Seizing the Spirit

Chu Tianshu was still on Kangshan Island at this time.

He had a long sleep, and after waking up, he washed up briefly, changed into his proper clothes, and was eating porridge when he heard this news.

Suddenly, my original plan to go to the capital faded away.

With just over two days left, a trip to the capital would already be very rushed, and now that things are even more chaotic there, such a hasty trip would be pointless.

It would be better to use the remaining time to continue issuing instructions to the coastal provinces, making it widely known so that everyone can witness it, and in the future there will be a set of regulations for mutual supervision.

There's also the matter of the leader of the Demonic Sect Cult.

Chu Tianshu had the Demonic Sect leader brought to the temple.

The man's face was completely bloodless, deathly pale. His right shoulder wound had been treated with medicine and bandaged, but several important acupoints on his body remained untreated.

Severely injured and with his internal energy and blood circulation constantly disrupted, he was on the verge of death and was carried over on a wooden plank.

Chu Tianshu flicked his finger, and a burst of blue finger force released, releasing his acupoints.

The leader of the Demonic Sect turned his head, his mouth moved first but no sound came out, and after a while, a dry, hoarse voice came out of his throat.

"... You, you could defeat Flowing Cloud Manor Master in a one-on-one fight without resorting to a sneak attack. Why did you team up to launch a sneak attack right from the start when you attacked me?"

Chu Tianshu casually replied, "That's easier."

"If conditions allowed, I wouldn't mind calling more friends to gang up on Flowing Cloud Manor Master, but his reputation over the years is so outstanding and symbolic."

"The benefits of defeating him in a one-on-one duel are far greater than those of ganging up on him."

Chu Tianshu laughed, "As for your Demonic Sect outside the Great Wall, whether it's a one-on-one fight or a group brawl, as long as we can kill you, everyone will cheer, and the fame and rewards we receive will not be reduced."

"Think carefully, where does the difference lie?"

Even villains have varying degrees of moral boundaries.

Flowing Cloud Manor, seeking hegemony, has already made countless enemies and resorts to ruthless methods.

However, the Demonic Sect outside the pass repeatedly tried to enter the pass, and often allowed its disciples to plunder, implicating countless peasant women and children. Its behavior was even more despised by the martial arts community.

Just like Chen Zuqi's death at the Southern Shaolin, which was actually killed by Chu Tianshu alone, it was quite suspicious to outsiders.

But no one bothered to find out whether this Japanese pirate leader was surrounded and killed or killed in a one-on-one duel.

For rotten people like that, the best thing is that they're dead!

The leader of the Demonic Sect snorted coldly, staring intently at Chu Tianshu, as if he wanted to poke two holes in Chu Tianshu with his gaze.

Chu Tianshu calmly took a token from Lu Shuangyan's hand, examined it carefully, and clicked his tongue in amazement.

The Ghost God, Yaksha, Asura hell reliefs on the token seemed to him like a thick, secret manual, quite worthy of intrigue.

This is indeed a secret manual.

This is also a secret revealed by Protector Jin.

It turns out that the manual for the Demonic Sect Sect's supreme sword technique was located on this token that the sect leader always carried.

The writing and patterns are hidden among the carved textures.

When Chu Tianshu rushed back to challenge the opponent, he hadn't had time to examine the swordsmanship closely. Now, as he looked at it, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Excellent swordsmanship! Truly excellent swordsmanship!"

"In my opinion, among the martial arts of this era, this sword technique is the highest in quality now, and it also has the greatest potential for the future."

"I wonder in which year someone will create a new skill that surpasses it?"

In terms of martial arts skills, the Flowing Cloud Manor Master is indeed superior to both the leader of the Demonic Sect and Chen Zuqi.

However, the Flowing Cloud Manor Master studies too many different things. He is able to integrate these unique skills purely by his talent and by relying on his self-comprehension of Divine Intent.

