Scripture of Days Past

”What’s so funny?” Chu Qiguang asked coldly.

Strands of fur began to grow from the old man’s face as a bright red tongue extended from his mouth, and he sneered. ”It’s not often that a meal delivers itself right to my doorstep—”

All of a sudden, his voice was cut off as an iron grip closed around his throat.

”Still funny?” Chu Qiguang asked.

The old man let out a strangled wail as his eyes threatened to bulge out of their sockets. He felt as though his neck were about to snap.

In the next instant, however, the pressure around his throat disappeared, and he was hurled through the air with tremendous force. He tumbled more than ten meters across the ground before finally coming to a stop.

The old man hurriedly scrambled to his feet, his face covered in blood from repeatedly striking the ground.

”Who are you?” he yelled in alarm and fear.

”Can you summon the other fiends on this mountain?” Chu Qiguang asked as he sat down in the pergola.

The old man studied him through narrowed eyes, trying to gauge his intentions.

”Gather all the fiends on this mountain,” Chu Qiguang instructed casually. ”I’d like to speak to all of you.”

The old man took a few tentative steps back. Once he was certain that Chu Qiguang had no intention of stopping him, he immediately turned and fled.

Meanwhile, Chu Qiguang took out a Nose Opening Pill, an Eye Opening Pill, and an Ear Opening Pill, then swallowed them one after another.

The pills significantly enhanced his senses, to the point that he could clearly hear the old man’s ragged breathing as he fled up the mountain and even smell the scent of his fur.

After resting briefly in the pergola, Chu Qiguang set off after the old man with Zhang Jitian.

Shortly afterward, Ning Chigong also arrived at the pergola.

To catch up with Chu Qiguang as quickly as possible, he had ordered his underlings to remain at the foot of the mountain while he continued alone. However, Chu Qiguang was nowhere to be seen.

Am I already too late?

At that moment, a chorus of beastly roars rang out in the distance, immediately catching Ning Chigong’s attention.

***

An abandoned temple stood at the summit of the mountain, serving as a temporary residence for a group of fiends.

The ground was strewn with all kinds of filth and rubbish, while the backyard was filled with food and wine plundered from the nearby villages.

The leader of this group was a black bear fiend named Jin Yue, and they had come from the fiend nation in the snowy mountains.

Jin Yue had arrived with ten other black bear fiends, and together, they had taken over the mountain.

By the time Ning Chigong rushed onto the scene, Chu Qiguang was already surrounded by the black bear fiends and dozens of their fiendish underlings.

”How would you like to be eaten, you little shit?” the old man from earlier asked with a sneer.

”If you continue living a life of violence, it’ll eventually catch up with you,” Chu Qiguang said. ”In the past, you had no other choice, but I’ve come here to offer all of you another path.”

”Is that right?” Jin Yue asked. ”Chop off one of your hands for me to eat first, and then I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

”So you insist on doing this the hard way. Is that it?” Chu Qiguang asked with a sigh.

”And how exactly are you planning to make things hard for me?” Jin Yue chortled, his booming voice echoing across the mountain.

”Get him!” the old man yelled, and one of the other bear fiends raised a paw, signaling for the rest of the fiends to attack.

Ning Chigong’s heart immediately sank at the sight.

Shit! I’m too late!

In his eyes, Chu Qiguang was already beyond saving. However, just as he was about to sneak away, an astonishing scene unfolded before him.

”Fire Release! Great Fireball Technique!”

A blazing fireball struck Jin Yue squarely in the face, drawing an agonized howl from him as his fur caught fire and his head turned into a giant torch.

The other bear fiends were furious to see their leader fall victim to a sneak attack. They let out enraged roars and pounced at Chu Qiguang.

”Earth Release! Earth Shore Return!”

Earthen walls rose one after another in front of the bear, significantly slowing their advance.

One of the bear fiends finally reached Chu Qiguang after charging straight through several earthen walls in succession. He immediately swiped a claw at Chu Qiguang and tore him to shreds, only to reveal a pile of sludge.

”Fire Release! Great Fireball Technique!”

The bear fiend was still staring at Chu Qiguang’s sludge clone in bewilderment when a scorching fireball struck him and set him alight as well.

Ning Chigong’s jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

At that moment, Jin Yue lifted a large vat of water and emptied it over his head, dousing the flames.

He then let out a thunderous roar as his qi and blood churned violently through his body. The muscles and tendons in his shoulders instantly became as hard as rock as he charged straight toward Chu Qiguang.

More earthen walls rose in his path, but they might as well have been sheets of paper. They posed no obstacle to Jin Yue at all.

The earthen walls were flattened one after another, while Jin Yue continued to gain speed and build momentum as he barreled toward Chu Qiguang.

By this point, the old man had already revealed his true form as a weasel fiend, and he excitedly applauded Jin Yue’s display of fearsome might.

He’s using the fiend nation’s bear fiend martial arts! Ning Chigong thought. Bear fiends are born with physical constitutions far superior to those of humans. If Chu Qiguang can’t get out of the way in time, he’ll be killed for sure.

However, instead of backing down, Chu Qiguang advanced toward Jin Yue while channeling the Vajra Laws, the Primordial High Zenith Demonic Arts, and the Steel Tendon Iron Bone Arts in unison.

His body rapidly swelled to over three meters in height. At the same time, his entire body took on a glowing golden hue, as if he had been dipped from head to toe in golden paint.

Chu Qiguang stepped forward to meet Jin Yue and thrust a palm at him. A resounding boom rang out as the two clashed, shaking the entire mountain to its core.

The spectating fiends felt as though they were watching a battle between two almighty titans, and none of them were able to offer Jin Yue any assistance.

Jin Yue’s furious roars soon turned into pained groans, then desperate howls. In the end, he whimpered for mercy.

As the dust settled, Jin Yue’s lifeless body was revealed, sprawled across on the ground, while Chu Qiguang swept a cold gaze over the remaining fiends.