Six-Word Golden Bead

Every Demon Subduing Captain in the Demon Subduing Bureau was entitled to a room of his own.

It was completely different from the scene Ning Xiu had imagined when joining the Demon Subduing Bureau. There was no grand induction ceremony, nor any welcome party for new recruits.

All he had to do was collect a set of Mysterious Silver Lock Armor and a saber from the storeroom, along with an identity token bearing an iron horse engraving. That was all it took to officially join.

It was about as bare-bones as it got.

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

The Demon Subduing Bureau looked impressive, but in reality, its death toll was extremely high. Six or seven out of every ten deaths were among Demon Subduing Captains of the Iron Horse rank.

So the Bureau had to recruit apprentices from Champion Camp now and then to replenish its ranks. Over time, no one paid much attention to newcomers who might die at the hands of Evil Spirits at any moment.

You could put on your Mysterious Silver Lock Armor, go investigate Evil Spirits the very next day, and die.

Or you could have both luck and skill on your side, and work your way all the way from Iron Horse rank to Silver Tiger rank.

That was why there was no need for a welcome party or any ceremony—at least not for Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captains.

"There are seven empty rooms in this courtyard. Their former owners are all dead, so you can pick whichever you like. Everything in the rooms was left behind by the previous occupants. Keep it or throw it out, it's up to you. Just settle in as soon as you can." Su Qianqian walked ahead of them, showing them the way as she spoke.

Listening to Su Qianqian explain various things about the Demon Subduing Bureau, Ning Xiu couldn't help feeling the weight of a mountain on his shoulders. For a moment, the half-month he'd spent living in the Demon Subduing Prison seemed like a life of bliss.

Even the hideous, grotesque faces of the Evil Spirits he'd executed in his mind now seemed gentle and easy on the eyes.

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

Perhaps she didn't know his name and didn't know what to call him, so she fumbled and settled on calling him "you" twice.

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

"Doesn't matter. Come with me." Su Qianqian walked over to a nearby open space and beckoned to Ning Xiu.

Judging by her manner, Ning Xiu knew the girl had something up her sleeve.

"New recruits joining the Demon Subduing Bureau rarely turn out to be especially strong. Let's spar so I can see what you're capable of, then I'll decide what kinds of missions to assign you."

Ning Xiu had been practicing martial arts for a year, steadily building up his strength, but he had never really fought anyone.

Su Qianqian's suggestion suited him just fine. How did his fourth layer of Golden Bell Shield and fourth layer of the Great Sun Profound Scripture measure up against a Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captain? It looked like he'd get his answer today.

"Then I humbly ask you to instruct me, my lord." Ning Xiu took up the stance of Primordial Yang Fist. Without another word, he charged straight at her.

Primordial Yang Fist was mainly for strengthening one's blood and energy, with killing as a secondary purpose. It generally wasn't used for sparring, but with Internal Energy behind Ning Xiu, even Primordial Yang Fist would be anything but ordinary.

A single punch from him could crack a stone wall.

Seeing Ning Xiu's momentum, Su Qianqian stepped forward and caught his fist with one bare hand.

The moment fist met palm, Ning Xiu felt as though he had struck a sponge. His powerful punch was completely dissipated, unable to do a thing.

Su Qianqian closed her five fingers around Ning Xiu's fist and twisted her wrist. The world spun before his eyes, and her control sent his whole body whirling lightly around in place. Unable to stop himself, he tipped headfirst toward the ground.

Just as he was about to fall on his backside, Ning Xiu stamped down hard with both legs. His feet sank half an inch into the ground, and he dropped into a horse stance, forcibly stopping himself from toppling over.

"Not bad. You didn't fall," Su Qianqian said approvingly.

"My lord, was that move you just used a martial art?" Ning Xiu straightened and asked, full of curiosity.

"No. That was the immortal art Heaven and Earth Shifting Technique. Even a woman can use it to move a thousand-catty bronze cauldron ten paces. The fact that you managed to keep your footing under my spell puts you among the very best of the Martial Ninth Rank."

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

"Of course. Otherwise, why do you think I picked you out of the crowd?" Su Qianqian pointed at her eyes. "I've cultivated a Pupil Technique that lets me see the flow of Internal Energy in another person's body."

