Buddha is the Way (1933)

Chapter Nineteen: The Demon Alliance (Part Five)
Sword energy crisscrossed the quiet room. The iron walls were riddled with grooves and holes by Zhou Qing's sword energy. It was like ten thousand swords were unleashed, or like the Milky Way collapsing to the ground. The sword light was like countless stars, and the omnipresent sword light and starlight enveloped the three demons. Clang! Yuan Wuji's long staff was cut in two and fell to the ground. Crack! The huge skull of the Netherworld Ghost was pulverized into powder, turning into wisps of eerie ghostly energy that disappeared into the air. Suddenly, a thick, viscous blood mist erupted from Tianxuan Blood Demon's body, enveloping him. A buzzing sound emanated from the blood dance: "What a magnificent 'Ten Thousand Swords from the Heart'! Sect Master Zhou, hold on for now, let's talk in detail!"
Upon hearing the Blood Demon's voice, Zhou Qing withdrew his sword energy. The people and demons in the quiet room felt a sudden darkness, and the starlight formed by the sword energy vanished without a trace. Zhou Chen was also stunned by her cheap master's earth-shattering sword strike, muttering, "Coming like thunder, withdrawing in fury; withdrawing like the calm light of the ocean!" Suddenly! A wisp of blue light appeared from nowhere, shooting towards Zhou Qing with incredible speed, reaching his chest in the blink of an eye. Zhou Chen shouted, "Master, be careful!" and was about to pounce.
"What are you doing, get out of the way!" Knowing that Zhou Chen meant well, Zhou Qing was still furious at her moth-to-a-flame behavior. Grabbing Zhou Chen, the blue light reached just to his chest—it was the cat demon's signature weapon, the "Poison Fang Blade." Zhou Qing roared, and a massive iron seal, like a shield, was placed before him. Clang! Clang! The sound of metal clashing echoed throughout the quiet room as the "Poison Fang Blade" collided with Zhou Qing's Heaven-Turning Seal. Sparks flew out from the impact like fireworks.
Seeing her sneak attack fail, the cat demon hurriedly made a hand seal. The "Poison Fang Blade" feinted, its blue light intensifying, barely managing to hold back the Heaven-Turning Seal's entanglement. With a turn, it shot back. Zhou Qing was already annoyed, thinking, "If I hadn't kept a trick up my sleeve, I would have really been ambushed by this vixen!" Now, seeing the blue light returning, Zhou Qing wasn't about to let it escape. "Swoosh!" A burst of true energy shot out, and the Heaven-Turning Seal transformed into a phantom, surprisingly arriving faster than the Poison Fang Blade in an instant. It revealed its massive form and slammed down!
This Heaven-Turning Seal was three zhang in diameter, its entire body shrouded in clear light. Tiny runes faintly rotated on its crystal-like surface. Since Zhou Qing's power had greatly increased and he had condensed his second primordial spirit, he had been troubled by the lack of a decent magic weapon. He also lacked good materials to craft one. Although the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade was a top-tier magic weapon, Zhou Qing couldn't control it. It was like having a mountain of gold but not knowing how to spend it. Therefore, Zhou Qing used the Samadhi True Fire to thoroughly temper the Heaven-Turning Seal and added a portion of Taiyi Refined Gold. Now, this great seal faintly possessed the power to overturn the heavens.
Clang! Although the Poison Fang Blade was a decent magic weapon, it couldn't withstand the relentless smashing of the Heaven-Turning Seal controlled by Zhou Qing at the Nascent Soul stage. The blue light quickly dimmed, all spiritual energy vanished, and it fell to the ground. The cat demon's body trembled, and a trace of bright red blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. No wonder; this "Poison Fang Blade" was a tooth of a giant dragon she had found years ago. That dragon was originally a Nascent Soul stage expert, but somehow, through some forced practice of magic, it attracted a lightning strike from the heavens. The lightning and fire shattered the dragon, leaving only this tooth, which the cat demon found and treasured, forging it into a personal magic weapon. She refined it daily with her blood and sweat, and it had long since become one with her. Now that the "Poison Fang Blade" had been defeated by Zhou Qing, and her spirit was damaged, how could she not be injured?
Zhou Qing, however, was relentless. The Heaven-Turning Seal trembled, emitting a long cry—the sound of the seal cutting through the air. The three-zhang-long seal, carrying the force of a thunderbolt, even enveloped the Eight Extreme Wolf King. The Eight Extremes Wolf King was utterly despondent. He knew he couldn't possibly withstand this onslaught. The three demons were also in dire straits, barely able to protect themselves. The Eight Extremes Wolf King could only look pleadingly at the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon, shrouded in a thick, bloody light.
Suddenly, a beam of bloody light steadily supported the seal. The Heavenly Profound Blood Demon said, "Sect Master Zhou, let's talk this out. There's no need to ruin our harmony!" Zhou Qing felt a tremendous, resilient, yet gentle force supporting the Heaven-Turning Seal. His own strength felt like striking a cotton ball—soft and powerless.
"This demon is indeed a little stronger than me. I wonder what powerful magic weapon he possesses. He doesn't seem simple either!" With a thought, Zhou Qing shrunk the seal to a three-inch square, placing it in his hand and disappearing. "Alliance Leader, you're really not being straightforward. Either we exchange, since the Gouchen Heavenly Book is ancient demon script that we can't understand. How about we have a fight and see who's the best? But your Demon Alliance seems to have quite a reputation. With great power comes great responsibility, and you're bound to have many enemies. That would be a bit unfavorable!" Zhou Qing secretly reminded the Blood Demon.
The Heavenly Profound Blood Demon's blood-red light faded, revealing his true form. "Sect Leader Zhou is indeed straightforward. The Shu Mountain's 'Sword Qi Soaring Technique' has actually reached the point where ten thousand swords are at your command. Even the elders and sect leader of Shu Mountain are no more than that. Could it be..."
Zhou Qing said, "Enough with the nonsense. I do have some connection with Shu Mountain, but now doesn't seem like the time to talk about that. So, where are they?" Zhou Qing chuckled inwardly: I definitely have a connection with Shu Mountain. I killed their disciples and seized their treasure sword and secret manual. How could I not have a connection? Zhou Qing now held a tortoise-shell-like object in his hand, which was the Gouchen Heavenly Book that Zhou Chen had just handed to him.
Looking at the "Gouchen Heavenly Book," which resembled a tortoise shell, Zhou Qing's sharp eyes immediately discerned the dense, tiny characters on it. His heart skipped a beat: Strange! How come the characters on my Dharma Wheel are so similar? I thought it was ancient Sanskrit, but it turns out to be the script of the ancient demon race. Damn it! This tortoise shell left behind by the Great Emperor Gouchen looks so ordinary! Zhou Qing inwardly scorned the Great Emperor Gouchen.
But then, the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon's eyes widened, and he said in a deep voice, "No mistake! It's this one! You! Netherworld Ghost! Go and bring that little fox over." The Netherworld Ghost responded, transforming into a wisp of ghostly energy and disappearing through the cracked wall. Soon after, he returned carrying a girl who looked similar to Zhou Chen, but was clearly younger and unconscious.
"Sister!" Hearing Zhou Chen's shout, Zhou Qing immediately understood: "Alliance Leader, why is my disciple's sister unconscious? Is something wrong?"
"Don't worry, I just made this little fox unconscious. Nothing's wrong. How about it, bring the book over!" Tianxuan Blood Demon stretched out his hand, and an invisible suction force pulled Zhou Chen's sister over.
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Chapter Twenty The Mantis Stalks the Cicada
Zhou Qing readily nodded and said, "No problem. I'll count to three, and we'll throw them together. I'll throw the book, and you throw the person!" Tianxuan Blood Demon suddenly felt something was off. After thinking about Zhou Qing's words, he smiled bitterly. This kid was using this opportunity to insult him! But now was not the time to worry about such trivial matters. Tianxuan Blood Demon focused all his divine sense on guarding against Zhou Qing's tricks.
"One!" "Two!" "Three!" The two threw out the person and the book at the same time. Neither of them noticed that the moment Zhou Qing threw out the Gouchen Heavenly Book, his hands formed a strange hand seal, while a faint bloody light was mixed in with the person that Tianxuan Blood Demon threw. Bang! Just as the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon was about to catch the flying "Gouchen Heavenly Book," he saw Zhou Qing catch the little fox he had thrown at him. A faint bloody light seeped into Zhou Qing's body, and the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon laughed loudly: "Ha! Ha! Boy! You've fallen under my Blood Demon Killing Curse. No matter how high your cultivation, you'll be reduced to blood within three quarters of an hour. Do you think I'm so easily fooled, you ignorant brat!"
The "Gouchen Heavenly Book" spun around and flew to the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon's front. The Heavenly Profound Blood Demon reached out and grabbed it, and then heard Zhou Qing's voice: "Little Blood Demon, you're celebrating too soon!"
The Heavenly Profound Blood Demon was shocked. Just as he was about to grab the *Gouchen Heavenly Book*, a hand suddenly appeared beside him, firmly grasping the book. The Heavenly Profound Blood Demon looked and saw it was none other than Zhou Qing. He quickly glanced at the person holding the little fox, and it was Zhou Qing again! The Heavenly Profound Blood Demon uttered a few words with difficulty: "An avatar! A second primordial spirit! How did I encounter such a monster!"
Then, carefully examining Zhou Qing before him, he shouted angrily, "So your true form is only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining! I was wondering how you, so young, could have such high power! It's your second primordial spirit causing trouble! You! You! Die! I will absorb your soul, ensuring you never reincarnate!"
The Heavenly Profound Blood Demon was truly enraged. Being tricked by a mid-stage Qi Refining youth would ruin his reputation. A blood-red light surged around him, and the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon's hair stood on end, turning from its original black to a strange purplish-red. Hiss! Hiss! With a deafening roar, the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon's wide red robe shattered, revealing its true form. Zhou Qing exclaimed in disbelief, "Good heavens! This isn't a human body at all; it's clearly a humanoid figure composed of fish-scale-like blood clots!" A shudder
ran through him, and Zhou Qing roared, "All Heavenly Gods and Demons! Slay all immortals and demons!" As soon as the word "slay" left his lips, twelve flags, each a foot long, suddenly extended from all four directions of the meditation room. The bright red flagpoles, crafted from fine steel, shimmered with a strange, dark luster. The silk flags were embroidered with bizarre runes in gold thread. As the flags spun, wisps of magical energy enveloped the entire room, trapping the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon and the four great demons within the formation like a spiderweb. Zhou Qing was now incredibly wealthy; to study and experiment with the mysteries of the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation, he had spared no expense, spending a fortune to forge these twelve flags himself. Now, they were finally proving useful.
Upon seeing this formation, the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon trembled in fear. If it weren't for the fact that he wasn't in a human body, he probably would have wet himself in terror. "The Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation! My God, how could this be! This is the number one demonic killing formation of the Primordial Era! It was lost long ago! Even the Ancestor didn't know it. How could that kid know it? This is terrible!"
Unfortunately, Zhou Qing couldn't hear what he was shouting anymore. Once this formation was activated, it was like opening another space. Those inside the formation couldn't sense the outside, and those outside couldn't sense the inside. Zhou Qing flashed to Zhou Chen's side, his body swayed, and he withdrew his second primordial spirit. Zhou Chen saw Zhou Qing open his mouth and spit out a mouthful of blood. Startled, he exclaimed, "Master! What's wrong?" Zhou Qing waved his hand, "Let's go quickly! This formation is incomplete; it can only unleash one-thousandth of its power, enough to trap them for an hour. This Blood Demon is incredibly powerful! My primordial spirit was struck by its blood-red light and is severely injured. You take your sister; let's go find Xiao Jin and leave!"
The second primordial spirit is closely connected to the main body; their fates are intertwined. Although even if the second primordial spirit is destroyed, the main body won't die, but a severe blow to its vital energy is inevitable. Zhou Qing's second primordial spirit was damaged, and his main body was also slightly injured. Fortunately, the six-winged golden silkworm was powerful; otherwise, Zhou Qing wouldn't even have the strength to stand!
Just as Zhou Qing and Zhou Chen stepped out of the villa, four sharp sword energies rushed towards them, the force of the sword energy making it difficult to breathe! Zhou Qing was shocked and pulled Zhou Chen to roll on the spot. With a series of cracking sounds, four large, dark holes, each the size of a bowl, were pierced from the spot where Zhou Qing had just been standing. Zhou Qing's expression changed: this was clearly a sneak attack by a sword master! If it weren't for his sharp spiritual senses, he would probably have been riddled with holes by the sword energy. Whoosh! Little Fantian burst out from Zhou Qing's body, transforming into an iron disc to protect the three on his side. However, this iron disc was clearly less powerful than when Zhou Qing used it in the quiet room. The disc had shrunk from three zhang in diameter to about ten zhang in size, and its clear light had dimmed considerably. This was because Zhou Qing's second spiritual energy had been shaken and could no longer activate the disc. Using his own true essence to wield this iron disc naturally reduced its power.
Swoosh! Four figures appeared—the Dragon Group members who had been whispering and plotting to kill and rob treasure earlier: Xiang Hui, Xie Xiaohong, Liu Zhihua, and Lu Hongchen. Seeing the four young men before him, clearly possessing mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation, Zhou Qing was extremely anxious. He couldn't use his second primordial spirit, and his own power was at best roughly equal to theirs. Zhou Chen might be slightly stronger than him, but even she couldn't handle these four! Judging from their sneak attack, it seemed they intended to kill him. When did he accumulate so many enemies?
"Who are you? Why did you ambush us?" Zhou Chen, realizing the situation was dire, asked the four men in confusion. Zhou Chen was still wearing the men's coat Zhou Qing had given her, so the four men hadn't recognized her clearly at first, assuming she was a man. Only now, with her melodious voice ringing out, did they notice Zhou Chen's appearance. Even though the four men were all young masters from prominent families, having seen countless beautiful women, they couldn't help but swallow hard.
"Where did such a beautiful woman come from? Hehe! Her skill level seems about the same as ours. Which sect is she from? Wait a minute! I know all the female disciples from various sects, but none of them are this beautiful! She came from the Demon Alliance, could she be a demon? Haha, I've struck it rich today! That guy seems to be injured, oh! And there's a woman who's unconscious too. I've played with all kinds of beauties, but I've never played with such a beautiful demon! Today, I'll have two birds with one stone, wouldn't that be wonderful?" Xiang Hui's eyes revealed a lewd glint, and he winked at the other three.