Unfortunately, his death was too swift, and he didn't transform into an Evil Spirit that might retain Divine Intent characteristics.

It's also possible that at the time, he was completely focused on controlling the Dharma Spirit of the Fifteenth Sword, and all his mental energy was consumed by it, leaving no room for transformation.

There is no unique Divine Intent; one can only rely on the thirty-seven extraordinary skills and techniques.

If you take any one of these techniques out of the box, it's naturally far inferior to the Death-Claiming Sword Technique and the Eight Linked Forms of the Ruyi Heavenly Demon.

Compared to the Death-Claiming Sword Technique that Lu Shuangyan created and summarized on her own.

The Eight Linked Forms of the Ruyi Heavenly Demon is a supreme martial art created by the Demonic Sect over the past century, incorporating the ingenious ideas of its predecessors, and further refined through the practical training of several generations of masters.

Within the art of swordsmanship, there are specific explanations of the process of cultivating Saber Intent, the mysteries of nurturing sword energy, and even accompanying methods of alchemy and techniques for forging swords.

It was from this that Chu Tianshu learned the origin of the sect's treasured sword.

There used to be a dangerous place outside the pass, known as the Thunderstorm Perilous Valley.

For nearly three hundred days a year, thunder can be heard over the valley.

It's called a thunderstorm, but most of the time there's no rain, just thunder.

Over a hundred years ago, a master of the Demonic Sect discovered this place and was greatly surprised. He then decided to use this land struck by lightning to forge weapons.

However, most of the minerals placed in that valley were struck by lightning and their texture remained unchanged, making it seem like just a useless spectacle.

Until the Demonic Sect cult experts discovered a cave inside.

The cave is filled with colorful crystals, and occasionally you can see flashes of electricity passing through them, creating a dreamlike scene.

You can also see various scenes reflected in the crystal, such as green leaves swaying in the wind, rain and thunderstorms, bustling city life, and criminals being beheaded.

The master of the Demonic Sect sect placed the minerals deep within a mountain cave and spent his entire life exploring and modifying them, finally obtaining a piece of extraordinary iron, which he used to forge this mysterious treasured sword.

At that time, the Demonic Sect Cult also called this sword a divine sword.

However, later, a Demonic Sect cult leader completed the Ruyi Eight Linked Forms of the Ruyi Heavenly Demon and tried to practice swordsmanship with this divine sword, which inspired Dharma Spirit.

The murderous and demonic aura emanating from the knife grew stronger and stronger.

In Chu Tianshu's view, it was most likely that the cave environment, by chance, had been imbued with the power from the Mist and Rosy Clouds Realm Layer.

However, the existence of Thunder Valley suppressed and even refined this power, making it strong and pure, without being tainted or evil.

That's why this sword can have such a strong restraining effect on the Dharma Spirit of the demonic sword.

The leader of the Demonic Sect asked, "Is your martial arts inferior to this sword technique?"

"Oh, I was referring to the martial arts here. My skills aren't included."

Chu Tianshu remained nonchalant, continuing to study the sword manual, occasionally nodding slightly and sometimes shaking his head.

The leader of the Demonic Sect was filled with resentment.

When the token was taken from him, he had just suffered a crushing defeat and didn't have much time to focus on it.

But in the past few days, he has recovered somewhat from his previous crushing defeat.

In front of him, Chu Tianshu held Demonic Sect Demonic Sect's sword and token, and read the Demonic Sect's sword manual.

That's when he realized just how angry he would be.

"Even if you spend ten times as much time just looking at the sword manual, you might not be able to grasp its essence."

The leader of the Demonic Sect said coldly, "Why don't you give me the knife, and I'll demonstrate it for you again?"

Chu Tianshu smiled and said, "Okay."

The leader of the Demonic Sect reached out with his one arm, caught the hilt of the knife, and suddenly flipped off the wooden board and stood up.

He glanced at the knife in his hand, then at Chu Tianshu, a sudden realization flashed through his mind, and he laughed in exasperation.

