Chapter 178: Demon Slaying Crossbow

Tan Tianji sized up Shen Changqing, lost in thought.

After a long silence, he snapped out of his reverie, a look of sudden understanding dawning on his face.

"Now I remember! You obtained the Great Sun Scripture from the Martial Pavilion, didn’t you?"

"Elder Tan is also familiar with the Great Sun Scripture?" Shen Changqing’s expression remained unchanged.

He had only recently begun cultivating the Great Sun Scripture, and his aura hadn’t yet been fully contained. It was only natural that Tan Tianji would notice.

The perception of a Grandmaster expert was beyond compare for other martial artists.

Tan Tianji chuckled softly. "Many know of the Great Sun Scripture. Back in the day, the Demon Suppression Division went to great lengths to obtain the Great Sun Scripture and the Tathagata Golden Body from the Buddhist Sect, with numerous Town Guardians personally visiting the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect.

Under immense pressure, the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect finally surrendered these two Sect Martial Arts.

It caused quite a stir, and many requested access to the Martial Pavilion with the sole purpose of studying the Great Sun Scripture and the Tathagata Golden Body."

The fact that the Demon Suppression Division had gone to such lengths spoke volumes about the power of these two martial arts.

Tan Tianji continued.

"Alas, while both martial arts are formidable, their entry requirements are exceedingly high. The Great Sun Scripture, in particular, points directly to the Grandmaster Peak, yet no one has ever managed to cultivate it to great accomplishment.

Even among the members of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect, those who have truly mastered the Great Sun Scripture throughout history can be counted on one hand.

And those who have achieved great accomplishment in both are even rarer, numbering only one or two."

He paused briefly.

"Some in the Martial Pavilion, like you, have switched to cultivating the Great Sun Scripture, but ultimately failed to reach perfection. In the end, many abandoned it in favor of other martial arts.

After all, the difference between a martial art that has reached great accomplishment and one that hasn’t is significant.

The Great Sun Scripture, before reaching that stage, might not be much stronger than other martial arts."

"However…"

"Your talent is remarkable, so perhaps one day you will succeed in cultivating the Great Sun Scripture. If you’re interested, you can search for the Tathagata Golden Body within the Martial Pavilion.

The two martial arts complement each other, though the Tathagata Golden Body is also quite challenging.

I wouldn’t advise ordinary people to attempt it, but you might want to give it a try."

Tan Tianji’s expression turned serious.

As the Buddhist Sect’s Sect Martial Arts, they demanded exceptional comprehension, spiritual insight, and inherent talent.

Yet Shen Changqing had only been with the Demon Suppression Division for a few years, and he had already reached such a high level. In terms of talent alone, no one had been comparable since the founding of the Demon Suppression Division.

Therefore, he suggested that he try cultivating it.

However, due to the difficulty of the two martial arts, Tan Tianji wouldn’t have said anything if Shen Changqing hadn’t already begun cultivating the Great Sun Scripture.

Shen Changqing nodded. "Thank you for the guidance, Elder Tan. I’ll look for the Tathagata Golden Body when I have the chance."

He didn’t mention that he had already perused the Tathagata Golden Body.

Some things were best left unsaid.

Tan Tianji then pointed to Jiang An beside him and said, "This is Jiang An from the Demon Subjugation Pavilion."

Then, turning to Jiang An, he introduced Shen Changqing.

"This is Shen Changqing from the Martial Pavilion. He is also the most talented individual in the Martial Pavilion at present. If the Human Limit can truly be broken, he has a good chance of achieving it."

Upon hearing this, Jiang An’s eyes flickered, and he cupped his fist towards Shen Changqing.

"Greetings, Brother Shen!"

"Brother Jiang." Shen Changqing returned the gesture.

He hadn’t heard much about Jiang An’s name.

However, judging from the aura emanating from him, he was clearly a formidable martial artist.

Perhaps he had already stepped into the Grandmaster Realm, or perhaps not.

But one thing Shen Changqing was certain of was that he hadn’t entered the physical body system.

Anyone who had entered the physical body system possessed a distinct characteristic: their Qi and blood were incredibly robust, making it impossible to conceal, especially in front of fellow Grandmaster martial artists.

Jiang An, as it was, clearly hadn’t reached that stage.

After the introductions, Jiang An wasted no time and cut straight to the chase.

"Brother Shen should be aware that there is a reward of ten merit points for accompanying me into the Demon Prison this time."

"Naturally." Shen Changqing nodded, indicating that he was already aware.

Seeing this, Jiang An took out a silver Demon Suppression Coin from his robes and handed it over.

"This is the reward. Brother Shen, please accept it. If there are no issues, we can depart now."

"No issues." Shen Changqing calmly accepted the Demon Suppression Coin, then replied solemnly.

With this response, a faint smile finally appeared on Jiang An’s face.

"Very well, let us depart immediately. Elder Tan, we shall take our leave!"

With those words, Jiang An immediately departed.

Shen Changqing nodded goodbye to Tan Tianji and followed in Jiang An’s footsteps.

The distance between the Martial Pavilion and the Demon Prison was not far.

Since joining the Martial Pavilion, this was Shen Changqing’s first time leaving the confines of the Seclusion Pavilion.

