"Refining Form Ghosts, to think there are such ghostly beings, even more terrifying than the malevolent spirits in Avici Hell!"
The grim expressions of these commoners, having witnessed the demise of the formless ghost, began to shift into smiles:
"You've discovered us."
"There was no other way."
"After all, you are an Ascended expert, not so easily deceived. Moreover, you, this fellow, seem to be able to discern the identity and stance of an opponent the moment you act, and even know their weaknesses. This puzzles us greatly."
"Once you are dead, we will obtain this method of yours and extract it from your soul."
"It is too late now that you have realized we are not normal living beings, for you have already saved us. Even if you kill us, the poison we have administered has already begun its work."
They began to retreat, and as Ji Xiang stepped out of the doorway, he beheld a shocking sight.
The citizens of Gusu City, holding torches, had gathered near this residence. They were an endless, surging sea of people, and each one had an eyeball bulging from their face.
The Inner Scenery Divine Tablet provided a description for this obvious anomaly:
[Eye of Bi: Ghost-God Class! Bi resides in a grand mansion within the underworld. Its complete form is a black mountain of flesh composed of thousands of eyes.]
[These eyes can fly, can run, and can even transform into human form. They are all formed from abnormal lives that met premature deaths, carrying intense hatred for the mortal realm.]
Ji Xiang raised his firearm, but someone among the citizens spoke:
"Do not act rashly. Although we are not normal living beings and have refined the bodies of these citizens, all the Gusu citizens you see now, with their bulging eyes, are entirely living, ordinary people."
"The eyes of Bi are our means of observing the mortal realm and can suppress those Refining Form Ghosts."
"If you kill them, you will be killing a group of innocents and good people. Committing such a sin, what will happen? Heavenly tribulation will descend, and you will be struck dead by lightning on the spot, won't you?"
A killing intent arose in Ji Xiang's heart:
"Mere lightning..."
However, the other party continued, "Wait a moment longer, do not be so impatient."
"Ji Xiang, do you know who we are?"
Ji Xiang: "Immortal officials of the Myriad Longevity Palace, are you not?"
The citizens all began to clap their hands:
"Indeed, it is us. We have come for you again, and this time, you cannot escape."
"Do not think that because you can open the Heavenly Gate, you can be arrogant and disregard us. You are merely a crippled Ascended being, and there are countless ways to deal with you. This time, someone is helping us, let's see how you survive."
Ji Xiang smiled: "I can open the Heavenly Gate, but you cannot. If you have the ability, open the Gate of Ghosts as well?"
"If you lack the ability, it is best to speak less!"
The citizens burst into laughter, speaking in unison: "Alright! Then let us tell you something important. Do you know why the citizens of Gusu City have become this way?"
Ji Xiang frowned slightly: "Are you questioning me about the sins you yourselves have committed?"
"Wrong! This is the sin you have committed!"
The citizens began to point at Ji Xiang, but at this moment, all the Gusu citizens stiffly raised their hands and extended a single finger.
A thousand fingers pointed at him.
The lead Refining Form Ghost said, "Gusu has become like this because you killed those 'Xian'!"
"Xian were killed by you, so we were liberated! You didn't expect this, did you? We were originally in the underworld, and we summoned these Xian. People in the mortal realm wrote the names of Xian on paper money and pasted them on their doors. Because Xian are inherently formless ghosts, they suppressed us, making us disappear without a trace, and lured you here to discover the problems with those residences, and then act to destroy those Xian!"
"This way, the paper money for Xian communicated between the Yin and Yang realms, and thus we came to the mortal realm in large numbers!"
"Gusu City, transformed into a ghost city overnight, is all thanks to you!"
"You, Ji Xiang! You killed many Xian, thus releasing malevolent spirits with refined forms and souls, refining the forms and souls of the populace, turning them into demons. Therefore, the greatest demon is you. It is you who caused the destruction of the entire Gusu."
"And saving people is also killing. These citizens are all innocent. As long as we do not refine them, they are innocent people. So even if you save them, they will still die, after all, their forms and souls have become us. But their three souls and seven spirits, and their physical bodies, still remain. If you do not save them, and do not kill them, you can at least let them live a little longer, not die immediately."
