Hyper-Dimensional Player

Chapter 660 - 23: Swift as the Wind, Killing a Ghost in One Step!

Signal fires obscure the fields, and bones clog the river.

Starving corpses cling to withered trees to die, children suck mud to perish.

In the chaotic grave mounds, foxes give their daughters in marriage; in ruined temples, mice claim divinity.

In today's world, human sacrifice proliferates anew, witchcraft prevails, and as the young man travels south, having witnessed the splendor of Jiangnan, he finds along the way an abundance of ghost worship. The frequent wars and rampant plagues have turned many into masterless wandering souls, and the people, fearing vengeful spirits, have established countless ghost temples, praying for safety.

"Where are the city deities and local land gods here?"

The group looked at the small ghost temple by the roadside, their expressions becoming increasingly serious. Inside, worshiped was the 'Night Bodhisattva,' a dialect term meaning 'Wild Bodhisattva,' with a menacing statue resembling an evil ghost. The ground in front of the Shen Kan was soaked with fresh blood, clearly a sign of folk worship.

"Amitabha Buddha."

Bu Jie Monk gazed at the image of the evil ghost, revealing a murderous intent in his eyes, wanting to go forward and shatter it with a palm. After hesitating for a moment, he turned to look at the leading young man, who nodded slightly, and he went to inquire with local farmers for information.

"It seems there is no city deity or local land god here."

Fu Jianhan crossed his arms, and a glint of cold light appeared in his hands.

The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period was one of the origins of later strange tales. During this time, warlords deified deceased generals and worshipped them in camps, soldiers offering sacrifices to fallen souls before battles, believing they could ensure victory. Wu and Yue even established institutionalized sacrificial traditions.

Wizards and spirit mediums became mediators between humans and ghosts, practicing calling divine spirits, expelling evil spirits, and foretelling fortunes. Folk witchcraft rituals were prevalent, especially for ghost expulsion and evil suppression.

Buddhism thrived through water and land dharma assemblies to absolve war undeads, integrating the concept of reincarnation with native ghost beliefs, giving rise to Netherworld legends like the 'Ten Halls of Yama.'

Even Duncan's commonplace 'City God' only began to emerge on a large scale in this era. The officialdom adopted the city god (originating from the Zhou dynasty's water worker god), assigning functions to protect cities, monitor officials, and suppress evil ghosts.

With the power of mortal dynasties, they enfeoffed subordinate ghost gods in all directions!

But without the might of a unified Huaxia dynasty, the enfeoffment of city gods was not so smooth. In some places, city gods were enfeoffed, and peace ensued; in others, the statues quickly shattered, sometimes even having their heads brazenly severed and left at the temple gate.

Before long, the figure of Bu Jie Monk returned once more.

"It is said that Yin soldiers once passed through here."

"The next day, the city god statue shattered, its head severed, and a blood trace emerged from within the clay mold."

"The local people were in extreme panic, thus establishing a ghost temple to worship the malevolent ghosts, praying for peace."

Bu Jie Monk's face was red with anger, like the Angry Eye Vajra: "I must absolve these lawless evil ghosts!"

Worldly affairs with ghosts and spirits are widely feared by people, avoiding them whenever possible.

But the young man's gaze was calm, and he said lightly, "Take me to see the city god temple."

Lady Jade Face hesitated to speak, ultimately saying nothing but giving a wary glance.

The paths of humans and ghosts diverge.

Those in the martial world usually don't meddle in affairs of ghosts and spirits, as it should be a concern for the Buddhist and Daoist sects. Moreover, martial arts may not affect ghosts and spirits effectively. Since the Late Tang Dynasty, for over a century of chaos, folk ghost worship flourished, prompting even eccentric martial artists to show some deference and avoidance.

Withered trees, cold crows.

The city god temple had long decayed, incense cut off, and filth scattered at its entrance. Looking inside, cobwebs abounded, and the statues dressed as martial officials on either side of the main hall were shattered. In the center was a clay statue of a city god, seemingly decapitated, with a faint hint of eerie blood at the neck.

"Dead."

"Can Yin deities also be slain by humans?"

Duncan's eyes pierced through everything, residing above dimensions. There was no spiritual light within this city god temple; all statues were shattered, and even the Yin abode attached to the temple had disappeared.

"Great Monk."

"Can you summon spirits and expel ghosts?"

Fu Jianhan appeared familiar with such situations. He leapt onto the Shen Kan, examining the smooth wound, frowning. "This was cut off with a single blade. It doesn't seem the work of a mortal."

Previously daring to exterminate demons at Lake Poyang, he evidently knew some techniques to deal with demons and spirits.

Bu Jie Monk's expression showed a hint of embarrassment: "I am a martial monk, not versed in chanting or meditation, not skilled in Buddhist techniques."

He cultivated the Dharma Protector Vajra's Dharma Gate.

The great monk quickly added: "If the evil ghosts reveal themselves, I will certainly annihilate them all!"

Lady Jade Face incanted a spell, her eyes briefly revealing spiritual light. She surveyed the area and said softly, "Over the past century, your Buddhist sect has held grand water and land dharma assemblies, widely promoting the Ten Halls of Yama, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and Wuchang ghost officials."

"How could you fail such a minor task?"

"To actually let evil ghosts in the world to decapitate the city deity here?"

Ox-Head originates from Buddhism.

Ox-Head, also known as A-Na-Bang, appears with a bull's head and human body, wielding a steel fork and is said to have mountain-moving strength.

Horse-Face originates from Tantric Buddhism's Horse-Face Bodhisattva but later refers to Horse-Face demon kind, belonging to the category of malevolent ghosts.

Thus, Ox-Head is stronger than Horse-Face.

At this time, there were no Black and White Wuchang, but there were Wuchang ghost officials. Folk commonly didn't differentiate between Black and White; they were also introduced by Buddhism and later integrated with Middle-earth culture, becoming a divine position of the underworld's Yin deities.

The Daoist sects have gradually elevated the status of Jade Emperor Daoist Monarch over the years, while the Buddhist sects promoted Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, pledging 'the hells vow to not become Buddhas' and extensively propagating.