Slaying Demons: Starting with Upgrading my Calligraphy-Chapter 474 - 419: Understanding the Law!

"Dream on.

However, if you wish to learn the ’Primordial Heavenly Thunder Skill Canon’ from this old man, that’s possible.

I could have Junior Dongfang take you as a personal disciple and then nominate you as the Young Sect Master. That way, you could legitimately learn this old man’s skills.

How about that?"

With a twinkle in his eye, Gu spoke to Qi Xiu, half-joking and half-serious.

"Young Sect Master?"

Upon hearing Gu’s offer, Qi Xiu chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.

Anyone else hearing such terms would likely have jumped for joy.

To become the Young Sect Master of a great ancient order like the Shenxiao Sect and learn a Great Dao Treasure Scroll such as the ’Primordial Heavenly Thunder Skill Canon’—what an immense fortune that would be.

Only, he had already begun to faintly perceive his own uniqueness.

Although the ’Primordial Heavenly Thunder Skill Canon’ was exceptional, it was not suitable for him.

Moreover, while he possessed some cleverness, his nature was laid-back and unrestrained; he disliked being confined.

Taking on such a huge responsibility for the Shenxiao Sect would literally be the death of him.

This youngster...

Seeing Qi Xiu refuse, Gu, seeming to have anticipated it, shrugged and said, "I knew you wouldn’t agree. My ’Primordial Heavenly Thunder Skill Canon’ is bound by ancestral rules, so I cannot teach it to you. However, it’s no matter that I can’t give it to you directly.

Although I can’t teach you the ’Primordial Heavenly Thunder Skill Canon’, I can still help you refine your Hidden Thunder Heavy Pupil."

Qi Xiu’s eyes instantly lit up at these words.

This Ancestral Dharma Spirit could be called the origin of all Thunder Magic in the world.

If he undertook the refinement of the "Hidden Thunder Heavy Pupil", its quality would undoubtedly take a qualitative leap.

"Then this disciple must first thank the Ancestral Master for his kindness."

"Don’t be in a hurry to thank me. Regarding today’s events, consider it a personal favor from me to you.

Although I’ve long resided in the Hall of Myriad Laws, I’m not entirely oblivious to the outside world.

Nowadays, the fabric of the world is shifting, cause and effect are muddled, and an air of calamity pervades.

For the Shenxiao Sect to continue standing firm amidst this upheaval, we must seize every opportunity.

You are this generation’s [Primordial], with limitless achievements ahead.

This old man doesn’t require much from you. If, in the future, the Shenxiao Sect faces hardship, just lend a hand. That will suffice. How about it? It’s a fair deal."

Gu’s words made Qi Xiu startle slightly, his gaze growing intense as he looked at the Ancestral Dharma Spirit before him.

After a moment, however, he shook his head.

"That’s not possible."

"Hmm?" Gu’s expression changed slightly, not expecting Qi Xiu to refuse.

"This disciple is a Shenxiao Sect Member. Protecting the sect is my bounden duty. Therefore, the Ancestral Master’s conditions do not apply to me.

I cannot accept a reward for no service rendered. Please, Ancestral Master, propose another condition."

Qi Xiu’s response left Gu stunned for a long moment. He meticulously sized up the young Daoist before him from head to toe. Then, after a considerable pause, he stroked his long beard and burst into hearty laughter.

"A gentleman is candid and has a clear conscience.

Excellent, excellent! This old man likes you more and more.

But as for the condition, let’s not change it. The deal is off.

I’ve taken a liking to you, and as an elder, I’ll offer you some guidance. That should be sufficient, shouldn’t it?"

Before Qi Xiu could even respond, the Ancestral Dharma Spirit took a step forward. He extended a large hand with astonishing speed—so quick that Qi Xiu couldn’t react—and clutched him by the forehead.

"Calm your heart, quiet your qi, circulate your cultivation, and focus your thoughts."

A resonant and ancient voice rang in Qi Xiu’s ears. Gu’s eyes shimmered with a chaotic, thunderous light. From the seven apertures of his body, wisps of ancient, all-encompassing Dao Charm poured out.

Since matters had progressed this far, Qi Xiu could not struggle; he had to heed the voice of the Ancestral Dharma Spirit. He circulated his profound and immeasurable cultivation, settling his mind into a meditative state.

"Listen to my Dharma instruction."

A world-shaking thunderous voice boomed, penetrating the clouds and reaching directly into Qi Xiu’s ears.

In an instant, his mind was bombarded with an intense shock.

The voice seemed to wield a magical power. It shattered the solidification of his thoughts, as if a piece of long-undisturbed, dust-laden soil had been sundered by thunder, scattering into countless fragments.

As the reverberations of the thunder continued to ripple, streams of Spiritual Light burst forth from the broken soil. They transformed into boundless lightning, racing through the sea of consciousness in Qi Xiu’s mind.

These Lei Mang were endless, surging and churning like floodwaters breaking through a dam.

Qi Xiu’s tightly closed eyes trembled slightly as he tried to gather and subdue all the Lei Mang, attempting to compose them into a world-transcending Dharma Gate.

But the sheer quantity of these Lei Mang and Spiritual Lights was overwhelming. Even as he captured and subdued them, more surged forth unceasingly.

Ancient thunder patterns gradually manifested on his body, and a terrifyingly potent aura of lightning coursed through him. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Noticing the unusual changes on Qi Xiu’s body, Gu squinted and shook his head.

"Don’t be greedy. Absorb only as much as you can remember."

Gu’s words reached Qi Xiu’s ears but vanished like a clay ox into the sea. The phenomena manifesting on his body not only failed to diminish but instead grew even more intense.

To have the [Primordial], who reigns over Myriad Daos and commands the Ten Thousand Laws, abandon a Dharma Gate already within reach...

