Danzun War God

Chapter Fifty-Four: The Inner Disciple

"What's wrong with the First Palace Master? Doesn't he care about the Second Palace Master at all?" Han Qi asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I heard that the Grand Hall Master is suffering from some serious illness, which has been going on for some time. He is probably nearing the end of his life, and the Second Hall Master will likely succeed him as the Grand Hall Master."

"This is too arrogant. But everywhere is a dog-eat-dog world, and strength is paramount. Before we are strong enough to contend with them, and we don't want to be associated with them, we can only avoid their sharp edge." Han Qi said helplessly. To be honest, Han Qi hated the Second Palace Master's behavior, but his own power was indeed limited, so he could only swallow his anger for now.

"Alright, since you've said so, then that's the only way. You should rest now; I'm going back," Qin Wuyang said helplessly. He then stood up and walked out.

After taking only two steps, he remembered something and turned back, saying, "We don't know how badly Tang Siyu was bitten by the snake. Should we go check on her?"

"She's fine, there's no need to go see her. Even if we wanted to, we couldn't get up there. Besides, I'm not a formal disciple of the God and Demon Palace, I don't even have the right to move around outside," Han Qi said with a wry smile.

Qin Wuyang, with a mischievous grin, said, "I have a feeling there's something going on between you two. Your eyes soften up whenever Tang Siyu is mentioned. Be careful, the Grand Hall Master might kill you during the Soul Sea test."

Seeing Han Qi glaring at him, Qin Wuyang knew he would be beaten again if he didn't leave, so he quickly closed the door and ran away.

Han Qi murmured, "Gentle as water? Do I have that? How could a human and a demon be one?" He couldn't help but think of Lin Yuyao, the little girl he was betrothed to since childhood. This was the one he was after. He wondered what she was doing right now.

Han Qi then secretly resolved to speed up his actions and return as soon as possible. So Han Qi took out the Formless Technique again to prepare to comprehend the fourth level. After all, being in the Demon Realm, how could he deal with the evil gods here without a powerful primordial spirit? These demons who existed in the form of primordial spirits did indeed make Han Qi somewhat wary.

For the next three days, Han Qi did nothing but eat and try to comprehend the Formless Technique. Perhaps it was because he hadn't paid attention to the Formless Technique for too long and had become a little rusty, or for some other reason, but he was always unable to comprehend the fourth level. The fourth layer of golden light on his primordial spirit in his life palace would always completely shatter just as it was about to form, which made Han Qi very frustrated.

Suddenly, the fire unicorn in the soul sea spoke up: "Boy, you can try putting this Heaven Refining Stone into your primordial spirit dojo. Perhaps that will work."

Han Qi received the Refining Heaven Stone from the Fire Qilin with some skepticism and placed it in the Primordial Spirit Daoist Temple within his Life Palace. He then silently recited the incantation of the Formless Technique. The Refining Heaven Stone began to react, emitting a five-colored light, which also appeared on Han Qi's Primordial Spirit. As Han Qi continued reciting the incantation of the Formless Technique, the five-colored light began to recede from Han Qi's feet toward his head. However, where the five-colored light receded, the golden light of the fourth level of the Formless Technique appeared. Finally, Han Qi's entire Primordial Spirit was filled with golden light. To Han Qi's surprise, it was a success. The golden light on Han Qi's Primordial Spirit in the Daoist Temple was even stronger than before, and the aura of his Primordial Spirit was also enhanced.

Han Qi clenched his fist and exclaimed happily, "Yay! We finally succeeded!" Then he asked the Fire Qilin, "Beast King, why is this? What role did the Heaven-Refining Stone play?"

"The technique you've comprehended itself isn't problematic. If you were elsewhere, you might have succeeded long ago. It's just that you're in the Demon Realm, where the malevolent energy is heavier, which clashes with the yang energy of the Formless Technique. The Refining Heaven Stone contains boundless divine power, which can provide your primordial spirit with a barrier to isolate it from the malevolent energy. In that case, the Formless Technique will naturally be fine," the Fire Qilin said lazily, squinting its eyes.

Han Qi nodded as if suddenly realizing something and said, "Why didn't you say so earlier? You've wasted so much of my time. You just wanted to see me make a fool of myself!"

The fire qilin blinked and said, "If I wanted to see you make a fool of yourself, I wouldn't have helped you. I just came up with this idea myself. Shh! Someone's coming." Then the fire qilin closed its eyes and fell silent.

Han Qi planned to press his advantage and continue to comprehend the next level of the Formless Technique, namely the fifth level of the Formless Technique.

A knock came at the door.

Han Qi had no choice but to put the animal skin book into his Qiankun Ring and get up to open the door.

Upon opening the door, Han Qi was taken aback and said, "It's you?"

"What? Aren't you welcoming me?" The voice outside the door was as melodious as a silver bell. It was Tang Siyu. Today, Tang Siyu was wearing a white dress, which made her look very elegant and dignified. With her delicate features, she was a sight to behold. Although her skin was not as fair as that of people in the human world, Han Qi, who had been here for so long, had gotten used to this skin color. When such a beautiful woman suddenly appeared in front of him, Han Qi couldn't help but take a second look.

