All Heavens: Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts Starting from the Republic of China

It was a tree.

A phantom image of a huge Vitex negundo tree, almost obscuring the entire courtyard of the local temple.

A verdant light rose from the tree roots, spreading out in concentric circles like ripples on water. The branches and leaves stretched out layer by layer, seemingly enveloping the entire Shuangjing Village.

Fu Ze looked up and felt as if he were facing the earth and the forest itself.

Ancient, profound, and silent.

The essence of this aura is full of vitality and protection, without a trace of evil.

The next moment, the huge phantom of the yellow chaste tree suddenly shrank.

Countless branches and shadows collapsed and coalesced in the middle, eventually transforming into an old man about two meters tall.

The old man had white hair and beard, an aged face, but gentle eyes. He wore an ancient robe, the style of which was neither like that of the Republic of China era nor that of a previous dynasty, but rather more like the image of a rural deity gradually formed from the incense offerings of the people.

The robe was originally a light blue-green color. But now, only a small portion of the true blue-green remains. Most of the robe is covered with patterns interwoven with jet black and blood red.

Those patterns are not inanimate objects.

They are moving!

Like strips of fleshy growths stuck to a long robe, they slowly wriggled and twitched. Occasionally, a small bulge would appear, then quickly deflate, as if something inside wanted to crawl out.

A fishy, ​​foul odor then filled the air.

Zhao Rui's expression changed, and he muttered to himself.

"This smell...it's really awful."

No one responded to him.

Fu Ze stared intently at the old man.

He could sense that this was the spiritual manifestation of the Vitex negundo tree.

Once all things in the universe awaken their wisdom and embark on the path of spiritual practice, their spiritual manifestations will mostly resemble human form.

Humans are the most intelligent of all beings.

This is not to say that humans are necessarily the strongest, but rather that the human form is best suited to bear intelligence and thought.

This applies to beasts and monsters, as well as to the spirits of plants and trees. The same applies to the deities of mountains and rivers.

If the old man before me had not been corrupted, he would probably truly be a gentle and dignified local earth god.

When the old man first appeared, his eyes were still bluish-green, as clear as two crystals.

When he saw Feng Xuan, Fu Ze, and the crowd in the courtyard, a look of almost ecstatic joy appeared on his face.

"Righteous cultivators..."

His voice was weak, yet very rapid.

"Finally... finally, some righteous cultivators have arrived!"

The village chief of Shuangjing Village trembled and knelt down with a thud.

"The Earth God! It really is the Earth God!"

Liao Xibai did not speak, but his expression was solemn.

The old Taoist priest Feng Xuan's forehead was covered in cold sweat, clearly indicating that forcibly pulling the other party's Dharma image out of the yellow thorn tree had taken a great toll on him.

But he still held onto the peach wood sword and said in a deep voice.

"Lord Earth, if you still possess any wisdom, please tell me what exactly happened here?"

The Earth God of Huangjing had no time to answer.

He suddenly looked at Feng Xuan, then at Fu Ze, his blue-green eyes flashing violently, like a lamp that was about to go out but was desperately burning.

"Kill me now!"

Everyone was taken aback.

Feng Xuan's brows furrowed suddenly.

"What does the Earth God mean by this?"

"quick!"

Huangjing Earth God took a step forward, and the black and red patterns on his body wriggled wildly, as if they would swallow up his last remaining greenish aura at any moment.

"Kill the little god quickly!"

"I have been corrupted by evil, my roots are impure, the incense is poisonous, and the earth's energy is defiled."

"Killing me will free me. It will also save these people from their suffering!"

He spoke quickly and urgently, his voice filled with an barely suppressed fear.

It's not that I'm afraid of dying, but that I'm afraid I won't have time to die.

I fear that if it were any later, I wouldn't even be able to maintain this last bit of consciousness!

He looked down at the black and red robe that was constantly writhing on his body, and his eyes showed intense disgust and sorrow.

