God Slayer, Xu Ying

Xu Ying stood dumbfounded on the streets of Jiangjiatian Village, surrounded by panicked villagers fleeing in all directions.

Not far away, at the street corner, a snake demon with black and white patterns pointed at him with its tail tip. It watched the fleeing villagers while letting out ear-piercing screeches, its tongue flicking out a long way.

The villagers were already scared out of their wits. Some tumbled and crawled their way out to report to the authorities, while others, with their wives and children, hid inside their homes, bolting the doors and trembling.

The braver ones hid behind windows or doors, peeking out stealthily.

Xu Ying stood alone on the street, the corpse of the Green Robe Deity at his feet.

After a moment, the young man came back to his senses and looked around.

The villagers, who were once familiar, would even joke with him, affectionately calling him Xiao Ying or A Ying, and some even jokingly called him Xu Xiao Ruan. Now, they feared him as if he were a god.

"I was standing up for you all, you shouldn't be afraid of me..."

Xu Ying thought to himself.

It was one thing to be oppressed by the officials, but these wooden and clay gods, who ate our food and drank our offerings, and enjoyed our worship, still oppressed us.

They treated us like livestock, but we are not livestock!

We are human!

We can resist, we can seek revenge!

"But why are you afraid of me?" Xu Ying was puzzled.

After a moment, Xu Ying stepped over the corpse of the Green Robe Deity and sat down behind the offering table in the ancestral hall. He said nothing, grabbed the roast chicken and roast duck from the table, and began to eat.

He ate meticulously and seriously, a habit of a snake catcher.

To catch snakes, one must have patience and be brave, but most importantly, one must not go hungry.

Going hungry meant insufficient stamina, and insufficient stamina would lead to mistakes, possibly death by the fangs of a venomous snake.

Xu Ying had caused a great disaster and could not leave on an empty stomach; he had to eat his fill.

He ate one roast chicken and half a roast duck, stuffed the remaining half duck into his embrace, then ate a few fruits and stuffed a few more into his pockets.

Xu Ying stood up, dipped his fingers in Steward Jiang's blood, and wrote a line on the wall.

"It is I, Xu Ying, the God Slayer!"

Xu Ying wiped the blood from his hands on Steward Jiang's corpse, got up, and left the ancestral hall, returning to his home.

His home was bare, with little property. There wasn't even much rice in the jar, only some roasted rice flour for rations.

Snake catchers entering the deep mountains to catch snakes naturally didn't need rice and flour; they only needed rations.

Xu Ying packed three days' worth of rations. He glanced at the scriptures he had collected, hesitated for a moment, and did not take them. He left his home and walked towards the outskirts of the village.

He reached the village entrance, and his eyes suddenly welled up. He turned around and knelt down to Jiangjiatian Village.

"Thank you for your care all these years. Xiao Ying has... caused trouble for the elders and fellow villagers!" He kowtowed deeply.

Xu Ying stood up and turned to leave.

"A Ying—" A woman's call came from behind him.

Xu Ying turned his head and saw a girl in a wedding dress, sitting at the entrance of the ancestral hall, holding Jiang Lu's corpse in her arms.

"A Ying, thank you!"

She shouted loudly, "You must live well!"

"Take care!" Xu Ying waved his hand and left Jiangjiatian Village.

I was an orphan. he thought to himself. My adoptive father raised me like his own son, and the villagers treated me very well.

I will kill gods for them and repay their kindness.

I will also leave for their safety.

This journey...

I will never return!

"Hey—"

Suddenly, a voice called out to him. Xu Ying looked in the direction of the sound and saw a large black and white snake coiled on a willow tree by the roadside, its head poking out. It was the snake demon he had captured.

Xu Ying glanced at it but did not stop, continuing on his way.

"Xu Ying, wait for me!"

The snake demon quickly came down from the tree and followed him rapidly, its tail slithering. It laughed, "You killed a god, you're doomed! Let me tell you, all the gods near Lingling are under the command of the City God. If the City God knows you killed a god, he definitely won't spare you! The world is vast, but there's no place for you!"

Xu Ying turned a deaf ear and continued on his journey.

