Chapter 237: Blood Lake Precious Repentance

"Old man, your time has come!"

The White Cloud Old Daoist's heart rang with alarm; the reason he had lived so long, besides refining pills to extend his life, was that he was sufficiently afraid of death.

The Yuan Gong of Ruyi Temple was merely a minor spirit manifestation of incense, which the White Cloud Daoist did not fear, but when he learned that the one shielding the heavenly secrets and unable to be seen was not Yuan Gong, but Xu Qing, his heart immediately grew uneasy.

Who knows what person that cat demon has attached itself to; if it turns out to be a high-ranking figure with profound cultivation or a deep background, regardless of whether he can fight Xu Qing, the outcome will not be good.

Weighing the pros and cons, if he could truly fight the opponent, that would be one thing; even if Xu Qing indeed had a background reaching the heavens, he could still flee ten thousand li, at worst going to the Western Regions, Nan Cuo, or the barbarian lands to live.

If all else fails, he could hide in the Yin River Ancient Path.

But if he cannot fight Xu Qing, then the only outcome is truly death and the destruction of his Dao.

The White Cloud Daoist knew the stakes involved, so when Xu Qing and the cat demon, who had transformed into the appearance of a young girl, prepared to act, he instead laughed loudly: "You are right, but it is not my time that has come, but the time for this Daoist to refine the Nine-Turn Immortal Elixir and ascend to immortality!"

"Today, this old Daoist will refine you both into pills and consume them to become an immortal!"

Having spoken, the White Cloud Old Daoist took out a Ghost-Head Blood Blade; that blood blade's ghost head gaped wide, having swallowed countless infant souls within, and now that it had appeared in the world, the entire ritual altar was instantly filled with a great Yin wind, blocking out the sky and sun, just like the Netherworld Ghost Domain!

Xu Qing's body hair stood on end, not because he feared this blade, but because he felt the countless infant spirits and lost souls who had died beneath that blade.

"This blade is named the Ghost-Head Divine Blade; whenever it is drawn from its scabbard, heads must fall; it was obtained by this Daoist in the White Cloud Cave and is a genuine Nine Heavens Secret Art; listen well!"

The White Cloud Daoist slapped the scabbard three times in succession, each strike harder than the last; on the ritual altar, only the howling of evil winds could be heard, like the wailing of millions of wronged ghosts, but this noise, to Xu Qing's ears, was the crying of countless infants.

It is rumored that the White Cloud Cave is where immortals reside, and the Nine Heavens Secret Methods carved on the stone walls inside are genuine Heavenly Books.

How could such a divine cave dwelling left in the world possess such a sacrificial blade evil art?

If what the White Cloud Daoist said is true, then this White Cloud Cave is not the so-called divine cave dwelling of immortals, but a den of demons and a lair of monsters!

The White Cloud Daoist only slapped the scabbard three times, yet caused Xu Qing to completely lose all hope in the widely circulated rumor that the White Cloud Cave houses immortals.

Inside Ruyi Temple, a sharp whistling sound swept across the ritual altar; the Ghost-Head Blade in the White Cloud Daoist's hand suddenly leaped and rang, rising about one zhang high; before the ghost blade returned to its scabbard, the condensed, substantial blade light and evil qi transformed into a black demon dog, rushing straight at Xu Qing.

That demon dog had a dog's body and a ghost's head, hiding the killing intent of a blade within; seeing the blade the opponent had summoned, Xu Qing suddenly understood why Xuan Yu had been captured by the White Cloud Daoist.

Cats and dogs are naturally enemies; the dog ghost nurtured within this Ghost-Head Demon Blade is faster than the blade light struck by a Grandmaster; even if a cat possesses divine speed, it is difficult to evade.

Xu Qing chose not to dodge; in the instant the dog ghost leaped from the Ghost-Head Blade, the incense within the Blood Lake Dharma Realm completely enveloped him and Xuan Yu.

The Dharma Image of Lady Baosheng manifested; two things appeared in Xu Qing's hands: a small red bottle and a jade-colored Ruyi scepter.

The red bottle is the Blood Lake Mother Qi Bottle; the Ruyi is the Child-Giving Jade Ruyi.

