Starting from the Tiger Demon Yaksha, the demon immortality

Chapter 173-172: Preaching in a Dream, the Holy King's Revolving Fist (12,000 words, completed)

In the ethereal dream, pale gold characters shimmered on the giant Bodhi tree.

As Li Cunxiao expected, the other party did not respond to the question about his identity, but only explained the latter question.

The so-called exorcism can be any kind of evil spirit or wicked person. However, it cannot involve entrapment or relying on the power of others, but rather "addressing the urgent needs of the people and eliminating what the people hate."

Each successful attack counts as a merit. Ten merits can be exchanged for a portion of a high-grade martial arts technique.

"Senior, you've become stingy. You used to pay in full upfront."

Li Cunxiao became even more convinced that this dream was created by the Buddhist senior that Dezheng had mentioned.

But before he could ask any further questions, two more words appeared on the Bodhi tree in front of him.

"Do it."

Ok?
While Li Cunxiao was still wondering, a branch of the Bodhi tree suddenly broke off and flew out on its own, its bark and leaves peeling off in mid-air.

By the time it pierced straight into the ground, only a pole about ten feet long remained.

Or rather, a wooden gun?
"Senior, would you like to see my skills?"

Li Cunxiao stepped forward uncertainly and grasped the gun in his hand.

Strangely enough, even though it was a dream, the feel of the gun and staff was very similar to that in reality, and even after I channeled my inner energy into them, they flowed freely.

For a moment, no more writing appeared on the Bodhi tree, but the next moment, the leaves rustled, and countless Bodhi leaves fell, driven by an invisible force, rushing towards Li Cunxiao.

The latter's expression changed, and he leaped forward, covering three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in one bound.

The intertwined leaves resembled a raging dragon, which would turn its head and chase after them again.

A few that didn't have time to turn around were all heard with a low, muffled thud as they were completely buried in the soil, leaving behind countless thumb-sized pits.

"So fierce?"

Li Cunxiao's brow twitched, knowing that prolonged defense would inevitably lead to defeat. He gripped his spear with both hands, assumed a stance, and channeled his inner energy—a powerful, intertwined force of wood dragon and fire snake—through his flowing true qi. With a sweeping thrust of his spear, he drew out a trembling, fiery serpent.

Peng! ! !
The Flame Demon True Qi exploded, and the dragon head, which was charging fiercely, was bent over. But the next moment, it attacked again amidst the wailing wind.

"This true energy feels like the 'Burning Wood Blade', right? I knew it, that old Taoist Taiyi wouldn't let this go."

On the canopy of the enormous Bodhi tree, the monk Qici watched the fierce battle between a man and a dragon below, revealing a mixture of understanding and surprise.

The demon and the martial artist are one. Without the aid of a magical artifact like the Bone-Illuminating Mirror, even Qi Ci would not be able to see the demon within the martial artist's body at a glance.

When he saw Li Cunxiao fight against the Three Yellow Courts at the Ming Cult's camp, he was both happy and suspicious.

Whether it's the "Supreme Secret Nana Heavenly Scroll" or the "Fire Hell No-Interception Spear," he knows exactly what the effects will be after practicing them.

They had already suspected that Li Cunxiao had practiced other high-grade martial arts, and when they tested him, they found out.

"The Burning Wood Blade is a complementary martial art to the Horned Wood Dragon True Skill, which in turn is part of the Azure Dragon True Scripture."

"You damned Taoist priest, you're really willing to spend the money to poach my men. Hmph, luckily I found out early."

Thinking of this, Qi Ci secretly felt fortunate.

The other side is powerful and wealthy, unlike me, a lone wolf who has to beg the Ming Cult for help.

If Taiyi really goes all out, and Li Cunxiao is unaware of his existence, he might actually be dug up by the other party with a single shovel.

However, even though he had caught the other party in the act, Qi Ci did not intend to confront them immediately.

Because it's useless.

We're all old folks who've lived to be over a hundred. Honestly, even if the other party admits it, so what? Besides, with Taiyi's temper, he probably won't admit it; he'll just pretend to be confused.

Rather than alerting the enemy, it's better to maintain the status quo, with the enemy in the open and us in the shadows, keeping the initiative in our own hands.

This time, we went to the Ming Cult to make a quick buck. If we disregarded the things made with evil magic, there wasn't much left.

