Mi Long's occupational rank was the lowest among the twenty-five ranks of the Great Occupations within the Human Department.
This appeared to be on par with the divine position of "Ling Xiao Nu" held by the Fire Lord back then.
However, Ling Xiao Nu was a legitimate deity of the nation, conferred by the Emperor. Because her divine position was a false conferment, not obtained through her true identity as "Ling Xiao Nu," her occupational rank was stuck at the twenty-fifth level and could not advance.
"Fallen to the Nascent Soul realm. This must have been cultivated using this divine artifact. It doesn't seem like something from the surface of the world."
This Seven-Treasure Pavilion appeared divine and grand. Merely the smallest uppermost layer could create a "ground realm" like Mi Long's casino, let alone the six larger layers below.
This thing, by all appearances, was not something from the surface of the world. The Seven-Treasure Pavilion, in legends, seemed to be the lotus pedestal beneath Maitreya Buddha's buttocks.
Ji Xiang's thoughts had momentarily scattered, but he was not significantly affected. This was a slight flaw caused by the disharmony between his form and spirit.
Until the physical body's strength fully caught up with his cultivation, this flaw would persist. Ji Xiang had done all he could; he could only wait for the Heavenly Root of this body to grow.
Truly fatal.
Ji Xiang thought to himself.
Fighting Mi Long would not be overly troublesome, but if he encountered a truly high-level expert, a mere scattering of thoughts could lead to his demise, his form and spirit annihilated.
In low-level encounters, flaws were inconsequential, but in high-level ones, they became a major problem. And this was precisely the problem he could not completely resolve before engaging in high-level combat.
The text on the Inner Scenery Divine Tablet could now be seen in his eyes again.
[Mi Long's divine art is related to gambling. He holds thirteen dice, which he spins in his palm during each casting. If they emit a five-colored golden light, then for the next divine art Mi Long uses, the opponent cannot "block" it with any spell. If a magical artifact encounters the five-colored golden light, it will immediately become ineffective! (Can be dispelled!)]
[Burning ten thousand sheets of spirit money or consuming one hundred portions of incense can offset one instance of "five-colored golden light."]
[Recite the ninth commandment of the "Ten Commandments of the Heavenly Lord" and perform "unwitnessed observation" to break his "Three Powers of a Bodhisattva."]
[Buddhas possess ten powers, and Bodhisattvas also possess ten powers. Mi Long has cultivated three of the Bodhisattva's powers: "Convenience Power," "Wisdom Power," and "Vow Power." Convenience Power can transform incoming spells into relatively counteracting spells; Wisdom Power can probe the opponent's inner thoughts and guide them with whispers to a certain extent; Vow Power is the application of vows, fulfilling all requests made by the opponent, but the outcome will turn out to be bad.]
[Recite "No Heaven, No Earth, No Self, No Man, Infinite Transformation, Before the Sound of Majesty, After Emptiness" (new method) to dispel his "First Turning Wheel of Dharmakaya of Nagarjuna Buddha" and shatter it!]
[Recite "Three of the Body, Four of the Mouth, Measuring by the Large and Small, Killing Life and Causing Harm, One Hundred for Me and a Thousand for Them, Adultery, Secrecy, Evil Lust, Sorcery and Rebellion. From the Subtle to the Manifest, the Three Officials Record with Brushes, Taiyi Transmits the Written Order, and it is Delivered to the Department of the Five Thunders for Judgment and Punishment" from the "Jade Pivot Treasury Classic of the Great Emperor of the Nine Heavens for the Manifestation of Thunderous Sounds," to dispel his "Fulfillment Technique!"]
[Myriad people's incense can enhance the opponent's realm. Currently fallen to the Nascent Soul realm, after enhancement by myriad people's incense, his injuries will be repaired, and he will be elevated to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, manifesting four Yang Gods!]
[Form the "White Crane Seal," "Great Compassion Seal," and "Lamp-Lighting Seal" to dismantle his myriad people's incense!]
[Recite the "Secret Essential Formulas, Great Emperor's Hidden Incantation Fifteenth" to change the object of worship for myriad people's incense to the one reciting the incantation!]
The subsequent operations, dismantling the incense, were old tricks. Ji Xiang remembered the techniques used against the Fire Lord very clearly. This time, the myriad people's incense would allow him to feast again.
