Li Changan looked at the scholar in front of him with great interest. He was deeply impressed by this person whom he only met once. There is no doubt that he is the enemy of the White Lotus Sect, but the enemy of an enemy is not necessarily a friend.
But it was such a person who extended a helping hand in tonight's crisis.
He came up with a plan: there was a ghost town hidden under a nearby lake...
"With such an obvious trap, how can you ensure that the other party will fall into the trap obediently?"
"Whether the fish takes the bait depends on whether the bait is fragrant or not."
"The leader of the White Lotus Sect's action is the young master of the White Lotus Sect. He is young and energetic, so he can use aggressive tactics. But he is cautious and suspicious, so he has to do the opposite."
"Even so, relying solely on the City God, I'm afraid we won't be able to eliminate the masters of the White Lotus Sect."
The scholar chuckled lightly.
"You two, have you ever heard of the legend of Pingye City God?"
……………………
Cheng Liang suddenly woke up.
In his memory, the ground was shaking just a moment ago, and the beams and columns above his head collapsed with dust and bricks, and he could not escape beneath them.
At this moment, everything seemed like a dream. There was no earthquake, no inn, or even a thick fog that swallowed the living. There were only ancient ruins and dazed companions around me, and there were no collapsed roof beams above, but a... lake.
?
The heavy rain stopped early and the night wind became strong.
The half-waning moon was imprinted on the lake. When the waves stirred up by the night wind, the broken cold light slowly seeped into the water.
"I'm under the lake?"
A ridiculous idea came to Cheng Liang's mind. This idea drove him to look up. Yes, in the depths of the ruins was an even deeper lake. The algae on the ruins at the bottom of the lake stretched out, and long strands stretched out to the lake.
, as dense as an army’s gun forest.
Er, the undercurrent is sweeping across.
The algae forest squirmed and swayed, and the sediments on the bottom of the algae were also swept up. That was...
Cheng Liang's hair stood on his head.
Under the cold light, there are pale faces one after another, the limbs are being fiddled with by the water flow, and the white lotus is vaguely visible in the floating hem of clothes.
It’s human!
They were hundreds of White Lotus cultists who were swallowed up by the thick fog.
"The spell works!"
Several cheers suddenly sounded in his ears. Cheng Liang looked around and saw that the bronze lamp with a missing corner in the strange shadow's hand was glowing with gray light again. The people around him were learning and learning, and for a while, various small spells were used in the group.
Performed one after another.
They were overjoyed. What could be more exciting and reassuring than being in a strange situation and having the skills they relied on come back again?
But Cheng Liang's hair stood on end.
He knew very well that the previous spell failure was due to the ghost city and the city god. But now that the spell can be used and the ghost city is gone, what is the city god doing?
He widened his eyes and looked in the direction of where the City God was in his memory.
There seemed to be a vague shadow in the darkness. He opened his eyes wide and wanted to look more carefully, but suddenly he found a little orchid will-o'-the-wisp coming out from behind the shadow. The will-o'-the-wisp quickly expanded and finally formed the shape of a person. Then,
The second, third, fourth... countless souls emerged one after another behind the shadow, and the gathered light also illuminated the shadow where they stood during their lifetime.
Wearing a wat head, a crown of virtue, a python robe, and a jade belt around his waist, he looks like a city god in a temple.
Immediately afterwards, Cheng Liang saw the city god leading the ghosts, taking a step forward, then folding his hands, bowing, and bowing his head, leading the ghosts behind him to bow in the direction of his group.
This bow made Cheng Liang's heart beat violently, both out of surprise and fear.
Naturally, the object of the City God's obeisance would not be him, nor anyone around him. In other words, it would be something behind him.
And what's behind him?
He didn't dare to look, his instinct desperately reminded him not to look back.
But soon he felt the cold air rising up on his back, and a thin mist climbed onto his shoulders, and strands of strands of algae squirmed like fine algae in the deep water, clinging to his face.
Inexplicable fear seemed to sneak into his body with the mist, tightly gripping his mind, forcing him to turn his head little by little. At this moment, he only felt that his neck was stiffer than ever before, as if every time he turned a little, his bones,
The meridians and even the blood vessels and skin were all rattling.
