Scripture of Days Past

According to Chen Zhu, Former Grand Secretary Fei Yi had likely known for quite some time that his mother didn't have long left to live. He also knew that the emperor would never allow him to skip the three-year mourning period and continue serving as grand secretary. Thus, he had constantly been trying to get rid of Wu Siqi so that an official from his own political faction could succeed him as grand secretary.

Now that Wu Siqi had become the grand secretary, the conservatives under Fei Yi were undoubtedly harboring a great deal of resentment toward Chu Qiguang. Fei Yi was a former professor at the Northern Martial Arts Academy, and he had become a Dao Comprehension-state martial artist over twenty years ago.

During his time at the Northern Martial Arts Academy, he had trained countless wujuren and wujinshi, earning him immense respect and reverence in the north. Many of his former students had also gone on to become officials in the imperial court, and they naturally became part of his political faction, looking to him for guidance and leadership.

Even though he had returned home to observe the mourning period, he still held tremendous influence in the officialdom, and countless people were working tirelessly to have him reinstated as grand secretary once the three-year mourning period ended.

"By bringing down the Ding Clan, you've displayed your talents and allied yourself with Grand Secretary Wu's political faction, so Grand Secretary Wu's political enemies will be eager to get rid of you," Chen Zhu cautioned. "Right now, you have no official title to your name, so it would be very easy for them to kill you. That's why I'm warning you to stay on guard."

Chu Qiguang thanked Chen Zhu for the warning, then bought thirty-two Qi Enhancement Pills from him. He wanted to buy more than that, but that was all of the Qi Enhancement Pills that Chen Zhu had in his possession.

"Thirty-two Qi Enhancement Pills is too many to buy at once," Chen Zhu advised. "It'll take you a long time to go through that many, so you may as well save your money and buy them in smaller batches."

Chu Qiguang thanked him again for the advice, but still decided to go through with his purchase. Chen Zhu gave him a discount, only charging him two thousand three hundred taels of silver for the thirty-two pills.

The lump-sum payment for these pills, combined with all of his expenses over the past few days, reduced Chu Qiguang's wealth to just seven thousand six hundred taels of silver.

With the five that I got from Ding Daoxiao, that adds up to a total of thirty-seven Qi Enhancement Pills, which should be enough to get me to the fourth state. Once I get there, I'll use the Lion Tiger Transformation Ointment, and I'll be well on my way to the fifth state.

With that in mind, he began taking pills one after another as soon as he returned home, rapidly progressing toward the fourth state.

It's already been three days since my condition last flared up, so it should happen again soon. Once I start feeling the symptoms, I'll put an end to Li Changqing. He's already taken the elixir of undying, and he'll die soon if I don't use him. The cultivation boost that I receive from satisfying my condition should be enough to push me into the fourth state.

***

Shortly after Chu Qiguang left, a white-robed Daoist priest with a head of white hair suddenly appeared before Chen Zhu in a flash of light.

Someone was using a concealment talisman this entire time?

Chen Zhu was understandably startled. Only very high-ranking members of the Heavenly Master Religion had access to concealment talismans, but upon getting a clear look at the white-robed Daoist priest, a flash of recognition appeared in Chen Zhu's eyes.

"What're you doing here, Senior Uncle Jade Pagoda?"

"I'm here regarding Azure Spirit," the Daoist priest referred to as Jade Pagoda sighed. "The Immortal Dao has always held lofty ambitions of combining Name and Principle with Elixir of Undying, so I had no choice but to come."

Chen Zhu was stunned to hear this. Each of the twenty-five orthodox arts contained countless secrets, but cultivating them also came with an extremely high level of risk.

In the past, Chen Zhu had been given the opportunity to cultivate one of the three orthodox arts in the possession of the Heavenly Master Religion, but he declined out of fear of the risks involved. He couldn't even imagine how difficult it would be to cultivate a combination of two orthodox arts.

"Was that Chu Qiguang you were speaking to just now?" Jade Pagoda asked.

"You know of him, Senior Uncle?" Chen Zhu asked.

"I've heard of him," Jade Pagoda replied. "Over the past few months, he's made a series of major moves in Azure Sun County and even stirred up a great deal of unrest in the capital. Is he willing to join our sect?"

