Scripture of Days Past

"The cities belong to the humans, while the mountains belong to the fiends. That has always been the case throughout the history of Shu Province," Ning Chigong concluded.

"Just because things have always been that way doesn't mean it's right," Chu Qiguang countered. "From now on, we're going to rule over both the humans and the fiends."

Clearly, there was no getting through to Chu Qiguang, so Ning Chigong could only leave with a resigned sigh.

Chu Qiguang handed the bone boxes to Chen Gang, then taught him the verbal commands for controlling the demons. He couldn't personally take part in every fiend eradication operation. Aside from the few powerful fiends he would have to hunt them down himself, the rest would be dealt with by Chen Gang, Zhang Jitian, Liu Yao, and Ning Chigong.

Starting the following day, a fiend eradication campaign began to sweep across the entire Ba Manor.

Many members of the manor's prominent clans were still locked in power struggles to fill the power vacuums left behind by those who had died during Ning Chigong's martial gathering. Meanwhile, the governor had yet to return to the Ba Manor and remained in hiding from the Tribulation Religion.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Zhang Fengyun fully supported Chu Qiguang's fiend eradication campaign, as did Ning Chigong, of course.

It quickly became clear to everyone that Ning Chigong had become extremely obedient to Chu Qiguang. They had no idea how Chu Qiguang had managed to subdue him, but that was hardly any of their business.

The Demon Vanquishing Department had prepared two units for the fiend eradication campaign. One was led by Ning Chigong and consisted entirely of his own underlings. The other was jointly led by Zhang Jitian, Liu Yao, and Chen Gang, and consisted of the thirty-two new soldiers that Chu Qiguang had been training.

There was also a secret unit of cat fiends led by Qiao Zhi and White Rice. The cat fiends had been transported from Hidden Fiend Village to the Ba Manor by the Chongming Birds, and they had quickly blended in with the local fiends.

The intelligence they gathered played a crucial role in the campaign. They were responsible for informing Chu Qiguang of the locations of the fiends he wanted to target.

By this point, it had become abundantly clear that Omniscient and Chu Qiguang were working together.

Thanks to the intelligence provided by the cat fiends, the two units were always able to catch their targets by surprise and gain the upper hand. Any fiends too powerful for the two units to handle were left to Chu Qiguang.

Chu Qiguang only had to intervene on a handful of occasions. The rest of the time, he focused on gathering fiends and coercing them into submission under the alias of Omniscient.

He planned to establish a settlement in Shu Province similar to Hidden Fiend Village, and he had already chosen a location.

Recently, he had explored the entire Ba Manor and its surrounding mountains on the back of a Chongming Bird. During his exploration, he had set his sights on Orchid River Valley, south of the Ba Manor.

The mountain ranges on either side of the valley had gentle slopes, while the Orchid River flowing through its center provided an abundant supply of water.

His plan was to cultivate farmland along the river, while the slopes on either side of the valley could be used to grow medicinal ingredients, tea, fruits, and other crops that could be sold for profit.

Chu Qiguang had limited agricultural knowledge, so he had summoned Jin Ji from Hidden Fiend Village to teach the newly recruited fiends how to cultivate the land.

However, the valley was currently occupied by large hordes of fiends, which would have to be cleared out by Zhang Da, Liu Yao, and Chen Gang.

The problem was that money was required for everything, whether it be the seeds and agricultural tools required to cultivate the land, or the weapons and food required to support the fiend eradication campaign.

To inspire loyalty among the fiends and his soldiers, Chu Qiguang also had to provide them with sufficient rewards and compensation.

"We're about to run out of money, but our expenses just keep piling up," Qiao Zhi sighed. "Should I ask Liu Yao and Zhang Jitian for more?"

"Their money is my money," Chu Qiguang replied.

"Alright, I'll go and ask them," Qiao Zhi said.

"No, what I mean is that their money is my money, and my money must be spent carefully," Chu Qiguang clarified.

"Then where are we going to get money?" Qiao Zhi asked.

"What are we doing all this for? It's for the welfare and prosperity of the Ba Manor, right?" Chu Qiguang asked. "There can only be prosperity in times of peace, and with prosperity comes profits for everyone, right?"

"Sure," Qiao Zhi replied.

"Then doesn't it stand to reason that the prominent clans of the Ba Manor should fund our fiend eradication campaign?" Chu Qiguang asked.

"I mean, I guess that's true, but what if they don't want to cough up the money?" Qiao Zhi asked.

"If they want to do things the easy and dignified way, then we'll leave their dignity intact. Otherwise..."

***

Over the next few days, Ning Chigong visited the four most prominent clans of the Ba Manor under Chu Qiguang's orders to secure donations.

"Right now, the situation in the Ba Manor is dire. If we don't take a firm stand and start culling these fiends, things will only get worse."

Ning Chigong managed to secure donations from all four clans, amounting to a total of five hundred taels of silver.

Several days later, fiend attacks began occurring frequently throughout the Ba Manor.

Under normal circumstances, the prominent clans wouldn't have been concerned, as the victims were always farmers and peasants. This time, however, things were different.

Of the multiple attacks that had occurred over the past few days, one targeted a copper mine owned by the Cao Clan, while another targeted one of the Miao Clan's commercial convoys.

The two clans even temporarily set aside their internal power struggles and formed a united front to seek help from the Heavenly Master Religion. However, the Daoist temple was still recovering from Li Yaofeng's attack and refused to help.

Thus, representatives of the two clans went to the Demon Vanquishing Department and implored Chu Qiguang to do something.

"These fiends have gone too far!" Chu Qiguang snapped, wearing an expression of feigned fury. "Deputy Ning, go and eradicate these deplorable fiends at once!"

"Master Chu, our troops have already suffered heavy casualties during the fiend eradication campaign, while our reserves of money and food are also running dangerously low," Ning Chigong reported with a concerned expression. "I fear we'll have to suspend the campaign until at least the end of the year."

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do, then," Chu Qiguang said with a resigned sigh.

The representatives of the two clans exchanged exasperated glances before asking, "How much money do you need?"

"Ten thousand taels of silver, or the equivalent amount in grain," Ning Chigong replied.

In the end, the Cao and Miao Clans pooled their funds together, allowing Chu Qiguang to continue his fiend eradication and agricultural campaigns.

At the same time, certain carefully selected individuals from the four clans had the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishment Technique performed on them.

They were all potential heirs to their respective clans, but they were ranked very low in the hierarchy and were constantly bullied and oppressed by those above them. As a result, they harbored deep resentment toward their clans, making it easy to convince them to turn against their fellow clansmen.

At that moment, they were all kneeling before Omniscient, who said, "I will help all of you become the leaders of your clans, but from this day forward..."

"We are completely devoted to you, Master Omniscient! Our lives are yours to do with as you see fit!"