The Terror of the Heavens Begins with Gu

Chapter 117 Preparations Before Visualization and the Theory of Fate

Yu Changzheng said, "This is just my guess, and it may not be correct."

"I've only ever seen one powerful ghost like the Essence-Eating Ghost in all my years of life. It's no exaggeration to say that it's extremely rare and hard to come by."

Li Zhen nodded: "Since the other party has set its sights on the Ghost King, why didn't they make a move sooner instead of letting it kill people?"

Yu Changzheng pondered, "Perhaps the timing isn't right, perhaps the Ghost King isn't strong enough, or perhaps there are other reasons. It's hard to say."

"I know your magic is profound, but don't take it lightly. Someone who can make the Ghost King his own is definitely not simple."

Detective Li agreed: "A person like that is worth meeting."

In the original story, although the Ghost King was eventually killed with eagle blood, he had already molested the young woman before his death.

Given the Ghost King's power, he has most likely already left behind a demonic fetus; his so-called death is merely a facade.

What happened next, Li Zhen had no idea.

But even if the Ghost King is terrifying, he can't turn the tide. If Li Zhen hadn't come, he would definitely have been eliminated in the end.

Yu Changzheng said worriedly, "I'll ask a few friends for help and see if they can find the other party."

"If we can find the other party and talk to them, there might still be room for maneuver."

Yu Changzheng is indeed a kind-hearted person...

Li Zhen asked with great interest, "Subduing evil demons is one thing, but someone like me, who looks like a humanoid demon but does good deeds, would attack me if the other party came from Tantric Buddhism?"

Yu Changzheng shook his head: "You're so young, how can you be more old-fashioned than me?"

“If you are part of their sect, you are naturally not a demon, but a protector.”

"But you're not on anyone else's side, so aren't you just a demon waiting to be subdued?"

"You're covered in blood, so you must be someone who can't control his killing urges. Even if you only kill bad people, what if you encounter someone who hates evil and has higher magical power than you? They might just take you in without you having any chance."

"Decades later, they suddenly realize that they were too ruthless in the past, rediscover their true nature, and attain enlightenment and Buddhahood, while you have become a pile of bones."

Li Zhen's gaze towards Yu Changzheng became surprised.

Yu Changzheng concluded: "There are some people you just can't reason with."

“I know what’s going on. If someone comes, I’ll explain it to you, but I don’t know if it will be of any use.”

Li Zhen nodded, then changed the subject, suddenly saying, "I need some things. Could you help me prepare them? I also need your help."

Visualizing the demon image might encounter some trouble, and I will definitely need Yu Changzheng's help.

Asking Yu Changzheng to help set up the ceremony was just the prelude; the real need for Yu Changzheng's help came later.

Yu Changzheng agreed without hesitation.

After agreeing, he hesitated and asked, "If you want to do something similar again, it's best to tell me first. I'm getting old and can't handle that kind of back-and-forth."

Hearing Li Zhen say that it wasn't like that, Yu Changzheng breathed a sigh of relief: "The Zheng family has suffered such a big accident, with only one young man left. I can't leave for the time being. I have to wait for someone to come before I leave, in order to avoid any accidents."

"These marks on the ground also need to be cleaned up. If others see them, it might cause some trouble."

After saying that, he suddenly looked at Li Zhen's right hand behind his back and hesitated, "You seem to be bleeding?"

Li Zhen said nonchalantly, "It's just a recurrence of an old injury."

Yu Changzheng nodded.

He had noticed the wounds on Li Zhen's arms and neck before, and it was normal for the ritual to affect those wounds.

As soon as Yu Changzheng left, the expression on Li Zhen's face slowly disappeared.

He placed his right arm, which was holding the demon statue, in front of him and pulled up his sleeve.

Look down.

Those red marks have disappeared.

The bulging veins on this arm have replaced the red mark, making it look even more frightening than when the red mark hadn't disappeared.

All the original blisters have ruptured and turned into festering wounds, which are now bleeding continuously.

However, Li Zhen didn't have much blood in his body, so these wounds were somewhat whitish, which looked very strange.

It's not just a problem with the wound.

After he made contact with the ghost fetus, his skin became dry and brittle, as if it had lost its moisture.

With his restorative power, the changed areas immediately returned to their original state.

The situation is now even more serious, and even with his recovery ability, his skin has not recovered in a short time.

