"Kuotian-san is dead!"
"Shameless cultivators, kuso!"
Seeing Guitian Sun Bingwei brutally killed, let alone testing the opponent, they couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes before dying so humiliatingly. Those vassal samurai were all furious!
"We swear by the title of 'Thirty-Six People Under Heaven'! We must kill this thief here!"
"Lord Kato, please issue the order! We will fight him to the death!"
"Such a shameless fellow, we must behead him and offer him to Kuotian-san!"
The crowd was surging, and the gorgeously dressed Kato Kiyomasa, as the "First Defender" on the Japanese side, bore the glorious title of the Seven Spears of Shizugatake. At the same time, he was also Toyotomi Hideyoshi's greatest and most skilled castle engineer.
At this moment, he deeply understood that he could not be provoked by the opponent. If he were to charge out of the city in a fit of pique over something like martial virtue, no matter how many men he had, they wouldn't be enough to be slaughtered.
"Everyone, do not be rash! His firearms can pierce Kuotian-san, and they can also kill all of you present! Relying on the city, with numerous demons and spirits as our aid, and with the manifestation of national prestige, even if he is powerful, he cannot fight us amidst the masses!"
"Minasan! This is war! War is not decided by the bravery of one person! Even immortals cannot exist for too long amidst national prestige and military formations, let alone the Ming Dynasty, which has no immortals!"
"As long as we hold the city, victory will be ours!"
Kato Kiyomasa deeply understood the importance of Haizhou City. It was garrisoned by twenty thousand men to cut off the Korean maritime reinforcements. He never expected that the Ming Dynasty would indeed gather a large army in a short period and rush here.
They really intended to attack this place!
With the addition of the Eastern Army, Japan's strength greatly increased, expanding from the original nine legions to twenty! Kato Kiyomasa, as the commander of the Second Legion, was also assigned to these important locations for defense. After all, he was the foremost castle-building master, constructing fortifications like fortresses and turtle shells. He didn't need to win, as long as he could delay long enough, that would be sufficient!
"Hmm? What is he doing...!"
"!!!"
Kato Kiyomasa was still contemplating the delay when he suddenly noticed that the divine position of the deceased Kuotian had not returned within the thunderclouds at sea!
He could see a white smoke appearing, and then a divine light was being drawn away from the sea!
Kato Kiyomasa was greatly alarmed and quickly warned those around him: "Not good! Do not engage! From now on, anyone who dares to leave the city and engage the enemy without authorization will be killed without mercy!"
"That person possesses the divine ability to strip divine positions!"
Divine positions were the only capital for these mortal-level combatants to contend with cultivators. Each country had its unique methods for elevating mortals to divine generals. However, the methods in the eastern region basically copied those of successive Chinese dynasties. Therefore, the nature of divine positions was similar. Moreover, this method was the highest secret of each country, and it was protected by the rules of heaven. Thus, even if one changed countries, one could not obtain such information from their royalty. Even if it were obtained, without the legitimate enfeoffment of the emperor, it would be equivalent to not being recognized by heaven, and it would be useless.
Therefore, seeing Ji Xiang being able to forcibly seize foreign divine positions at this moment, how could Kato Kiyomasa not be terrified!
Beside him, Kimura Yoshizō, also known as one of the Thirty-Six People Under Heaven, widened his eyes, having witnessed the scene just now, and muttered with disbelief:
"What a joke!"
"He can just take our country's divine positions as he pleases! Is he the Emperor, or the Kampaku-sama!"
This was clearly an operation beyond common sense, but Ji Xiang would not give them too much time to react.
"Move!"
Tongtian Mingyan manipulated the divine position, and the Hikosan-tsumi-no-kami immediately transformed into two mountain energies, taking the form of great mountains and smashing towards Haizhou City!
Kato Kiyomasa's expression changed drastically. This was not due to fear of these two mountains, but because Ji Xiang could not only forcibly seize others' divine positions but also manipulate and use them!
"Shimatta!!!"
