Chapter 6 Cultivation (Part Two) The demons escape, and the master rushes to the scene. ...
Tick-tock, tick-tock—
The sound of dripping water suddenly rang out, and there was a rustling sound from the grass behind her. A chill ran down her spine, and Qingxing sensed something was wrong. She picked up the egret on the ground and ran.
The next moment, the dripping sound grew louder and louder, and with a "plop," the ground trembled violently, as if something heavy had suddenly fallen to the ground. Qingxing glanced back and saw a huge, unidentified creature engulfed in purple flames standing where she had just been standing, its eyes burning with purple fire as it stared intently at her.
Qingxing had never seen a demon in person, but Bailu's warning still echoed in her ears. Her expression hardened: This is the one from the Discipline Hall.
"Guda, wake up!"
Qingxing patted the book spirit on her shoulder, wondering why it slept so well. Even in this situation, it only turned over first and didn't fully wake up for a long time.
Guda rubbed her eyes and looked back.
The monster used its hands as claws, with a bright red tongue hanging from them, and chased after them not far behind.
"What an ugly monster."
"Never mind how ugly it is for now." The Listening Rain Garden is just ahead. If such a large monster goes in, it will probably flatten the house. Qingxing thought to herself, then turned and turned onto a small path. "I have to find a way to knock it unconscious."
She hadn't brought her golden-patterned sword and couldn't fly on it, so she ran rather clumsily. The teleportation array wasn't perfect yet and couldn't be used rashly. After thinking it over, Qingxing decided that to avoid endangering the other disciples, it was best to simply knock the demon unconscious.
But she hadn't learned about magic arrays yet, and didn't know if the spirit of this heavenly book had a way to do so.
Gudako shifted her position, sitting on her shoulder backwards, and made a face at the relentlessly pursuing monster: "I'm good at this! You find one first..."
Before the words were even finished, the demon suddenly pounced, hurling several balls of purple fire haphazardly towards Qingxing. Qingxing dodged them, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the grass touched by the purple fire withered instantly, leaving only ashes on the ground.
"How dare you provoke me!" Guda paused for a moment, then its anger flared. It flew into the air, clasped its hands together to gather power, "Let me show you the taste of the Water of No Life!"
"Bang—"
A large mass of blue liquid surged towards the monster, which was struck and immediately let out a terrible scream that echoed throughout the bamboo forest. Qingxing had run quite far, but she was still shocked by the scream and wondered if her ears were about to be shattered.
The purple flames on the monster's body were extinguished, and the light in its eyes was not as bright as before. Qingxing saw it cover its head with its hands and then collapse to the ground with a "thud," flattening a piece of bamboo.
Guda snorted disdainfully and floated in front of Qingxing: "Low-level demon, how dare you act wildly in front of my Nameless Book!"
"Is it dizzy?"
Qingxing held the egret and observed it from a distance.
Gudako: "Temporarily, the Water of No Life can only make it reveal its true form of half an incense stick."
Qingxing nodded. Half an incense stick's time should be enough for the elders to arrive, judging from the commotion just now.
She stopped running, intending to stay and watch. The monster's body was gradually dissipating before her, its scales turning into tiny specks that drifted away in the wind. Qingxing stepped forward, wanting to see its original form more clearly.
She had read in ancient books that the natural order is balanced, that good and evil coexist, that all things possess a spirit, and that obsession easily breeds demons. Since the birth of humankind two thousand years ago, "demons" have existed as byproducts. They are silent and invisible; some easily possess animals, becoming the lowest-ranking demons; others lure those with weak minds, burrowing into their brains and taking over their bodies.
Those who cultivate immortality possess extraordinary cultivation and physical constitutions, making them the best candidates for possession by demonic energy.
When demonic energy invades a human body, it gradually devours the original person's good intentions and amplifies their evil thoughts, while simultaneously greatly enhancing their cultivation and magical power. Therefore, most cultivators who are possessed experience drastic changes in personality and mental instability, which is an important criterion for judging whether someone is possessed by demonic energy.
