Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 208 God Killing
The priest's expression changed slightly as he looked at Chen Ji.

"Why do you say that, fellow Daoist? Do you really believe what that demon said?"

"Then how do you explain these demons, fellow Daoist?"

"What...what's there to explain! It's all utter nonsense!"

The priest shouted.

"We are righteous gods of the Nine Heavens, how could we covet these incense offerings? Even if the mortal world does not offer incense, I still came here!"

"Is it?"

Chen Ji's gaze lingered on the priest with amusement.

"So they've come all this way just to watch the Taoist priest go to his death, and then they themselves will exorcise the demons? What a clever scheme!"

The priest paused for a few moments with a complicated expression, then relaxed his brows.

"I wondered why you, with such a family background, were unaware of this matter. It turns out you have an overflowing kindness, which explains why you became a city god in the underworld."

"It must be that your family elders want you to see the despicable nature of this broken world, and then you will understand that they are not worth it."

"Fine, since that's the case, I'll make it clear to you. These demons are indeed related to the emperors in heaven, but they have nothing to do with my emperor. My emperor disdains to do such despicable things."

"But didn't you do it too? As a former court official, even if you dislike these people, you shouldn't have watched them die."

Chen Ji asked in a cold voice.

"Humph!"

The priest looked coldly at Chen Ji.

"It seems you intend to hold me accountable, fellow Daoist?"

"Exactly."

"Then let's go. It seems I haven't shown my true strength, making you think I'm a pushover. Why waste so much time on nonsense? Come on!"

The priest descended from the clouds, his body clad in dazzling golden armor, and a bronze mace-like weapon appeared in his hand, pointing at Chen Ji.

Without waiting for a signal, a golden light suddenly shot towards Chen Ji's face, its aura sharp and intense.

With just this one move, Chen Ji believed that he had indeed had experience in exorcising demons and monsters. This outward-emitting golden light spell was indeed a powerful tool to suppress evil spirits. However, he was a human and also a local deity, so the spell's effect was much weaker.

Moreover, Chen Ji had mastered a variety of techniques. With a thought, his exposed skin turned into bluish-gray rock, allowing him to take the golden light in a less critical location.

It was clearly golden light, but when it landed on my body, it made a clattering sound, and even the parts that turned to stone developed cracks.

As expected of a divine spell, it is truly exquisite!

Chen Ji's heart stirred, and he shook off the broken stones, transforming them into new stones to meet the priest. He visualized the great sun, and his inner fire, mixed with the true energy of the blazing sun, spewed out in one breath. Instantly, it swelled into a fire dragon several feet high in the wind and attacked the priest directly.

"Your magic is indeed quite good for humans, but it's still far inferior to that of a priest!"

The priest remained expressionless, merely raising his eyelids slightly as he faced the ten-foot-tall fire dragon before him. He formed a hand seal, instantly summoning a dark cloud. Rain poured down within the cloud's area, yet not a single drop of rain was visible on the surrounding area.

Before the rain even hit the ground, it condensed into a water dragon in the air, corresponding to the fire dragon exhaled by Chen Ji, and even being several sizes larger.

"A Taoist is, after all, just a human, and his methods are nothing special. Today, I'll show you the power of a deity!"

The priest made a hand seal to activate the water dragon.

The water dragon then rose higher and suddenly split in two. One coiled around Chen Ji, while the other fought with the fire dragon. Both water dragons were surprisingly agile.

"Just by looking at you, I can tell you're not good at fighting. You don't even know the most important things for a Taoist. Remember them well in your next life!"

The priest, with a cold expression, manipulated a waterspout towards Chen Ji.

The water dragon soared through the air and crashed down with the force of a tsunami.

Chen Ji's eyes flickered, but he didn't take it seriously. The priest was saying that the other Taoists only cared about cultivating their magic and had no real skills. If their magic got close, they would be seriously injured even if they didn't die.

But he was no ordinary Taoist priest. As the water dragon fell, he silently used his cloud and mist illusion technique.

Since acquiring this technique, he has been diligently practicing it, and now he is finally able to transform his entire body.

To onlookers, the water dragon, carrying waves, crashed down with immense force, the towering waves engulfing Chen Ji, whose figure became blurred, as if shrouded in a layer of mist and vapor.

"I'll teach you a lesson, Taoist priest, so you'll know the power of a high priest..."

The priest's voice echoed in the air, but stopped abruptly upon seeing Chen Ji's current state.

"Are you... alright?"

The priest stared blankly at Chen Ji, unable to believe or understand how Chen Ji, with his mortal body, could withstand the priest's magic.