This was truly bad! A person with such divine abilities was simply their nemesis! Among the eight million gods, although most were minor deities and yokai gods, at least they were worshipped by the people. Although most did not have divine positions, they possessed divine power! Since the opponent could seize divine positions, he could certainly seize divine power!
"Kiyamatsumi!"
"Okuratsumi!"
Two samurai brandished their katanas, and two divine projections appeared from them, changing their appearances as well. At this moment, several samurai around them all unleashed their divine power, and the two great mountains smashing down from the sky were thus swallowed and destroyed by their equally powerful mountain energies.
"Kuso! How dare you insult Kuotian-san's divine power! To use his divine power for such a thing! Do you still have righteousness and martial virtue!"
The samurai roared, but in the next moment, they could no longer speak. Their spirits were tensed to the extreme, raising their entire aura to its peak!
Then, "Baka" sounds echoed endlessly!
Because the thunderclouds they saw in their eyes were growing larger and larger!
"It's lightning magic!"
Someone recognized it, causing others to remain vigilant! The sorcerers from the Ming Dynasty were most skilled in lightning magic! Yokai, spirits, and even the eight million gods had suffered greatly at the hands of lightning magic!
"Kuso! If General Tachibana were here! Those Ming people who died by his hand, those who fell under the sharpness of the treasured sword 'Raikiri', were all sorcerers who excelled at lightning magic!"
"Do not relax, here it comes!"
The divine power of many mountain gods surged, and Ji Xiang also observed their strength from a distance.
"National prestige, wishes, incense offerings... The ranks of these mountain gods are not high, but their divine power has increased so much... Is it because of dual national prestige? Did it get strengthened by consuming most of Joseon's national prestige?"
"Colliding with national prestige is unwise. Lightning magic may not be able to destroy them, as they are true gods, not ordinary demons and spirits without protective power..."
"In that case..."
Ji Xiang summoned lightning magic with his hand, five light clusters manifesting on his five fingers, and five thunder gates opening in the sky!
"Five Thunder Strikes!"
Five thick pillars of lightning descended from the sky, sweeping towards Haizhou City with the might to overturn mountains and extinguish seas!
Above Haizhou City, the great serpent formed by the Japanese national prestige soared into the sky, and along with a host of deities, they all stood up to meet the heavenly lightning!
"Formation activate!"
Just as the lightning pillars were about to descend, Ji Xiang transformed the Five Thunder Strikes into the Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Formation of the Shangqing Sect. Instantly, the entire Haizhou City was trapped in a vast ocean of lightning. This scene turned the faces of those vassal samurai pale!
What vast lightning!
"Impossible! None of the Ming sorcerers in the past could unleash such powerful lightning magic!"
"This is a great formation! A great formation unleashed with the help of heavenly lightning!"
Kato Kiyomasa roared: "Do not panic! We are protected by national prestige, and all of you are in the form of mountain gods. Lightning can scorch trees, but I have never heard of it splitting great mountains!"
"Then today, you should have heard of it."
A voice like a ghost suddenly sounded in Kato Kiyomasa's ear!
Before he could react to why the opponent could understand his Japanese, Kato Kiyomasa seemed to see death beckoning him!
Danger!
Using the lightning sea as cover, Ji Xiang descended from the sky, broke through the blockade of firearms, and kicked a city foot of the mountain city, causing it to collapse. Then, Tongtian Mingyan erupted from his body!
"Huangtian Divine Might!"
The divine ability obtained from the immortal artifact Huangtian Fan Staff was unleashed, interrupting everyone's spellcasting in an instant, including the great serpent formed by national prestige, which also paused for a moment!
After this moment!
The white smoke surged out, engulfing everyone! After the next breath was completed, all their divine positions were stripped away!
Kato Kiyomasa's body suddenly felt weak. As a great power was drained, he raised his head and looked at the descending lightning with terror, gritting his teeth and roaring: "Ghost God Dharma Body!"
