Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 378 Ghosts are as numerous as hemp, that is the way of demons
"Sir, you jest. No matter what kind of poison is used on someone with your skill level, it will only be suppressed by your internal energy and then released."

The old scholar was filled with emotion and said, "Back then, I asked the Marquis to test the poison. Before he attained enlightenment, I carefully prepared a drug called 'Magpie Bridge Dream,' which might still be of some use to him."

"After he attained enlightenment, he used the sleeping pills on me as a condiment, and after eating them, he would beat me up."

As they spoke, the group stepped into the south lobby of Pengcheng Tavern.

In the main hall, two old men, one holding a huqin (a two-stringed bowed instrument) and the other a pipa (a four-stringed lute), came to greet us.

The old man playing the pipa chuckled and said, "Xiao Liang also said that he used 30% of his strength to suppress the effects of your sleeping potion. That's quite remarkable."

"If you attain enlightenment in the future, the world you see will be a completely different place, and you will surely have many ingenious ideas when you are practicing medicine."

The old scholar simply shook his head.

The old man playing the erhu bowed to Chu Tianshu and said, "When you came that day, we already felt that you were extraordinary, but we did not expect that you were such a young man who had already attained enlightenment. What is even more rare is your kind heart and great respectability."

Chu Tianshu smiled, stepped into the hall, and found an empty chair to sit down.

He sensed that day that the three of them exuded a meticulous and rigorous aura, as if they were refining a magical artifact.

However, the three of them didn't intend to make a move that day, and there weren't many traces left behind.

The three of them had been poised to act in the building, but Chu Tianshu sensed them and discerned more clues.

"Among the more than seventy swords hanging by the window in the north room, there are three weapons whose aura is somewhat similar to that of the three of you."

Chu Tianshu said, "Now it seems that none of you use swords anymore?"

The old scholar nodded and gestured to the Zhuo father and daughter, saying, "Please sit down."

The father and daughter, along with the two elderly musicians, all took their seats.

The old scholar turned around, went to the counter to get tea, and said, "When we were young, we were all wandering swordsmen. Learning swordsmanship was just following the crowd."

"Because there are many different styles of swordsmanship in the world, if a freelancer learns swordsmanship, there is a greater chance that they will be able to learn from other styles later."

"Ever since we were defeated by Xiao Liang, he gave us a method for refining treasures that is not restricted by the shape of the weapon. He also said that none of the three of us are suitable for swords, so we changed our weapons."

Chu Tianshu rested his right hand on the table, toying with an empty cup, and said, "It sounds like the Marquis of Pengcheng also wanted to develop his power in Denglai Mountain Town back then?"

"Yes."

This time, it was the old man playing the pipa who spoke up, saying, "This is a treasure trove."

"Unfortunately, the enlightened people from all sides have long had a tacit understanding not to allow the enlightened masters to stay here for long and to monopolize the pass."

“Xiao Liang killed all the experts of the Xiao family in the East Sea without any mercy, which already aroused suspicion and resistance from all sides. It is not good to break off relations with them again.”

Chu Tianshu seemed to be deep in thought, then flipped the teacup in his hand around and placed the rim on the table.

The old scholar had already arrived with tea.

He took out two thumb-sized porcelain bottles from his pocket, one red and one blue, and shook two pills into a teacup, then poured in water to dissolve them.

The color of the tea suddenly became very strange, with fine bubbles rising to the surface, and it turned a thick, greenish color, like swamp mud.

After two or three breaths, the bubbles gradually dissipated, and the green color faded.

The tea in the cup seemed to form layers: a thick, clear, bluish-green layer on the surface, and a reddish-purple, viscous layer underneath, like purple rice soup.

Chu Tianshu laughed and said, "To drug someone right in front of you?"

The old scholar handed the medicinal tea to Zhuo Yuan.

Zhuo Yuan took the teacup, hesitated for a moment, and looked at Chu Tianshu.

Seeing that Chu Tianshu nodded, he drank it too.

"Today's events, with the help of our guest, were certainly unexpected, but Mr. Zhuo's mastery of the 'Heart Moon Two Elements Skill' has also greatly surprised us."

A glint of shrewdness flashed in the old scholar's eyes. "My tea is specially formulated to regulate the meridians, which should be quite beneficial to Mr. Zhuo's current condition. It is also quite expensive."

"Here are two bottles of pills, enough for fifteen days. I only want an answer from you: where did you learn this technique?"

As soon as the tea entered his stomach, Zhuo Yuan felt a warm sensation spread throughout his body. Many uncomfortable areas felt like they were soaking in a hot spring, a warm and sour feeling.

But when he heard this question, he was taken aback.

"Heart Moon Yin-Yang Technique..."

Zhuo Yuan pondered for a moment.

The old scholar said, "If the person who passed on this technique to you were just a pitiful person who had learned it in his early years but lost his skills because of it, then that would be fine."

