Scripture of Days Past

Chu Qiguang’s brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. However, it then occurred to him that even if Hao Xiangtong had witnessed everything that had taken place, he could take solace in the fact that he hadn’t revealed the full extent of his power.

It shouldn’t be a major problem, but I’ll have to keep an eye on her once we get back. If worse comes to worst, I’ll have to imprison her and force her to comply.

After briefly considering his options, Chu Qiguang quickly returned his attention to the battle at hand.

Don’t kill him, he said. I can use him.

Qiao Zhi continued to toy with Gao Yi using the Rasengan as he jeered through Chu Qiguang’s mouth, ”How much longer can you last? There’s a time limit to your ability, isn’t there? You can’t remain like this forever.”

Gao Yi’s heart sank upon hearing this. He was one of the top young prodigies of the Tribulation Religion, and ever since he gained this ability, he had never been reduced to such a sorry state.

Even when facing formidable martial artists from the Demon Vanquishing Department and talisman-wielding Daoist priests from the Heavenly Master Religion, his ability had always ensured that self-preservation was never a concern.

As the Hatred Demon, he was one of the five scourges of the Tribulation Religion. Although he didn’t possess as much destructive power as the other four scourges, his near-unkillable nature often made him an even greater threat.

Over time, he had grown complacent and begun looking down on his opponents. In his eyes, a fourth-state martial artist like Chu Qiguang was nothing more than a toy.

However, his complacency had finally caught up with him, and he was now truly in dire straits. At this point, even escape had become a distant dream, and the greatest weakness of his ability had also been discovered by his opponent.

It was indeed true that he couldn’t maintain this state indefinitely. He had to periodically regain his human form to prevent himself from completely transforming into a demon.

However, with the Rasengan constantly tearing his body apart, he had no opportunity to regain his human form. As time passed, he grew increasingly desperate.

All of a sudden, the Rasengan dissipated. Gao Yi immediately reformed his body and glowered at Chu Qiguang with a wary expression.

In the blink of an eye, another Rasengan took shape above Chu Qiguang’s palm, only to be casually dispersed once again.

”As you can see, I can kill you whenever I please,” Chu Qiguang said with a smile.

Gao Yi gritted his teeth, his expression dark. As much as he wanted to deny it, he had no choice but to admit that his opponent was right.

”What do you want from me?” he asked bitterly.

”I want to use you for an experiment,” Chu Qiguang replied.

A puzzled look appeared on Gao Yi’s face. Before he had a chance to react, he felt a strange force sweep through his body, after which a piece of incomprehensible knowledge was implanted into his mind.

He immediately let out an agonized howl as he felt something disappear from within his body. At the same time, Chu Qiguang launched another palm strike at him. To his utter shock and despair, Gao Yi discovered that he was no longer able to transform.

He stared blankly as Chu Qiguang’s palm rapidly expanded in his field of vision, only to stop abruptly less than an inch away from his forehead.

”It seems the human and the demon are two separate parts,” Chu Qiguang said to himself. ”Does the demon technically have blood because it coexists with a human host, or is this particular demon special in some way? In any case, it appears he can no longer use his ability now that I’ve used the Demon Refinement Technique on him.”

Gao Yi frantically tried to activate his ability, but no matter how hard he tried, the demon in his body remained unresponsive. It was as if it had died.

This revelation struck him with even more horror and despair than the defeat he had just suffered, instantly crushing all his confidence and conviction.

”What did you do to me?!” he yelled in horror.

”Know your place!” Chu Qiguang sneered. ”An experimental subject has no business asking questions.”

In the next instant, a blood-curdling howl rang out from deep within the forest.

Shortly afterward, Chu Qiguang soared through the sky with Qiao Zhi and Gao Yi on the back of a Chongming Bird.

”Looks like you won’t have to worry about finding food for the local fiends anymore. They’re all either dead or have fled,” Qiao Zhi sighed. ”The Chaotic Heavens King is basically ruined, and the Yaksha Wraith is probably dead as well.”

Qiao Zhi recounted the ordeal he had just endured, but Chu Qiguang wasn’t bothered by the losses in the slightest.

”Losing those fiends was well worth it in exchange for this guy,” he said with a pleased smile. ”With his help, I should be able to get my hands on the Steel Tendon Iron Bone Arts very soon.”

***

Back on the mountain, the Yaksha Wraith, the Chaotic Heavens King, and many of the remaining fiends had been slain by Zhang Fengyun.

By the time she found Hao Xiangtong, the latter’s Concealment Talisman had already burned out completely.

”It seems another demonic tainting incident took place here,” Zhang Fengyun said with tightly furrowed brows. ”It appears the Tribulation Religion is turning fiends into demons.”

Noticing the strange look on Hao Xiangtong’s face, she asked, ”What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

”The man we met in the market, his name was Gao Yi, right?” Hao Xiangtong asked. ”Can you defeat him using martial arts alone?”

”Of course not,” Zhang Fengyun replied with a dismissive smile. ”If I relied solely on martial arts, he would eventually wear me down until I ran out of stamina, and that would be the end of me.”

”So it’s impossible for anyone in the world to defeat him using only martial arts?” Hao Xiangtong asked.

”It’s probably not impossible, but I’d say only Dao Comprehension-state martial gods would have any chance of accomplishing such a feat,” Zhang Fengyun replied. ”That said, most Dao Comprehension-state martial artists also carry talismans, so they wouldn’t rely solely on martial arts against an opponent like Gao Yi. Why do you ask?”

”I was just curious,” Hao Xiangtong replied absentmindedly as she shook her head.

Was Chu Qiguang using only martial arts back there, or did he use talismans as well? Has he been hiding his true power? Is he carrying out some secret mission for the Demon Vanquishing Department?

***

Elsewhere in Ba Manor City, Ning Chigong was entertaining a guest in his courtyard.

Liu Yao set down the teacup in his hand, then said, ”I’m not going to beat around the bush. I want you to help me deal with Chu Qiguang. Ideally, we’ll force him out of the Ba Manor.”