The premise was not to let the opponent consume their own myriad people's incense beforehand, otherwise, it could repair injuries and elevate them to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, manifesting four Yang Gods. Ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators manifest one Yang God, while those at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm manifest four Yang Gods...
That was about it. Compared to Old Zhang's twelve thousand Yang God avatars, this was not even a fraction of a drop in the bucket. Yet Ji Xiang couldn't help but sigh. His fake ascension was lacking precisely here... he didn't even have one Yang God avatar.
After all, a Yang God had to condense a Nascent Soul before it could transform. He didn't even have a Nascent Soul, and his physical body was weak. He could only swat tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, and elephants to death, so naturally, he couldn't manifest avatars.
What surprised Ji Xiang the most was that Christ's "I Think Power" could actually contend with Buddhist spells at this moment.
Christ versus the Buddha?
The Ten Commandments of the Heavenly Lord could be used like this!
The remaining problems were not significant; it was the usual procedure, to act directly.
As for the blessings and graces he had received earlier, Ji Xiang felt they were not needed for the moment. Blessings enhanced luck, and graces could be exchanged for peace and safety or great power. But using these on Mi Long would be making a mountain out of a molehill.
Since descending to the lower realm, he had not read any scriptures. Now, the only thing he had mastered was killing!
"Only practice makes perfect!"
Ji Xiang immediately took action, his firearms erupting instantly!
Mi Long also revealed his true form!
He formed three seals and recited incantations!
Mi Long was still inflating himself, his body becoming huge and obese, like a gray-black mountain of flesh. Dragon horns also grew on his head, and eight dragon whiskers floated. His face was covered, and the black cloth on it had writing. It was exactly the same as the tattered cloth that had been placed in the local Daoist Assembly Office back then, which read: "Bai Bi enters, Qing Jia flies in, great slaughter in all directions!"
Beneath him, a golden, illusory lotus flower appeared, accompanied by waves of profound gray smoke, undulating and rising into the sky.
Smoke and gunpowder continuously erupted. Ji Xiang's firearms attacked Mi Long, who let out cries of surprise and anger. The surrounding yellow incense burned fiercely, making him glow brightly as he absorbed the myriad people's incense!
He still retained many vows, though not on the scale of myriad people. But there were several hundred of them, and these vows, like threads, covered heaven and earth. As his Buddhist Dharma circulated, thirteen dice appeared in his obese palm.
Under the enhancement of the vast number of vows, the thirteen dice simultaneously erupted with five-colored golden light!
Upon seeing this, Ji Xiang immediately nodded, indicating that he had learned something.
Vows could be used like this, turning probabilistic spells into inevitably triggered ones. It was indeed cheating; who could possibly win against this?
"A mere Nascent Soul, a straw-stuffed head! You've already consumed a hundred portions of my incense just by coming up, which makes me very unhappy."
Ji Xiang's firearms stopped firing. By this time, the incantations were also completed. Suddenly, a huge, invisible wave of energy surged from Mi Long! All the myriad people's incense detached from his body and began to surge towards Ji Xiang!
With a wide opening of his mouth, he devoured the ten directions of the world, like wind sweeping away clouds and dragons drinking from the river, swallowing all the myriad people's incense!
Hoo—
Dong!
Wind and clouds surged, mouth and teeth closed, emitting a dull sound, like the closing of heavenly gates.
Everything happened in an instant. Mi Long only now realized something was wrong. He felt the incense on his body disappear, and that powerful force was no longer his. The luminous flames that enveloped him had also vanished.
Realizing that Ji Xiang had devoured his incense, Mi Long was greatly shaken!
"Demonic Daoist! How dare you be so presumptuous before a legitimate deity! Stealing incense!"
Mi Long counterattacked. But if one disregarded his actions, he was indeed the legitimate deity of the area, which was very perplexing.
Legitimate deities acting wickedly, heavenly demons doing good deeds.
Gods are not gods, demons are not demons!
Mi Long immediately activated his three Bodhisattva powers, using Wisdom Power to probe Ji Xiang's mind, and his huge lips moved, emitting whispering, bewitching sounds; he also used these bewitching sounds to urge Ji Xiang to make wishes, thereby exercising his Vow Power.
At the same time, he continued to unleash punches. Each punch shook mountains and earth, colliding with the shells of the meteor cannons, causing fire, demonic blood, and gore to splash across heaven and earth.
