The Terror of the Heavens Begins with Gu

Chapter 119 The Struggle Between Li Zhen and the Master
As Li Zhen finished speaking, another series of soft noises sounded outside.

After the discussion, another strange voice said, "What you said makes sense, but there's a statue on the door of your house, and the house itself seems to be protected, so we can't get in. Why don't you remove the protection?"

As soon as he finished speaking, another sharp voice shouted, "No, no, you're undermining our morale! He'll look down on us!"

"Then how should we say it?"

"Make him open the window and let us in, or we'll get rough!"

"No, no, that's too impolite! The master only asked us to invite him to a meeting..."

"No, the master wants to subdue him! It doesn't matter if he's impolite, he'll definitely follow the master and learn Buddhism!"

……

Li Zhen didn't say anything.

The conflict between the three evil spirits within him was extremely fierce.

Under the influence of the "Five Elements Evil Sublimation Method", the spider demon and the six-armed bat-faced demon in his body were originally in perfect balance.

Now, suddenly, a new evil has been added to this balance, breaking it and causing intense conflict.

Even more seriously, Li Zhen classified this new evil spirit as belonging to the Wood element.

Metal overcomes Wood, and Wood overcomes Earth. The "Five Elements Evil Sublimation Method" used by Li Zhen will guide the power of evil into the power of the five elements, which will make the spider evil be restrained by the evil being visualized.

The mutual restraint between wood and earth is more obvious, while the mutual restraint between water and wood is not so obvious.

Therefore, the will of the demon he is currently visualizing has the greatest influence on Li Zhen.

This is a manifestation of an imbalance in the Five Elements.

Li Zhen knew from the moment he began practicing the "Five Elements Evil Spirit Sublimation Method" that this path was one he could never stop on.

They either make it all the way to the end, or they are devoured by evil spirits and die along the way.

Li Zhen picked up a prepared iron nail covered in cinnabar and nailed the remaining wooden talismans to the center of the demon statue's forehead.

Metal overcomes wood, therefore special iron nails are needed to suppress the will of evil.

This is the method of dealing with this situation as recorded in the "Spiritual Talisman Scroll".

This demon was extremely ferocious, and Li Zhen thought that even with this method, he could only slightly suppress its will.

However, as soon as the talisman was applied, he noticed a conspicuous crack between the eyebrows of the demon statue that was nailed to it.

At the same time, the will of the demon within him gradually weakened.

Li Zhen was startled. After a slight hesitation, he pulled the iron nail out of the demon statue.

The demon's will grew slightly stronger, barely enough to contend with the other two demons.

This greatly surprised Li Zhen.

It seems that something is wrong with this demon.

It appears fierce on the surface, but in reality, it gives him the feeling of being all bark and no bite.

Li Zhen suddenly thought of a possibility.

Is it because this demon is in a bad state and craves life force to replenish itself that it so easily turns on the caster?

It's possible.

The wills of the three demons introduced by Li Zhen were not their original forms, but rather partial manifestations of their chaotic will.

Some problems can also be seen from this will.

Unfortunately, Li Zhen has already left the world of "The Seed of the Demon." If he could go back, he would know what state this demon was in.

With this demon malfunctioning, the three demons were able to maintain a fragile balance, saving Li Zhen a lot of trouble.

After a while of commotion, the people outside finally came to a conclusion.

A sharp, eerie voice said, "We've made our decision. We're officially informing you now: open your window immediately, or we'll forcibly arrest you."

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of sounds rang out from outside.

"This is good, this is good! I like a more assertive stance."

"I would also like!"

"But our master told us to invite them, not to arrest them!"

"Shut up and listen to me!"

……

Li Zhen laughed and said, "If you have the ability, then come in yourself. Only those who enter here are qualified to see me."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was another commotion outside.

Once those voices reached a consensus, figures crowded around the window.

With a loud bang, the window was shattered by a figure outside, leaving several large holes.

Those figures vanished in an instant.

One by one, the heads of weasels appeared outside the window, all staring at Li Zhen.

