Chapter 152 The Past and the Present

嗡——

The divine general manifested, cupping his hands and bowing to Ji Xiang. This god had no origin. Although he used the appearance of the Left Guard General, his essence was no longer the same. Of course, he also lacked self-awareness, merely a puppet god.

"Imparting form and spirit doesn't mean truly creating a god. This thing lacks a soul as its core. Ordinary souls, without merit, cannot withstand the incense offerings of the people. Usually, the souls that can sit in temples and become gods mostly come from two sources."

"First, those with extremely strong resentment and unwillingness in life can still frequently manifest and cause trouble after death. To suppress and appease them, temples are built for them to reside in. Second, descendants mourn the death of their ancestors and actively build temples to summon their souls."

Ji Xiang muttered to himself. Of course, even if it was just shaping the divine form, at least the god had truly appeared. This method of startling ghosts and gods had already stunned Liu Zimin into silence.

"Senior, this...this now...what exactly...is this thing?"

Liu Zimin's words were stammering. The fear of the unknown spread in his heart like old tree roots.

Ji Xiang turned sideways and simply said a single word.

"God."

The single word sounded like a decree from heaven, like the sound of a great bell being struck in the ears of mortals. But in the ears of a cultivator like Liu Zimin, it was as if he heard a thunderous rumble, causing his ears to lose their hearing, as if he were in a vast ocean of incense. Heaven and earth were dark, an eerie illusion that only lasted for a moment.

But an immense sense of oppression almost suffocated him.

"A cultivator won't have his spirit shaken by my words."

"However, because you didn't help the mortals before, you violated the demon tribulation assessment."

"Because of my disqualification, the demon who assisted you in the assessment will re-invoke your tribulation and attach it to you until your next demon tribulation arrives."

Liu Zimin's face was pale, and he touched his body.

A demon of the test attaching himself to his body?

This kind of thing was a bit too outrageous!

The demon tribulation was an exam, and the ten demons of the trial were the examiners. Could it be that after passing the exam, the examiner would still be attached to him, chasing after him and saying that the previous exam didn't count?

A surge of anger welled up in his heart.

Even though he knew how absurd it was that a single word could send back the demon tribulation, the senior in front of him had extraordinary abilities, at least a Yuanshen Earth Immortal. Although he had doubts, he still chose to believe him at this moment. However, since he believed, then some things naturally required a small protest.

"Senior, this is against the rules!"

Ji Xiang lowered his head. "Why is it against the rules?"

Liu Zimin argued, "I'm not as strong as those cultivators of unknown origin. Among them are people at the Earth Immortal level. I'm just a Seventh Realm Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown cultivator."

"I'm still young."

Ji Xiang nodded. "It's human nature to be afraid of death."

"You didn't go to rescue them at the time precisely because you were afraid that saving them would expose your existence, and then you would be captured as well."

"Cultivators have always cherished themselves."

"If mortals die, it really doesn't have much to do with you. Self-preservation is the first priority in cultivation."

"However, this matter started because of you, so naturally you have to make the judgment. If they said inappropriate things themselves and were caught by those cultivators, then naturally it has nothing to do with you. But you asked this question. It's your question that led to this result, so how can you say it has nothing to do with you?"

Bi Gan asked the vegetable farmer, can vegetables live without a heart, can people live without a heart?

The result was self-evident.

Sometimes, inappropriate answers can cause bad results. If Bi Gan had asked a stone, then naturally there would be no matter concerning the vegetable farmer.

"So, the second priority in cultivation is to pay attention to cause and effect."

"The wrong choices you make now, and the good and bad results you obtain, will be reflected in your future cultivation, or on your descendants."

"The so-called courageous heart is precisely this."

A true warrior dares to face the bleak reality, which basically means taking responsibility for one's own actions.

The Confucian sages of the pre-Qin period also said that the benevolent are invincible, and the brave are fearless.

Liu Zimin was somewhat ashamed and bowed to the ground. Ji Xiang looked into the distance. Outside this hidden hall, uninvited guests had already arrived.

Liu Zimin suddenly asked, "Please help me, senior. All the high merit masters, elders, and disciples in my Xishan Daoist Temple have been affected by this wish, and are now mentally confused, acting as Duke Lu's lackeys!"

"Since senior has a way to help me escape the influence, you should also have a way..."

