Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 924 - 762: The Honest Emperor Li That Treats Both Young and Old Alike

Chapter 924: Chapter 762: The Honest Emperor Li That Treats Both Young and Old Alike

One day after Shanxin Temple was taken, in the Hui Mountain area of Wuxi, Jiangnan, Pei Changkong, the demon slayer colonel of Liudao Division, galloped on horseback and arrived at a vast and dense bamboo forest.

Two of his colleagues from Liudao Division had already been waiting there; they were his subordinates, two seventh house level Youjiao from the demon slaying division.

The two stood on a boulder, their expressions grave as they gazed into the bamboo forest ahead.

"Is it confirmed? Is it really that Iron-Bamboo Demon?"

Upon arriving, Colonel Pei Changkong immediately activated his Spirit Eye to peer into the bamboo forest.

He then caught sight of the thick, nearly substantial, black malevolent energy deep within the bamboo forest.

Pei Changkong couldn’t help but curse loudly, "Those bald-headed hybrids from Tonghui Temple actually did it! Aren’t they afraid of being scorned by the common people?"

As far as he knew, this Iron-Bamboo Demon had originally been sealed by Tonghui Temple several years ago.

Disgustingly, the local commoners and gentry had even raised fifty thousand taels of patterned silver as incense money for the temple to deal with this Iron-Bamboo Demon.

Moreover, to ’refine’ and wear down the demon’s malevolent energy, Tonghui Temple had been collecting thousands of taels annually as a demon-refinement fee from the locals.

One of Pei Changkong’s subordinates, a female demon slayer named Qiu Xueqing wearing a red dress, hummed softly, "We went to question them, and they claimed it was due to the Court’s intention to ban Buddhism that the temple’s inhabitants were panicked, hence the inadvertent release of this demon."

But anyone could easily guess that this was just an excuse from Tonghui Temple.

"I think they don’t want to live anymore. I heard that just yesterday, Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang was leveled by the Court. A combined military force of fifteen thousand men by land and water, along with two thousand heavenly soldiers and generals of the Xuanhuang Great Emperor, took just two hours to raze Jinshan Temple to the ground.

They should have considered that ever since County Prince Fenyang rose to power, he has been unbeatable and successful in every attack, sweeping away all opposition. If he wants to ban Buddhism, surely Buddhism will not be able to stand in his way. With Tonghui Temple doing such a thing, sooner or later they will follow in Jinshan Temple’s footsteps."

"That is a matter between County Prince Fenyang and Buddhism, and it has nothing to do with us."

Although Pei Changkong said this, he couldn’t help but think of the undercurrents within Liudao Division these past few days.

Although the number of Buddhists within Liudao Division wasn’t as extensive as when the division was first established, they still made up about ten percent.

Most of them were genuinely profound in Buddhist learning and had substantial cultivation.

Nevertheless, due to the discussions on banning Buddhism by County Prince Fenyang, these Buddhists were still panicking and even harboring great resentment.

Pei Changkong was somewhat worried, but then he shook his head, refocusing on the task at hand, "Our duty is solely to subdue demons and slay monsters."

In the last two days, this Iron-Bamboo Demon had already killed more than twenty people, causing hundreds of villagers within a ten-mile radius to flee.

What’s more disturbing is that the Iron-Bamboo Demon’s strength is recovering quickly, and it will soon return to its eleventh house level cultivation from before it was sealed.

"Colonel Pei, it currently has at least the strength of the eighth house level,"

said another one of Pei Changkong’s subordinates, his expression serious, "Inside there are also several Bamboo Sword Demons, all at the realm of the sixth house level. With just the three of us, there’s no way to take them down. But considering the emergence of demons and monsters across various places in Jiangsu, our Xiaowei will not be able to leave their duties on short notice.

The only option now is to request heavenly soldiers from the Great Emperor Xuanhuang. To be perfectly safe, we’ll need at least three seven-house-level divine generals."