Both possess benefits for stabilizing pregnancy and aiding childbirth, as well as functions for dispelling disasters and eliminating harm.

The moment the dog ghost rushed forward, Xu Qing had already thrown the jade Ruyi in his hand along with the momentum.

That Ghost-Head Blade was originally the old Daoist's infant-slaying blade; the dog ghost that ran out of it was merely the materialization of infant spirit resentment and evil qi; now, facing the angry and furious Lady Baosheng, it was like a naughty child seeing its mother holding a willow branch; before it even reached close, its courage had already been lost by three-tenths.

The jade Ruyi struck down from above, hitting the dog ghost's body squarely.

Washed by the incense gathering the prayers of ten thousand mothers and children, the fierce evil qi all over the dog ghost's body was now less than one-tenth of what it was; when it rushed to Xu Qing's front and saw the Dharma Image of Lady Baosheng with eyes full of evil qi and a look of hatred for its lack of progress, the dog ghost actually forcibly halted its blade momentum and fell into hesitation.

Xu Qing would not give this evil blade a chance to react; he immediately flipped the Mother Qi Bottle, aimed the bottle mouth at the dog ghost, and instantly locked it up.

Leaving aside the dog ghost locked inside the Mother Qi Bottle, undergoing purification by incense, let us speak of the White Cloud Daoist, who, after releasing the vicious dog, fled towards the outside of Ruyi Temple without looking back!

It turned out the Daoist never intended to fight Xu Qing to the death; including the previous harsh words about refining Xuan Yu into pills, they were merely to intimidate Xu Qing and Xuan Yu, and he had already prepared from the start to abandon the dog ghost and run away himself.

"Evil Daoist! You refine this demon blade and still dream of becoming an immortal? Today, even if there were no old grudges, I would not spare you!"

Xu Qing threw a red banner flag towards the direction where the White Cloud Old Daoist had taken flight; when the flag chased to behind the White Cloud Daoist, Xu Qing's figure also flashed to the front of the banner flag.

At the same time, the second green banner flag in his hand was also thrown out.

Followed by the black and gold banner flags.

The four banner flags, like flowing light, took turns in relay; in the blink of an eye, Xu Qing caught up with the White Cloud Daoist, who was riding the wind and driving the mist.

Xu Qing possessed the Cloud-Climbing Talisman obtained from a Daoist of the Celestial Master's Mansion, but using that Cloud-Climbing Talisman, one could not rise higher than five or six zhang; in the time it takes to eat a meal, one could travel at most three li; how could that catch up with an evil Daoist skilled in riding the wind and driving the mist?

If truly discussing chasing enemies and seeking foes, it is not as swift as his banner flags.

"Who exactly are you?"

The old Daoist looked at Xu Qing, his heart filled with shock and uncertainty.

At this moment, not to mention the White Cloud Daoist, even if the true Yuan Gong descended to the mortal world, he would likely be stunned for a good while.

There are many who cultivate the Divine Path in this world, but those who can condense a Dharma Image are, without exception, existences with great vows and great merit.

The White Cloud Daoist looked at Xu Qing, who now had a male body but a female appearance, and whose whole body constantly emitted a maternal divine light; he felt as if sitting on pins and needles, uncomfortable all over his body.

That feeling was like a child trafficker being caught red-handed by the child's mother; the key point was that this mother was a violent man whose spirit could lift mountains and cover the world.

If caught, having blue and purple bruises on the body would be the least of it; the fear was ending up with pieces torn off here and there!

"Xuan Yu!"

Xu Qing did not respond to the White Cloud Daoist's words; after blocking the opponent and forcing him down to the ground, the first thing he did was call out to the sword-wielding young girl in the arena to come and join the group beatdown.

Xuan Yu understood Xu Qing's intention; she needed to eliminate her heart demon, and at the same time needed to use the White Cloud Daoist's life to further increase her own 'Momentum'!

For a demon clan to condense a Demon Core is a matter of life and death nine times out of ten; without great perseverance and great spirit to go forward without looking back, even with eighteen lives, it would be difficult to survive the Thunder Calamity.