"It's him! It's him! The master is looking for him!"

"That's a bit scary. Will he eat us?"

"Let's go in first."

The largest weasel, the leader, tore off the fur from the bodies of several other weasels and threw it into the room, placing it on top of the talismans.

The talisman sensed the yin energy and was immediately activated, emitting a dazzling golden light.

The yellow weasels covering the magic circle emitted a burnt smell as they were roasted.

The lead weasel tore off a few more pieces of yellow fur and threw them into the room before daring to jump in.

Leaving tiny, bloody footprints on the weasel, it stood upright and walked up to Li Zhen, saying arrogantly, "Our master invites you... no, he invites you to witness his Buddhist teachings."

"Why didn't your master come to invite me in person?" Li Zhen sized up the strange weasel in front of him.

This weasel exuded an eerie aura, clearly indicating that it was not a living creature, but rather a special kind of ghost.

Li Zhen was more interested in that master.

The weasel, hands on its hips, shouted, "Our master hasn't arrived yet. We're the fastest runners, so we came first to invite you to meet us!"

A chattering sound came from outside the window.

"Quiet! Quiet!" the weasel turned around and threatened menacingly, "If anyone makes another sound and embarrasses me, I'll go back and tell my master!"

The chattering weasels all stopped at the same time.

Li Zhen glanced at the group of weasels outside the window and asked, "Are you all ghosts subdued by that master?"

The weasel standing in front of Li Zhen proudly declared, "That's right, I am indeed a protector under the master's tutelage."

Li Zhen asked, "What's so special about you? Why did the master accept you as his protector?"

The weasel laughed and said, "I am born with intelligence, but I am also violent. After I have gained some cultivation, I kill people to obtain blood and food."

"I love to skin people alive and eat them, and I also like to suck the bone marrow from living people. Once, I was accidentally injured and fell into the hands of a hunter. He skinned me, pulled out my tendons, and hung me from the rafters, screaming for a day before I died."

“After my death, my resentment lingered, and I killed thirteen people, causing immense suffering. It wasn’t until I met my guru that I was subdued by his Buddhist teachings. Now I often act as his messenger.”

Li Zhen shook his head, disappointed, and said, "The master is nothing special."

A fierce glint flashed in the weasel's eyes, and its teeth ground together with a grinding sound.

The pack of weasels outside the window started howling, spouting things like "skinning and pulling out tendons" and "making them into human pigs," which sounded terrifying.

The little devil appeared beside Li Zhen, grinning as he looked at the weasel.

Li Zhen pointed at the little ghost and said to the weasel, "No one is more spiritual than humans. This little ghost of mine is the best one I chose from dozens of little ghosts. How does it compare to you?"

The weasel was horrified: "You picked this one out of dozens of little devils? Impossible! How could you possibly create so many little devils?"

Li Zhen laughed and said, "As messengers under the master, you don't have the ability to distinguish between lies and truth?"

The weasel exclaimed in fear, "I have never seen anyone as evil as you. Only someone with great magical power and supernatural abilities like the Master can subdue you."

Li Zhen spread his hands: "You're not even as good as my little devil, how are you going to invite me to see the master?"

A fierce glint flashed in the weasel's eyes. It leaped back onto the window, grabbed a weasel, and stuffed it into its mouth.

The weasels were stunned. After they came to their senses, they scattered and fled in panic in all directions.

The largest weasel disappeared through the window.

After a scream, the weasel reappeared on the window and leaped back to where it had been standing.

Its belly swelled up in a large circle, as if it had swallowed many of its own kind.

After burping, the weasel patted its belly and said, "I've devoured thirty-two of my own kind. Can I compare to you, little brat?"

Li Zhen shook his head: "As a beast, you are inherently lacking in spirituality. Now that you have devoured so many of your own kind, your personality has become even more violent, and your intelligence has decreased even further. Why don't you go back to your master and cultivate for a while longer before trying to compete with my little devil?" The weasel let out a reluctant cry, turned around, leaped onto the window, and disappeared into the night.

