Zhou Bai’s eyes flickered with various thoughts before he suddenly turned his head fiercely to look at the pale-faced ’Xing Jun,’ gradually floating in behind him, and called out, "Teacher Xing Jun, is that you? Although you look a bit strange, did you go through such great lengths and circle around just to ask us what the content of Chapter 81 is?"
Seeing Zhou Bai’s action, Qian Wangsun and Jian Xing both changed their expressions and turned around in unison, their Primordial Spirit power surging forth as they watched ’Xing Jun’ with a guarded expression.
Realizing that they could find no strategy to break through the Array from within, Zhou Bai turned his head back, wanting to try and communicate directly and forthrightly with the ’Xing Jun’ behind him.
Upon hearing Zhou Bai’s voice, the pale-faced Xing Jun suddenly stopped moving. As the three of them watched tensely, he opened his mouth and began to recite the Tao Te Ching in a bizarre and peculiar chant.
As the chapters of the Tao Te Ching were recited one by one, the distance between the mysterious figure and the three of them grew smaller and smaller.
The profound and mysterious scriptures, when recited by the shadowy figure of Xing Jun, now gave the eerie sensation of a ghastly howl, utterly sinister and strange.
Qian Wangsun felt an intense sense of crisis prickling his skin like needle points.
Gong Tu’s strong intuition made him speak with a serious face, "This is bad, this thing doesn’t seem alive, not like the real Teacher Xing Jun. I have a feeling that if we don’t finish writing the last chapter before he completes his recitation, something very bad will happen."
"This thing must be some sort of Array spirit," said Jian Xing. "Let’s try attacking it to see if we can break it..."
Along the way, the three of them had barely tried to strike against the Array properly, because they knew full well the formidable nature of the Array, which most could hardly confront with brute force.
But now, as the white shadow got closer and closer, it seemed they had no choice but to act.
Qian Wangsun’s fingers formed a sword-like shape, and he said softly, "I’ll test it first."
In the midst of speaking, Qian Wangsun’s fingertips surged with Primordial Spirit power, activating Bowless Shooting.
With the surge of Primordial Spirit power, the air around them was directly compressed into invisible, sharp arrows that shot fiercely at the white shadow.
The nine fundamental divine diagrams corresponded to nine techniques of cultivation, not nine weapons.
Just as Gong Tu does not necessarily use a bow, Sword Qi isn’t necessarily wielded with a sword.
In this moment, Qian Wangsun employed the technique ’Bowless Shooting,’ from his training in Gong Tu, extruding air into arrows like a machine gun firing at the white shadow, causing a series of crackling and popping sounds.
Even though the power of Bowless Shooting wasn’t as mighty as Christina’s Sword Qi, it prevailed in its multitude; each air arrow could match a rifle bullet. Yet hitting the white shadow, they only made a thudding sound, were deflected into a regular airflow, and couldn’t make the figure take a single step back.
Watching the unscathed shadow continue to advance while reciting, Zhou Bai shouted inwardly, "Christina, try the Sword Qi!"
A pink Sword Qi violently shot out from the center of Zhou Bai’s forehead, lightning-fast piercing towards the heart of the white shadow, only to be repelled with a thud.
"No way! This guy is frighteningly tough!" Christina exclaimed, "Zhou Bai! Think of something fast! Or try to remember the last line, what exactly is that last line!"
Seeing the attacks had no effect, the trio had no choice but to refocus their attention on the small desk, but neither Zhou Bai nor the other two could come up with the content of the final Chapter 81.
Qian Wangsun frantically employed Bowless Shooting, with dense arrows of Qi causing ripples in the air, all targeting the white shadow, but still, no effect was achieved.
"It’s no use," Qian Wangsun shouted, "this is completely ineffective... If we continue like this..." He turned his head to look at the dense darkness surrounding them, "We’ll have to try escaping into this darkness."
Zhou Bai suddenly stood up, went to the small desk, and picked up the pen: "Let me give it a try."
"Zhou Bai!" Jian Xing exclaimed in surprise, "Do you know what to fill in?"
