Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 160: Extra-curricular Soul-Snatcher

Zhao Yifu raised his head and gently stroked his killing knife. For the first time, he seriously sensed and thought about what form this knife should take.

There is no doubt that judging from the characteristics of blood sacrifice, this must be a magic sword.

But the question is why does this magic knife look so "Buddhist"?

He carefully sensed it and suddenly realized why.

Because the base material of this killing knife is the black iron that he melted with pure yang fire before!
These black irons that have been purified by true yang are themselves of yang attribute, which makes the killing sword different from the magic sword made purely of evil materials.

After completing the killing, a normal demon soldier can certainly extract resentment and hatred to strengthen himself, but he will also extract the dead and store them within the demon soldier himself.

As the number of dead souls increases, the pressure on the holders becomes uncontrollable.

But the killing knife is different. Its base material is pure yang. After the blood sacrifice absorbs the resentment and hatred, it will repel the souls of the dead from entering.

Thus, the previous scene took place: cutting off the resentment of the dead soul and releasing its pure soul to be reborn.

But this is not without hidden dangers. The yang iron used as the base material will also turn from yang to yin after being eroded by resentment and negative energy for a long time. In fact, there is already such a trend now.

Zhao Yifu knew that if he wanted to maintain the magical properties of this killing knife, he had to pay attention to its maintenance.

So he covered the blade with his own Pure Yang Fire and carefully re-energized it.

Then he thought that as time went by, the resentment and hatred accumulated on the killing knife would probably become stronger and stronger, and he had to constantly nurture it to maintain its characteristics.

It's quite troublesome when I think about it...

Zhao Yi Fu gradually became impatient, so he put the killing knife into his sleeve and just maintained a certain amount of true energy to continue nurturing it.

The passage to the underworld is closed again, and it seems that there is nothing on the other side... at least there is probably nothing valuable here.

"Oh, what a pity..."

The small animals around him, including Wu Zhong, were speechless when they saw his inhuman expression, but how to say it, this was the object of their loyalty, and it actually felt pretty good.

As for the current problem of these wandering ghosts...

Zhao Yifu immediately changed his mind and thought that since he couldn't do it, he should let someone who could do it.

He didn't care that it was already dark, and said to the mustache boy, "Go and get my brother Hanshan over here for me. I have something for him to do."

The man with the mustache went there immediately, and not long after, Li Liang, who was a little disheveled, was brought over.

"I greet you, sir. What are your instructions?"

Zhao Yifu got straight to the point and said, "I've noticed there's no City God Temple in Fenglin County."

Li Liang said, "In reply to your question, Yuzhou is located in the southwest, and our Fenglin County is a small county on the border. The people don't believe this."

Zhao Yifu waved his hand and said, "No, most of our cities in Daxu have City God Temples, and we should have one in Fenglin County too."

Li Liang scratched his head in embarrassment and asked, "But where should this City God Temple be built?"

Zhao Yifu said, "Just build it behind the county government office. Tomorrow you can find someone to do it. Isn't the room behind the county government office empty? Clean it up and enshrine the City God there."

Li Liang asked in confusion, "Who is he offering sacrifices to?"

Zhao Yifu said, "The City God."

Li Liang swallowed his saliva and said, "Then we have to determine who the City God is, right?"

Zhao Yifu looked embarrassed: "Is that so..."

The civil service system of the Heavenly Court is actually very bloated. Every city has one City God... no, a city can have several City Gods.

Zhao Yifu pondered this for a moment before saying, "Just... pick someone at random... Oh, didn't three old men die of exhaustion when they were surveying the land with me? Let's pick the one with the best reputation."

Li Liang said awkwardly: "Those three don't have a very good reputation..."

Zhao Yifu was troubled, and then said, "Don't worry about that for now. Let's rebuild the temple first and then I'll find a solution."

Li Liang had no choice but to agree.

Zhao Yifu was also quite embarrassed about this. Who should he choose as the City God?
Generally speaking, the City God is a respected elder in a city who is invited by his descendants to be the City God after his death. Of course, there are also those who are appointed by government decree.

