Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 78 Golden Light Suppresses the Prison, Dust Returns to Dust

As Gu Yan's hand seal fell.

The illusory image of the City God also made the same movement.

A gigantic golden hand, imbued with the majesty to judge all sins, slammed down on the head of the arrogant Burning Heaven Demon God.

Golden light and bloodthirsty aura collided violently in the air.

The seemingly indestructible demon statue, which even Foundation Establishment cultivators could hardly shake, was as if it had encountered its natural enemy the moment it came into contact with this pure incense and vow power.

The faces on its body that were still screaming in pain suddenly fell silent.

The expression that was originally full of resentment turned into a serene relief after being bathed in the warm golden light.

"No! This is impossible!"

The clay bodhisattva let out a piercing scream as he frantically channeled his magical power, attempting to regain control of the demon statue.

"I'm doing this for their own good! Only by becoming a vengeful ghost can I exact my revenge! Why are you rebelling against me?!"

However, the souls imprisoned in the clay figures could no longer heed his commands.

As the resentment was purified, the foundation supporting this behemoth collapsed.

"Click."

A huge crack appeared on the chest of the demon statue, and then quickly spread to its entire body.

Those bodies, flowing with lava-like mud, began to peel off and disintegrate, turning into ordinary lumps of mud that fell to the ground.

And from within the collapsed mud, tiny sparks of light, like fireflies, drifted out—the souls of the rescued children.

They circled around Gu Yan's City God statue once, as if to express their gratitude, before dissipating into the world and going to where they were meant to go.

"puff."

With the destruction of his natal magic weapon, the Mud Bodhisattva was struck as if by lightning, spitting out a mouthful of black blood. He aged decades in an instant and collapsed onto the turntable.

His one intact eye was fixed on Gu Yan, his gaze filled with resentment and confusion.

"Why...why doesn't even God help us unfortunate people..."

Gu Yan put away the magic seal, the golden light on his body dissipated, and he transformed back into the green-robed Taoist.

He slowly walked up to the clay Buddha, looking down at the hateful yet pitiful old man.

"God is too busy to concern himself with these trivial matters."

Gu Yan's voice was calm and cold. "If you want revenge, if you want to kill corrupt officials, or even if you want to overthrow this dog emperor, I respect you as a man. But you shouldn't have turned your knife on those children who are weaker than you."

"The strong wield their swords against the stronger, and the weak wield their swords against the weaker. You've been on the wrong path from the very beginning."

The clay Buddha opened its mouth as if to retort, but only a few hoarse hoarse sounds came out of its throat.

His life force is rapidly fading away; he's about to die.

"Senior Brother Xiao, let's send him on his way."

Gu Yan turned away and stopped looking at him.

Xiao Chen stepped forward silently and swung his longsword.

A flash of cold light, and a head rolled off, ending the tragic and sinful life of this man.

With the death of the clay bodhisattva, the entire Guanyao Town seemed to have lost its backbone.

The clay figurines outside all fell to the ground, and then fell silent.

The suffocating heat gradually subsided, and the cold night rain poured down again from the broken kiln roof, washing away the mud and sins on the ground.

"Lord Gu... that golden light just now..."

Song Hong sheathed her throwing knife and looked in Gu Yan's direction, her eyes filled with inquiry and awe. "Is that a Buddhist technique?"

In her mind, only high-ranking Buddhist monks possessed the great supernatural power to purify vengeful spirits.

Gu Yan had already prepared his explanation. He took out the dim and dull magic seal from his pocket and stroked it with a pained expression.

"This is not some Buddhist technique. It's an antique I found in the sect's market. It's said to be a seal of righteous energy left by a great Confucian scholar from the previous dynasty. Unfortunately, it's a one-time use technique; it's useless after it's used."

He sighed, perfectly embodying the feeling of squandering wealth, "For the sake of the people of Guanyao Town, I've used up all my hidden treasures. When we get back, you two will have to make sure I get a good entry in my merit book, otherwise I'll be at a huge loss this time."

Xiao Chen and Song Hong exchanged a glance. Although they still had doubts, the explanation made sense.

After all, Gu Yan's reputation for being blessed with good fortune is so strong that it's not surprising that he has one or two rare treasures that can save his life.

"Your Excellency's noble character is truly admirable."

Xiao Chen and Song Hong bowed in unison, expressing their gratitude to Gu Yan on behalf of all the people of Guanyao Town.

They didn't care what methods Gu Yan used, nor did they care whether he was just lucky.

As long as he truly saved the innocent souls of Guanyao Town and prevented an even greater catastrophe, that was enough.

Excessive curiosity can easily endanger one's life.

"Let's tidy up."

Gu Yan waved his hand, his gaze falling on a cloth bag next to the clay Buddha's corpse.

He walked over, picked up the cloth bag, and opened it.

Besides several books containing records of sorcery, there was also a thick ledger and a jade pendant carved with a pattern of nine dragons playing with a pearl.

The jade pendant was of excellent quality and clearly belonged to royalty.