Finally, he finally turned his head, a hazy mist reflected in his dilated pupils.
There's nothing in the fog?
No.
"Boom."
Where the water waves, mist and cold light merged, a drum beat suddenly sounded.
Each drum seems to hit the heart of a person, holding the heart firmly and beating accordingly.
Then, a little wing corner pierced the mist, carved with mocking wind, painted with vermilion paint, then cornices, then brackets... half of the luxurious building slowly emerged from the mist.
palace?
As soon as this thought arises from people's minds, the mist suddenly settles.
Little by little, everything in the fog is revealed.
First came countless waving flags and banners, then hundreds of knights on brightly-clad and furious horses, then soldiers holding chains, then all kinds of propaganda, then guards in bright armor, then palace ladies holding fans, and then holding banners.
Servant of the lamp, and...
Cheng Liang's pupils tightened.
...The people under the "palace" are densely packed... No! Those with tongues three feet long are hanged ghosts, those with white and swollen bodies are drowned ghosts, those with skinny bones and belly as big as drums are starved ghosts, and those with empty necks are broken dead ghosts.
The head ghost... The people under that "palace" were all evil ghosts with their stern faces revealed.
What kind of palace is that there? It is clearly a Luan Yu, which uses countless evil ghosts as oxen and horses, and as wheels, and it moves slowly with the cries of the evil ghosts!
Which one is this holy house?!
The cold light illuminated the water, and the team was silent.
For no reason, Cheng Liang remembered something the scholar said:
Have you ever heard of the legend of Pingye City God?
Some ideas have arisen, but they haven’t been sorted out yet.
"The little god Pingye City God Chen Jingdao, kowtows to the god."
The shouts of the ghosts were like a roaring mountain and a tsunami, following closely behind.
"Kowtow to the Lord of Taishan Prefecture!"
……………………
No matter how stupid a person is, it’s time for them to realize their situation.
The people of the White Lotus Sect who were cheering a moment ago were now like a group of ducks whose necks were pinched, panicked and speechless.
The Lord of Mount Tai, Emperor Dongyue, is the god who governs life and death of all things in the world.
No matter how perverse the villain is, he has to be on tenterhooks in front of this god and keep silent for fear of causing disaster.
However, at this moment, a voice suddenly sounded that made everyone in the White Lotus Sect grit their teeth.
"Your Majesty, I am a disciple of the 17th generation of Longhushan Zhengdao. I am the Great Emperor of Beiyin in Fengdu. Please report to the living officials of the Department. Han Zhiwei please report."
The scholar, holding an imperial book in his hand, came out of the crowd.
"Nowadays, the White Lotus Sect is causing chaos in the world with demonic methods and is tyrannizing the world. Its bandit leader has gathered here with a roaring crowd to plot evil and harm the good and the good. Therefore, I would like to open a division of rewards for good and punishment for evil here, and order the judges to weigh the sins of everyone here and make a decision.
Good and evil.”
He bowed and worshiped again. There was no sadness or joy on his face, but he was unavoidably uneasy in his heart. After all the hard work tonight, the success or failure of it depends on this experience.
I didn't keep him waiting long.
A vague response came from the room.
"allow!"
………………
Cheng Liang's hands and feet were already sore and his heart was in a state of confusion.
It’s just the City God, but how come even the Lord of Taishan Prefecture showed up!
He didn't doubt that he was there.
Due to all the strange things happening in the inn in the ghost town, everyone has already determined the identity of the City God. And how can the person who can make the City God lead hundreds of ghosts to kneel down and worship him be an imposter?
This former military general was struck down by fear, his mind went blank, and he didn't even listen to what the scholar said.
Until I heard Bai Lian Zuo Shi's shout.
"Walk!"
The body then made up its mind to take action, keeping up with the pace of its new master.
However.
It's too late.
Their fate was doomed from the moment they stepped into the ruins of the city.