"Over the years, the little god has been living in a daze, as if trapped in a nightmare. Occasionally, when he is awake, he sees the cries of children in the village in his dreams, and the people worship him in fear, with the incense burning full of resentment and bloodshed."

"I wanted to stop it. But I couldn't!"

"It's underground. It spreads along the soil, along the incense smoke, it's there..."

At this point, the voice of the Earth God of Huangjing suddenly stopped.

Fu Ze's eyes narrowed.

"What is it?"

He took half a step forward.

"Land God, explain yourself clearly. Is it He the madman? Or the Land God Temple in Hewan Village? Where exactly is the source?"

The Earth God of Huangjing's lips trembled, as if he was desperately trying to say something.

The light in those blue-green eyes flashed intensely.

"……mud……"

He uttered only this one word.

A sudden change has occurred!

The eyes of the Yellow-Willow Earth God suddenly went black.

That clear blue light seemed to be instantly swallowed by ink. Deep within the pitch-black pupils, a blood-red light slowly flowed, like two pools of filthy blood.

At the same time, the last remaining wisp of bluish-green light on his robe vanished in an instant. The entire robe turned completely black and blood-red.

It was sticky, putrid, and like an evil robe sewn together from countless pieces of rotten flesh and filth.

The old Taoist priest Feng Xuan's expression changed drastically.

"Oh no! Its spirituality has been suppressed!"

The Yellow Vitex Earth God, or rather, the polluted Earth God's image, slowly raised its head.

The anxiety, gentleness, and pain on its face all disappeared.

All that remained was a cold, twisted, and malicious laugh.

"Righteous cultivators... Heh, delicious."

The words fell.

boom!

Its black, blood-red robe suddenly burst open in large chunks.

Countless dark branches sprouted from beneath the robe!

Those branches, which should have been Vitex negundo branches, have now completely mutated. They are jet black, covered with sharp thorns, the tips of which gleam with a dark red, blood-red light. Each branch also has circular holes, like eyes, or like the holes of rotting worms.

It gives you goosebumps.

"Be careful!"

Fu Zeli shouted.

The branches were already lashing out at everyone in the courtyard at the same time.

It wasn't just Fu Ze and Feng Xuan.

Li Junfeng, Zhao Rui, Liao Xibai, the village chief of Shuangjing Village, and even the incense burner, token, and seal next to the altar were all within the attack range.

This thing, once it's used, is designed to drag everyone in!

Li Junfeng reacted the fastest.

Almost at the same moment Fu Ze spoke, he stepped in front of Liao Xibai.

"Sir, please step back!"

His blood and qi surged, his muscles and bones resonated, and the bear-shaped stance of Xingyi Quan was instantly unfurled.

Raise both arms and press down.

Like an old bear protecting its cubs, or like mountains lying across the landscape.

Several dark branches came out, but he managed to catch them with his arms.

Bang bang bang!

The branch collided with the arm, producing a muffled sound like metal clashing, followed by an explosive shockwave.

The blue bricks beneath Li Junfeng's feet cracked with a snap. But the few dark branches were also shattered by the force of his punch.

He frowned.

"This thing is quite strong!"

Zhao Rui had already drawn his gun.

Bang bang bang!

Several water bullets whistled out and accurately struck the branches that were lunging toward Liao Xibai's side.

The bullet pierced the wood.

wisps of gray smoke immediately rose from the surface of the branches, which twisted as if they had been scalded.

"it works!"

Zhao Rui's eyes lit up.

But the next moment, the circular eye openings on the branch suddenly widened, and a stream of blackish-red viscous liquid gushed out from them.

Zhao Rui slipped and tumbled to the side.

The sludge landed where he had just stood, and the blue bricks immediately sizzled and were corroded into a pit.

"Damn it!"

Zhao Rui landed on his feet, his face grim.

"It even spits?"

Fu Ze didn't have time to pay attention to him.

Because the most branches will fly towards itself!

A dozen or so jet-black thorn branches came swarming in from all directions, like a thorny black net, intent on tearing him to shreds, skin and flesh...