Gu Yan opened the ledger, which was filled with detailed records of every exorbitant tax levied in Guanyao Town over the past few years, as well as evidence of corrupt officials lining their own pockets.

Every single account is stained with the blood of countless people.

"This thing..."

Xiao Chen leaned over for a look, and his expression immediately changed. "This jade pendant belongs to the palace. If this account book were to leak out, it would probably cause an earthquake in Changning County and even the entire prefecture."

"earthquake?"

Gu Yan chuckled and casually crushed the jade pendant into powder, sprinkling it into the muddy water.

"Those big shots sit on the clouds, and even earthquakes can't shake them. The only ones who die are the scapegoats and ordinary people below."

He closed the ledger and put it in his pocket. "Besides, the mere Emperor Wei has no right to challenge the Flowing Cloud Sect."

Xiao Chen opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately chose to remain silent.

"Let's go, it's almost dawn."

Gu Yan turned and walked outside.

The three of them walked out of the official kiln, and the rain had stopped.

The eastern sky was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

The once eerie and terrifying Guanyao Town now appears exceptionally desolate.

As the first rays of sunlight shone on the clay figurines lying on the ground, the clay shells on their surfaces cracked and fell off, revealing corpses that had been dead for a long time.

Some of the corpses had peaceful expressions, while others were filled with fear.

That night, Guanyao Town, besides being infested with demons, also became a true ghost town.

Of the town's more than 1,400 people, less than 10% survived. If Gu Yan and his group hadn't arrived in time, they would all have perished.

These survivors crawled out of the rubble, looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, and let out heart-wrenching cries.

The cries echoed in the cold morning wind, making one's heart ache.

Gu Yan stood at the entrance of the town, watching this human tragedy with a somewhat indifferent expression on his face.

This was not the first time he had seen a dead person, nor would it be the last.

He knew perfectly well that although the clay Buddha was dead, the cannibalistic world still existed.

As long as the supreme imperial power continues to exploit, and as long as insatiable desires continue to spread, there will be an endless stream of clay idols appearing in this world.

At that time, the history of mortals being mere ants, imperial power being the overseer, and immortal sects being the diners will be repeated again and again.

"Senior Brother Xiao, Senior Sister Song."

Gu Yan suddenly spoke up, "The cleanup is up to you two. Report what needs to be reported, bury what needs to be buried. As for the compensation..."

He took out a heavy bag of spirit stones from his storage bag.

"Take it and exchange it for silver, and distribute it to the survivors. It's not much, but it'll be enough for them to last until the autumn harvest."

Song Hong looked at him with some surprise, "Sir, these are spirit stones, you..."

"They are just external possessions."

Gu Yan waved his hand, mounted his horse, and said no more.

He didn't want to be a saint, but he felt it was a worthwhile deal to use these readily available resources to gain some peace of mind in order to overcome his inner demons when he made a breakthrough in the future.

"drive!"

Gu Yan spurred his horse and galloped away.

Watching that figure gradually disappear into the morning light, Xiao Chen and Song Hong remained silent for a long time.

"Senior brother, this Lord Gu..."

Song Hong held the bag of spirit stones, her eyes filled with complex emotions. "It seems a little different from what I imagined."

Xiao Chen wiped the blood off his sword, a smile playing on his lips.

"Perhaps, a dragon has indeed crossed the river into this stagnant pool of Changning County."

……

It was noon when we returned to Changning County.

Gu Yan did not return to the Demon Suppression Division's headquarters, but went straight to the paper-making shop in the west of the city that had already closed down.

The shop's door was tightly shut, sealed with an official seal, and the lock was rusted from long disuse.

Seeing that no one was around, Gu Yan lightly tapped his finger, and the lock popped open.

Upon entering, a musty smell hit you.

The furnishings inside the house remained the same, except that the valuable mahogany chair had probably been stolen and was nowhere to be found, and thick dust covered everything.

On the counter, there was still half a paper figure that was not finished. It was the work of Ah Fu, a shop assistant, half a year ago.

Gu Yan walked over, his fingers tracing the dusty countertop, his eyes filled with nostalgia.

This was once his humble abode, a place where he eke out a living, and also the first place where he gained a foothold in this world.

Just then, his movements suddenly stopped.

He found a note under the inkstone in the corner of the counter.

The paper strip was yellowed, and on it were two lines of completely different handwriting.

The first line is written in a neat and powerful hand, revealing a woman's delicate touch:

"You still haven't paid back the money you owe me for drinks last time, and the interest has doubled. Come back alive to settle the bill. —Song Hong"

Below that line of text, there was another line of handwriting, sharp as a sword, carrying a chilling edge:

"If you encounter trouble you can't resolve, send a message back to the headquarters. My sword is still sharp. — Xiao Chen"

Gu Yan stared at the note for a moment, then chuckled to himself.

It turns out they had already been here.

This is not just a message, but a silent understanding and care.

"Those two guys..."

Gu Yan shook his head, rubbed his fingers together, and a ball of blue flame rose up, burning the paper to ashes.