Chapter 179 Untrustworthy Words

A stranger appeared at this moment, clearly with the intention of seduction.

But what if they were truly alive?

Ji Xiang had gathered his equipment. He possessed the divine positions of three of the Four Sacred Ones of the North Pole, and his spirit and form were that of the True Warrior of the White Face. If he couldn't win, he still had the trump card of opening the Heavenly Gate.

Therefore, Ji Xiang treated the warning from the Peacock Great Bright King Chandala with caution, but not with absolute belief.

The malevolent spirits of Avici Hell possessed the power to bewitch the human heart. With the slightest carelessness, one could fall into their traps. Moreover, this was a peak ascended expert. What kind of maneuvers they would employ was unknown. From the very beginning, when they forcefully pried open the Hell Mark and attempted to enter the outer world, it was evident that the Hell Mark could be torn apart.

And the Hell Mark was not singular.

This was clearly connected to Prince Lu. Simple deduction suggested that the one who set the marks was either Prince Lu himself or his supporter, the Huiji Vajra.

As a great Vajra with powers comparable to Buddhas and great Bodhisattvas, a disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha in legend, and one of the Four Great Vajra Teachings of Tang Dynasty Esotericism... many might not know much about Huiji Vajra. However, another figure of equal renown, widely known among the common folk due to the circulation of storybooks and novels, was none other than—Cundi!

The complete version of "Investiture of the Gods" was completed in the early years of the Longqing and Wanli reigns and had long since become popular. The great name of Daoist Cundi was known throughout the land! In Buddhism, he was also known as the Vajradhara Bodhisattva, commonly called Mother Cundi, and in Esotericism, he was referred to as the "Most Victorious Vajra"!

And Huiji Vajra was a figure who could stand on equal footing with Daoist Cundi!

"A person in the inner world who possesses the divine position of Huiji Vajra must be a peerless expert who shakes the inner world. However, looking at it this way, the appearance of Cundi's name in 'Investiture of the Gods' might mean that Xu Zhonglin was also a grand pawn used by Buddhism to write and promote their doctrines."

"After all, the mother of Emperor Wanli herself was one of the manifestations of Guanyin Bodhisattva. The struggle within Buddhism was not apparent on the surface but hidden beneath the currents. Those who acted directly and openly were the hot-tempered Daoist practitioners, such as the Changshengtian Palace, Jinglun Tian Palace, Shenxiao Dao Sect..."

"It is likely that Buddhism was also involved in things like the White Lotus Society, and there were disputes between their sects, such as the Chan Sect that rebuked the Buddha... they must not have gotten along with other sects."

"As for the words of the Peacock Great Bright King, they are not to be fully trusted. I shall test the waters myself and see what can poison me, this pseudo-ascended being!"

Ji Xiang stood before the mansion from which the crying sounds emanated. After observing for a while, he tore off the paper money on the door. This time, he also threw these 'Nian' into the Hell Mark. Golden sand flowed out, and he could still hear the sounds of the malevolent spirits in Avici Hell cursing as they sifted through the sand.

But this time, the mansion did not turn to ashes. Ji Xiang broke through the door and saw that in the center of the courtyard, the form of a giant divine ghost was continuously solidifying!

"Wretch!"

Before Ji Xiang could speak, the giant ghost suddenly turned towards him. In its hand, it held a cold, shining iron rod, which it was smashing into the backyard of the mansion. The crying sounds were coming from that backyard.

The giant ghost had only previously condensed the form and spirit of an arm to capture some "evil people." But after it manifested, it sensed the abnormality of its surroundings. There were no living people here, not even living ghosts. It immediately understood that it had been summoned by some damned entity and had likely become a pawn.

At the same time, it could feel a powerful being rapidly killing those 'Nian'!

These 'Nian' were its subordinates!

They were densely scattered throughout this village and town, pasted onto the doors. And there were no malevolent spirits here originally!

It was the malevolent spirits that summoned these 'Nian'!

And those things were in the backyard!

Seeing Ji Xiang suddenly break through the door, the giant ghost now understood why those sudden cries had occurred.