The skin between the wounds looked like it had been covered with a piece of dried mud, making it resemble the skin on Tirapa's face when he died.

Even the circular spots on his skin caused by the corpse transformation became much more severe.

Li Zhen then looked at his left hand.

There are also changes on the skin here, but not as severe as on the right hand.

This state is likely caused by the loss of vitality.

This was the price he paid for his sacrifice.

No wonder the Tilapa school of witchcraft has been declining.

Even if no one were to hunt them down, there certainly wouldn't be many people willing to cultivate.

Once you enter this school of witchcraft, whether you use witchcraft or perform sacrifices, you will suffer a backlash if you come into contact with this evil spirit.

This is a very scary thing.

Although the six-armed bat-faced demon and the spider demon that Li Zhen had encountered before were fierce, they were not as eerie as this demon.

Only by visualizing the demon and incorporating it into one's Five Elements Evil Sublimation Method can this side effect be reduced; otherwise, even Li Zhen would not dare to use this kind of witchcraft lightly.

If it turns into something like Tilapa, things will get complicated.

Li Zhen then looked at the fleshy demon statue.

This demon felt completely different from the two demons he had previously contemplated.

The two demons were characterized by pure malice and evil, and what Li Zhen experienced from them was more bloodshed and cruelty.

The witchcraft system is also somewhat different from black magic.

Black magic requires someone else's personal belongings, such as hair, to be used, while witchcraft does not.

The "Demon Seed" technique used by Tirapa does not require obtaining other people's personal belongings.

With the witchcraft system, Li Zhen finally filled a gap in his knowledge; otherwise, if he wanted to take action, he would have to take other people's things first, which was very troublesome.

With such a major incident occurring in the Zheng family, leaving only Zheng Guoquan, it's impossible that they wouldn't notify their relatives.

After someone arrived, Yu Changzheng left a phone number, telling Zheng Guoquan to contact him directly if needed, and then quietly left with Li Zhen.

So many people have died here, even Old Madam Zheng is dead. Even if Yu Changzheng wanted to investigate Eagle Blood, he wouldn't know who to turn to.

It was already past midnight when Yu Changzheng returned home.

After all that commotion, Yu Changzheng was utterly exhausted.

After arranging a room for Li Zhen, he went back to his own room to rest.

After closing the door, Li Zhen glanced at the room Yu Changzheng had arranged for him.

Although the place was cramped, it was clean and odorless, making Li Zhen feel very comfortable.

Having gotten used to sleeping in a coffin, he now prefers to rest in clean, cramped spaces.

The vampire followed them into Li Zhen's room.

A dense aura of yin energy emanated from the vampire's body, gradually making the entire room eerily sinister.

Taking off his shirt, Li Zhen looked at the wounds on his right arm.

This problem must be solved as soon as possible, otherwise the wound will eventually fester to a certain extent, and even if he can cure it, the arm will be useless.

Tirapa said that witchcraft could solve this problem...

After placing the eerie, fleshy demon statue on the table, Li Zhen recalled for a moment the witchcraft described in the small book and thought there were a few he could try.

But he can only try this after he has visualized demons and made further progress in his sorcery.

At his current beginner level, the witchcraft he can use is limited.

And there's also the risk of backlash.

If healing these injuries leads to even more severe backlash, then it would be a losing proposition.

Looking at the runes on his arm, Li Zhen's face was full of thought.

After dealing with the Ghost King, he received notification that he could return at any time.

But this time, just like before, the runes did not urge him to return.

Recalling the previous incident, Li Zhen guessed that it might be related to the fact that he hadn't properly handled the aftermath of the matter.
For example, this time, the task required the complete elimination of the threat.

Although the Ghost King is now dead, has the scourge been completely eliminated?
It's unlikely. The person who left their handprint on his soul hasn't appeared yet...

Li Zhen picked up the clean clothes that Yu Changzheng had found for him and placed them on his bed to avoid soiling it before lying down.

Having not slept in bed for a long time, Li Zhen felt quite strange about returning to bed.

Although it wasn't as comfortable as inside the coffin, the presence of the vampires allowed him to enter a resting state.

Hearing the little devil tiptoeing around the house, Li Zhen said, "There's a statue in the living room. If you leave here, you'll be reduced to ashes."