"I’ll try..." Zhou Bai’s forehead glistened with sweat as memories of the Tao Te Ching surfaced tumultuously in his sea of consciousness.
"If I were still the person I used to be, there’s no way I would remember the content of the final chapter of the Tao Te Ching."
"But now that I have harnessed the power of the Primordial Spirit, perhaps I can."
Zhou Bai, who had mastered the power of the Primordial Spirit, found his mind and consciousness far stronger than before, and his memory clearer with each day.
In the past, during his student years, he had hurriedly read through the Tao Te Ching.
Now, as he exerted all his effort in recalling the content of the Tao Te Ching, it proved extremely difficult, and he could only remember bits and pieces.
In his ears, the voice of Bai Ying Xing Jun reciting the Tao Te Ching kept resounding.
As Zhou Bai continued to recall, the power of the Primordial Spirit seemed to grow restless, and the voice of Bai Ying Xing Jun became clearer and clearer.
"Relishing fine foods, admiring fancy garments, finding comfort in one’s home, delighting in one’s customs…"
As Bai Ying Xing Jun reached the final chapter, Qian Wangsun yelled, "Zhou Bai! It’s no use! We have to go now!"
Bai Ying Xing Jun: "Neighboring states within sight, the sounds of chickens and dogs heard from one to the next, the people reach old age…"
Zhou Bai suddenly clenched his pen and smashed it down onto the white paper.
"Fuck! I can’t remember it at all!"
Qian Wangsun grabbed Zhou Bai, intending to flee with him.
Just then, Christina, who had stayed in Zhou Bai’s mind, having read the sacred text several times that night, listened to the sinister recitation of Bai Ying Xing Jun and opened her eyes to Zhou Bai’s feverish memories.
A glint of realization suddenly flashed through Christina’s eyes.
"I… remember now... No wonder it felt familiar… Turns out I… remember…"
Then, a surge of Christina’s Primordial Spirit power extended from Zhou Bai’s forehead and reached toward the pen on the small desk; with the sound of rapid strokes, the last chapter was written out.
True words aren’t beautiful, beautiful words aren’t true. The good don’t debate, debaters aren’t good. The knowledgeable aren’t broad-minded, broad minds aren’t knowledgeable. The sage doesn’t hoard; giving to others, he has more, sharing with others, he has plenty. The Way of Heaven, benefits without harming. The Way of the sage, acts without contention.
As Christina finished writing, the figure of Bai Ying Xing Jun suddenly stopped.
The book containing the 81 chapters of the Tao Te Ching shone brilliantly, rising slowly from the small desk.
The three of them simultaneously turned their gaze to the Tao Te Ching floating in midair.
The next moment, a dark shadow violently lunged at the Tao Te Ching, its hand snatching the sacred book with lightning speed.
"Jian Xing," Qian Wangsun shouted, "what are you doing? This book…"
Bang! The shadow moved swiftly, with Jian Xing appearing before Qian Wangsun, the agility, explosiveness, and close-range combat abilities honed through Bowless Shooting displayed to their fullest within the few meters’ distance.
Almost unable to react, Qian Wangsun had his ribs shattered by Jian Xing’s successive three punches, violently spewing blood and crashing to the ground.
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Zhou Bai and Christina’s attacks were abruptly blocked by the figure of Bai Ying Xing Jun in front of them, leaving Jian Xing unharmed.
Zhou Bai glared at Jian Xing, angrily exclaimed, "Jian Xing! What are you doing!"
He saw Jian Xing gripping the scripture, eyes wide open with tears streaming from the corners.
Rotating his eyes, Jian Xing struggled to look at Zhou Bai, his lips trembling, whispering a silent plea.
"Kill me…"
In the next instant, Jian Xing’s head slowly twisted around, revolving nearly 180 degrees to reveal the back of his head.
Somehow, his bloodstained occiput had grown a pair of mismatched eyes, one large, one small, all bloodshot and fixated on the sacred book, revealing a frenzied gleam.