Chapter 723 I Am Not an Evil God

Zhang Cheng had no choice but to agree to Monk Qing's request.

He often goes out to collect herbs, and he knows that there are dangers outside the villages and towns of Jindan Kingdom, and it is difficult for him and Zhang Ye to survive in the wilderness. There is no otherworldly fairyland in this world. If there was, it would have been occupied by Feng Danzi long ago.

Monk Qing gave each of the two brothers a masking cloth.

"Our lineage worships the god "Meichibo" and is a follower of Lord Meichibo. Put on this cloth and follow me."

He took the two brothers all the way into the depths of a cave.

There is a stone statue standing in the cave. The statue looks like a monk with a blurred face. He sits cross-legged on the ground and seems to be beating a wooden fish.

There were many men and women standing around, all covering their faces with cloth.

Monk Qing clasped his hands together, nodded to the stone statue and said, "Follow me."

"I often tell people in the world that if the mind is not moved, there will be no suffering or pain."

"All phenomena are not real, all phenomena are like dreams, all phenomena are imaginary...I get what I get, without desires or demands."

Zhang Cheng muttered, looking around from the corner of his eye.

The ground here is slippery and covered with moss, and the stalactites above the head are still dripping with water, but the statue has not been soaked by water, as if it was moved in from outside not long ago. It seems to be a temporary altar.

"It's done."

Monk Qing then turned around and said to the two brothers: "From now on, you are the disciples of Master "Mu Yi Fang" and also my disciples."

"master."

Zhang Cheng and Zhang Ye both knelt down to pay homage to their master.

Monk Qing gave each of the two brothers a talisman drawn on green cloth.

"This is the "One-Eyed Talisman". You just need to stick it on your forehead and you will be able to see the traces of my master and find me along the way."

"I have lived for more than 800 years as a teacher, and it is thanks to Lord Meichibo that I have been blessed with longevity. As long as you sincerely believe in and worship him, you can be like a teacher."

The one-eyed monk warned: "The mark on your chest is called the "Erosion of the Heart" mark. It is the mark left by the mountain god on everyone. This mark will make the internal organs continue to grow and become stronger day by day, while the skin, flesh, bones and blood of the person will continue to weaken. Death occurs when all vitality is sucked away by the heart, lungs and spleen.”

"Mountain gods like to eat human internal organs, so they use the heart-eroding seal to nourish the heart and lungs."

Zhang Cheng was shocked, then filled with grief and anger.

My mother was actually eaten by the mountain god.

"I have received the power from Mr. Meichibo to remove the Heart-Erosion Seal. But now that the time has come, removing the mark will expose you to suspicion and danger."

Monk Qing told them: "You first continue to stay dormant in the alchemy workshop and metalworking workshop, collect information about the alchemists and alchemists, and carefully observe whether they are unhappy or frightened..."

Zhang Cheng only found out after listening.

It turns out that Monk Qing asked himself and his younger brother to serve as internal agents, not because he wanted to deal with Feng Danzi or the mountain god, but to trick others into converting to the god "Mu Yifang".

After the worship was over, Zhang Cheng asked privately: "Master, will Master Mu Yifang show up to kill the mountain god? After all, the mountain god is the real evil god..."

"certainly."

Monk Qing's face was serious: "But before that, we need to win more people to come closer to us. We want to save as many people as possible, not just kill the mountain gods. Before that, we have to be patient for the common people." "

…

On the way back, Zhang Ye was very excited.

"Brother, we are not afraid this time. We have a master and Mr. Meichibo is backing us."

Zhang Cheng shook his head: "No, we have to rely on ourselves."

No matter the mountain gods of the past, or the Qing Monk, "Mu Yifang" or the mountain gods of today, they are not reliable.

No one can be trusted.

Zhang Cheng told his relatively simple-minded younger brother: "The mountain gods need us because they need us to provide hearts and lungs from generation to generation. Mu Yifang and the master need us because we can offer our faith and win more other believers for them."

"Ultimately, both gods see us as cattle and sheep, one for meat and one for shaving and more."

Zhang Ye was stunned: "Then, aren't we unable to advance or retreat?"

"So you have to rely on yourself."

Zhang Cheng patted his brother on the shoulder: "We have something more reliable."

"What?"

"My alchemy, your alchemy."

"Brother, I understand."

Brother, does he really understand?

Zhang Cheng doesn’t know.

He himself had no confidence at all.

Even if you practice alchemy to the extreme, what will you get? Can it be compared to the gods?

