Chapter 349: America: Holy Land of the Demonic Path

These few elders of the Dongda Daoist altar were all at the level of Supreme Elder, yet they were very trendy; there was ten-terabit fiber optics on the mountaintop, the internet speed was very fast, and the compressed files were downloaded in an instant. After fiddling for a while, they also extracted them.

They saw a directory: three major folders labeled "Daoism," "Gu Technique," and "Magic."

A few white-bearded elders felt that holding a mobile phone was too small, so they quickly switched to a tablet computer. This was what they used to watch shows; they never got tired of old TV series like *Journey to the West* or *Three Kingdoms*.

"This Daoism and Gu Technique, we can let them be, but what is this 'Magic'? Did he go to study at Hogwarts and become a Dongda international student?"

The white-bearded old man was the first to click on Magic, and he saw several folders inside, named "Life-Bound Demon God Method," "Contract Heavenly Demon Method," "Enslaving Devil Method," "Demon Remains Artifact Refining Chapter," "Summoning Secret Demon Twelve Rituals"…

The few white-bearded old Daoists felt as if Qin Shi Huang had touched an electric gate; they were winning big.

"This, this, this—this style is different from those evil outer paths like Nanyang Head-Descending Technique, Rural Militia Gu Technique, or Yunnan Gu Technique, right? It looks more like the demonic methods from *Shushan Swordsman Biography* by Huanzhu Louzhu."

"He is teaching magic so openly… what is his intention?"

Under the conflict of their thoughts, the white-bearded old men still clicked on one of them.

They saw a young Daoist sitting upright on an altar, but the camera was very eerie, constantly flickering. One moment it showed a young Daoist, the next it showed a golden-bodied mummified corpse. The background music was some kind of Dao rhyme, sounding strangely quiet and peaceful.

"America is a holy land of the demonic path, with devils everywhere. Therefore, this poor Daoist passes down the method of using demons to control demons—hunting demons to obtain the power of demons. The theory of this method references the Consciousness-Only Sect theory of the Dharmalaksana Sect, with the Esoteric Buddhism of Mizang Yu as its skeleton, and casting one's original heart and will as the foundation. Then, cultivate the six senses. There is also a saying: 'Emerging from the mud without being stained, washing in clear ripples without being bewitched.' Planting the Dao within the demon is to test one's original heart with the demon, not to be an evil demon. Cultivating this method can assist in the Demon Examination and can break through illusions."

"The Heavenly Demon is a phantom of the void, a drifting existence of the Dharma Realm. Descending from the three heavens, it tests the Dharma nature…"

The few white-bearded old Daoists also had some research into Buddhism; this was very normal. In China, Buddha, Dao, and Confucianism had long been inseparable. Even Quanzhen Daoists could receive the Bodhisattva precepts; this had already been successfully assimilated.

It could even be said that ancient India was only the origin of Buddhist culture, while its peak, and even its inheritance, were in the Central Plains.

Back then, Tang Seng traveled to the Western Lands to seek scriptures. At Alantuo Temple, he was number one in debating scriptures; no one could beat him. After returning to the Central Plains, he translated Buddhist scriptures at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, making the Buddhist culture of the Tang Dynasty unprecedentedly prosperous; this was the great flourishing of Buddhism.

Xu Jia, in America, was borrowing demons to cultivate Buddhism. It was called magic, but in reality, it was Dharma; it was just relatively extreme.

The few white-bearded old Daoists were rendered silent by what they saw, feeling their Dao hearts lose their guard.

"He has many hidden dangers here. How many people can actually use demons to control demons and maintain their original heart? If this spreads out, I'm afraid it will be a disaster."

"Look at this, Secret Demon Ritual. As long as one follows the Secret Demon Ritual, unless one's heart is inherently dark, it is difficult to be seduced by demons and fall… However, human nature can never withstand testing, and there are still many dark people, especially in America. America is always lifting a rock only to drop it on its own feet."

They then looked at the Gu Technique and saw various types of heterodox witchcraft listed, including some they had never seen before that were immensely powerful, and their eyes went dim.

"This can be taught too?"

"What's there that can't be taught? Even the previously secret *Inner Elixir Detailed Explanation* and *Primordial Spirit Secret Decree* of our sects have been published as books, and they are nine-point-nine with free shipping on PDD. Here, I'm afraid no one will follow them to practice."

"That's hard to say. Many of those 'auspicious' people on the left path are just throwing money around. We haven't seen few people using internet names to perform rituals to summon spirits and capture souls."

This old man also played with short videos. A few days ago, he got into an argument with a young person and was also furious.

"Everyone talks about the End of Dharma Era, and Poxun occupying the Buddhist gate. I think our Daoist gate is about the same. Those 'auspicious' people on the internet are truly ruining our reputation. Those evil methods that everyone used to shout to beat are now openly recruiting disciples, and they are all idiots."

"No way around it. A few days ago, I was wandering and sat in to replace a junior nephew in striking the chime. I just scrolled through short dramas for a while and was posted on the internet. These cattle and horses, they aren't allowed to play with phones at their own jobs, yet they manage me? If I were bound by worldly constraints, why would I go up the mountain to cultivate the Dao? Wouldn't I just find a job?"

"Calm down. However, this person really looks like that one from back then." The white-bearded old Daoist of Maoshan stroked his beard and recalled: "But he is not an Ancestor-level figure, so how could he descend to the altar? Back then, he failed the Demon Examination. We had already cast divination to the Ancestors, and he did not ascend to the heavens, but instead went underground."

"Our Ancestors can only entrust dreams and give guidance through divination. Without body, form, or color, they influence us from a higher dimension through certain actions. Since he descended to the altar with a physical body, his dimension must be similar to ours. Without achieving Immortal status, and with the laws of heaven and the eternal separation of Immortal and mortal, it is impossible to descend to the world privately."