These four usually acted together, and with just one wink from Xiang Hui, the other three understood his meaning.
Because I've been too busy lately, the word count is a bit low. I'll try to write more on Dual Cultivation Day!!
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Chapter Twenty-One: Covered in Dust
"Miss! We are disciples of Shu Mountain, now working for the National Security Department. We came to the Demon Alliance to investigate something, and we thought you were demons, so... What's your name, Miss?" Xiang Hui was sincerely teasing Zhou Chen. Thinking to himself, "One's injured, the other's unconscious, they can't escape my grasp anyway. I won't rush into anything; teasing this little girl would be quite a pleasure."
Zhou Chen suddenly smiled sweetly, like a hundred flowers blooming, the air filled with the scent of spring, making everyone feel languid. Xiang Hui, Xie Xiaohong, Liu Zhihua, and Lu Hongchen trembled, their bones felt weak, and they went limp. "My name is Zhou Chen, my four elder brothers!" Her heavenly voice reached their ears. Their eyes widened, and drool even trickled from their lips—they were complete lechers.
"Such powerful seduction techniques! If my second primordial spirit weren't a high-level demon, I probably would have fallen for it too. I never imagined my disciple would have such an advantage," Zhou Qing remarked, while using his true fire to expel the blood demon curse left on his primordial spirit by the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon. This Blood Demon Curse, like a viscous, blood-red liquid, lingered within the primordial spirit. Zhou Qing, wielding his full Samadhi True Fire, managed to fight it to a standstill.
"My name is Xiang Hui. He, he, he are Xie Xiaohong, Liu Zhihua, and Lu Hongchen. We are all members of the Dragon Group. We came to the Demon Alliance to pick up bargains. Chenchen, you're so beautiful!" Xiang Hui suddenly jolted, shouting, "Hey! Demon, you've bewitched us!" Xiang Hui, who had been drooling, revealed all his secrets after Zhou Chen's question. However, Xiang Hui was, after all, a disciple of a prestigious sect. After years of cultivating his Daoist arts, while Zhou Chen, despite his greatly improved power with Zhou Qing's help, was only on par with the four, Xiang Hui was slightly stronger. He bit his tongue sharply, snapping back to reality. Seeing the other three looking foolish and drooling, Xiang Hui remembered his own earlier state and, enraged, roared, his flying sword transforming into a several-foot-long red beam that slashed down at Zhou Qing.
Although Xiang Hui was furious that Zhou Chen had used seductive arts, he couldn't bear to kill her. His anger was directed at Zhou Qing, who was healing. The three men were also awakened by Xiang Hui's roar, realizing their predicament, and simultaneously drew their flying swords. Xiang Hui hurriedly shouted, "Don't kill her! You three, restrain that female demon! She's trying to seduce me, isn't she? I'll let her seduce me to her heart's content!" Before he finished speaking, a fiery red sword light clashed head-on with Zhou Qing's great seal. Boom! The point of impact exploded with bursts of flames the size of buckets, which swirled and burned towards Zhou Qing. Zhou Qing was shocked, not expecting his great seal to be unable to withstand this fiery red flying sword. He immediately stopped circulating his second primordial spirit, throwing out a water spirit talisman. Wisps of water spirit energy condensed, forming shimmering water curtains in the air.
*Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!* The three water curtains Zhou Qing had created were shattered by the bursts of flame, the flames losing all their power and disappearing into the air. "This flying sword's fiery aura is so intense, so powerful!" Zhou Qing sighed inwardly, secretly tossing out eight jade tokens. The tokens vanished as if they had merged with the air, leaving no trace. Xiang Hui was even more astonished. His flying sword was imbued with the scorching fire energy from the magma of the Shu Mountain Elder, channeled using a secret array. Although its quality couldn't compare to Taiyi refined gold, its power was far more potent; the fiery poison on it could melt even steel! And now it had been annihilated with a single talisman.
Ah! Just as Zhou Qing tossed out the jade token, Zhou Chen was already firmly entangled in the middle of three sword lights. Her clothes were torn in many places, revealing her snow-white skin. The three men leered incessantly: "Little monster, your skin is quite white!" "This monster has a really good figure! Tsk tsk!" Zhou Chen's skill level was about the same as theirs, but she was helpless against the sword formation formed by the three men due to the lack of a weapon. The sword cultivation path of Mount Shu was inherently powerful, and with three men attacking at the same time, how could Zhou Chen possibly withstand it? If the three men hadn't been deliberately toying with her, the battle would have been over long ago. Seeing the increasing number of cuts on her body, a resolute look flashed in Zhou Chen's eyes. She made up her mind that even if she had to use the Disintegration Technique, she would not allow herself to be humiliated. *Swoosh!* Another sword light flew over, completely tearing the coat that Zhou Qing had given her to shreds. The three men let out another gasp. Zhou Chen glanced at Zhou Qing, let out a scream, and was about to use the Disintegration Technique.
Suddenly! Suddenly, a giant Bagua (Eight Trigrams) diagram appeared in the sky, representing water, fire, wind, and thunder. Four beams of light, condensed from the Bagua diagram, shot out and blasted towards the four people. Caught off guard, the four hastily used all their true energy to defend themselves. Boom! The four figures were sent tumbling like gourds, dizzy and disoriented. Zhou Chen was also stunned by this sudden turn of events. Zhou Qing grabbed her hand and said, "Take your sister and run! Go find Xiao Jin outside!" "Master, what about you?" "I'm fine! These four can't do anything to me. I'll teach them a lesson and then leave!" Zhou Chen nodded, picked up the little fox, and transformed into a figure, flying away.
Meanwhile, Xiang Hui was struck by a water-thunderbolt. Fortunately, Zhou Qing's power was currently damaged, preventing him from unleashing the full power of the formation, and his flying sword was of the fire attribute. So he wasn't injured, just got up covered in dust. The other three weren't so lucky; they were all knocked to the ground with minor injuries and couldn't move for the time being. Xie Xiaohong, in particular, was struck by the fire lightning, his whole body charred black, emitting a raw, unpleasant smell. Xiang Hui saw Zhou Qing there with a forced smile and was furious. In his entire life, when had he ever suffered such a loss? He bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood essence onto his flying sword. A bright red light shone, and the fiery red flying sword twisted in the air, instantly transforming into more than a dozen sword lights, each more than twice the size of its original form.
Zhou Qing said, "Good! With your mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation, you can actually use the Myriad Swords Technique to create thirteen sword lights, that's not bad!" Hearing Zhou Qing's tone, Xiang Hui, already filled with resentment, was now practically bursting with rage. With a ferocious expression, he roared, "Then die!" The thirteen sword lights transformed into thirteen pillars of fire, enveloping Zhou Qing before slamming down upon him.
Zhou Qing spoke with utmost ease, but in reality, he was on high alert. Seeing the pillars of fire formed from the flying swords hurtling down, he quickly cast a spell, causing the massive Bagua formation composed of eight jade tablets in the sky to suddenly reverse, an invisible force forcefully blocking the impact of the fire pillars. Xiang Hui channeled his true energy to the fullest extent, and the fire pillars advanced a foot or so against the pressure, only to be bounced back. The two then began to clash with their true energy.
Xiang Hui, with his sharp eyes, noticed a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of Zhou Qing's mouth and laughed loudly, "I knew you were injured! Now you're no good, are you! I'll burn you to ashes!" He spat out another mouthful of blood essence, which traveled through a three-zhang-long space and sprayed onto the fire pillars. Nourished by this blood essence, the fire pillars grew slightly larger. The attackers had actually closed to within three feet of Zhou Qing. Instead of being alarmed, Zhou Qing was delighted and shouted, "Explode!" Suddenly, a distant voice rang out, "Stop! Show mercy!" But it was too late! The Bagua diagram, composed of eight jade tablets, suddenly expanded outwards, shattering the tablets. A tremendous force erupted, sending the thirteen fire pillars flying backwards.
It turned out that Zhou Qing had used the impact of the fire pillars to detonate the Bagua formation. Seeing the fire pillars flying towards him, Xiang Hui was terrified, his crotch wet with fear.
Suddenly, a gap was torn in the Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Yin Formation, and a golden sword light rushed in, blocking Xiang Hui's path. With a powerful twist, the thirteen fire pillars were scattered. Seeing a powerful figure had arrived, Zhou Qing dared not linger. He cast a speed talisman on his leg and vanished without a trace.
Just as Xiang Hui was awaiting his death, a savior appeared. Upon seeing the golden sword light, he hurriedly called out, "Senior Brother!" In less than a moment, a young man appeared before him, the very same one who had appeared in the valley where Zhou Qing had been in seclusion.
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Chapter Twenty-Two: Blood Demon Curse
"What are you doing here? If I hadn't happened to be passing by, would you still be alive?" Xiang Hui knew that while this senior brother's cultivation was profound, he was also stubborn and inflexible. Of course, he dared not tell him the purpose of their visit, so he fabricated a lie: "Senior Brother! We've joined the Dragon Group, and we just received news that the Demon Alliance is in turmoil. The Heavenly Profound Blood Demon is seriously injured, and Ling Fei of the Kunlun Sect sent us to check on him. We just arrived here and encountered these demons."
"Hmph! Didn't Ling Fei send you all to your deaths? This Heavenly Profound Blood Demon is a monster formed from a thousand years of tainted blood absorbing death energy. Even if the sect leader doesn't use the Purple and Green Twin Swords, he's only on par with you. Even if he's seriously injured, you still can't handle him. Besides, his four subordinate monsters are all stronger than you. This Ling Fei, relying on being from Kunlun, has secretly plotted against our Shu Mountain. His heart is too vicious! I must find an opportunity to compete with him and see if his Flowing Rail Sword is more powerful or my Golden Light Sword is more powerful!"
Xiang Hui was overjoyed when he heard this. He had just spouted nonsense and actually angered his senior brother. He wanted his senior brother to compete with Ling Fei. He had heard that his senior brother's swordsmanship had reached the level of controlling the sword with his spirit, just one step away from the supreme realm of "ten thousand swords from the heart." Ling Fei was definitely no match for him. He would humiliate him severely in front of the Dragon Group members and see if he still dared to point fingers at them.
The eldest disciple took out several pills from his robes, their color shimmering and their fragrance wafting. "These four Heavenly Spirit Pills were recently refined by the sect leader, using century-old ginseng, poria cocos, and purple ganoderma, among other medicinal herbs. They will greatly benefit your cultivation. I happened to bring some with me; you've all suffered minor injuries, so they'll come in handy!" Xiang Hui happily accepted the Heavenly Spirit Pills, thinking: "Great! One of these Heavenly Spirit Pills can increase my cultivation by at least ten years. If it weren't for the wealth and resources of our Shu Mountain sect, where would we get so many medicinal herbs to refine pills? But our family also pays a considerable tribute to the sect leader every year."
"I wonder why the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon hasn't made a move. But that person was a master of formations! In our cultivation world, there's only one sect skilled in formations—the Dunjia Sect. The people there are so mysterious. Could that person be from the Dunjia Sect? How could he be connected to a demon?" Looking at the shattered jade tablet powder on the ground, the senior brother couldn't figure it out. "I still need to investigate Junior Brother Zhao Liang's attack. You all need to leave quickly." With that, he mounted his flying sword and transformed into a golden light, disappearing into the distance. Xiang Hui and the other three watched with envy.
"Little sister! Your cooking is so delicious!" Liao Xiaojin sat at the table, constantly piling small pieces of tender steak into her mouth. "Hmph! You just realized that? You haven't even tried my sister's divine tofu yet! Once you do, you'll be swallowing your tongue!" A girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old next to her laughed as she watched Liao Xiaojin wolfing down her food. "Okay! Okay! I'll try your sister's tofu tomorrow..." Liao Xiaojin nodded eagerly upon hearing there was something even better to eat, but then realized something was off about her words and quickly stopped. Zhou Chen, upon hearing this, also realized the inappropriateness of Liao Xiaojin's words and blushed deeply. For a moment, both of them were very embarrassed. "Hey, sister, why aren't you talking? By the way, sister, didn't you just have a new master? I haven't seen him." The little fox head bobbed and asked Zhou Chen in confusion.
After this major interruption, the atmosphere eased slightly. Zhou Chen, feeling puzzled, asked Liao Xiaojin, "Master has been in seclusion for three days. Why hasn't he come out yet? Is he seriously injured? I saw him perfectly fine." Liao Xiaojin nonchalantly replied, "Nothing. Master is the most cunning person imaginable. He'd rather die than suffer a loss. What could possibly happen to him? He's probably comprehending some unparalleled Daoist technique right now!" He then picked up a piece of pork rib and began to devour it. Seeing this, the little fox couldn't help but curse, "Pig!"
Liao Xiaojin was mistaken. Zhou Qing's situation was far from dire. In the spacious training room, Zhou Qing stared at the golden silkworm, which was at least two feet long, with wings the size of palm leaves, a slightly bulging golden shell beneath it, and a blood-red aura emanating from its entire body.
"Sigh! I finally managed to be a master for a few days, and now I'm going to be reduced to my original form again. What a pity! This Golden Silkworm was just about to evolve to the four-winged stage, and it was hit by the Blood Demon Curse at this crucial moment. I should have never gone to that so-called Monster Alliance. Who knew that the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon was actually a monster formed from a thousand years of tainted blood absorbing the deathly aura from the earth? No wonder no one cared about such a huge commotion. There are actually monsters like this!" Zhou Qing lamented the injustice of the heavens.
Originally, with his second primordial spirit in hand, Zhou Qing was already a master of the Nascent Soul stage. Who knew that the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon's curse was extremely vicious, made from the most insidious deathly aura in the world combined with the thousand years of tainted blood of its own body. It specifically corrupts primordial spirits and magical treasures. No matter how powerful your immortal magical treasure is, as long as it comes into contact with even a little bit, not only will it lose all its spiritual energy, but even its body may be destroyed. If a cultivator comes into contact with it, the deathly aura will invade the primordial spirit, corrupt the body, and obediently turn into a lump of tainted blood. Fortunately, Zhou Qing's primordial spirit, the Golden Silkworm, was incredibly powerful, and coupled with the bloodline of the ancient demon god Chi You, it had managed to hold on until now. Initially, Zhou Qing could mobilize the Samadhi Fire within his primordial spirit to fight against the deathly aura, but the Blood Demon Curse could automatically absorb the deathly energy floating in the air to strengthen itself. In the end, Zhou Qing had no choice but to relinquish control of the Golden Silkworm and withdraw his primordial spirit from it, lest his divine sense be devoured by the deathly aura.