This practice of requesting heavenly soldiers and generals from the Great Emperor Xuanhuang started becoming popular in Liudao Division since the beginning of the year.

It was staunchly advocated by County Prince Fenyang and Qiu Qianqiu, and extensively used by their trusted subordinates.

At first, everyone was hesitant, concerned about potential consequences.

After all, even the officially enshrined righteous gods of the Court may not be safe, let alone a ’Great Emperor’ whose divine name has never been seen in the classics.

But then they found that dealing with this ’Great Emperor of the Highest Heaven Miluo’ was quite straightforward. Everything had a clear price tag, with no demands for life force or souls, nor the need to chant any peculiar or strange scriptures.

Compared to other deities, the Great Emperor Xuanhuang was quite generous, genuinely dispatching heavenly soldiers and generals into the mortal realm.

If willing, on a regular basis they could recite the "Classic of the Interaction of Xuanhuang" and the "Ten commandments of Xuanhuang" to show devout respect.

But the former is essentially a version of Taoism’s "Classic of the Interaction of Taishang" and the latter a collection of precepts from both Taoism and Buddhism, both of which guide towards goodness.

And since the demon slayers of Liudao Division increasingly relied on the power of the Great Emperor Xuanhuang, their casualties dropped drastically this year, to just one-tenth of what they used to be.

At this point, there was a strong call within Liudao Division to have the elder council include the costs of summoning ’heavenly soldiers’ into the public expense budget.

"To summon a divine general?"

Pei Changkong’s expression was hesitant, but he then noticed his two excited and curious subordinates looking at him.

Pei Changkong instantly understood; these two had only seen the ordinary heavenly soldiers of the Great Emperor Xuanhuang and hadn’t seen the more powerful divine generals. They were eager for a spectacle.

Pei Changkong inwardly cursed, knowing that the expense of summoning these heavenly soldiers would come out of his own pocket.

Afterward, Pei Changkong could only hope to recoup his losses by collecting rewards and merits from within Liudao Division.

However, Pei Changkong’s expression then turned eager again.

All of this was due to a widely circulated message within the Liudao Division, "Great Emperor of the Highest Heaven Miluo had mercy on the mortal realm tormented by the rise of demons, bringing calamity to the people, and thus issued a great act of compassion."

Therefore, starting from the previous day until the first of August, anyone who borrowed heavenly soldiers from the "Great Emperor" for the purpose of subduing demons and slaying demons could enjoy an eighty percent discount, only needing to pay twenty percent of the cost.

——In other words, the "Six Paths Bureau Colonel" that would normally cost three thousand silver yuan to employ, today could be hired for just six hundred silver yuan.

Pei Changkong thought that with a twenty percent discount, there was still a profit to be made, so he did not hesitate much: "Alright! Prepare the altar."

A single Iron-Bamboo Demon at the eighth house level could be exchanged for a great merit within the Liudao Division, not to mention this Iron-Bamboo Demon was previously sealed at the level of The Fourth Gate.

With the assistance of two subordinates, Pei Changkong quickly set up a small and simple altar.

Next, he first placed two thousand four hundred taels of patterned silver on the altar.

Pei Changkong didn’t use silver yuan simply because at this time, there wasn’t much circulation of silver yuan in Jiangnan.

The merchants of Jiangnan were all very eager for silver yuan, whenever they appeared on the market, they would be snapped up immediately.

Besides, Pei Changkong found through numerous attempts that County Prince Fenyang preferred Gold and Silver, rather than silver yuan coins.

Then, Pei Changkong began chanting the incantation——

"Venerable Xuanhuang, dragons and tigers in battle, the sun shines brightly, illuminating my clarity—earnestly seeking the Great Emperor of the Highest Heaven Miluo, lend me your heavenly soldiers and generals. Please provide Package Thirteen, assist me in eradicating demons."

