Scripture of Days Past

Seventeenth year of the Yong'an Era, mid-March.

One night in the Earth Gate Fort, Hao Xiangtong sat on a taishi chair, unable to suppress a yawn as she read.

Qiao Zhi was curled up in her lap with his eyes closed, purring softly in his sleep.

Unable to stand the boredom any longer, Hao Xiangtong put down the book and began stroking Qiao Zhi as she turned toward Chu Qiguang.

"These Buddhist scriptures are so strange and difficult to understand," she complained. "They're not going to lead you astray, are they?"

"When reading Buddhist scriptures, you can't just take everything at face value," Chu Qiguang replied with a smile. "You have to look beyond the surface to uncover their true meaning. Once you learn to do that, you'll discover that these scriptures were designed to exercise your mind. In that sense, reading Buddhist scriptures is also a form of cultivation."

The current batch of Buddhist scriptures he was reading had been found by Ning Chigong in the lair of a group of rat fiends.

It was said that these rat fiends had once cultivated near the Vajra Monastery and had stolen some scriptures from the monastery when it was destroyed by the imperial army.

As Chu Qiguang looked at the Buddhist scripture in his hands, a passage of text appeared before Chu Qiguang's Dao pursuer eyes.

"A Buddhist scripture transcribed by a Vajra Monastery martial god. After undergoing superhuman transformations upon reaching the Dao Comprehension state, his way of thinking also became different from that of the average person."

At the same time, his Ring of Ignorance began heating up with desire.

Hao Xiangtong picked up the Buddhist scripture and read it for a while longer, but she was still unable to see the "true meaning" Chu Qiguang had mentioned.

"By the way, I heard you're going to leave the Ba Manor for some time. Is that right?"

"That's right," Chu Qiguang confirmed with a nod. "I can sense that I've reached a bottleneck in my martial arts cultivation, so I'm planning to go on a journey to find a catalyst for a breakthrough."

Another bottleneck already? Just how quickly is his cultivation progressing?

A sense of urgency immediately welled up in Hao Xiangtong's heart. She set Qiao Zhi down on the floor, then rose to her feet and said, "I can't make sense of these Buddhist scriptures. I'm going to go cultivate. Make sure you're careful on your travels. Here's a Demon Vanquishing Talisman that I asked the abbot to prepare for you."

As a non-believer, the Demon Vanquishing Talisman was useless to Chu Qiguang. Even so, it didn't feel right to accept a gift from Hao Xiangtong without giving her something in return. Thus, he pulled out the silver scarf Zhou Yujiao had knitted for him and offered it to her.

"This is for you."

"It's so pretty!" Hao Xiangtong exclaimed as she took the scarf from him, her eyes sparkling. "What kind of fur is this?"

"Silver fox fur," Chu Qiguang lied casually.

As Hao Xiangtong stroked the scarf, a sense of serenity arose in her heart, and she said, "I really like this gift. Thank you."

After Hao Xiangtong left, Chu Qiguang continued reading. Sure enough, the Buddhist scripture transcribed by the martial go was unlike any he had read before.

Its contents were a jumbled mess and virtually unreadable. However, as Chu Qiguang read, he could feel his brain becoming more active, and even the circulation of his qi and blood seemed to accelerate.

The scripture had caused a change in his brain, and that change was channeling the Sumeru King Scripture.

All of a sudden, Chu Qiguang began seeing hallucinations of a golden palace, a giant stone statue, and a group of humanoid figures with flames burning above their heads.

He felt as though his consciousness had drifted into a palace, where he was greeted by the sight of someone walking into an eternal Buddha flame.

All of a sudden, a sense of enlightenment welled up in his heart.

This must be the place in the Buddha Realm where the monks pass on the Buddha flame!

By the time Chu Qiguang returned to his senses, all memory of those hallucinations had already been taken by the Ring of Ignorance in exchange for a boon.

Chu Qiguang immediately chose the Vajra Laws without any hesitation, and with that, he had fully mastered all four levels of the Vajra Laws.

At this point, he had finally mastered all three physical cultivation arts required for the Sumeru King Scripture, and his qi and blood flowed through his veins like a mighty river.

Every muscle, sinew, and bone in his body had become as hard as steel. The monstrous strength coursing through him even stirred an urge to pick a fight.

However, Chen Gang, Zhang Jitian, Liu Yao, and Ning Chigong weren't worthy opponents, so he could only let out a disappointed sigh and suppress his battle intent.

As he gradually grew accustomed to his newfound strength, the impulse to fight faded, and he began cultivating the Sumeru King Scripture.

The intense heat radiating from his body quickly woke Qiao Zhi up from his slumber, and the latter hurriedly scurried away to avoid being burned.

The countdown had been reduced to 668 days 9 hours 33 minutes and 19 seconds.

Following this stint of cultivation, Chu Qiguang could feel a clear enhancement to his physical constitution. His strength and explosiveness had both increased, and his qi and blood seemed to carry more weight.

He read through the Buddhist scripture transcribed by the martial god several more times, immersing himself in the hallucinations it produced. Before long, he was interrupted by Lei Yushu, who knocked on the door before entering with some pastries and tea.

"Are you hungry, Master? I asked the cooks to prepare some snacks for you."

"That's very thoughtful of you," Chu Qiguang said with a smile. "Have a seat. We can eat together."

However, Lei Yushu wasn't interested in the pastries.

Instead, she looked up at Chu Qiguang and asked, "Master, can I go to Spirit Province with you?"

"No. You need to stay here and cultivate," Chu Qiguang refused with a shake of his head.

The hope in Lei Yushu's eyes instantly turned to disappointment.

Chu Qiguang took out the Demon Vanquishing Talisman Hao Xiangtong had just given him and said, "I requested this Demon Vanquishing Talisman for you from the abbot of the Daoist temple. Make sure you keep it safe. I would love to bring you with me, but you're too weak and vulnerable right now. If you want to remain by my side at all times, you'll have to work hard on your cultivation."

Lei Yushu's eyes lit up with elation as she accepted the talisman with both hands.

"You're so good to me, Master!"

***

The next morning, Chu Qiguang entered a forest outside the Ba Manor City with Qiao Zhi and Liu Yao. Together, they returned to Hidden Fiend Village on the back of a Chongming Bird.

Even from a great distance, Chu Qiguang could see a long channel running all the way from the blood pool to the workshop.