If one passes, one lives; if one does not pass, one dies. If, before life and death, there is a chance to personally slay one's enemy, then even if the thunder calamity faces one in the next moment, there will be no fear whatsoever.

This is Momentum!

From White Cage Village to Ruyi Temple, the evil qi Xuan Yu had accumulated had already taken initial shape; now, facing her former enemy, she no longer had the timidity of the past.

As the saying goes, a cat with momentum is fiercer than a tiger; at this moment, Xuan Yu possessed even more ferocity than a tiger.

Hearing Xu Qing's instruction, Xuan Yu made no sound, only gripping the sword in her hand tightly, transforming into a lingering shadow and darting towards the White Cloud Daoist, who had been forced back to the Daoist Temple.

A cat that meows does not catch mice; similarly, a cat in the hunt never hisses, because only the weak make sounds.

The White Cloud Daoist, fierce in appearance but cowardly within, said: "Seven years ago, this Daoist could take one of your lives; now, this Daoist can still take your remaining life!"

Watching the young girl, who had transformed into eight lingering shadows, swarming towards him like a ghost to kill him, the White Cloud Daoist drew the evil Ghost-Head Blade in his hand once more.

As soon as the evil blade was drawn from its scabbard, a torrent of blood surged out from the scabbard; as the Ghost-Head Blade swept around his body, the rolling and surging blood flow transformed into a Blood River, protecting the White Cloud Daoist within.

At the same time, infant spirits constantly crawled out of the Blood River, clawing and waving as they rushed towards Xuan Yu.

Xu Qing, standing by and observing, chanted the Blood Lake Precious Repentance Sutra; those infants, upon hearing Xu Qing's kind and gentle voice, clearly stopped their wildly waving claws and teeth, and at the same time, in their pitch-black ink-colored pupils, the direction of attack was lost.

After a brief moment of confusion, these infant spirits lowered their arms and began wandering aimlessly back and forth within the river of blood, as if searching for something.

The Scripture of Repentance for the Blood Lake can deliver the souls of those who died from difficult childbirth, abortion, or other blood-related grievances, and can also resolve blood debts to help these spirits escape their suffering.

At this moment, however, the Scripture of Repentance for the Blood Lake, recited by Xu Qing, was exerting an efficacy never seen before.

This scripture from the Dongxuan Section, which Xu Qing obtained by delivering the Daoists of Ruyi Temple, fit the Lady of Preserving Life as perfectly as if it had been tailor-made for her.

Who could have imagined that a scripture for delivering souls from the orthodox Daoist Canon would become the death warrant of Daoist Bai Yun?

The infant spirits trapped in the river of blood fell into chaos; no matter how Daoist Bai Yun commanded them, they refused to take a single step forward, for they now only wished to find the source of that familiar voice.

Outside the surging curtain of the blood river, the edge of the Profound Jade sword avoided those infant spirits and pointed directly at Daoist Bai Yun, who was guarded by the blood river.

Initially, Daoist Bai Yun had relied on the blood river to protect him, believing that as long as the river remained, any attack from others would be blocked by the crimson wall; but now that the infant spirits were out of control and the entire blood curtain was tearing and churning, if this blood barrier were truly broken, he had no confidence he could escape unscathed beneath Profound Jade's blade.

This cat demon had not been seen for several years, yet its cultivation had already far surpassed his own!

Daoist Bai Yun could not understand: he had worked so hard to kill people and refine pills, yet achieved so little; in seven years, his cultivation had increased by merely ten times that of others, so how could this demon, who did not pursue proper business and did not eat people, advance in cultivation even faster than he?

Daoist Bai Yun's Dao heart was unstable, but Xu Qing cared nothing for that; upon sensing fluctuations in the blood curtain the other had deployed, he immediately began reciting the Blood Lake scripture once more.

Upon hearing Xu Qing kick him while he was down and continue reciting the Scripture of Repentance for the Blood Lake, Daoist Bai Yun could no longer remain seated.

He shouted in fury, "The grudge in this place is between this poor Daoist and the cat demon; what does it have to do with you? Since you claim to be of the righteous path, you should not bully the few with the many or wound others with hidden arrows; otherwise, even if you defeat this poor Daoist today, your victory will hardly be honorable, and if word spreads..."

