Chapter 357: I Will Not Attack Unless Attacked

I caught the wicked intent in Lu Jin's eyes. He harbored an intense craving for Tie Ningxiang; the fact that he couldn't have her only fueled his desire to conquer her.

The last time he invited Tie Ningxiang to a private dinner at Century New Garden, Mother Tie had dressed her up. Wearing a formal gown with her shoulders half-exposed, her posture and expression that night had left an indelible mark on Lu Jin.

Now, seeing her display a completely different kind of beauty in her police uniform, he felt as if a cat were scratching at his heart. He wanted nothing more than to drag this haughty female officer away immediately.

"Daoist Priest Lu, please respect yourself." Tie Ningxiang frowned deeply. A sudden wave of disgust toward him welled up inside her; this Daoist priest seemed quite different from the cultivators she had imagined.

"Captain Tie, you'll be obedient one day." Lu Jin laughed, looking extremely pleased with himself. He waved a hand at Zhong Jiu. "Little Jiu, go test his capabilities. Don't be too heavy-handed; it'll be hard to explain if you beat him to death."

Lu Jin's underlying message was for him to go all out—as long as he didn't kill me, they would cover for whatever happened.

Upon receiving the order, Zhong Jiu stood with his blade in hand, his eyes wide as Bronze Bells. "Gao Jian, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Just admit it. Once I make my move, I absolutely won't show any mercy."

"Are you planning to extract a confession through torture? Assaulting someone right in front of a Public Security Bureau detective? Do you have any regard for the law, or do you think you're already above it?" I held my breath and regulated my breathing, guiding the true qi generated from cultivating the Profound Truth Mental Method through my meridians and into my lower dantian, refraining from using it for now. I had already made up my mind—I absolutely could not expose any flaws today.

"Sharp tongue! You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin!" Zhong Jiu shouted. His imposing aura surged as he gripped his blade with both hands and slashed directly at my shoulder.

He didn't hold back in the slightest, nor was he just trying to scare me. He truly had murderous intent—this strike was meant to sever my arm!

A thread of golden light flashed across my eyes. Under the gaze of my Judging Eye, Zhong Jiu's movements slowed to a crawl, riddled with flaws.

My eyes could see the openings, but my body struggled to react. In desperation, I could only plant my right leg on the ground and pivot my left shoulder backward like a compass.

The Deer-Slaying Dao grazed my arm and sliced open my sleeve, leaving a vivid streak of crimson on the blade.

"Bang!"

The Deer-Slaying Dao cleaved heavily into the floor. The smooth tiles shattered into pieces as the blade sank three or four centimeters into the ground.

With that kind of force, it was impossible to halt the strike midway. Had I been even a fraction of a second slower, my blood would have undoubtedly splattered across the floor.

Empowered by three Six Ding Six Jia Talismans, Zhong Jiu was momentarily startled by his own strength. In the blink of an eye, however, the surprise on his face was replaced by ferocity. "Gao Jian, I let you escape last time. Let's see where you can run today!"

He charged at me with his blade. I shoved Tie Ningxiang aside and barely managed to dodge around the room. Intent on showing off in front of his master, Zhong Jiu was in no hurry to kill me; like a cat playing with a mouse, he simply forced me to run for my life around the room.

"Daoist Priest Lu, what are you doing?" Seeing Zhong Jiu's murderous intent, Director Liu hurriedly spoke up, hoping to change Lu Chen's mind. "Gao Jian has made great contributions. Treating him like this will dishearten everyone..."

No matter how much he pleaded, Lu Chen didn't even bat an eye, much less bother to speak.

"Director Liu, don't worry. Little Jiu knows his limits; he won't act recklessly. This is an internal matter of our Profound Truth Dao, so please don't interfere. Besides, that Gao Jian has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. If he can't hold on, he'll naturally use our Profound Truth Dao Method to break the deadlock." Lu Jin was absolutely certain. He knew a life-or-death crisis would definitely force me to reveal my trump cards, and the moment I showed even a hint of anything related to the Profound Truth Dao, I would become the enemy of their entire lineage.

Orthodox sects valued their inheritances above all else and dealt extremely severe punishments to those who stole their teachings.

While Director Liu was speaking, I was awkwardly dodging Zhong Jiu's assaults. Truth be told, Zhong Jiu himself didn't pose much of a threat to me. Even with the Deer-Slaying Dao in hand, he wouldn't have been able to do anything to me. The problem was those three Six Ding Six Jia Talismans, which had tripled his strength and defense. Between his thick skin and his ferocious attacks, he was a massive headache.

'If I can break the Six Ding Six Jia Talismans, I can definitely turn this around.' As long as I recited the incantation to dispel the Profound Truth talisman method, the Six Ding Six Jia Talismans could be easily broken, but that would play right into Lu Jin's trap.