……………………
"Monarch Taishan is the leader of the city gods in the world. Every few decades, he will patrol the city gods all over the world. Sometimes he will reward the good and punish the evil along the way. It stands to reason that the whereabouts of gods are unpredictable and it is basically impossible to encounter them. But at least I am working in the underworld.
, there are still some gossips, for example, the city god of Pingye has gathered many souls who died in vain, and Fujun will come to him no matter what, and the day when Fujun visits is also the time when this ghost town comes to life..."
The scholar slowly explained the key points to the two bearded men, and was not worried about the actions of the White Lotus Sect. As expected, the White Lotus Sect members were overtaken by the ghost soldiers carrying iron ropes under Fujun's command before they could take a few steps away.
The chains in the hands of these ghost soldiers are quite strange. They are not used to bind people. Instead, they pass directly through the human body. They do not cause any harm, but they seem to have grown in the flesh. The other end penetrates into the earth, firmly tying the person in place.
.
Everyone in the White Lotus Sect knew that a catastrophe was coming, and they tried their best to attack the ghost soldiers and chains. However, no matter whether they were using swords, axes, chisels or various spells, they all disappeared like the moon in the mirror, falling without a trace.
On the opposite side, another group of ghosts and gods left the ceremonial guard and came slowly towards this side.
There are only four of them. They are all wearing wide robes and long sleeves, wearing Xie Zhi crowns, with black cloth covering their faces. This is different from women covering half of their faces with gauze, but using thick black cloth to cover their faces tightly.
.Li Changan knew that it was not a veil used by living people, but a "corpse curtain", used to cover the remains of the dead when they were put to death.
"He is the judge who rewards good and punishes evil."
The scholar explained in a low voice.
"They often use scales to weigh judgments. They first take out the sins and good results from the soul as weights, and place them on the two ends of the scale. If the evil end is heavy, they will be punished; if the good end is heavy, they will be rewarded. See
…”
He signaled to the two that the trial had begun.
The first person to be judged was Monk Beifeng.
No matter how hard the opponent struggled and attacked, the judge remained unmoved. He held the scale in one hand and thrust his other hand directly into the monk's chest. When he took it back, there was a black weight in his hand.
He placed the weight on one end of the scale and said in a hoarse voice:
"Rebellious human relations."
Then, he continued to explore his hand. This time, it was a white code representing "good fruit", which was placed on the other end of the scale.
"Release the beasts."
it's not finished yet.
"Despicable and unbridled."
"Trouble people's hearts."
…
In the end, of course.
"evil."
"As a punishment, his soul will be beaten into roof tiles and exposed to wind and sun for four hundred years."
Then the monk's body fell limply to the ground, while the judge had a green tile in his hand.
He handed the tile to the ghost soldier next to him, turned around, and found that the next target he chose was Cheng Liang.
……………………
Cheng Liang felt that he was going crazy, no, he was already crazy!
"No, no! I haven't become famous yet, I haven't gained glory and wealth yet, how can I die in a ghost place?!"
He drew out his heavy sword and frantically slashed at the iron ropes around him. However, these iron ropes that clearly bound him in place turned into phantoms and became air when the sword blade struck them.
"Clang."
He swung his sword in vain again, and the phantom that passed through the iron rope fell on the stone next to him. The broken stone bounced high with the heavy sword that he had released. He was stunned for a moment, and suddenly a chill struck him, and he raised his head sharply.
, the judge is already close at hand.
"Yes, that's right!" In a panic, Cheng Liang finally remembered his identity, "I am one of the 100 households in Zhenfusi. I also have talismans and magic weapons!"
He threw the evil-killing talisman, and the yellow talisman fell softly to the ground.
He pulled out the Bagua mirror, but nothing was reflected on the gray mirror.
He took out another golden needle, which was exactly what Yan Xinglie was willing to risk to find. It was the sharp weapon of the Zhenfu Division, the "Devil Needle" made of Buddhist gold.
However, the golden needle shot out of the electric shock stung the judge and seemed to pass through a ball of air and sink into the thick moss on the ground.
The judge had already raised the scale with one hand and grabbed Cheng Liang's chest with the other.