It would be more than enough to support Li Cunxiao to the point of Huangting Perfection, but the Taiyi family is large and powerful. If they could squeeze some money out of the other party, why should they pay for it themselves?

"It would be better to turn the tables and let this old man think he still has hope. That way, he will be more willing to take something out of his pocket."

Qi Ci couldn't help but feel secretly pleased with himself, especially now that Li Cunxiao had shown a talent for alchemy.

Compared to Decong, Taiyi, the master of Louguan Taoism, is naturally more important.

If an apprentice can learn even a few tricks from this, he will surely benefit immensely.

At least with the identity of an alchemist, he can support himself even without his master in the future.

"However, we still need to be more careful about matters of martial arts."

"Right now, having only a Burning Wood Sword isn't a big burden. Being able to combine it with the Fire Spear to replenish my true energy is actually a good thing for me."

"But if he were to learn some Taoist martial arts, things would get really bad."

Thinking of this, the battle between the man and the dragon under the tree reached its most intense moment.

Magic Treasures have always been an important part of Li Cunxiao's strength, but he cannot obtain their blessing in this dream.

In particular, the Purple Flame Serpent Spear can assist Li Cunxiao in projecting his true energy into a physical form.

Although the spear made from the Bodhi tree branch in his hand can channel true energy, it is only equivalent to a low-grade magic weapon, far inferior to the Purple Flame Serpent Spear.

But despite such difficulties, Li Cunxiao was not discouraged; instead, his fighting spirit was ignited.

A battle is a battle. No matter the situation, you must make good use of every bit of your strength and carefully look for every weakness in your opponent.

Only by having the will to win can one not necessarily lose, even under adverse conditions.

"This wooden dragon is formed from a Bodhi leaf; it is neither a demon nor a living being, and it has no vital organs."

"That senior's cultivation level is at least on par with Abbot Dezheng."

"This time, my goal is not to kill or defeat my opponent, but to demonstrate my full strength—I will not hold back!"

Li Cunxiao's golden pupils shone brightly, and the wooden dragon and fire snake roared simultaneously. The true energy, like a river, surged endlessly as the two combined, flowing into the meridians of his hands.

With his feet airborne, the air blasted and left a trail like flowing clouds. The blood-red flame-like true energy on his spear and staff surged and burned, and Li Cunxiao seemed to transform into the head of a giant python.

In an instant, the flaming spear pierced into the wooden dragon, and the Bodhi leaf inside was about to burst out under the immense pressure.

It seemed that Li Cunxiao would be shattered into pieces by countless shrapnel-like blades in the next second.

However, as true energy surged, flames illuminated the wooden dragon's head. Following the swirling airflow inside, like red-hot iron ropes, they completely bound the wooden dragon from head to tail and tightened continuously.

The meridians on Li Cunxiao's arms and forehead emitted a faint glow. With a roar, the countless fire ropes tightened and cut, causing the wooden dragon to explode. The leaves and flames transformed into ring-shaped shockwaves that scattered in all directions.

"Whoo~"

Li Cunxiao smelled the burnt odor in the air, exhaled deeply, and his chest heaved violently.

Just then, pale golden characters appeared on the Bodhi tree.

"It's okay."

Grass.

Li Cunxiao thought to himself that after a hard-fought battle for half a day, he only managed to get one "acceptable" result. This senior's requirements were truly exceptionally high.

'No wonder you haven't shown up; you're so aloof!'

Little did he know that right there on the Bodhi tree, Qici was patting his belly happily, his lips curling up uncontrollably.

"Good, good, good. In just over a month, you've already mastered both the Living Hell and the Black Rope Hell. You've achieved minor mastery of the Fire Spear technique, haha."

"This kid probably thinks I'm stingy. Fine, I'll give you a little treat first."

With a large, plump hand, he casually plucked a Bodhi leaf from a branch, blew on it gently, and the leaf became as thin as a cicada's wing, its veins turning pale gold, while the leaf flesh resembled crystal. It then swirled down on the wind.

As Li Cunxiao was secretly grumbling to himself, he suddenly saw a golden light fly from the Bodhi tree.

Before I could even react, it was already stuck to my forehead.

"Well"

A flood of information rushed into my mind, and I felt as if I were hallucinating.

He seemed to have transformed into an ancient emperor, driving a chariot and galloping across the vast ocean.