Chen Ji looked at him seriously.

"Is this what the priest meant by exorcising demons and vanquishing evil? What a show of power! Just because I touched a sore spot, you want to indiscriminately slaughter Taoist priests?"

"No... I didn't intend to kill you, I just wanted to teach you a lesson!"

"Is that so? If I didn't have these methods, would you really have let me kill you?"

Chen Ji looked at him coldly.

“The priest has committed evil deeds that violate the virtues of the gods, and everyone has the right to kill him! Let it begin with you today.”

"How dare you, Shuzi!"

The priest's eyes were practically spitting fire.

"I thought you had connections among the gods, which is why I taught you a lesson and held back. I didn't expect you to be so stubborn as to dare to attack a priest. Since that's the case, I won't hold back anymore. Killing a god is a capital offense! Even if your family has connections, it won't help!"

"Die!"

The priest roared, and the water dragon reassembled. At the same time, he chanted a spell, took a step forward, his golden armor gleaming, and his body swelled to the same size as the water dragon.

The mace in his hand was like a temple pillar, its swings creating a whooshing sound as it pointed directly at Chen Ji.

"I don't know how you managed to dodge the water dragon's attack just now, but now I'll personally demonstrate my skills and see where you can escape to!"

Chen Ji looked up and squinted as he examined the priest.

It's a coincidence.

I had not seen this priest before, but I had heard Daoist Xiyun say that we could invite a priest to exorcise demons and monsters, so I had a good impression of him.

But when they heard the priest's voice, they felt that the gods were unjust.

But afterwards, this god of no morality talked at length with him about the secrets of the priests, and his expression showed a hint of favor.

Chen Ji then realized that it wasn't that the officials were incompetent or the gods were immoral, but rather that they simply didn't care about the common people under heaven.

Humans, Taoists, demons, monsters, and ghosts are all pretty much the same thing; once they die, they're gone.

All that remained in their eyes were incense offerings and other beings who were also deities.

He only gained favor because the other party mistakenly believed he had a divine background.

Since that's the case, Chen Ji didn't hold back and used the Wall Spreading Technique.

Chen Ji didn't expect this spell to have any effect, after all, the person in front of him was a priest. However, he had already mastered this spell, so using it now was just a matter of course.

A gentle breeze blows, and everything before my eyes seems to stand still.

Chen Ji could feel a crack appear in the space in front of him, briefly dividing the world in two, and then spreading outwards according to his will, directly attacking the priest.

"Buzz!"

The bronze mace vibrated and made a trembling sound, flying back but not slipping out of his hand.

The priest's gaze grew even more somber.

"A mere Taoist priest dares to challenge the magic of the gods? Die!"

The priest swung his bronze mace down again, muttering incantations that Chen Ji couldn't understand. However, with the City God's seal and the underworld's divine authority on his body, he understood that these were divine incantations.

He only heard the incantation, and after a brief moment of dizziness, he regained consciousness.

A look of terror crossed the priest's eyes.

"How can you, a Taoist priest, even resist divine incantations?"

Chen Ji bit his lip. He didn't know why either. He seemed to be about to faint, but then a strange chill ran through him, and he instantly woke up.

But there's no need to think about that now; let's kill the priest in front of us first and then worry about other things.

So he took out the candlestick given to him by the Suanni, slowly cast a spell, and spewed out a mouthful of flame.

Another fire dragon soared into the sky, but its eyes were eerie green, tainted with the aura of netherfire.

Even as the battle escalated to this point, the priest paid no heed to the gaze of a fire dragon, continuing to command the water dragons to entangle the enemy while he swung his mace at Chen Ji.

"call!"

Chen Ji exhaled and rode the wind, taking steps, and in an instant, he rose into the air and traversed several meters.

But in the next instant, still focused and frowning, the priest stood still without moving, but the bronze mace in his hand seemed to bite Chen's halberd as if crossing space, and still smashed down head-on.

"Fellow Taoist, be careful!"

"Amitabha!"

Master Xiyun and Monk Zhenru hurriedly shouted a reminder.

The two even threw out talismans and prayer beads in an attempt to stop him, but they shattered into dust and fell from the sky before they could get close to Chen Ji.

"Who do you think you are, daring to stop me!"

The priest, enraged by the sight of the two, let out a muffled groan and exhaled two streams of breath from his nostrils, which transformed into armored soldiers and attacked the two.

"careful!"

Chen Ji immediately reminded the two of this.

He had the means to resist the priest's methods, but he didn't know how the two of them would deal with it.

"Fellow Daoist, it's alright, we have our own methods."

