"Why does your tone sound so defeated?"
Zhou Xuan sensed the painter’s helplessness.
"Young Master, I have grasped some surface understanding of the Time Law, and precisely because I understand it, I know the terror of that Evil God,
Regarding the Laws, each Law has five realms. The higher the realm, the more terrifying the methods become,
The first realm of the Time Law is called ’Insight.’ It allows one to see images of the next few hours in the future.
The second realm, which I vaguely discern, is called ’Walker.’ It enables one to traverse through time, walking back to a few years ago or forward to years ahead, akin to being a walker within the dimensions of time.
This Evil God can send people with high incense fire merit several years back, which indicates it has at least comprehended the third realm of the Time Law. As for the specific methods, I am unclear, and I don’t even know the name of the realm."
The more one understands the Laws, the more apparent the power of the Laws becomes. The painter, knowing too much, has fear ingrained in his very bones about those strong in the Laws.
Zhou Xuan then asked the painter, "What is the difference between the Laws and the Incense Fire Path?"
"Incense fire is a direct method used to confront enemies, but in battles between ghosts and gods, victory isn’t necessarily achieved through direct confrontation,
Using the Laws allows one to triumph from thousands of miles away,
Like today’s Evil God, who manipulated the Laws to change the course of events. If not for Young Master’s insightful understanding of worldly matters, we—ranging from the Bone Old Priest to the City God Night Shift—would have been toyed with like pawns in its hands."
Zhou Xuan, hearing this, gained a clearer understanding of the funktion of the Laws.
From a certain perspective,
Incense fire is an overt scheme, while the Laws represent a covert scheme.
"The Laws are terrifying..." The painter grew increasingly dejected.
Fueled by rising anger, Zhou Xuan gave the painter a forceful push to stir his fighting spirit.
As the first Divine Office holder of the Bone Elder Association, if he lost his nerve before even fighting, then what was the point? Would they simply wait for the Evil God to wreak havoc across Mingjiang Prefecture?
Of course, Zhou Xuan understood the painter,
Having stayed in Jing Country for some time now, he believed that even those blessed with the highest incense fire merit could fall into mental traps; after all, no matter how high one’s incense fire ascends, they are human at their core.
Being human means having weaknesses, inner demons, and tendencies to overthink.
The painter feared the power of the Laws because he was caught in such a mental spiral.
Zhou Xuan aimed to use words to pull the painter out from his self-imposed trap.
He questioned the painter, "If the Evil God is so formidable, why did Liu God, during our fierce battle, force me to crush the bone token to summon you, leading to the inability to provide support to the Yue Family Mansion? Wasn’t it still wary of you?
The third Evil God rewrote fate, sending Li Chengfeng and Qing Feng several years back. Why would it bother sending them to the past?
Because it cannot win in a direct confrontation!
If I were the Evil God, and I could easily kill all of you, why would I resort to underhanded schemes?
The only reason it relies on subterfuge is that it lacks the strength to overcome Old Li and Qing Feng.
Mastering the Laws, in my opinion, is not such a big deal!"
With an impassioned speech brimming with fiery determination, Zhou Xuan roused the painter, whose once-muddled eyes now showed a flicker of war intent.
Li Chengfeng was even more exhilarated, eager to follow Zhou Xuan to fight the Evil God right then and there.
"Old Hua, the Laws may be the ultimate weapon of the Heavenly God, but—it doesn’t mean anyone who wields these weapons becomes a Heavenly God here in Jing Country.
Those who live in petty schemes, even if they wield the weapons of the Heavenly God, are at best barking dogs filled with arrogance; let them roar all they want, but once you stomp them down, they’ll become spineless curs."
"Young Master, I will strive to learn not to fear the Laws."
The painter bowed deeply to Zhou Xuan.
To speak of it, a fierce spirit is what Mingjiang Prefecture lacks most these days. Especially in the past thirty years, the rise of kidnappers has eroded the backbone of its people.
Zhou Xuan, even if his incense fire merit was low, possessed unyielding courage.
The bow was in honor of that firm spirit.
"This kid feels like me in my prime. No matter who stands before him, he refuses to flinch." Yun Ziliang gazed at Zhou Xuan’s straightened back and silently thought, "If Zhou Family’s Nuo God walks through nine halls and reaches the Dragon Seeking Hall, that will be a blessing for us seekers."
"It’s the innate dominance within his very bones that underlies the ability of a Dragon Seeking Heavenly Master to crush the Mysterious Sect."
Zhou Xuan looked at the painter and Li Chengfeng, both now full of vigor and rekindled battle intent, satisfied with the impact of his lessons.
"That’s more like it!"
To lose courage before battle is the greatest taboo for warriors.
The morale of the group had transformed entirely, leaving only the matter of devising a counterattack strategy.
"To retaliate, we must take two steps." Zhou Xuan helped the painter and Li Chengfeng organize their thoughts.
"The first step is pinpointing ’Hunger.’ All five Dragon-locking Caves must be sealed completely, and the thirty-six orifices in Mingjiang Dragon Tail must also be marked. It has already taken full control of the Dragon Tail,
If it occupies the Dragon Tail, it must intend to exploit it somehow. Today, the Dragon Tail within Mingjiang Prefecture will surely exhibit anomalies. Fortunately, we have Lao Yun, who can detect such disturbances, allowing us to trace the anomaly to find ’Hunger.’
Upon hearing Zhou Xuan’s suggestion to identify the Dragon Tail, Yun Ziliang waved his hand and pointed at the painting scroll in Li Chengfeng’s hand, saying, ’This painting restricts me,
The area occupied by Mingjiang Dragon Tail spans roughly fifty kilometers in length and ten kilometers in width—too vast to survey.
Currently, my senses are greatly constrained by the painting scroll. Detecting anomalies linked to ’Hunger’ in the Dragon Tail seems challenging.’
When Yun Ziliang previously searched for the Dragon-locking Cave, he relied on maps to locate the regions where the caves were situated, initially narrowing down the territory significantly. Then, with Li Chengfeng carrying the painting scroll in the Yue Family Mansion, the search was relatively easy,
But sensing Dragon Qi’s disturbance across five hundred square kilometers of land is not impossible for Lao Yun—provided he carries the scroll and combs through every inch of the territory. However, such Dragon-seeking is not only arduous but also time-consuming.