Chapter 232: Blow Them Out

Xu Jia looked at these disciples and found they were not even as good as the witches and shamans recruited by Hu Jinhua; although those witches and shamans were also a motley crew and could not recognize many characters, they could endure loneliness and would repeatedly study and practice whatever they were taught in just a few sentences.

These people saw too much and thought too much, and instead were not honest or down-to-earth; each of them had numerous distracting thoughts, all dreaming of soaring to the sky in a single leap.

Especially these two Germans, who actually wanted to ask for the method of immortality; I, Heavenly Master Xu, cannot even guarantee the immortality of my own physical body, and furthermore, within the Desire Realm, there is no foundation for longevity.

Thus, he scolded them: "Each of you has no foundation in cultivation and your Daoist Practice is shallow; plotting for the art of longevity is like building a castle in the air. You need to re-lay your foundation, make up for your deficiencies, and practice diligently for twenty or thirty years, perhaps then you will have some small success."

"Twenty or thirty years?"

"Grand Ancestor, after small success, can one attain longevity?"

"It is like scooping the moon from the water or looking at flowers through the mist; you will not attain longevity, but only ensure you are free from illness and disaster, living to a ripe old age, and perhaps securing a Ghost Immortal Body and the Clear Spirit Realm."

"Ah? Then is there anything else?"

Hearing this, Xu Jia's expression changed: "Get out of here!"

He then withdrew his Dharma Power, causing them to no longer be able to see the scenery of the Dharma Realm.

The two Germans thought Xu Jia was Patriarch Bodhi and they were Sun Wukong, thinking that if they didn't learn this or that, they could sneak in through the back door in the middle of the night.

Seeing this, those disciples and grand-disciples did not dare to speak again.

Xu Jia then taught them the technique of Turtle Breath Hibernation and the Zi-Wu Qi Circulation Method.

These were all skills for "Returning Essence to the Brain" and "Foundation Establishment and Cultivating the Origin."

Xu Jia was also not afraid of forcing the sprouts to grow; he directly transformed the bit of Dharma Power he had just injected into their bodies into Acquired Essence, Qi, and Spirit, guiding it through their meridians to help them directly enter the gate and sense their Inner Qi.

This was a skill Xu Jia did not possess in his previous life.

These disciples and grand-disciples felt their Inner Qi moving around in their bodies like a little mouse, circulating through their meridians; at first, it was a bit itchy, and those who had heavy cold or dampness in their bodies felt cold and hot by turns.

In short, they had all sorts of experiences.

After being kicked out of the Dharma Realm by Xu Jia, the two Germans were extremely ashamed and annoyed, secretly thinking: This is racial discrimination; this rigid Grand Ancestor just doesn't like foreigners.

He guessed everything else right, but he guessed this wrong; Xu Jia advocated teaching without discrimination, but one must have "virtue"—if one's virtue is insufficient, then it simply won't do.

Of course, there was also a bit of anger and embarrassment; these two came up and demanded the Dao of longevity—how could Xu Jia possibly teach that?

These two did not leave either; after waiting for a while, they saw those disciples and grand-disciples with smoke rising from their heads, their little faces turning pale and then red, and they were also quite surprised.

At this time, the leader of the cannibal cult, Hannibal, had already arrived in San Francisco.

The local spiritual forces in San Francisco, the Exorcism Church, saw Jesus hanging upside down and holy water evaporating one after another.

The "Old John Cathedral" near Tongtian Temple even had its glass shattered all over the floor.

Old John Cathedral worshipped "John the Baptist," also called "St. John," one of the "saints" of Christ, and Da Fenqi once painted a picture of him.

Old John Cathedral had stood in San Francisco since the founding of America and was a veteran American Exorcism Church; the priests and nuns in the hall made their living by presiding over "baptisms," having held baptisms for tens of thousands of newborns. The holy water of this place was known as the purest and most pristine among the twelve great cathedrals of America.