Ji Xiang looked at him. "It's not difficult, but it's not easy either."

"The influence of wishes is enormous. The wishes of the people are comparable to a Flying Ascension Realm immortal. How many people are there in Yingtian Prefecture? The vastness of this wish, the enormity of life in Yingtian Prefecture, there are 300,000 households, and five people per household, which means there are millions of people."

"The demon tribulation drags you from a normal state into the realm of testing, so isolating yourself from the world naturally eliminates the influence."

"But how can you force those who don't want to enter the demon tribulation to enter it? Besides, has everyone in your Daoist Temple entered the demon tribulation?"

Liu Zimin was immediately apprehensive. "This...indeed not. Only a few people have entered the tribulation."

Ji Xiang said, "That's it."

"The one who tied the bell must untie it. The source of this wish is naturally in the hands of Duke Lu. However, the wishes of the people require the existence of the people, so there's no need to worry. Duke Lu won't harm your lives, especially cultivators. One cultivator is worth ten commoners. Your wishes are very important."

"For now, you still need to retreat a little."

"Some juniors have come here, seemingly to seek guidance from me."

The aura of demons began to approach.

In Ji Xiang's view, the guys who came to cause trouble were undoubtedly pure demon juniors. Even if they weren't in the same system as the Demon King, everyone was on the same path at the beginning of their cultivation.

It's not uncommon for demons to convert to good and become bodhisattvas and gods.

In the end, neither the demonic aura nor the demonic energy is important. What matters is what he is doing.

"Let's solve it quickly."

Ji Xiang was in a hurry.

Learning from the lessons of Gusu Ghost City, now that he knew that many problems had appeared in Yingtian Prefecture, and even sensed countless demons lurking around, all these strange phenomena were telling Ji Xiang that the Ascension Conference must have a huge secret. What Duke Lu was doing was by no means a good deed. Even if it wasn't raising troops to rebel, it was still a matter of feasting on the world's cultivators, recruiting forces, and threatening them with demons.

Or, did he really have some means to use this conference to complete the so-called "ascension"?

That would be interesting!

Ji Xiang wanted to see which Demon King would descend from the heavens to examine him if Duke Lu really ascended, or if the thugs under Duke Lu ascended?

However, no matter which Demon King was called down.

Ji Xiang would make this exam two to five times more painful and terrifying!

It might be difficult to drive all the Demon King-level gods to descend to the world. The Divine Driving Art could only drive the powerful God Kings above the Myriad Gods Sect once or twice in a period of time, and the driving time was very short, but that was enough.

At least he could lead one more Demon King down.

Five Heavens Eight Emperors Great Demon King, randomly summoned!

The show was about to begin!

At the same time, in order to ensure that other people were not attacked by some sudden situation, it was only natural to prepare more folk gods as thugs and serve as his Dharma Protector Divine Generals.

The *Central Jade Book* was indeed a good thing. Although Yuan Huang wasn't a good person, his spells were indeed very practical. After all, he was one of the twelve Jade Purity cultivators who left his name in Biluo Azure Heaven. Although his strength could never be said to be unprecedented, he could at least be regarded as being at the level of being able to roam the world.

"Black-robed Daoist, you are so arrogant...daring to call us your juniors?"

The hidden hall was found, and twenty demons appeared in this crowded hall. The leader was dressed like a valiant knight of the martial world, with a height of thirteen feet, standing in front like a copper wall and iron wall, with a cyan-black turban tied on his head.

"Iron Turban of Plum Blossom Mountain, leading twenty demons under his command, come to ask for guidance! I want to see how a senior who hasn't lived for more than ten years can teach us juniors who have lived for two or three hundred years?"

"But before that, shouldn't you identify yourself?"

"We have seen you! It's because we have seen you that we came to find you! Your aura, your figure, suddenly appeared in our minds two days ago, and gave us great pressure and fear."

"You must be our enemy. Our blood is howling, telling us that we must kill you, otherwise the consequences will be endless!"

That was indeed the truth.

How could the little demons of the human world not be afraid of the Demon Kings of heaven?

Ji Xiang naturally admitted generously, "Naturally. You must kill me, otherwise you will all die."

"Moreover, it's you. I've long felt that there is some powerful demonic energy in the direction of Plum Blossom Mountain."