Not long after, a green vine stretched from outside the window into the window.

The green vines grew longer and longer, eventually reaching a distance not far from Li Zhen.

Several lush green fruits sprouted from the top of the green vine.

An old ghost with a wrinkled face, wearing a melon-shaped hat, emerged from a fruit.

Looking at Li Zhen, the old ghost said, "The master requests that you come over to see him, young man."

"What skills do you have?" Li Zhen sized up the old ghost a few times.

Old Ghost chuckled and said, "Those weasels look scary, but they're actually stupid. They were easily fooled by your few words and turned on each other, eventually slinking away in disgrace. It's really laughable."

"It's not that easy for you to get rid of me, young man."

He pointed to himself: "I am a water ghost, a special ghost who drowned in a special river and swam in the River of Oblivion. My resentment has never dissipated, so I crawled out of the river and grew this vine on the riverbank."

"There are fruits on the vines, and anyone who sees my fruits will find themselves hungry."

“If they eat it, their minds will be clouded, and they will drown in the river, becoming my scapegoats.”

"But Heaven cherishes life. Half of my fruit is poisonous, and the other half is not. Young man, would you like to take a gamble?"

Li Zhen shook his head: "I don't like gambling, but I have a ghost that likes gambling. You can try it with it, sir."

The Mahjong Ghost appeared silently beside Li Zhen.

Looking at the Mahjong Ghost, the old man's expression became serious: "Alright, since you both like to gamble, let's gamble and see who wins and who loses."

The Mahjong Ghost and the Old Ghost disappeared at the same time.

There was a knock on the window, and a ghostly figure resembling a human baby appeared outside.

This ghost's aura is even stronger than the old ghost from before, and it can now rival the Soul-Eating Ghost King. If it were outside, it would definitely be a terrifying and vengeful ghost.

The ghost wore a string of beads that appeared to be made of bone around its neck.

The bead shimmered with Buddhist light, but it did not harm the ghost. Instead, it added a sinister sense of majesty to the ghost.

Although the ghost's appearance wasn't particularly ferocious, it still made Li Zhen feel uneasy.

That master is quite capable...

Li Zhen scrutinized the strange ghost.
The ghost fetus fell to the ground from the vampire, opened its mouth, and revealed a bizarre face with a pair of eyes staring unblinkingly at the ghost outside the window.

Li Zhen gestured to the outside: "Go, but don't go too far, and don't hurt anyone indiscriminately."

The ghost fetus let out an excited shriek, its two tentacles grabbing the stainless steel window frame, and in the next instant, it used the momentum to leap out of the window.

The ghost also disappeared at the same time.

In just a moment, another tall figure, exuding an aura of death, appeared outside the window.

The vampire slowly rose and walked step by step to the window, confronting the figure through the window.

Even if that master had some extraordinary encounters, he could never compare to the ghosts that Li Zhen had collected from multiple worlds.

The master's methods were ruthless, but he used them on the wrong people.

To subdue someone, one must naturally surpass them and plant a seed of invincibility in their heart, so that they may come to believe in the profoundness of one's own Buddhist teachings.

But if you can't even get the other side's people to come, and you're still suffering repeated setbacks at their hands, what's the point of talking about subduing them?
Li Zhen felt something and suddenly looked eastward.

A strange aura connected him to someone.

Even though he had never seen that person, Li Zhen knew that he must be the master that these ghosts were talking about.

This connection must have been established when the weasel entered the area.

At that time, Li Zhen had not yet realized this special connection.

In this respect, the other side has the upper hand.

interesting……

Li Zhen picked up the demon statue from the ground and slowly stood up.

The evil aura emanating from his body completely subsided, and his dry skin recovered considerably. Although it wasn't as bad as before, it wasn't fully healed either.

To recover, it would probably require the use of an evil technique that nourishes the body with the soul.

Suddenly, Li Zhen swayed and almost fell over.

