"So, you're going to pass on the Heavenly Demon Scripture, the treasured scripture of the demonic sect, to Mule?" the cripple asked.
Granny Si nodded gently and said, "He's better than me. The Cultivating Heaven Demon Art is one of the profound techniques in the Heavenly Demon Scripture. I've used it to skin animals and make clothes, which seems somewhat sinister. But I've never thought of using the Cultivating Heaven Demon Art to counter the Daylight Soul Refining of the Thunderous Sound Eight Strikes. He, on the other hand, thought of it."
The pharmacist nodded and said, "The Cultivating Heaven Demon Art seals the soul and counters the Daylight Soul Refining. It's indeed a brilliant idea."
Granny Si smiled and said, "That's why if he learns the Heavenly Demon Scripture, he might develop and practice things we couldn't have imagined before."
The mute made a couple of gestures, and the deaf person shook his head, saying, "Don't tell him. If we tell him, it won't be fun anymore."
A group of elderly men and women laughed heartily, enjoying themselves.
In the ruins of the old village, the sound of thunder resounded as Qin Mu and Mr. Ma's figures intertwined, each using the Nine Dragons Controlling the Wind and Thunder technique to attack the other.
Boom!
Thunder roared, deafening the ears. Qin Mu and Mr. Ma's fists collided, causing a muffled groan. They staggered back, but Qin Mu's footwork was like that of a serpentine dragon. It appeared to be a retreat, but it was actually gathering power.
Within a few steps, Qin Mu's power reached its peak, and his body, like an enraged dragon emerging from the abyss, launched an attack on Mr. Ma!
"You brat, you even modified the Stealth Steps I taught you," the cripple exclaimed in surprise.
He recognized the footwork Qin Mu had just used, which contracted the body like a coiling dragon, retreating but actually advancing. It was extremely dangerous.
His Stealth Steps were incredibly exquisite, but due to the cripple's habits, he always preferred acts of theft and ambush, neglecting how to enhance the power of the Stealth Steps. The cripple's footwork was often used for stealing, escaping, and launching surprise attacks, not for offensive purposes.
Qin Mu only made slight modifications to his footwork, unintentionally incorporating the aura of the Divine Dragon, his movements resembling the winding of a dragon.
Bang! Bang! Bang! A series of explosive sounds echoed out. Qin Mu and Mr. Ma had only exchanged a single punch, but there were forty-five booming sounds, which was quite peculiar.
Qin Mu was sent flying backward, his body moving like a swimming dragon in mid-air, neutralizing Mr. Ma's force. When he landed, his body was steady and firm.
"Mr. Ma is still Mr. Ma," the cripple exclaimed in admiration.
Mr. Ma said, "Mule, have you comprehended the essence of this move?"
Qin Mu showed a shocked expression and exclaimed, "The power of your punches is different from mine. In my punch, all forty-five dragon forces are of the same kind, but in your punch, there are forty-five different divine dragons, each with its unique dragon force!"
"You've grasped it," Mr. Ma said with a pleased expression. "In the Great Thunderous Sound Monastery, there are a hundred relief sculptures of heavenly dragons called the Hundred Dragon Chart. The original Buddha carved these sculptures based on the hundred types of heavenly dragons he had seen, which were meant for future generations to cultivate the dragon forces of the Nine Dragons Controlling the Wind and Thunder technique. When I cultivated this technique, I didn't see real dragons, only these reliefs. The Nine Dragons Controlling the Wind and Thunder contains forty-five types of dragon forces, which require the use of forty-five dragon charts. However, there are a hundred dragon charts in the Great Thunderous Sound Monastery. Do you know what that means?"
Qin Mu's heart trembled, and he exclaimed, "Every time you unleash the Nine Dragons Controlling the Wind and Thunder, the dragon forces hidden within your punches are different from before!"
Mr. Ma nodded. "The Nine Dragons Controlling the Wind and Thunder may appear as a simple punch, but it contains countless variations. However, these variations are concealed within the power stored in the fist, making it difficult to discern. Mule, watch carefully!"
With his lone arm, Mr. Ma threw a punch, and a dragon's roar resounded. Thunder followed suit, and a qi in the form of a dragon burst forth. The furious dragon surged forward, like a beast emerging from the abyss, ready to devour everything in its path!
Then came two dragon roars as two dragons surged out from his fist, intertwining and continuously drilling forward!
Three dragon roars followed, with three types of dragon forces displaying their might, shattering rocks and splitting stones!
Then came four dragons attacking, five dragons refining demons, six dragons reincarnating, seven dragons overturning the sea, eight celestial dragon divisions, and the nine dragons of wind and thunder!
Mr. Ma's punch unleashed forty-five dragon-shaped forces, each resembling a real dragon, alive and vibrant.
As Mr. Ma's punch soared toward the sky, forty-five azure dragons suddenly appeared in the sky above Canlao Village. Accompanied by thunderous sounds and intertwined lightning, the forty-five azure dragons surged into the clouds.
Qin Mu looked up and saw a cloud suddenly shatter and disappear in the sky.
As the cloud shattered, a human head fell from the broken cloud and landed at Qin Mu's feet. Startled, Qin Mu focused his gaze and realized it was the head of a monk, somehow hidden within the clouds.
"Could it be that some demon killed this monk and carried his head into the clouds?" Qin Mu speculated.
