Master of Kaidan
Chapter 275 Heavenly Demon’s Various Forms Fist

Chapter 275: Chapter 275 Heavenly Demon’s Various Forms Fist

Escort Leader Lin rushed up to the fifth floor in one breath. Although he didn’t pay much attention, he could still feel the atmosphere was completely different from that of Leiyin Temple’s Scripture Pavilion.

Leiyin Temple’s Scripture Pavilion seemed more like a treasure vault; each book was carefully preserved, but very few were allowed to browse them. Even they, as secular disciples, could go to the first level, but it always was a quick in and quick out affair. Pick a Kung Fu book and leave immediately, as if afraid you might take an extra look and stealthily learn something.

But here, inside the Mystical Lord Pavilion, the atmosphere was quite leisurely. He could see quite a few people simply holding books and reading in front of the bookshelves, and the lighting in the pavilion was specially designed so that even the corners were adequately lit for reading.

Escort Leader Lin looked at the books displayed on the shelves on both sides and frowned slightly. Most of the books here were related to the Demon Sect or demons, like "Heavenly Demon Atlas," "Gu Phenomenon Decomposition," "Eight Poison Transmission Skills," and he couldn’t find the main text of "Heavenly Demon Various Forms Fist," let alone the original version supposedly left by Mystical Lord himself.

After hesitating for a moment, he walked toward a Yellow Robe man who was picking books from a shelf not far away. He had only taken a few steps when the other party seemed to sense his approach. Escort Leader Lin immediately slowed down and stopped about five meters away, then he said,

"Young Hero, I want to borrow the boxing manual of Heavenly Demon’s Various Forms Fist, but I can’t find it. Do you know where it might be?"

"Oh, you’re here to see the ’original,’ right? Over there, but be careful. Although fighting is not allowed here, there’s always some exchange of Qi between people. Be careful not to get hurt by someone else’s emitted Qi force, and don’t overreact," the Yellow Robe man kindly pointed Lin in a direction. Escort Leader Lin really wanted to say that he was only interested in the boxing manual, but remembering that secret manuals could be bought on the first floor below, he realized there probably weren’t any ordinary manuals here. While secretly chiding himself for his mistake, his interest in the "original" that could elicit Qi interactions grew.

Following the direction pointed out by the Yellow Robe man, Escort Leader Lin passed through several bookshelves and then saw an unrefined double-door made of wood, marked with the words "Heavenly Demon’s Various Forms Fist Original." A sign hung on it, saying "Close the door after yourself."

Is this the place?

Escort Leader Lin approached, pushed open the doors, and closed them behind him as indicated by the sign. He then erected his Protective Gang Qi before moving forward. It was a rather large room filled with martial artists exchanging ideas. Lin only realized when he heard their discussions that the walls of the room were etched with paintings.

He suddenly turned his head and saw a demon painted on the wall beside him, with arms like snakes and wings below its ribs. Its beast-like eyes were terrifying. As the demon appeared ready to pounce, a gust of wind seemed to sweep across the room with its movement.

For a moment, Escort Leader Lin’s mind was greatly shaken; his legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

In Lin’s eyes, in the instant he locked gazes with the demon, the painting was no longer just a picture, but a real demon.

"First time here?" A calm voice, carrying a hint of authority, rang in his ear, pulling Lin out of his panic. He gasped for air, not daring to look at the paintings on the wall anymore, but instead turned to see who had spoken.

The speaker was about forty-plus years old, or so he seemed, but his beard and hair were already graying. There was a trace of a smile as he looked at Escort Leader Lin, who didn’t speak up first as the other preempted,

"In this room, there are one hundred and eight depictions of the Heavenly Demon’s Appearance, each with its own charm. It is said that Mystical Lord realized the Divine Essence after defeating countless demons of the Demon Sect. The Heavenly Demon’s Various Forms Fist refers to observing these paintings, feeling the pressure and mood of the demons, and gaining experience from the fights with them. By the looks of it, you’ve come straight to the original without looking at the manual, haven’t you?"

Embarrassed by the accurate guess, Escort Leader Lin nonetheless nodded in affirmation. The middle-aged man kept his serene smile and said,

"There’s no need to be embarrassed. I was the same as you; in fact, it’s not really a problem. Grandmasters have their own methods of practicing Kung Fu. Following a manual would be doing twice the work for half the benefit."