The sound of Xu Qing's scripture recitation paused for a moment; just as Daoist Bai Yun secretly rejoiced, he suddenly heard the chanting resume, and the voice was even louder than before!

How could Daoist Bai Yun know that although the Lady of Preserving Life before him appeared more righteous than the most righteous, if her Dharma image were cast aside to reveal her true form, I fear no one would dare call her part of the righteous path.

A zombie, part of the righteous path?

It would be good enough if she didn't bite people!

Only someone who had eaten poisonous mushrooms and drunk counterfeit wine would say such things.

Xu Qing felt completely unmoved by this.

For when dealing with enemies, he had never cared for morality or righteousness!

Zombies were naturally not favored by Heaven; if he did not do some of the things evil spirits ought to do, would he not have become a zombie in vain?

Daoist Bai Yun struggled to maintain the curtain of the blood river while simultaneously forming hand seals with his left hand, shifting his steps according to the Gang and Dipper to lay out a new formation.

However, just as his heart settled slightly, a piercing stench suddenly drifted in from outside the blood curtain; glancing sideways, Daoist Bai Yun saw that the sword-wielding girl had somehow produced a chamber pot and was splashing its contents onto his blood river curtain!

As soon as that viscous liquid made contact with the rushing river of blood, it hissed and emitted thick black smoke.

The old Daoist, well-versed in the Dao of alchemy and pharmacology, needed only a shallow sniff to identify that the chamber pot contained the most extremely filth-laden substances imaginable.

Human mid-yellow, heavenly gui water, urine of boys—a messy mixture of all sorts; none of this seemed like something a young girl ought to be doing!

Did they not say cats loved cleanliness? How could the methods of this cat demon before him be so dirty?

Seven years ago, when he had encountered the other, it was clearly not like this...

He could not understand: how could a cat that was so reasonable, so polite, and would even approach Daoist temples to bow and offer sacrifices, suddenly become so unruly and devoid of righteousness?

Daoist Bai Yun's face turned green then white, and it was unclear whether this was due to being fumigated by the holy water in the chamber pot or anger that the once simple and foolish kitten had become no longer easy to deceive.

In the end, the blood curtain formed by the ghost-head blades could not withstand the dual assault of Xu Qing and Profound Jade.

Profound Jade seized the opportunity to strike inward; its eight avatars simultaneously thrust out ten thousand cold stars, for it remembered Xu Qing's words: apart from the throat, every other vital point was the target of its sword light!

Daoist Bai Yun felt nothing but infinite killing intent surrounding him; had there been even the slightest error, the outcome would have been death and the extinction of his Dao.

Terrified, the old Daoist hastily discarded his precious ghost-head blade, then planted his stance firmly, forming hand seals for the Avoiding Weapons Decision, incessantly chanting the Avoiding Weapons Spell, and planting his feet solidly upon the Kui-Gang position without moving a fraction.

This protective method was also something he had obtained in the Bai Yun Cave; the Holy Master of the Bai Yun Cave had once told him that this Avoiding Weapons Decision was the foremost protective art among the Secret Methods of the Nine Heavens, and when cultivated to perfection, not even cultivators of the six realms of the mortal world, nor even Earthly Immortals or True Immortals descending from above, could necessarily break through this method.

The old Daoist Bai Yun kept his feet firmly planted on the Kui-Gang position; beneath his feet, a green light invisible to the naked eye penetrated the earth's surface and then spread like the roots of an old tree to every corner of the Daoist temple.

The girl's eyes brimmed with killing intent as thousands of sword lights rained down without cease, yet no matter how she slashed and struck, she could not harm the old Daoist in the slightest.

When the sword light struck the old Daoist's forehead, the main gate of the Ruyi Temple's main hall shattered into pieces.

When the sword edge pierced the old Daoist's throat, the scripture hall where the disciples of Ruyi Temple usually chanted collapsed with a crash.

When the sword light fell upon the old Daoist's heart, a gap the size of a vat's mouth appeared above the precious hall in the center of Ruyi Temple, where the deities were enshrined.

Watching the scene before him, Xu Qing felt it was exceedingly familiar.

Was this the Substitute Stake Method?

(End of Chapter)