But at this moment, the leader of the cannibal cult, Hannibal the Old Demon, arrived in person, and this holy water directly evaporated, the crucifix with the old man Jesus hung upside down, and Old John's eyes shed tears of blood.

The priests in the hall were in a tense atmosphere, holding the Gospel and chanting loudly, but unfortunately, their throats locked up in an instant, and not a single sound could be released, only "gugugu" sounds, like an old hen laying an egg.

Fear began to spread throughout the entire community; the streetlights flickered on and off, the voltage was unstable, and no one knew how long it had been since the power company sent anyone to repair the circuits.

Between the light and dark of the bus stop, shadows were revealed.

The telephones in the buildings on both sides of the street rang with a ding-a-ling, but when answered, there was only the buzzing sound of electric current.

Several cannibal cultists, followed by several Death Eater cultists, were already wandering the streets; the cannibal cultists liked to eat fresh ones, while the Death Eater cultists were not picky about whether they were fresh or not.

It can only be said that the demonic path is rampant in America, and the people's livelihood is difficult and dark; this is not even a time of Famine, yet "human meat" is popular—it is truly the behavior of barbarians.

These cannibal cultists had scarlet eyes and evil energy rising from their bodies, and they were seen holding spray paint cans, starting to draw a "Fear Demon Array" on the road.

They also set fire to houses and cars, emitting unprovoked wild laughter, and vaguely, a few "fuck"s and a few gunshots could be heard.

All the disciples were awakened, and they instinctively reached for their waists.

Almost everyone was equipped with two or three All-Living-Equal Devices on their bodies; their power might be large or small, but within ten paces, they could always protect the Dao and preserve themselves, being best at subduing external demons.

Xu Jia comforted them: "Although your firearms have undergone the initial consecration of the Tiangang Thunder Law and have a certain power to punish evil and eliminate demons, and have been adapted to local conditions with pure silver bullets, they still cannot deal with these devils and demon heads. I have newly cultivated a kind of Tiangang Great Sage Thunder Law in Shangjie; as my disciples and grand-disciples, you do not need to practice it yourselves, you only need to worship the Big Dipper Po Jun, draw Talismans, and re-consecrate them, and you can borrow the new law to attach the Thunder Law to your firearms and obtain greater power."

The disciples and grand-disciples all lowered their heads; they had long since stopped using the Thunder Law for consecration, and now they all used bullets soaked in holy water, and foreign Daoists were better at chanting the "Gospel." They didn't even use the "Dharma Water" that they could produce themselves.

The only thing that could have a connection with Daoism might be chanting scriptures for the dead; ever since burning underworld money became popular in America, people here have also begun to yearn for the afterlife, and the Buddhist and Daoist hosting of funerals has already faintly caught up to Christianity.

After all, not every American is a Christian; they could also be followers of Judaism or Islam.

Buddhists and Taoists are also not considered very niche.

It is just that "those not of my faith must have a different heart"; three hundred years ago, they might have been slaughtered along with the Indians and driven into a reservation.

Xu Jia tried to control his Golden Body; although this Golden Body had turned into "cured meat" and was painted with gold foil and gold powder, controlling it was not like a living person, and there was no longer that feeling of comfort of "spirit and flesh as one," but it could actually walk down from the altar.

It was just limping, and the feeling it gave people was no less than the resurrection of an Egyptian mummy.

Xu Jia took a step with every tread, his Dharma Power circulating, gradually becoming smooth, and gradually illusions filled the air, covering his true appearance, transforming into the likeness of a young Daoist with fox eyes.

"When the Grand Ancestor ascended at the age of one hundred, he must have attained great merit in Shangjie; otherwise, how could he be getting younger the more he cultivates!"

The disciples and grand-disciples followed respectfully, but they saw Xu Jia walk out of Tongtian Temple; outside the temple, a black wind blew, the smoke and ash produced by the burning turned into a vortex, and strange celestial phenomena appeared in the sky—the black vortex and the blood-red light, each looking far from simple.