Cheng Liang's eyes were completely split, and he used his last trump card - the golden armor talisman that saved him twice tonight. Unfortunately, the golden armor talisman could not save him a third time. The judge's hand was seen to penetrate directly through the shadow of the golden armor, exploring
into his body.
"It harms the public and enriches private interests."
"Fornicating women."
"Collaboration with the enemy and treason."
"Conspiracy to harm others."
…
All the desperate struggles were in vain. Cheng Liang could only scream hysterically, watching the judge take out one black code after another from his body. Gradually, the end representing "good" on the scale was raised high, and the end representing "evil" was raised high.
One end sank until the judge took out the last weight.
"Selling friends for glory."
He finally got the final verdict.
"evil."
"As a punishment, his soul will be drawn out and used as a wick to burn for 500 years."
……………………
Perhaps it was because of the relationship between the scholars, or perhaps because Li Changan and the others did not act rashly, the three of them were spared the treatment of being pierced by iron ropes, but the good and evil in their lives were inevitably weighed.
There were a few souls from the White Lotus Sect over there, and a judge here dragged his sleeves towards the three of them.
"Don't panic, you two. The officials in the underworld are no better than the officials in the mortal world. As long as you don't do anything wrong in your life, you have nothing to fear from the weighing of ghosts and gods."
The scholar chuckled.
"Since this attention is mine, I should be the first to do it!"
After saying that, he faced the judge calmly and even opened his arms, allowing the judge to weigh his life's sins.
"Eradicate evil and eradicate evil."
The first weight was taken out, glowing white.
The scholar grinned at the two of them, his expression clearly saying: Look, it's just like what I said...
Perhaps the judge couldn't stand his frivolous appearance, but the second weight was black.
"Play with your tongue."
The scholar didn't take it seriously and blinked at the two of them leisurely.
However.
"Greedy and lustful."
"Insolent and rude."
…
A series of black codes made the "evil" end of the scale heavier and heavier, and the smile on the scholar's face became stiffer and stiffer. Finally, one more came.
"Deceiving gods and demons."
The "evil" end of the scale sank directly to the bottom. Now he couldn't laugh at all, and cold sweat broke out on his face.
Fortunately, the black codes have been exhausted, and the next ones are all white codes.
"Relieve the poor and help the weak."
"I am anxious for justice and love justice."
…
In the end, good and evil will be even.
The scholar also received a good or bad evaluation: "Fair."
No prizes and no penalties.
He came back wiping the cold sweat, but the sweat was not wiped off, and he returned to his frivolous appearance, smiling and saying:
"It's a lucky thing, it's a lucky thing. I think you don't need a bottle of wine when you come to the house."
"You..."
Yan Xinglie smiled and shook his head. He didn't say anything about it. He just said in passing:
"Let Mr. Yan be the second one."
With that said, he stepped out from the crowd and strode up to the judge. He first bowed his hands and made a salute, then straightened his back and allowed the judge to weigh the good and evil in his life.
"Do your duty faithfully."
"A thousand pieces of gold."
"Killing is pointless."
"Eliminate violence and bring peace to the people."
…
In the end, Big Beard received the only positive comment from the dozen or so people in the room so far.
"good."
As for the reward, the judge did not announce it loudly. He only whispered a few words in the bearded ear, and then handed over a paper letter. Although the Taoist priest was curious, he did not have time to ask, because the judge had already turned his head and handed over the letter.
Black Bu faced him.
Finally it was Li Changan's turn.
He looked at the judge who was approaching step by step, but couldn't help but frown. It wasn't that he was afraid of the trial, he just felt that the person in front of him was too weird and a little disgusting.
The judge's posture was very strange when he stepped. Only his toes always touched the bottom, but the soles of his feet never fell. His whole body was light and airy, like a paper figure blown by the wind. When he got closer, he could see the gray and hard body under the curtain.
skin texture, and smelled a faint hint of corpse odor covered in the scent of incense candles.
He stood still in front of the Taoist priest and raised his arms to explore Li Changan's chest and abdomen. The cuffs fell off with the movement, revealing dry skin, protruding joints and black and blue nails.