The little devil said, "I'll be careful. It's too boring here. I'm going out for a walk."

The next morning, Yu Changzheng got up very early.

He went for a walk outside and brought back breakfast for Li Zhen. Then he made a series of phone calls in the living room.

Seeing Li Zhen come out of the room, he said to Li Zhen, "The willow wood, mulberry wood, bamboo pens, and pine resin you wanted are all available. We can find them no matter how old they are, and they can be delivered today."

“But if you want peach wood that's a hundred years old, that’s a bit hard to find. You know how precious that is in our industry.”

"I swallowed my pride and asked an old friend for some. I don't know if it's suitable. You can take a look when he brings it over."

Li Zhen thanked him and took a bite of the breakfast Yu Changzheng had brought back, only to find it tasteless.

It wasn't because the food was unpalatable, but because Li Zhen's own health problems were more serious.

A few days ago, he noticed that his sense of taste was getting worse and worse. He felt that nothing tasted good and he had to force himself to swallow food in order to stay alive.

It used to be edible, but now it's becoming increasingly unpalatable, and even swallowing it is a struggle.

I need to find some food that suits me...

Li Zhen picked up the water glass, took a sip, and then swallowed the contents of his mouth with difficulty.

Upon seeing this, Yu Changzheng couldn't help but say, "Is the food not tasty?"

Li Zhen shook his head: "The food was delicious, it's my own fault."

For someone at Li Zhen's level to say they have a health problem, it's definitely not a simple issue.

Yu Changzheng glanced at Li Zhen's arm subconsciously and noticed bloodstains there again. He guessed it was related to this and didn't ask any further questions.

Before noon, all the materials Yu Changzheng had requested, except for the peach wood, were delivered one after another.

Yu Changzheng had a wide network of connections, and everyone who brought him gifts would very politely address him as Master.

Among the Five Elements, the Bat-faced Demon occupies the Water Element, and the Spider Demon occupies the Earth Element.

Since the elements of metal and fire are not suitable, this evil spirit can only be classified as the element of wood.

Crafting wood-element talismans requires wood-element materials.

Paper made from wood is of the wood element, so there is no need to find special talisman paper.

However, the ink for drawing talismans needs to be made from wood-based materials, which need to be prepared by oneself.

Li Zhen didn't need much wood, and the pieces he delivered to Yu Changzheng were small sections of willow and mulberry wood, each about the size of an arm.

The first materials needed are mulberry wood and willow sap.

After placing these two types of wood on the gas stove, sap began to flow from one end shortly afterward.

Watching the tree sap drip into the cup, Yu Changzheng exclaimed, "Your sealing magic is truly unique. I've never heard of such a method in all my years of life."

Li Zhen only told him that what he was doing now was to seal the demon, but he didn't explain why it was sealed after the sacrifice and summoning.

Knowing that this was Li Zhen's secret, Yu Changzheng did not ask any further questions.

He was content as long as he wasn't made to do anything like dismemberment.

Yu Changzheng was responsible for both roasting the tree sap and making the talismans.

It was not that Li Zhen intentionally abused the elderly.

His body is very special; he feels extremely uncomfortable whenever he gets near fire.

As for making talismans, that's something Yu Changzheng excels at.

After listening to Li Zhen's description and seeing Li Zhen's sketch once, Yu Changzheng tried to draw it with ink.

Li Zhen immediately noticed the difference.

His own drawings were crooked and lacked spirit.

But Yu Changzheng's paintings are different.

Even without using wood-based materials, Li Zhen could still sense the woody aura emanating from the talisman when it was formally drawn.

The creation of talismans requires strong basic skills.

Around noon, Yu Changzheng heard a knock on his door and put down his pen with a smile.

"The century-old peach wood has arrived."

He wiped his hands clean and went to open the door.

Standing outside the door was a short, small old man with a mustache and a face covered in moles.

Upon seeing Yu Changzheng standing properly behind the door, the old man looked him up and down as if he had seen a ghost.

"So you weren't a ghost after all. I thought you had become a ghost and wanted a piece of peach wood to fulfill your unfinished wish," the old man said softly.

Yu Changzheng's face darkened: "I haven't settled accounts with you yet..."

"You're really not dead? Strange, you actually managed to survive? Then I can't waste my treasured century-old peach wood." The old man turned and left.