But as a brother, you must be able to hold your nerve and be able to come up with an idea at any time.

…

Zhang Cheng had no choice.

Caught between two behemoths, the only ones you can trust are yourself and your craftsmanship.

Only when he concentrates on refining the elixir, Zhang Cheng can forget the cruelty and troubles of the world and immerse himself in the wonderful changes and blends.

This is also the only place where he can find spiritual sustenance.

Because of this, Zhang Cheng's alchemy skills advanced by leaps and bounds, and he soon mastered dozens of extremely difficult elixir recipes. He began to officially participate in refining high-level elixirs, and obtained a large amount of resources from the elixir workshop. The [Alchemy Department] in charge of the thirty-six town alchemy workshop also praised the elixirs he refined, making other alchemists envious.

"Zhang Cheng, can you impart some experience? I'm always prone to pill cracks..."

"How do you maintain such a high rate of elixir formation? This is too exaggerated."

"The elixir you made is so smooth, balanced and has no rejection reaction... How did you do this?"

…

Many alchemists asked him for advice.

Zhang Chengdu told them: "Just practice more."

He told the truth.

Zhang Cheng focused all his enthusiasm and hope on alchemy.

Besides his brother, he only had alchemy.

He stopped researching new elixirs and devoted all his energy to adjusting and perfecting [Delusion-breaking Pill]. It was already a great thing for an alchemist to make a new pill recipe in his lifetime. Zhang Cheng knew that he did not have the extra energy and time to explore another direction.

Delusion-breaking Pill was the most important.

Just when Zhang Cheng was immersed in the life of the alchemy furnace, one day Zhang Ye came to Lingmiao Garden in the alchemy workshop to find him.

Under normal circumstances, the two brothers met every five days. They were busy every day, and Zhang Ye rarely took the initiative to come to the alchemy.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Cheng felt something was wrong.

"Brother, take a leave and go out with me."

Seeing that Zhang Ye looked worried, Zhang Cheng went to register for going out, and then left with his brother.

"Brother, get on."

Zhang Ye rode a wooden ox.

This is one of the common mounts of alchemists. Wooden oxen can carry heavy objects, and can go a long way after each full winch. Another type of mount, the iron horse, is known for its speed and impact. It has a weaker endurance, but can move quickly and shuttle through dangerous areas.

The clumsy wooden cow walked slowly until night, and came to the edge of a wide swamp.

Zhang Ye jumped off the wooden cow, took the lantern, and spread the prepared wooden planks all the way. Then he lay on the wooden planks, slowly crawling forward like a four-legged snake, and motioned his eldest brother to do the same.

Zhang Cheng crawled on the wooden planks with him and came to the depths of the swamp.

"Here." Zhang Ye raised the lantern in his hand, adjusted the glass on it, and directed the light forward.

The dim light illuminated a raised mound of earth. The shape of the mound was relatively regular, and the surface was covered with dried black mud and lichens.

Zhang Cheng saw clearly that the mound turned out to be a stone statue, with only half of its head exposed in the swamp.

"Brother, come closer, come to me, come, touch this stone statue." Zhang Ye said.

Zhang Cheng did not doubt him and walked over carefully.

As soon as his fingers wrapped in cloth touched the head of the statue, his eyes suddenly widened.

Zhang Cheng saw three balls of light in the mysterious statue, each representing a kind of ability.

They were [Theology], [Astrology] and [Basic Semiotics].

If you want to obtain the power in the statue, you must exchange it with a skill you have mastered.

"How about it, brother, isn't this very exciting?" Zhang Ye grinned and said, "I was chased here by a poisonous beast when I was out looking for materials, and then I found it. Should we exchange with it?"

Zhang Cheng thought carefully and said, "You didn't tell anyone else about this, did you?"

"Of course not, only you and I know."

"Hide this place first."

"Okay, but don't we use the power here?"

Zhang Cheng said seriously, "What is the price? Just exchange our alchemy and alchemy? Look at this stone statue again, don't you think of anything?"

The younger brother observed it for a while, and his face changed slightly: "The statue... looks like the statue of the mountain god and the statue of "Mu Yifang"."

The mountain god statue is a small hill, but there are two corners on the top of the hill, and Mu Yifang is a monk beating a wooden fish.

The stone statue in the mud is also almost human-shaped.

Zhang Cheng nodded: "With this kind of power beyond understanding, and it is a stone statue, it may also be a statue left by a certain god..."

"Then what should we do?" Zhang Ye looked at his brother.