"Are you deliberately provoking me, hoping to see me draw my sword again?"

Chu Tianshu didn't mince words. "The most important thing about your swordsmanship is the Saber Intent. I'm afraid you'll lose all your sharpness and won't be able to unleash the true essence of the sword."

"Given your current extreme emotions, you should be able to recreate the essence of the sword."

"Of course, you can commit suicide now and ruin my plans, but your suicide won't stop me from continuing to study the sword manual; it will just waste your last chance to strike me."

The leader of the Demonic Sect remained silent for several breaths, his eyelids trembling.

Finally, he took a deep breath, suppressing his raised eyebrows and the sneer on his face, his expression becoming calm and composed.

This wasn't because he had calmed down his anger, but rather because he was so angry that he no longer wanted to express it with his face.

The dignified leader of the Demonic Sect, the Supreme Being beyond the Great Wall, has suffered such an insult.

Then only a knife can express this anger.

A bluish-green light re-appeared on the blade.

His left wrist twisted slightly, and the mirror-like blade reflected Chu Tianshu's image.

Although the leader of the Demonic Sect Cult has lost his dominant hand, the Eight Linked Forms of the Ruyi Heavenly Demon encompass all aspects of swordsmanship.

He was equally adept at using a knife with his left hand.

Moreover, as Chu Tianshu said, this sword technique emphasizes the Saber Intent.

As long as the Saber Intent is sufficient, that demonic nature that roams between heaven and earth will naturally descend once more.

It even caused his remaining internal energy and blood essence to automatically transform into even more quenched sword energy.

The blade not only reflected Chu Tianshu, but also the incense table, incense burner, and soldier sculptures behind Chu Tianshu.

This temple was built by Zhu Yuanzhang to commemorate the soldiers who died or were wounded in the Battle of Poyang Lake.

Throughout his life, Zhu Yuanzhang was regarded as cold-hearted and heartless. In his later years, he went on a killing spree, slaughtering countless nobles.

They were deeply grateful to the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Poyang Lake, mainly because these men were already dead.

The dead are not a taboo subject for emperors.

The scene reflected on the blade seemed to make Chu Tianshu's figure and the statue complement each other.

The two have completely different personalities.

This contrast, instead of creating a sense of harmony, makes what was originally a very normal temple feel extremely strange.

The people guarding outside the temple couldn't help but look into it.

They felt as if the temple had cracked somewhere, becoming asymmetrical and disharmonious.

At that very moment, as they turned to look...

A sudden flash of blue light appeared from the blade.

The glint of the blade was high up, close to the roof beam.

No one outside could see the entire descent, but the sharp edge had already struck Chu Tianshu's forehead at that moment.

Bass!!

Chu Tianshu's left hand, shaped like a crane's beak, firmly gripped the blade.

His hair suddenly flew back, and for a moment it seemed that every single strand of hair was about to transform into a blade and slash at the statue behind him.

But that was just an illusion.

The demonic Saber Intent failed to penetrate Chu Tianshu's head.

This strange phenomenon occurred simply because the aura between Chu Tianshu and the statue was induced by the demonic blade to create a disharmony.

"With only this much skill left, you can still create openings; it seems your swordsmanship has improved."

Chu Tianshu's eyes lit up, a faint light gleaming within them.

But you no longer have a chance!

The demonic blade flicked.

The Demonic Sect Cult Leader's five fingers loosened, and his entire figure was sent flying backward in a gust of air.

Chu Tianshu's right hand suddenly reached out and grabbed at the air.

He hooked the tassel on the token with his thumb, flung the token outward, and with his palm empty, it seemed as if he had captured a blue moon from the void.

The blue moon hummed, and fine cracks appeared and disappeared on its surface, unable to break through the suppression of this palm.

This is Chu Tianshu's true goal: the Dharma Spirit of the Demon Blade.

(End of this chapter)