"Please, Elder, enlighten me," asked Escort Leader Lin, bowing respectfully. He had recognized this seemingly ordinary "middle-aged man" as the Supreme Elder—Yuan Qingzi—from Zhenwu Temple, a well-known name in the martial arts world who was over ninety.

"There’s no need for that," Yuan Qingzi waved his hand dismissively, taking a few steps with Escort Leader Lin and gesturing for him to look at the other martial artists, before he continued:

Since you have reached the Grandmaster Realm, you must be able to use Divine Thought, right?"

"I can, but it’s not proficient because it’s easily polluted by the Demon Sect’s demons." Escort Leader Lin shook his head. Two hundred years ago, Divine Thought was also a characteristic of a Grandmaster apart from Leakless Gang Qi. However, nowadays, even the Qi Observation Skill can be contaminated by Demonic Qi, let alone using Divine Thought for confrontation. Back in the day, Xuanxin Pavilion had been the first sect to be wiped out by the demons of the Demon Sect precisely because they excelled in this art.

"It doesn’t matter as long as you can do it. You should use the technique of Divine Thought confrontation to look at these demonic appearances and understand the methods to deal with them. When you can calmly face all one hundred and eight forms in this room, your Heavenly Demon Various Forms Fist will be considered complete. This is not easy, though. I’ve been here for three months and have only managed to comprehend three styles of the technique." Yuan Qingzi said this, shaking his head, but there was a hint of admiration in his eyes. Upon hearing this, Escort Leader Lin couldn’t help but look at the mural on the wall once more. With the old Taoist’s reminder, this time when the Heavenly Demon’s Illusionary Form lunged at him, he also threw a punch with his Divine Thought in his mind.

The Heavenly Demon’s Illusionary Form seemed to dodge his "attack" like a living creature, and a tail like that of a spiritual snake unexpectedly coiled up from behind his head. Escort Leader Lin quickly sidestepped, trying to block, but a searing pain had already spread from his chest.

"Huff, huff..." Suddenly waking up from the "hallucination" of the psychic confrontation, Escort Leader Lin began to understand how that young Grandmaster had cultivated such a strangely cunning boxing technique. However, to leave the Heavenly Demon’s Appearance within the paintings, just how profound was Mystical Lord’s cultivation, what realm had he reached?

...

"The vials on the sixth floor are almost gone." Feng Xue heard Old Li’s reminder in her ear within the hidden Tenth Layer of Mystical Lord Pavilion. Upon hearing this, her face immediately fell, and she reached behind to pull out a small, exquisite yellow bottle. She walked over to a metal plate and replaced the somewhat dim vial above with it, saying somewhat helplessly:

"Do these martial artists really have to neglect sleep and food to this extent?"

"Isn’t it good that they neglect sleep and food? If the Kaidan of Mystical Lord were to take form, it would probably be a national-level entity." Old Li said with a face implying ’aren’t you the posh one’, somewhat complainingly though Feng Xue sighed in response —

"I’m just afraid we’ll run out of vials before the Kaidan even takes shape!"

"If we run out, just keep collecting. It’s not like it’s a non-renewable resource." Old Li said with a slightly sour tone, but Feng Xue just shook her head without responding, instead asking:

"What do you need from me? Aren’t you running your Yue Lai Inn anymore?"

"My inn has already got on the right track, and according to the current rate of expansion, it should be able to condense Kaidan entries within two years. It’s truly different in the Otherworld; the speed of condensation is indeed faster than in the real world!" Old Li spoke with a hint of excitement, to which Feng Xue unexpectedly responded:

"Two years?"

"Yeah, after all, we still need to control the spread of information..." As Old Li spoke, his expression suddenly turned serious, and he said to Feng Xue very solemnly:

"Speaking of which, you’ve never seemed to control the spread of Kaidan information, have you?"

"Who says I haven’t? I have also written setting collections for Kaidan..." Feng Xue immediately countered, but Old Li shook his head and said:

"I don’t mean that. I’m talking about actively slowing down the spread, controlling the channels, reducing redundancy. Although the Kaidan you’re condensing now are of high intensity, you can’t always be this lucky. If some strange issues cause the spread to veer off, then you’ll have a reason to cry!"

Hearing this, Feng Xue’s previously Versailles-like demeanor immediately receded, and the doubts that had been lingering in her heart finally came out at this moment —

"Speaking of which, I’ve always wanted to ask, what do we do if something we don’t want, or a Kaidan entry with troublesome side effects, condenses?"