met free Chapter 71 How dare you commit murder and strike the god?
Chapter 71 How dare you commit murder and strike the god?
Xu Changqing was about to leave the abandoned temple.
Suddenly, a very faint rustling sound came from the woods outside the temple.
The sound was initially very soft, like a withered leaf being crushed, but it quickly became more frequent, mixed with the soft sound of metal rubbing together and a kind of low, inhuman panting.
Outside the temple gate, the originally cool moonlight had somehow become tinged with an eerie dark red, as if it had been soaked in diluted blood.
"Click, click..."
Suddenly, six clay soldiers emerged from the ground, carrying a black helmet with animal faces on their shoulders. Inside the sedan chair sat a clay deity, taller than the soldiers.
"I was wondering why there was a shrine here, but no statues. Turns out they've gone out to find food." Xu Changqing looked around in the moonlight.
The paint on the clay statue had long since peeled off, revealing the rough, dark yellow clay underneath, with moss growing in the crevices.
Its head was tilted, its features blurred, except for two murky, dark red lights that flickered where its eyes should have been. It wore a mud-slab armor in the style of an official's robe, and held in its hand a long-handled, rusty axe, also made of solidified clay, with a broken blade.
Behind it, six clay figurines of soldiers followed in the shadows.
"You wild Taoist priest, don't you know this is the residence of my Divine Might Xuanwu General? Since you've chosen to stay here, you'd better leave some toll!"
The clay mountain god spoke, its voice like two rough stones rubbing together, dry and slow, carrying the earthy smell of something buried deep underground for many years.
Its dark red eyes were fixed on Xu Changqing inside the temple gate, and the rusty axe was slightly raised, pointing at him.
It was spouting that distorted version of robbery rhetoric, which it had somehow picked up from somewhere.
"Toll money?" Xu Changqing raised an eyebrow slightly. "This humble Taoist has nothing of value but a few scrolls of scriptures and a few copper coins. I wonder what kind of goods the Great General desires?"
The mountain god made a strange hoarse sound from its throat, like a sneer or phlegm: "Incense, blood offerings, souls and essences are all acceptable, but if you have none," its scarlet eyes suddenly blazed, "then I will use your very essence, blood, and soul to fill the void."
As the last word fell, it slammed the rusty axe in its hand onto the ground.
A muffled thud resounded, as if striking a nerve. Outside the temple, the soldiers let out a low, inhuman growl, their eyes flashing with the same crimson light. Their previously stiff movements suddenly became swift and violent, like a pack of wolves that had caught the scent of blood, as they pounced towards the temple gate.
The rusted swords sliced through the air, creating a sharp, piercing sound, and a chilling aura swept over us.
Xu Changqing sighed, seemingly helpless, yet also mocking.
"Why not be a proper mountain god? Instead, he insists on becoming a highway robber, and he's turned into this inhuman, ghostly creature."
He shook his head, and instead of retreating, he advanced, stepping out of the temple gate, facing the surging, eerie army.
"Perfect timing to test my newly mastered technique, the Killing Seal."
Before he finished speaking, he raised his right hand and pressed down lightly with his palm facing down.
A large, dark red seal materialized out of thin air. It was about a foot square and had an ancient and heavy appearance. Blood-red patterns flowed across its surface, as if it were forged from congealed blood and killing intent.
The seal knob is blurry, seemingly harboring the phantom of some ferocious beast, while the bottom of the seal is clearly engraved with four ancient seal characters: Killing to save the world.
As soon as the seal appeared, an invisible and terrifying suppressive force descended upon it.
The six terracotta warriors suddenly froze, and fine cracks appeared on the surface of their clay bodies.
Click, click...
The sound of shattering rang out one after another.
Xu Changqing nodded slightly upon seeing this, clearly quite satisfied with the power of this newly acquired technique.
Outside the temple gate, the two dark red lights on the tilted head of the clay mountain god began to flicker violently. Realizing he was in deep trouble, he tried to slip away.
