Six-Word Golden Bead

Every Demon Subduing Captain in the Demon Subduing Bureau was entitled to their own private room.

It was nothing like the scene Ning Xiu had imagined when joining the Bureau. There was no solemn initiation ceremony, no welcome party for newcomers.

He simply went to the warehouse, collected a set of Mysterious Silver Lock Armor and a saber for an Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captain, and received an iron token carved with a horse—his identity badge. That was it. He was officially in.

It couldn't have been more minimalist.

As Su Qianqian led him to pick an empty room, Ning Xiu got an explanation from her, a Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captain.

The Demon Subduing Bureau might seem glorious, but in truth, its death toll was extremely high. Six or seven out of every ten deaths were at the Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captain level.

So the Bureau constantly had to recruit apprentices from the Champion Camp to replenish its ranks. Over time, no one bothered to care about these newcomers who might die at the hands of Evil Spirits at any moment.

You could put on your Mysterious Silver Lock Armor one day, head out to investigate an Evil Spirit the next, and be dead before nightfall.

Or, if you had both luck and skill, you could climb all the way from Iron Horse rank to Silver Tiger rank.

That was why welcome parties and ceremonies were unnecessary—at least for Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captains.

"There are seven empty rooms in this courtyard. Their previous owners are all dead. Pick whichever you like. Everything inside was left by the last occupant—keep it or toss it, your choice. Just get settled in quickly." Su Qianqian walked ahead of the group, speaking as she led the way.

Listening to Su Qianqian explain things about the Demon Subduing Bureau, Ning Xiu felt a heavy weight of pressure. For a moment, the half-month he'd spent in the Demon Subduing Prison seemed blissful and peaceful by comparison.

Even the hideous, twisted faces of the Evil Spirits he'd executed in his mind now looked a little more tolerable.

"You lot, go pick your rooms. You... you stay." Su Qianqian turned and pointed at Ning Xiu.

Not knowing his name or how to address him, she fumbled and used "you" twice in a row.

"My name is Ning Xiu," he said helplessly.

"Doesn't matter. Come with me." Su Qianqian walked over to an open space nearby and beckoned him over.

Seeing her stance, Ning Xiu knew she wasn't up to anything good.

"New recruits to the Demon Subduing Bureau rarely see anyone truly impressive all year. Let's spar. I want to see your strength, so I can decide what missions to assign you later."

In the year since Ning Xiu had started training in martial arts, his strength had steadily improved, but he'd never actually fought anyone for real.

Su Qianqian's request suited him just fine. How did his four-layer Golden Bell Shield and four-layer Great Sun Profound Scripture stack up against a Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captain? It seemed he'd get his answer today.

"Then I ask for your guidance, Captain." Ning Xiu assumed the stance of the Primordial Yang Fist and, without another word, charged straight at her.

The Primordial Yang Fist was mainly used to fortify blood and vitality, with combat as a secondary purpose. It wasn't typically employed in sparring, but with Ning Xiu's Internal Energy backing it, even the Primordial Yang Fist became something extraordinary.

A single punch from him could crack a stone wall.

Seeing Ning Xiu's momentum, Su Qianqian stepped forward and caught his fist with a single palm.

The moment fist met palm, Ning Xiu felt as if he'd struck a sponge. All the force of his punch dissipated uselessly, having no effect at all.

Su Qianqian's five fingers wrapped around his fist, and with a twist of her wrist, the world spun around Ning Xiu. He felt himself float lightly under her control, spinning a full circle before toppling backward uncontrollably.

Just as he was about to hit the ground, Ning Xiu stomped his legs, sinking his feet half an inch into the earth. He dropped into a horse stance, barely managing to halt his fall.

"Not bad. You didn't fall." Su Qianqian's voice carried a note of approval.

"Captain, was that move martial arts?" Ning Xiu straightened up, curiosity piqued.

"No. It was the Heaven and Earth Shifting Technique from the immortal path. Even a woman can use it to move a thousand-pound bronze tripod ten paces. The fact that you could hold your ground against my technique means your strength is quite impressive for the Martial Ninth Rank."

Ning Xiu was slightly startled. "Captain, you don't seem surprised that I'm at the Martial Ninth Rank. Did you already know I'd cultivated Internal Energy?"

"Of course. Why else do you think I singled you out from the crowd?" Su Qianqian pointed at her own eyes. "I've trained in a Pupil Technique. I can see the flow of Internal Energy in others."