Seeing the increasingly strong stench of blood emanating from the Golden Silkworm, even with Zhou Qing's resolute will, he was now heartbroken: if he couldn't find a way to expel this curse, his second primordial spirit would be ruined! Then, his power would be inferior to his two disciples; what would he do then? He might as well die. The thought of falling from a Nascent Soul master to a mere Qi Refining cultivator was unbearable for Zhou Qing. It was like a billionaire suddenly becoming a beggar on the street—no one could accept that.
"Damn it! I'll risk it all!" Zhou Qing pulled the Heavenly Blood Transformation Divine Blade, which he had been unable to use, from the wall of the training room. He casually thrust it into the ground, and with a soft thud, the steel-cement floor was as smooth as tofu; the blade was deeply embedded in the ground, leaving only the double-headed wolf hilt sticking out. Zhou Qing then pulled twelve command flags from the wall. This command flag was exactly the same as the twelve flagpoles that had trapped the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon. All were made of fine steel, and the silk banners were embroidered with talismans in gold thread. Zhou Qing shook his head and muttered to himself, "Luckily, I always kept something in reserve. I made twenty-four flagpoles back then, otherwise I don't know what I'd be doing now. These few flagpoles cost me tens of millions. Indeed, even cultivators can't do without money. If it were before, I wouldn't have had so much money. If I hadn't had an array to trap that Blood Demon, I would have been dead."
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Chapter Twenty-Three: Esoteric
Mantras While lamenting the importance of money, Zhou Qing prepared to forcibly use the external array to activate the Heavenly Divine Fiend Array within the blade, aiming to absorb the death energy from the Golden Silkworm.
Changing his hand seals rapidly, Zhou Qing was covered in sweat. When his second primordial spirit was present, manipulating this array was effortless and easy; now it was more than ten times more difficult. Zhou Qing thought to himself: It seems I need to cultivate my physical body more in the future. But cultivating it to the Nascent Soul stage is no easy feat. Without profound techniques and miraculous elixirs, it would take at least two hundred years of arduous work. Zhou Qing shook his head, clearing his mind of distractions, and focused all his true essence on activating the twelve command flags. Like pushing a huge boulder, Zhou Qing's eyes widened, veins bulged all over his body, and his true essence was almost
completely drained. Only then did the twelve command flags slowly begin to rotate around the hilt of the two-headed wolf's sword. Streams of spiritual light shot out from the flags, like spider silk wrapped around the hilt. Zhou Qing ignored them, sitting cross-legged on the ground, focusing all his energy on restoring his true essence. More and more spiritual light appeared, until the hilt was no longer visible. An invisible pressure formed a vortex, gathering countless energies of different natures from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, transforming them into streams of dazzling spiritual light.
*Buzz!* A deep voice emanated from the blade. The two-headed wolf's four eyes blazed with green light, draining the spiritual energy. The twelve command flags, losing their support, crashed to the ground. The Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, however, automatically shot out of the ground, hovering in the air. Streaks of blood-red light enveloped the entire training room. The deathly aura on the golden silkworm stirred upon encountering the blood-red light, showing signs of converging towards the blade.
Zhou Qing was overjoyed: "It really works! Although this formation is suppressing the energy of the Seven Treasures Tree Staff with all its might, I've given it a boost, so it should have some spare power!" A shrill scream came from the golden silkworm! The viscous blood formed by the Blood Demon Killing Curse condensed into a ball, gathering in the golden silkworm's brain, firmly blocking the absorption of the blood-red light. The blood constantly shifted, transforming into bizarre shapes like demons, skulls, and scythes, leaving Zhou Qing speechless: "It's truly powerful! If my true form were to be afflicted by this curse, then... then..." Zhou Qing dared not think any further.
Finally, the Blood Demon Killing Curse was slightly inferior; after all, the title of the number one killing formation of the demonic path was well-deserved. The Heavenly Profound Blood Demon was powerful, but it couldn't compare to the great demonic master who created the Blood Transformation Divine Blade back then. The Blood Demon Killing Curse transformed into a fist-sized blood clot, flew into the blade, and was consumed by the Blood Transformation Divine Blade as a tonic. Zhou Qing was overjoyed and hurriedly went to check if his Golden Silkworm was damaged, completely unaware of the strange situation of the Blood Transformation Divine Blade floating in the air.
At this moment, the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade's crimson light receded, revealing a dark, ancient blade. Runes, previously hidden by the crimson light, began to flash across its surface, as if two forces were locked in combat. Zhou Qing, focused on refining his damaged primordial spirit, would have been astonished if he had noticed. The struggle between the two energies had reached its limit. After thousands of years of fighting, the energy of the Seven Treasures Tree Staff was no longer as vast as before, while the Divine Fiend Array within the blade continuously absorbed newly generated energy from the outside world. However, because that energy was so pure, it could not be eliminated, resulting in a stalemate. The Divine Fiend Array's absorption of the death energy from the Blood Demon Killing Curse had become the final straw!
Gradually, the energy of the Seven Treasures Tree Staff was expelled, and Zhou Qing finally sensed something was wrong. He had just withdrawn his primordial spirit when he discovered this situation, and his soul nearly left his body. This was terrible! If that energy were to erupt, not only would his house be destroyed, but nothing within a ten-mile radius would exist. The power of an ancient treasure was immense; while saying it could destroy the heavens and the earth was an exaggeration, a single strike could certainly destroy an area of a thousand miles. Although it was just a small amount of energy, Zhou Qing still felt the immense explosive power contained within it.
With a flick of his hand, the twelve command flags that had fallen to the ground fluttered up again. Now that Zhou Qing had recovered his strength, he wielded them with ease. However, trapping that ball of energy was not so easy. The golden...
Streams of light flowed from the blade, converging in the air into a ball of golden liquid. An immense pressure emanated from this liquid, and Zhou Qing used the Heavenly Divine Fiend Array to suppress it, preventing its explosion. Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, floating in the air, whether driven by instinct or something else, saw the scourge that had plagued it for millennia. With a long roar, the blade tore through space and mysteriously appeared within Zhou Qing's Divine Fiend Array. This Blood-Transforming Divine Blade was the ancestor of the Divine Fiend Array; Zhou Qing's incomplete array was no match for it.
Seeing the ball of golden liquid within the array, the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade seemed to see its mortal enemy. Its blade light blazed brightly, and it slashed down fiercely. Zhou Qing, despite all his calculations, hadn't anticipated such a scourge. His mind went blank, and he watched helplessly as the golden liquid erupted. *Whoosh!* A Buddhist chant rang out, and an object within the wall, as if subjected to immense pressure, burst forth. Just as the golden energy was about to erupt, the object, like a whale sucking in water, whooshed and spun completely in the air. The Blood-Transforming Divine Blade also crashed to the ground, its remaining intelligence extinguished by the previous attack, reduced to a lifeless weapon once more.
In an instant, he experienced a journey from hell to heaven, feeling as if he had been transported to another world. When Zhou Qing regained consciousness, he looked at the object spinning rapidly in the air—it was none other than his own Dharma Wheel. Ever since seeing the Gouchen Heavenly Book, Zhou Qing had understood that the inscriptions on the Dharma Wheel were not ancient Sanskrit, but rather the script of the ancient demon race. Although he didn't understand why this Buddhist artifact was related to the ancient demon race, Zhou Qing knew that this Dharma Wheel was no ordinary item. He had examined it carefully, but unfortunately, the material it was made of was extremely ordinary—just a bronze artifact. Aside from the calming and soothing sound of its spinning, Zhou Qing couldn't discern anything special.
The Dharma Wheel spun faster and faster, eventually becoming a blurry shadow. Theoretically, such a rapid rotation should have created a strong wind, but strangely, not only did Zhou Qing feel no wind, but the air around the Dharma Wheel showed no signs of movement, giving him the illusion that the Dharma Wheel was spinning in another dimension.
Six powerful sounds, "Om Mani Padme Hum," emanated from the Dharma Wheel, deafening Zhou Qing and causing the surrounding walls to tremble. Even Liao Xiaojin, who was eating, jumped up in fright, shouting, "What's going on! What's going on? What is that sound?"
*Thud!* The little fox was knocked unconscious, as was Zhou Chen! A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. Liao Xiaojin was bewildered by these successive events. "Sister! What happened? How did you suddenly get injured?" Liao Xiaojin asked Zhou Chen.
"This is the supreme mantra for subduing demons from the Vajrayana school of Buddhism. We demons are most vulnerable to it. Fortunately, it wasn't specifically targeted at us, so its power is limited. My sister was only knocked unconscious; she's not seriously injured. Judging from the sound, it seems to be coming from where Master is in seclusion," Zhou Chen said weakly.
“Logically, I’m a vampire too, a monster, so why doesn’t this affect me at all? Could it be that this mantra only works on Chinese monsters and doesn’t work abroad? Also, I’ve never seen Master practice Buddhist magic! Could this guy be hiding something deep?” Liao Xiaojin’s mind was filled with doubts.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qing was attracted by something strange.
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Twenty-Four: Mysterious and Baffling
The spinning Dharma wheel suddenly disappeared, and an incomparably profound thought rushed into Zhou Qing’s mind. A strange picture appeared in the air.
As if looking down from a great height, the azure sea, with nine tiny black dots in the middle of the boundless ocean, formed a strange pattern that Zhou Qing had never seen before. As his gaze gradually descended from the sky, Zhou Qing realized that the nine black dots were nine huge islands rising in the sea. Flocks of red, blue, yellow, and multicolored seabirds flew to and fro above the island. Occasionally, a sea breeze would blow, whipping up waves that crashed against the millennia-old, steel-like rocks, creating a deafening roar. The crystal-blue waters, the massive island, the rolling waves, and the colorful seabirds formed a perfect picture. Zhou Qing felt as if he had merged into the world depicted in the painting, a feeling of joy rising from the depths of his heart.
Suddenly, the scene changed. Giant fish swam around, enormous lobsters crawled about, transparent jellyfish expanded and contracted, strange seaweed swayed, and patches of colorful coral forest appeared before Zhou Qing's eyes. Zhou Qing knew the scene had shifted to the seabed, where, amidst tens of thousands of acres of coral forest, stood a colossal palace, its entire body radiating a soft, milky white light. The interior was indistinct, making it impossible to see what lay within. "The Crystal Palace!" Zhou Qing's first thought was that it was the legendary abode of the Four Sea Dragon Gods.
The image suddenly vanished without a trace, and the Dharma wheel reappeared from the void, slowly landing on the ground and returning to its original colors, unremarkable in any way. Zhou Qing awoke from the image, utterly bewildered. This series of events had indeed exceeded Zhou Qing's wildest imagination.
He carefully pondered the profound intent the Dharma wheel had transmitted to him and discovered it was actually a cultivation technique. Zhou Qing was overjoyed. His own cultivation had been stagnant due to the lack of advanced techniques and elixirs; only after seizing a set of sword cultivation techniques from Mount Shu had his progress slightly accelerated, reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refining.
While Zhou Qing's understanding of formations wasn't that of a grandmaster, he had achieved considerable success; his weapon-refining manual was practically a living encyclopedia of formations.
However, when it came to his own cultivation, without any techniques to refer to, and with the second-rate, ordinary techniques passed down by the old Taoist Ling Yun, Zhou Qing was truly a novice. However, this cultivation method, which originated from Falun, is something even a novice could figure out with their hands; it's certainly not ordinary.
Although Zhou Qing was a novice in cultivation, he still knew a little about it.
Buddhism focuses on self-cultivation, dividing into three channels and seven chakras, while Taoism focuses on refining the primordial spirit. Each has its strengths; some specialize in the primordial spirit, some in the physical body, and some in both. Their emphasis differs, and the resulting cultivation methods are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.
Generally speaking, however, they all refer to the eight extraordinary meridians and twelve regular meridians of the human body. They draw upon various spiritual energies and free-floating energy from heaven and earth to train the physical body and replenish the primordial spirit.
Some use tools, like sword cultivators, while others rely entirely on the physical body for absorption, like meditation and qi cultivation.
The absorbed energy also varies greatly. The demonic path mainly absorbs deathly energy and pure yin energy from the earth, while Taoism absorbs spiritual energy, also known as immortal energy. There are also sects that cultivate using the five elements' energy, such as the Five Elements Sect, and sects that cultivate using the yang energy of the true fire of the sun, such as the Pure Yang Sect. The energy used by other Buddhist sects, demons, witchcraft, and sorcery also varies.
Of course, cultivation is nothing more than the path of self-transformation and continuous evolution. Buddhism, Taoism, demons, and monsters always share some similarities. In pursuit of overwhelming power, many throughout history have combined Buddhist and Taoist practices, demonic practices, or even hybrid practices. However, the danger increases exponentially. Many have suffered from qi deviation, been blown to smithereens, or had their bodies and souls destroyed.
The cultivation method Zhou Qing obtained is truly wondrous, completely abandoning the traditional concepts of the three channels and seven chakras, the eight extraordinary meridians, and the twelve regular meridians. It divides the body into eight extremes and nine orifices, and the free energy it generates is something Zhou Qing has never seen or heard of before. Zhou Qing was puzzled: "What kind of cultivation method is this? How can it be so strange? Could it be an ancient demon race cultivation method? But this is clearly the Dharma Wheel of Buddhism! It's strange enough that there are ancient demon race characters on the Dharma Wheel of Buddhism. Now they've even created the Crystal Palace and this kind of cultivation method. Should I practice it or not?" Zhou Qing hesitated.
"Forget it, I'm a master now, and the power of the Blood Transformation Divine Blade has recovered. I'll use it to refine a magic weapon, a flying sword. At that point, I might not be invincible, but I'll definitely be a peerless master. It's just a pity my own cultivation is a bit lacking, but I can't cultivate such a strange technique. What if I become neither human nor demon?"