It was like a sheep entering a tiger’s maw, only to be asked to be regurgitated perfectly intact.

Is that even possible?

This has escalated...

Watching Qi Xiu, whose aura grew increasingly majestic and tyrannical, his closed eyes faintly brewing with innumerable bolts of divine thunder light, Gu considered forcefully stopping him but feared injuring the boy.

Forget it. Let him learn as much as he can.

However, just as Gu was imparting the Dharma to Qi Xiu...

In that ancient tree’s spatial zone, Shi Eryue, who was napping against the ancient tree’s roots, suddenly heard a series of urgent bell chimes.

Opening her eyes in confusion, Shi Eryue looked astonished.

Behind her, on the ancient tree that supported heaven and earth, countless bronze bells were trembling violently, producing an urgent and dense ringing.

"Tree Elder, what’s happened?"

Just as Shi Eryue spoke, the immense ancient tree behind her, which reached into the heavens, began to shrink rapidly. In an instant, it became the size of an ordinary person. Its sprawling branches merged into its body, and its roots, deeply buried in the earth, pulled themselves out.

Waving its branch-limbs and root-legs, an old, tense face emerged on the ancient tree’s trunk.

"The old witch is on our trail! We have to run!"

Having shrunk, the ancient tree’s speaking speed also became much more normal. It grabbed the still-dazed Shi Eryue.

He shook a bronze bell in his hand, and a turbulent portal of light suddenly opened before him.

Lifting its two long, slender root-legs, the ancient tree, its face tight with panic, glanced back.

Within the originally calm and normal void...

One after another, dazzlingly beautiful peach blossoms bloomed, their arm-like branches tearing through the Universe Space, propping open a vast, dark entrance from which an imposing, cold wind blew.

Terrified, the bells all over the ancient tree’s body jingled wildly. Without daring to hesitate, it threw itself headfirst into the light portal before it.

The ancient tree had barely taken Shi Eryue and left through the portal when, in the next instant, a peach branch pierced the void, pinning the exact spot they had just vacated.

Petals scattered, ground into the dust.

A slender, jade-like hand reached out, picked up the peach branch stuck in the ground, and with a gentle swipe, the already closed portal of light was reopened.

Run? After all the trouble I went through to find you, where do you think you can run?

Within the collapsing Universe Space, a voice, saccharine and melodious, yet causing one’s heart to itch, resounded. As her slender arm waved the peach branch, the crumbling Universe Space was instantly pinned.

A light-pink figure emerged from the void, bringing with her a refreshing fragrance that invigorated the heart. She raised her jade-like foot and stepped into the portal of light before her.

「...」

"Something’s terribly wrong!"

A sudden wail beside his ear startled Gu so badly he nearly unleashed a Thunder Magic attack reflexively.

He whirled around, shocked and angry. Seeing Qianjiang Gushu carrying Shi Eryue, Gu’s eyebrows shot up.

"Qianjiang, are you looking to die?!"

"Not looking to die, about to die! The old witch has caught up! She found our original location! Luckily, I set up countermeasures beforehand and got word a bit early, or she would’ve cornered us!"

Qianjiang Gushu, on its long legs, circled Gu ceaselessly, hurriedly reporting the extremely urgent situation.

"She found us so quickly? It seems this old witch is bent on a fight to the death with us."

Hearing this, Gu’s brow furrowed. He glanced at Qi Xiu, who had not yet awakened.

"This child hasn’t finished comprehending the Dharma Gate. If I interrupt him, his failure to comprehend is a minor issue, but damaging his mind and spirit would be a grave one."

His eyes slowly darted about as Gu desperately tried to think of a solution that would address both problems.

"If the old witch catches up, it’ll be too late for us to run! Hasn’t your true body recovered yet?" Qianjiang Gushu urged, growing anxious as Gu frowned in thought without moving.

"My true body needs to act as a protector for Great Dongfang; he has reached a critical juncture. Whether our Shenxiao Sect can boast two True Venerables depends on him.

Don’t panic. That old witch isn’t like those other five; she still possesses a sliver of rationality.

When she arrives, this old man will have a good talk with her. It might not be impossible to buy us some time."

Gu was reassuring Qianjiang Gushu when, before he could finish speaking, numerous tender, pink, gold-edged peach blossoms suddenly bloomed throughout this Universe Jasper Realm. Swaying peach branches filled the sky, remotely locking onto this one human and three Dharma Spirits.

The slightest unusual movement would invite a tempestuous onslaught.

"Su Nan, after so many years of friendship, must we truly take things this far?" Gu said gravely, squinting at the peach branches that blotted out the sky.

"Hehehe, friendship? When Dongfang Qing wanted to use the six of us for Artifact Refining, why didn’t you speak a word of friendship then?"

Her voice, like a breeze rustling willow leaves, was soft and gentle, seemingly imbued with an enchanting quality that evoked a strange sense of comfort. Yet Gu’s expression grew increasingly grim.

"The six of you wished to borrow the power of an Outer Realm Evil God to undergo Dao Body Incarnation! Do you have any idea what the consequences of such an act are?!"

"Consequences? Isn’t it just sacrificing human lives as an exchange?" Her voice was light and indifferent, filled with nonchalance.

"Su Nan!" Gu uttered a low shout. Instantly, a woman appeared before him. She wore a palace gown, her features exquisite. Her light-pink eyes exuded boundless coquettish charm, and she subtly emanated an aesthetic of disarrayed, blossoming branches caught in a graceful dance.

"You have all fallen to demonic ways!"

"Demonic ways? Hehehe..."

The woman, unfazed by Gu’s rebuke, lightly twirled a slender finger, her pink eyes revealing a chilling coldness.

So what if we have?