Package Thirteen was the summoning of three "Six Paths Bureau Colonels" at the seventh house level, sixty medium-grade demon-subduing bullets, to last for two shichen, costing ten thousand and two silver yuan, or twelve thousand taels of silver. The extra three thousand taels were the price for the sixty medium-grade demon-subduing bullets.

Besides, Package Thirteen also came with an additional thirty low-grade demon-subduing bullets.

But due to the discount, only two thousand four silver yuan was needed.

A moment later, three figures clad in dark golden armor, each standing about two zhang and two chi high, broke through the Void and appeared above the altar.

"It’s that Iron-Bamboo Demon!" Pei Changkong designated the target for the few Six Paths Bureau Colonels, "While you’re at it, take care of those Bamboo Sword Demons as well!"

These three "Six Paths Bureau Colonels" were all silent and taciturn, almost like cold mechanical puppets.

But their movements were quick and skilled, they first took positions about seven hundred zhang away from the bamboo forest, then aimed with their ’runed musket rifles’ in their hands.

After a brief moment, the three simultaneously opened fire, and amid the ’bang bang’ sounds, the body of the Iron-Bamboo Demon hidden deep in the bamboo forest was blasted with three huge holes.

The Divine Power of the medium-grade demon-subduing bullets set the demon ablaze with white flames all over its body.

The three "Six Paths Bureau Colonels" continued to fire, almost once every two breaths.

By the time the sixty medium-grade and thirty low-grade demon-subduing bullets included in the package were all fired, the Iron-Bamboo Demon’s monster body was broken and tattered, neither it nor its subordinate Bamboo Sword Demons managed to come within two hundred zhang of them.

Pei Changkong saw that the strength of the ’Iron-Bamboo Demon’ had recovered close to that of the tenth house level. Otherwise, the demon would have been killed earlier by those three muskets.

At that moment, the "Six Paths Bureau Colonels" all stopped and turned their gazes to Pei Changkong.

Pei Changkong was hesitant; to continue firing would mean buying more bullets, but if they engaged in close combat, any damage to the three "Six Paths Bureau Colonels’" armor and weapons would also cost money.

After slight hesitation, he still added three hundred taels of patterned silver to the altar, thinking that it was still cheap during the discount period anyway.

The three "Six Paths Bureau Colonels" resumed firing, only stopping when the Iron-Bamboo Demon was about fifty zhang away. They ceased firing, drew bayonets from their waists, and took down the giant shields from their backs.

In the next instant, the Iron-Bamboo Demon burst forth with ferocious power, slamming into the neatly arrayed giant shields with a thunderous crash.

But this was the Iron-Bamboo Demon’s last desperate strike; it was quickly stabbed by the bayonets wielded by the three "Six Paths Bureau Colonels," and its monstrous body was dissected and segmented.

Pei Changkong watched the demon fall, the thick Yesha dispersing into heaven and earth, and he couldn’t help but feel elated.

Although after the dispersion of Yesha new demons might breed nearby, failing to completely resolve the issue, for a short time, they would be unable to cause harm.

What made Pei Changkong rejoice was that this fallen Iron-Bamboo Demon would at least net him six great merits, making this endeavor purely profitable.

His subordinate, the female demon slayer Youjiao Qi Xueqing, also had a slight smile on her lips.

This was why she was not optimistic about Buddhism; those monks thought they could use demons to pressure The Court, but County Prince Fenyang was well prepared.

At the moment, from Tiannan to the far north, all members of the Liudao Division could borrow the power of Emperor Xuanhuang to exterminate demons.

The temples that sought to defy The Court would soon realize they were not as important as they believed themselves to be.

These people didn’t even know that at the moment, the Buddhists within the Liudao Division were being marginalized.

Every member of the Liudao Division could worship "Emperor Xuanhuang" and seek heavenly soldiers and Divine Power from the latter, but Buddhists alone could not.

This rendered their combat power worrisome, making them the weakest link among the Liudao Division members.