The snake demon had once fought him in a foot race. Xu Ying had chased the large snake for three days and three nights in the mountains before it became exhausted and he captured it. Now, Xu Ying found it difficult to shake off the snake demon.

The snake demon kept pace with him and laughed, "You killed Steward Jiang, and the authorities won't let you off either! You know the authorities, they hide the most powerful people in the world, these people are called Nuo! These beings who wield Nuo arts, hehe, let alone you and me, even gods are very afraid of them..."

Hearing the word "Nuo," Xu Ying frowned.

The Rites of Zhou, Official Summer states that those who open secret treasures, communicate with heaven and earth, command ghosts and spirits, and drive away plagues and demons are called Nuo (written as 傩 in the Rites of Zhou). Later generations called them Nu Masters.

The imperial courts of successive dynasties greatly valued Nu Masters, selecting the outstanding ones to serve as officials in various prefectures and counties.

For ordinary people, Nu Masters among officials were more terrifying than gods and demons.

Better to provoke gods and demons than to provoke an Official Nuo.

If you provoke gods and demons, at most they'll kill you, but if you provoke a Nu Master, even if you become a ghost, you'll have to die again!

"The government will definitely send Nu Masters. You've offended a deity, and now you've offended a Nu Master. You're dead!" the Snake Demon chattered incessantly.

Xu Ying was furious, "If you follow me any further, do you believe I'll pickle you into dried snake meat?"

The Snake Demon chuckled, "If you pickle me into dried snake meat, will you use it to pay taxes? You've got murder on your hands now. Going to the yamen is like walking into a trap."

Xu Ying walked quickly, but he couldn't shake the Snake Demon off. He could only patiently say, "Why are you following me?"

The Snake Demon's eyes lit up with a smile. Of course, he didn't have eyebrows. He said, "I want you to teach me the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist."

Xu Ying's footsteps didn't stop. Upon hearing this, he exclaimed, "I've only just started cultivating my Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist, yet you have a well-established family heirloom. Why do you still want me to teach you?"

The Snake Demon was silent for a moment, then said, "I've been practicing for 120 years and am currently at the third level. I've never been able to reach the fourth. My father and my grandfather never managed to cultivate the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist to the fourth level either."

Xu Ying said irritably, "You don't have hands or feet, so it's only natural that you can't cultivate it. Stop following me!"

The Snake Demon chuckled, "The world is vast, but is there any place for Xu Ying to settle? My Qin Yan Cave is a good place to hide."

Xu Ying's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "Brother Snake, Brother Snake, how do I get to Qin Yan Cave?"

On the first day of the month, the Lingling City God Temple was holding a market. Many devout men and women offered sacrifices to the City God, making it very lively.

The Lingling City God was named Xue Lingfu. Since his statue had revived and transformed into flesh and blood, he enjoyed the incense and sacrifices.

Suddenly, a wisp of green smoke emerged from the ground, transforming into an Earth God about two feet tall. It scurried over and jumped onto City God Xue Lingfu, whispering a few words in his ear.

City God Xue Lingfu was furious. "Killing my official in the Underworld Court is a violation of heavenly law. This behavior cannot be tolerated. Xu Ying deserves to die! Pass my order: the 800 mountains and 500 waterways of Lingling, the 1,200 villages and towns, and all deities, big and small, search for Xu Ying and execute him on the spot as a warning to others!"

"Wait a moment!"

Suddenly, a voice came from outside the temple. City God Xue Lingfu looked in the direction of the voice. It was Zhou Yang, the magistrate of Lingling County, leading a group of officials, who burst into the temple.

An official stepped forward and said, "Xu Ying is a living person. He committed a crime and killed Steward Jiang, so he should be tried according to the laws of the living world. This case falls under the jurisdiction of our Lingling County yamen! City God Xue, you can retract your order!"

City God Xue Lingfu sneered, "Xu Ying killed a deity of my Underworld Court and violated my Underworld Court's laws. He should naturally be tried according to the Underworld Court's laws! Magistrate Zhou, you can leave now."

Magistrate Zhou Yang laughed heartily and turned to leave. At the temple gate, he stopped and turned his head, saying, "Since the rebellion of the Prince of Dongping, the Underworld Court has been encroaching on the human world step by step, interfering more and more! But in this small territory of Lingling, it has always been the Zhou family's domain. The Underworld Court will not get its hands on it! Guards!"

