White-Robed Chief

“Bang!” Chu Li was not sure how much time had passed when he suddenly heard a thunderous booming sound in his ears.

He instantly saw a blinding light before him and felt as though his soul had momentarily left his body and entered into an endless void.

A bright moon was hanging in the sky. In the boundless void under the moon, a huge Buddha with three faces was sitting cross-legged on an enormous lotus while a three-faced Heavenly Demon stood on a blazing fire.

The bright moon slowly descended from the sky and transformed into a large mirror that stood between the Buddha and the Heavenly Demon. It was bright, dazzling, and perfectly spotless.

The huge Buddha did not undergo many changes aside from appearing to be more vivid and lifelike. On the other hand, the Heavenly Demon looked completely different from before.

This Heavenly Demon had three faces just like the huge Buddha.

One of the faces was wearing an angry expression, one had a joyful expression, and the remaining one wore a calm expression. All three faces were chanting the Heavenly Demon Scripture at the same time while dark golden lotuses drifted out of their mouths, falling upon the body of the Heavenly Demon. As each dark golden lotus fell upon its body, the Heavenly Demon grew slightly stronger.

Chu Li could sense distinctly that his own body was recovering and growing stronger too as both the huge Buddha and the Heavenly Demon were helping to strengthen his body.

Then, as he started to observe his surroundings using the Omniscient Mirror, the entire ravine appeared in his mind in great detail, especially that Heavenly Demon Statue. The statue looked particularly clear and vivid, as though it was right in front of him, and seemed to be covered in flames, making him think twice about looking at it directly.

Other than the Heavenly Demon Statue, the Four Grand Elders were also present and were circulating a strange heart technique. Chu Li figured that it should be the Inheritance Technique, so he secretly memorized the heart technique.

Everyone else in the ravine appeared in his field of observation as well. Some of them were cultivating while some were sleeping. A few people were cracking jokes and chatting freely, and there were also others who were having supper.

The moon was shining brightly in the sky while the ravine was brilliantly lit and was filled with peaceful silence. It was probably midnight at the moment.

Chu Li found Zhe Ying very quickly.

Zhe Ying was lying on his bed inside a room and was studying that incomplete Heavenly Demon Scripture he had recorded. A smile would occasionally appear on his face but would soon be replaced by a frustrated look.

The Heavenly Demon Scripture was unbelievably profound, so it would be an extremely challenging task for Zhe Ying to gain a thorough understanding of the scripture on his own. However, he did not wish to share it with anyone else and wanted to keep it for himself.

Chu Li had already anticipated that Zhe Ying would keep the scripture for himself and would certainly not let anyone else find out about this.

Zhe Ying suddenly let out a sigh and got off the bed before making his way to the window to open it. As the soothing night-breeze blew in through the open window, he massaged the space between his eyebrows.

His residence was located on top of a cliff, so the beautiful scenery of the ravine immediately came into view the moment he opened his window. As he stared at the clear surface of a lake and enjoyed the gentle breeze blowing on his face, his fretful heart gradually calmed down. Then, he went back to his bed and carried on studying the Heavenly Demon Scripture.

As he stared at this incomplete Heavenly Demon Scripture, Zhe Ying was reminded of Chu Li and became filled with murderous intent. He felt that he should not allow this Du Feng guy to live any longer. It would be best if he could just kill him tomorrow. Otherwise, if anyone else were to find out that he had acquired the Heavenly Demon Scripture, he would surely be forced to offer it as a tribute to the sect.

Once the existence of the Heavenly Demon Scripture was made known to the others, there would certainly be many other disciples in the sect who would be able to comprehend it deeper and cultivate it faster than him since his comprehension could not be considered top-notch. Thus, it would be impossible for him to become the champion of his sect and the best martial arts master in the world.

Zhe Ying would never allow such a thing to happen. He had to keep the Heavenly Demon Scripture for himself so that he could become an Enlightened Master and conquer the world!

As he thought of this, he balled his hands into tight fists and struggled to keep his emotions under control. He had been lucky to have one fortuitous encounter after another. He had not only devoured Du Feng’s Heavenly Demonic Orb and advanced to the sixth level but had also acquired this unique treasure — the Heavenly Demon Scripture!

Then, he thought, ‘Haha, although this Du Feng has received a fortuitous encounter, he isn’t fated to keep it after all. In the end, he has delivered this fortuitous encounter directly to my doorsteps so that I can benefit from it instead. Haha!’

At this point, Zhe Ying became overwhelmed with joy and felt extremely pleased with himself.

As Chu Li observed Zhe Ying’s thoughts through the Omniscient Mirror, a strong feeling of murderous intent surged within him but was quickly suppressed again. He remained calm and confident of himself.

Since Chu Li could activate the Omniscient Mirror, he should be able to use his God’s Limbs as well. This would mean that he could leave this place at any moment.

However, since he had been shackled down while his meridians had been sealed with nine acupuncture needles to prevent him from using his inner energy, Chu Li could not be completely sure if he could actually use his God’s Limbs.

