The Terror of the Heavens Begins with Gu

Chapter 120 The Battle of Witchcraft with the Guru: Tantric Practices vs. Evil Sorcery
Yu Changzheng and Cang Weihua naturally couldn't miss such a wonderful event.

The two glanced into Li Zhen's room and saw the furry zombie confronting something outside the other window. They then followed Li Zhen out the door.

Cang Weihua whispered, "Your house is probably going to be demolished..."

Yu Changzheng shook his head: "Let it be, it's better than having people torn apart."

Cang Weihua sighed softly, "You've died once, and you've really come to terms with it, old man."

Holding the statue of the evil god, Li Zhen pulled down his sleeve, determined the direction, and headed directly east.

It was almost eight o'clock.

That special connection made him feel that the other person was also approaching.

The little devil appeared beside Li Zhen, holding two white bone clubs and a small black clod of earth in his hands.

It handed the clod of dirt to Li Zhen and reported to him, "That weasel ran away this way. It probably ran back to its owner. I didn't chase after it."

"As you instructed, I brought back the seventh footprint it left when it went out, along with the mud."

Li Zhen looked at the small clod of dirt in his hand.

There was indeed a bloody footprint on the clod of earth, emitting a peculiar bloody smell.

The little devil grinned and said, "I did a great job, didn't I? That idiot had barely left when I dug up this footprint, it was still warm."

"If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known I was that amazing! Was I the most amazing one chosen from dozens of people? I knew I was definitely different from everyone else."

"But I have no memory... I've forgotten everything, sigh, what a pity... I don't even have a single memory!"

"I must be the fiercest and most terrifying of those dozens of little devils. Could it be... that I ate all the other little devils? That must be it!"

Li Zhen didn't tell it that he chose it simply because it was good at finding the way, and he made the choice on a whim, not because it was the fiercest.

"How about Mahjong Ghost?"

"The mahjong devil is about to win. That old devil claims to know how to gamble, but he doesn't know anything about gambling," the kid said. "He only knows how to play games where you have to choose one of two options."

"It means holding two fruits in your hands and letting the Mahjong Ghost guess which hand has the fruit. If you lose, the Mahjong Ghost has to eat the fruit."

"How about the ghost fetus?" Li Zhen asked again.

He wasn't worried about the mahjong ghost, but rather about the ghost fetus.

That ghost's aura is weaker than the Mahjong Ghost's. If you try to fight it head-on, you definitely can't beat the Mahjong Ghost. And if you can't gamble against the Mahjong Ghost, then you can only be swallowed by the Mahjong Ghost.

Upon hearing about the ghost fetus, the little ghost said with lingering fear, "They were fighting fiercely on the grass behind us, and I almost got caught and eaten when I got close."

"I only dared to glance at it from afar. The ghost fetus was beaten badly by that ghost; it was bleeding a lot, and many of its tentacles had fallen off. Could it have been killed by that ghost?"

Li Zhen didn't say anything.

It's normal for the ghost fetus to suffer some losses, but killing it is definitely not that easy. Otherwise, Li Zhen wouldn't have let the ghost fetus face that somewhat eerie ghost directly.

Even better would be to release red-eyed bats.

The little devil feigned regret, saying, "If you hadn't called me back, I definitely could have helped the ghost fetus eat that ghost."

Li Zhen laughed and said, "You're so capable, the reason I asked you to come here is obviously because I have an even more important task for you."

The little ghost said happily, "I knew it! The Mahjong Ghost is too dull, the Ghost Fetus is too stupid, and the Zombie only knows how to sleep and suck blood. This bat... the bat is quite smart, just a little less so than me. There are some things that only I can do."

"Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

It looked at Li Zhen expectantly, and then heard Li Zhen say, "Go and get rid of that guru behind them."

The little devil was stunned: "You want me to get rid of that so-called guru? You want me to go?"

“Looks like you’re still not smart enough, only good for chores.” Li Zhen looked to his left. “Go over there and get me some spellcasting materials. There’s a fishy smell over there. Remember where you got them.”

Without saying a word, the little devil disappeared right next to Li Zhen.

A light rain began to fall.

At this time of day, there were not many pedestrians on the streets.