Wherever he went, the sea opened up and the people on land cheered.

Amidst the roar of mountains and the roar of the sea, he surveyed the vast lands of the four continents, enjoying boundless wealth.

Finally, when he looked up at the sky, there was an upside-down mountain that stretched from the heavens to the boundless sky.

A treasure shaped like a wheel descended from the clouds, and he stretched out his hands and raised it high.

"This is... the Holy King's Wheel Fist?"

Li Cunxiao felt the new fist technique that had appeared in his mind, and it turned out to be an incomplete high-grade martial art.

Even the introductory part is just as exquisite as "Fire Hell Gun" and "Burning Wood Blade".

More importantly, this happens to be a metal-element martial art, which fulfills the requirement of opening the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin and the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming later.

After obtaining the "Holy King Wheel Fist," I can continue the previous operation.

Using the vajra to learn martial arts allows one to quickly break through to the minor and major levels of mastery, thereby driving the growth of true qi and opening up acupoints and meridians.

"Thank you for passing on the Dharma, senior," Li Cunxiao said, feeling that the other party was being generous again.

Golden characters then appeared on the Bodhi tree.

"The way of martial arts values ​​refinement and purity. If one is not even proficient in Buddhism, how can one also cultivate Taoism?"

Discovered? !
Li Cunxiao was initially taken aback, but since he had already learned it, and the combination of the wooden dragon and the fire snake provided him with a large reserve of true energy, giving him a significant advantage when fighting other Huangting martial artists.

Thinking about it this way, he calmed down again:

"I am a junior with limited knowledge, please advise me, will this cause any bad consequences?"

The bad consequences? The bad consequences are that you get gouged out by that old Taoist priest Taiyi.

Qi Ci curled his lip and casually waved his hand. Li Cunxiao, who was under the Bodhi tree, suddenly felt a powerful suction force and was uncontrollably rushed towards the tree.

With absolutely no room to struggle, Li Cunxiao, his face drastically changing, saw four words rapidly enlarging before his eyes, and then everything went black—

"Damn it!" The young man suddenly sprang up from the bed, and after seeing the familiar room and calming down, he reluctantly relaxed his limbs and slowly sat down.

"This is the last time. It seems that my learning of Taoist martial arts has displeased that Buddhist senior."

"Fortunately, it's just annoyance and won't interfere with my martial arts."

Buddhism and Taoism have coexisted for many years, with both cooperation and conflict. It's normal for Taoist priests and monks to dislike each other.

Li Cunxiao lay relaxed on the bed. Since the other party had spoken, he wouldn't deliberately go against them.

The original purpose of practicing the "Burning Wood Blade" was to solve the problem of true qi. Last time, it was not easy to find a balance among several martial arts.

If there's one more, the demons inside my body will start fighting each other.

With the Vajra pestle present, the problem can be solved, but it would likely require an additional expenditure of malevolent energy, which would be unnecessary.

"The Holy King's Wheel Fist is a powerful and domineering fist technique."

This newly acquired "Holy King Revolving Fist" is a superior martial art no less than "Fire Hell No-Interval Spear".

Buddhist scriptures say that the Chakravartin King receives a wheel of jewels from heaven, turns the wheel of jewels, and subdues the four directions, hence the name Chakravartin King.

The Holy King's Wheel of Treasure comes in four types: gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Correspondingly, this fist technique also has four levels of attainment.

The iron wheel represents the beginning, the bronze wheel represents minor achievement, the silver wheel represents major achievement, and the gold wheel represents perfection.

These gold, silver, copper, and iron are not ordinary objects, but symbols of the power of the holy king.

Buddhist scriptures say, "The wheel of jewels has four kinds: gold, silver, copper, and iron, which correspond to the four, three, two, and one great continents in that order."

In Buddhism's understanding of the world, Mount Sumeru is at the center, with the sun and moon on either side. From bottom to top, there are three realms: the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm.

Mount Sumeru is surrounded by four vast oceans, on which lie the four great continents: Purvavideha, Jambudvipa, Aparagodaniya, and Uttarakuru, also known as the Four Jambudvipas.

Mount Sumeru is the abode of gods, Buddhas, and demons.

Beneath Mount Sumeru, the Chakravartin King reigns over all sentient beings in the four continents, governing the world with the righteous Dharma. His land is abundant, and his people live in harmony.