Seeing that Han Qi didn't speak, Tang Siyu pushed Han Qi aside and went straight into the room.

Tang Siyu looked around curiously, circled the room, and finally returned to Han Qi. Seeing Han Qi staring at her blankly, she blushed and said, "Han Qi, you're not saying anything. Are you not welcoming me? I brought you good news."

Upon hearing this, Han Qi immediately realized his lapse in composure. He had been so focused on the beautiful woman that he had forgotten everything else. He then smiled awkwardly and said, "How could that be? I was just thinking, how could Huang Long bring himself to bite someone so beautiful? How are your injuries?"

Tang Siyu sighed and said, "The wound on my arm has scabbed over, but there's no way to cure the poison in my body. Even my father is helpless. It seems that Heaven is going to make things difficult for our Tang family and make us disappear from the Temple of Gods and Demons."

Seeing Tang Siyu's dejected look, Han Qi felt annoyed. He had inadvertently brought up Tang Siyu's sad story again, so he quickly comforted her, saying, "The Beast King said this poison can be cured, so you have to have confidence in yourself."

"Who can bear the excruciating pain? I'm afraid I'd go insane before the poison even flared up seven times."

Han Qi quickly changed the subject, saying, "By the way, didn't you say you had good news for me? What good news is it?"

Upon hearing the good news, Tang Siyu immediately became excited again, saying, "Today, my third uncle and my master discussed the possibility of you becoming my master's disciple. It's been so many years since my master has taken on many disciples."

"Your master? Who is that? Why did he take me as his disciple?" Han Qi said calmly.

"So you don't want to be my junior brother anymore? Didn't you always call me 'senior sister' in Hundred Beast Valley?" Tang Siyu said with a long face.

Han Qi immediately realized he had said the wrong thing again. This girl's way of thinking was truly unconventional. Her spoiled princess temper flared up so easily. It was a real headache. But what could he do? She was the daughter of the Grand Hall Master; here, her father was the boss, and she was second only to him. He couldn't afford to offend her.

He then said, "Alright, alright, I misspoke. I meant to ask who your master is, so I could be mentally prepared."

“That’s more like it.” Then he glared at Han Qi and continued, “My master is the Grand Hall Master.”

Having learned his lesson a few times, Han Qi became much more cautious in his speech. If he offended this little brat, who knew what she might do to him later? At this moment, Tang Siyu revealed her true nature, completely devoid of her gentleness and refinement; she was the embodiment of a spoiled and unreasonable person.

Han Qi then smiled and said, "I am truly fortunate to have such a powerful master and such a beautiful senior sister. Please give me your guidance." He then cupped his hands in a salute.

"Hypocrite!" Tang Siyu rolled her eyes at him, then said with a smile, "But it's quite useful. From now on, your senior sister will protect you in this God and Demon Palace."

Then, with her hands behind her back and her head held high, she walked towards the door. Han Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief, having managed to get rid of this aunt.

To everyone's surprise, Tang Siyu turned back as soon as she stepped out and said, "What are you still standing there for? Come on, let your senior sister show you around, so you won't be clueless about everything later."

Han Qi felt a headache coming on, but he had no choice but to follow the little girl out. But it was alright; after being cooped up for days, he could finally get some fresh air. He then followed Tang Siyu out.

Along the way, the young girl skipped and hopped like a butterfly. Although she was only fifteen or sixteen, she had already blossomed into a stunning beauty, attracting many Divine Demon Palace flute players to stop and admire her, all of whom were captivated by her. Their eyes revealed greed and desire; if it weren't for the explicit rules of the Divine Demon Palace, no matter how many beauties there were, it wouldn't be enough for these hungry wolves to devour.

Female disciples in the Divine Demon Palace enjoy special privileges. They are interviewed upon joining, though a second test of their Soul Sea is still required. Within the Divine Demon Palace, female disciples are not required to wear the palace's robes and can dress freely. Furthermore, all male disciples are strictly forbidden from bullying female disciples. Violation of this rule, regardless of their affiliation, results in expulsion from the Divine Demon Palace for minor offenses and execution for serious ones. This rule was enacted by the Grand Master to appease Tang Siyu, and consequently fostered her arrogant and unreasonable personality.

At the same time, there is also an advantage: many female demon cultivators in the Copper Demon Mountain region choose to join the God and Demon Palace.

Tang Siyu was already used to these people's gazes and simply ignored them, leading Han Qi directly to the Scripture Pavilion of the God and Demon Palace.

It is called the Sutra Repository because it has four floors, and the books here are also divided into different levels. The higher the floor, the more difficult it is to enter. The first floor requires a cultivation level of more than the Spring of Life Realm but less than the Saint Infant Realm. The second floor requires the King Realm, the third floor requires the Eternal Life Realm, and the fourth floor requires the Divine Transformation Realm.

Each level has an array seal at the entrance, and it is impossible to enter the next level if your cultivation level is not high enough.