The monk and the Taoist priest nodded to Chen Ji, indicating that he need not worry. Then the two chanted incantations, cast talismans, and performed hand seals.

Some summoned golden light, flicked their whisks to transform into thousands of white threads that entangled the armored soldiers, while others turned their alms bowls upside down, casting phantom images of Buddha to protect themselves. In short, each had their own methods to withstand the attacks of the armored soldiers.

Under Master Xiyun's control, the whisk even swept away the armored soldiers' weapons and launched a counterattack against them.

The monk's methods were rather limited; his incantations had no effect on the armored soldiers and could only provide temporary relief.

"Fellow Daoist, don't panic, I'm here to help you!"

Master Xiyun summoned a ghost messenger and delivered dozens of talismans to Monk Zhenru.

"These are all sword talismans, so you'll have no problem defending yourself and can use them for attacking." "Amitabha, very good! Very good! This humble Daoist is indeed not skilled in martial arts, so this will come in handy."

The monk Zhenru accepted the sword talisman and threw it at the armored soldier. The sharp sword light immediately pierced through the armor on the soldier's body, but no blood flowed out, only a wisp of spiritual energy dissipated.

Upon seeing this, the monk Zhenru quietly chanted a Buddhist prayer.

"Amitabha Buddha, as long as there's no blood, it doesn't count as killing!"

Seeing this, Master Xiyun also used his skills to fight the armored soldiers. The two sides went back and forth, but the armored soldiers were slightly weaker.

"Damn it! How dare you injure a celestial official! Do you have a death wish?!"

The priest roared, but only saw a sneer on Chen Ji's face.

"Do you really think we only dare to hurt you?"

The priest laughed and looked at Chen Ji.

"You foolish Taoist, do you really think that you can kill me by injuring the armored soldiers I summoned?"

"It seems no one told you that I am a priest, a divine being. Mortal weapons cannot harm me, nor can mortal magic damage me. What right do you have to kill me?"

After saying that, the smile on his face vanished, and he looked at Chen Ji with a gloomy expression.

"But you dare to harm the righteous gods of the Nine Heavens! Today, you will not be spared. Die!"

"Even the gods are so noisy!"

Chen Ji shook his head and controlled the fire dragon to rush towards the priest.

The official had just boasted, but now, seeing the fire dragon return, he didn't take it to heart at all and simply stepped forward to meet it.

The next moment, his eyes widened and he let out a wail, his body bursting with golden light.

"You...you Taoist priest, what kind of magic did you use to be so vicious! Ah...how could this fire control technique be so vicious!"

The priest let out a scream and looked at Chen Ji, his face and body erupting with eerie green flames.

Looking again, the fire dragon had completely dissipated.

Chen Ji spoke slowly.

"Mortals and mortal arts cannot harm a deity. I am a day-roaming deity of the underworld, and I can naturally control the fire of the underworld. I wonder if this fire can harm a deity?"

"Netherfire!"

The priest's expression changed drastically. Ignoring his priestly robes, he lay on the ground and rolled around trying to extinguish the flames. His massive body writhed and rolled, causing the ground to shake violently, no less than an earthquake.

The river not far away even surged with waves several feet high, crashing towards the priest.

But the flames of the underworld cannot be extinguished by such means...

Previously, there were only a few traces of ghost fire on the priest's head and clothes, but after the priest rolled around like that, the fire covered his entire body.

At first glance, the dark green dots on the priest's golden paper are like patina growing on newly cast bronze, spreading little by little until they wither and crumble.

"How dare you kill me! I am a demon-slaying priest under the command of the True Martial Emperor, how dare you! You are courting death!"

The priest shouted angrily.

Chen Ji simply shook his head.

"Since the Taoist priest was able to exorcise demons and died, the divine official can naturally do the same. The aftermath of exorcising demons will affect him, so his death will be in vain. If you are not satisfied, you can report to the Emperor right now!"

As Chen Ji slowly uttered these seemingly familiar words, the priest felt immense regret.

The Emperor truly did not need these offerings of incense and sacrificial animals; it was these demon-slaying officials who were using the opportunity to amass wealth, and the Emperor was completely unaware of it.

If they had known, the Emperor would probably have taken away their golden bodies and stripped them of their divine positions without Chen Ji even having to lift a finger.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have said those things in the first place. I should have just honestly eliminated the demons!

Unfortunately it's too late now.

"Save me! Taoist priest, save... me!"

The priest wailed as he looked at Chen Ji. Seeing that Chen Ji did not react, he simply dispelled his magic, returned to his previous mortal appearance, and jumped into the river.