'Capture the leader to stop the followers. Controlling Lu Chen should also break this deadlock.' I turned my head and glanced at Lu Chen. He stood by the table like a stone monument, completely indifferent to everything around him. His attitude and expression gave me a very dangerous feeling. 'I can't attack him. There's something bizarre about this man!'

The blade was inching closer, leaving me little time to think. I couldn't use the Profound Truth Dao Method, but I still had my ghost art and Buddhist scriptures!

Cultivating three different systems at once—in all of Jiangcheng, aside from Two-Faced Buddha and his group, I was probably the only one capable of it.

The Buddhist scriptures wouldn't have an obvious effect on Daoist methods, and chanting sutras would consume my mental focus and dull my senses. Right now, I was walking a tightrope over a cliff and couldn't afford a single distraction. The Buddhist scriptures weren't suited for this situation.

'It seems the only thing I can use is my ghost art!' Ghost arts weren't exclusively practiced by evil cultivators; for instance, the Maoshan Yin Masters communed with and controlled ghosts, relying on spirits for most of their abilities. 'If I break the Six Ding Six Jia Talismans on Zhong Jiu so he can't rely on the talismans' power, I'll be able to stabilize the situation.'

With a plan in mind, I attempted to mobilize the Yin energy inside my body for the very first time. The Yin energy circulated through my body like a shadowy dragon, growing a fraction stronger and carrying a trace of chill each time it passed through my Kidney Aperture.

This chill was harmless to me. My body didn't feel any discomfort; instead, a refreshing sensation washed over me.

'The Yin-Yang Ghost Art doesn't use talismans or incantations. All its abilities rely on ghosts and Yin spirits. If I want to strip the talismans off Zhong Jiu, the only thing I can rely on is the Rakshasa Ghost Infant slumbering in my Kidney Aperture!'

Gritting my teeth, I injected all my Yin energy into my Kidney Aperture. "Dark and profound, born with heaven and earth; scattering to become energy, gathering to take form."

As I chanted the incantation, the others in the room all perked up their ears to listen. A subtle shift appeared in Lu Chen's expression, and he murmured, "The path of controlling ghosts?"

I continued my chant without pause. Grabbing a chair by the table, I spun around and smashed it at him. This was my first act of resistance, but Zhong Jiu paid it no mind. Raising the Deer-Slaying Dao high, he brought it down toward my head, cleaving the chair cleanly in two. "Still dare to struggle? Last time I said I'd cripple your hands, but this time I'll take it all back with interest and chop you into a limbless stump!"

Zhong Jiu advanced with a savage grin, his movements sweeping and aggressive. Instead of blindly fleeing, I slowly began to adjust my position. "Ancestor of the Five Elements, essence of the Six Jia, ghosts arrive at my will, acting upon my command!"

The moment those words left my mouth, the Rakshasa Ghost Infant nourishing in my Kidney Aperture seemed to receive a summons. It opened all three of its eyes simultaneously. As Yin energy flooded its body, its pupils gradually turned blood-red.

By now, Zhong Jiu had forced me into a dead corner of the room. His body perfectly blocked everyone else's line of sight. The Deer-Slaying Dao gleamed with a chilling white light as he aimed the blade directly at my collarbone.

"Yin-Yang Has an Order: released souls shall all ascend! Those who defy this order shall be cast into the netherworld, their bones reduced to dust!" I roared at the top of my lungs just as the blade fell. A blurry white figure suddenly shot out of my body. Connected to my mind, it lunged straight for the three Yang lamps on Zhong Jiu's body.

"What the hell is that?!" Zhong Jiu cried out in shock. The white shadow swiftly pierced through the three layers of Golden Light Talismans and bit into his body.

'The Lesser Vehicle Talismans are useless?' The three Yang lamps representing his three souls flickered in the wind. The white shadow's body grew faint, as if heavily injured, but the three Six Ding Six Jia Talismans on Zhong Jiu's body shattered as a result, crumbling to ash.

The power behind the Deer-Slaying Dao instantly dropped by more than half. I retracted the ghost infant and clenched my fists until my knuckles cracked loudly. "You are bullying me too severely!"

I stepped half a pace forward, my fists shooting out like arrows from a bowstring. "Eight-Step Crushing Fist!"

Holding nothing back, I went completely berserk. My fists battered Zhong Jiu's body like a violent storm. Blood splattered; I couldn't even tell if it came from the torn wound on my right hand or from Zhong Jiu's facial orifices.

In less than thirty seconds, the burly Zhong Jiu collapsed to the floor. He was covered in blood, his entire face beaten out of shape.

The Crushing Fist placed an immense drain on physical stamina. My chest heaved as I slowly exhaled the impure breath from my body.

With blood dripping from my hands, a crimson glint danced in my eyes as I glared at Lu Jin and Lu Chen. "I will not attack unless attacked. Don't go too far."

Picking up the Deer-Slaying Dao from the floor, I grabbed the still-stunned Tie Ningxiang with one hand, pushed the door open, and left.