As he thought about this, he instantly vanished from on top of the iron bed and reappeared standing beside the iron bed.

Chu Li smiled faintly. It seemed like he could really escape from this place after all. Although he could not use his inner energy, it did not hinder the effects of his God’s Limbs. Divine powers were very mysterious indeed.

He lifted his hand to pull out nine thin and long acupuncture needles. His Dantian recovered at once as a vast and mighty inner energy surged through his body, allowing him to restore his cultivation level as well.

Chu Li fell silent and did not intend to leave immediately.

Since that guy had devoured his Heavenly Demonic Orb, he would never let him off the hook so easily!

A few moments later, he lay back down on the iron bed and suddenly shrunk his hands and legs using the Bone Shrinkage Skill until they looked like the hands and legs of an infant so that he could effortlessly insert them through the iron cuffs again. Then, he used the Life and Death Scripture to get rid of all the inner energy flowing through his body and pretended to be in the same situation as before.

While he silently waited for Zhe Ying to return, the cooling sensation of the Heavenly Demonic Stone continued to flow into his mind and strengthen his soul.

As Chu Li lay on the bed and carefully observed the changes in his body, he noticed that the observational field of his Omniscient Mirror had doubled in area. The initial three-mile radius had increased to a six-mile radius, much further than he could ever imagine.

It seemed like the void of his mind had really been destroyed by the soul energy within the Heavenly Demon Status when he previously touched the statue. Thus, after achieving full recovery, his soul had been strengthened immensely. Indeed, there could be no reconstruction without destruction, so he could consider this incident a blessing in disguise. Nonetheless, the amount of suffering that came with this blessing was truly too much to bear, and Chu Li would not dare to try it again.

…

Zhe Ying was even more impatient than him and had rushed over immediately after finishing his breakfast and changing into a white tunic.

Zhe Ying smiled as he entered the stone chamber. “Brother Du, did you sleep well last night?”

Chu Li lazily replied, “I slept very well.”

“Well then, your soul must have recovered well too, right?” Zhe Ying asked with a faint smile. “You should be able to recite the rest of the Heavenly Demon Scripture, shouldn’t you?”

Chu Li replied straightforwardly, “Yes, I can do that now.”

Zhe Ying suddenly became doubtful as he frowned and looked at Chu Li. “You’re not going to try to trick me, are you? Brother Du, if I notice you playing tricks on me, I won’t be so courteous anymore. You understand that, right?”

Chu Li replied, “I just want to get this over with as soon as possible.”

“Very well then.” Zhe Ying nodded.

Chu Li asked, “You grew up in Heavenly Demonic Sect, didn’t you?”

“You wish to know more about me?” Zhe Ying broke into laughter. “Well, I grew up in this sect as a child because my parents were both disciples of Heavenly Demonic Sect. Later on, they died during a mission, so I’ve been left all alone since then.”

“Now, I see why the elders care about you so much.”

“Indeed, they’re the ones who brought me up, so they care about me very much.” Zhe Ying said proudly, “However, I don’t like this ravine the slightest bit. This place is too small and too quiet. I like the busy and wonderful world outside. I don’t want to be trapped in this small ravine for the rest of my life!”

Chu Li asked, “You don’t have any friends in the ravine, do you?”

“I don’t need friends!”

“How pitiful.”

Zhe Ying laughed coldly and replied, “You desire to have friends because you’re weak. You need other people because you’re not capable of being self-sufficient. Humans are meant to be lonely creatures. We come into the world alone and we die alone. No one can accompany you forever!”

Chu Li asked, “Don’t you have any friends outside this place?”

“No!” Zhe Ying muttered coldly, “I’m a loner, and I live a carefree and leisurely life!”

Chu Li nodded and said, “You have a pitiful way of living indeed. You live only for yourself. That doesn’t sound like an interesting life.”

Zhe Ying replied disdainfully, “Humph, there are so many good food and beautiful women in this world. I can enjoy these as much as I like. That’s a very wonderful life!”

“Alright then. I have one final wish,” Chu Li said indifferently. “Devour the rest of my Heavenly Demonic Orb. Then, I’ll recite the second half of the Heavenly Demon Scripture. After that, you can just kill me right away!”

“… Okay, I’ll do as you wish!” Zhe Ying thought that Du Feng’s behavior was rather unusual today. It seemed like Du Feng really wished to die as soon as possible. Zhe Ying was happy to see this turn of events since he would not have to worry about Du Feng playing tricks on him anymore.

He should just comply with the wishes of a man who was going to die very soon.

Zhe Ying placed his right palm on Chu Li’s chest and performed the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique again.

Chu Li asked, “Don’t you need to visualize anything when you use the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique?”

Zhe Ying shook his head and carried on circulating the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique.

Chu Li sighed and said, “Great! I have another request to make.”

Zhe Ying looked at him with a frown and started to feel irritated.

Chu Li said, “Can you change your appearance into mine and let me check the resemblance? You shouldn’t get found out at the Ji Dynasty, or you might be forced to kill my friends if they happen to suspect your identity.”