【Chen Ning】
【Noble Qi: 100】
【Substitute Puppet Technique (200/200) (Great Perfection)】
【Mountain-Collapsing Punch (50/200)】
【Mountain-Treading Step (0/200)】
【Demon-Suppressing Pagoda (0/2100)】
After Qing Yan fell asleep, Chen Ning left the house and opened the system panel.
After a moment of thought, he split the hundred points of Noble Qi he had obtained this time between the Mountain-Collapsing Punch and the Substitute Puppet Technique.
Upon reaching the Great Perfection stage, the Substitute Puppet could now possess strength equal to Chen Ning’s and could maintain a human form for at least a full day.
Furthermore, the substitute could also use Divine Abilities like the Poem and Wine Sword Art. Just as it had against the Painted Skin Ghost, this technique could exert power where one plus one was far greater than two at critical moments.
“Come forth, Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.”
Closing the system panel, Chen Ning sent a call deep into his sea of consciousness.
Seven-colored Qi suddenly spiraled up from his hand, slowly condensing into a seven-layered pagoda.
Observing it up close, Chen Ning felt the profound mystery of this pagoda even more keenly.
Although the pagoda was only the size of a palm, it sat upon a Blue Lotus base. The seven layers were carved with dragons and phoenixes, featuring green tiles and vermilion eaves.
Upon closer inspection, the level of detail was not inferior to that of a massive tower hundreds of meters tall.
If this Divine Ability reached Great Perfection, the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda might truly be able to manifest as a hundred-meter-tall tower!
Of course, the terrifying nature of the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda went far beyond its appearance.
The Painted Skin Ghost, which had once made countless practitioners tremble with fear, was now suppressed within this tower, enduring the agonies of Purgatory.
Not only that, but any demon suppressed by the pagoda would become a slave to be driven at his will.
Taking this opportunity, he could check the extent of his control over the Painted Skin Ghost.
“Open.”
Chen Ning pressed his index and middle fingers together, opening the seal on the first layer of the pagoda.
“Hahaha, I’m finally out!
To think you dared to make me endure such pain... wash your neck and wait for me! I will repay today’s agony a thousandfold in the future!”
The moment the pagoda opened, the Painted Skin Ghost, which had been waiting for a long time, lunged out.
Inside the pagoda, it had endured the lashings of the Purgatory Flames almost every moment. That intense pain had ravaged its soul to the limit without allowing it to dissipate; it was truly a fate worse than death.
Since being suppressed, it had been waiting for this very moment.
The Painted Skin Ghost let out a boastful, wild laugh, as if celebrating its rebirth.
As long as it could escape from here, it was confident it could make a comeback!
Sooner or later, it would lead an entire city of ghosts to make all the humans who had crusaded against it yesterday pay the price!
However, just as the Painted Skin Ghost believed it was about to escape to freedom, Chen Ning’s flat voice reached its ears:
“Freeze.”
In an instant, the Painted Skin Ghost felt a surge of electricity rush through its soul.
No matter how it tried to struggle, it felt as if it were pinned firmly to the spot, unable to move even an inch.
“What happened? What did you do to me?!”
This eerie phenomenon terrified the Painted Skin Ghost.
In just a single moment, its fantasies of freedom had been completely shattered.
“It actually works quite well,” Chen Ning remarked.
The Demon-Suppressing Pagoda must have engraved some kind of Command Seal onto the Painted Skin Ghost’s origin essence, making it impossible for the ghost to resist any of his orders.
“In that case, let’s give a more interesting command.
Come, give yourself a hundred slaps.”
“What did you say? Even if I die, I will never obey such a command!”
The Painted Skin Ghost widened its eyes in fury, wishing it could rush forward and tear Chen Ning to pieces on the spot.
But its defiance didn't last long before it found its hand rising uncontrollably.
Even as it fought with all its might, that hand still reached its face, trembling.
Slap!
That loud slap was exceptionally crisp.
“Not bad, not bad. Continue with that same force,” Chen Ning nodded approvingly.
“You bastard, I’ll kill you sooner or later and take that pretty maid of yours as my skin!”
“Is that so? I hope you can maintain that confidence in a bit,” Chen Ning said with a faint smile.
During the first few slaps, the Painted Skin Ghost continued to curse arrogantly.
Slap, slap, slap...
But as the loud slaps continued, by the time it reached thirty or forty, even in its soul state, its face was so swollen it could barely speak.
By the sixtieth slap, the fury in the Painted Skin Ghost’s eyes had completely vanished, replaced by confusion and bewilderment.
By the time it reached the seventieth, it was trembling all over from the pain. Finally, it pleaded in a garbled voice:
“Please... stop... hitting...”
Chen Ning sighed. “I still preferred your arrogant and unyielding look.”
And so, the Painted Skin Ghost’s task of face-slapping continued until all one hundred were completed.
“Do you still want to kill me?” Chen Ning asked.
The Painted Skin Ghost shook its head in terror, its mouth too swollen to speak.
“Hmm, good. Then scurry back into the tower.”
But the moment Chen Ning’s voice fell, the Painted Skin Ghost suddenly bared its fangs, its speed exploding.
“Hahaha! Your methods are impressive, but did you think I hadn't hidden my strength?!