The Taoist felt a chill and subconsciously stretched out his hand to catch it.
Unexpectedly, the arm that the White Lotus cult members could not stop despite their best efforts was actually caught by him with his bare hands.
There was no uproar. The venue seemed to be quiet or dead before. Li Changan recovered from his brief surprise and said "Oops" secretly. He carefully scanned the ghost officials around him and saw only a pair of ghost officials.
His eyes were looking towards him faintly, and the iron rope in his hand was clattering, ready to move.
The Taoist priest smiled and quickly let go of the judge's arm. He resisted the urge to cut it down with his sword and turned his face sideways as if he couldn't see it, just like a child taking an injection.
But the judge didn't take any further action. He just circled twice, stopped and said something quickly and urgently towards the car, then listened for a while, and then left directly.
In any case, Li Changan still breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could finish breathing, something unexpected happened in the White Lotus Sect.
A blaze of flames shot into the sky!
………………
The fireworks turned into a huge lotus that was constantly twisting and deforming. The flames on the petals were spitting out human faces transformed by the fireworks.
In the center of the fire lotus, White Lotus Zuoshi's face was covered with veins, and the whites of his eyes were red as if they were dripping blood.
As the first evil sect that has been passed down for hundreds of years, even when facing gods, the White Lotus Sect has trump cards to fight against it, such as the karmic fire refined from the desires and sins of all living beings.
This spell was originally used to fight against the Taoist ritual technique of subduing gods. Today, I encountered ghosts and gods, so it came in handy.
However, Zuo Bai Lian is young after all, and his cultivation level is still shallow. To cast such a spell will inevitably require preparation time and... firewood. The fire spread over a wide area. Not only a few careless ghost soldiers were swallowed by the tongues of fire, but even
The remaining masters of the White Lotus Sect were also involved, and even their bodies and souls were turned into fuel for the flames.
"Little Lord……"
The old man struggled and reached out to Zuo for help. His cultivation level was the highest and the longer he burned.
But Zuo Shi Bai Lian didn't even raise his eyelids. He tried his best to maintain the fire of karma, and when he found a gap, he was about to run away. He didn't have the courage to stay here and touch the tiger's beard of the God of Mount Tai, let alone this
Hasn’t the purpose of the trip been achieved?
He hugged the White Lotus Saint in his arms tightly and used the flames to escape.
But look up.
A short-haired Taoist stood in front of him, it was Li Changan.
"Seeking death."
Bai Lianzuo's expression was ferocious, and he was sneering in his heart. Even ghosts and gods would avoid him because of his karmic fire. How dare you, a mere mortal, dare to use your arms as a chariot?
Just in time! The situation is critical now, and there is no time to trouble Yan Xinglie. The Taoist priest came to the door himself, which can alleviate the resentment in his heart.
He stirred up the fire of karma and wanted the Taoist priest to be burned including his soul and body.
But in an instant.
A ray of blue light is as bright as the Milky Way and falls for nine days.
The vast sea of fire in front of him immediately split into two.
"This is not allowed..."
Before he could finish his words of shock, a mud-stained fist was firmly stamped on his face.
As fast as you come, you will go back as fast as you come!
Bai Lianzuo flew back with a nosebleed, and the fire of karma without the master's control was extinguished. Before the person landed, countless chains had already bitten up, and in the blink of an eye, he was pierced into a cactus. It kept on slowly.
The judges changed from their normal behavior and swarmed forward.
"Indiscriminate killing of innocent people."
"treachery."
"Using witchcraft in vain."
…
"evil."
"As a punishment, his soul will be beaten with a shoe, and he will be trampled on day and night for 800 years."
…………
Watching Bai Lian use his left hand to kill him, Li Changan put his sword back into its sheath. He flexed his sore wrist a few times, thinking that the young master of the White Lotus Sect was just different. His nose bones were harder than normal people.
He chuckled a few times and looked around the field, only to realize that after the last efforts of the White Lotus Zuo Envoy, all the remaining White Lotus masters were dead.
In other words, overnight, under the design of three people... no, to be precise, Han Zhiwei, hundreds of White Lotus sect minions and dozens of White Lotus sect masters were wiped out.
