he began to have some thoughts of retreating.

“Immortal… perhaps we should forget it. With my appearance, I might be laughed at, which wouldn’t be good for you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, both Master Xiyun and Monk Zhenru were somewhat surprised.

Ordinary people and ghosts cannot resist the temptation of cultivation.

The fact that this headless ghost would refuse Chen Ji for this reason is indeed worth taking seriously.

Chen Ji paused for a moment, then gently patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems. I'll find you a head when we get back."

"Looking for a head? It's still usable?"

"nature."

Chen Ji smiled slightly.

"I am both a day-roaming deity of the underworld and the City God, so finding a head for you is naturally a piece of cake."

The headless ghost was stunned. A gurgling sound came from inside its body, as if its abdominal fluid was churning. It didn't come to its senses for a long time.

After a while, he simply bowed deeply and kowtowed.

"Thank you for your grace of saving me, Immortal. If you do not mind my weak strength, I would not hesitate to serve you even if my soul is destroyed."

"Serious words."

Chen Ji cupped his hands in greeting, then asked Miss Bai to withdraw her magic and return to the City God Temple.

Afterwards, he returned to his house and asked the stone mill demon to inform Judge Lu about the demons and ghosts in the area.

The stone mill demon obeyed the order and sank into the wormwood. A dozen breaths later, it appeared together with Judge Lu.

However, Lu Pan looked much more haggard this time.

"Why does Judge Lu look like this?"

Lu Pan gritted his teeth and looked at Chen Ji.

"It's all thanks to you, fellow Daoist! Your efficiency in investigating cases in the mortal realm is so high; before one case is even finished, another one has already arrived."

"The four chief judges under the Lord have not had a rest for over a month."

"I was supposed to be resting today and was just about to go out, but you invited me to come to the mortal world to handle some matters."

Chen Ji then understood where the resentment slowly growing on Judge Lu came from.

There was nothing I could say at the moment, so I just pretended not to hear and laughed it off.

"What are we going to see this time?"

Judge Lu raised an eyebrow and asked.

"This paper craftsman, and the paper soldiers he keeps." "From Meishan?"

Having spent many years in the underworld, Judge Lu was already familiar with the various lineages of cultivation in the human world. He knew exactly where the cultivators came from just by hearing Chen Ji mention them.

But when you look down, you discover a problem.

"Hmm? Why doesn't this seem like the orthodox Meishan lineage?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and cast a spell.

A black line flowed from the paper craftsman's body, twisting into a seal before wailing and dissipating.

The black line drilled again into Lu Pan's brow.

Lu Pan closed his eyes and pondered for a few breaths before opening them.

"I see……"

After saying that, he shook his head and looked at Chen Ji.

"Fellow Daoist, you have done a good deed this time."

"Ok?"

"This person does indeed practice the Meishan lineage, but he is not a proper disciple, at most an outer disciple, and he has done despicable things."

As Lu Pan spoke, Chen Ji gradually heard everything.

It turns out that besides paper dolls and soldiers, Meishan magic also has a soul-storing technique, which allows one to temporarily escape death by storing their soul in a paper doll when they are about to die.

This person was the disciple of the Meishan lineage who had been seriously injured, whom we had encountered earlier.

The disciple, seeing that he was a paper craftsman, naturally felt more favorably towards him, so he taught him some simple magic and asked him to take the barbaric soldier he had inhabited back to Meishan to deliver the message.

To maintain secrecy, the special nature of the paper was not mentioned.

Unexpectedly, the paper craftsman was cunning and secretly poisoned the paper while his disciple was agreeing.

He actually killed the Meishan disciple directly and used the magic weapon he carried to scatter most of his soul.

Later, they discovered the Meishan magic practice used to create paper gods, and they also turned that disciple into a paper god.

To evade the pursuit of the Meishan lineage, he hid in Fenshan Town, stealing the corpses of humans and demons to exchange for materials for cultivation.

Chen Ji looked at the one among the five paper gods.

No wonder I felt earlier that the paper figure was a bit too slow in pulling out the nails.

If it was created from the soul of someone whose spirit had been scattered, then it makes sense.

After Lu Pan finished speaking, he casually flicked his wrist.

The souls of the Meishan disciples within the paper offering reappeared before him.

Her figure was so thin that her face was almost invisible; only her lips could be seen moving slightly, as if she had something to say.

Judge Lu sent out a wisp of Yin energy to protect the ethereal soul.

“I am a judge of the underworld. Your enemy has been eliminated by this fellow Daoist. If you have any unresolved matters, you can speak now.”

Upon hearing this, the Taoist priest of Meishan paused for a moment, then slowly knelt down to pay his respects, his voice barely audible.

"Thank you for saving me, Your Majesty. I am deeply grateful. Please tell me your divine position, and I will send word to my clan to build a temple and offer incense for Your Majesty."

After saying this, he kowtowed, and Chen Ji felt a surge of incense energy descend upon him, more than he had received from saving people earlier.

Chen Ji guessed that this was probably due to the cultivators, but he wasn't quite sure.

We can only compare them when we receive offerings again in the future.

Thinking it over, he looked at Master Meishan and told him his name.

"Xiantai Mountain, Chen Ji, the Yinsi Sun Traveling God."

"Respectfully yours, Chen Rixun, I am Mei Minglun, a Buddhist monk from the lower part of Meidong'ao."

Chen Ji did not react upon hearing this, but Judge Lu raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised.