"Hey!"

A wisp of white smoke rose from the river, the Netherfire still hadn't dissipated, and had even become more intense. Half of the priest's body was enveloped in it, his face incredibly gloomy, twisted as he looked at Chen Ji, before climbing ashore and kneeling on the ground.

"Please...ah...please...please...save me! I don't want to die!"

The priest pleaded vehemently, but Chen Ji remained indifferent.

"The people in the camp were wailing like this before, but you said that without incense and offerings, they would just die. Now you're just spouting empty words, why should I save you?"

"I was wrong, I was wrong."

The priest's voice trembled, and he clenched his teeth.

"Taoist, if you spare me, I will hand over a hundred sticks of incense and a grand sacrificial offering!"

"not enough."

Chen Ji shook his head slightly.

"Then...then isn't the Ghost King going to contact the River God to release floodwaters and kill people, creating vengeful spirits! I will eliminate all the River Gods above and below for them, ensuring peace for this place for a hundred years!"

"not enough."

"Then I will rid you of this ghost king and wipe out all the demons within a hundred miles. Didn't you want to protect these mortals? I'll do it for you!"

"It's still not enough."

Chen Ji shook his head coldly.

"How much is enough! Taoist priest! Tell me quickly, tell me now!"

Chen Ji looked at the priest, whose body was now completely engulfed in the Netherfire. His golden body was crumbling and peeling away piece by piece, like rusty copper that had been buried underground for thousands of years and was now exposed to the elements, rapidly decaying. The priest's arrogance had vanished, leaving only a groveling and begging appearance.

Chen Ji looked away and spoke slowly.

"Apologize."

"apologize?"

The priest was taken aback, and anger welled up in his eyes.

"Taoist, you actually want me to apologize to you?"

"not me."

Chen Ji shook his head and looked at the distant, illusory village.

"It's them."

"mortal?"

The priest, his eyes filled with mockery, endured the pain and burst into laughter.

"Taoist, do you know what you're saying? I am a divine official! A righteous god of the Nine Heavens! You expect me to apologize to these mortals, these ants-like beings? That's impossible!"

The priest was engulfed in eerie green flames, his golden body was dilapidated, and his face was contorted as he glared at Chen Ji.

Chen Ji ignored the crazed priest and spoke calmly.

"But you're going to die."

Those five simple words sealed off all the priest's words. The priest's eyes widened, and he gritted his teeth.

"Even if I die, I will not apologize to mortals; they are not worthy!"

"it is good."

Chen Ji nodded and stopped trying to persuade him. This priest was so stubborn that there was no need to try to persuade him anymore.

Even if he doesn't die today, another Taoist priest who gets angry about it will kill him in the future.

Then it stretched out the lampstand and spewed out another mouthful of ghost fire.

"Since you're looking for death, I'll make it quick for you."

The fire completely engulfed the priest, who finally realized he couldn't escape. So he hardened his stance, staring intently at Chen Ji until his soul was completely burned away, without begging for mercy.

"Amitabha."

"Blessings and blessings are immeasurable."

After the ghost fire had completely dissipated, Master Xiyun and Monk Zhenru stepped forward and silently recited a sentence, somewhat incredulous.

"Fellow Daoist, you really killed this priest..."

"Actually, he had a chance to survive."

"How to do it?"

The two asked in surprise, unaware that there was actually a way to escape the burning of the Netherfire.

“He was originally a god of incense offerings, and only became a divine official because he gained the favor of the emperor. If he were willing to give up his incense offerings and become an ordinary ghost, he might not be able to escape death.”

“Is that so…”

The monk Zhenru immediately understood, while Daoist Xiyun shook his head.

"I'm afraid he won't agree."

"So he died."

Chen Ji shook his head, ignoring it, and focused on activating the seal at the spot where the priest had died.

"The daytime wandering god of the underworld requests an audience with Judge Lu, as he has important matters to discuss with him."

A moment later, a figure appeared. It was not Judge Lu, but Xue San, Judge Lu's messenger. He bowed to Chen Ji upon seeing him.

“Judge Lu is discussing important matters with the Prefect. You may tell me about it.”

"Alright."

Chen Ji nodded slowly and pointed to the ground to tell Xue San.

"We were exorcising a demon here just now, and a priest died here."

Xue San's eyes widened, he swallowed and disappeared in an instant, leaving only a faint voice behind.

"It's best if the Japanese inspector doesn't say anything more. I can't stand hearing such words. I'll go find Judge Lu and come up here myself. It's better for the Japanese inspector to speak with Judge Lu personally."

(End of this chapter)