Looking at the judges who were leaving after completing their tasks, Li Changan couldn't help but sigh, the scholar's "deception of gods and ghosts" was really not unjust.
Just when he thought it was over.
"Wait a minute."
The scholar suddenly spoke and stopped a judge.
Facing the consulting looks from the bearded man and the Taoist priest, the scholar handed over his hand and confessed, then turned to the judge and said:
"Did your envoy miss anyone?"
As he spoke, he raised his hand, and what he pointed at was the sheep transformed by the White Lotus Saint.
I see!
Li Changan suddenly realized.
I bet this scholar is trying to kill two birds with one stone.
The Taoist priest almost forgot that the scholar wanted to assassinate the White Lotus Saint in the first place. But firstly, the two of them were highly capable, and secondly, they were both chivalrous people, so it was difficult to kill them. This time, everyone was lured to this ghost town. Firstly,
Help Yan Xinglie get rid of the White Lotus Sect's men, and also take the opportunity to kill the White Lotus Saint.
When the judge heard this, he actually turned around and pointed his finger at the sheep.
The sheep's body began to deform and swell.
"Snapped."
The sheepskin cracked, revealing a graceful and lovely figure. The large area of delicate skin was dazzlingly white against the contrast of the dirty ruins. Apart from the cracked sheepskin, there was no other cover on her body.
Yan Xinglie lowered his eyelids and did not look at anything inappropriate; in Li Changan's eyes, the attire was only slightly cool, not to mention that he had stuffed this person into the sheepskin with his own hands in the first place, and now he was not paying attention to it; the scholar was staring closely, but there was only solemnity in his eyes.
, there is no evil.
The judge had already floated up, raised the scale again, and reached towards the saint's chest with one hand.
Yan Xinglie grabbed the hilt of the sword, but the scholar seemed to be blocking him. After all, the bearded man had a stronger sense of loyalty. His lips wriggled for a while, but he didn't say anything to stop him. Li Changan was just along the way.
Do me a favor and just watch the excitement right now.
However, as soon as the judge's fingers touched the goddess, he retracted as if he was electrocuted, and then returned to the convoy without looking back.
The bearded man breathed a sigh of relief; Li Changan was confused; the scholar said regretfully:
"As expected."
……………………
Early next morning.
The rising sun casts warm light on the clear sky after the rain.
Li Changan was still somewhat in a daze.
Rainy nights, betrayals, fights, ghost cities, the light of swords and blood, the city god demanding life, the king trying to judge...the strange and strange things that come one after another in this short night can't help but make people suddenly feel like they are in a dream.
He looked at the lake in front of him in trance.
Different from the clear water I saw last night, the rain that night brought a lot of silt, sand and vegetation. There were layers of foam and scum floating on the surface of the water. The turbid waves spit out one after another until they were white.
's corpse.
"Ms. sir!"
Suddenly, a miserable howl was heard in my ears.
The White Lotus Saint, who had returned to her human form, staggered towards a floating corpse in rich clothes in the water.
But on the way, he was caught mercilessly by Big Beard.
"You're a witch, and you've caused countless deaths in the past, so why are you so pretentious today?!"
The woman stared blankly at the floating corpse, or rather the white lotus envoy, for a long time, then she turned her head to look at the bearded man. After another long time, her pretty face suddenly smiled, and she made a pitiful expression again.
Sad look.
"Why does Uncle Yan Shi speak so ruthlessly?"
Yan Xinglie frowned.
"Who is your uncle?! What kind of friendship is this?"
"Oh, it turns out that Uncle Shi doesn't remember." The saint's eyebrows were like hooks, "I am Qing'er, and you gave me my name..."
The coldness on the bearded face gradually turned into disbelief, and the huge body seemed to be trembling slightly under a severe impact.
"Have you remembered..."
The White Lotus Saint smiled cheerfully and viciously.
"Yes, I am Li Qing'er, the daughter of your best brother Li Kuiqi."
"Qiang."
Yan Xinglie's eyes were red and he drew his sword out of its sheath.