Immortal arts were varied and mysterious, complicated beyond measure. Ning Xiu had read that immortal cultivators could turn beans into soldiers, use leaves as boats, pass through walls and enter rooms, and take gold and silver from paintings.

The most powerful practitioners could summon wind and rain, and command heavenly thunder to destroy monsters and Evil Spirits.

But before this, Ning Xiu had never met anyone who practiced the immortal path. Meeting Su Qianqian now had really opened his eyes.

"Your fists and feet are decent. Try this move." Su Qianqian pressed two fingers together. A few nearby bamboo stalks suddenly shot out of the ground, then shattered into dozens of bamboo splinters of different lengths.

At Su Qianqian's command, at least a hundred splinters shot toward Ning Xiu like a raging storm, their attack astonishingly fierce.

In Su Qianqian's eyes, a new martial artist faced with this spell would surely focus on dodging. But to her surprise, Ning Xiu showed no intention of evading. He simply stood in place, covered his face with both arms, and remained completely motionless.

Such a move meant either supreme confidence or certain death. The next instant, a rain of bamboo splinters burst against Ning Xiu's body.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Over a hundred splinters struck Ning Xiu, only to ricochet off him, snapping and breaking apart.

Aside from the many holes in his clothes, Ning Xiu didn't have so much as a scratch on his body. He had completely shrugged off Su Qianqian's spell.

"Hardening Skill!" Su Qianqian was a little surprised.

It wasn't unusual for a martial artist to practice a Hardening Skill, but for someone as young as Ning Xiu to have trained one to the point where he could withstand her spell—that was truly a rare gift. He was a martial arts prodigy.

After all, Hardening Skills were far more difficult to master than ordinary fist-and-foot techniques or weapon arts.

Though that move hadn't shown Su Qianqian's true strength, it still wasn't something any Martial Ninth Rank could casually withstand.

"My lord, how would you rate my strength?" Ning Xiu asked, looking at his now-tattered clothes.

"Not bad. Of all the newcomers I've seen join the Bureau over the years, you have the strongest starting point. Keep working hard, and one day the Demon Subduing Bureau will surely have a place for you." Su Qianqian waved her hand. "Go pick a room. Get some rest for now. In a few days, I'll start assigning you tasks."

"Yes." Ning Xiu cupped his hands, then went into the courtyard.

Watching Ning Xiu walk away, Su Qianqian's calm, otherworldly expression instantly crumpled. She muttered, "What are kids these days eating? He's already this strong the moment he joins the Bureau. That's just absurd."

While Ning Xiu and Su Qianqian were sparring, all seven empty rooms in the courtyard had already been claimed. Only the last room, tucked away in the most remote corner, remained.

Ning Xiu didn't mind. It didn't matter where he lived.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw a Buddhist shrine hanging on the wall. No one had lived there for a long time, and a thin layer of dust covered the shrine. The incense burner held only three burnt incense sticks.

Apart from a simple bed, the most striking thing in the room was the bookshelf in the corner, filled with Buddhist scriptures.

"Looks like the previous owner of this room practiced the Buddhist path." Ning Xiu looked at the meditation cushion beneath the shrine and the string of Buddhist prayer beads on the bed.

By the rules, as the new owner of the room, Ning Xiu had the right to tear all these things down and throw them away as trash.

But Ning Xiu wasn't a neat freak. If he wanted to throw all this stuff away, he'd have to do it himself, and he didn't feel like going to all that pointless trouble. He'd just leave it. It wasn't as if any of it got in the way.

He walked over to the bookshelf. Always fond of reading, Ning Xiu picked up a Buddhist scripture and began to leaf through it.

He had no intention of following the Buddhist path, but there was nothing wrong with learning about things he didn't know and broadening his horizons.

The Buddhist path and the martial path were, as it happened, closely related. Buddhism advocated the arduous cultivation of the flesh to attain an indestructible golden body, chanting scriptures to deliver the souls of the dead, and using one's fists to send Evil Spirits on their way.

Those who reached the great heights of Buddhism revealed their golden bodies to the world. The Buddhist light radiating from them alone could melt weak monsters and Evil Spirits.

