Chapter Seventy: The Rise of the Morgane Doctrine

Just as Dachun was about to leap out of the encirclement formed by the two puppet marionettes, Yuan Xi suddenly flicked the threads again, and another puppet burst out from the trunk behind him!

The three puppets charged forward, clinging tightly to Dachun, while the threads wound around him in circle after circle, further restricting his movements.

“The deputy leader is nothing special after all!” Yuan Xi strolled over to Dachun with ease. “Now, will you finally tell me where your leader is?”

But Dachun only laughed and replied, “The power bestowed upon me by the Heavenly God is far from exhausted!”

With that, Dachun wrenched free an arm and slammed it into the ground. Instantly, the force shattered the earth beneath his feet, sending shockwaves that flung the three puppets aside as well.

“What?” The puppet master Yuan Xi suddenly looked flustered. But Dachun seized him by the collar before he could react, forcing him to the ground and raising a massive fist. “Take this and die!”

“Damn it, I was careless!” Yuan Xi realized that if Dachun struck with the same force that just broke the ground, it would surely shatter his body.

In desperation, Yuan Xi cast a pleading glance toward his leader, Seiya Ampei, of the Onmyoji Hall.

“Let me lend a hand!” From the side, the Thai sorcerer Silong threw out five sacred talismans. “Yesterday the spirits hid in the talismans, today they reveal their forms. If not now, when?”

As Silong finished, the five talismans he threw transformed mid-air into five little ghosts. Instantly, they lunged forward, binding Dachun’s wrists, ankles, and neck. Immobilized by the spirits, Dachun could only rage, “You cowards! You only know how to gang up on the few with your numbers!”

“I am only—!”

“Fire Dragon Curse!”

Before Ampei could finish, a talisman shot out from the gate of the Heavenly God’s temple, gathering spiritual energy and transforming into a blazing fire dragon that rushed toward Ampei and his group.

“Water Curse, Wind and Rain!” Ampei responded swiftly, casting two talismans that summoned wind and rain, dispersing the fire dragon in a swirl of steam.

“Didn’t you want to meet me? So many of you bullying my Mogan followers—how bold you’ve become!” Zhang Zhiheng, robed in Daoist attire, emerged from the heart of the town.

“Silong, let the deputy leader go,” Ampei ordered the Thai sorcerer beside him, all the while smiling at Zhang Zhiheng. “I’ve come from afar, seeking only a place for our Onmyoji Hall to settle. I see the feng shui here is auspicious, nurturing both land and people. Though I know your sect occupies this place, I humbly wish to join forces with you so we might develop Heavenly God Town together!”

“So it’s the fortune of this land that’s drawn you here.” Zhang Zhiheng smiled. “I spent over half a year transforming the feng shui, channeling the earth’s luck to make this a blessed place. Now you want to claim, with empty hands, what I’ve labored to create? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

“I anticipated this. I know a little of geomancy myself and saw you possessed some skill, so I came with respect. If you join our Onmyoji Hall, we will develop the town together. Wouldn’t that be ideal?” Ampei continued.

“And what if I refuse?” Zhang Zhiheng’s expression grew cold. The outsiders clearly intended to seize the land for their own sect. Not only was this ground a blessed place he had painstakingly cultivated, but he could never let foreigners claim it.

“There are twelve powerful onmyoji in our Hall, skilled in arts from every corner of the land. Aside from your leader, most of the Mogan followers are but ordinary villagers, and the so-called disciples are little more than useless rabble. If it comes to force, you should consider your options carefully,” Ampei said with a smile, though Zhang Zhiheng felt the chill of threat beneath the words.

If he refused to hand over Heavenly God Town, Ampei and his eleven onmyoji would surely try to take it by force.

“Enough nonsense. I won’t give up this land. Please leave!” Zhang Zhiheng answered decisively. There was no way he would simply hand over Heavenly God Town.

“I expected as much. But since we urgently need a foothold, don’t blame the Onmyoji Hall for taking it by force.” Ampei snapped his fan open. “Begin!”

At once, the eleven onmyoji behind him surged forward, unleashing their arts in a dazzling display. The power they radiated was enough to make one’s blood run cold.

But Zhang Zhiheng only smiled faintly.

“Rest in peace, Leader of Mogan,” Ampei said, turning his back. “Forgive me—this is necessity.”

As all manner of onmyoji arts converged on him, Zhang Zhiheng spoke calmly: “Heavenly God, it’s your turn.”

In that instant, the statue of Morgana at the town’s gate burst into radiant light. From within, a godly figure with angelic wings soared out.

“A deity…” Ampei felt a surge of overwhelming power. The villagers, upon seeing Morgana manifest, immediately fell to their knees in worship.

“How dare mere onmyoji trespass upon the land of a god? What punishment do you deserve?” Morgana’s gaze was piercing, her body shining gold, vast wings beating mightily in the air, a truly awe-inspiring sight.

“Is this place truly protected by a god?” The other onmyoji recoiled in terror. For all their skills, how could mortals contend with a deity?

Ampei, too, felt the sheer difference in power. Before this being, his own strength was nothing.

“Leave this place at once!” Ampei, realizing he was outmatched, quickly led his onmyoji away.

Once all twelve onmyoji, including Ampei, had departed, Morgana glanced at Zhang Zhiheng, then returned to the statue.

From this battle, Zhang Zhiheng understood much. In his sect, he alone possessed the arts of the onmyoji; Dachun had only brute strength granted by Morgana and little else. To truly develop the Mogan Sect and spread its teachings to neighboring villages, he would need to recruit followers with real skills. Only then could the Mogan Sect thrive and enter the mainstream.