The officials under him bowed in unison.

Zhou Yang's expression turned cold. "Capture Xu Ying and bring him to justice. If there is any resistance, or if outsiders interfere, regardless of whether they are gods or humans, kill them without mercy!"

"Yes!" The officials left in unison.

City God Xue Lingfu snorted and waved his hand. The Earth God on his shoulder understood and immediately jumped down, transforming into a wisp of green smoke that burrowed into the ground to track Zhou Yang.

A short while later, Magistrate Zhou Yang led a group of constables to Jiangjiatian Village. The villagers, seeing the constables, were more terrified than if they had seen divine beings. They all prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to look up.

Zhou Yang led his constables through the kneeling villagers and looked with interest at the statue of the Green Robe Deity on the ground, reaching out to gesture at the large hole on its forehead.

"A kind of mutated demonic art that can greatly enlarge the body. It's a martial arts technique," he chuckled softly. "This Xu Ying, a mere commoner, actually cultivates demonic arts. Interesting."

Zhou Yang waved his hand, signaling the constables to handle their business. He then sat on a villager's back and said kindly, "Uncle Yu, how is this year's harvest?"

Jiang Yu Bo was the village head of Jiangjiatian (an official position similar to a village or town mayor). He cautiously replied, "The harvest is good this year. We got three more dou of grain."

Zhou Yang nodded, his face full of a kind smile. "How are the crops growing?"

"The crops are all doing well," Jiang Yu Bo replied with a smile.

Zhou Yang's expression darkened, and he barked, "The harvest is good, and the crops are fine, so why is the village's tax collection so difficult? Do you not want this official to live a good life?"

Jiang Yu Bo prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to speak.

Zhou Yang snorted, "Am I collecting donations and taxes for myself? No! I'm collecting them for the imperial court! Can this official take a single grain from the villagers? No! This official's salary is paid by the imperial court! Everything this official eats and drinks is bought with his salary. I never take anything from you common folk!"

Jiang Yu Bo responded meekly, repeatedly kowtowing, "Your Honor is just and incorruptible!"

Just then, a constable stepped forward, holding large and small scriptures. "My lord, Xu Ying has fled and is not at home. Your subordinate found these items."

These scriptures were the cultivation techniques Xu Ying had collected. Xu Ying had left in a hurry and hadn't taken them with him.

Zhou Yang casually picked up a scripture and flipped through it. He was initially somewhat indifferent, but upon seeing Xu Ying's annotations on the scripture, his expression changed drastically.

He suddenly stood up, snatched the other scriptures, and flipped through them rapidly.

It turned out that each of these scriptures also had Xu Ying's annotations, which were all critiques of the strengths and weaknesses of various demonic cultivation methods and his own insights. The words were like pearls, extremely concise and precise, with profound understanding!

The villagers held their breath, not daring to exhale.

"This Xu Ying, I thought he was a god-slayer, but I didn't expect him to have cultivated demonic arts and to have collected so many scriptures of demonic arts!"

Zhou Yang was furious and sneered, "This scoundrel harbors intentions of causing chaos in the world. If he is not eliminated, he will become a great disaster! Pass my order: if you encounter Xu Ying, do not capture him alive. Kill him without mercy!"

The constables received the order and quickly left Jiangjiatian to track Xu Ying's whereabouts.

The villagers looked at each other. Was the person Magistrate Zhou Yang was talking about the Xu Xiao Ruan they knew?

Zhou Yang returned to the county yamen with the remaining scriptures.

In the backyard of the yamen, an old man sat under a pavilion drinking tea. Zhou Yang placed the scriptures with Xu Ying's annotations beside the old man and stood respectfully to the side.

The old man picked up a scripture, turned a page, and smiled, "These scriptures are only Qi Gathering stage cultivation methods of the demon race, with no follow-up techniques. Why did you bring them, Yang'er?"

County Magistrate Zhou Yang quickly said, "Father, look at the annotations in the back."

The old man, Zhou Yihang, was surprised. He flipped to the back and indeed saw Xu Ying's annotations. His expression gradually became solemn. He quickly flipped through one scroll of scriptures, then picked up another and scanned it rapidly, then the next!

