The Tathagata Golden Scripture, Fist Intent Overturning

Watching the red clouds in the distance, rippled like fish scales, Luo Zhou couldn't help shouting.

"You bastards!"

Zhang Youzhi had stopped at nothing to investigate the Jellyfish Saint.

The Jellyfish Saint's protector was even more vicious, directly triggering a sea-beast siege to throw the investigation into chaos!

Those bastards were putting the lives of 350,000 people on the line.

The Devil of Geomagnetism, Gu Shanhe; the Eye-Eating Devil, Qiu Jun; and the Yellow Earth Devil, Li Feng—those demons had only killed dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of people.

But with a single move, these people were going to kill hundreds of thousands!

How many children would become orphans because of this? How many elderly people would lose their sons and daughters?

They were more demonic than demons!

Luo Zhou touched the Qiankun Bag, wishing he could give each of them a Dragon-Slaying Thrust and kill them!

If he could put an end to this calamity, he wouldn't mind becoming a demon himself!

But that was easier said than done. He had no idea who the Jellyfish Celestial Palace's protector was.

Even Zhang Youzhi—if he didn't reveal himself, Luo Zhou couldn't see him, even if he stood right in front of him!

And Luo Zhou had no idea how strong he was.

A Dragon-Slaying Thrust might be able to kill someone in the Qi Refining Realm, but against someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm, it was useless.

No, he could see him—his omniscience could!

But could Zhang Youzhi really be the only one sent here to investigate?

Who knew how many others were hiding in the shadows? Even if Luo Zhou killed him, it still wouldn't stop the sea-beast siege.

Someone screamed. People began moving in the street.

Countless people rushed home to pack their valuables, trying every possible way to flee the city and head toward the provincial capital, Fengtian.

They surged toward the north gate, completely blocking it.

The authorities sent people to clear the traffic...

But Luo Zhou knew they wouldn't get far. Once the fish-scale red clouds appeared, the water vapor within a hundred li had already surged into full force.

The road to Fengtian was likely blocked: the marshes were spreading, thick fog blanketed the sky, traffic was cut off, and water beasts were attacking.

Only when the surrounding waters were full would such an omen appear in the sky!

Ordinary people had little chance of escape. Only a few great lineages, protected by several Qi Refining Realm cultivators, could make it through the danger and reach Fengtian.

Fleeing through the chaos was incredibly dangerous. They were safer staying in the city.

Many people with experience had already begun buying up all kinds of daily necessities.

Sure enough, an hour later, those who had fled returned. They had no way to get out.

Had Cheng Wanli and the others left? What was going on?

Luo Zhou went home and checked his food and drink.

He had always kept a stockpile of grain, so he had no need to worry about food or drink.

At dusk, the neighborhood head came to register everyone.

All cultivators in the city had to register, join a unit, and go defend the city walls.

The same went for all ordinary people. Men, women, young, old—it made no difference. They couldn't fight atop the walls, so they would handle logistics and other labor.

If the city fell, no one would survive.

Luo Zhou registered. The neighborhood head's surname was Xie. He said:

"Luo Zhou, you've been assigned to the thirty-seventh unit. Report to the east gate first thing tomorrow morning."

"Got it. No problem!"

"When the sea beasts come, don't fight too recklessly. Your parents fought too hard back then. They stood their ground to the death, and in the end, they both died on the city wall."

"Mm, I understand!"

"If you don't have enough food at home, come find me. In a few days, there'll be seafood everywhere. You won't go hungry!"

"Thank you, Uncle!"

After seeing the neighborhood head off, Luo Zhou let out a long breath. Five years ago, the sea beasts had attacked the city. Now it was his turn. Then he would fight.

If he found out who that protector was, he would have to give him a Dragon-Slaying Thrust and blow his head off!

Luo Zhou cultivated in silence: Azure Profound, Purple Firmament, Brown Scale, White Sun, Black Nether. He went through all 360 forms, circulating the Greater Celestial Circuit and practicing them over and over.

The great battle was tomorrow. Without hesitation, Luo Zhou advanced to the next realm!

His Blood-Burning cultivation had reached completion, so he advanced at once.

His entire body crackled as though it were being shattered, then reassembled!

Luo Zhou could vaguely see his own internal organs, all of them being strengthened.

His physique grew stronger once more. His skin was like ice, his muscles like iron, his sinews like steel, his bones like gold, his blood like boiling water, and his marrow like jade. His essence, energy, and spirit all improved.

He grew an inch taller and advanced to the eighth level of Body Tempering, the Organ Forging Realm!

But he would have to wait a while before reaching the ninth level. His internal organs needed to finish evolving first.

He waited in silence until midnight.

"Luo Zhou, I sense a spirit doing evil. Punish it!"

"Stopping a married couple from fighting: punishing evil. This is a good deed!"

"Rewarding good and punishing evil complete. Reward!"

In a daze, Luo Zhou felt a force descend from the heavens and pour into his body.

The supernatural ability: nimble hands!

With this ability, he gained deft and skillful hands.

Luo Zhou knew the arguing couple had given him this ability.

They ran an embroidery shop. Without nimble hands, they couldn't embroider flowers and birds. Their ancestors had probably been in the same trade, too; it was a family inheritance, so the ability's emergence made perfect sense.

There should be another one!

He wondered if it was Tang Moli or Zhang Youzhi.

If it was Zhang Youzhi, he'd hit the jackpot!

"Luo Zhou, I sense a spirit doing evil. Punish it!"

"Rescuing a classmate: punishing evil. This is a good deed!"

"Rewarding good and punishing evil complete. Reward!"

Another force descended.

