The head master has a new female apprentice

Chapter 488 The Secret (First Update)
In response to Zhou Qing's question, Guicang clasped his hands together, bowed slightly, and looked more solemn than before.

"Before that, I have a question—is one of the inscription-level divine abilities that my great-father possesses the Great Luo Demon Sealing Seal?"

Zhou Qing glanced discreetly at the half of the dim golden character "大" above his head.

After a moment, he slowly nodded, without hiding anything: "Yes."

Upon hearing Zhou Qing's confirmation, Guicang visibly relaxed, his tense shoulders drooping slightly, and a barely perceptible hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

He then said, "I once heard an elderly Buddha in the temple mention that several hundred years ago, the Cultivation Alliance had an inspector with unfathomable strength who discovered a young man with extraordinary talent in a cultivation academy in Taiyin Prefecture."

“That young man has successfully condensed the ‘Three Flowers Gathering at the Top’. The Inspector saw that he had exceptional talent and chose him as his apostle.”

"Not only did they teach him the cultivation method of the Great Luo Demon Sealing Seal, but they also gave him the original scroll of the supernatural power."

"Unfortunately, when that young man was trying to break through to the Supreme Realm, at the crucial moment of undergoing the Supreme Tribulation, he seemed to be ambushed by an unknown person, resulting in serious injury and death, and the Supreme Tribulation ended in failure."

"With his death, the original scroll of the Great Luo Demon Sealing Seal and its cultivation method also disappeared from the world, and there has been no news of it since."

Guicang paused here, his tone becoming more serious.

"And now, the 'Three-Flower Mummy' that has appeared in the desolate forbidden land, based on the remaining three-flower colors and physical characteristics, the ancient Buddhas in the temple speculate that he should be the one who fell from grace and gathered the three flowers back then."

Zhou Qing was shocked. He had thought the other party had simply failed to transcend the tribulation, but he hadn't expected there to be such a hidden story.

He looked up at Gui Cang and saw that the other man's expression was open and there was no obvious abnormality in his eyes, so he stopped hiding it and spoke calmly.

“Yes, you’re right. When I was exploring the desolate wilderness, I did find the remains of that Three Flowers Gathering at the Top cultivator first, and found the original scroll of the Great Luo Demon Sealing Seal from his body.”

At this point, Zhou Qing paused slightly, then changed the subject and added, "However, it was a mix of good and bad luck."

"The cultivation opportunity in that scroll is only available for the last time. After I finish cultivating, the scroll itself will become an unusable dead object, with not even a trace of spiritual energy left."

Upon hearing Zhou Qing's words, Gui Cang's eyes dimmed noticeably, and a hint of undisguised disappointment flashed across his face.

But he quickly composed himself, clasped his hands together, and said in a gentle tone, "That is a pity. But it is understandable, as a level-one inscription divine ability usually only has ten opportunities to be cultivated."

"Since the inspector was willing to give the original scroll to that young man back then, it's likely that he already had few chances to practice this supernatural power at that time, so it's normal that he's exhausted it now."

Guicang changed the subject, his gaze returning to Zhou Qing, a hint of certainty in his eyes. "But it doesn't matter. As long as my father has mastered this divine ability, that's enough."

Zhou Qing gazed at him, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes, and slowly said, "It seems that the favor you want me to do is to use it to suppress something?"

In fact, there were clearly still a few more times he could practice the Great Luo Demon Sealing Seal. At least according to his current perception, the scroll could still be unfurled smoothly.

Moreover, both the Second Master and Han Yi had read the original volume, and he himself was about to complete the second seal.

Since the other party is still so persistent, the answer is obvious.

What the other party wanted to borrow was not the cultivation method of this supernatural power, but its suppressive power.

After all, beneath the golden seal of the first seal, [Demon Suppression], there is a huge swastika, and suppression is its core power. "Father guessed correctly." Guicang nodded with his hands clasped together, his voice deep and slow, "Before I was born, Father often had dealings with my mother, and even helped her escape danger on several occasions."

“After I entered Jiyuan Temple, I received guidance from several ancient Buddhas and officially embarked on the path of cultivation. In the years that followed, I often traveled to resolve karmic obstacles for the world and accumulate merit.”

Zhou Qing remained silent, but in his mind, he recalled how Jueming, along with the young monk Kongchan, chanted sutras again and again in those places filled with corpses and resentment, dispelling the malevolent spirits of the dead and accumulating merit.

This in itself is a kind of spiritual practice that leads to the same goal, albeit through different paths.

Guicang's voice continued, tinged with sorrow: "But the world is full of endless strife and suffering in endless cycles."

"Especially in the places where cultivators at the Spirit Severing Realm and Supreme Realm fell, the lingering obsessions and negative emotions have long since materialized."

"If any mortal accidentally wanders into it, he will be devoured by the resentment in an instant, lose his mind, and become a walking corpse guarding the dead land."

“The Buddha is compassionate and cannot bear to see sentient beings suffer like this.” Guicang’s tone became serious. “My ancestors at Jiyuan Temple once obtained a supreme scripture.”

"This scripture can dissolve the obsessive emotions of those who perished in the Spirit Severing Realm and condense them into a crystal of resentment. Then, the crystal can be sent to the Silent Abyss Temple, where the monks will chant scriptures day and night to help them pass on and be liberated."

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Zhou Qing's eyes.

He had no idea that the harsh environment of the place where the Spirit Slayer Realm fell could be restored to normal not only by the natural erosion of time, but also by human intervention.

Moreover, the process sounds somewhat like the "Hundred Tribulations Blood Curtain" he cultivates, which can condense it into a physical crystal.

As Guicang spoke, he turned his right palm upward, and pale golden Buddhist light overflowed from between his fingers, causing hundreds of grayish crystals to float out.

The crystals were about the size of a thumb, with a spiderweb-like black pattern on their surface, as if solidified resentment was flowing within them.

Upon closer inspection, one could vaguely see distorted phantoms inside the crystal, as if the lingering obsessions of a fallen cultivator were struggling.

Every subtle tremor exuded a chilling cold and a chilling negative aura, as if the surrounding air itself was shrouded in gloom.

With a light flick of his fingertips, Gui Cang caused the crystal to float quietly in mid-air. He said in a deep voice, "This is a crystal of resentment that I spent half a month chanting sutras at the former sites of the Xiao and Shen families in the Fifth Tail, and that is how I condensed the remaining obsessions into a crystal."

"I heard that the Liu family of the Sixth Tail clan was also wiped out not long ago, with three Supreme Beings and several Spirit Severing Realm cultivators perishing. I wanted to go and resolve the situation, but alas—"

He paused, then slowly pulled open the lapel of his monk's robe.

On his chest, a palm-sized patch of skin was covered in dark brown ulcers.

Wisps of black mist swirled around the festering edges, wriggling like living things and trying to spread outwards.

In the very center of the ulcerated area, a golden swastika, about the size of a copper coin, was prominently imprinted.

The swastika symbol emitted a soft Buddhist light, suppressing the spread of the black mist like a dam.

Zhou Qing and Shen Yunzhou frowned deeply as they watched this scene.

(End of this chapter)