After dismissing the chattering brat, Li Zhen turned to look at an old woman on the roadside who had turned pale with fright at the sight of him.

The old woman forced a smile at him and quickly turned her head away.

Suddenly she saw Yu Changzheng not far behind her, and she hesitated before running towards him.

Upon seeing this person, Yu Changzheng greeted her, "Wang Po, what are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," Granny Wang said worriedly. "I was performing a spirit mediumship for someone, and the person I had just invited was scared away and almost took me with him. So I chased after him to see what was going on."

She glanced at Li Zhen's back and said, "I saw him as soon as I came out... I was terrified when I saw him."

Yu Changzheng nodded and said, "There are many powerful ghosts active tonight. It's fortunate that you didn't encounter them when you were walking through the underworld, Wang Po, otherwise it wouldn't have been as simple as just being scared away."

Granny Wang glanced at Li Zhen again, as if she understood something, and quickly said, "I haven't put away my clothes yet, I'll go home and put away my clothes first, I won't join you in watching the excitement."

As soon as she finished speaking, she ran away in a hurry.

Cang Weihua stroked his chin and said, "This is a truly intelligent person. Others will definitely live longer than you."

Yu Changzheng said, "Aren't you a smart man too? Why are you going to watch the show now?"

Cang Weihua sighed and said, "I knew it, one day I would die because of my damn curiosity."

……

A short-haired man walked slowly along the path that led through the hill.

He had a short beard on his face, looked to be in his thirties, and had dark skin. Combined with his faded clothes, he looked like an ascetic monk undergoing rigorous meditation.

This person was dressed simply, without any jewelry, and had an ordinary appearance. However, his eyes, when they opened and closed, carried an extraordinary charm, as if they could see directly into the depths of people's hearts.

The largest weasel darted out of the bushes, prostrated itself on the man, and respectfully said, "Master Dorje, I failed to bring that person here. Please punish me, Master."

The man known as Dorje Guru looked at the weasel, giving the weasel the feeling that all the secrets deep in its heart had been exposed in those deep eyes.

But strangely, it didn't feel the expected fear; instead, it sensed only the pity emanating from that gaze.

This compassion dissolved all the unease in the weasel's heart, giving rise to the urge to confide everything that had happened to it to the guru, so that the guru could point it in the right direction and tell it what to do.

“I already know,” Dorje said slowly. “When you were devouring your own kind, I knew something was wrong, so I sent them out as well.”

"They haven't returned yet, they must have encountered some unforeseen circumstances."

"This person is more peculiar than I expected. He seems to be my greatest enemy. If I can subdue him and make him my protector, my mission will be accomplished."

"This person appeared out of nowhere, ruining my plans, but also making my achievements more complete. The saying 'every loss has its gain' applies here."

Upon hearing the word "devour its own kind," the weasel trembled.

After Master Dorje finished speaking, it quickly explained, "He has a little demon, which was chosen from dozens of little demons. This is not a lie."

Dorje Rinpoche was slightly surprised: "How could he be so evil? I sensed that he had committed murder, but I did not know that the murderous karma was so deep."

He shook his head: "He must be converted to Buddhism to eliminate the sins of killing on his body and prevent him from committing further killings in the future."

The weasel continued, "I thought to myself, if I can't even beat that little devil, how can I invite him over for my master? If I don't invite him, wouldn't my master have lost?"

"So I had no choice but to devour my own kind to strengthen myself, but then that person said that my spirituality was not strong to begin with, and now that I had devoured my own kind, my spirituality would definitely be even weaker, and that I was not worthy of inviting him."

Dorje Rinpoche nodded: "He is telling the truth."

The weasel wiped its mouth: "I ate some of them over there, but on the way, the rest kept chattering and giving me a terrible headache, so I ate some of them too. The rest of them never dared to come near me again, and now I don't know where they've run off to."

Dorje Rinpoche shook his head: "I taught you to return to the wisdom of emptiness and realize that all appearances are without inherent existence, but you never really listened, and now you've made such a mistake again..."

The weasel quickly replied, "I am willing to serve my master day and night, and I will never leave his side again!"

As soon as it finished speaking, it leaped up and transformed into a plush weasel skin, which hung around the master's waist.