Zhang Cheng said, "Go find the master."

Although Qing Heshang was not a kind person, the mountain god was a dead end, and he and his brother had to escape in the end.

Since the risk of touching the statue was too high, it would be better to offer it to Qing Heshang, and it could also gain some trust.

The two brothers Zhang Cheng put the "one-eyed talisman" on their foreheads, found Qing Heshang who was still preaching in the forest, and took him all the way to the swamp.

Seeing the blurred stone statue sunk into the mud, Qing Heshang's one eye was full of vigilance.

After he carefully touched the stone statue, his face was particularly solemn: "This is the statue of the evil god from outer space, you can't believe it... If you make a deal with it, you will attract the attention of the evil god, and the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Don't attract the evil god, don't touch it."

"He will absorb the soul and everything of the toucher, bringing a real disaster of world destruction..."

Qing He was very cautious about this. He opened his arms and used his magical power to make the stone statue sink further until nothing could be seen on the surface of the swamp, and then he stopped.

Zhang Cheng then realized that this stone statue had brought great pressure to Monk Qing, and its origin might be far beyond imagination.

…

The dormant life did not end at the beginning, and more than ten years passed quickly.

During these years, Zhang Cheng and his brother requested to leave many times.

But Monk Qing always said: "You are talented and well disguised. Relax, I will take you away before you are forty years old and remove the marks on you."

Although Zhang Cheng was angry, he had no choice.

The gods don't care about the life and death of ordinary people.

He could only devote all his distress to alchemy.

Zhang Ye's accident broke the last string in Zhang Cheng's heart.

Because of a cover for Monk Qing and the believers of Muyifang, Zhang Ye rode an iron horse and fell into the siege of poisonous beasts. Although he finally escaped, he was covered with scars. He was too poisoned, lost the ability to speak, paralyzed in bed, and needed constant care.

Fortunately, Zhang Cheng was an alchemist and used elixirs to keep his brother alive.

Monk Qing said, "Everyone will remember your dedication. Be patient and wait for my notice. You will be well soon."

Wait for your mother, you baldhead!

Zhang Cheng was so angry that his teeth were about to break.

He came to the location of the stone statue of the outer evil god. This place has become dry now, and the stone statue was dug out of the soil by Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng, with gray hair, was panting and pressed his no longer strong and smooth hands against the stone statue.

He shouted silently in his heart.

"The outer evil god from another world, please complete the exchange with me."

If you want to come, then come!

Anyway, this world will not be worse.

Zhang Cheng did not get a response for a long time and was about to leave. Suddenly, he felt a huge and unfamiliar power coming out of his body.

This is... [Theology]!

The evil god responded.

Before Zhang Cheng had time to digest theology, he suddenly found that there was a tall man in front of him.

The man in front of him was tall and strong, wearing a short shirt and coarse cloth pants, with a thick beard on his chin, revealing muscular arms and neck, and exuding a strong sense of oppression.

Zhang Cheng stuffed three Pohuan Dan into his mouth.

Then he saw a swift and strong light, and then his eyes were in great pain, as if being pierced by needles, and his eyelids kept twitching.

Zhang Cheng lowered his head desperately and stopped looking at the other person. His black eyes gradually regained their vision.

This shocked him.

Theological induction.

Cannot be looked at directly...cannot be peeped at...cannot be recognized...this is the breath and power of God.

The man said: "Sorry, I'm a little lost when passing by here. Can you please point the way?"

"...Are you an evil god?" Zhang Cheng took a deep breath.

The other party's face froze, and then laughed: "Brother, you are really a joker. I'm just a country bumpkin passing by. What does it have to do with the evil god?"

Zhang Cheng's mouth twitched.

You are dressed like this. A normal person can't survive in the wild under poisonous insects and poisonous rain. Who doesn't cover themselves tightly? How do you look like a normal person when you are so lively?

I just exchanged wishes, and you appeared out of thin air... The poisonous insects and beasts disappeared from all directions, and even the buzzing of insects disappeared.

Even the insects knew that it was the arrival of a god who should not be disturbed.

"Lord Evil God, I have a request..."

"I declare once again that I am not an evil god."

The other party raised his palm and made a gesture of rejection with a serious expression.

Zhang Cheng suddenly realized.

How could a god think that he was an evil god? Oh, I am so stupid! The pressure brought by the gods made my brain not work well.

So he carefully followed the other party and said: "What is your name?"

"I will not change my surname or my name, the wild man Huang Jia."

The other party smiled slightly.