In Old John Cathedral, blood flowed out in a gurgling stream, and a huge magic array was revealed; broken mirrors combined into a hexagram, and the black goat head representing "Satan" eerily looked up at the sky. Whispers that sounded like the hissing of snakes rang in everyone's ears.

The mobile phones of those Tongtian Temple disciples began to ring one after another, the ringtones trembling.

The disciples were flustered, and Li Rentai even reminded: "Grand Ancestor, be careful; this is that old demon's Fear Demon Array."

"Every once in a while, this old demon will plan a Demon God Ritual, repeating the ritual he performed when he ascended from Hellboy to become the Seventh-Third Pillar Demon God, in order to accumulate power."

Li Rentai looked at the blood flowing from Old John Cathedral opposite and was already guessing how many priests and nuns inside had died; unless the holy relic of Old John reappeared, it would be difficult to deal with Hannibal, who had stepped into the Demon God Realm, and even with the holy relic of Old John, the outcome would still be a toss-up.

Xu Jia felt the surging demonic Qi and compared it with the Heavenly Demons, Yin Demons, and Realm Demons of that world, finding that the American demonic path was more like the demonic path in traditional stereotypes.

It also better fit the characteristics of the "terror preaching" of the Six Heavens Primordial Qi.

"Dark Altar, Fear Demon Mirror, strange calls... Hannibal the Old Demon, you were using this set when you were a Half-step Demon God, and you are still using this set now that you have become a Demon God; have you been working hard all these years? Huh?"

The next moment, countless moths flew out from the altar, and these moths formed the likeness of a person; that was Hannibal the Old Demon.

Only this time it was his true Demon God body, which did not look very elegant; he was several zhang tall, slender and thin, with no facial features, only a bloody giant mouth, but on his two hands, there were eyeballs, and he placed his hands over his mouth, the eyes on his palms blinking.

Anyone who saw him would inevitably fall into a nightmare.

He saw the Golden Body of Xu Jia emerging from Tongtian Temple, a flavor even more superior to that of years past seeping into his nose and mouth.

Just hearing Xu Jia question whether he had worked hard all these years, he flew into a rage; able to become the Seventh-Third Pillar Demon God of Hell, he had been behaving himself well all these years, so how could that not count as working hard? It was Xu Jia, rather, whose aura was strange—like a living person, yet not like a living person—with the scent of smoked bacon, of top-quality ham and prosciutto, who presumably was the one not behaving himself well.

He opened his mouth, and hundreds of black moths flew out from within; these moths grew as they met the wind, turning into ghost demons. These ghost demons had various appearances: some carried chainsaws, some held axes, some held meat cleavers, and their appearances were either wearing raincoats, wearing pig-head masks, or resembling old women covered in wrinkles.

Those he brought were all "demons" transformed from people who had completed cannibalistic rituals and imitated his crimes, rather than the cowardly, timid lambs he had eaten.

These ghost demons each emitted strange laughter, the laughter having strong penetrating power, giving people a feeling of panic and mental confusion; taking any one of them out alone would be enough to be the protagonist in an American horror movie, scaring the protagonist team into disaster.

But Xu Jia was not a delicate white woman who would fall down after walking two steps; he only heard Xu Jia shout: "Om!"

This was the "True Word Mantra" that Xu Mu had grasped; although it was only one character, it had the meaning of subduing and capturing everything.

When unleashed using his Dharma Power from his past life, it had an even more concrete manifestation.

One only saw a Diamond Dharma image appear in the void, with an angry-eyed expression; he held a great hand seal, and in coordination with Xu Jia's Om Mantra, a powerful gravitational field suddenly surrounded Xu Jia.

Those ghost demons that approached were actually pressed flat directly, prostrate on the ground, unable to move.

Xu Jia then said to his disciples: "Now you can use your firepower to strafe them; I see that you always harbor fear of him in your hearts, but I want you to break through this fear."