You foolish human, did you really think you could subdue me?!”
However, Chen Ning merely waved his hand coldly.
“Lightning strike.”
Boom!
A thick bolt of lightning crashed down.
“Triple strike.”
Boom, boom, boom!
Three more massive bolts of lightning struck, charring the Painted Skin Ghost’s soul black and nearly making it dissipate entirely.
Chen Ning had long expected the Painted Skin Ghost’s fickleness.
The Demon-Suppressing Pagoda was like a small world of its own; as long as he was facing a demon suppressed within it, he could inflict any punishment he wished.
“Get back in the tower. From now on, the temperature of the Purgatory Flames inside will be tripled.”
As Chen Ning’s voice fell, the pagoda opened once more. The terrifying heat radiating from within even caused the surrounding space to distort.
“No! I know I was wrong this time! I really know I was wrong! Spare me!”
Just by approaching the pagoda, the Painted Skin Ghost felt as if its soul were about to melt.
It pleaded in terror, clearly truly ready to submit this time.
But there was no medicine for regret. The Painted Skin Ghost had committed countless atrocities; it was only right for it to endure a fate worse than death before being ground into nothingness.
Soon, the entrance to the pagoda closed again. Waves of terrifying heat surged inside, and only faint, shrill wails could be heard.
...
After punishing the Painted Skin Ghost, Qing Yan happened to wake up.
“Qing Yan, come with me to buy some things.”
Putting away the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, Chen Ning stepped out of the room.
“Buy things? Are you planning to go to Wu'an City, Young Master?”
“Yes. There are only about ten days left before we leave Ning'an Village. It’s time to prepare our luggage and supplies for the road.”
“That’s right! We’re going to the capital soon!”
An irrepressible look of anticipation appeared on Qing Yan’s cheeks.
After arriving in Wu'an City...
In a single morning, the two of them gathered everything: spare clothes, rations for the road, tents, and utensils.
But when it came to finding a driver and a carriage, they ran into trouble.
Chen Ning had originally wanted to rent a carriage, but upon hearing that he was traveling alone, the owner of the carriage shop repeatedly refused.
Not only was he unwilling to provide a driver, he wouldn't even rent out the carriage itself.
The stable master shook his head earnestly.
“It’s not that I don't want to rent to you, but the road is infested with demons. It’s simply too dangerous.
Based on my years of experience, if a lone scholar doesn't travel with an escort agency, it’s certain death.
Not only would the carriage never return, but your little life would surely be lost as well...”
Chen Ning: “...”
Good grief, calling it 'certain death' was quite blunt.
This damn world had actually kept him in the dark for a full two years.
Fortunately, because of Qing Yan’s fox tail, he now knew that demons truly existed in this world.
Otherwise, for a mere scholar, never mind passing the exam, just surviving the journey to the capital would be an extremely difficult task...
However, the current him could not be compared to an ordinary scholar.
Chen Ning solemnly patted the owner’s shoulder and sighed.
“Since you put it that way, Boss, there’s nothing to be done.
I wanted to interact with you all as an ordinary person, but all I got in return was distance.
I won't hide it anymore. I’m laying my cards on the table...”
“Brother Chen, why are you here?!”
Just as Chen Ning was about to shatter a nearby boulder with a single palm strike to show the owner what a new-era scholar looked like, a bald head suddenly came running from the distance.
The bald monk was none other than Jingkong, with a heavy cloth bag slung over his back.
Jingkong said in surprise, “I was actually planning to go to Ning'an Village to deliver the bounty from the Demon Suppression Division to you, Brother Chen. I didn't expect you to be here in Wu'an City.”
As he spoke, he opened the bag on his back, which was filled with over three hundred taels of glittering silver.
Glancing at the carriage nearby, Jingkong instantly understood.
“Are you planning to rent a carriage, Brother Chen?
These ordinary mortal horses are too slow and have terrible endurance. They could easily drop dead halfway. They’re nowhere near as good as our Mingji Temple’s Red Wind Horses, which can travel a thousand li in a day.
Not only that, but we have several senior monks in the temple with over thirty years of experience and top-tier driving skills for you to choose from.
Leave this small matter to us. Consider it a way to repay the kindness you’ve shown Mingji Temple.”
Feeling the heavy weight of the three hundred taels of silver, Chen Ning couldn't help but give a thumbs up, moved.
“Peach Blossom Pool’s waters may be a thousand feet deep, but they cannot match the depth of the sentiment Jingkong shows me.
Brother Jingkong, you’re a real one!”
However, upon hearing these words, Jingkong suddenly froze on the spot, his eyes turning hollow in an instant.
Suddenly, two streaks of tears flowed from his eyes, and his voice began to tremble.
“‘Peach Blossom Pool’s waters may be a thousand feet deep, but they cannot match the depth of the sentiment Jingkong shows me...’
This... what kind of peerless verse is this?!
What virtue or ability does a humble monk like me have to deserve such a world-shaking line written for me by Brother Chen—a line enough to stun all the Grand Confucians in the world?!
May I be so bold as to ask for your permission to share this line with others?
I believe it won't be long before this poem resounds across the land, leaving every scholar under heaven in awe!”
As he spoke, Jingkong could no longer restrain his emotions and began to wail loudly with gratitude.
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