Luo Zhou was overjoyed. It was Zhang Youzhi!

But this reward was unlike any divine ability or supernatural power he had received before. It seemed to be a scene from the past.

Zhang Youzhi sat in a grand hall, contemplating a scripture!

Luo Zhou immediately realized that Zhang Youzhi was contemplating a scripture at the Treasure Scroll Peak of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect's subsidiary bookhouse, the Bookhouse of Ten Trillion Volumes.

The Great Mighty Mind-Intent Scripture of His Freedom

It was one of the treasured scriptures at the Bookhouse of Ten Trillion Volumes, a subsidiary of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect. The peak had one scripture hall per volume, with as many as thirty-seven halls.

Cultivators of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect could contemplate scriptures there if they earned a reward or offered merit.

The Great Mighty Mind-Intent Scripture of His Freedom was extremely profound. Everyone who contemplated it gained something different; it all depended on fate and fortune!

They might gain a spell or divine ability, or awaken a law-intent or law-heart.

By contemplating the scripture there, Zhang Youzhi had gained the divine ability His Freedom, which allowed everyone to ignore his presence.

Now Luo Zhou also knew Zhang Youzhi's background.

He was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, but hadn't condensed his own distinctive true qi.

He was an inner disciple of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect, assigned menial work at the Demon Suppression Court and held in little regard.

No one at the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect cared about this mission. The remnants of a sect that had been exterminated seventy thousand years ago had been reported to the Demon Suppression Court, but no one there bothered to handle it.

That was how Zhang Youzhi had been able to accept the mission and come here to earn merit...

As for his promise that any position in the imperial capital could be his to choose, that was pure bluster.

Luo Zhou was utterly speechless!

Still, Zhang Youzhi's divine ability, His Freedom, let him come and go without a trace.

Before leaving, he had even applied to the Demon Suppression Court for a talisman treasure that could kill a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator. On top of that, he had other means. He was invincible in Green Ridge City—and after all, he was an inner disciple of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect.

The reward for punishing evil and rewarding good was that Luo Zhou had been shown Zhang Youzhi's experience contemplating the scripture.

It was as though Luo Zhou himself were contemplating it.

In a daze, Luo Zhou slipped into a hazy state, countless lines of scripture drifting past his ears.

"His mind, his words, his freedom!"

"He is not free, yet he has great freedom, with his own mind and intent..."

Luo Zhou immediately understood. This so-called Great Mighty Mind-Intent Scripture of His Freedom was the Tathagata Golden Scripture!

Someone had concealed and transformed it, turning it into the Great Mighty Mind-Intent Scripture of His Freedom.

Only cultivators like him, who had mastered the Primal Golden Chapter and Supreme Golden Seal, could sense the truth.

Perhaps the grand patriarch of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect had transformed the Tathagata Golden Scripture into one of the sect's foundations, giving its disciples a path to enlightenment in law-hearts and law-intents.

But this scripture was woefully overlooked at the Bookhouse of Ten Trillion Volumes, ranked thirty-fifth among the thirty-seven halls.

A Qi Refining cultivator only needed to make a tiny contribution to contemplate it there.

Perhaps they didn't know the scripture's true meaning, either.

As Luo Zhou contemplated the scripture, he knew that everyone gained something different. Naturally, he didn't acquire the divine ability His Freedom.

In his daze, Luo Zhou heard endless tsunamis. The sea boiled, the world turned upside down, mountains collapsed, and the waves surged with the force of landslides and thunder...

It was the Overturning Rivers and Seas Fist and Palm. He had previously mastered its power and used it to guide himself. Now he began to comprehend the true meaning of heaven and earth hidden within it.

Of course, that required the Overturning Rivers and Seas Fist and Palm to contain the true meaning of heaven and earth in the first place.

The Mighty Warrior inheritance came from the Dao Lord, so it naturally possessed the true meaning of heaven and earth.

In his daze, Luo Zhou sensed five true intents!

Deluge, Overturning, Subversion, Destruction, Renewal.

He could only choose one of the five law-intents.

Without a second thought, Luo Zhou wanted to choose Destruction.

But it was too powerful. He couldn't control it yet, so he couldn't choose it.

Renewal—why was that one there? Luo Zhou couldn't understand it, so he gave up on it.

The Deluge centered on treading the sea, turning into an unstoppable force that trampled through the ocean and swept across everything without restraint.

Overturning centered on turning the rivers upside down, toppling the old order and throwing all forces into chaos.

Subversion centered on both, an irresistible deluge that overturned every old order.

If he was already overturning rivers and seas, why not overturn everything?

Luo Zhou said slowly:

"The Deluge and Overturning each have their own strengths. It's hard to choose.

"I've already become a demonic cultivator, the Head-Exploding Devil, no less!

"Then I'll choose Subversion. I'll make it the heart of both, and blow the heads off these self-righteous bastards!"

Battle intent was like a modifier in the games of his past life. With battle intent, it was as though he'd installed a core. Using it was like cheating, overclocking until the engine blew!

As his battle intent rose and merged with his battle force, the power of Luo Zhou's Overturning Rivers and Seas Fist and Palm increased several times over.

The Dragon-Slaying Thrust suddenly erupted. It was a one-hit kill, a deadly technique, but he couldn't use it to fight for long.

The divine ability Nine Oxen and Two Tigers gave him immense strength, but it was chaotic. He had no combat techniques, so all he could do was bash people with a bronze cudgel.

His divine abilities, Overturning Rivers and Seas and Three Thousand Weak Waters, were useless without true qi.

Unbeknownst to him, the Overturning Rivers and Seas Fist and Palm gradually became Luo Zhou's main method of combat.