Over the centuries, there have been numerous massacres caused by demonic possession. The largest of these occurred five hundred years ago when the Sword Sect leader falsely claimed to have fallen into demonic ways. He slaughtered his sect members and harmed the common people, and the demonic energy he generated even turned most cultivators into demons. The world was thrown into chaos, and blood stained half the land.
In a desperate attempt to find a way out, the various sects joined forces to launch a campaign. In the end, five cultivators at the Mahayana stage stepped forward and sacrificed themselves to forge the gate to the Demon Realm, imprisoning all the demons in another world.
After this battle, no one in the world does not hate demons. However, demonic energy and spiritual energy are born from the same source and are extremely similar. Even cultivators in the Tribulation Transcending stage may not be able to distinguish the possessed person at a glance.
In her previous three lives, Qingxing had only seen so-called demons in ancient books and paintings. They all had different appearances and were deformed and diseased due to demonic energy entering their bodies.
For example, the one in front of her, only after the demonic energy attached to it dissipated did Qingxing see its original appearance.
It was Li Xu who had been nitpicking at the martial arts arena today, and was subsequently sent away by her.
"It was him?!" Gu Da clicked his tongue twice and flew around Li Xu several times. The boy on the ground was thin with dark circles under his eyes. "I knew it. No wonder he was being so unreasonable."
Qingxing frowned, and after thinking about this person's behavior today, she realized that he was indeed a bit too obsessive.
Guda returned to Qingxing's shoulder and patted her ear: "Perfect, let him come and give it to you..."
brush--
Before it could finish speaking, it was interrupted by a beam of blue light. Qingxing looked up and saw a tall figure appear beside Li Xu, heading straight for her.
"My disciple! Are you alright?"
Gudako rolled her eyes: "Why do people always interrupt me? How rude!"
"I……"
Before Qingxing could even open her mouth, Jiuquchen grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around.
After confirming that Qingxing only had mud spots and no blood on her, he breathed a sigh of relief, took out a fan and waved it to calm himself down: "It's alright, it's alright... You scared your master to death."
After Qingxing left Biyueyunju, he was pondering how to teach his disciple the next day when a familiar talisman appeared before him. Before he could even reach for it, the talisman burst into flames, accompanied by Jiu Chaoying's calm voice: "A demon has appeared in the Discipline Hall of Qiyun Peak and is heading towards the summit. Elders, please set off immediately to protect your disciples and capture the demon!"
This isn't the first time demons have appeared on Mount Taihua, but as long as the gates to the demon realm remain closed, there will be no devastating disasters in the mortal world. Furthermore, with Jiu Chaoying and the elders overseeing things, the task of subduing demons usually doesn't fall to Jiu Quchen.
He hadn't paid much attention to the talisman, but the moment it burned out in front of him, a figure with a blue hair ribbon suddenly entered his mind.
Jiu Quchen paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered that the road from the Discipline Hall to the top of Qiyun Peak seemed to overlap with the path from Bie Shui Yun Ju to Ting Yu Yuan.
The wooden box in his hand fell to the ground, and various odds and ends clattered to the floor. Jiu Quchen tore a piece of paper with the "A Thousand Miles a Day" talisman from his pocket, closed his eyes, and stuck it on himself.
He was the one who summoned the person to Biyue Yunju. Qingxing was, after all, his personally chosen disciple. If something happened to her, Jiuquchen would probably blame himself for the rest of his life.
He gently waved his folding fan, his forehead covered in sweat as he ran.
Gudako rolled her eyes again and whispered in Qingxing's ear, "He doesn't act like a master at all."
"Show some respect, he's already performed the apprenticeship ceremony."
Qingxing whispered a reminder to Guda, then turned to look at Jiuquchen's profile.
To be fair, her master was indeed good-looking, even deserving the description "beautiful." The sect leader, Jiu Chaoying, had masculine features, even her temperament leaned towards the heroic; her younger brother, Jiu Quchen, was the opposite, with feminine features: a pair of peach blossom eyes full of affection, a tear mole under each eye, and a straight, upturned nose, truly a masterpiece.
Such a delicate face would have seemed somewhat incongruous on Jiu Quchen—after all, he was tall and broad-shouldered with long legs. But his roguish charm somehow softened that incongruity, making it all the more fitting.
