Ambitions Run Deep

But the demons had already left, and Kun Mucheng needed to quickly complete the remaining stages of his strange art. Only after confirming a moment later that the demons had truly gone far away did he descend from the sky and land beside the four Golden Armored Strongmen.

Compared to the four Golden Armored Divine Generals, now as tall as buildings, the four white-light guardians at Kun Mucheng's side looked mighty and each held a dharma artifact, but the gap between them was truly immense.

Even now, the four Golden Armored Strongmen gave Kun Mucheng a sense that they looked down on him. Yet having witnessed the terrifying, tiger-like but not tiger-like monster, as well as the abilities of these four, Kun Mucheng was not angered in the slightest by their gazes. He merely molded hand seals with both hands, chanted an incantation, and sent the gods away.

"Wind and clouds return to heaven, dust returns to earth. Thank you, honored lords, for your aid. I send the gods back whence they came. On another day, Kun Mucheng shall make offerings to express his gratitude."

After those hand seals and incantations, so steeped in ritual, the four Golden Armored Strongmen flashed with golden light and vanished from where they stood. The strain on Kun Mucheng's mind and spirit, which he had borne since earlier, eased considerably as well.

As the saying went, inviting gods was easy, but sending them away was hard. Kun Mucheng's strange art was wondrous, but whether they came or not was not for him to decide. At times, those he invited might not fully follow his instructions either. Even once matters were settled, sending them away took effort—especially these terrifying beings who had come this time. Usually, borrowing the power of lesser gods, mountain spirits, or