The problem now is that we can't find a candidate for the City God...

Zhao Yi Fu pondered for a while and suddenly thought of the Taoist Master Bai Na.

Although Taoist Bai Na is a casual cultivator, he can definitely be said to be kind-hearted.

He even risked his life to enter the prison mountain for the safety of the people in Fenglin County, but ended up dying and his body is nowhere to be found.

Zhao Yifu still felt very sorry about this.

At the same time, I think it would be better to use Bai Na Taoist as the City God.

As for orthodoxy?
Just kidding, how difficult is it to ask Ying Cong for a title?

What's more, this was originally a great thing to help Da Xu educate the border areas, and the emperor had no reason not to allow it.

Therefore...

Three days later, Li Liang hurriedly finished renovating the City God Temple. Of course, it was only roughly done and still looked very rough.

But Zhao Yifu could not wait any longer. He did not prepare any statues, but simply painted a picture for the Taoist monk Bai Na and hung it up, and then brought the people to worship.

The people also gave him face. After all, Zhao Yifu was probably the most prestigious county magistrate since the establishment of Fenglin County.

They looked at the image of the Patchouli Taoist priest, whose clothes were covered with patches but who was righteous, kind and benevolent, and then looked at the "Curse of the Patchouli Taoist priest" recorded on a newly carved stone tablet next to it, and immediately felt awe.

Finally, while Li Liang was stunned, Zhao Yifu took out the emperor's edict and read it out in public, appointing the Taoist monk Bai Na as the City God of Fenglin County.

It was not until this moment that Zhao Yifu discovered some spiritual light appeared on the portrait.

This spiritual light was very similar to the one he had seen in Yuzhou City before.

It seems that the emperor's decree is indeed useful, but there is no incense burning yet, so it is still only at the spiritual level.

When there are more incense sticks here, this painting will naturally be able to call back the remaining soul of the Taoist Master Bai Na... I just don't know what happened to the remaining soul of the Taoist Master Bai Na?

According to Zhao Yifu's understanding, at this moment when the ghost messengers in the underworld are so busy, this residual soul might still be wandering in the mountains?

Thinking of this, Zhao Yi Fu suddenly took out some incense and offered it to his Taoist friend whom he had met by chance.

After the ceremony was completed, Zhao Yifu returned directly to the county government office through the small door next to it.

Li Liang also hurried over and said, "Sir, I think..."

Zhao Yifu said, "Just say what you want to say, don't hesitate."

Li Liang said, "Sir, forging an imperial edict is not a good idea after all, right?"

When Zhao Yifu heard this, he suddenly realized how outrageous it was for him to take out the imperial edict just now.

For ordinary people, they would not think too much about it, but would just think that this might be the emperor's grace to them.

But for Li Liang who knew the inside story, especially knowing that Zhao Yifu had just decided to build the City God Temple three days ago, it seemed a bit too much.

Can a proper imperial edict be produced in three days?

Zhao Yifu didn't want to explain this. After all, the channels between him and Ying Cong were not suitable for ordinary people to know.

So he waved his hand and said, "Just keep it to yourself and don't talk about it."

Li Liang immediately bowed respectfully and said, "Yes!"

Then he said goodbye.

But after leaving Zhao Yifu's sight, he suddenly showed an excited expression, as if he had caught Zhao Yifu's flaw.

However, he quickly restrained his expression and returned to his diligent and honest appearance.

Zhao Yifu didn't notice Li Liang's change, and even if he did, he wouldn't have cared. He simply waited in the house until nightfall, then eagerly tried to use the spiritual power from the City God Temple behind him to open the Netherworld Passage again.

This time, the gates of hell appeared again!

Sure enough, no matter how weak the City God’s spiritual power is, he can still connect directly to the underworld.

That's good.

He used yang and spiritual energy as fuel to maintain the Ghost Gate, immediately providing a place for the surrounding undead to go.

Zhao Yifu felt quite relieved when he saw this, and casually drew a picture of the "Gate of Hell" and sent it to his "netizen".