Zhou Qing made up his mind to study it first; after all, safety is always the first priority. *Snap!* Zhou Qing put the fallen Blood Transformation Divine Blade into his second body, wrapping it with his divine sense. Now that the Blood Transformation Divine Blade's power had recovered, and more importantly, the trace of consciousness it had generated during its energy struggle with the Seven Treasures Tree Staff over thousands of years had completely disappeared, making it perfect for Zhou Qing to refine into his own magic weapon.
Once a magic weapon develops its own consciousness, it's difficult to control. Such a magic weapon, as magical as it may be, is completely useless in battle. Think about it, an uncontrollable magic weapon is worse than no magic weapon at all! Especially the more powerful the magic weapon, the stronger its consciousness, and the harder it is for its master to control. Therefore, whenever a magical artifact gains even a sliver of sentience, it is erased by its master. A magical artifact with complete sentience has never existed.
As soon as Zhou Qing entered the living room, he saw Liao Xiaojin helping the little fox with its blood circulation. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are you doing? What happened? Has the little fox's injury from that day not healed yet? There's no reason for this! I clearly checked it."
"Master! I said, if there's nothing wrong, why are you learning that monk's magic? The little fox was stunned by your six-syllable mantra, my ears are almost deaf, and even my junior sister is injured and is circulating her energy over there," Liao Xiaojin said irritably.
"When did I learn the six-syllable mantra?" Zhou Qing was completely confused, then suddenly remembered that the Dharma wheel had made that sound earlier. "Oh! So that's how it is. No problem! Master, I've recovered my strength now. This little thing won't stump me."
Zhou Qing raised his hand, and a stream of true essence condensed into spiritual energy, which he poured into the little fox's body. The little fox stirred and slowly woke up. Zhou Qing, however, noticed Zhou Chen, who was practicing his cultivation there.
Looking at Zhou Chen, who was shrouded in white mist, Zhou Qing used his divine sense to examine him and felt that the white mist was a completely different kind of energy from the spiritual energy he absorbed using the Sword Qi Soaring Technique. 'It seems this is the demonic energy absorbed by monsters during cultivation!'
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Chapter Twenty-Five Jade Void Kunlun
"So it seems my second primordial spirit is also a monster, and it should be able to cultivate! I've been letting it evolve on its own these days. Although it's been nourished by Chi You's bloodline, the effect isn't as noticeable after a while. Cultivation is much faster. When will I get a set of cultivation techniques for monsters? It wouldn't be bad to cultivate my primordial spirit myself." Zhou Qing thought to himself.
After a long while, Zhou Chen opened his eyes. The white mist surrounding his body had been completely absorbed. Since absorbing the inner core of the Eight Extremes Wolf King, Zhou Chen's cultivation had progressed rapidly, making Zhou Qing nod in approval.
"Master, you're finally out! Is everything alright?" Zhou Chen asked hurriedly as soon as he opened his eyes and saw Zhou Qing in front of him. Of course, this was in response to the sudden use of the Tantric mantra earlier.
"Um... this... this. I was crafting a Buddhist magic weapon, and I encountered a small problem, but it's resolved now, no problem!" Zhou Qing himself found it unbelievable and was confused, so he didn't want to dwell on the topic. "By the way, Chenchen! I noticed you don't have a magic weapon flying sword yet, so I specially crafted one for you!" With a flick of his hand, a flying sword appeared, one foot and a half long and two fingers wide, radiating a cold light, with extremely sharp Geng metal energy faintly swirling around it. Zhou Chen was stunned, knowing that this flying sword was no ordinary item. "Master! And this is your own sword!" It turned out that during the struggle with the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon, Zhou Chen had already clearly seen what the flying sword looked like.
Seeing her lie exposed, Zhou Qing blushed slightly, a rare occurrence for her. "This... Master doesn't need it anymore, so I'm giving it to you. This flying sword is made entirely of Taiyi refined gold, the sharpest of all. I've also added golden spirit talismans to it. Although it doesn't have as many functions as other flying swords, its sharpness alone is unparalleled. Especially since its body is pure, it will greatly benefit your cultivation." She took out a book from her bosom and handed it to Zhou Chen along with the flying sword. "This is the Shu Mountain Sword Qi Soaring Technique. I don't know if your demon race can cultivate it, but since Xiao Jin can, you should be able to too."
"Tsk! Tsk! Sister! Your master is really good to you!" The little fox woke up, walked up to Zhou Qing, looked up, and carefully examined Zhou Qing. "How come you're so young? You don't look like Master at all!"
"Then what do I look like, little fox?" Zhou Qing found the little fox very cute and couldn't help but tease her.
"Ugh, don't call me little fox. Sister has given me a name. My name is Zhou Can." Saying this, the little fox stretched out her hand. Zhou Qing was taken aback: "What's this for?" "A greeting gift! You already gave it to my sister, so I want one too."
"Can Can! Don't be silly. Your skill is still too shallow. Master's magic weapon is incredibly powerful; you can't use it at all. When your skill is higher, Master will naturally give it to you." Seeing Zhou Qing's face darken, Zhou Chen quickly stepped forward and slapped the little fox's hand away.
Unexpectedly, Liao Xiaojin chimed in, "Can Can! It's alright. Master is incredibly generous; he'll definitely give it to you."
Zhou Qing suddenly felt an itch in his teeth: I only have a few decent items; are you trying to empty my pockets?! However, pressured by Liao Xiaojin's words, Zhou Qing felt he couldn't lose face in front of a little girl. Gritting his teeth, Zhou Qing suddenly pulled out a three-inch square iron seal from his robes.
Liao Xiaojin's eyes practically popped out of their sockets. "Master, are you really going to give this to her?" Liao Xiaojin had long coveted Zhou Qing's Heaven-Turning Seal. Not for any other reason than its sheer power—the feeling of smashing someone with a block of iron several feet in diameter—just thinking about it made Liao Xiaojin feel exhilarated.
"If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have provoked Master into taking out this magic weapon. Damn it, if it were in Master's hands, I might have been able to get it. Now that it's in the little fox's hands, how can I possibly ask for it back?" Liao Xiaojin was filled with regret; he was probably green with envy.
"This seal is called Heaven-Turning. I made it in imitation of the ancient treasure, the Heaven-Turning Seal. It's quite good for both defense and offense!" Zhou Qing waved his hand, and the three-inch seal expanded to over ten feet in size, its entire body shrouded in azure light, with runes appearing and disappearing, making the little fox's eyes sparkle.
Zhou Chen quickly thanked Zhou Qing on behalf of the little fox: "Master, when it comes to weapon crafting, our clan has a few experts, but we lack good materials. These days, even the slightly better natural treasures are monopolized by those sects. We weaker demons have no way to obtain them; otherwise, we wouldn't have been wiped out by the Blood Demon." Zhou Chen said bitterly.
"Hmm! But that Blood Demon is no simple being! A demon cultivated from the deadly energy of the earth absorbed by a thousand years of tainted blood, its techniques are incredibly vicious. Even I'm not confident I can deal with it. Your revenge will be very difficult!" Hearing Zhou Qing's words, Zhou Chen's expression also turned grave. Even the little fox fell silent.
In the Western Regions, a mountain range stretched for thousands of miles. If viewed from a great height, it resembled a giant dragon, its head facing the Central Plains. Streams of five-colored clouds spewed from the dragon's mouth, falling into the Central Plains and then disappearing.
Mount Kunlun, the very Mount Kunlun hailed as the first sacred mountain of antiquity, is where the ancient sage, the Primordial Celestial Venerable, established his Daoist temple, founded the Chan Sect, and led the immortals. Countless myths and legends have been passed down here. On the forehead of that giant dragon, a massive Daoist temple appears and disappears, as if in a painting, indistinct and unreal. Several other Daoist temples of varying sizes also stand atop the surrounding verdant peaks. What is even more peculiar is that while the Kunlun Mountains are extremely high, and thus their snow never melts, covering countless towering peaks, these few peaks are vibrant with spring, showing no trace of snow.
If you were to enter the valley surrounded by those verdant peaks and look up, you would see that beneath the enormous Taoist temple, white clouds rippled, making it appear to float in the air. A staircase, seemingly made of white clouds, stretched for an unknown length, leading far into the vast temple, at least several hundred feet above the ground. The temple itself was strangely shaped, entirely constructed of large blocks of white jade, unlike ordinary Taoist temples, and possessed a palace-like quality.
The valley surrounded by those verdant peaks was quite wide, and a rich, fragrant medicinal aroma emanated from several medicinal fields, each at least several hundred acres in size, entirely composed of rare herbs. Seven-colored light shimmered within the fields, clearly indicating that some rare and precious medicinal material was about to ripen. Countless palm-sized, multicolored butterflies fluttered around the seven-colored light, yet no one seemed to be tending to them. The fields were planted with enormous ginseng, poria cocos, purple lingzhi mushrooms, and fiery red cinnabar fruits—all rare and exotic medicinal herbs. The thick, almost tangible spiritual energy surrounding the medicinal field churned and surged, continuously pouring into the field to nourish the rare herbs and promote their growth.
Above the field, countless white cranes flew to and fro above the Taoist temple, their resounding cries echoing through the air. Above the main gate of the white jade temple, floating hundreds of feet in the air, stood a massive white jade plaque, at least tens of feet high, inscribed with three ancient, large golden characters. Experts familiar with ancient scripts would recognize these characters as "Jade Void Palace" in modern script.
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Chapter Twenty-Six: Taoist Master
Inside a secret chamber of a side hall within the Jade Void Palace, on the spotless white jade floor, lay a fiery red futon carved from red jade. A beautiful young woman, with bright eyes and white teeth, and exquisite features, dressed in Taoist attire, sat upright on the futon, her hands clasped in front of her chest—a standard posture for practicing Qi cultivation.
If Zhou Qing were here, he would definitely recognize that this girl was none other than Ling Ruoshui, the very same Ling Ruoshui he had rescued from Mitsui Taro and then tricked him in Las Vegas.
At this moment, smoke swirled above Ling Ruoshui's head, the smoke faintly five-colored, shaped like lotus flowers, sometimes gathering, sometimes dispersing. Every half hour, the five-colored smoke thickened, its colors becoming clearer and brighter. The surrounding spiritual energy was gradually absorbed into Ling Ruoshui's body, transforming into the five-colored smoke that floated above her head. After an unknown amount of time, the five-colored smoke finally solidified, ceasing to drift, and steadily forming three fist-sized, radiant five-colored lotus flowers. Taking a deep breath, the three lotus flowers slowly disappeared into Ling Ruoshui's crown chakra.
Ling Ruoshui's entire body shimmered with a subtle, clear light, her eyes shining even brighter, her gaze almost tangible, clearly indicating a significant improvement in her power. *Chih!* With a delicate shout, Ling Ruoshui soared into the air, waving her hands. Five beams of celestial energy, each over ten feet long and as thick as a teacup, shot towards the white jade floor.
"Again, you're being reckless!" A cyan figure flashed, and an old Taoist priest appeared out of nowhere in the secret chamber. He wore a blue Taoist robe, had a youthful face, and skin as smooth as an infant's. The old Taoist rubbed his hands together, and a gentle breeze silently blew across the five incoming beams of light. Without a sound, the seemingly solid beams of light dispersed into specks of cyan powder, scattering onto the white jade floor before disappearing completely.
"This Jade Void Palace is the supreme immortal abode established by my Kunlun Ancestor, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable. To commemorate the Ancestor's supreme divine powers, the use of magic is forbidden within this Jade Void Palace. Have you forgotten?" the old Taoist shouted at Ling Ruoshui.
"Master! Why are you shouting so loudly? You startled me, and I forgot all about it!" Ling Ruoshui muttered to the old Taoist priest as she landed. This old Taoist priest was the current head of Kunlun Sect, with the Taoist name Gan Jizi. His cultivation was truly unfathomable. He was known as one of the Five Great Masters of the World, along with Elder Lingxu of Shushan, Daoist Kaiyang of Maoshan, Daoist Master Daoyi of Longhushan, and the Panchen Lama of Tibet. It was said that Gan Jizi's cultivation was firmly ranked first, and he was only one step away from breaking through to the immortal realm of the Spirit Returning to Emptiness, where the physical body was immortal.
However, even with his profound cultivation, Gan Jizi was helpless against his disciple. Shaking his head, Gan Jizi's usually calm eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light as he carefully examined Ling Ruoshui. Then, he said with delight, "Good! Your aptitude is indeed excellent. You've comprehended the first volume of the Shangqing Zifu Immortal Technique so quickly. Although the spiritual energy in this Jade Void Palace is a hundred times denser than outside, it's still remarkable." Gan Jizi kept stroking his half-foot-long beard, nodding in admiration.
"Master, I don't have a flying sword yet. I want one, like my brother's. I see how cool it is for my brother to fly on his sword!" Seeing the old Taoist Gan Jizi nodding, Ling Ruoshui seized the opportunity to extort him.
“Sword cultivation is a heretical path. Although progress is rapid, its destructive power is also great. If you're not careful, you can hurt yourself or others. Moreover, the foundation is very unstable. If you cultivate to a high level, the chance of going into qi deviation is quite high. Back then, I passed on the Flowing Wave Sword and the way of sword cultivation to your brother so he could achieve quick results. You shouldn't learn it. Cultivators value a peaceful state of mind. Why learn such a murderous method?” Gan Jizi lectured, but judging from Ling Ruoshui's expression, it seemed like the words went in one ear and out the other.
“I don't care, I want to fly on my sword!” Seeing that her extortion had failed, Ling Ruoshui then clung to Gan Jizi and whine.
"Flying on a sword? Even if you had a flying sword, it wouldn't work! Your current skill level is only at the mid-to-late stage of Qi Refining, you're still a little short. Besides, the Shangqing Zifu Immortal Technique I'm passing on to you is a secret of Kunlun, not even passed on to your brother. It's many times more advanced than the sword cultivation method, and the spells are incredibly exquisite. It includes the Shrinking Earth Technique from 'Phoenix Soars a Thousand Miles, Hu Gong Shrinks the Earth.' Once you reach a high level, you can travel a thousand miles in an instant, far surpassing the flying sword method." Gan Jizi was already immune to Ling Ruoshui's coquettishness and remained unmoved.
"Master! I don't need the flying sword, but you have to give me a powerful magic weapon for self-defense. It wasn't because I was ambushed by that little Japanese devil that I didn't have any treasures to protect myself." Ling Ruoshui's eyes darted around, and seeing that coquettishness wouldn't work, she came up with another plan.