The immortal path was full of bizarre and complex techniques. Ning Xiu had read in books that immortal practitioners could summon soldiers from beans, use leaves as boats, walk through walls, and take gold and silver from paintings.

Greater cultivators could summon wind and rain, or command heavenly thunder to slay Evil Spirits.

But Ning Xiu had never met anyone who walked the immortal path before. Running into Su Qianqian was an eye-opener.

"Your fists and feet are decent. Try blocking this move." Su Qianqian pressed two fingers together, and several green bamboo shoots beside her suddenly tore from the ground, splitting into countless bamboo skewers of varying lengths.

At her command, over a hundred skewers shot toward Ning Xiu like a storm, an overwhelming assault.

In Su Qianqian's view, a martial arts newcomer facing this technique would surely dodge. But Ning Xiu showed no intention of evading. He stood his ground, covered his face with his hands, and remained completely still.

Such an act was either supreme confidence or sheer suicide. The next instant, the barrage of bamboo skewers slammed into him.

Sh-sh-sh!

Hundreds of skewers struck Ning Xiu's body, only to bounce off, snapping and shattering on impact.

Aside from his clothes being riddled with holes, Ning Xiu didn't have a single scratch. He had completely ignored Su Qianqian's technique.

"A Hardening Skill!" Su Qianqian was slightly taken aback.

It wasn't unusual for a martial artist to train in a Hardening Skill, but for someone as young as Ning Xiu to have reached a level where it could block her technique—that was a rare talent, a martial prodigy.

After all, Hardening Skills were far harder to master than ordinary fist techniques or weapon arts.

That last move hadn't been Su Qianqian's full strength, but it wasn't something just any Martial Ninth Rank could withstand.

"Captain, is my strength acceptable?" Ning Xiu asked, looking down at his tattered clothes.

"Not bad. Among all the newcomers I've seen join the Bureau, you have the highest starting point. Work hard, and one day you'll have a place in the Demon Subduing Bureau." Su Qianqian waved a hand. "Go pick your room now. Rest up these next few days. I'll start assigning you missions soon."

"Understood." Ning Xiu cupped his hands in salute, then walked into the courtyard.

Watching Ning Xiu walk away, Su Qianqian's previously calm and aloof expression instantly collapsed. She muttered to herself, "What are kids these days eating to grow up on? Just joined the bureau and already this strong. Ridiculous."

By the time Ning Xiu and Su Qianqian had finished their exchange, the seven empty rooms in the courtyard had all been chosen, leaving only the one in the most remote corner.

Ning Xiu didn't mind. After all, any place was fine to live in.

As soon as he stepped into the room, a Buddhist shrine hanging on the wall caught his eye. No one had lived here for a long time; a thin layer of dust covered the shrine, and the incense burner held only three spent, broken sticks.

Aside from a simple bed, the most conspicuous thing in the room was the bookshelf in the corner, packed with Buddhist scriptures.

"Looks like the previous owner of this room was a Buddhist cultivator," Ning Xiu thought, glancing at the meditation cushion beneath the shrine and the string of Buddhist prayer beads on the bed.

According to the rules, as the new occupant, Ning Xiu had the right to tear all of this out and throw it away as trash.

But Ning Xiu wasn't a clean freak. If he wanted to get rid of these things, he'd have to do it himself, and he didn't feel like wasting that effort. He'd just leave them be; they wouldn't affect anything anyway.

Walking over to the bookshelf, Ning Xiu, who had always loved reading, picked up a Buddhist scripture and started flipping through it.

Although he had no intention of walking the Buddhist path, learning more about things he didn't know and broadening his horizons was never a bad idea.

Speaking of which, Buddhism and martial arts had quite a bit in common. Buddhism advocated for tempering the body to achieve an indestructible golden body, chanting sutras to guide the souls of the dead, and using fists to exorcise Evil Spirits.

A master of Buddhism would manifest a golden body, and the mere Buddhist light radiating from it could melt weak demons.

Thus, some martial artists combined the strengths of both Buddhism and martial arts, creating many martial techniques with a Buddhist flavor.

For example, the Indestructible Vajra Skill, Precept Breaking Saber Art, Great Strength Vajra Palm, One Finger Zen, Arhat Fist, Demon Subduing Shovel Technique, and so on.

As a result, some Buddhist masters also spent effort learning martial arts to protect themselves, the two paths complementing each other.

There were many Buddhist texts in this room. Ning Xiu calmed his mind and found himself engrossed in reading them.

