Black Wind Mountain.
In the Demon Academy, a group of wild beasts lay obediently on the ground, gazing earnestly at the graceful figure atop the distant stone mountain. They listened with full attention to the “principles” she expounded.
Not far away, a group of children each held books in their hands, swaying their heads as they recited aloud the poems from the Book of Songs.
Nearby, within a mass of black mist, a figure in black robes was intently reading a book. On the cover were three large simplified characters: Tao Te Ching.
Suddenly, his body trembled slightly. Then, a vast aura burst forth from him. Endless ghostly qi spread outwards in all directions like a tidal wave, centred on him.
“Hm?”
Not far off, the fish demon leader Da Tou, clad in dark red armour, narrowed his eyes at the sight. He immediately positioned himself in front of the children and raised his hand, releasing vast demonic qi to block the erosion of the ghostly qi.
“Bai Yi, you have… broken through?”
Looking at the figure shrouded in dense ghostly qi, sensing the aura upon him, Da Tou’s face filled with shock.
As his words rang out, Bai Yi slowly opened his eyes. The ghostly qi that had spread around immediately contracted wildly. In a short while, it vanished completely, returning to Bai Yi’s body.
“Yes.”
Bai Yi nodded, then looked towards Da Tou and smiled faintly. “I have indeed broken through.”
“Good heavens!”
“Did you not chang ghosts say that you could never break through?”
“How have you suddenly done so?”
Da Tou withdrew his demonic qi and approached Bai Yi with surprise. Finally, his gaze fell upon the Tao Te Ching in Bai Yi’s hand. He asked doubtfully, “Could this thing really be so miraculous? You have read it for half a year and turned the impossible into possible?”
Bai Yi’s face twitched slightly at these words. He lowered his head to look at the book in his hand, a glint in his eyes, and smiled. “Indeed. After all, this was personally written by the Great King. It contains extremely profound principles of the Great Way. If one can comprehend even a little, it surpasses a hundred years of cultivation.”
“Is that true or false?”
Da Tou looked sceptical. He snatched the book from Bai Yi’s hand and began flipping through it directly.
“Of course it is true. Have you not noticed that the spiritual qi on Teacher Fang has grown increasingly dense?”
“She is clearly just an ordinary mortal, yet now she seems more like a cultivator. Although her cultivation is not evident, sometimes she lectures on the Way for ten days or half a month without eating or drinking. Is that still a mortal?”
Bai Yi looked towards the female teacher lecturing on the distant stone mountain. A trace of emotion appeared in his eyes, along with some confusion.
“Now that you mention it, there does seem to be some reason in that.”
Da Tou nodded.
In fact, as Bai Yi had said, ever since Fang Ru came to Black Wind Mountain to lecture, she had become less and less like an ordinary person. What puzzled him was that although the spiritual qi on her grew denser, there was no fluctuation of magical power.
This meant that although she appeared to be cultivating now, she actually had no cultivation at all.
“Have you figured it out?”
“If you have, that is good. Work hard.”
Seeing Da Tou’s expression of sudden realisation, Bai Yi smiled and patted his shoulder encouragingly. “Just as the Great King often says, study well and you will improve every day.”
“Thank you, Bai Yi. At the critical moment, it still has to be you.”
Da Tou was immediately moved. He had not expected this fellow, who usually acted ghostly and kept living creatures at a distance, to be so helpful and concerned about his cultivation after breaking through.
Seeing Da Tou’s genuine emotion, Bai Yi’s face twitched. He looked seriously at those dead-fish eyes and said, “Do not do that. It is really a bit ugly. I fear you will scare the little children and Teacher Fang.”
“…”
Da Tou was speechless. The slight touch of emotion in his heart vanished instantly. Instead, he silently cursed Bai Yi in his mind before once again flipping through the Tao Te Ching in his hand. Soon, however, he discovered a problem. His brows furrowed, and he looked helplessly at Bai Yi.
“Bai Yi, um… could you teach me how to recognise these characters?”
“I remember that when the Great King last taught characters, you and Teacher Fang were the most attentive.”
Bai Yi immediately glanced at the teacher lecturing on the distant stone mountain and smiled bitterly. “I am afraid you will have to consult Teacher Fang about that.”
“What do you mean?” Da Tou was stunned.
“Ahem… actually, I do not recognise many characters either…”
Having said this, Bai Yi transformed into a wisp of ghostly qi and vanished from the spot.
Watching Bai Yi fly into the distance, Da Tou’s brows knitted tightly. It took him a long while to react. He immediately began cursing.
“That damned Bai Yi. So you do not understand either. Then everything you just said was…”
“Ahem… this king naturally would not deceive you. However, cultivation is not something that yields results merely through effort. Take this Tao Te Ching in your hand. Even if you recognise every character in it, that does not mean you truly understand it.
True cultivation relies on personal enlightenment. When the opportunity arrives, even if you are illiterate, you can still gain some insight from it.
So study well and improve every day.”
Bai Yi’s ethereal voice drifted from afar into Da Tou’s ears, infuriating the latter to the point of jumping in rage. He raised the book as if to throw it, but soon restrained himself.
“This book was personally written by the Great King. If I throw it, I fear I will be held accountable later.”
“But Bai Yi really has broken through. How did he manage it?”
“Could reading this thing truly aid cultivation?”
Da Tou looked doubtful. He gradually calmed down. Since he could not figure it out, he simply sat down on the spot, holding the Tao Te Ching and studying it. Even though he did not recognise the characters, he patiently examined it.
In the distance, Fang Ru, lecturing atop the stone mountain, saw this scene and nodded inwardly. A smile gradually appeared on her face.
In truth, Bai Yi himself was full of doubt at this moment, for even he did not know why he had suddenly broken through.
“The shackles on my cultivation stemmed from the master’s divine ability restriction. Now that the shackles have vanished, the accumulated ghostly qi within me erupted like a flood. That is why I broke through to the Ghost King realm in one go.
If that is the case… the master’s Ghost Controlling Divine Ability must have undergone new changes.”
Bai Yi murmured to himself. He raised his head to look at the blazing sun in the sky. A smile gradually emerged on his face.
“It seems that in these past six months, the master has not rested but has gained new opportunities.”
“Creating demon clan script… terrifying cultivation speed and the technique of devouring others’ divine abilities… it appears that the Hundred Thousand Mountains will truly be turned upside down because of the master.”
…
White Sacred Mountain, Qinglian Palace.
In a hall decorated almost entirely in pink, Mo Fan sat in closed-eye meditation. Suddenly, vast black mist emerged from his body. As soon as the black mist appeared, the temperature in the entire room plummeted. The warm tones from moments ago instantly became chilling and eerie.
“Woo woo…”
In an instant, countless phantoms emerged from the black mist. Each phantom’s face displayed an expression of pain.
If Mo Fan opened his eyes, he would surely discover that these phantoms were all cultivators who had died by his hand. There were humans, demons, and even members of the clan, witch clan, and wild beasts.
Outside the hall, a woman in a red gown sat cross-legged at the gate. As if sensing something, her willow-like brows furrowed slightly.