"Are you the next Dharma Master of Meishan?"

Mei Minglun was taken aback, then smiled wryly, cupped his hands, and shook his head.

"No wonder they say there is nothing to hide before the gods; I never imagined that even the Venerable God knew about this."

"I only heard your name mentioned by the Taoist priests of Meishan before. They said you were a genius of the Meishan lineage, one in a hundred years. I never expected you to suddenly disappear."

"I am ashamed to have made you, Your Majesty, laugh at me."

"It's already like this, what's the point of calling it a genius or a fool? It's just a soul."

Mei Minglun cupped his hands in greeting, remaining silent about his own experiences.

Chen Ji knew this should be Mei Shan's own secret, so he didn't ask any more questions. Besides, with Judge Lu by his side, he could just leave it to him.

He simply understood why Judge Lu said he had done a good deed.

By exorcising demons and catching ghosts, he inadvertently avenged the Meishan lineage.

These folk magic methods may be a bit chaotic, but they have strict rules, and there will definitely be a way to repay kindness in this matter.

However, Chen Ji has no plans to go there for the time being.

As for Mei Minglun...

Although skilled cultivators can serve in the underworld after death, judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem to be waiting to become an underworld official.

Instead of bringing up the matter, let him state his demands.

Mei Minglun bowed again.

"By the grace of the gods, I have no other desires but to ask that the gods send me a letter to the lower part of Meidong'ao."

"His family must be worried about him disappearing for so long without a trace."

"it is good."

Judge Lu readily agreed.

He suddenly understood why Judge Lu preferred to associate with Taoists who had cultivated themselves.

In this situation, they wouldn't make such an impolite request as asking if they could stay a few more days; they're just relaying a message, nothing serious.

So he summoned the stone mill demon and asked him to go and explain.

"Follow the order!"

The stone mill demon took the letter and sank into the wormwood, disappearing without a trace.

Seeing this, Mei Minglun bowed again to express his gratitude, and then followed Judge Lu back to the underworld, taking a few paper talismans with him.

Chen Ji watched Lu Pan and the others leave before turning to the newly added chapters in "Tales of the Strange".

There was a commotion when I mentioned the Meishan lineage, but it wasn't convenient to check. Now that I'm alone, it's a good time to look through it.

"Headless Ghost"

"Chen Sheng, acting as the City God, judged the case of the headless ghost one day, clearing the name of the wronged. However, the ghost said that it could not be buried because it had no head. So Chen sent a fox to find a paper craftsman to make a head in place of the head. However, the paper craftsman was a villain who had killed a Taoist priest to practice evil magic. He used flesh and blood to exchange for magic and practiced evil paper crafting. Chen Sheng and his friends exorcised evil spirits and saved the soul of Meishan. Thus, they mastered the art of paper crafting."

With a sudden thought, he closed the book.

Chen Ji then had many paper-making skills come to mind.

The wreaths, paper figures, and paper carriages I had seen in the funeral parlors before now seemed as if I had made them a thousand times over.

With just a thought, I can sketch out the steps in my mind, and even suggest improvements.

Going a little deeper, it leads to the Paper God Technique practiced within the Meishan lineage.

However, the paper magic recorded in the Strange Tales was much better than the one Chen Ji had just seen them use.

It is not made with ordinary Xuan paper, but with special paper.

The paper offerings made from these materials are naturally resistant to water and fire, and are even stronger than ordinary armor. They can even repair themselves if damaged.

There is no need to separate the soul for control; simply find the soul and refine it, and it will obey commands when summoned in the future.

"That's truly a wonderful spell!"

After a moment of reflection, Chen Ji felt even more admiration for the Meishan lineage.

However, we don't need to use the paper magic at this moment; the simplest method will suffice.

He went out and found a suitable bamboo, then used the splitting technique to split it into extremely thin and fine strips.

Flames arise from their hands, which are used to roast or bend the metal, quickly weaving it into a frame resembling a human head.

Then, cover it with Xuan paper and grind ink to draw.

In a short time, they produced a human head that was almost indistinguishable from a real one.

Chen Ji was satisfied and then summoned the headless ghost to try it.

"This... the immortal actually brought me my head?"

The headless ghost was overjoyed when it saw the human head that Chen Ji was holding.

He knew his head was with the White Bone Demon when he killed it earlier.

But they didn't mention it when they came back.

He thought he hadn't found it, but he never expected to see it now.

"This isn't your head; I remade it."

Chen Ji shook his head and explained it to him.

"The previous paper craftsman did the same thing, but he planted a corpse-controlling talisman, which is why he could do it this way. Mine is just a brain; think carefully about whether you need it."

The headless ghost was taken aback, hesitated for a few moments, and then nodded.

"I'll trouble you, Immortal. I need it."

"Excellent."

Chen Ji smiled slightly, carefully pressed the paper head onto the headless ghost's neck, and then a little bit of ghost fire appeared in his palm.

"Shh!"

The eerie green flames instantly engulfed the entire paper effigy head, but did not burn the headless ghost.

The headless ghost instinctively dodged, letting out a cry of surprise as it realized that the ghostly fire hadn't burned it at all.

After the ghost fire died down, they discovered that a head had grown out of their necks.

It swayed from side to side, and it was as solid as my original head.

I couldn't help but swallow.

Finally, he felt a breath passing through his soul and sliding down, and hurriedly asked Chen Ji how he did it.
(End of this chapter)