Chapter 36 - It's A Righteous World
"It's really a… a demon!"
The riders who were seated on the backs of their horses moments ago began to tremble in fear upon seeing the gust of demonic wind. Scrambling to their feet, they scurried helter-skelter in all directions.
"Why did you try to leave me? Stay here and keep me company~"
The bewitching voice echoed throughout the air once again, leaving the eyes of the riders who were all ready to flee seconds ago hazy and bewildered. The knights with weak willpower had already started heading for the carriages.
Even Zhangs' stablemen and bodyguards who were all restrained began attempting to break free.
"Can you stand it?" Chen Chen asked Zhang Ji who stood next to him, his face stern and somber.
"I can..." Zhang Ji shook his head a few times as his eyes gradually became filled with determination.
Shortly after, he gritted his teeth brutally, and a flame emerged on his palm, which he tossed in the direction of the carriages.
Seeing that the flame was about to set the carriages on fire, one of the riders sped up and stood in front of the carriage.
With a loud boom, the man transformed into a blazing ball of fire. Before long, he was burnt to ashes.
"There are two cultivators? Oh, but this one's a terrible one." The alluring, devilish voice echoed once again, tinged with obvious contempt.
The ordinary men in the surroundings had lost their minds at this point, and they began launching attacks at Chen Chen and Zhang Ji.
"Big brother, what do we do?" Zhang Ji panicked.
It was normal for a normal person to get nerve-racked the first time they encountered a demon, so much so that they would be considered brave for not running for their life right away.
"Don't panic!"
Chen Chen bellowed. He quickly opened the sachet he carried and retrieved an ancient book.
The ancient book turned out to be the 'Classic of Demon Atonement'.
Upon flipping to the first page, Chen Chen's pupils constricted a little. However, it wasn't the right time for hesitation, so Chen Chen began reciting the Classic of Demon Atonement intently after a second of shock.
"It is a world of righteousness, all the lives in the world depend on it to survive and thrive!"
"Up above, it manifests as the mountains; down below, it manifests as the earth!"
He had only recited four lines when all the ordinary men in the surroundings had stopped in their tracks. Many of them seemed like they were struggling, as if they were trying to liberate themselves from a state of bewilderment.
"In the secular world, it is called integrity, it fills the Heavens, the Earth, and the entire Universe. Zhang Ji, recite this along with me."
Upon hearing Chen Chen's order, Zhang Ji instantly snapped back to his senses from the shock, and began repeating after Chen Chen as he recited the Classic of Demon Atonement.
"It is a world of righteousness, all the lives in the world depend on it to survive and thrive. Up above, it manifests as the mountains; down below, it manifests as the earth…"
Somehow, Zhang Ji felt that his entire being was augmented as he recited the lines from his tongue, as if what stood right behind him were the immense skies and the mighty lands, giving him a magnificent sense of confidence.
In the meantime, the fear he had for the demon in the glamorous carriage also vanished into nothingness.
What could a mere demon amount to, in the face of the skies and the earth?
Thus his voice grew louder and louder as he recited, and an unknown aura began to emit from his body.
At this point in time, all the ordinary men in the area had broken free from the temptation. Upon seeing the scene, they stood unmoving in astonishment, at a loss of how to react.
They were completely clueless about what had just happened.
"The two of you, shut your mouths!"
The tantalizing voice in the carriage no longer sounded calm and casual, it was now filled with rage.
Sure enough, Chen Chen and Zhang Ji still wouldn't shut their mouths. Instead, they became more and more focused as they recited, and the unknown aura continued growing stronger and denser.
"God d*mn righteousness of this world! The two of you brats have downright enraged me!"
With a furious growl, the entire glamourous carriage erupted and a human figure flashed out from within. The figure underwent a change in midair, and when it hit the ground, it had transformed into a two-tailed, pristine white demon fox about five meters in length and two meters in height.
"Monster!"
A rider nearby became scared out of his wits as he attempted to run away after a shrill shriek. However, the two-tailed demon fox slapped him brutally, and he was smashed into pulp on the spot.
"I'm going to tear all of you into shreds!"
The demon fox spoke human language. Like a brutal beast, it pounced onto Chen Chen and Zhang Ji in an instant.