"But if it's a Taoist priest who acts mysteriously, then he definitely has ill intentions, and you shouldn't feel that he has done you a favor!"

The old scholar noticed the subtle changes in Zhuo Yuan's expression.

"It seems to be the latter."

The old scholar took a deep breath, "That Taoist priest has appeared again."

Chu Tianshu also realized that one of the important reasons why these people invited them to the tavern was related to Zhuo Yuan's demonic arts.

This technique, seemingly unlike other demonic arts that require harming others, actually requires harming oneself. To cultivate this technique, one must not only possess extraordinary endurance but also have experienced a great tragedy and set a goal based on pain, hatred, and despair.

If the goal is achieved, the power collapses and the body breaks free, resulting in death amidst the joy of success, possibly taking those around the person with them.

If you can't achieve your goal, you won't be able to practice for very long.

The power formed by relying on extreme pain and resonating with the power of the moon's turbidity is like building a tall building without any solid foundation on each floor.

The higher the building, the greater the gaps and the easier it is to collapse.

Although, given enough time and manpower to study this method, it is not impossible to develop new possibilities.

However, Chu Tianshu's fundamental intention in practicing martial arts had already been established: to "suppress nightmares with martial arts," a profound desire for a better and more peaceful life.

The ultimate move of the Heavenly Heart Sorrowful Demon Slash has already crossed a certain boundary for him. Anything more perverse would conflict with his true nature, making it much less effective to practice. It is also not worth wasting evil spirit materials to deepen such a torturous thing.

"More than 20 years ago, this set of exercises was circulated for a while on the border between the two dynasties. Many people were bewitched and practiced this exercise, including several of our childhood friends."

"However, because the difficulty of getting started was not low, and many people died or were injured while practicing it, the scam of this skill was gradually exposed and it disappeared."

The old scholar, with a somber expression, recounted the past.

"Later, Xiao Liang told us that this was most likely a demonic master testing his techniques."

"Perhaps that person didn't realize at first that this training method wasn't suitable for him. After thousands or tens of thousands of people died and the progress wasn't significant, he felt that it was a bit of a loss and gave up on promoting and spreading this skill."

The old man playing the pipa lowered his head and gently plucked a string.

The old man playing the erhu sighed softly and said, "There are many people in the world who create and research martial arts and test techniques, but the harm caused by demonic techniques is something that has been rare in the past two thousand years."

"The memories of those friends from back then have become somewhat hazy in our minds."

"But just to try out a method that could be easily abandoned, so many people were killed, it's really..."

"They treat us like ants!!"

The old scholar and his companions had never even met the Taoist priest, but precisely because of this, they were even more able to sense his attitude.

We are all human beings, with similar feelings, language, and culture, and we can communicate.

What does it feel like to be treated like an ant?

That feeling of indignation remains vivid in my memory even after more than twenty years.

Zhuo Yuan thought for a moment: "After I was seriously injured by the Xiao family, I drifted downstream at the bottom of the cliff. In my dazed state, I saw a Taoist priest."

He said, “You have some painful perseverance, but it’s not enough. If you can suffer twice as much, I will teach you to use the power of pain.”

Zhuo Yuan clutched his chest as he recalled that moment.

"At that time, all I wanted was to bring Xiaolan back. I don't know why I wasn't grieving enough, so I could only relive the scene of Xiaolan being taken away over and over again."

"Recalling the time before I found Xiaolan, I wandered the world, enduring scorn, disdain, injuries, misunderstandings, the death of my friends, and the early loss of my parents..."

He spoke more and more slowly, and his expression became increasingly distressed.

Ding!
Chu Tianshu tapped her fingernail on the teacup.

Zhuo Yuan woke up with a start, his chest heaving violently.

The old scholar quickly said, "Don't recall these things. Just tell us where that Taoist priest appeared, and we'll contact people to investigate."

Zhuo Yuan nodded and gave the name of the place.

Chu Tianshu looked at the thin, blond man and lowered his eyes.

Pain is a complex emotion that can easily transform into other feelings.

Just like the Sorrowful Demon Slash, pain can easily turn into killing intent if you're not careful.

The Ash Sword, born from bitterness, now embodies the intent to set the world ablaze.

One can learn martial arts from emotions, or one can use the transformed mindset as the main body.

There is absolutely no need to make suffering itself the central theme.

Intentionally promoting that kind of martial art is a crime deserving of death.

The Demonic Path.

In the demonic path, evil spirits are indeed as numerous as the wind!

The Taoist priest was nowhere to be found, but there was a group of monks right beside him.

Chu Tianshu looked towards the entrance, where the shop assistants were carrying the group of monks inside.

There are already nine evil spirits among them.

The leading monk, in particular, had the deepest cultivation.

But hold off for a moment, something has been bothering me for days, I need to find out the answer first.

(End of this chapter)