The Golden Wheel King possesses four continents, the Silver Wheel King possesses three continents in the east, west, and south, the Bronze Wheel King possesses two continents in the southeast, and the Iron Wheel King possesses one continent in Jambudvipa (the southern continent).

In other words, the four wheels of gold, silver, bronze, and iron actually represent the power of the four continents and four seas.

With each advancement to the next level, the power of this martial art increases exponentially, which is completely different from ordinary martial arts.

Of course, the difficulty of its cultivation is self-evident.

"Fortunately, I had the Vajra Pestle to help me break through the barrier, otherwise, let alone three top-grade martial arts, even just one would have been enough to teach me for a year."

Looking at the cultivation method for the iron wheel section, Li Cunxiao felt a strong motivation to complete the remaining three parts, guessing that this was the effect that senior wanted to achieve.

After all that commotion, it was already the middle of the night, and a bit of fatigue crept over me. I was just thinking of getting some rest so I could plan some good deeds for tomorrow.

However, before he could fall asleep, a familiar feeling lingered in his heart.

When Li Cunxiao opened his eyes again and saw the magnificent palace and the Eastern King Mu Gong standing not far away, he suddenly felt a pain in his liver.

One left, and another one comes?

"Young boy, you must not slacken your studies of alchemy even for a day."

"After you finish your homework, you will be allowed to stay in the Linglong Tower for an extra half hour."

Taiyi Zhenren appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, he was practically grinding his teeth to powder.

They finally came up with a plan to feign an attack while secretly making their own moves, but that bald thief also started to make his own dirty tricks.

He has a strong temper and will not turn his head to avoid it; he will only stubbornly step forward.

'We can only let Li Cunxiao suffer for now; when the truth comes out later, Qi Ci will have to bear the infamy!'

A long night passed.

Li Cunxiao slept until noon, something he hadn't done in a long time. He was exhausted after being tormented by two old men the night before.

Yuan Shen waited in the alchemy room for a long time but no one came, so he came to check on them in person. However, before he could even knock on the door, he could tell that the person inside was sleeping soundly.

These martial artists of the Yellow Court Realm, under normal safe conditions, already need very little sleep.

There's only one possibility for the other party to be in this state: they're simply too exhausted.

"That's true. Whether you're refining pills during the day or meditating at night, your true energy is consumed very quickly."

"Junior Brother Li has probably been training too hard since he came back. He should go back and tell Master."

Li Cunxiao, lying in bed, was unaware that he had inexplicably gained Yuan Can's respect. He simply woke up, looked at the sunlight in the sky, and stretched for the first time in a long time.

Feel comfortable both physically and mentally.

After that, they went to the alchemy room step by step to process the materials and refine the Qi and Blood Pills.

To Li Cunxiao's surprise, before he could even explain that he had overslept, De Cong had already spoken up.

He kindly suggested that since he had been working hard lately, he should take a few days off after this batch of Qi and Blood Pills was finished.

After that, they had two days off every ten days, which was three days more than the apprentices of the three academies.

To be honest, Decong's actions were quite considerate.

Let alone martial artists, even ordinary people in the state capital generally don't have the concept of taking a holiday.

Most people work every day, and even those in large shops often only get one day off a month.

Li Cunxiao initially rested in the third room of the Medicine King's Courtyard, which actually shows that the servants were employees, not apprentices.

Those disciples who have entered the inner circle of the sect have no concept of rest. Whenever the sect assigns a task, you have to do it.

There are only occasional periods of free time, but there is no promise of a few days off each month.

In fact, it was because Qi Ci had spoken to De Zheng that De Cong was so considerate.

After all, he's just a borrowed apprentice; it's good enough that he's usable.

Li Cunxiao could vaguely guess some of the reasons behind it, but he couldn't be sure.

In any case, having more time to manage is a good thing.

So in the days that followed, Li Cunxiao resumed his life of refining elixirs during the day and practicing martial arts at night.

The fulfilling and busy days passed by one by one, and in the blink of an eye, half a month later, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth of August.

The refining of this batch of Qi and Blood Pills was finally completed. Taking this opportunity, Li Cunxiao returned to the escort agency with Zhang Yuelu and Ye Chengxiao.

