Inner Destroyer

　Shiyao Zongyuan took a deep breath and looked down at the center of his chest, where the insect patterns were constantly wriggling due to the overload of power.

　Then he suddenly looked up, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

　"But, "Rep Master,"

　His voice was low, almost questioning with a hint of sincerity.

　"Since you consider yourself an outsider and refuse to associate with our filthy sect, and since you're originally from out of town—then I'd like to ask you, why do you even bother?"

　"Why do you, an outsider, want to meddle in the mess of our little place? Who gives you the right to decide our fate?!"

　The head of the Shiyao family is Shiyao Zongyuan.

　He knew full well that he had no chance of defeating Master Lei Pu. If his tribe had a hundred, or even a thousand times as many people, perhaps they could have exhausted Qi Xing's Qi... but there was no such thing.

　So now he was actually just resentful. He hated Qi Xing, a stranger and a foreigner who had nothing to do with the matter, why did he interfere in the power struggle between the central and local governments in a foreign country.

　"Don't mind his sophistry, 'Rep Master'! He's just a ghost clinging to the past!"

　Onmyoji Gojo Masamichi immediately retorted that although he had been bitten by the bugs for ten minutes, his mental strength was exceptionally strong and did not collapse at all.

　"In this day and age, there's no longer any need to sacrifice babies or torture people to maintain social order!"

　"You're calling 'Remnant Leipu' an outsider? A hero like him, who has traveled the world, is upright, chivalrous, and willing to help others, is not an outsider! Righteousness is not about government, nationality, or birthplace!"

　"The righteous path lies in not bearing the suffering of all living beings, but in saving the world and bringing peace to people! The righteous path lies in the common aspirations of the whole world!"

　In fact, what Gojo Masamichi said was somewhat intended to please Qi Xing, the super foreign aid. Of course, his words were quite nice.

　It’s a pity that neither Shiyao Zongyuan nor Wujiao Yadao could have imagined that Qi Xing was not only an outsider, a foreigner, but also a person from another world.

　The hot spring incident the day before yesterday had already put him in a bad mood, and now listening to the talk from both sides, Qi Xing was almost a little confused. After all, the talk from both sides seemed a little funny to Qi Xing.

　Most of Shiyao Zongyuan's words are riddled with holes, so I won't discuss them here. The Imperial Eagle Claw claims that the present era no longer requires personal sacrifice to maintain social order, but such talk can only be laughed off. He claims that Qi Xing is not an outsider, because the righteous path is what the world aspires to, yet Qi Xing is not from this world.

　As for Shiyao Zongyuan scolding Qi Xing about why an outsider should decide their fate - actually, this question is quite interesting.

　Why?

　Of course, I'm a high-ranking time traveler! I'm a descendant from the upper world! I'm the "strongest man on earth"! I'm amazingly intelligent and powerful!

　Because my ideas are the right way! Because I am not part of your vile world!

　I am a God who came from heaven to save you lowly creatures!

　Because without me, you can only continue to live in ignorance in this ridiculous yellow world!

　I will do whatever is "necessary" to ensure that I am never tainted by your vile and filthy world.

　So, you lowly NPCs! If you don't want to die and suffer, you must love me, respect me, and worship me! Because I know more than you do!

　Admire me, a time traveler, and swear to die for me, the "Adventer." I, I, I—

　I am "Rep Zhenren"! !

　If Qi Xing could really think this way, if he was really that crazy and arrogant, if he had such great self-confidence and arrogance - then his life in this world would definitely be happier.

　It's a pity that he's not that crazy... Maybe he should really think about this issue carefully.

　Sasa is quite crazy, after all, she really created this world, according to her own magical standards.

　Fortunately, Qi Xing still had some self-reflection. Fortunately, he at least knew how to complain about himself and others. A sense of humor is a very important part of life. Losing it is worse than death.

　"Who said there are no evil gods now?"

　The above thoughts only took place in one hundredth of a second. To others, Qi Xing just listened to the words and then complained directly.

　"Seven hundred years ago, the evil god came down from the snowy mountains and flayed the skins of your ancestors. Seven hundred years later, you're still flaying the skins of your own descendants in the mountains. Aren't you the second generation of the evil god?"

　"You ask me why an outsider like me should get involved... That's a good question. I will seriously consider the answer."

　"But that's for later—for now, I'll kill an evil god for you."