"That's true, but how did you escape? Those Japanese devils' magic might be mediocre, but they still had some powerful figures. You said someone saved you, but who was it? Why don't you say more clearly? See which sect or school they belonged to; they must be someone extraordinary! Go thank them tomorrow." Gan Jizi was puzzled when he heard Ling Ruoshui say this.
Ling Ruoshui had been itching to get back at Zhou Qing ever since the incident was mentioned, and now that Gan Jizi wanted her to thank the person, she was practically bursting with anger. However, she couldn't show it in front of Gan Jizi, so she said resentfully, "Well, I'll go and properly 'thank' that person after I get down the mountain!"
"By the way, Master, do you know if our cultivation sect has a Heavenly Dao Sect?" Ling Ruoshui suddenly remembered that she had gone up the mountain to ask her master to teach her immortal techniques so that she could greatly increase her power and then cause trouble for Zhou Qing. But now she realized that she didn't even know who Zhou Qing was. She vaguely remembered that Zhou Qing had mentioned that he was the sect leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect, but she didn't know what kind of sect the Heavenly Dao Sect was or where its mountain gate was, so she asked Gan Jizi.
Little did she know that the Heavenly Dao Sect was something Zhou Qing had made up himself and hadn't even spread in the cultivation world yet. Although Gan Jizi was very knowledgeable and knew a lot about Taoist immortal techniques, Buddhist and Taoist secret methods, demonic and evil divine skills, and even Western magic, he was still puzzled by this Heavenly Dao Sect.
"I've never heard of such a sect! There are only the Five Elements Sect, the Pure Yang Sect, the Yin Talisman Sect, and the Qimen Dunjia Sect! How could a Heavenly Dao Sect appear in the cultivation world?" The old Taoist muttered to himself, completely lacking the demeanor of a grandmaster.
Seeing the old Taoist muttering to himself, Ling Ruoshui suddenly remembered some clues and asked, "Master! Are there any sects that are particularly skilled in formations, like the Five Elements Maze Formation or something?"
The old Taoist priest was taken aback: "Sects specializing in formations rely on the immense power of heaven and earth, placing little emphasis on one's own cultivation. Therefore, sects specializing in formations have long since declined. Now, the only sect truly skilled in formations is the Qimen Dunjia Sect. Perhaps they saved you, but judging from your tone, you seem like a young person. Although the Qimen Dunjia Sect is shrouded in mystery in the cultivation world, I, your master, have dealings with several elders and sect leaders there. They are all old men, not young ones! This Five Elements Mystery Formation isn't anything special; many in the cultivation world know it. It must be a young expert from some Daoist sect."
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Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Whip of God
Ling Ruoshui was disheartened to see that even her master didn't know Zhou Qing's background. However, she quickly thought: "My brother is the leader of the Dragon Group. Let him investigate. I refuse to believe that the Dragon Group can't find someone even with their intervention! Humph!" Having made up her mind, Ling Ruoshui then considered extorting treasures from her master.
"Master, what kind of protective magic weapon do you have? Without a protective magic weapon, even the highest level of Taoist magic is useless! Master, you don't want anything to happen to me in the future, do you? It would be bad if it ruined Kunlun's reputation. I heard that Shushan's reputation is growing, and it's starting to overshadow Kunlun. Especially their sect's treasure, the Purple and Green Twin Swords, are top-tier immortal artifacts in the world, and all their disciples have powerful flying sword magic weapons. I'm afraid that in a few years, people will only know Shushan and not Kunlun!"
As the saying goes, it's better to provoke than to invite. Ling Ruoshui's power had greatly increased, and she had also learned the secret techniques of the Immortal Abode. However, thinking of Zhou Qing's appearance, she felt that going looking for trouble was not safe. Only by getting a powerful magic weapon could she be sure of success. But this old Taoist Ganji was very obedient to her in other matters, so why did he hesitate when it came to magic weapons? Could it be that the leader of Kunlun, the world-renowned grandmaster, was a miser? Seeing the old Taoist Ganji pondering silently... Ling Ruoshui had absolutely no intention of respecting her teacher; her mind was filled with strange, chaotic thoughts.
"What you say makes sense. It's not that your master doesn't want to give you a magic weapon, it's just that the magic weapons of Kunlun are too powerful, and one needs a high level of cultivation to wield them freely. Given your cultivation level, your master is considering giving you a suitable magic weapon." This old Taoist priest, Ganji, possessed profound cultivation and had traveled extensively in his youth, traversing the Central Plains, overseas countries, the North and South Poles—virtually the entire Earth. Having seen countless people, he was well aware of Ling Ruoshui's thoughts. However, he genuinely liked this girl and usually doted on her, so he wouldn't blame her. Thus, he explained in a deep voice.
Upon hearing Ganji Laodao's explanation, Ling Ruoshui was overjoyed. She grabbed his hand and shook it, saying sweetly, "Alright! Master, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you. Master is so kind! I heard that Kunlun has a powerful magic weapon called the 'God-Slaying Whip.' I want it! I'm sure Master won't be stingy!"
Ganji Laodao had initially listened with a smile and nodded, but the moment he heard Ling Ruoshui utter the words "God-Slaying Whip," his expression changed drastically, faster than flipping through a book.
"Ah!" Ganji Laodao screamed, leaping three zhang into the air. Fortunately, the Jade Void Palace was incredibly spacious; even the secret chambers were over ten zhang high. Otherwise, even with his profound cultivation, he would have been badly injured.
The weapon crashed to the ground with tremendous speed. The old Taoist priest, spitting everywhere, pointed at Ling Ruoshui and yelled, "You... how do you know about the 'God-Slaying Whip'? Who told you? You didn't tell anyone, did you?"
Seeing the old Taoist priest's despicable behavior, Ling Ruoshui was shocked and quickly asked, "Master, what's wrong? It's just a magic weapon, why are you like this? My uncle told me. That time I brought him several jars of century-old Moutai, and he got quite drunk and told me. It's nothing strange, why would I tell anyone?" Seeing her usually dignified master now acting like a shrew, Ling Ruoshui was utterly bewildered.
At this moment, beneath the Jade Void Palace floating among the white clouds, in a cave nestled in a towering mountain peak, a Taoist priest with snow-white hair and beard and a large, red, bulbous nose suddenly opened his eyes. He gave a bitter smile: "This is terrible. That little girl has sold me out again. I don't know what my senior brother will do to me now. I must go into seclusion immediately, I must go into seclusion immediately." With a spell, thirty-six apricot-yellow command flags appeared out of thin air, flashing with a mysterious light, and the dense, clear light completely covered the cave entrance. Patting his chest, the red-nosed Taoist sighed, "Who told me to let slip that I was greedy for that girl's two sips of wine? I can't blame anyone else! But I won't go out now; I'll wait until my senior brother calms down. I'm sure he can't break my 'Thirty-Six Great Evolution Divine Array'! Senior brother's cultivation is profound, but his mastery of arrays isn't as good as mine. That's my trump card!" After muttering to himself, the red-nosed Taoist pulled out a jar of Moutai. He opened the lid and took a large gulp. A blush crept across his face.
Hearing that Ling Ruoshui hadn't revealed it, the old Taoist Ganji breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately began to curse again: "It was that old Taoist Gan Yuan who said it, wasn't it? See how I deal with him!" Cursing a bald monk in front of a monk, Ling Ruoshui laughed: "Master! How can you curse your uncle like that? What exactly is that 'God-Slaying Whip'? How can you be so out of control? If others see the dignified Kunlun Sect Leader, the number one expert in the world, behaving like this, wouldn't we Kunlun lose all face?" Ling Ruoshui was utterly disrespectful, speaking without any restraint.
The old Taoist priest, Ganji, remained unperturbed and said in a deep voice, "This 'God-Slaying Whip' is our Kunlun's most treasured weapon, possessing boundless power. Even immortals would find it difficult to escape its strike. It was left behind by Jiang Ziya during the Investiture of the Gods, and it is said to contain a great secret of the world. Everyone believes that after the Investiture of the Gods, the 'God-Slaying Whip' went to the Heavenly Realm with Jiang Ziya, but they never imagined it would remain in Kunlun. If people find out, I'm afraid..."
Hearing this, Ling Ruoshui exclaimed in surprise, "Master, does that mean there really are immortals in this world?" The old Taoist
priest shook his head and said, "Master doesn't know either. Legend has it that those who cultivate to the level of 'Refining Emptiness and Uniting with the Dao' will attain enlightenment and ascend to the Heavenly Realm, but for hundreds of years..." "No one has ever broken through to the realm of Refining Spirit and Returning to Emptiness, let alone Refining Emptiness and Merging with the Dao. Therefore, the talk of immortals is ethereal and elusive, and even Master can't explain it well. However, the very existence of Kunlun and Yuxu Palace is a miracle."
Ling Ruoshui was not stupid; in fact, she was quite clever. So she asked the old Daoist Ganji, "Master! Since Kunlun has such powerful magical treasures, why can't we tell others? Shushan became famous just because it had the Purple and Green Twin Swords, and the Celestial Masters Sect also has the Dragon and Tiger Seal! Maoshan also has the Jade Talisman and Purple Record. Only Kunlun, apart from its exquisite cultivation techniques, hasn't been heard of having any treasures to protect the mountain. This has made many sects somewhat disapproving of Kunlun as the leader of the Daoist sects."
“Girl, the bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow! The God-Slaying Whip is not like those other magic weapons. Anyone who has lived long enough will know about it. Who wouldn't try to snatch it? Especially during the Investiture of the Gods, I checked our Kunlun records; it was basically a battle between humans and demons. This God-Slaying Whip probably contains some secret. What if all sorts of demons and monsters come to our Kunlun Mountains? What will we do then?” Old Daoist Ganji said worriedly.
“Monsters! What's there to be afraid of in monsters! It seems the most powerful one right now is the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon of the Monster Alliance. It's only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Although it's a powerful expert, even a thousand of it wouldn't be enough to threaten Kunlun,” Ling Ruoshui said curiously.
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Chapter Twenty-Eight: Past Events Like Smoke
"The Demon Alliance, humph! That's just a bunch of small demons making a show of force. I've seen the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon before; it's nothing more than a demon cultivated from the deathly aura of the earth, formed from a thousand years of tainted blood. Our Kunlun Immortal Arts are specifically designed to counter this kind of yin and filthy aura. But the one behind it is not to be trifled with! How could a demon with truly great supernatural powers be detected by humans? Only those insignificant little demons are so ignorant. Some demons, I'm afraid, are even beyond my reach!" As if lost in deep reminiscence, the old Daoist Ganji narrowed his eyes, his gaze as hazy as smoke.
Ling Ruoshui was shocked. She had already been surprised enough today, and now she had been severely provoked by the old Daoist Ganji. How could this be? This old Daoist Ganji, whose skills were unparalleled and who was recognized as the number one expert in the world, actually admitted that he was no match for a demon! How could there be such a powerful demon in the world! How could there be such a fierce demon! Ling Ruoshui also knew that her master was not a liar. It seemed that the matter was true. However, Ling Ruoshui couldn't understand why such powerful demons weren't showing themselves. Wouldn't the world be in chaos if they did?
Seeing Ling Ruoshui's blank expression, the old Taoist Ganji, snapping out of his reverie, smiled nonchalantly, making Ling Ruoshui stunned: Master must have been a handsome man when he was young!
As if preoccupied with something, the old Taoist Ganji stopped mentioning demons. With a swift movement, a brocade pouch appeared in his hand, which he handed to Ling Ruoshui, saying, "These are some magical artifacts that Master used when he was young. Now that Master no longer needs them, I'll give them all to you. The methods for controlling these artifacts are also inside the pouch. Study them yourself. This Gankun Pouch is also a rare treasure; it can hold any amount of things. When you need to retrieve something, you can use your divine sense. Go down the mountain now, and remember to diligently cultivate the Shangqing Zifu Immortal Technique!" The old Taoist Ganji, seemingly indifferent, sat down on the red jade futon.
Ling Ruoshui looked at the Gankun Pouch embroidered with flowers and muttered to herself: This is clearly something for women! How could her master have
such divine sense that he could penetrate deep into the Qiankun Brocade Pouch? Good heavens! Inside were dozens of dazzling magical treasures: swords, mirrors, whisks, jade tablets, command flags, and so on. With a thought, a foot-long flying sword, warm to the touch and seemingly made of transparent crystal, was grasped by Ling Ruoshui.
*Whoosh!* A dense surge of spiritual energy rushed towards her, forming a vortex. The incredibly rich spiritual energy of the Jade Void Palace swept in, continuously pouring into the flying sword. The sword hummed, and countless rays of light and auspicious energy emanated from it. The sword trembled violently, as if it were about to break through the air and fly away. Startled, Ling Ruoshui quickly put the flying sword back into the Qiankun Brocade Pouch.
Judging from this, each of these magical treasures was no ordinary item! These are all rare items that would be fought over in the cultivation world. My master just gave them to me like that. Why is my master acting so strangely today? Did he refine some kind of pill and take the wrong medicine? Ling Ruoshui felt that today's events were too strange. Just as she was about to speak, she saw the old Daoist Ganji sitting upright on the red jade futon, seemingly lost in thought.
Despite all the commotion she had caused, he hadn't moved an inch. Completely baffled, Ling Ruoshui flashed out of the secret chamber and descended the steps formed by white clouds. Suddenly, she heard the old Daoist Ganji's desolate singing behind her: "The wind howls, the forest rustles, my heart is bitter, I cannot summon you, a hundred years pass like flowing water, wealth and honor turn to cold ashes, the Great Dao fades away, bitterness for a hero, a brave man strokes his sword, a vast sorrow fills the air, rustling leaves fall, dew and rain fall on the moss." The voice was so desolate, it had a feeling of "The wind howls, the Yi River is cold," and Ling Ruoshui felt a familiar yet indescribable feeling.
As she pondered this, a young man approached. He had an extremely honest and simple appearance, yet every movement he made was perfectly natural, subtly in accordance with the laws of nature, giving off an air of profound mystery. When Ling Ruoshui saw the young man ascend the steps formed of white clouds, her eyes lit up, and she sweetly called out, "Senior Brother!"
The honest-looking young man also saw Ling Ruoshui, and a blush suddenly flashed across his face. He stammered, "Oh! Heh...heh! It's...it's Junior Sister Ruoshui! How...you've finished your seclusion? You've finished so quickly! Heh...heh..." He even touched his head as he spoke.
