Scripture of Days Past

The figure who emerged from the coffin was an emaciated-looking Daoist priest dressed in a teal Daoist robe with a jade crown atop his head. His face was deeply lined with wrinkles, making him look as if he could drop dead at any moment.

Chu Qiguang turned his attention to the text drifting out of the Daoist priest’s body. The text that had emerged from the black-robed figures had been of no use to him.

For example, the text that had drifted out of the black-robed figure with four tentacles simply read: ”Mysterious, masked, black-robed man.”

This was a common occurrence with the Dao pursuer eyes. In general, it could yield much more information from books and historical records than from people.

This was particularly true for the black-robed figure, who was covered from head to toe, making it impossible to identify any features or traits about him, thereby giving Chu Qiguang’s Dao pursuer eyes nothing to work with.

The text that drifted out of Layman Evergreen’s body read: ”A Dao pursuer who’s destined to fail.”

Dao pursuer?

Up to this point, Chu Qiguang still didn’t know exactly what a Dao pursuer was, and this was the first time he had seen the title ”Dao pursuer” attached to someone else through his Dao pursuer eyes.

Layman Evergreen opened his mouth, and a series of clicks and cracks rang out from within his body, as though he were a stiff, decaying corpse.

”I am the supreme guardian of the Immortal Dao, Layman Evergreen,” he declared. ”Today, I will finalize the plan to attack Jade Face Mountain. If the attack succeeds, you may divide the Demon Vanquishing Department’s pills, weapons, and martial arts and Dao arts manuals among yourselves as you see fit. All I want are some of the historical records from the second floor of the Demon Vanquishing Department’s archive building.”

The fiends began quietly discussing among themselves upon hearing this. The mere mention of the Immortal Dao filled them with confidence.

The Immortal Dao had a long-standing reputation as one of the most powerful cults, and just last year, the Immortal Dao had staged an attack on the Heavenly Master Religion’s Dragon Serpent Mountain, forcing them to seal the mountain off to the public for three months.

The Immortal Dao’s reputation had only grown stronger after that incident, and Layman Evergreen’s status as the Immortal Dao’s supreme guardian gave him immense prestige and authority.

The fiends all looked excited and animated as they discussed how they would divide the spoils, as if they had already conquered Jade Face Mountain.

However, the white fox fiend, Han Ying, remained unconvinced.

”There’s a Dao Comprehension-state martial god stationed on Jade Face Mountain, along with many other formidable martial artists. Conquering the mountain won’t be an easy task,” she said. ”If this is all the people we have, then I don’t like our chances.”

”You’re not planning to use us as cannon fodder, are you?” another bird fiend shouted.

A seed of doubt was suddenly sown in the hearts of the fiends, but Layman Evergreen remained completely unconcerned.

”We have insiders within the Demon Vanquishing Department. I’m sure you’ve already guessed as much. Otherwise, all of you would’ve been discovered long ago. As for Zhong Shan’e, he may be a Dao Comprehension-state martial god, but my cultivation base isn’t inferior to his.”

As he spoke, an invisible surge of power burst from Layman Evergreen’s body, instantly sweeping across all of the fiends present.

In that instant, Chu Qiguang felt as though a cold, sticky force had expelled his consciousness from his body, depriving him of control over his body.

The same was true of all the other fiends. In the blink of an eye, everyone had fallen completely still, as if frozen in time.

However, the unsettling sensation lasted only a moment before Chu Qiguang regained control of his body, and the cold, sticky feeling faded as well.

This must be the power of the Immortal Dao’s orthodox art, Name and Principle, Qiao Zhi said grimly. Name and Principle is said to be a Dao art that teaches one how to achieve immortality through rebirth by possession.

While everyone was rooted to the spot by Layman Evergreen’s power, the black-robed figures around the coffin were revealed to be physically imposing living corpses whose bodies looked as if they had been stitched together.

”These twelve pallbearers of mine are all fine vessels that I’ve collected over the years,” Layman Evergreen declared. ”Some of them were martial arts prodigies who secured the jinshi title at a very young age, some were renowned battlefield generals, and others were disciples I had raised from childhood.”

Chu Qiguang swept his gaze over the living corpses and saw two or three tentacles extending from each of their shadows.

This was the first time he had seen tentacles in the shadows of living corpses.

An unsettling grin appeared on Layman Evergreen’s face as he strode over to the tallest and most physically imposing of the living corpses, then introduced proudly, ”This one here is my proudest creation. It combines body parts from a wolf fiend, a dragon, and a top-tier martial artist, and it is my undying divine general.”

The creature had the head of a dragon, the limbs of a wolf fiend, and the torso of a human, all of which had been stitched together. Even the fiends present couldn’t help but shudder in fear and disgust at the sight of it.

Chu Qiguang could see nine tentacles extending from the undying divine general’s shadow, making it the most formidable being present aside from Layman Evergreen himself.

A curious line of text also drifted out of the creature’s body, reading: ”A crude replica of an undying beast.”

Layman Evergreen’s display of power quickly intimidated all the fiends present into submission, and no one else dared to raise any doubts or objections.

”Rest assured, I’ll take care of Zhong Shan’e. All you have to do is hold off everyone else in the Demon Vanquishing Department.”

From there, Layman Evergreen began finalizing the plan of attack.

They’re staging the attack on the day of the half-yearly examination? Chu Qiguang exclaimed telepathically. Are they choosing a day when all the lecturers, instructors, and trainees will be gathered together so that they can kill them all at once?

The timing matches when the attack on Jade Face Mountain happened last time, but even if Layman Evergreen is a Dao Comprehension-state cultivator, he shouldn’t have been able to kill everyone on Jade Face Mountain, Qiao Zhi mused.

You’re right, Chu Qiguang agreed with a nod. Aside from Zhong Shan’e and the instructors, there are also a thousand troops from the Demon Vanquishing Department stationed on the mountain. There’s no way Layman Evergreen and these fiends should be enough to overpower all of them. Something else must’ve happened to help them.