Slaying Demons: Starting with Upgrading my Calligraphy-Chapter 706 - 584: Evil Maitreya! Dragon-subduing Nail!
"This is the old... demon you mentioned?"
On the heated brick bed of an old residence, Qi Xiu held the scroll given by Hu Tianzong, lowering his eyes to scan its contents.
The scroll felt sticky in hand, seemingly tanned from some kind of hide, heavy, and weighty.
On the dull, sepia-toned surface, there was a painting of a benevolent and kind, eternally smiling golden Buddha, bearing a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to the Maitreya Buddha of the Buddha Sect.
This golden Buddha appeared at first glance no different from usual Buddha statues, dignified and solemn.
But upon closer inspection, one would find a trace of an unnerving and insane evil hidden in the squinting eyes of the golden Buddha.
On its open, round belly, distorted faces of agony seemed to faintly emerge.
The originally benevolent painting style instantly became eerie and unsettling.
"Yes, this demon is called Evil Maitreya. It is said to have originally been a stone slab under the seat of Maitreya Buddha, reflecting the shadow of the Buddha.
After years of listening to the Buddha preaching Dao, it gradually gained spiritual wisdom and transformed into a human shape, obtaining a cultivation path.
Later, Heavenly Demon Lord Poxun sought out Maitreya Buddha for a discourse on Dao.
To prevent the cult members under his seat from being bewitched by Poxun's evil intent, the Buddha dismissed everyone around him, yet Evil Maitreya, having long been influenced by the Buddha's aura, secretly came to the door to listen.
It was discovered by Poxun, who used evil methods to twist Evil Maitreya's Buddha nature, turning it into an evil demon, and took it Outside the Domain.
Though Maitreya Buddha wished to save it, Evil Maitreya had lost its Buddha nature, unable to turn back, ultimately becoming a Great Demon in Outside the Domain."
Upon hearing Hu Tianzong's introduction of this old demon, Qi Xiu was slightly surprised.
Maitreya Buddha was one of the highly esteemed Buddhas of the Buddha Sect; Evil Maitreya, born from his teachings, was undoubtedly noble.
Additionally, having been personally bewitched by Heavenly Demon Lord Poxun and taken to Outside the Domain,
practiced both Buddha and demon paths,
showing its formidable strength.
"But for such a formidable old demon, how did it descend upon the Tianyuan Main Realm, only to be captured by Moon Sea True Venerable?"
Raising his eyes from the image of Evil Maitreya, Qi Xiu curiously asked Hu Tianzong.
"I'm not clear on the specifics myself; according to my distant cousin, it seems that someone found the ruins of the Lesser Thunderclap Temple back then, and discovered a finger bone relic of Maitreya Buddha there.
Although Evil Maitreya had forsaken the Buddha Sect and become an Outside the Domain demon,
it always revered Maitreya Buddha as its birth parent and supreme mentor.
It is said that when all Buddhas passed away, Evil Maitreya, upon hearing the news Outside the Domain, flew into a rage and madness, slaughtering nineteen worlds; even Heavenly Demon Lord Poxun couldn't stop it, and only when utterly exhausted did it finally cease its rampage.
Upon learning that the finger bone relic of Maitreya Buddha was unveiled,
Evil Maitreya, disregarding the suppression of the Heavenly Dao Will in Tianyuan Main Realm, snuck back, managing to seize the finger bone relic of Maitreya Buddha, but collided directly with Moon Sea True Venerable.
Thus, after a great battle, despite Evil Maitreya's profound cultivation and being a disciple of Buddha, under the suppression of Heavenly Dao Will, its strength was severely depleted.
It was ultimately defeated by Moon Sea True Venerable and suppressed into the Taiyin Sea Altar."
After recounting the origin of Evil Maitreya and its defeat by Moon Sea True Venerable, Hu Tianzong continued,
"Though Evil Maitreya was suppressed by Moon Sea True Venerable, it always yearned to escape and retaliate.
Having received teachings from Maitreya Buddha and Heavenly Demon Lord Poxun, practicing both Buddha and demon paths, once it escapes back to Outside the Domain, there would be no catching it again.