"You brought everything, how dare you take it away?" Yu Changzheng grabbed the old man's clothes and pulled him into the house. "Cang Weihua, you old bastard, you're really not a good friend. You foresaw my impending death, but you didn't even help me avoid it."

His friend had only told him that he might be facing a fatal crisis and advised him to be careful.

Upon hearing the other party's words, Yu Changzheng realized that the other party had probably even roughly calculated when his calamity would occur.

"Everyone has their destiny. Knowing you were destined to die, reminding you wouldn't have helped. Some things are destined to happen," the little old man called Cang Weihua said, shaking his head. "I'm genuinely curious, how did you manage to avoid your death? Do you possess some kind of profound magic...?"

Suddenly seeing Li Zhen sitting at his desk examining a talisman, Cang Weihua's expression changed drastically. He turned to run away, but was blocked by Yu Changzheng.

Terrified, Cang Weihua whispered, "Don't hurt me!"

Yu Changzheng feigned surprise and said, "I only wanted a small piece of your wood, how did that harm you?"

Cang Weihua glanced back, pulled Yu Changzheng aside, and whispered nervously, "We've been friends for so many years, why drag me into this mess? This is going to get me killed!"

Yu Changzheng stopped joking: "What did you figure out?"

Cang Weihua lowered his voice even further: "That sinister aura about you made my heart pound with fear just by looking at you. No wonder you're still alive; you've managed to latch onto such a powerful backer."

"But you have to understand that such a person definitely represents a huge problem. Don't deny it. If there wasn't a problem, you wouldn't be in such a hurry to come to me."

Yu Changzheng hesitated for a moment before telling the story of the Zheng family.

It doesn't mention that Li Zhen performed the ritual; it simply says that Li Zhen saved him and then killed the Ghost King.

After hearing what had happened, Cang Weihua nodded and said, "No wonder you've survived until now. You really did manage to latch onto a powerful figure. This is what is called a variable in fate. My cultivation level wasn't high enough, so I really didn't foresee this."

After listening to Yu Changzheng's account of Tantric Buddhism, Cang Weihua's expression turned even more grim: "It's over, it's over, I knew there would be big trouble!"

Yu Changzheng frowned and said, "We just killed a harmful ghost, it's not as complicated as you make it out to be."

"A malevolent ghost?" Cang Weihua shook his head. "It's obviously someone else's fish!"

"In your destiny, both you and the Zheng family are destined for a calamity, and the Devouring Spirit Ghost King is the tool to bring about this calamity."

"Behind the Ghost King is another pair of eyes, watching his every move until the Ghost King's life is about to end, at which point he will subdue the Ghost King and achieve his own merit and cultivation."

Yu Changzheng said, "This doesn't sound like something a righteous person would do."

“Acting according to fate, how is that not the righteous path? Others might even be saying behind your back that you're not on the righteous path.” Cang Weihua sighed. “But it does seem too cold-blooded. Can you imagine how terrifying such a person would be?”

He licked his lips and continued, "I'm not kidding when I say you're in big trouble."

"Think about it, ever since Tantric Buddhism spread to XZ, every ghost and spirit in that place, if it has any reputation, has been subdued and become their protector?"

"They must have put a lot of effort into setting up such a scheme. Now that the Ghost King is gone, a strange and mysterious figure has appeared. Wouldn't that be perfect to complete the plan?"

This aligns with Yu Changzheng's view.

He said, "There are many sects in Tantric Buddhism. If you encounter someone easy to talk to and explain things clearly, there may be no problem."

"Don't even think about it. Do you think someone as cold-hearted as him is easy to talk to?" Cang Weihua shook his head repeatedly. "You've barely survived, so you should be thinking about how to save your own life. Don't go looking for more trouble."

Yu Changzheng frowned: "At least someone saved my life."

Cang Weihua advised, "If you want to repay them, you have to see if you have the ability. I won't say who's inside, you know yourself. Just think about how terrifying it is that person who can raise the Ghost King like a fish."

"If something unexpected happens, just burn more paper money for him. I think there's a high chance that something unexpected will happen."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly heard someone say, "So, you're saying I'm beyond saving?"

"There's really no hope. Just wait to die," Cang Weihua said instinctively.

Only after he finished speaking did he realize that the person who had spoken was not Yu Changzheng, but the young man who had somehow appeared behind him and terrified him.

(End of this chapter)