It must be said that as the three men's positions in Tiangu Temple gradually became more secure, especially Li Cunxiao, who not only gained some fame in Yaowang Academy but also in the government office, Su Wuming, the military advisor, took care of him from time to time.

Nowadays, the Flying Tiger Escort Agency, while not exactly a local tyrant, is at least peaceful and stable, and few people dare to provoke it.

The festive atmosphere was always joyful and happy, and Li Cunxiao rarely relaxed.

However, he still got up very early the next day.

During this time, the Buddhist elder did not appear in my dreams again, but Dongwang Mugong was very diligent, coming every other day.

While exhausting Li Cunxiao both physically and mentally, his murderous aura was also steadily increasing.

With the power of the Vajra, he successfully mastered the basics of the Holy King Wheel Fist, which laid the foundation for his next move.

That's the black market.

The Buddhist elder asked him to eliminate demons and evil, and the first problem he faced was the issue of intelligence.

Searching for them one by one would be inefficient and troublesome. After careful consideration, Li Cunxiao chose the black market instead of Tiangu Temple as his platform.

In fact, it is not impossible to do the missions in the Bodhidharma Inner Court of Tiangu Temple, but generally speaking, martial monks at the Huangting realm have already joined the ranks of a certain head monk, and missions that match their strength are directly assigned by their masters.

The publicly announced tasks are only suitable for those at the Internal Organs Realm. If he were to take action, not to mention whether that senior would be dissatisfied, given his combat strength, the junior brothers in the temple would have nothing to do.

Since that senior specifically assessed his own strength, it naturally carried a hint of warning.

Since he was going to work on the black market and had a bounty on his head, he naturally had to disguise himself.

After the great battle between the Hungry Ghost Festival and the Ming Cult, the Little Yaksha Knife and the Fire Spear almost became his trademarks. At this time, the Holy King's Revolving Fist came into play.

In the black market, there are orders for gangland feuds, wanted notices from state and local governments, and even commissions from other counties and townships.

Li Cunxiao's goal was to act as a ghostwriter, using the complex channels of the black market to complete the ten good deeds required by his predecessor while earning a reward—killing two birds with one stone.

Therefore, after getting ready, Li Cunxiao did not ride his red horse, but walked to the vicinity of Yongdingfang in the south of the city. He quietly found a corner, changed his clothes, and put on a bamboo hat with a drooping curtain before entering.

The capital city is the epitome of the state's prosperity, with more than just the East and West Markets; there are even multiple black markets.

However, the black market in Yongdingfang is the largest among all the black markets.

The southern part of the city was mostly inhabited by poor people. For example, the Beitian Temple, where Abbess Jingyue lived, was located in Yong'an Ward, not far away.

But when Li Cunxiao entered the neighborhood, he saw that there were many shops and people coming and going, but their clothes were not bad, and there were very few with patches on their clothes.

Even though they were dressed in silk and wore soft silk headscarves, these people didn't look noble at all; they only had a fierce and menacing aura, and they looked like desperate criminals.

Before Li Cunxiao came, he specifically asked Yuanhua about it. He learned that Yongdingfang was almost entirely a black market, frequented by desperate criminals, and selling blood-stained goods.

That's why these people who risk their lives to make a living don't have the same mindset as ordinary people who want to save money for the day; they live for the moment.

Therefore, restaurants, brothels, and gambling dens occupied more than half of the area, while the rest were weapons shops and pharmacies, all of which were thriving.

Even though he had secretly scouted the place beforehand, Li Cunxiao was still cautious and headed straight for a three-story building in the market.

It looked like a restaurant, with the words "Fanlou" written on the signboard.

But once inside, you'll find that there are hardly any people on the first floor, and the shop has no tables or chairs. Instead, it displays rows of gleaming swords and medicines that emit a faint herbal scent.

Only behind the counter, a man wearing a black high-necked robe and a Nuo opera yaksha mask on his face, Li Cunxiao noticed that under the light, there was a faint pattern of a pavilion on his black robe, just like the Fanlou.

They still have money to make uniforms?

Li Cunxiao thought to himself that it was hard to say how complicated the relationships behind Fanlou were, but since even such a gray force knew how to build an organization, the leader was probably not simple.

The man wearing the Yaksha mask was clearly used to being stared at, so he wasn't surprised to see the person in front of him wearing a straw hat and black veil.

"Is the customer here to take an order or to post a reward?"

(End of this chapter)