For safety, Moon Sea True Venerable always stays at the Lethean Sea Cliff to suppress this old demon."
"With such an existence, what means do you have to sever its resurrection method?" Learning of Evil Maitreya's formidable power, Qi Xiu became interested in how Hu Tianzong planned to counter this Great Demon.
"Hehehe, Daoist, you might not know, although Liaodong is bitterly cold, it is vast, and besides those ancient, powerful spirits inhabiting the deep mountain forests, occasionally some naturally born wonders emerge.
For instance, like this."
With a mysterious smile, Hu Tianzong lifted his crimson great cloak to reveal an object about the length of a forearm, tightly wrapped in yellow-red talismanic scripts.
"This is..."
Upon seeing the item in Hu Tianzong's hand wrapped in talisman scripts, Qi Xiu's eyes involuntarily transformed into bright yellow Dragon Eyes, an immensely terrifying Dragon Power surged forth, nearly shattering the old residence with its overwhelming pressure.
Fortunately, Qi Xiu quickly noticed and restrained his aura, yet even so, the whole house shed dust as it trembled.
"Dragon-subduing Nail!"
The ancient knowledge flowing in Qi Xiu's blood conjured a bloody piece of information in his mind.
Dragon-subduing Nail!
One of the instruments of punishment by the True Dragon Clan, akin to the Dragon Binding Rope that Qi Xiu wielded.
Yet, compared to the Dragon Binding Rope, the Dragon-subduing Nail had even worse notoriety in the True Dragon Clan.
Only those Karmic Dragons guilty of grave crimes yet unworthy of death would be subjected to the Dragon-subduing Nail.
Because once the Dragon Nail was driven into the reverse scale beneath the jaw, even the mightiest True Dragon's powers would be sealed, reducing it to a waste dragon, at the mercy of others.
Due to its restraint over the True Dragon Clan and the limitations in its use,
the Dragon Court only manufactured a small number of Dragon-subduing Nails before ceasing production, with most being destroyed by the True Dragon Clan.
Unexpectedly, Hu Tianzong managed to acquire one.
Transforming into the True Dragon Body, Qi Xiu reacted strongly to this Dragon-subduing Nail; had it not been sealed by the talisman scripts and himself being not of complete True Dragon Bloodline,
Hu Tianzong might have lost it the moment he revealed it, forcibly destroyed by Qi Xiu.
"An expert indeed."
Seeing Qi Xiu recognize the Dragon-subduing Nail at a glance, Hu Tianzong became more certain that this Mystic Yellow Taoist had indeed received the complete True Dragon Inheritance.
Otherwise, how could he recognize a Dragon-subduing Nail through talisman scripts?
"Where did you find this thing?" Frowning at the Dragon-subduing Nail, Qi Xiu gently rubbed his forehead, suppressing the instinctual agitation and dissatisfaction within his body.
This was the inherent rejection of the True Dragon Bloodline toward this instrument of punishment.
"To be honest, Daoist, actually, the hinterland of the Liaodong Great Province, in ancient times, was once a Fallen Dragon Land.
And this Dragon-subduing Needle in my hand comes from there."
Noticing Qi Xiu's discomfort from the Dragon-subduing Needle, Hu Tianzong retrieved it and explained its origin.
"Fallen Dragon Land?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Xiu's expression shifted.
"Yes, it's an old forest adjacent to the Heavenly Mountain, any living being that enters never comes out.
Three ancestors at the peak of the Dao Body from my Hu Family once entered together to explore, yet never returned.
As a child, I mischievously ventured the outskirts unaware of its dangers, and if my family patriarch had not shown up in time to bring me out,
we probably wouldn't have the chance to meet now."
Recalling the scene of his childhood misadventure into the Fallen Dragon Land, Hu Tianzong shuddered, the memory vivid.
Fallen Dragon Land...
His eyes flickered slightly as Qi Xiu discreetly glanced at Hu Tianzong across from him, silently committing this information to memory.
...
