Scripture of Days Past

As Chu Qiguang continued to pound away at the boulder, an itching sensation began to spread across his body. The more he slammed himself against the boulder, the more intense the sensation became.

Around two hours later, a layer of skin suddenly peeled away from his body.

When cultivating the Primordial High Zenith Qigong, one of the biggest limitations was physical durability. If one overdid it, they would sustain lasting injuries that could hinder their cultivation.

However, the Primordial High Zenith Demonic Arts circumvented this problem. All external injuries could be healed through molting, allowing Chu Qiguang to make much faster progress.

In order to avoid damaging his clothes, Chu Qiguang had already stripped off his outer garments. As he slammed his body against the boulder over and over again, he could feel himself making progress in the Primordial High Zenith Demonic Arts.

However, this type of cultivation was extremely physically taxing. Even as a fifth-state martial artist, Chu Qiguang was completely spent after about four hours. Thus, he decided to take a break and meditate to restore his mental condition.

Even though he no longer required sleep as a fifth-state Dao artist, he was still a human, not a machine, and periodic stints of meditation did wonders for his recovery.

***

When Chu Qiguang opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find himself in a familiar room instead of the courtyard where the boulder was located.

This is the room I share with Jiang Longyu and the others... How did I end up back here?

At that moment, his brain felt like a pile of sludge, and all of his thoughts were slow and muddled.

Right then, a faint creaking sound rang out. It seemed that someone had opened the door to the room.

Chu Qiguang wanted to see who it was, but his body felt extremely sluggish and heavy. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to get up.

What happened to my body?

He could only barely turn his head toward the entrance of the room. There, he could see a blurry figure standing completely still, as if observing everything inside.

Just as Chu Qiguang was straining to get a clearer look at the figure...

***

Chu Qiguang opened his eyes once again, and found himself seated in the courtyard that housed the boulder.

What was that all about? Was that a vision? According to Qiao Zhi, a fifth-state Dao artist can have visions while meditating, but tgat usually means that some type of danger is close at hand...

With that in mind, Chu Qiguang immediately stood up and set off for the room. Thanks to Yang Ling’s waist badge, he was able to get there without incident.

However, after examining all eight of the trainee rooms, he didn’t find anything amiss.

How strange... Was my vision inaccurate? If these visions are usually associated with some type of danger, could this have something to do with the attack on Jade Face Mountain?

He returned to his room and found Jiang Longyu, Zhang Haizhu, and Li He all sleeping inside.

Li He had by far the best sleeping posture of the three. He was laying on the communal bed as straight as an arrow.

Chu Qiguang’s original position had already been taken by Zhang Haizhu and Jiang Longyu, giving each of them more space on the bed.

Zhang Haizhu was snoring loudly with his limbs sprawled everywhere, while Jiang Longyu had surrounded himself with a barricade of wooden planks. Written on the planks were the words: ”Do not disturb!”

Chu Qiguang couldn’t help but roll his eyes in exasperation. It was almost time for morning lessons, so instead of returning to the courtyard to continue cultivating, he sat down on a chair and began to meditate.

However, this time, he experienced no further visions.

***

As usual, the first lesson of the morning was history.

The second lesson was on religion, and it was taught by a Heavenly Master Religion Daoist priest by the name of Zhao Lingxiao.

Chu Qiguang habitually looked down at Zhao Lingxiao’s feet and saw three tentacles wrapped around his legs.

The lesson took place in the Daoist temple inside the villa. It was only that day that Chu Qiguang discovered there was even a Daoist temple in the Demon Vanquishing Department’s Moon Water Villa.

Under Zhao Lingxiao’s instructions, the trainees took turns offering incense before reciting the doctrines of the Heavenly Master Religion together.

***

Meanwhile, in a conference hall within Moon Water Villa, Zhong Shan’e’s gaze was fixed on Yi Shuang, and he asked, ”I heard you recommended Chu Qiguang to go to the archive building, is that right?”

”That’s right,” Yi Shuang confirmed with a nod. ”He clearly has an aptitude for Dao arts, so I wanted him to give it a try. If he can read books there for half a year, it would mean he has a very strong resistance to demonification. Perhaps he really would be able to cultivate the Myriad Ghost Journal.”

A mixture of longing and fear appeared in Yi Shuang’s eyes at the mention of the Myriad Ghost Journal.

”What do you think, Song Ming?” Zhong Shan’e asked.

Song Ming was the lecturer who delivered lessons on ghosts. He replied, ”Many people have gone insane in the archive building. As a third-state Dao artist, there’s every chance he’ll be driven insane even faster than the average person. I’m not optimistic about his chances. If you don’t want to waste a fine talent, I suggest you stop sending him there.”

”I disagree,” Yi Shuang argued. ”Chu Qiguang is the youngest third-state Dao artist I’ve ever seen. If someone like him shouldn’t be sent to the archive building, then who should?”

”It’s already been over twenty years since anyone successfully cultivated the Myriad Ghost Journal,” Song Ming said in an indifferent voice. ”You’ve tried it yourself, so I’m sure you know exactly how difficult it is.”

Seeing that an argument was about to break out, Zhong Shan’e could raised a hand to stop them before it could get any further.

”Let’s wait and see for now.” he said. ”This will also be a good opportunity to examine his degree of devotion to the Profound Origin Dao Lord. If his faith is strong enough, he could give the Silent Shadow Step a try as well.”

”Wouldn’t that be too much of a waste?” Yi Shuang asked. ”The Silent Shadow Step is indeed extremely formidable, but it strips away one’s emotions and desires. That feels like a waste of Chu Qiguang’s talents. Even if he’s not suited to cultivating the Myriad Ghost Journal, surely he could try one of the orthodox martial arts instead.”

”We only need a single Dao Comprehension state martial god, and that’s Jiang Longyu,” Zhong Shan’e declared. ”Even if Chu Qiguang can reach the Dao Comprehension state, that would only happen twenty or even thirty years down the line. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have him cultivate the Silent Shadow Step and become a Dao soldier.”