So some martial artists had combined the strengths of Buddhism and the martial path, creating many martial arts with a Buddhist style.

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

Some Buddhist experts also spent time learning martial arts to defend themselves, as the two paths complemented each other.

There were many Buddhist books in the room, and as Ning Xiu settled down to read, he soon found himself engrossed.

"Reflections on Cultivating Buddhism Through Hardship and Attaining the Seventh Rank." "Practitioners of Buddhism Must Avoid Lust, Lechery, and Greed." "What I Have to Say After Breaking My Precepts at Spring Full Pavilion"...

Ning Xiu quickly finished one book after another. Some were excellent books full of wisdom about life, while others were strange autobiographies.

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

It was the Six-Word Golden Bead he had found inside the body of a Demon Person from Black Heaven Gate that day.

After Ning Xiu had gotten his hands on it, he had tried every method he could think of to make it react, but had never succeeded. After countless fruitless attempts, he had stopped hoping for anything from it.

He hadn't expected it to react in a way it never had before today. Ning Xiu's heart leapt with joy.

"The Diamond Sutra" was also known as the "Diamond Sutra," a famous Buddhist scripture.

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

But the bead only continued to tremble. Ning Xiu tried another method, opening the Diamond Sutra and beginning to recite its verses.

As soon as he did, the bead's voice rang right in his ears. It recited the Diamond Sutra in unison with Ning Xiu, and the 'Om' among the Six-Character Mantra on its surface glimmered with a faint red light.

It seemed this was the right way to unlock the mysterious golden bead.

Seeing this, Ning Xiu couldn't help reciting the scripture with even greater fervor, hoping to fully unravel the secret of the Six-Word Golden Bead.

Who knew how much time had passed? The bead began to return to its former stillness, and the character for Om turned completely red. Against the other five characters, which were still gold, Om stood out strikingly.

"Looks like I can only activate one character at a time. Once all six characters of the Six-Character Mantra are activated, the secret hidden in this golden bead should finally come to light." Ning Xiu put the bead away and thought.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

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

"Who is it?" Ning Xiu called.

"Brother, we're the ones Su-daren picked along with you this morning. We figured that since we'll all be working under Su-daren from now on, we ought to get to know each other better and build a good relationship. That way, we can look out for one another in the Demon Subduing Bureau."

Ning Xiu got up and went to open the door. It was already pitch-black outside. He'd been reading all day without even realizing it.

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

"Brother, to celebrate joining the Demon Subduing Bureau, we're planning to get a table at Spring Full Pavilion tonight and have a good time. Come along with us." The young man at the head of the group, named Lu Hao, warmly invited him.

"Spring Full Pavilion? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Ning Xiu couldn't help feeling that he'd heard it somewhere before.

"Brother, you're a man. Of course Spring Full Pavilion sounds familiar! Come on, let's drink until we drop tonight. I'll find a few pretty beauties to keep you company, too."

"Brother, why are your clothes so ragged? They don't look good for going out. Come on, go to my room and pick out a set to change into."

The group was extremely enthusiastic. Before he knew it, they were pulling Ning Xiu along with them.

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

Spring Full Pavilion? So be it.

Chaotian Capital was the capital of Great Shang. Though the world outside was in chaos, the capital was the complete opposite of everywhere beyond its walls—peaceful as if in times of prosperity, with song and dance every night.

The streets were festooned with lanterns, hanging from every corner. Carriages came and went, each bearing the emblem of some noble family.

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

The carriage Lu Hao had hired slowed to a stop. The coachman lifted the curtain from outside and smiled. "Sirs, we've arrived at Spring Full Pavilion."

Ning Xiu leaned out the window to look. Beside the main avenue stood a four-story waterside building.

Flowers bloomed in profusion outside, and many beautiful young women leaned over the railings, smiling sweetly, their lovely eyes darting to and fro.

The scent of rouge and powder mingled with the night breeze, wafting down the entire street in fragrant gusts.

"Mmm, I knew we'd arrived at Spring Full Pavilion as soon as I smelled that scent. Come on, get down, boys." Lu Hao stepped down onto the wooden footstool the coachman had set out. Gazing at the bustling Spring Full Pavilion, he laughed heartily, his hands behind his back.