Ji Xiang shouldered the meteor cannon. At this moment, an evil aura descended. Ji Xiang flicked his whisk at his waist, and a crimson light shot out, annihilating the evil aura. Then, divine power gathered between his eyebrows!
A divine sword took shape!
This sword possessed unmatched power and appeared directly at Mi Long's forehead. Mi Long was instantly killed by this sword, and the divine art of the Ascension realm directly took one of his lives!
However, he did not die!
Nascent Soul emerged from his body!
Yang God soared!
The fleshly body's head shattered, the Nascent Soul escaped, and then manifested a Yang God avatar, simultaneously casting a golden light of Buddhist Dharma upon Ji Xiang. This was Convenience Power; no matter what spell Ji Xiang used, this convenient golden light could respond and counter it.
However, that void divine sword had truly terrified Mi Long half to death!
"You demonic Daoist, your abilities are quite formidable. If I hadn't run fast, I would have been completely annihilated just now!"
What kind of spell was this, so powerful that the physical form and spirit of a Nascent Soul expert couldn't even withstand a single blow?
Mi Long had certainly never seen Ascension divine arts. Trembling with fear and aftershock, he quickly continued to use the Wisdom Power among his three Bodhisattva powers, probing Ji Xiang's mind while whispering corruption into him.
Ji Xiang inwardly lamented that he couldn't instantly cast the second divine art of the Ascension realm; it had a charge bar. Otherwise, if he had cast swords continuously, the opponent would have certainly died.
"That's why I hate Nascent Souls. The reason Nascent Souls are hard to kill is this: if the physical body is damaged, they can emerge and fight. If they can emerge and fight, they can also transform into avatars. If you were merely a Golden Core, you would have died from that blow."
As for martial virtue? Ji Xiang felt that any means were acceptable as long as they could eliminate the opponent. If a runaway truck could kill the opponent, he would drive it even without a license.
At this moment, hearing Mi Long's bewitching voice, Ji Xiang's lips also moved. He recited Christ's ninth commandment, and even more powerfully refuted Mi Long's whispers:
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor... What the hell are you talking about?"
Mi Long was stunned. It was only then that he discovered he couldn't even peek into Ji Xiang's thoughts!
He could whisper, but the opponent could retort and curse back, and his Wisdom Power had completely lost its effect. He couldn't help but be very confused: "This is Bodhisattva divine power, how can you resist my Wisdom Power?"
Ji Xiang replied as a matter of course: "Because I thought you weren't a good person, and then I thought you were an idiot, so your Wisdom Power naturally wouldn't work."
Mi Long was suddenly struck dumb, enraged. He spun the Wheel of Dharmakaya, forming a strange hand seal. This was the Maitreya Preaching Seal, from which two Dragon Tree flowers materialized. Between the two flowers, a small treasure wheel was spinning.
It is said that Maitreya Buddha's hands forming the Preaching Seal represent his future enlightenment and the widespread dissemination of Buddhist Dharma. His hands each hold a flower stem of the Dragon Tree, symbolizing his manifestation of Buddhahood under the Dragon Tree.
At this moment, Ji Xiang gazed at the Yang God avatar. The Yang God avatar also had a physical form. He thought of a method to deal with it in his mind, condensed his consciousness, and the second divine sword began to charge, which would reach the Yang God avatar's forehead in thirty breaths.
Concurrently, he began to recite the incantation to break the Wheel Technique:
"No Heaven, No Earth, No Self, No Man, Infinite Transformation, Before the Sound of Majesty, After Emptiness."
Ji Xiang's voice arrived in sync with the opponent's actions. With this single utterance, a surge of vows, carried by the void, suddenly descended. These vows clung to the Dragon Tree flowers, causing them to wither and die instantly. The Wheel of Dharmakaya also became rusty and began to jam.
In the center of the Wheel of Dharmakaya, a circle of radiant light appeared, with faint yellow wisps of incense floating. However, within these yellow wisps were vows. Upon listening carefully, one could hear countless people worshipping the Mother of No Birth and the Ancestor Maitreya, conflating the two!
Then, the Yin light of the Great Moon arose, illuminating the holy fire!
A strand of Yin fire burned the Preaching Seal. Mi Long cried out in pain, but he also recognized this spell, and for the second time, he was shocked:
"My Wheel of Dharmakaya of Nagarjuna Buddha! This is... the evil art of the Yellow Heaven Sect! You demonic Daoist actually know such an evil spell, ruining my righteous dharma!"