Those disciples and grand-disciples had originally been hiding in the back, not daring to show their faces, but seeing Xu Jia so invincible and hearing such words, they indeed took out their firearms and began to shoot at those demons.

The bullets hit the demons, also leaving bloody holes one by one, and the seemingly perverted murderous demons emitted painful sounds.

Xu Jia, however, took the opportunity to educate them: "It is easy to defeat the thieves in the mountains, but difficult to defeat the thieves in the heart!"

The next moment, he changed to a one-character Thunder Sound: "Lei!"

He hooked and captured the Vast Righteous Qi between heaven and earth; although the demons were flourishing and the Dao was waning in America, it was not without people who harbored justice and wanted to change the predicament—this had always been the unchanging principle of one Yin and one Yang.

Therefore, as Xu Jia hooked and captured the Vast Righteous Qi between heaven and earth, heaven and earth also responded, with the Vast Righteous Qi and the Thunder Law of the Tiangang Great Sage.

Suddenly, thirty-six bolts of lightning were generated, striking directly at the demons.

The next moment, the cannibal cult leader Hannibal the Old Demon withdrew and flew away, not staying long; this time he had come to probe, and if he kept probing, he feared being locked inside a jar.

After Xu Jia finished this, his divine sense was also nearly exhausted, with faint signs of returning; thus he turned back, sat upright on the altar again, and only gave one instruction: "This poor Daoist has already captured this old demon; he likely will not dare to come to this community again. You must take this opportunity to cultivate well and not be slothful. Next time I descend upon the altar, those who learn well will be taught the Demon-Breaking Thunder Law I just demonstrated!"

Having said this, there was no more sound, and the illusion dissipated; these disciples and grand-disciples could no longer see the fox-eyed young Ancestor, only the gold-leaf flesh body.

Where the Ancestor's footprints had just stepped, there was still gold powder left, showing this was not a dream.

"Ancestor... so powerful!"

In an instant, these disciples and grand-disciples all had their heads heated up again; after all, the Thunder Law was truly too cool, and its power was great.

Those two German Taoists knew they had missed an opportunity, and at this time begged their fellow disciples: "What did the Ancestor just teach? Can you pass it to us? I can give you money."

"Vulgar, utterly vulgar!"

None of the disciples and grand-disciples were short of money; only one kind-hearted one said: "You angered the Ancestor; only sincere repentance will do. Just like those people in church who repent to Jesus, you must also repent to the Ancestor, repent sincerely, be single-mindedly good, and make a vow; only then can you beg for the Ancestor's forgiveness. The Ancestor said he would descend again to examine our studies; perhaps he will forgive you then."

The two German Taoists were puzzled: "Isn't Taoism 'believe if you want, leave if you don't'? If we repent like this, can the Ancestor hear us? Will he forgive us?"

They really could not imagine why, just for asking for a "technique for Longevity," they were punished by the Ancestor changing his face and wanting to "blast them out."

………

On the other side, Xu Jia slowly woke up, feeling only that his spirit was exhausted and his Qi short, a feeling of not having slept for a long time.

"It seems that if the intention cannot be guarded, the spirit will drift away; the consciousness descending into the Golden Body consumes quite a lot for me, unless I open an altar for protection and gather the spiritual essence of mountains and rivers to nourish it."

However, this Three Sovereigns Ten Thousand People Umbrella was finally completely refined.

Seeing that it had absorbed the wishes and desires of the past life's Golden Body, this umbrella was already flashing with golden light, not like a mundane object.

Xu Jia gave a slight thought: "Pocket!" Immediately, a chair was sucked into the umbrella, appearing in another space within the umbrella, floating.

"This has a bit of the feel of the Universal Pearl Umbrella; I happen to have a few pearls here that I can decorate it with, so others will be even less able to tell that it is a magic treasure based on a demonic path weapon."

(End of this chapter)