Along the way, he silently observed Jiang An beside him, and after some contemplation, he couldn’t help but ask.

"Brother Jiang, I’m quite curious about the Demon Subjugation Pavilion. I’ve always heard that the Demon Subjugation Pavilion studies demons, but I’m not sure which specific aspects they focus on?"

Studying demons!

The aspects they studied were definitely worth discussing in detail.

Faced with the inquiry, Jiang An had no intention of concealing anything, and a warm smile appeared on his face.

"Brother Shen, as a former Demon Slaying Envoy, you should have witnessed certain things, such as the instruments used by the Demon Slaying Hall to measure Yin and evil aura, and the Clear Spirit Jade Pendant carried by the Demon Slaying Envoys – all of these are products of the Demon Subjugation Pavilion.

In addition, the seals within the Demon Prison were also researched and developed by the Demon Subjugation Pavilion."

He paused.

Jiang An continued, "Since the existence of demons, they have been a scourge upon the world. Although there are numerous powerful individuals in the Demon Suppression Division maintaining stability in various regions, human strength has its limits. Compared to demons, there are ultimately too few strong humans.

Therefore, we have always hoped to find a way to restrain demons."

"Later, a senior said that all things in Heaven and Earth are mutually reinforcing and mutually restraining. Since demons exist, there must be a nemesis. Since we cannot find it elsewhere, we can try starting from the demons themselves.

That is why the Demon Subjugation Pavilion was officially established.

The numerous demons imprisoned in the Demon Prison are, in fact, research subjects."

When Jiang An spoke of that senior, his face displayed an expression of reverence.

Immediately after, he shook his head.

"Over the years, Town Guardians and experts from the Martial Pavilion frequently act, traveling to various places to capture demons. All the demons that are captured are imprisoned in the Demon Prison.

We hope to be able to extract something from the demons themselves that can restrain them.

If we can truly find the demons’ weaknesses, then even an ordinary villager might be able to deal with powerful demons, and no longer be like livestock in the face of demons as they are now!"

Capturing demons.

Studying demons.

Finding the demons’ weaknesses and researching things that could restrain them.

Jiang An’s words gave Shen Changqing a much greater understanding of the Demon Subjugation Pavilion.

Without a doubt.

If judged solely by strength, the strength of the individuals in the Demon Subjugation Pavilion might not be as great as that of the Martial Pavilion, but if the things that the Demon Subjugation Pavilion researched were successful, then the effect would be far from comparable to what the Martial Pavilion could achieve.

Simply put.

Even if the Martial Pavilion found a way to break the Human Limit, how many people could truly reach that stage?

Martial arts required talent.

Before breaking the Human Limit, there were realms such as Grandmaster, Innate, and Meridian Opening to contend with.

However, the research of the Demon Subjugation Pavilion was different.

They were finding the weaknesses of demons. If they really researched something to deal with demons, then the barrier to entry would definitely not be as high as the Human Limit.

Moreover, there was also the possibility of mass production.

At that time, the threat of demons would be greatly reduced.

Thinking of this, Shen Changqing couldn’t help but ask, "In that case, the Demon Sealing Pavilion is researching the weaknesses of demons?"

"You could say that." Jiang An gave an ambiguous answer.

He clearly didn’t want to say more, and Shen Changqing didn’t continue to press the matter.

Immediately afterward, he changed the subject.

"As of now, has the Demon Subjugation Pavilion had any gains?"

"There have naturally been some gains." Jiang An paused in his steps and took something out from his robes.

Shen Changqing fixed his eyes on it.

He saw the other party unfold the object, which resembled a small crossbow, only about the size of an adult’s palm. Peculiar patterns were engraved on the bow, and a finger-thick arrow was placed on it.

It was worth mentioning that.

The arrow didn’t appear to be made of copper or iron. It resembled wood, but it also gave people a different feeling from ordinary wood.

"This is?"

"This is the Demon Slaying Crossbow, a product of our Demon Subjugation Pavilion. It possesses a great restraining effect against ordinary demons. Normally speaking, as long as anyone holds the Demon Slaying Crossbow, they can deal with Nether Rank monsters."

Jiang An’s face was proud, and when he spoke of the Demon Slaying Crossbow, he was somewhat elated.

However, soon after, his expression dimmed slightly.

"Unfortunately, the Demon Slaying Crossbow still has some limitations. It requires a certain source of power to activate, and for the time being, the true Qi of martial artists is the most suitable.

If we can solve this problem, then the Demon Slaying Crossbow will be able to play a great role."

Shen Changqing understood.

Requiring true Qi as a source of power meant that only Meridian Opening Realm martial artists could use the Demon Slaying Crossbow.

In this way.

It basically eliminated the possibility of ordinary people using the Demon Slaying Crossbow.

But Meridian Opening Realm martial artists could already deal with Nether Rank monsters. Whether or not they had the Demon Slaying Crossbow was of little consequence; at most, they would have one more weapon, which would give them one more chance of victory.

In some ways.

The Demon Slaying Crossbow researched by the Demon Subjugation Pavilion couldn’t be entirely said to be useless, but it was close.

Of course.

If the Demon Subjugation Pavilion could solve the problem of needing true Qi to activate it, allowing ordinary people to use the Demon Slaying Crossbow, then this weapon could play a great role.

End of Chapter