"Reflections of a Buddhist Ascetic Who Attained the Seventh Rank," "For Buddhist Practitioners: Avoid Lust, Carnality, and Greed," "The Story I Must Tell About Breaking My Vows at Spring Full Pavilion"...

One book after another, Ning Xiu read through them quickly. Among them were good books full of life wisdom, as well as a few strange autobiographies.

When Ning Xiu picked up a copy of the "Diamond Sutra," he suddenly felt something in his bosom tremble slightly. He reached in and took it out.

It was the Six-Word Golden Bead he had found in the belly of that Black Heaven Gate demon back then.

After obtaining it, Ning Xiu had tried every method to get a reaction out of it, but never succeeded. After countless failed attempts, he had given up hope.

He never expected it to act up like this today. Surprise surged in Ning Xiu's heart.

The "Diamond Sutra," also known as the "Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra," was a famous Buddhist classic.

"Could this Six-Word Golden Bead have some special connection to the Diamond Sutra?" Ning Xiu thought. He placed the bead on top of the sutra to see if anything else would happen.

But the bead only trembled. Ning Xiu tried a different approach—he opened the sutra and began chanting the text aloud.

The moment he did, the bead instantly resonated, chanting the Diamond Sutra along with him. The character "Om" on the bead's surface lit up with a faint red glow.

So this was the right way to unlock the mysterious bead.

Seeing this, Ning Xiu chanted even more fervently, determined to fully unravel the secret of the Six-Word Golden Bead.

After an unknown amount of time, the bead gradually returned to its usual stillness, but the entire "Om" character had turned completely red. Compared to the other five characters, which remained golden, it stood out strikingly.

"Looks like only one character can be activated at a time. When all six characters of the Six-Character Mantra are lit up, the secret hidden in this bead should be revealed." Ning Xiu put the bead away, thinking to himself.

Bang bang bang!

Just as Ning Xiu was about to pick up another book titled "My Childhood Sweetheart Changed Her Heart and Married Another, So I Entered Buddhism and Became a Fifth-Rank Monk," someone suddenly knocked on his door.

"Who is it?" Ning Xiu called out.

"Brother, we're the ones chosen by Lady Su this morning along with you. Since we'll all be working under her from now on, we figured we should get to know each other, build some camaraderie, and look out for one another in the Demon Subduing Bureau."

Ning Xiu got up and opened the door. He saw that the sky outside had already turned pitch black—he had been reading all day without realizing it.

Six young men stood at the door. Ning Xiu recognized them all; they were the Champion Camp apprentices Su Qianqian had selected after him.

"Brother, to celebrate joining the Demon Subduing Bureau, we're planning to throw a feast at Spring Full Pavilion tonight. Come with us!" The leader, a young man named Lu Hao, invited him warmly.

"Spring Full Pavilion? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Ning Xiu felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

"Brother, as a man, Spring Full Pavilion should sound familiar. Come on, we're drinking till we drop tonight. I'll even find a few pretty ladies to keep you company."

"Brother, your clothes are so shabby. That won't look good when we go out. Come on, pick something from my room to wear."

The group was extremely enthusiastic, dragging Ning Xiu along without giving him a chance to refuse.

Thinking that these people would be his colleagues from now on, Ning Xiu didn't want to dampen their goodwill, so he went along with the crowd.

Spring Full Pavilion it was.

As the capital of the Great Shang, Chaotian Capital was a world apart from the chaos outside its walls. It was as peaceful as a utopia, with music and dancing every night.

The streets were brightly lit, with lanterns hanging in every corner. Carriages came and went, bearing the crests of noble families.

If Ning Xiu hadn't read about this world in books, he would have thought this bustling scene was the norm for the Great Shang.

As the carriage Lu Hao had rented slowly came to a stop, the coachman lifted the curtain from outside and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, we've arrived at Spring Full Pavilion."

Ning Xiu leaned out the window to look. Beside the main road, a four-story waterside pavilion came into view.

Outside the building, countless flowers bloomed. Many beautiful women leaned against the railings, smiling sweetly, their eyes full of charm.

The scent of their rouge and powder drifted on the night breeze, spreading a pleasant fragrance throughout the entire street.

"Mmm~ The moment I smell this, I know we're at Spring Full Pavilion. Let's go, brothers." Lu Hao stepped onto the wooden platform the coachman had set out, landed on the ground, and laughed heartily with his hands behind his back as he looked at the lively Spring Full Pavilion.