While Qin Mu was pondering, several more loud bangs resounded, and two arms and two legs fell from the sky, along with a body that landed outside the village.
"It's not the work of a demon!" Qin Mu's heart shook. "The monk was hiding in the clouds!"
The mute, deaf, butcher, and others in the village seemed unfazed by the strange occurrence, as if they were accustomed to it and paid it no mind.
Mr. Ma also seemed unaware that he had struck down a monk, briefly glancing at the leader of the Demon Cult outside the village. He was demonstrating his power.
He was demonstrating his power to the grandmaster of the Demon Cult, intimidating many of the formidable experts of the cult!
In a neighboring village, the young grandmaster's expression changed as he said, "The techniques and powers of the Great Thunderous Sound Monastery are indeed remarkable, though they still fall short of the old Buddha. Now I know who the one-armed person is—a disciple who abandoned the Great Thunderous Sound Monastery, the Divine Horse King, the Venerable Ma. He rose to fame in a single battle that shook the Great Thunderous Sound Monastery. I didn't expect him to settle in this small village. This little village is not to be underestimated."
The elder enforcer glanced at the body that had fallen from the sky and said, "This is a monk from the Great Thunderous Sound Monastery, killed by the Divine Horse King. Strange, how did a monk from the Great Thunderous Sound Monastery end up here?"
The young grandmaster smiled and said, "He was probably here to monitor the Divine Horse King. It's a minor matter. The old Buddha is already old and no longer ventures out. However, that young man's martial arts are quite interesting, very interesting indeed. Despite not having studied the Great Vehicle Sutra like the old Buddha, he is able to fully unleash the power of the Eight Sounds of the Thunderous Roar..."
In the village, Mr. Ma withdrew his gaze and continued, "Mule, what did you see from my punch just now?"
Suppressing his doubts, Qin Mu was deeply shocked by the forty-five azure dragons he had witnessed moments ago. Not only were they different in form, but their types of dragons were also completely distinct.
Suddenly, Mr. Ma unleashed the Nine Dragons Harnessing the Wind and Thunder once again. Forty-five different types of azure dragons appeared in the sky, with thunder and wind raging, surging into the heights!
Mr. Ma's punches continued to rumble, and the dragon-shaped fist energies in mid-air multiplied, densely packed and filling an area of hundreds of miles with flying azure dragons!
These azure dragons formed a magnificent formation in the sky, intertwining their bodies and enclosing a colossal dragon coil. The dragon heads faced outward, and they let out a fierce roar!
The roar of ten thousand dragons shook the heavens and the earth!
This was no longer a demonstration of the secrets of the Nine Dragons Harnessing the Wind and Thunder to Qin Mu; it was a blatant show of power, a demonstration to Da Xu, a demonstration to the Demon Cult, and a demonstration to those who harbored sinister intentions toward Canlao Village!
Qin Mu's eyes widened, and the others in the village were also amazed, nodding repeatedly. The disciples of the Demon Cult in the neighboring village had changed their expressions and were filled with admiration. The young grandmaster said to the disciples beside him, "In the future, if you encounter the Divine Horse King alone, show him some respect."
The elder enforcer whispered, "Does the Demon Cult need to fear this small village?"
"Fear? Not necessarily," the young grandmaster smiled. "They are already crippled, their abilities diminished compared to before. But there are two individuals who are on par with me—one is the one without arms and legs, and the other is the blacksmith. As for the others, they are even stronger than our Twelve Elders and the Four Heavenly Kings. The Holy Maiden is probably the weakest among them. Did you see the butcher with only the upper half of his body? If you've seen him, you'll surely remember him because he has a name, and it's Tian Dao, the Heavenly Blade!"
The elder enforcer's heart trembled, and he couldn't help but look incredulously at the butcher, murmuring, "That's Tian Dao? Didn't he die a long time ago?"
"I've heard he died too."
A guardian elder said, "I heard he went mad, wielding his blade against the heavens, killing the divine beings. It was said that at that time, the sky was covered in dark clouds, and his blade traveled through the thunderclouds. It didn't take long for Tian Dao's body to fall from the sky. If this butcher is indeed Tian Dao, then how did he survive?"
The young grandmaster said, "For someone like him, even if he wanted to die, it wouldn't be that easy."
The elder enforcer asked in confusion, "Grandmaster, why did you agree to the Lady Sovereign's request to make this little kid the Deputy Chief of our Holy Cult? I don't think his strength is particularly formidable."
"The strength of this young boy is indeed not particularly formidable, and he is still very inexperienced. But who is by his side?"
The young grandmaster smiled and said, "The powerful individuals by his side are truly terrifying. They were once dominant figures in their own right, each with their own specialties! This young boy is their child, and they have passed on all their lifelong learnings and realizations to him. In addition to our Holy Cult's Da Yu Tian Demon Sutra, he has become the Holy Chief of our Holy Cult. Our Holy Cult has hit the jackpot!"
The elder enforcer sighed in admiration, "Grandmaster, your wisdom is divine. But why do you still want to test him?"
The grandmaster asked in return, "What if he's a fool? That's why he must be tested. Inform the hall masters of the 360 floors and instruct them to only use their abilities at the Spirit Embryo Realm! Tomorrow, wait for him to enter the floor!"