"Wretch! How dare you harm my Crow Cry Spirit Soldiers! You have committed a great sin!"

The giant ghost was enraged. "Do you know who you are helping!"

Ji Xiang frowned. Although this giant ghost was full of hostility, it seemed to know something. Moreover, the meaning of its words was similar to the warning from the Peacock Great Bright King.

"I heard someone crying here, so I came to investigate!"

"This place is strange, who are you? Are there any living people in the backyard? Why are you harming people?"

Ji Xiang wanted to clarify the source of the sounds from the backyard. At this moment, he saw some living people running out on their own, men and women, servants and laborers, even constables from the Gusu City government, as well as beggars and orphans. Hearing the sound of living people at the door, they immediately came out to cry for help!

"Daoist Master! Daoist Master, save us!"

"We were all sleeping, and we don't know what happened. When we woke up, we were all abducted to this mansion!"

"Daoist Master, have mercy, please save us!"

"Daoist Master, as long as you can save me, I will give you as much money as you want!"

These people ran from the backyard to the front yard, stopping far from the giant ghost. Through the doorway of a house, they called out to Ji Xiang for help. The children were even crying loudly, and Ji Xiang's brow furrowed deeply.

It seemed these people were local residents, inexplicably abducted here.

And they had no Yin energy on them.

Since there was no threat, and the Inner Scene Divine Tablet did not provide any guidance, Ji Xiang hesitated.

But this was normal.

The Divine Tablet was not omnipotent. Sometimes, one had to make their own judgment. Relying on the Divine Tablet for everything would not lead to tempering and experience.

Guidance was good, but it was a supreme treasure useful only when dealing with difficult enemies.

Although, testing whether these mortals were living people or ghosts only required him to fire a shot...

But what if these living people were innocent civilians?

"Although I kill without batting an eye and have always made it my mission to eliminate demons and ghosts, I only kill wicked people. Without distinguishing between good and evil, indiscriminate killing goes against my great vows."

Ji Xiang moved the little fox behind him, then said to the giant ghost, "Please stop. Do not attack ordinary people."

"Stop!? Wretch! They are all extremely wicked people. It is because of them that I was summoned here. I come from the Dharma Realm, do you know how far away it is!"

"If it weren't for the gathering of extremely wicked people here, my form and spirit would never have been summoned into the outer world!"

"Look at the 'Nian' around you. Those are my Crow Cry Kingdom's spirit soldiers. Now they are all bound by paper money. I won't argue with you for killing so many of my spirit soldiers, but these people are wicked, and I must kill them!"

"Their previous cries were also to attract a master like you. I advise you, do not meddle in this matter! These people are by no means good!"

The giant ghost's form and spirit issued a warning, and at the same time, it swung its iron rod to smash at the common people. These common people were instantly terrified, crying and running, but they could only flee towards the backyard, unable to mount any effective counterattack.

"Ancestor Master, they don't look like transformed evil spirits."

The little fox also spoke weakly, indicating that it did not sense any ghostly states or abnormalities on these common people.

However, Ji Xiang's sense of unease grew stronger.

Malevolent spirits of Avici Hell.

Divine ghosts of the Crow Cry Kingdom.

The many common people of Gusu City.

Whose words should he believe?

Ji Xiang sighed and finally made his choice. He fired a shot at the giant ghost.

The Five Thunder Divine Machine firearm operated, causing the giant ghost to stagger. The latter then exuded intense hostility and angrily said to Ji Xiang:

"You wretch, you don't know what's good for you! I will beat you to death first!"

The Inner Scene Divine Tablet provided a description!

[Duluona Ghost: Below Hell, a divine ghost of the Crow Cry Kingdom!]

[Its body is thirty feet long, its eyes are vertical and its mouth is horizontal, its ears are six feet long. It carries an iron rod and specializes in striking down wicked people in the human world. It has sixty-nine thousand spirit ghosts under its command, who can transform into crows. Wherever the crows fly, people will fall ill, and the illness will lead to death.]

[Current strength and realm are equivalent to the peak of the Huangting Realm!]