Although Mi Long's actions were improper, the Buddhist Dharma he practiced was indeed Maitreya's technique, one of the righteous dharmas. He avoided contamination by his own evil energy by using vows, and he obtained conferment from the government. Under the blessing of various "titles," he surprisingly possessed "Righteous Dharma of the Buddhist Sect and the Body of a Legitimate Deity" despite being a leader of an evil faction!
Ji Xiang's brow twitched slightly.
This was actually a spell from the Yellow Heaven Sect? But the Inner Scenery Divine Tablet stated it was a new method?
How interesting.
Mi Long dared not be careless. With a wave of his Nascent Soul's hand, the heavens and earth clanged and clattered, the sound like money falling from the sky!
The way of heaven and earth, gods and spirits, all abhor fullness!
All of Ji Xiang's magical artifacts and firearms suddenly detached from his body. Several huge coin-shaped openings appeared in the heavens and earth, and the headless fleshly body also stirred. The neck was a dark, murky abyss, like a gaping maw, devouring everything on Ji Xiang's person!
"Three of the Body, Four of the Mouth, Measuring by the Large and Small, Killing Life and Causing Harm, One Hundred for Me and a Thousand for Them, Adultery, Secrecy, Evil Lust, Sorcery and Rebellion. From the Subtle to the Manifest, the Three Officials Record with Brushes, Taiyi Transmits the Written Order, and it is Delivered to the Department of the Five Thunders for Judgment and Punishment....."
Ji Xiang began to recite the incantation again, and a thunderous roar echoed through heaven and earth!
This massive thunderclap dispersed all the foul and overflowing energies of heaven and earth. The coin-shaped openings vanished, and the flying magical artifacts all fell to the ground!
Immediately following, a divine sword took shape, and the second divine sword instantly appeared at the forehead of the Yang God avatar. The next moment, this Yang God avatar of Mi Long was directly killed by Ji Xiang!
Mi Long was shocked for the third time.
Ji Xiang also confirmed that the opponent no longer possessed any spells that could threaten him.
"Great Majestic Divine Incantation!"
Several Great Majestic Divine Incantations flew out and were directly affixed to the fleshy body. Then, with a roar and explosion, Mi Long's mountain-like fleshly body was pulverized into nothingness, leaving only his Nascent Soul suspended in mid-air!
"If the physical body is damaged, I'll just kill you and take your body. For a Nascent Soul, the physical body can be fabricated at will!"
"Not necessarily. You are currently just a Nascent Soul, possessing form and spirit, but without a true physical body. That makes things easier."
Ji Xiang clenched his fist. His black robe fluttered in the air, his Daoist might emanating majestically. He aimed at Mi Long's Nascent Soul in the sky and suddenly squeezed!
The Great Dao began;
Shattering the Void!
Mi Long's Nascent Soul instantly felt its essence fragmenting. The power of heaven and earth surged, as if an supreme giant hand had grasped him, splitting his Nascent Soul consciousness into five parts, about to be directly annihilated!
Five consciousnesses appeared in his mind. Mi Long fell into madness and chaos. This situation had never occurred before. Each consciousness was missing a part, causing a great tearing of his spirit.
But this pain was only momentary!
The five consciousnesses finally reached a consensus at the last moment. A vow in Mi Long's Nascent Soul vanished into the void. Immediately after, this Nascent Soul was crushed into form and spirit annihilation by Ji Xiang's supreme divine art!
A tremor in the void, an invisible explosion, and heaven and earth were cleansed.
The thirteen dice rolled onto the ground. Ji Xiang picked them up, put them in his pocket, then retrieved all his magical artifacts. He then inventoried the spoils of war obtained from killing those fallen ones earlier, amassing a sackful.
Looking at the Seven-Treasure Pavilion again, Ji Xiang found that he couldn't take it with him. Moreover, this thing was merely a seven-layered arena created by Mi Long for his cultivation. Now that all the treasures were gone, and this thing was damaged on one layer, it was useless.
So, he picked up the Fire God's Command Flag and waved it several times at the Seven-Treasure Pavilion!
Great fires ascended to the heavens, soaring into the sky!
The wind stirred giant flames, the river rowed smoking pillars;
The momentum of the world burned Kunlun, its light illuminated the continents and islands!