"I didn't expect you to be so bold. That's Wu the Great's mausoleum, close to the imperial mausoleum of my dynasty's Taizu."

The Iron Turban let out a grinding laugh:

"Haha...I really don't dare to approach the place of Ming Taizu. He died too recently, and his imperial might and killing aura are still vast."

"But the tomb of Wu the Great is the place where we were conceived. Although we were born after the Song Dynasty, we still absorbed some of the remaining aura of the monarch. So we are not ordinary demons. Do you understand?"

The Iron Turban looked at the Shen family father and daughter and warned, "This black-robed person will die here, and you'd better not move."

"You are the Student Supervisor of the Southern Imperial College, right? Don't you want to see your students?"

Shen Chong was startled. "You...what do you mean by that?"

Iron Turban: "Naturally, it means what it says! Your students are now on the painted boats of the Qinhuai River, having a great time, and will soon be summoned by the Prince."

"And you, this father and daughter, are also people whom the Prince has long valued. Have you forgotten? The Prince once went to the Southern Imperial College and had a pleasant conversation with you."

Shen Chong remembered at this time.

Now that he had gotten rid of the influence of the wish, he discovered this incident in the memories of a year ago.

At that time, Duke Lu did come to the Southern Imperial College and wandered around, selecting many students.

At that time, he didn't feel anything was wrong, but instead felt very honored.

As for his daughter, because she had been living in his elder brother's house, she wasn't here. He had only recently picked her up, so, according to the Arctic True Man, it was the so-called righteous energy that was playing a role.

"It will be resolved soon. Stay still."

Iron Turban was very confident. In his eyes, Ji Xiang was just a Golden Core Earth Immortal, and his strength was much weaker than his.

A guy who hadn't even reached the Yuanshen stage, was he qualified to be arrogant in front of him?

Ji Xiang was expressionless and didn't speak, too lazy to respond.

Origin and background only represent your potential and upper limit. Unfortunately, you will die before you reach your upper limit.

In that case, does it matter whether this demon was born from the aura left by the monarch?

So, Ji Xiang slightly opened his mouth.

"Wudang, Ji Xiang."

When the words fell, a white light spurted out from his mouth, like a thunderbolt and flowing light, appearing suddenly!

When the light turned, the demons' heads and bodies were instantly separated. Iron Turban reacted quickly and immediately sent out his Yuanshen, but Ji Xiang stretched out his five fingers and pressed him into the void!

Great Dao Hand.

Shattering the void!

The world suddenly cleared, and the twenty demons turned into ashes and disappeared without a trace!

The Shen family father and daughter and Liu Zimin were still unaware. By the time they reacted, there was nothing in front of them!

Where did those demons go?!

Ji Xiang looked at the few people and invited,

"Let's go."

"We're going to the next temple."

Liu Zimin screamed, "That was a Yuanshen Great Demon, and he died just like that...!"

Ji Xiang: "Oh, Yuanshen."

"The demons whose names I can remember are roughly all starting at the Yuanshen stage."

"But their strength."

"Is really not enough to grace the hall."

In the world, if it weren't for the people from those famous mountains and great sects, there would never be so many Huangting Realm and Xiantian Realm cultivators.

Therefore, the Yuanshen level was the peak that ordinary cultivators and demons could reach.

"Oh...also, this guy isn't a Yuanshen. After all, he was a demon who cultivated in front of the imperial tomb, a thing transformed from the iron headscarf of an ancient scholar. As for the other little demons, sorry, I don't know where they came from."

"They died too fast."

Ji Xiang glanced at Liu Zimin, who was horrified.

"This guy..."

"Is a...Xiantian Realm demon."

Information about the Subduing Demon Chapter appeared in the Inner Vision Divine Tablet.

[Subduing Demon Chapter (Second Level).]

[Number of demons of the Huangting level and above killed: one.]

.......

After Ji Xiang left, Crown Prince Lie Jie came here.

The temple was empty, and only the "Left Guard God" sat high on the divine platform, and bowed slightly when he saw him coming.

"Did you see the black-robed Daoist?"

"I saw him."

The puppet divine general controlled by Ji Xiang told Crown Prince Lie Jie about the demon's disturbance in the temple.

Crown Prince Lie Jie was shocked: "You didn't attack him, did you?"

Left Guard God: "I didn't. I respectfully sent him away."

"Where did that Daoist go from here, approximately..."