This skin isn't just skin; it has a skull attached, so it looks somewhat eerie.

Just as Dorje Rinpoche was about to say something, he suddenly felt a pain in his waist.

His expression changed, and he grabbed the weasel skin at his waist, pulling it outwards, but it wouldn't budge.

Looking down, he saw the weasel skull's mouth biting his waist, its sharp teeth deeply embedded in his flesh.

Crimson blood immediately flowed from the wound.

Upon seeing the evil aura emanating from the empty eyes of the weasel's skull, Master Dorje knew that the weasel had been bewitched.

Though startled, he remained calm. He gripped the weasel's neck tightly with his right hand, opened his mouth, and uttered an obscure and incomprehensible incantation.

“Om… Mahakala… Hum…”

As if it had been injured, a shrill scream rang out, and a wisp of blue smoke rose from the weasel's pelt.

When Dorje Rinpoche attempted to rescue the Ghost King through his magic, he had sensed the aura of the demon that had devoured the Ghost King.

When he felt that aura again, he felt both heavy-hearted and joyful.

This malevolent aura was exactly the kind of aura he had been searching for all this way.

When he tried to save the Ghost King, he knew that the other party had only used some kind of sacrificial ritual to summon the demon's will, allowing the demon to devour the Ghost King. The other party's magical power was definitely not as great as it had appeared at the time.

As a master, Dorjee had extensive experience in exorcising demons. He knew that as long as he didn't let the opponent prepare, didn't leave anything in the opponent's hands, and didn't give the opponent the opportunity to use evil magic in advance, the opponent would be unable to do anything to him.

Only then did he realize that he had underestimated the other party.

The opponent is not only cunning, but also uses evil magic that is impossible to guard against.

He sent the weasel to invite the other party, one of his purposes being to test their background.

As a result, the weasel not only failed to achieve its goal and see through the other party's secrets, but was also exposed by the other party with just a few words, thus losing years of hard work and being devoured by its own kind.

Unbeknownst to them, the other party had unknowingly cast a dark spell on the weasel.

This evil magic was so secretive that even he didn't notice it before it was activated.

Although he didn't say it aloud, Dorje Rinpoche felt somewhat heavy-hearted after not being able to invite the other party over or to see through their background.

At this moment, the opponent's evil magic was activated first, gaining the upper hand and making him begin to doubt whether he could defeat the opponent.

Feeling the shadow of the other person growing larger and larger in his heart, Master Dorje was startled.

Having cultivated himself for many years and long since reached a state of mind unmoved by external affairs, how could he have such emotions?
This is a sign of inner demon regeneration.

With cold sweat pouring down his forehead, Master Dorje remained focused, continuously chanting mantras from his mouth.

The weasel in my hand paused for a moment, then suddenly began to struggle again.

The immense evil energy made the weasel even more ferocious.

Strands of foul-smelling liquid mixed with fresh blood oozed from the weasel skin, corroding Dorje Rinpoche's palms until the skin was torn and bleeding, but he did not let go of his hand.

As Dorje Rinpoche continued chanting sutras, sweat poured down his forehead, and the arm gripping the weasel began to tremble.

When he tried to save the Ghost King, he sensed that the other party was not so terrifying.

Why are you putting so much pressure on him now?

After an unknown amount of time, Dorje Rinpoche, feeling a sense of foreboding, opened his eyes and looked ahead.

Although there was no one in front of him, the unseen connection made him realize that the other person was about to arrive.

Sure enough, a figure appeared in front of them after only a few breaths.

……

Forests, fields, or hilly areas...

Li Zhen walked eastward for more than ten minutes, crossed the street, and saw a small hill appear in front of him.

Feeling a connection, he walked onto a path that ran through the hill.

The little devil carrying a bag followed beside Li Zhen.

The bag contained a foul-smelling liquid mixed with internal organs and flesh.

Li Zhen opened his hand and placed the mud clod with the footprint in his palm.

He casually plucked some bits of grass and scattered them on the patch of soil, then kneaded the soil, grass, and meat into a ball.

Then, Li Zhen reached directly into the foul-smelling bag, dipped his hand in the liquid, and dripped it onto the mud.