Naturally, there was another round of amazement over there.

Ying Cong: [Little Taoist priest, do you think it's too late for me to practice Taoism now? I always find your life so interesting.]

Zhao Yifu: [Forget it. Just be a good emperor. When you die, you will be a ghost emperor in the underworld.]

Ying Cong was excited when he heard this. He said, "Quickly tell me what's going on with the Ghost Emperor?"

Zhao Yifu said awkwardly, "I'm not entirely sure, but generally speaking, the emperor's status after death will vary based on his performance in governing the mortal world."

Ying Cong was shocked when he heard this. He quickly asked: "What if I could become an immortal? How would that compare to this?"

Zhao Yifu hesitated and said, "First, can you become an immortal? After all, throughout history, only one emperor has ever achieved immortality. Even if that person doesn't cultivate, he can still become a high and mighty Saint Emperor through his great merits in laying the foundation for China."

Ying Cong asked unwillingly: [Just say what if, what if I can succeed? ]

Zhao Yifu said, "I've actually been researching this recently... Because all living beings in the world, including the gods in heaven, are actually within Mara's Desire Realm, human desires consume both mental and physical strength. Once physical and mental strength is exhausted, one will fall into the Five Decays of the Celestial Beings, which marks the end of one's lifespan."

Ying Cong asked in surprise: [Even if one becomes an immortal and ascends to heaven, one cannot escape birth, old age, sickness, and death?]

Zhao Yifu said: "In my opinion, becoming an immortal simply elevates our level. In fact, if a cultivator possesses boundless mental strength, they won't easily encounter the Five Degenerations of the Celestial Being."

What Zhao Yifu wanted to express was that one must maintain the enterprising spirit of a cultivator. Only by having an undying heart for the Tao can one achieve true freedom and longevity.

But Ying Cong no longer wanted to think about this aspect. After all, there was already a path in front of him that was visible, tangible, and seemed more practical.

[Little Taoist priest, I have decided that I will usher in a new era of prosperity!]

Zhao Yifu understood and said, "Okay, I'll help you."

As we chatted, I didn't know how long this gate of hell had been open.

Around the second half of the night, there were fewer and fewer souls passing through, and the scene finally became sparse.

But at this moment, Zhao Yifu saw three figures coming in the opposite direction.

He knew two of them.

One of them was the soul-catcher he had met before, and the other one had a blank and dull look in his eyes, but Zhao Yifu felt very familiar with him. He was the Taoist friend Bai Na Taoist whom he had met by chance!

There was another person who was also dressed as a ghost messenger, but he looked obviously much more advanced than the previous soul-catcher.

The man was dressed in white and had a smile on his face, but he had a long scarlet tongue hanging out of his mouth. He wore a tall hat with a sign on it that read: Good luck on first sight.

Zhao Yifu knew who it was as soon as he saw the attire.

He quickly came to the Gate of Hell, bowed and said, "This humble disciple greets the Lord of Impermanence."

Heibai Wuchang are not ordinary ghost messengers in the underworld, but the Ten Yin Marshals, and also the ghosts with extremely high ranks in the underworld.

Bai Wuchang looked at Zhao Yifu calmly, wanting to say something, but seemed helpless.

He said, "Brother Zhao, please don't be so polite. Since you are a disciple of Miaodao Tianzun, you are already a respected person."

"I'm here today just to provide you with some convenience."

As he spoke, he handed a token to Zhao Yi Fu.

Zhao Yifu took the token and felt it was extremely cold and hard. There was a big word "Ming" written on it.

After he used his spiritual sense to sense the token, he immediately noticed the difference.

I had some guesses about this token, but I didn't ask for clarification in a hurry.

He first clasped his fists towards the nameless ghost messenger as a greeting, then came to the soul of the Taoist monk Bai Na and said with some concern, "My Taoist monk Bai Na seems to be missing something in his soul?"

Zhao Yifu's behavior made Bai Wuchang feel very favorable towards him.