In just a moment, Zhou Yihang had scanned all the scriptures. His face solemn, he said, "The one who annotated these scriptures has reached an extremely profound level of understanding of demonic arts. I fear even the elders in my Zhou family who study this path are not his equal! Where did you get these scriptures? Who annotated them?"

Zhou Yang replied, "A fourteen-year-old boy, a snake catcher."

Zhou Yihang looked up in surprise, "A fourteen-year-old boy?"

Zhou Yang quickly added, "This person is a snake catcher from Jiangjiatian Village. His name is Xu Ying. For some reason, he has cultivated demonic arts and killed the deity worshipped by Jiangjiatian Village. He is currently on the run. I went to search for him and found these annotated scriptures."

Zhou Yihang stood up, disbelief on his face. "My Zhou family elders, in order to study demonic arts, did not hesitate to venture into forbidden lands and excavate ancient cave dwellings, suffering heavy casualties! Yet, their insights might not even be as profound as this fourteen-year-old snake catcher! Yang'er, you must find this person and bring him back alive!"

Zhou Yang cautiously said, "The City God is also pursuing this person. I am worried he might fall into the City God's hands, so I issued a kill order."

"City God Xue Lingfu?"

Zhou Yihang's expression also changed slightly. He pondered, "If he falls into the City God's hands, then it's better to kill him. What a waste of such talent... Since the City God has been alerted, then this matter, I will handle it personally. If Xu Ying can be captured alive, that would be best. If not, I will kill him myself. He absolutely cannot fall into the City God's hands!"

Zhou Yang bowed in agreement.

Zhou Yihang floated away.

Zhou Yang straightened up, a look of confusion on his face. He whispered, "Are demonic arts really that important? Why are my Zhou family's ancestors and elders so interested in them?"

The history of ancient times is long and obscure, with few written records remaining. In the current world, humans primarily cultivate secret treasures. The human body has six major secret treasures. Opening even one allows one to become a Nu Master, possessing incredible abilities.

The Zhou family is such a Nu Master family, one of the most powerful families in the world today. Therefore, Zhou Yang was greatly puzzled by his ancestors' research into demonic arts.

"It's understandable that my Zhou family elders are so interested in demonic arts, but why is the City God, an underworld deity, also so interested?" he thought to himself.

He had heard some rumors within the family that the Zhou family's ancestors used demonic arts for certain mysterious research. Some said it was the secret to ascension!

However, Zhou Yang was an outer member of the Zhou family and did not know much.

Jiangjiatian Village.

The villagers were cleaning up the mess and sweeping the streets. In Xu Ying's home, a wisp of smoke suddenly emerged from the ground.

From the smoke, a short, stout figure wearing a tall hat and holding a deer-headed staff emerged from the ground. It was the local Earth God from the nearby Earth Temple, still clutching a scroll of scriptures.

When the officers came to search earlier, this Earth God, after grabbing a scroll, feared it would be discovered and quickly hid underground. He only dared to reveal himself after the officers had left.

The Earth God was no more than two feet tall. With a rustle, he unfurled the scripture, stroked his beard, and muttered, "Nonsense! Xu Ying's annotations are utter nonsense! I'll take it to the City God!"

He carried the scroll, leaped, and burrowed into the ground, disappearing.

A short while later, in the Lingling City God Temple, City God Xue Lingfu unfurled the scroll annotated by Xu Ying. His expression changed slightly. He studied it carefully, then suddenly closed the scroll.

"This was annotated by Xu Ying? What profound insights!"

City God Xue Lingfu ordered the Earth God, "Immediately relay an order to all deities around Lingling to capture Xu Ying. Do not kill him, I want him alive!"

The Earth God quickly replied, "Most of the deities near Lingling have already been dispatched to search for Xu Ying's whereabouts. They are not in their shrines, so notifying them is quite difficult! Moreover, the Nu Masters under Magistrate Zhou have already been dispatched and are also searching for Xu Ying!"

City God Xue Lingfu frowned. He rose from his shrine and walked out, saying faintly, "Forget it, I will go myself. Xu Ying is of great importance. If the Zhou family also wants him, then I must ensure that even if he dies, his body must not fall into the hands of the Zhou family!"