"You Taoist priest, you've occupied my temple, and now you dare to commit violence against the 'gods'!" Its voice was hoarse, trying to maintain its dignity, but it couldn't hide a trace of guilt. "Retreat at once, and this god may forgive your disrespect..."
Xu Changqing gave it no chance to waste words. The blood lotus phantom flashed beneath his feet, and his figure slid like a fish to the side and behind the clay mountain god.
"What are you babbling about? Take my humble seal first."
He uttered a low shout, and a surge of blue light appeared in his left palm, quickly condensing into another hand seal.
The seal was a deep blue-green color, which should have been pure and harmonious, but it exuded an evil aura in Xu Changqing's hand.
Without any mercy, he slammed the blue seal hard onto the back of the clay mountain god sculpture.
The clay mountain god, startled by the blow, squealed and trembled.
It instinctively twisted its neck, only to find that the clay figure was undamaged, without even a mark.
"What 'Humble Seal'? Hahahaha..." It paused for a moment, then let out a piercing and triumphant laugh, the sound echoing through the desolate mountain forest at night. "Bluster! All show and no substance!"
It felt much more at ease. It seemed the Taoist's previous blood seal was the last gasp, and the green seal was just a facade! Although it had lost its troops, its physical body was solid, and it was also protected by some earth vein yin energy. This Taoist might not be able to do anything to it. It would keep him occupied for now and then look for an opportunity...
It was plotting how to turn the tide, or even turn the tables, when its laughter abruptly stopped.
The next moment, an overwhelming sense of guilt welled up inside me. I began to reflect on the bad things I had done.
"I am not a good god." Its dry voice became intermittent, as if resisting something, yet it involuntarily revealed, "That year, a flash flood broke out, and the woodcutter Wang Er brought his feverish child to the temple to seek shelter from the rain and ask for medicine. I... at that time, my spirituality was just awakening, and I coveted the half piece of preserved meat offered in his basket... I deliberately... deliberately drew a wisp of cold earth energy... into the child's body..."
Its speech became increasingly fluent, yet it was filled with pain and self-loathing. Although the clay figure's face was blurred, it strangely gave people a sense of shame, as if the skin was "reddening".
"After the child returned home... he had a persistent high fever... and died within three days... Wang Er never went back into the mountains... and his family's lineage ended..."
"And then there's... hunter Li Da's wife... had a difficult childbirth... her mother-in-law came to beg... I... I thought her offerings were meager... so I only gave her a wisp of life... the child survived, but the mother... didn't make it..."
"I stole the grain that Widow Zhang was drying at the foot of the mountain...scared away her yellow guard dog...just because she hadn't come to offer tribute for two years..."
One by one, mostly trivial matters, yet self-serving and unethical acts, flowed from its mouth. It spoke faster and faster, its tone filled with increasing regret and self-loathing, and its two scarlet eyes dimmed, as if utterly burned by the ugliness it had revealed.
Xu Changqing watched quietly from the side. Even though the other party was made of clay, he could feel the overwhelming sense of shame emanating from him. He nodded to himself, "'Humble Seal'...it's quite effective. Although it doesn't directly kill, its ability to guide self-reflection and reveal one's own flaws often has a surprising and unpredictable effect in combat, disrupting the enemy's mind."
Having completed the testing of the two newly acquired spells and fully grasped their power and characteristics, Xu Changqing no longer delayed.
The clay mountain god was still immersed in his endless "repentance" and self-disclosure, his aura fluctuating wildly due to the intense emotional turmoil, revealing his flaws.
With a thought, Xu Changqing sent out a streak of pale white light without a sound; it was the "Gui Water Soul-Severing White Bone Jade Hairpin".
The jade hairpin detached from the body and grew longer in the wind, transforming into a black, deep-sea dragon about a foot long in the air.
The water dragon roared silently, rushing straight towards the brow of the clay mountain god.
The massive body of the clay mountain god suddenly stiffened, and the light in its eyes quickly went out.