His body instantly became like a vengeful spirit, shrouded in heavy black mist, trying to escape from the lightning. However, in the next moment, he was smashed to the ground by Ji Xiang's palm. His entire body's magic power could not be circulated, and he was even more terrified than before!
Ji Xiang said lightly: "If you were a supreme deity, I would have to consider how to deal with you."
"But a ghost god dares to show its head before a celestial demon?"
"I don't know what you are, but it seems that you, this ghost god, are no match for me!"
Kato Kiyomasa's teeth chattered. In his fear, he realized the cultivation level of the person before him and was shaken uncontrollably:
"You are... an immortal!"
Under Kato Kiyomasa's shocked gaze, a crimson divine banner pierced his head!
Then, Ji Xiang picked up his firearm, aimed the revolving cannon at the great serpent formed by national prestige.
In an instant, the smoke dissipated.
The Ming Dynasty navy landed and approached Haizhou City, filled with horror.
They saw the mountain city destroyed, the giant rocks scorched, and no living beings within the city, only patches of blackened ashes, telling the later arrivals that blood and flesh had once fallen here, and even the serpent-shaped national prestige had completely disappeared.
Ji Xiang, carrying his firearm, stood before the opened city gate and nodded to the hastily arriving Chen Lin and others:
"Everyone, the enemy has been completely cleared... Enter the city!"
Chen Lin looked up and saw a flag that had not yet been burned, and his pupils suddenly contracted!
He recognized the formation flag with "Namu Myōhō Rengege" drawn on it.
"The defender, Kato... Kiyomasa!"
...
The fall of Haizhou and the recovery of the Yellow Sea coast, through the messages passed by the fleeing demons, instantly shook the Japanese forward army, forcing them to retreat and hold their ground immediately!
At the same time, those who were on the verge of death, emanating the aura of decay and vengeful spirits, the pseudo-immortals, were also alerted.
"The Ming Dynasty actually sent an immortal into Joseon? Kato Kiyomasa is already dead!"
"He was one of the Seven Spears of Shizugatake, and he was blessed with the power of heavenly gods and ghost gods. How could he have been defeated like this! Even the army was completely slaughtered!"
"We received news that Heavenly Master Zhang cannot leave the Forbidden City for some reason. This should have been a great opportunity, so why is there a second immortal?"
"Could it be that Ishida Mitsunari has been hiding something from us? It seems that guy has been doing business with the Longyou Merchant Association to the point where his brain has gone bad, and he didn't even bring back such important information!"
"It's time to send those Onmyoji to the battlefield. We must kill him immediately. Experts of this level are great enemies. By the way, can he be killed with a curse?"
In a large city, a group of people gathered in a dark house, discussing this important matter.
The demons who fled back were far away, otherwise, they would have been trapped in the lightning formation, so they did not know that Ji Xiang could strip divine positions. They only told the forward army that a great sorcerer, suspected to be of immortal level, had arrived.
"The ultimate curse 'Taizan Fukun Sai', which exchanges one life for another. If he is a pseudo-immortal or a banished immortal, it should be successful, but if he is a true immortal..."
"According to ancient texts, it requires at least ten people in the Pure Yang realm for the sacrificial arrangement, and three people will die as a result."
"However, if lightning magic is used, 'The Peerless of the Western Country' Tachibana MuneShige can be sent to intercept him. He possesses the famous sword 'Raikiri' and holds the divine position of 'Take-Mikazuchi-no-Kami'. To this day, countless lightning sorcerers have fallen under his blade. His subordinate general, Jūjū Renkyū, even possesses the divine position of 'Marishiten'."
"Then, let the newly arrived Date Masamune bring three thousand troops for cover."
"So, regarding the ghost gods, are there any great gods that can be dispatched?"
"Ah... the Tsugami gods do not seem to be opponents of that immortal. Since that is the case... contact that person and have him immediately rendezvous with Tachibana MuneShige. To be safe, it is indeed necessary to bring the divine artifact specifically for slaying immortals and gods."
"Ama-no-hako-ya?"