Scripture of Days Past

This was the first time Hao Xiangtong had witnessed the wonders of Dao arts firsthand. Even though the Hao Clan was a prominent clan in Azure Sun County, its connections were mostly limited to the officialdom and the martial arts world, so they knew very little about cults and Dao arts.

"If the Tribulation Religion's Animitta Tribulation is this powerful, doesn't that mean it would be impossible to kill them?" Hao Xiangtong asked.

"There are no invincible Dao arts in this world," Zhang Fengyun replied. "First of all, it's incredibly difficult to reach the Dao Comprehension state by cultivating the Animitta Tribulation. A Dao Comprehension-state cultivator who has mastered the Animitta Tribulation can refine a demon and plant it into a mortal's body, thereby granting them the demon's power.

"But the process is extremely taxing on the recipient. Most people die during the process because their bodies can't withstand it. Otherwise, the Tribulation Religion would've already taken over the world by now. To counter the Tribulation Religion's Animitta Tribulation, our Heavenly Master Religion has the One Righteous Tome. Our Dao Comprehension-state cultivators can create talismans that also grant mortals supernatural powers. Gao Yi must've fled because he knew that I would be carrying talismans."

Hao Xiangtong nodded with a thoughtful expression.

Witnessing the power of Dao arts was a very eye-opening experience for Hao Xiangtong, and she couldn't help but think of Wu Zetian's story. That story had inspired her to pursue Dao arts in the first place, and she now felt that she had chosen the right path.

Some of the people in the market had also witnessed Gao Yi's disappearing act, and they were just as alarmed and bewildered as Hao Xiangtong.

Zhang Fengyun grabbed Hao Xiangtong's hand, and the two of them vanished in a flash. They raced through the manor city and soon arrived at the Daoist temple.

Upon entering the Daoist temple, Zhang Fengyun received warm greetings from all the passing Daoist attendants and Daoist nuns. Only then did Hao Xiangtong learn that Zhang Fengyun was the abbot of the temple.

It quickly became clear to her that Zhang Fengyun was very popular in the Daoist temple, and she also made another intriguing observation.

There are so many women in this Daoist temple, and they're all reading books and practicing martial arts!

Zhang Fengyun's gaze roamed over all the hard-working women as she explained proudly, "These are homeless women that I took in. All of them strive to become strong and independent so they can survive without relying on men. I can tell just from looking at Liu Yao that he's very stubborn, so he won't give up on you easily. However, as long as you stay here with me, he won't dare to do anything to you."

Hao Xiangtong nodded eagerly and expressed her gratitude to Zhang Fengyun.

However, her thoughts then went to Chu Qiguang. Having accompanied Chu Qiguang on his journey to the Ba Manor, she knew just how much pressure he was under. The thousand-man commander above him and the deputy hundred-man commander below him were both giving him a hard time. While she would be safe in this Daoist temple, Liu Yao could go after Chu Qiguang instead, which would make his already terrible situation worse.

With that in mind, Hao Xiangtong gritted her teeth, then requested, "Please take me out of the manor city, Abbot. I want to leave the Ba Manor."

Zhang Fengyun was rather puzzled by this request. After hearing Hao Xiangtong's reasoning, she waved a dismissive hand. "Chu Qiguang is a hundred-man commander of the Demon Vanquishing, so Liu Yao wouldn't dare to do anything to him aside from giving him a beating. If you really want to protect Chu Qiguang, then become strong yourself first. Only with sufficient power can you protect your man."

"Chu Qiguang and I are just friends," Hao Xiangtong said with an embarrassed blush.

"You say he's at the fourth state right now? Once you reach the fifth state and surpass him, you can make him your man," Zhang Fengyun said with an excited expression. "You can then go home, revoke the marriage agreement, and have your parents return the betrothal gift to Liu Yao. If anyone objects, beat them into submission."

Hao Xiangtong was at a loss for words. It seemed to her that Zhang Fengyun was a little too excited about all of this.

"At the very least, I have to send a letter to Chu Qiguang to inform him of my current situation and warn him about possible retaliation from Liu Yao," she insisted.

Meanwhile, after fleeing from Zhang Fengyun, Gao Yi continued to follow Ning Chigong's subordinates.

Over the past few days, Ning Chigong's subordinates had been scouring the wilderness of the Ba Manor in search of the fiends Qiao Zhi had taken away. Gao Yi wasn't very familiar with the geography of the Ba Manor, so he decided to take the easy route and simply follow Ning Chigong's subordinates while they did all the hard work.

Finally, around noon on the third day, they uncovered some leads.

***

All of a sudden, Qiao Zhi felt a chill run down his spine.

A pile of sludge rose from the ground before him, gradually taking on a humanoid form as Gao Yi's voice rang out from within. "So you're the new leader of these fiends? The Chaotic Heavens King and the Yaksha Wraith have both become demons? This isn't quite what I had in mind, but things have turned out even better than I anticipated!"

"Who are you? Are you from the Tribulation Religion?" Qiao Zhi yelled in alarm.

The demonified Chaotic Heavens King and Yaksha Wraith immediately positioned themselves between him and Gao Yi.

By this point, the pile of sludge had already fully assumed Gao Yi's form. His eyes glowed with intrigue as he asked, "How are you doing that? Are you using some kind of Dao art that makes demons obey you?"

"Kill him!" Qiao Zhi ordered.

The Chaotic Heavens King and the Yaksha Wraith immediately threw themselves at Gao Yi, followed by all the other fiends. The Yaksha Wraith was the first one to reach Gao Yi, but his claws merely tore through a pile of sludge.

"I suggest you surrender while you still can, cat fiend."

The Yaksha Wraith's claw strike sent blobs of sludge flying in all directions, and one of them took on Gao Yi's form atop the back of a dog fiend. Gao Yi casually snapped the dog fiend's neck before the Chaotic Heavens King pulverized him into sludge once again.

Qiao Zhi's expression darkened at the sight.

He's definitely from the Tribulation Religion. I need to call for reinforcements.

With that in mind, Qiao Zhi immediately threw back his head and let out an almighty meow, which was swiftly echoed by a cry from the Chongming Bird in the sky above.

Gao Yi chuckled. "Calling for reinforcements? The more, the merrier, I suppose."

"This is your last chance to get away," Qiao Zhi warned in a cold voice.

All of a sudden, Gao Yi's grinning face surfaced from the mud beneath Qiao Zhi's feet.

"It's not every day that I get to come out and have some fun, so whoever you're calling for reinforcements had better show me a good time!"

In the next instant, a wave of black sludge rose toward Qiao Zhi, threatening to engulf him whole.

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