Ghosts as Countless as Hemp: Such Was the Demonic Dao

"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 sighed deeply and said, "Back then, I asked the Marquis to test the poison. Before he Attaining the Dao, I carefully crafted a sleeping potion called ' The A Dream on the Magpie Bridge,' which might still have some effect on him."

"After Attaining the Dao, he treated my sleeping pills like seasoning, and afterwards 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, "Xiao Liang also said that he only used 30% of his strength to suppress the effects of the drug on you. That's quite remarkable."

"If you attain Attaining the Dao in the future, the world you see will appear entirely different, and you will surely have many more ingenious ideas when you practice alchemy."

The old scholar simply shook his head.

The elderly man playing the erhu bowed to Chu Tianshu and said, "When you came that day, we already felt you were quite remarkable, but we never expected you to be such a young man who has already Attaining the Dao. What's even more commendable is your warm-heartedness and kindness; you are truly worthy of respect."

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 seventy-odd swords hanging by the window in the north room, three weapons bear a similar aura to 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, have a seat."

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

The old scholar turned to get tea from the counter, still saying, "When we were young, we were all Rogue Person; learning swordsmanship was just following the crowd."

"Because there are many different styles of swordsmanship in the world, if Rogue Person learns swordsmanship, they will have a greater chance of learning techniques from other schools later on."

"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, and 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 Market back then?"

"That's right."

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

"Unfortunately, the Attaining the Dao individuals from all sides have long held a tacit understanding not to allow Attaining the Dao highly skilled individuals to linger here for long, or to monopolize the pass."

"Xiao Liang killed all the experts of the East Sea Xiao Family without any mercy, which already aroused suspicion and resistance from all sides. It's not good to break ties with them again."

Chu Tianshu seemed to be deep in thought, then flipped the teacup in his hand, placing 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, turning 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 appears to have formed 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, "Drug her 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 Chu Tianshu nod, he drank it too.

"Today's events, with your assistance, were certainly unexpected, but Mr. Zhuo's mastery of the ' Heart-Moon Two Aspects Art ' 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, and should be quite beneficial to Mr. Zhuo's current condition. It's also quite expensive."

"Here are two bottles of pills, enough for fifteen days. I only want an answer in return: 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 as if he were soaking in a hot spring, a warm and sour feeling.

But upon hearing this question, he paused, taken aback.

"Heart-Moon Two Aspects Art..."

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 Daoist priest who acts mysteriously, then he definitely has ill intentions, and you shouldn't feel that he's 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 Daoist priest has appeared again."

Chu Tianshu also realized that one important factor in these people inviting them to the tavern was related to Zhuo Yuan's demonic arts.

This technique, while seemingly unlike other Demonic Dao secret arts that require harming others, actually requires harming oneself.

To cultivate this skill, one must not only possess exceptional 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 will collapse and the body will break free, resulting in death amidst the joy of success, and 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 Turbidity is like building a tall building without any solid foundation on any of its floors.

The higher the structure, the greater the flaws, and the easier it is for it 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 would also be a waste of Evil Spirit materials to deepen such a torturous thing.

"More than twenty years ago, this set of exercises circulated for quite some time on the border between the two dynasties. Many people were misled and practiced it, including several of our childhood friends."

"However, because the skill was quite difficult to learn and often resulted in death and injury, the scam gradually came to light and it disappeared."

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

"Later, Xiao Liang told us that this was most likely some master of Demonic Dao cultivation 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 it was a losing proposition and gave up on promoting and spreading this martial art."

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 who create and research martial arts and test techniques throughout the world, but the harm caused by Demonic Dao techniques is something that has been rare in the last 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 Daoist 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 and said, "After I was seriously injured by the Xiao Clan, I drifted downstream at the bottom of a cliff. In my dazed state, I saw a Daoist priest."

He said, "You have some painful perseverance, but it's not enough. If you can endure twice the pain, I will teach you how to harness 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 close friends, and the early loss of my parents..."

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

Bite!

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 try to recall those things. Just tell me where that Daoist 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-haired 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 one is not careful.

The Kalpa 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 element.

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

Intentionally promoting that kind of martial art is a capital offense.

The Demonic Dao Path.

In the Demonic Dao, evil spirits are indeed as numerous as the dustbin of time!

The Daoist 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 Spirit among them.

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

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

(End of this chapter)