"I'm afraid he pulled some strings. During the mid-Qing Dynasty, many people returned from the dead, and occasionally there were manifestations of Judges from the Underworld. He is not in the Heavenly Court, but in the Underworld. The Underworld manages many things and deals with mortal people, so perhaps there is some way. Isn't it the same for us? Ancestors who haven't achieved Immortal status have all gone to the Underworld to hold Ghost Immortal official posts."

Their information was still quite well-informed; this was the benefit of a large sect. Although it had declined, the connections and human sentiments were still there, connecting top to bottom.

After finishing the Gu Technique, they then looked at "Daoism."

"This is?" The white-bearded Maoshan old Daoist was shocked: "This is the lost Lingbao Daoist lineage inheritance!"

……

On Xu Jia's side, the Hundred Ghost Banner had already evolved into a "Thousand Soul Banner."

The disciples were quite efficient; they even taught the ghost-capturing method to Christian exorcists and recovered evil spirits from their hands.

Although there were few hundred-year-old evil spirits at the Half-step Demon God level, there were still quite a few old ghosts of several decades.

Besides exorcism, there were some "eerie objects" sent to Xu Jia, such as the Death Wardrobe that had killed over forty owners, the Sunny Doll that caused over twenty people to hang themselves, and things like the Skinning Wedding Dress and Death Piano. Although these things did not belong to "evil spirits," they were "spirits of resentment." How to put it? Similar to the Evil Sword Immortal, they were manifestations of gathered evil thoughts. They could absorb evil thoughts to grow and had their own killing mechanisms. If they killed a hundred people, they could transform into a "Demon God" and give birth to Divine Nature.

For a time, the Tongtian Temple was gloomy, filled with ghost atmosphere and demonic rhyme, making ordinary disciples afraid to enter. They secretly said: "This Ancestor wouldn't have been possessed by an eerie entity like in the novels, right? Has our Tongtian Temple also turned into an eerie temple?"

Regardless of these disciples who read too many novels, Xu Jia used these things to set up a ritual, intending to sacrifice and summon one of the Hell Seventy-two Demon Gods to descend, then slaughter it to try using its Divine Nature to research his Dharma Nature Chip.

The Hell Seventy-two Demon Gods were immortal in America. Every time they descended to the mortal world, they needed a physical body for the descent. This body needed to complete a killing ritual to obtain power, and it could itself become a Half-step Demon God level.

Xu Jia had also found this person; it was the ultimate killer, Ai'er, located in the Alcatraz prison in San Francisco.

The name Ai'er sounded polite, but even Hannibal, who was best at acting human, was far behind compared to him.

This person was from the South Side of Chicago. His mother was a prostitute, and he had been involved in gangs since childhood, selling flour and killing people like hemp. Later, he joined an Evil Sect and slaughtered seventy or eighty people. After being put in prison, he actually relied on his personal charm to marry the prison warden, escaped from prison three times, and was finally locked in the lowest level of Alcatraz prison.

But now, this person was already in the Tongtian Temple.

This kind of person was extremely dangerous. After the prison sprayed a large amount of anesthetic in his individual room, they put on handcuffs and shackles, and locked him in a large cage that was also connected to high-voltage electricity, before sending him to Xu Jia.

Xu Jia used a large brush to draw talisman diagrams on the ground. The evil spirits in the Thousand Soul Banner wailed; a portion of them were also to be sacrificed.

Not long after, Ai'er woke up from the anesthesia and peered at Xu Jia, intending to escape. The handcuffs, shackles, and high-voltage electric cage were all minor matters to him, but he could not see through this Asian man in front of him.

"Many disciples have already killed enough five-person owls, enough to perform the Ghost Immortal ritual and obtain the summoning order. It's a pity that the Divine Nature of the cannibal cult leader has been used up, and his Dharma Realm Manor has also been captured into the Blessed Land for purification. I cannot use this Dharma Realm Manor to lure evil gods without territory to land…"

The Demon God Xu Jia summoned was none other than the betrayer in the Last Supper, Judas.

Judas was a relatively ancient Demon God, but the one Xu Jia wanted to confront was not this one. This guy had been cast into Hell over two thousand years ago and was notorious. Although the Heaven here in America didn't seem to have much to do with the Heavenly Court, and didn't distinguish between the Desire Realm or Form Realm, it was presumably a divine kingdom force in a higher plane dimension. Being able to be linked to Jesus, even compared to the Wanshou Emperor of the Longevity Sect, he could probably fight ten.

Xu Jia was not summoning the main body; if a trace of divine soul could descend, that would be enough.

As the saying goes, the older, the stronger; the older, the more original. Perhaps within this thing, there was fallen Divine Nature related to the Yeh Teachings, and Xu Jia could also make the Dao-Ye Dual Cultivation of his disciples more legitimate.

At that time, holding a Peach Wood Sword, saying in his mouth: "Holy light, shine upon the world!", and charging forward.

Culture is something that, when it comes to China from the outside, will be assimilated. There is no reason why Chinese culture wouldn't integrate with the local area when it reaches America.

Xu Jia was of the active integration faction, changing to a way that the American public loved to see, in order to strengthen the sect and deeply cultivate the mass line.

"Almost there!"

After Xu Jia finished drawing the summoning demon array, he exited the place and remotely opened the cage.

Ai'er tentatively walked out of the cage. Just as he stepped out, he saw a bloody light rushing toward his face. Thousands of evil spirits broke free from the Thousand Soul Banner, and those eerie magic artifacts also began to move on their own.

Even though he was well-informed, he was still startled.

(End of chapter)