Nonetheless, before it could take its second stride toward the group, the unknown aura formed a wall which was erected in front of Chen Chen and Zhang Ji.
Bang!
With a dull noise, the demon fox was sent flying backward upon colliding with the intangible wall, and an agonized scream escaped its throat.
However, at this point, Chen Chen and Zhang Ji weren't doing very well either, especially Zhang Ji, who threw up a mouthful of blood right away.
Despite the troubles, Chen Chen continued chanting the Classic of Demon Atonement. He then reached into his pocket with his hand and fished out a purple ganoderma, which he stuffed into Zhang Ji's mouth.
It was Zhang Ji who discovered this purple ganoderma, which did nature-defying wonders. When Zhang Ji broke his leg previously, he attained a full recovery in just a few days by consuming the purple ganoderma.
At this point, the purple ganoderma still worked conspicuously. After consuming it, Zhang Ji's pale face became rosy instantly.
Upon seeing Zhang Ji's condition, Chen Chen heaved a sigh of relief inside.
However, good times never lasted. At this point, the demon fox had turned thoroughly delirious from the excessive provocation, as it began slamming the intangible wall with its tail incessantly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With a series of booms, a wicked whirlwind raged through the perimeter. The ordinary men nearby couldn't even stand on their feet before they were swept to the side.
"We can't carry on this way."
Chen Chen thought to himself secretly. Shortly after, he reached out his palm, and a mass of flames emerged on top.
Compared to Zhang Ji's little flame, Chen Chen's flames could be considered a ball of fire.
Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Chen Chen tossed the fiery ball toward the demon fox.
Right after the first fiery ball was launched, Chen Chen conjured up another. One after another, he bombarded the demon fox like a continuous stream of bombs.
Zhang Ji, who watched from the side, was astounded. It would likely drain all his ethereality to conjure a single fiery ball of such a size, but Chen Chen looked like an unruffled man even after launching so many.
"Back then, I only knew that big brother was amazing. Now that I have embarked on the path of immortality, only now have I realized that big brother is way more phenomenal than I imagined."
At this point, Zhang Ji admired Chen Chen even more.
...
"Petty tricks!"
The demon fox growled in fury. It then stopped attacking the intangible wall, but instead opened its colossal mouth and spat a few gusts of demonic winds. In the blink of an eye, all the fiery balls were extinguished.
"This demon is of a much higher status of cultivation than me, if there aren't any specific tactics to curb it, I suppose I'll be finished in a few moments."
Chen Chen couldn't help but feel fearful in hindsight. It was a blessing that he didn't get discovered the prior night, or else, it would've been game-over for him by now.
"Big brother, what do we do? How about you leave first..." Zhang Ji spoke with difficulty.
"Why should I go? This is just the beginning, and it is just a demon, what's the big deal?"
Chen Chen scolded Zhang Ji, then continued chanting the Classic of Demon Atonement. In the meantime, he took out the fragment of treasure unnoticeably.
He still had a dozen professional tools in his sachet to contend with the demon, there was no way he couldn't defeat the demon fox right now!
Moments later, Chen Chen launched a few more balls of fire.
When the demon fox saw Chen Chen utilizing his ethereality like it was nothing, streaks of dismay flickered across its big eyes. Shortly after, its belly began to bloat.
When it opened its mouth, a gust of demonic wind more than ten times stronger than before was unleashed.
In the face of the demonic wind, Chen Chen's fiery balls were doused off in an instant, like the flame of a candle in the midst of a tornado. Shortly after, the demonic wind collided violently with the intangible wall.
Boooom!
With an explosive sound, Zhang Ji collapsed onto the ground. The recoil also launched Chen Chen back a few steps, and a streak of blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.
However, the demon fox wasn't doing very well either. The fragment of treasure that Chen Chen concealed in the fiery balls penetrated the demonic wind and connected with its right limb.
Although the fragment of treasure seemed pretty ordinary, and the wound it inflicted upon the demon fox wasn't exactly a big one, the demon fox began to roll on the ground as though it had suffered major trauma. The miserable shriek that escaped from its throat sent tremors through the forest, and large groups of birds took off flying in fright.