Scripture of Days Past

As soon as he caught sight of Chu Qiguang, Zhang Jitian ran over like a loyal lapdog, showering him with compliments and flattery. He looked nothing like his usual arrogant self.

What a sycophantic dog, Qiao Zhi scoffed inwardly in disdain.

"How did it go?" Chu Qiguang asked. "Did you manage to placate the authorities?"

"It's not that easy, Young Master," Zhang Jitian replied with a wry smile. "I've done my best to gloss things over, but so many people died in those mountains that the authorities are bound to investigate sooner or later. They may even alert the Demon Vanquishing Department."

"That's fine," Chu Qiguang reassured. "Those fiends are about to make a move soon, so just blame everything on them."

He then turned to Qiao Zhi and asked, "Those fiends are meeting today to discuss their plan, right?"

Qiao Zhi nodded. He had successfully infiltrated the fiends' ranks, and thanks to his exceptional martial arts abilities, he had become a decently respected figure among them.

Unfortunately, the fiends didn't know what the exact plan was. They had been instructed to gather here by Layman Evergreen, but they hadn't been told exactly how the attack on Jade Face Mountain was going to be carried out.

"Layman Evergreen has been conveying his orders through messengers until now, but he's finally going to show up today," Qiao Zhi said. "Do you want to come with me and take a look?"

Chu Qiguang nodded. There were some things he needed to confirm in person.

***

Jade Face Mountain was nestled in an undulating mountain range that stretched hundreds of kilometers to the south, separating Spirit Province from its southern neighbor, Luo Province.

There was no way for local authorities to monitor everything happening in these mountains, and on this day, the fiends had gathered in a forest, waiting for Layman Evergreen's arrival.

Chu Qiguang was among them in his feline form, with Qiao Zhi sitting atop his head.

A burly, menacing-looking pig fiend approached Qiao Zhi with a surprised expression and asked, "Where did you find such a big cat, Qiao Zhi?"

"This is a distant cousin of mine," Qiao Zhi explained. "His entire family was killed by the Demon Vanquishing Department, so after hearing about your plan to attack Jade Face Mountain, he begged me to bring him here."

This pig fiend's name is Zhu Dazhuang, Qiao Zhi introduced telepathically. He's one of the more easygoing fiends here, and he has never eaten any humans, either, so you can consider taking him to the village.

Under Chu Qiguang's instructions, Qiao Zhi had been assessing the fiends gathered by Layman Evergreen to determine which of them would make suitable additions to Hidden Fiend Village.

Chu Qiguang glanced down at Zhu Dazhuang's shadow and saw a single tentacle extending from it.

One of Chu Qiguang's objectives in coming here was to assess the power of these fiends with his Dao pursuer eyes, and the sight of so many writhing tentacles extending from the shadows of the different fiends was certainly bizarre and unsettling.

I don't know who this Layman Evergreen is, but he managed to gather these fifteen fiends, and twelve of them are at the fifth state, Qiao Zhi continued.

Chu Qiguang nodded as he shifted his gaze toward the two fiends with the greatest number of tentacles extending from their shadows.

One of them was a giant white fox sitting on a large rock with nine tails swaying behind her. Each tail had several human heads tied to it, presenting a harrowing sight.

The white fox is called Han Ying, Qiao Zhi introduced. She was the one who lured Zhang Jitian's group here earlier. She likes to lure people deep into the mountains, then absorb their essence to further her cultivation before killing and eating them. As you can see, she also has the sick habit of hanging the heads of her victims from her tails.

Chu Qiguang could see five tentacles extending from her shadow.

The other fiend of interest was a dog fiend with a humanoid body but the massive black head of a canine. At the moment, he was feasting on a water buffalo.

The dog fiend is called Fu Bao, Qiao Zhi introduced. He has a rather interesting history. Apparently, he was born with a human body and a dog's head, so he was shunned by the other dog fiends and abandoned in the mountains. He was adopted by a dark tiger beast fiend and taught the martial arts of the dark tiger race.

Chu Qiguang could see six tentacles extending from Fu Bao's shadow.

In addition to those two, there were ten other fiends at the fifth state, but most of them only had one or two tentacles extending from their shadows.

All of a sudden, Fu Bao began sniffing the air, then fixed a piercing gaze on Chu Qiguang as he snarled, "I smell a human!"

He immediately sprang into the air, landing right in front of Chu Qiguang before continuing to sniff at him.

"Why do I smell a human's scent on you?"

All of the other fiends instantly turned toward Chu Qiguang, looking ready to tear him to shreds.

"Are you... hiding a human?" Fu Bao asked as he began running his hands all over Chu Qiguang's body, prompting the other fiends to burst into laughter.

Chu Qiguang heaved an inward sigh of relief. It seemed that the dog fiend had only been playing a practical joke on the newcomer.

Shortly afterward, an almighty aura descended from the heavens as a group of black-robed figures slowly landed in the forest, carrying a huge coffin.

Every one of the black-robed figures possessed an incredibly formidable aura, and each wore a mask bearing a different expression.

Qiao Zhi's ears twitched slightly as he mused, I can't hear any breathing or heartbeat from any of them... Are they all living corpses?

Chu Qiguang remained silent as he watched one of the black-robed figures step forward.

The figure had four tentacles extending from his shadow, and he declared, "Layman Evergreen has arrived."

This is the one who's been conveying Layman Evergreen's orders to the other fiends, and he's also been helping them cover their tracks, Qiao Zhi reported.

Chu Qiguang felt a sense of familiarity at the sight of the black-robed figure, and he wondered to himself, Is he the mole in the Demon Vanquishing Department?

Right at that moment, the coffin opened, and a figure slowly stepped out.

Through his Dao pursuer eyes, Chu Qiguang could see a series of ethereal shadows flickering around the figure. It was the exact same visual phenomenon he had seen in Zhong Shan'e.

As expected, Layman Evergreen is also a Dao Comprehension-state cultivator...