Ling Ruoshui knew that this honest-looking young man was an orphan her master had adopted since childhood. Her master named him Yi Yunzi, and he was the only one among the third generation of disciples of Kunlun to reach the Nascent Soul stage, possessing an extremely profound cultivation. Especially since this senior brother was extremely kind to her, she had always enjoyed teasing him since childhood, but he had never gotten angry. Several times, when she caused trouble due to her mischief, it was this senior brother, Yiyunzi, who cleaned up the mess for her. Therefore, Ling Ruoshui also liked this honest and simple senior brother very much.
Seeing Yiyunzi like this, Ling Ruoshui smiled and said, "Senior brother, aren't you usually cultivating on Jade Pearl Peak? Why are you at Jade Void Palace today? Is there something you need to ask Master?"
"Hehe! I have some cultivation matters to ask Master!" Yiyunzi chuckled.
"Senior brother! Thank you so much for your help in Japan last time. If you hadn't arrived in time, I would have been captured by the Japanese devils." Ling Ruoshui thanked Yiyunzi.
"This... no need!" Yiyunzi panicked, his face, which had returned to normal, began to turn red again. He quickly said, "Hehe! We are all fellow disciples, it's nothing! I'm going to find Master." In a flash, Yiyunzi ran quickly towards Jade Void Palace.
"Is this senior brother only focused on cultivation and lacked social skills, which is why he's become so incompetent? Next time, I must bring him to my home so he can see for himself, lest he stutters when he speaks to someone," Ling Ruoshui thought. Descending the steps, her figure flashed and she vanished without a trace. The next second, she appeared atop a massive mountain covered in millennia-old black ice. Seeing the Kunlun Sect's mountain gate shrouded in a white mist, Ling Ruoshui exclaimed joyfully, "The immortal techniques of the Shangqing Purple Mansion Immortal Manual are truly wondrous! This 'Phoenix Soars a Thousand Miles, Hu Gong Shrinks the Earth' technique can now rival the speed of a flying sword, and it's even more useful than flying on a sword! Hmph! Heavenly Dao Sect! Zhou Qing! You just wait!"
Ah Qi! Zhou Qing sneezed for no apparent reason at home and muttered, "My skills have improved so much lately, why am I sneezing? Strange! Could something be about to happen?"
Liao Xiaojin laughed, "Master! You're too sensitive! You're making a fuss over a sneeze! I cut my clothes while practicing flying sword today, wouldn't that mean I'm in for some bloodshed?"
Zhou Qing rolled his eyes at Liao Xiaojin and asked, "How's your junior sister's progress lately? I've been in seclusion for almost a month, I don't know about your situation."
"Her? After you taught her the Sword Qi Soaring Technique, she's been practicing like crazy, she doesn't even cook anymore, and that little fox is too. Master! This isn't a solution. At this rate, I think she'll go mad and die before she can even get revenge," Liao Xiaojin said worriedly.
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Chapter Twenty-Nine: Another Turbulence
"Hmm! This is indeed a troublesome matter. In the path of cultivation, although one strives for excellence, it's still best to maintain a balance between exertion and relaxation! I'll go check on these two sisters later; they're far too eager for revenge!" Zhou Qing thought to himself: He could now wield the Blood Transformation Divine Blade. The Heavenly Profound Blood Demon, as powerful as it was, couldn't withstand the power of a single strike from the divine blade.
Zhou Qing's strength had surged, but he wasn't arrogant, nor did he harbor any illusions that he was the strongest in the world. Just the fact that the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon had created a monster alliance, and the Chinese Daoist sects were ignoring it, told Zhou Qing that things weren't so simple. While the Heavenly Profound Blood Demon's strength was considerable, it wasn't at a level that would make the Chinese Daoist sects wary. Could there be some powerful figure behind it all? Zhou Qing began to suspect something.
The four disciples of Mount Shu ambushed Zhou Qing during the Demon Alliance's attack, nearly causing him to capsize in a ditch. Enraged, Zhou Qing initially wanted to storm Mount Shu in a fit of rage, but after a moment's thought, he calmed down. Mount Shu had been established for nearly a thousand years, far less ancient than Kunlun, but since the founding of the sect by the Long-Browed Ancestor, it had forged the Purple and Green Swords, nurtured countless talented individuals, and produced numerous masters. Slaying the Ten-Thousand-Year Blood Demon and destroying the Green-Robed Ancestor were all earth-shattering feats. Furthermore, it had rallied all Daoist sects across the land to engage in three Emei Sword Battles, its prominence even surpassing Kunlun for a time. This millennium of accumulated power made Zhou Qing hesitant to act rashly.
Especially now, with the Daoist sects and the nation intricately linked, and those four disciples claiming to be members of the Dragon Group, the national security department, Zhou Qing knew that even with extraordinary abilities, he couldn't single-handedly confront the entire nation, or even the entire Chinese Daoist community. He could only silently swallow his anger. However, Zhou Qing was a man who refused to suffer losses. While rational, the idea of being afraid of anyone was foreign to him. Even the unseen forces of fate held him in contempt, let alone fear.
He had no liking for disciples of prestigious sects, even harboring disgust. He viewed the Dragon Group as nothing more than a corrupt organization. On the contrary, he always held a slight fondness for demons. Strictly speaking, neither of his two disciples, nor the little fox, were human.
"Xiao Jin, how much money do we have left?" Zhou Qing asked. Having brought back a huge sum of money from America, Zhou Qing had entrusted it to Liao Xiaojin to manage for his cultivation. Now, on a whim, he suddenly asked.
"We gambled, stole, and robbed in Las Vegas, bringing back a billion, and three hundred million from the Japanese, a total of 1.3 billion. We still have over 1.25 billion left!" Liao Xiaojin was quite adept at calculating.
"More than 50 million has been spent in less than a year!" Zhou Qing exclaimed in shock. The exchange rate between the RMB and the US dollar wasn't as high as before, but 50 million US dollars was still equivalent to more than 100 million RMB. Spending over 100 million in just over nine months was a bit much even for Zhou Qing, who was now quite wealthy. More than 100 million could probably crush a person.
"Master! You haven't even done the math. Those few flags you made alone cost tens of millions. And all the jade we've purchased—the jade mine owner is practically calling you 'father'—and we haven't seen you produce anything." Liao Xiaojin muttered under his breath.
"Bullshit! I haven't produced anything! You've wasted all your cultivation! The spiritual energy inside this villa is many times higher than outside. If I hadn't buried nearly a ton of jade underground, would your cultivation have progressed so quickly? Would you have evolved to a marquis level so fast?" Zhou Qing launched into a tirade.
"I'm going to check on Zhou Chen. You stay put, we'll go out and have some fun later! Cultivating all day long can't take it, we need to find some enjoyment, right?" With that, Zhou Qing tossed a sentence to Liao Xiaojin and disappeared.
A small figure flashed through the spacious training room at incredible speed, creating gusts of wind. *Swoosh!* A gust of wind tore through the steel and concrete wall, leaving five long, half-inch-deep scratches. The figure retracted, and the little fox, its face covered in sweat, stopped in the middle, a single bead of sweat about to fall from its nose. Zhou Chen quickly stepped forward, took out a towel, and lovingly wiped the sweat from the little fox's face.
“My dear sister! You’ve reached the limit of our fox clan’s martial arts and physical skills. It’s time for you to learn magic. Only the two of us are left in the Fox Clan. We must avenge ourselves and kill that Heavenly Profound Blood Demon with our own hands. But our current power is far from enough to deal with that monster.” Zhou Chen sighed, stroking the little fox’s head.
“Sister, I can now use the magic weapon your master gave me with ease. Your power has also greatly improved, and with your master’s high level of magic, we can definitely kill that Blood Demon!” The little fox was puzzled by Zhou Chen’s sigh.
“Master has already helped us enough. How could we trouble him further? Besides, the revenge for our Fox Clan must be taken by ourselves. Remember that, sister!” Zhou Chen hugged the little fox tightly.
Zhou Qing's condensed consciousness formed a second primordial spirit, and its divine sense was so powerful that it could be said to be unparalleled in the world. Its five senses were also very sharp, and it had already heard the conversation between the two sisters. It thought to itself: This disciple is not stupid, and she cultivates quickly. She just likes to stick to her own principles. As long as she can get revenge, she doesn't care about anything else. Who knows when she will get revenge herself! Zhou Qing felt the Geng metal aura that Zhou Chen was unintentionally emitting and knew that her Sword Qi Soaring Technique had reached the minor completion level.
Zhou Qing flashed into the training room. Zhou Chen and the little fox immediately sensed him and instinctively assumed fighting stances. Upon recognizing Zhou Qing, Zhou Chen hurriedly said, "Master, it's you! Weren't you supposed to be in seclusion for three months? Why are you out so soon?"
"I came out of seclusion early. I heard from Xiao Jin that your cultivation is quite frantic. This path of cultivation emphasizes a peaceful state of mind. Whether human or demon, high-level cultivation involves controlling the energy of the universe. If you continue like this, you might suffer a qi deviation. I know you're eager for revenge, but that Heavenly Profound Blood Demon is no simple character; it seems to have some powerful force behind it. Since you are a disciple of my Heavenly Dao Sect, I can't stand idly by. I know you want to take revenge yourself, and I will give you that opportunity." Zhou Qing disliked dragging things out and didn't bother with any more rambling. Without allowing Zhou Chen to say more, he settled the matter. Zhou Qing had decided to help his disciple.
After Zhou Qing left, the little fox's eyes sparkled as she said, "Sister, your master is so decisive and has such a strong personality. Although he's not handsome, he's incredibly powerful. People are starting to like him!" Zhou Chen was taken aback and exclaimed, "How old are you? How do you know all this? Who taught you all this?"
"Hmph! He's over thirty by my age. Don't think I'm clueless, like I'm still living in the mountains! Don't forget, I did go to school for a few years!" the little fox said nonchalantly.
The spring sun, though dazzling, wasn't hot. Its lazy warmth was quite comfortable, and the streets were bustling with people. After a cold winter, seeing the warm sun, no one wanted to stay home. Shopping malls, big and small, were filled with cheerful customers. Adults with children, couples—they went in empty-handed but came out carrying large bags of things.
Liao Xiaojin, watching the little fox walking and eating with a Coke and KFC in his hand, said, "Hey little fox, you love chicken so much, you eat it every day, now you're even eating foreign chicken!"
The little fox rolled its eyes at Liao Xiaojin, "You're so annoying! My name is Zhou Can, not little fox anymore. Please don't call me that next time." Although Zhou Can was annoyed, it didn't dare to make a scene in the street. The four of them were a striking group: Zhou Chen was pure and beautiful, Liao Xiaojin was handsome and dashing, and Zhou Can was innocent and cute. Zhou Qing was rather plain, but that didn't stop people from turning their heads to look
at them. "Master, although we demons have entered the human world, we never appear in bustling places. I haven't seen such a lively scene often," Zhou Chen said happily, looking at the men and women filling the pedestrian street dedicated to shopping.
"We humans can cultivate anywhere. We can cultivate our minds in the bustling world, and we can cultivate our bodies in the deep mountains and forests. Although your skill is progressing quickly, sword cultivation is, after all, a human cultivation method, different from your demon race's methods. So the steps should still follow our human methods. Letting you experience human life will be beneficial to your cultivation." Zhou Qing himself was a novice cultivator, but he still understood the big picture.
"So that's how it is! But human life is indeed many times richer than our demon race's. No wonder many demons are willing to risk being hunted down by human cultivators to live in the city and live with humans." Zhou Chen couldn't help but sigh.
Liao Xiaojin suddenly called out, "Master, how come so many people just disappeared all of a sudden?" Zhou Chen immediately noticed that the street, which had been bustling with people just moments before, was now deserted. Not a single person could be found, leaving the four of them all alone in the middle of the road, which was quite eerie.
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Chapter Thirty: Too Much Bullying
"Hmph! Zhou Tian Teleportation Illusion Technique? You think you can fool me with such a small formation!" Zhou Qing sneered. He had already noticed someone following him, but he hadn't expected the other party to actually start a fight in broad daylight, right on the street. However, this Zhou Tian Teleportation Illusion Technique was meant to use illusion to confuse the enemy, then teleport them into a pre-prepared formation for slaughter. Illusion itself wasn't so bad, but this teleportation method involved spatial manipulation, consuming a great deal of mana, and also requiring top-quality treasures. The more powerful the formation, the harder it was to teleport into, and the mana consumption increased tenfold. Few people would do such a thankless task. It was much more effective to fight directly.
Presumably, the other party knew that fighting in the street was indeed shocking and dared not act recklessly, wanting to teleport the four of them to a secluded place before dealing with them.
Zhou Qing finally understood the predicament of dealing with demons. He had impulsively decided to take the three out for a stroll, forgetting to conceal their auras. This led to the arrival of exorcists and demon-slaying guardians. Liao Xiaojin was alright; he was human, so others couldn't tell. But Zhou Chen and the little fox possessed a strong demonic aura; anyone with a little cultivation would know they weren't human.
Even in this situation, Zhou Qing wasn't afraid. He could easily break the Zhou Tian teleportation illusion, but wanting to see who they were, he grabbed the three, remaining on guard, and allowed the formation to teleport them away.
A flash of light, and the four who were on the street vanished. The street was bustling with people, and the surrounding crowds didn't seem to notice their disappearance.
In an instant, the four appeared in a small grove of trees. Zhou Qing surveyed the surroundings; they were familiar—it was the suburbs not far from the city. Zhou Qing thought to himself, "It seems the person using this formation isn't very skilled. The highest level of Zhou Tian's Teleportation Illusion Technique can instantly teleport someone a thousand miles away, but this is only a few dozen miles. However, I can't rule out the possibility that it was intentional.
" He gave Liao Xiaojin a wink. Liao Xiaojin, of course, knew exactly what was going on. Having followed Zhou Qing for so long, he knew Zhou Qing better than a mind reader. Stepping forward, Liao Xiaojin cupped his hands in greeting to the seemingly empty forest and said loudly, "Who
are you, fellow Daoist, playing such a joke on us?" He struck a pose that even made the little fox laugh. "Hmph! Monster! Who's your fellow Daoist!" A clear but arrogant voice rang out, making Zhou Qing very uncomfortable. A woman and three men emerged from the forest. All three were around twenty years old, and the three men were all strikingly handsome and dashing, not much less so than Liao Xiaojin. They just lacked the slightly sinister, noble air that Liao Xiaojin possessed, a quality often associated with vampires. Plus, Liao Xiaojin was always dressed impeccably in a suit and tie, so in terms of appearance alone, he had the upper hand.