"A person's form and soul are the crucial basis for their existence in the world. Without their original form and soul, the physical body will gradually disappear from the world, eventually turning into a pile of ordinary soil. Nuwa molded humans from soil, and the most important thing she bestowed was form and soul."
These ghosts began to become arrogant and started to command and control the populace.
At this moment, sounds like chanting scriptures echoed through the heavens and earth, as the Gusu citizens repeated similar phrases.
"You once made a great vow! For the good, you shall be good; for the not-good, you shall be good; or use evil to control evil!"
"You once made a great vow! If one person does evil, you shall save one; if ten people do evil, you shall save ten; if thousands upon thousands do evil, over thousands of years, one person per day, you shall save until no one in the world dares to do evil!"
"You call yourself a Heavenly Demon, yet you dare not kill wantonly. You kill evil people, but here are only good and innocent people!"
"We are both human and ghost. You saved us, and we thank you. Thus, you have broken your vow. You saved evil people, released malevolent spirits, and brought disaster to the world. You did not enlighten the masses, but rather consigned them to ruin."
"On the road to the Yellow Springs, your name shall be inscribed; the Eastern Pure Land is already closed to you!"
With every sentence these people uttered, a black spot appeared on Ji Xiang's body, and his cultivation power was gradually suppressed. His body began to become defiled, and the cords binding his hair rotted and broke without cause.
This was the punishment of the Heavenly Dao. All the people of Gusu had been killed, and every word spoken by these malevolent spirits was transmitted to the heavens.
Ji Xiang saw some malevolent spirits begin to burn Qing Ci Shen Zhang.
"Heavenly Dao's punishment? No, the clothes are soiled, the crown is withered, the body is foul... this is the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, how can it appear on me! Is this the so-called poisoning? Someone is using the power of the Heavenly Dao to corrode me."
Although Ji Xiang's magical power was suppressed at this moment, and his clothes and hair began to rot and become defiled, he was not flustered... Looking up, he could see that the dark sky was suddenly filled with dense lightning.
The Daoist sect does not have the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, but it has the feedback of karmic retribution.
Heavenly tribulation!
Moreover, what those people said had indeed shaken Ji Xiang's heart at this moment!
If this were true...
Then the tragedy in Gusu at this moment...
Ji Xiang's head slightly lowered, and he found that his breathing had also become difficult.
The strength of this physical body was the result of consuming the Golden Elixir powder refined by Jiajing.
At this moment, from the distant palace and temple with red light soaring into the sky, groups of Daoists also began to emerge. They had kind faces, immortal bearing, and full complexions, appearing out of place in this gloomy world.
But Ji Xiang flicked a handful of the Golden Light Incantation towards the little fox.
"When the fight starts later, use the Golden Light Incantation to protect yourself. I won't be able to look after you."
"To become a fox immortal, slaying demons and eliminating evil is a necessary cultivation experience. Look ahead, what do you see?"
The little fox looked strangely: "Although it looks bizarre, I see no abnormality in any of these Daoists. That one is in the Seventh Realm, that one is in the Sixth Realm, that one is also in the Sixth Realm... and there's a young expert in the Eighth Realm..."
"Have they also been refined?"
The little fox sniffed again.
"That's right, it's exactly like this. They look no different from living people, but in reality, their identities have been replaced by Yin spirits. But I don't understand, these Daoists don't have Divine Tablets. The Yin spirits of the Song Dynasty can only possess Divine Tablets and indirectly control people's souls..."
"This Refining Form Ghost is unheard of since ancient times."
Ji Xiang turned his head.
"Today, we shall judge the Outer Path Great Demon!"
Among the Daoists, a red-eyed Daoist walked out, it was Nanyangzi.
However, his state was not quite right. Half of his face was contorted, and the other half had its eyes closed, making him look as if half his face was asleep and the other half was in a state of manic excitement, appearing ferocious like a demon.
The populace was possessed by ghosts, they had no sins, and no Divine Positions.
The "Summoning Spirit" power of the Tong Tian Ming Yan was ineffective.