His expression changed slightly, and he quickly took out the soul-summoning talisman that Yu Changzheng had prepared and stuck it on his body.

Within his body, the three evil spirits barely achieved a balance, feeding back into his primordial spirit and making it stronger and stronger.

However, his health was worse than before.

The result was naturally that his body's control over his primordial spirit was further reduced.

After the talisman was affixed, Li Zhen dared not move for a moment, fearing that if he moved, even the talisman would be unable to restrain his primordial spirit.

This change cannot be completed in a short period of time. After the initial period of rapid strengthening, there will be a period of gradual change.

Once Li Zhen adapts to his strengthened primordial spirit, it shouldn't have a significant impact on him in the long run.

However, as long as the problem of Yang energy cannot be solved, this problem cannot be fundamentally solved.

Moreover, this problem cannot be left unresolved indefinitely...

Li Zhen rubbed his temples.

With his primordial spirit reaching this level of strength, he's one step closer to becoming a Yin spirit...

The restless red-eyed bat flew to Li Zhen's shoulder and hung there.

……

Although he didn't want to get involved in such troublesome matters that could be life-threatening, Cang Weihua couldn't resist his curiosity. After vaguely hearing conversations coming from inside the room, he couldn't help but lean closer to the door to listen.

Yu Changzheng also stood next to Cang Weihua. Although he didn't press his ear against the door like Cang Weihua, he could still hear the conversation inside clearly.

After hearing what Li Zhen and the weasel had to say, Cang Weihua was so frightened that he gasped and mouthed "dozens" to Yu Changzheng.

He pressed his ear to the door and continued listening.

Just as Cang Weihua finished listening to Li Zhen and Lao Gui's conversation, the phone rang suddenly, startling him quite a bit.

Yu Changzheng, who was also startled, answered the phone.

After exchanging a few words with the person on the other end of the phone, he hung up and said to Cang Weihua, "Fellow Daoist Zhou has also discovered traces of ghosts and asked me if I know what's going on."

"Nowhere is peaceful tonight; people all over Hong Kong Island may have noticed something amiss."

"Many people are asking around for information, and after a while, this matter will definitely not be kept secret."

“How could we hide this? When such terrifying ghosts start to move, the ghosts on Hong Kong Island will definitely be the first to notice, and then their counterparts.” Cang Weihua rubbed his aching back and sat back down in his chair. “They all noticed, which means the impact has already been significant.”

He glanced at Li Zhen's door and exclaimed in surprise, "Did you hear what that water ghost said? Water ghosts actually exist!"

"I only saw it once in a folklore book. It is said that there is such a ghost among a certain ethnic group in the southwest."

"That master even found such a ghost, which means that his footprints have covered at least the most remote areas of the southwest."

Yu Changzheng wasn't very interested in the ghost: "What I'm most concerned about right now is the impact of this matter."

"What business is it of yours to worry about this?" Cang Weihua said bluntly. "You old man have been cultivating all your life and are still refining essence into qi. You've only barely touched the primordial spirit level. What right do you have to interfere in other people's affairs?"

"Don't overthink it. This matter doesn't really concern you much. Logically speaking, you should already be dead..."

Yu Changzheng sighed: "This matter really has nothing to do with me, and I can't control it."

Hearing the door open, he quickly looked up at Li Zhen's room.

Looking somewhat tired, Li Zhen pushed open the door and came out.

Cang Weihua also turned to look at Li Zhen.

Upon seeing Li Zhen's captivatingly bright eyes, he instinctively looked away.

Upon seeing the red-eyed bat, his heart skipped a beat again.

After glancing at Li Zhen, who looked even more strange, Yu Changzheng asked, "Was the demon-suppressing ritual performed smoothly, layman?"

"It went very smoothly, thank you both for your help."

"It wasn't much of a help. Before, some ghosts came to my door, and although I blocked them with the statues of gods, I couldn't do anything about the window on the layperson's side."

"It's okay, it doesn't affect me."

"Where is the layperson going?"

"Would you two like to go and see that master?"

(End of this chapter)