What should Master look like? Qingxing didn't know, but Jiuquchen was indeed very handsome.
"Ouch!" As if he had just noticed Li Xu lying on the ground in front of him, Jiu Qu Chen exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this the little brother who was thrown into the Discipline Hall by the sect leader?"
Qingxing nodded: "Mm."
Gudako yawned: "I just saw it now."
This time, it didn't lower its voice, so Jiuquchen naturally heard it.
Suddenly, a child's voice rang out, startling Jiu Quchen. He looked in the direction of the sound, his gaze sweeping over the white egret Qingxing was holding, before noticing a small blue book spirit sitting on her shoulder.
"Disciple, when did you take in a book spirit?" Guda's face looked so soft that Jiuquchen couldn't resist pinching it with his index finger and thumb. The touch was indeed comfortable. "So adorable!"
"Hey—" Gudako broke free from his hand and flew into the air, furious. "Show some respect, will you! I am—"
Qingxing quickly covered its mouth, silencing its words, while thinking to herself that this book spirit's mouth was truly a hole.
"I found it."
"Hmm?" Realizing that she was answering his question, Jiu Qu Chen sighed softly, his eyes filled with envy. "When will I be so lucky? I also want to raise a book spirit or a sword spirit."
Book spirits only recognize their masters based on luck, but as for sword spirits... he can't cultivate one.
Qingxing didn't know if he was truly heartbroken or just pretending, so she didn't know how to answer. Just as the two of them and the spirit were in silence, there was another "whoosh" sound, and a purple light flashed in the dark bamboo forest ahead. An old man with a white beard wearing an elder's robe appeared before them.
"Trees grow old."
Qingxing bowed to Jiuquchen.
"Hey, it's nothing, it's nothing." Mu Sheng waved his hand and bent down to check on Li Xu's condition on the ground. "He's passed out?" He paused, then reached up and touched some water droplets on Li Xu's disciple's robe. "The Water of No Life?"
Qingxing stepped forward and explained, "Elder, my book spirit is of the water attribute."
Upon hearing this, Mu Sheng gave an understanding "Oh" and looked at the Guda in her palm: "Your book spirit is quite capable."
The Water of No Life is not a high-level spell; many disciples know how to use it, and even low-level water-attribute book spirits can easily use it, so Mu Sheng didn't ask any further questions.
"Why are you alone? Where are the sect leader and the other elders?"
Jiu Quchen glanced behind Mu Sheng; it was pitch black there, with no sign of a third person arriving.
Mu Sheng affixed a demon-subduing talisman to Li Xu's body, then sighed, "Li Xu is a disciple of my Six Dragons Peak. He offended his elders in court today, and now he's possessed by demonic energy. How can I possibly have the face to ask the sect leader to come in person again?"
This elder was gentle and polite, often reflecting on himself, and was the only elder who did not criticize the world.
To ease the tension, Jiu Quchen also sighed, expressing his understanding: "It's alright, Elder Musheng, everyone has their difficulties."
Mu Sheng flicked his whisk and cast a spell to suspend Li Xu in mid-air: "I'll take this wicked disciple back to the dungeon first, you should all go back soon too!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from sight in a flash, just as he had come, leaving only a purple afterimage.
Jiu Quchen looked up at the moon hanging in the sky. The demon had been taken away, and the rest was for the sect leader to handle. There was no need for him to stay any longer.
"I must go now, my disciple. It's too late tonight, come find me again tomorrow at 1-3 PM."
He turned and left after saying that, giving Qingxing no chance to object.
Qingxing stood there holding Bailu, somewhat puzzled: "Wei Shi... isn't it past noon already? Is there really anything we can learn here?"
“Your master is even lazier than me.” Gudako returned to her shoulder. “Sigh… I was thinking of having you test the magic array on that kid… but I didn’t expect… ah…”
Qingxing turned her head and saw that Shuling had indeed fallen asleep again.
She shook her head helplessly and walked towards Tingyu Garden. As she passed the large pit that Li Xu had smashed, she could still see the purple demonic energy in her peripheral vision, which was still flashing faintly.
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