The Black and White Impermanence are people who value friendship the most. Seeing Zhao Yifu like this, he not only did not feel offended but was happy in his heart.

He said, "He suffered a great deal of torture before his death, and his inner demons nearly devoured his consciousness."

"Now that these spirits have been preserved for reincarnation, the Judge, mindful of his difficulty in cultivating, is preparing to send him to the animal realm, where he will be reborn as a domesticated pig."

Zhao Yifu was furious upon hearing this, but a puzzled expression crossed his face as he asked, "My fellow Taoist had always done good deeds and accumulated virtue, even risking his life for people who had nothing to do with him... Why would he still..."

Bai Wuchang interrupted, "Don't think that making him a pig in his next life is harming him. The judge actually made this decision based on his merits in life. Otherwise, with his current spiritual state, he would probably only be able to be reborn as a plant."

"I don't know how many lifetimes it will take to be reborn as a human being again."

"So, in his next life, he was reborn as a pig, where he only needed to eat and grow flesh. He would be butchered and used as a servant. In his next life, he would be blessed with good fortune and be born into a wealthy family."

Zhao Yifu was touched after hearing this. He knew that what he heard must be the secret of reincarnation.

He quickly bowed and thanked him, "Thank you, Lord God, and thank you, Judge, for your consideration for my friend."

Bai Wuchang shook his head and said, "I'm still not as good as you. I never thought you could elevate this monk to the position of City God... If he accumulates merits and blessings over a period of time, perhaps he will regain his former spirituality one day."

"Entering the cycle of reincarnation again will definitely bring me good fortune and opportunities. My future is limitless."

Zhao Yifu heaved a sigh of relief and said, "That's good."

Bai Wuchang pointed at the ghost messenger and said, "Lou Luo, go and escort Fenglin City God back to his place."

It turns out that the nameless ghost messenger was called "Lou Luo", which sounds a bit strange.

Zhao Yifu watched as the soul of the Taoist monk Bai Na was sent into his painting, and then merged with the spirit in the painting. Then the portrait of the City God came alive.

Bai Wuchang nodded and said, "In the future, let the believers make a golden statue for him, and that will be enough."

Zhao Yifu expressed his gratitude again, "Thank you, Lord Wuchang, and thank you, Messenger Lou Luo, for coming to help."

Lou Luo's eyes were touched when he heard this. At this moment, his eyes were full of envy. At the same time, he was wondering if he could use Zhao Yifu's favor to exchange for the same thing?

But it still held back, because it felt that Zhao Yi Fu was so powerful now, what would happen in the future?

At that time, the same favor will have a different price!

Bai Wuchang waved his hand and said, "I already said no need to be so polite."

"What I just gave you is the 'Netherworld Messenger Order'. Holding this order means you are a temporary messenger recruited by the Underworld in the living world. You can open a Netherworld passage anywhere and send the souls of the dead to the Underworld."

"But I must remind you, don't send just any soul to the underworld. The pressure in the underworld is already very great, and it can't withstand any random disturbance."

Zhao Yifu felt something was wrong after hearing this. It would have been fine if he had just been a temporary worker, but the warning that followed made him feel like someone in the underworld was saying bad things about him!

He was not convinced in his heart, but on the surface he said awkwardly, "How could that be? I am a scholar, and a gentleman should not use his mouth but his fists."

He felt guilty even for saying this.

So he quickly changed the subject and said, "By the way, now that I have received this 'Netherworld Messenger Order', do I have any obligations to fulfill?"

Bai Wuchang hesitated for a moment, then said, "When evil spirits gather to attack the underworld, it's only natural that all the underworld's members should join in the defense. But don't worry, this kind of thing rarely happens."

Zhao Yifu nodded after hearing this. He knew that if something happened in the underworld, he would have to join the battle. This was the price to get this 'Order of the Underworld Messenger'.

But it didn't seem to be a big deal to him. After all, Bai Wuchang had said that the probability of such a thing happening was very small.

In this way, Zhao Yifu has become the "extra-staff soul-collecting messenger" of the underworld?

(End of this chapter)