"He says he wants to take part in the imperial examination," Chen Zhu replied with a shake of his head.

"That's a shame," Jade Pagoda sighed. "You can do business with him, but don't let him interfere with the temple's affairs. Also, the atonement slip concept goes against our religious doctrines and would damage our image, so tell him to think of another way to secure funding."

Chen Zhu lowered his head and gave an affirmative response. By the time he looked up again, Daoist Master Jade Pagoda was already gone.

***

Two days later, a young man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties entered Azure Sun County through the northern gate. He was dressed in a white scholarly robe, and there was a longsword strapped to his waist.

His name was Lin Zifeng, and he was a wujuren from the twelfth year of the Yong'an Era. Over these past two years, he had been traveling through the north, visiting prominent clans and slaying fiends, making a decent name for himself in the process.

A few days ago, while visiting the Chen Manor in Past Sun County, he had heard about the chaos in the imperial court.

The grand secretary of surrender, Wu Siqi, had not only forced the former grand secretary out of his position, but was also a proponent of colluding with the enemy wolf fiends and abolishing the nine border military bases that protected the empire from outside forces.

Furthermore, there were also rumors that he was working with the chief eunuch to appease the emperor and eliminate his political rivals, thereby paving the way for his rise to power. In light of this, he had come under widespread condemnation from Lin Zifeng and many others.

In their eyes, the Ding Clan was a victim that had fallen while attempting to oppose the unscrupulous and morally bankrupt Wu Clan.

It was also rumored that a deplorable scoundrel by the name of Chu Qiguang had colluded with the Daoist temple and the county office to lead an attack on the Ding Clan. As a result, Chu Qiguang had also come under widespread condemnation.

Chu Qiguang himself was still oblivious to the terrible reputation that he had earned in Spirit Province.

At the Chen Manor, Lin Zifeng had openly declared that he was going to Azure Sun County to punish Chu Qiguang. He stated that he intended to break all of Chu Qiguang's limbs and destroy his cultivation base as a favor to the people and the empire.

At the time, countless people had praised him for his heroism, and that only further inflated his ego. Chu Qiguang was nothing more than a second-state martial artist. By teaching him a lesson, Lin Zifeng would receive immense praise and further enhance his reputation. In his eyes, this opportunity was almost too good to be true!

He quickly found the courtyard that Chu Qiguang had rented using the address given to him by the Chen Clan. After jumping over the wall, he was greeted by the sight of Chen Gang's brother, who was in the middle of scooping out cat poop.

Lin Zifeng looked down in disgust at the piece of cat poop that he had landed on, then asked, "Is Chu Qiguang here?"

At the moment, all of the cat fiends were out gathering intelligence for Chu Qiguang, so Chen Gang and his two brothers were the only ones left at home, scooping out cat poop and cooking for the cats.

Chen Gang rushed out upon hearing the commotion outside. By the time he emerged from the house, Chen Two had already been knocked down by a blow from the scabbard of Lin Zifeng's sword.

Enraged, he picked up a brick and charged at Lin Zifeng, only to receive a painful blow to the face that sent him stumbling back in retreat.

Chen Three let loose a loud scream as he also charged at Lin Zifeng to help his two brothers, but he didn't fare any better.

Chen Gang picked up a stone lock and hurled it at Lin Zifeng, but the latter easily evaded the projectile before striking Chen Gang with another blow to the face.

"I can tell from the look of his servants that Chu Qiguang is indeed the scoundrel that everyone claims him to be! It'll be up to me to uphold justice and strike him down!" Lin Zifeng declared coldly.

A cat fiend was hiding on the roof, and it immediately scurried away to alert Chu Qiguang.

***

Chu Qiguang was at the Wu Manor with the skilled workers sourced by the Daoist temple, discussing the details of their future textiles operation. However, in the middle of the discussion, he was informed by Qiao Zhi that someone had barged into their courtyard and beaten up Chen Gang.

This wasn't a big deal, seeing as he also beat Chen Gang all the time, but it was getting in the way of Chu Qiguang's never-ending quest for more money, and that made him furious.

After returning to the courtyard, Chu Qiguang paused outside and asked, Did anyone else see him enter the courtyard?