Zhou Qing felt a slight unease at the subtle arrogance emanating from the three men and one woman. The girl held a palm-sized mirror shaped like a Bagua (eight trigrams), radiating spiritual energy—presumably the magical artifact used to activate the Zhou Tian Teleportation Illusion Technique. The three men's hands shimmered with colorful light, emanating subtle fluctuations of magical power.
Their treasures were no ordinary items; should Zhou Qing kill them and steal them? The three men and one woman never dreamed that Zhou Qing would actually consider them as potential victims.
The girl stepped forward and shouted in a sweet voice, "What kind of monsters are you? Have you registered? Wandering around in the crowd in broad daylight, don't you know the prohibitions?"
Hearing the girl's string of words coming out of her mouth, not to mention Liao Xiaojin, even Zhou Qing felt confused. What registration? What prohibitions? These are such novel words that are related to monsters. Zhou Qing looked at Zhou Chen in confusion.
Zhou Chen naturally understood the meaning and quickly explained, "We demons are in a weak position, but we still have considerable influence. The government is afraid we'll cause trouble, so it has been working with Taoist sects to suppress our existence. Although the Taoist sects are powerful, it's impossible for them to exterminate us demons. They're also afraid we might cause trouble if we decide to act rashly. So, decades ago, they created this rule: all demons must register with a government department. After registration, they must stay in one fixed place, and are not allowed to cause trouble to let humans discover their existence, not to harm humans, and not to appear in crowded places during the day. That's roughly the three prohibitions. Taoist cultivators won't cause trouble, and we can live in harmony. But there are some powerful demons who don't listen to these rules at all, and the government and Taoist sects can't do anything about them. The Heavenly Profound Blood Demon is one such example."
"Demon! Miss, I'm not a demon!" Although he spoke very softly, Liao Xiaojin heard Zhou Chen's explanation. He secretly felt very sorry for the situation of Chinese demons; they practically had no personal freedom! Zhou Can's goodwill towards this group of people instantly plummeted to negative levels. However, seeing that Zhou Qing hadn't spoken, she didn't dare to act rashly and could only make a joke.
"Shut up! We weren't talking about you, we were talking about those two foxes. Get out of the way. You seem to have some skill, hanging out with monsters. We'll take you back and question you properly later," a man said arrogantly.
Hearing the word "foxes," Zhou Can's expression changed, and she was about to attack, but Zhou Chen grabbed her. Zhou Chen glanced at Zhou Qing, whose expression remained unchanged, and whispered to Zhou Can, "Sister, don't be reckless. They're from the national security department, used to being arrogant. We shouldn't get into a conflict with them."
"Gentlemen, my sister and I are registered. These are our identification documents." To Liao Xiaojin's astonishment, Zhou Chen pulled out two red booklets and handed them over. Another man took the documents, flipped through them, and casually tossed them on the ground. Liao Xiaojin's face turned cold, and he opened his mouth slightly, about to unleash his flying sword to kill someone. Zhou Chen, seeing his movement, naturally knew what Liao Xiaojin was about to do, and quickly and secretly grabbed Liao Xiaojin tightly, transmitting his voice: "Senior brother, they are government officials, we can't fight them. Don't be impulsive, let's see what Master says."
Liao Xiaojin remembered Zhou Qing's warning to him; government officials were indeed not to be trifled with. Seeing Zhou Qing standing there unmoved, Liao Xiaojin had no choice but to give up.
Seeing Zhou Chen pick up the two documents, the three men laughed strangely, saying, "So you're demons from the Enchanting Fox Clan! You're quite something, but you've violated the prohibition by appearing in crowded places during the day. We're taking you back for investigation."
"And you! You! You're coming with us too!" The girl also spoke up, pointing at Zhou Qing and Liao Xiaojin. "Which sect are you disciples of? Why are you with demons? You need to explain clearly, or we won't be polite."
"When have you ever been polite to us!" Zhou Can said angrily upon hearing the girl's words.
The girl flew into a rage: "What are you? A vixen like you dares to talk back to me!" With a wave of her hand, a burst of golden light shot out from the Bagua Mirror and flew towards Zhou Can. The golden light could absorb the spiritual energy in the air, growing increasingly dazzling, and a sharp, eerie whistling sound filled the air. Zhou Can had no idea that the girl would suddenly
attack. Seeing the golden light shooting towards him, and not having the speed to block it, he was so frightened that he fainted. Bang! Zhou Qing waved his hand, and without using any magic weapon, the golden light was dispersed. Zhou Qing took two steps forward and said, "Let's talk things out. Why hurt people?"
Seeing that Zhou Qing had dispersed the golden light emitted by her Xuan Tian Bagua Mirror so easily, the girl and the three men were all surprised. They all knew very well what kind of treasure the Xuan Tian Bagua Mirror was and how powerful it was. Seeing Zhou Qing's stubbornness, a man stepped forward and said in a stern voice, "We are disciples of Maoshan, members of the National Dragon Group, ordered to monitor the movements of demons. How dare you stop us from carrying out our duties? Do you have a death wish?"
"We'll go with you!" Zhou Chen said, fearing serious trouble.
"Hmph! You'll definitely come with us, but to prevent any unusual actions from you, I'll seal your powers!" one of the men said. The other two men and one woman nodded. Liao Xiaojin and Zhou Chen's faces were grim. Having their powers sealed was like being fish on a chopping board, completely at their mercy—that was absolutely unacceptable.
Liao Xiaojin and Zhou Chen both looked at Zhou Qing, hoping he could come up with a solution. Zhou Qing remained calm and said indifferently, "Little fox, take care of yourselves! You two! Xiaojin, Chenchen! Be clean, don't leave any survivors!"
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Chapter Thirty-One: Clay Chicken and Earthen Dog
Zhou Chen was stunned, thinking he had misheard. Liao Xiaojin roared, and the flying sword, its body like amethyst, shot out from his mouth. Nine golden stripes suddenly flashed across the sword, transforming into nine streaks, each a foot wide and three zhang long, like bolts of purple-gold light, slashing down towards the woman and three men. The enormous roar shook the ground within a ten-zhang radius, truly displaying unparalleled power.
Liao Xiaojin understood Zhou Qing's personality very well: "If others don't offend me, I'll offend them from time to time; if they offend me, I'll wipe out their entire family." This could be considered a true reflection of Zhou Qing's character. So, as soon as Zhou Qing spoke, Liao Xiaojin knew a full-blown fight was about to begin.
Even Zhou Qing, an expert in weapon crafting, couldn't fathom the variations in Liao Xiaojin's flying sword. Since its creation, Liao Xiaojin had only used it for cultivation and once against the Eight Extremes Wolf King. However, that time, Liao Xiaojin had only been practicing the Sword Qi Soaring Technique for three days and hadn't even grasped the basics, failing to unleash the full power of this strange flying sword. This was its first formal confrontation, and even Zhou Qing was secretly surprised by the sword's imposing power.
Zhou Chen also snapped out of her daze, letting out a delicate shout! The flying sword Zhou Qing had given her transformed into a two-zhang-long streak of clear light, slashing towards the girl with the Bagua mirror. Zhou Chen was furious that the girl had suddenly attacked her sister, so she used all her strength in this attack. However, its power was clearly not as terrifying as Liao Xiaojin's, and the sword light was only one, unlike Liao Xiaojin's nine sword lights that enveloped all four of them.
Zhou Can knew his skills were lacking. Although he had diligently practiced these past few days, he had only reached the initial stage of Qi Induction, which was of no help in the midst of the battle. He could only hold onto the Heaven-Turning Seal that Zhou Qing had given him, ready to strike anyone who showed a weakness with a piece of iron.
Seeing the power of Liao Xiaojin's sword strike, Zhou Can thought to himself: This big brother is usually so carefree, I didn't see how capable he is, he's actually so powerful.
Zhou Qing was also secretly surprised: Liao Xiaojin clearly hadn't reached the point of splitting sword light, yet he could split nine sword lights with that strange flying sword in his hand. Zhou Qing found it unbelievable.
The three men and one woman over there also couldn't believe that the two who had been so respectful at the beginning were actually demons. They attacked without warning, their tempers shifting faster than flipping through a book. They were momentarily flustered, but being disciples of a prestigious sect, their training had paid off, and they quickly regained their composure. The three men roared in unison, and purple, cyan, and red rays of light flew into the air, forming a massive protective shield around them.
Liao Xiaojin's nine purple-gold sword energies swished repeatedly against the shield, producing a deafening metallic clang. The shield sank sharply, clearly overwhelmed by the immense power of Liao Xiaojin's sword energy. *Poof!*
A flash of blood appeared within the shield, indicating someone had spat out their own blood essence to power their magical artifact. The shield suddenly expanded, and Liao Xiaojin's nine sword energies vanished without a trace, while Zhou Chen's sword energy had no effect whatsoever.
These individuals were all roughly equal in skill, around the mid-stage of Qi Refining. Their strength lay entirely in their magical artifacts. Liao Xiaojin, relying on the strange flying sword's abilities and striking suddenly, hadn't managed to kill a single one! This showed that the other three's magical artifacts were extraordinary.
Zhou Qing, circulating his primordial spirit, had already clearly seen that the object emitting three-colored light forming a protective shield was actually three strange bracelets floating in the air—neither gold nor iron nor jade—clearly a set of magical artifacts.
This set of artifacts was no ordinary item! Perfect for the three of them; I'll take the Bagua mirror. Zhou Qing had already decided how to allocate the treasures. Since they were already fish in the net, Zhou Qing wasn't in a hurry. It would be good for Liao Xiaojin and Zhou Chen to gain some practical experience.
"You evil fiends, you really don't value your lives!" came the girl's angry rebuke from inside the protective shield. "You actually dare to rebel! Xuan Tian Bagua! Go!"
A golden light flashed, the three-colored light shield cracked, and four angry-looking people appeared. A man covered in blood shouted, "Good! You monsters actually dare to attack members of our Dragon Group. It seems you're really tired of living. I'll capture you and skin you alive!" It seemed that this unfortunate man had spat out his own blood essence to activate the magic weapon.
"Why waste time with these evil demons? Let's brothers attack together and kill them! Junior sister! Activate the Xuan Tian Bagua Formation with all your might!" another man said in a deep voice.
The girl kept making hand seals, and the palm-sized Bagua mirror emitted thousands of golden rays of light, slowly rising into the air.
The three men also spat out their flying swords with a clang, attacking Liao Xiaojin and Zhou Chen. Liao Xiaojin was not afraid at all, relying on his powerful flying sword to tightly entangle the three sword lights. With Zhou Chen also using his flying sword to attack from the side, the two against the three were not at a disadvantage for a time. The five engaged in a fierce sword fight, neither gaining the upper hand for a time.
Zhou Qing nodded secretly: it seems training them was the right thing to do; their flying swords are getting smoother and smoother. While Zhou Can watched the five battling it out, Zhou Qing focused his attention on the girl's Bagua mirror. In an instant, the mirror swelled to the size of a washbasin, and a huge, three-zhang-square golden Bagua phantom appeared within it. *Swoosh! Swoosh!* Eight beams of golden light fell around the forest and then dissolved into the air.
"Sigh! I am the ancestor of formations. Your Xuan Tian Bagua Formation is indeed exquisite, but in my eyes it's nothing but a pile of clay! I can't let you set up this formation to disturb their sword fight!" Zhou Qing muttered under his breath.
With a casual toss, eight jade tablets were scattered around the forest. After a spin, the eight golden rays that had already merged into the void were forcibly pulled out and absorbed into the jade tablets. The jade tablets immediately emitted a golden light, quite beautiful.
Since the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade regained its wondrous function, Zhou Qing had devoted his days, besides cultivation, to immersing himself in the exquisite array formation of the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods and Demons Grand Array. His understanding and application of the array had progressed by leaps and bounds. The girl's use of the Xuan Tian Bagua Mirror to activate the Xuan Tian Bagua Array was indeed powerful, but Zhou Qing saw through the array's core at a glance. He used an array to break another array, skill against skill, and at the very moment the Xuan Tian Bagua Array was about to form, he shattered the array's core, causing the grand array to collapse.
Zhou Qing rubbed his hands together, and the jade tablet turned fiery red, radiating intense heat. A purple flame, over a foot long, emerged from the tablet. The golden light, scorched by the purple flame, sizzled and was quickly reduced to nothingness.
The eight golden lights dissipated, and the Xuan Tian Bagua Mirror, as if drained of its spiritual energy, returned to its original form, dripping down from the sky. The girl was terrified, staring intently at Zhou Qing as if she had seen a ghost, trembling and unable to speak.
Zhou Qing didn't say much; with a flick of his finger, an invisible force struck the girl. She coughed up blood and fainted. The difference in their power was too great; she had no chance to fight back. One was at the mid-stage of Qi Induction, the other at the Nascent Soul stage—it was like heaven and earth.
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Chapter Thirty-Two: Rebirth and Mutation
. With a claw, the Xuan Tian Bagua Mirror fell into Zhou Qing's hand. "Hmm, what a treasure! The materials are far superior to my Heaven-Turning Seal." Zhou Qing casually put it into his pocket and watched the five people's flying swords flying back and forth in the air, fighting fiercely.
Two men were no match for three. Although Liao Xiaojin's flying sword was powerful, the three men's flying swords were no ordinary weapons either. Coupled with their solid foundations and long, flowing energy, the three gradually gained the upper hand. Liao Xiaojin and Zhou Chen could only switch from offense to defense. Standing together, they wielded their two flying swords flawlessly, tightly protecting their vital points. The three men were temporarily helpless.
One of the men, unable to look around, shouted, "Junior Sister! Why isn't the Xuan Tian Bagua Formation ready yet?" "No need to shout, your junior sister is on her way to see the King of Hell!" A voice reached the man's ears. It was Zhou Qing, who had lost patience and was taking matters into her own hands. With a flash, Zhou Qing, relying on the outer shell of her Yuan Shen Golden Silkworm, which was as hard as Taiyi Refined Gold, charged into the sword formation, a ball of transparent flame bursting from her hand. The three flying swords were seized by Zhou Qing; once burned by the true fire, they became soft and limp, hanging down like chewing gum.