A hissing sound was emitted, and a wisp of blue smoke rose from the surface of the mud.

As if it had turned into some kind of liquid, the mud clumps wriggled and kept deforming.

Li Zhen casually broke off a few thin branches.

He thrust the branches one by one into the mud, and began chanting strange incantations.

A plume of black smoke surged from the mud and condensed into the head of a ferocious weasel.

Its mouth split open, emitting a silent scream.

Investigator Li felt the fleshy demon statue he was holding in his arms vibrate.

In his mind, the corresponding demon also opened its eyes.

The mud shard held in Li Zhen's hand became even more sinister.

The illusory weasel stopped struggling, its eyes flashed and turned into an eerie deep yellow, and its pupils became vertical.

Witchcraft has been accomplished...

Li Zhen looked at his hands.

The "dried mud" covering his hands became even thicker.

This was the first time Li Zhen had used witchcraft after successfully visualizing the evil spirit.

This is a type of witchcraft called "Footprint Soul Devouring" that Tirapa wrote about in his book.

As long as one can obtain a clear set of the other party's footprints, one can use the footprints as a medium to track and manipulate the other party's soul, or directly cause evil energy to devour the other party's soul.

Since that so-called master had repeatedly sent those ghosts to test him, Li Zhen couldn't just do nothing.

Before a battle of wits, probing is an important step.

Once Li Zhen senses something is wrong, he can slip away.

If you rush in without first probing the other party's background, who knows what might happen?
The reason Li Zhen didn't make a move when those ghosts arrived was not only because his ghosts were capable of handling them, but also because he didn't want to reveal his abilities and give the master something to prepare for.

Only now has he suddenly made a move to test the waters.

If the guru behaves in a way that exceeds his expectations, he will flexibly adjust his course of action.

Suddenly, a "poof" sound came from the clod of mud in Li Zhen's hand.

Li Zhen looked down.

A small hole was blasted out of the mud, and the entire mud block seemed to be being heated, getting hotter and hotter, to the point that Li Zhen could hardly bear it.

He threw the mud into the liquid inside the bag.

Looking at his palm, Li Zhen noticed a large red burn mark on the spot where he had been holding the mud.

Can it hurt me?

The other party is indeed quite skilled...

A moment later, Li Zhen took out a block of mud that had cooled down considerably, and along with it, he took out several pieces of the internal organs of some unknown animal.

He chanted incantations as he threw the entrails to the side of the road.

As soon as the internal organs hit the ground, maggots sprouted from them.

A cold wind blew through the trees on both sides, making a sound like the wailing of ghosts.

As the temperature of the mud clumps dropped rapidly, they began to wriggle again.

As his primordial spirit grew stronger, Li Zhen found it easier to cast this spell. Even if there was a backlash, it wasn't as severe as when Tilapa cast his spell.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that the witchcraft Li Zhen used was not as terrifying as the "ghost planting" technique.

"Footprint Soul Devouring" can only be considered a common form of witchcraft.

At least in that book, it was an ordinary witchcraft compared to other witchcraft that could destroy a person's bloodline.

A blister suddenly appeared on the clod of mud in my hand, as if it was about to burst.

Li Zhen grabbed the clod of mud, held it in his palm, and forcefully pressed the bubbles back down.

During the stalemate, his left hand also began to tremble.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly felt something and looked up to see a figure standing about ten meters away from him.

Even though he had never met the other person, Li Zhen knew that the other person must be that master.

……

Yu Changzheng and Cang Weihua followed closely behind Li Zhen.

When Li Zhen began using witchcraft, the two deliberately kept their distance from him, fearing that the evil energy would corrupt them.

Even so, the eerie wind still kept the two of them on edge.

Seeing Li Zhen suddenly stop, the two walked forward for a while before they could see the figure in front of them clearly.

Yu Changzheng hesitated and took a step forward, but Cang Weihua grabbed him.

Cang Weihua lowered his voice and said, "What are you going up there for at this time? To try and mediate? See who listens to you."

Yu Changzheng hesitated and said, "Shouldn't we go up and try? What if..."

“There’s no such thing as ‘what ifs’,” Cang Weihua interrupted. “At this point, we just need to keep an eye on things.”

(End of this chapter)