The Samadhi Fire was incredibly fierce. If Zhou Qing hadn't carefully controlled the heat and hadn't been reluctant to waste the materials of the flying swords, the three swords would have been melted into molten iron long ago. In an instant, the flying swords were shattered. Before the three men could even react, Liao Xiaojin's sword light slashed over. Seeing an opportunity, Liao Xiaojin had no reason not to seize it. His purple-gold sword light circled back and forth, and before the three men could even activate their protective magic treasures, they were shredded into minced meat amidst screams of agony.
Liao Xiaojin was even more vicious. He used some kind of sword technique, and before the large and small pieces of flesh even hit the ground, a fountain of blood gushed out. Liao Xiaojin had used a secret vampire technique to extract their blood. He opened his mouth, revealing two three-inch-long fangs. Under the astonished gazes of Zhou Chen and the little fox, the fountain of blood flowed into Liao Xiaojin's mouth. A thick spiritual energy emanated from the strong smell of blood, and an indescribable, intensely comfortable feeling spread throughout Liao Xiaojin's body, making him almost cry out in pleasure.
Zhou Qing grabbed three strange bracelets—purple, blue, and red—and they landed in his hand. "So they're made from the heartwood of the Langgan tree! No wonder even sword energy couldn't penetrate their protective aura." Zhou Qing secretly admired the wealth and resources of this prestigious sect. Even their disciples were bestowed with such magical treasures.
The Langgan Dragon Zi Hua Jin was indeed present. Langgan is like a pearl. There is a Langgan tree in Kunlun Mountain. Legend has it that the saliva of an ancient Azure Dragon accidentally fell onto the tree. The tree, catalyzed by the Azure Dragon's spiritual energy, mutated into an unusual wood species, which is the Langgan tree. The Langgan tree is extremely tough and has a rich Yi wood spiritual energy, making it an excellent material for crafting defensive magic weapons. However, Zhou Qing had no time to analyze the treasure in his hand. With a series of swift movements, Samadhi True Fire erupted, burning the large and small pieces of flesh on the ground to ashes. Even the traces of the fight were wiped away by Zhou Qing.
Look at this master and disciple, one destroying the corpse, the other eliminating the evidence. Their cooperation was seamless. Even seasoned highway robbers could not be as clean and efficient as them. Zhou Chen seemed to be seeing Zhou Qing and Liao Xiaojin for the first time. Even the little fox seemed to be stunned. Its mouth was wide open, which was very cute.
After drinking the blood, Liao Xiaojin happily ran over to Zhou Qing and said, "Master! I haven't felt this comfortable in ages! Foreign blood doesn't taste like this! I feel like I'm evolving again! The blood of these three is so nourishing!" Zhou Qing said irritably, "What do you think?! These three are all experts who have cultivated for over ten years. They seem to have taken some kind of elixir. The essence, qi, and spirit in their blood are richer than a hundred people's. It's no wonder it's so nourishing!"
Seeing the surprised looks on Zhou Chen and her sister's faces, Zhou Qing laughed, "You don't know, do you? He's considered a monster, but a foreign one. Have you ever heard of a vampire?"
"Master! How can you call our noble bloodline vampires vampires?" Liao Xiaojin was very unhappy. "Oh! So it's a vampire zombie! Ugh! That monster is filthy, how..." The little fox glanced at Liao Xiaojin, looking a little scared, and didn't dare to continue.
"Bloodline is bloodline, vampire zombie is vampire zombie, but now is not the time to talk. I'll tell you when we get back." Zhou Qing was too lazy to say more. Liao Xiaojin noticed the girl who had fainted beside him: "Master, there's another one here. Why don't you kill her? Now is not the time to be merciful. Perhaps Master has taken a fancy to her?" Liao Xiaojin never showed mercy to his enemies. "
What nonsense are you talking about? I definitely have my reasons for doing this!" Zhou Qing said to Liao Xiaojin. Turning around, Zhou Qing looked at the little fox and asked, "Can Can, don't you think this woman is awful?" The little fox nodded vigorously: "So awful! I only said one sentence, and she tried to kill me!" The little fox snorted. "Then go and kill her!" Zhou Qing said calmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. A chilling aura emanated from the air, and Liao Xiaojin shivered.
"No! Master! Can Can has never killed anyone before. Let me do it!" Zhou Chen quickly stepped forward and said. “It’s precisely because she’s never killed anyone that I want her to kill. Now that we’ve slaughtered a member of the Dragon Group, we’ve offended the entire Daoist sect and the country. Trouble will follow, and there will be many more to kill. We can’t be soft-hearted. You want revenge, but you don’t even have the guts to kill one person? How can you kill that Heavenly Profound Blood Demon?” Zhou Qing explained calmly.
“Who says I don’t have the guts? If a demon doesn’t kill, what kind of demon is it?” The little fox huffed, as if she were being looked down upon. “That wretched woman, I hate her to death! I won’t be satisfied until I kill her.” Zhou Chen thought it over and agreed. So he stepped back, letting the little fox do it. The little fox hesitated for a moment, looking at Zhou Qing. Seeing Zhou Qing nod firmly, the little fox let out a delicate shout, her voice still carrying a clear childlike quality. She slammed down the Heaven-Turning Seal with all her might.
Looking at the expanded Heaven-Turning Seal, now two meters square, Zhou Qing exclaimed to Zhou Chen, "Can Can has indeed made rapid progress! Your Fox Clan is exceptionally talented, and your demon cultivation techniques are unique. When we return, I'll forge a flying sword for Can Can so she can also learn the Sword Qi Soaring Technique." Zhou Chen was overjoyed and quickly thanked him. Since the little fox hadn't yet been accepted into Zhou Qing's sect, Zhou Chen dared not teach her the ways of sword cultivation. This was a rule common to all sects, and although the Heavenly Dao Sect was small, with only a handful of members, Zhou Chen dared not break the rules.
"Hey! You vicious and wicked demon, daring to harm people in broad daylight!" A thunderous voice deafened the four of them. Zhou Chen and the little fox were particularly affected, their faces turning deathly pale. If Zhou Qing hadn't protected them with his talisman in time, they would likely have suffered severe damage from this roar, revealing their true fox forms.
"What a powerful demon-subduing Daoist sound!" Sensing the pure Daoist Xuanmen true energy within that roar, Zhou Qing's face darkened. He knew their earlier fight had attracted a formidable opponent, and things would likely escalate.
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Chapter Thirty-Three: The Yellow-Robed Old Daoist
Liao Xiaojin, aside from being startled by the sudden roar, was completely unharmed. Zhou Qing was even a little envious: No wonder he possesses the bloodline of the ancient demon god Chi You! Even my primordial spirit, the Golden Silkworm, was shaken, but this guy is completely unharmed.
A yellow light flashed, and a yellow-robed old Daoist appeared beside the unconscious girl. This old Daoist was somewhat obese and not very tall, about 1.6 meters. His hair and beard were gray, and he appeared to be between fifty and sixty years old. Apart from his striking Daoist robe, there was nothing particularly unusual about him.
Zhou Qing secretly observed the old Taoist priest. His dim, old eyes and fluid, effortless movements indicated that he was a Taoist master who had reached the realm of returning to simplicity. "
How come I'm encountering so many Nascent Soul stage cultivators? Are all masters made of mud these days?" Zhou Qing lamented, feeling his luck had been terrible lately, always stumbling upon the wrong thing.
Seeing the Heaven-Turning Seal hurtling down from the sky, the yellow-robed old Taoist priest let out a cold snort. A gigantic hand emerged from the top of his head, fiercely grabbing at the seal.
With a slap, the two-meter square seal was seized by the yellow-robed old Taoist's hand formed from true essence. A burst of pure Xuanmen light flashed within the hand, and the seal revealed its true form, shrinking to a mere three inches square.
With a flick of his wrist, the old Taoist priest in the yellow robe pulverized the Heaven-Turning Seal, which Zhou Qing had painstakingly crafted, turning
it into dust that drifted to the ground. The sight caused Zhou Qing's facial muscles to twitch. *Pfft!* The little fox spat out a mouthful of blood. She had been thoroughly shaken by the old Taoist priest's demon-subduing chant, and now, with the magic weapon so closely connected to her primordial spirit destroyed, her mind was shaken and she was injured.
The old Taoist priest, having destroyed the Heaven-Turning Seal, didn't say much. He checked the girl's injuries; Zhou Qing hadn't been severely injured, only knocked unconscious, which the old Taoist could naturally tell. Seeing that the girl was alright, the old Taoist priest's stern expression softened slightly. Pointing at Zhou Qing, he shouted, "You bunch of demon bastards! If it weren't for this old Taoist priest traveling the world and passing by, a perfectly healthy young woman would have been killed by you!"
Fortunately, Zhou Qing and Liao Xiaojin disposed of the bodies quickly, leaving not a trace of the three who had just died. Otherwise, the old Taoist priest would have
immediately taken action to exorcise the demons. Seeing that the old Taoist priest didn't intend to act immediately, Zhou Qing stepped forward and said, "We had no choice. Although my two disciples are demons, they have never harmed anyone. This woman came up shouting that she wanted to exorcise demons, and we didn't know what was going on, so we knocked her unconscious. Taoist priest, you see, I didn't hold back, did I?" Zhou Qing said, half-truthfully.
Seeing Zhou Qing speak so confidently, the old Taoist priest in the yellow robe stepped forward, his eyes wide open, gleaming with a sharp light. He showed no signs of old age or failing eyesight and pressed down on Zhou Qing and his companions with a mountain-like force. Dust billowed, trees trembled, and leaves fell from the trees. Above the forest, a wisp of dark cloud drifted across the once clear sky.
"This old Taoist is incredibly powerful! He actually manipulated the celestial phenomena with his own power! Truly a master!" Zhou Qing fully activated his second primordial spirit to resist the old Taoist's aura, lest it affect the three behind him. Liao Xiaojin being a freak was one thing, but Zhou Chen and the little fox were demons, already injured by the Demon-Subduing Daoist Sound. If they were affected by this aura containing Daoist mysticism, they would definitely be reduced to their original forms. When
the heavens unleash their killing intent, the stars shift; when the earth unleashes its killing intent, dragons and snakes rise from the land; when humans unleash their killing intent, the earth and sky are overturned. A Qi Refining stage cultivator relies entirely on their own true essence, while a Nascent Soul stage cultivator can unleash the immense power of heaven and earth with their own strength, unleashing thunder and lightning, and Samadhi Fire with every gesture—truly a force of immense power, incomparable to the old Taoist.
Zhou Qing, using the Sixth Winged Golden Silkworm and the blood of the Nine Li Saints, had raised his second primordial spirit to the Nascent Soul stage. He was confident he could barely manipulate the immense power of heaven and earth and cause celestial phenomena without any formations, but he was nowhere near as relaxed and agile as the old Taoist in yellow robes before him. This old Taoist's skill and cultivation were likely on par with the five great grandmasters of the era.
Under the old Taoist's oppressive aura, Zhou Qing was also struggling. His own primordial spirit was already incredibly powerful. Although the old Taoist's skill was slightly superior, it was a pipe dream to think he could defeat him with mere aura. Moreover, Zhou Qing had another trump card; even in a direct confrontation, he was confident he would be invincible. However, Zhou Qing had no idea of the old Taoist's true strength or what magical treasures he possessed. Zhou Qing was cautious and never fought a battle he wasn't confident of winning.
"Heaven's Way is in turmoil, a hundred ghosts roam freely, all gods and demons are annihilated!" Zhou Qing separated his divine sense, silently chanting incantations, and slightly activated the Great Array of Gods and Demons on the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade refined within his primordial spirit.
*Chih!* An invisible suction force emanated from the blade, completely shattering the powerful aura of the yellow-robed old Taoist, which contained the profound light of Taoism. A wisp of dark cloud above the forest vanished, and sunlight shone down, dappling the trees with interesting patterns.
The yellow-robed old Taoist took a step back in surprise, carefully examining the seemingly harmless, smiling Zhou Qing, and shouted sharply, "So you're a master of the demonic path! No wonder you act so recklessly! I wonder when such a young master appeared in the demonic sect?"
Zhou Qing's second primordial spirit had already merged with his main body, so the yellow-robed old Taoist couldn't discern Zhou Qing's cultivation level. He only instinctively sensed that Zhou Qing's attack that had just shattered his aura contained a hint of demonic energy, which was why he suspected Zhou Qing was a master of the demonic path.
The Demonic Path, the most mysterious and unpredictable, differs from demons and monsters. Demons and humans are distinguished by a racial difference, an inherent difference.
The Demonic Path, however, arises from the differing philosophies of human cultivators, forming sects from which different sects have emerged.
In cultivation, Taoism emphasizes aligning with the Way of Heaven, merging oneself with the universe to achieve unity with nature. The Demonic Path, on the other hand, acts entirely against Heaven, claiming supremacy above all, focusing solely on the self. Heaven and self are intertwined. Therefore, their temperaments differ significantly: Taoists are free and ethereal, riding the clouds and wind; the Demonic Path is domineering and unpredictable, capable of anything.
Compared to the conflict between humans and demons, the conflict between Taoism and Demonism is far more intense and brutal. Taoist thought is more deeply ingrained in people's minds, while the Demonic Path is unacceptable to the world. Therefore, the Demonic Path is always at a disadvantage, often facing relentless pursuit the moment its members appear. It can be said that Taoism and Demonism are irreconcilable enemies.
Zhou Qing was displeased that the old Taoist priest in yellow robes had so readily labeled him a member of the demonic path. However, the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade was indeed a demonic artifact, and the Heavenly Divine Fiend Formation was hailed as the number one killing formation of the demonic path in its time. The old Taoist priest wasn't entirely wrong.
In today's society, new ideas are constantly emerging. Both Taoism and the demonic path are much more open-minded than before, and their views have gradually adapted to each other, leading to fewer conflicts. The demonic path has also slowly become more active. Therefore, if Zhou Qing were to openly declare himself a member of the demonic path, he would be hunted down by at least ten Nascent Soul stage experts.
Zhou Qing retorted firmly, "This Taoist priest's words are baseless. I am also from the Taoist lineage. How did I become a member of the demonic path for no reason? Is it because I took two demonic disciples?"

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Buddha is the Way (1933)

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