　Having said that, there is of course nothing more to say.

　Shiyao Zongyuan roared loudly and led the insect-transformed people to rush towards Qi Xing in a tragic manner!

　...

247

　…Then Qi Xing used the “forbidden technique” to freeze all of them.

　He carefully tore apart Shiyao Zongyuan's body with his bare hands, and checked these weirdos twenty times first.

　Their regenerative and immortal abilities were truly incredible, like plants growing at super-fast speeds. But Qi Xing had shattered his brain dozens of times and still couldn't find the "core."

　Later, Qi Xing smashed the head of a centipede-like half-human, half-insect warrior for more than forty times. Finally, he could no longer recover and his body turned directly into snow-white ash.

　"It seems I don't need to kill you a hundred times."

　Seeing this, Qi Xing frowned and said lightly.

　The immobilized Shiyao Zongyuan had already closed his eyes and waited for death, and at this moment he just grinned coldly.

　"I'm afraid this is the end of our journey."

　"But Ise-sama will surely defeat you, Repu-sama."

　"She has the confidence to defeat you and Kamigorin."

　091: The weak me of the past is dead

　Ise?

　That white-haired witch is not dead?

　Others might react in disbelief when hearing what Old Man Shiyao said.

　But Qi Xing had been wandering the world for ten years. While the world was vast and there were still many strange things he hadn't seen, he at least knew that anything strange could happen, so he wasn't surprised at all.

　But, should this be considered "actually not dead" or "as expected not dead"?

　"This is a bit corny—but it's so relevant, so I'll say it anyway."

　Qi Xing raised his fists,

　"Go down first and save a spot for Ise."

　After saying that, he punched the head of the Insect Master family and smashed it to pieces!

　——In fact, because of his super regeneration ability, Qi Xing would have to fight for a while longer before he could kill him completely.

　Honestly, killing people like this wasn't exactly satisfying. Luckily, Qi Xing had gotten used to it—in the two or three years since he achieved immortality, most fights had been resolved with just one or two punches, like buying orange juice from a vending machine. Finding a good enemy he could actually fight was hard to come by.

　However, just as Qi Xing raised his fist, ready to beat Shiyao Zongyuan to death, the Yin-Yang master from the Gojo family interrupted, "Lei Pu Zhenren, wait a moment. The head of the Shiyao family may know some information about True Buddhism. Don't kill him yet."

　boom!

　But Qi Xing didn't even turn his head and punched down again, splashing half-solidified insect fluid.

　"You said, don't rush to kill."

　While continuing to kill, Qi Xing replied calmly, his hands did not stop at all.

　"Could it be that the Onmyoji Headquarters is coveting this kind of unconventional and evil magic that they have accumulated over seven hundred years?"

　Gojo Masamichi frowned, straightened his collar, and spoke in a steady voice, "Please don't say that, Rep-sensei." We, the official exorcists, wouldn't do that kind of thing.

　“I wouldn’t do that.”

　Qi Xing raised his head and glanced at him, with a hint of a smile in his eyes.

　"Most of the time, they won't. Unless it's 'reasonable use,' 'supervisory improvement,' or 'a temporary stopgap measure in extraordinary times'?"

　The official Yin-Yang Master was speechless for a moment.

　Qi Xing knew, in fact, that public servants who exorcised demons were "basically" good. This was because the underlying laws of this world dictated that magic could easily be expressed externally. Magic was born from the heart, from will and feeling, from the expression of desire. This made it nearly impossible for those of the right path to secretly use evil methods. Once they did, it would be difficult to hide from others.

　Unless someone possesses exceptional willpower and control over their desires—like a perfect Silver Coin Messenger—the practice of evil magic will almost always reveal itself. The more you practice it, and the stronger it becomes, the more noticeable the reverberations of your magic become, making it difficult to conceal. For example, the old man of the Juyaku family has transformed himself into something resembling a bug.

　On the other hand, everyone knows that the imperial court's actions are primarily driven by practical needs. If they were ever truly forced into a corner, they would likely resort to the forbidden evil methods. However, since it would be difficult to conceal, they would find a plausible excuse.

　Because evil methods are always so easy to use - dark desires are always the easiest to breed and grow.

　Gojo Masamichi obviously did not dare to talk back to "Rep Master" and denied that such a thing would ever happen.

　Fortunately, Qi Xing did not ask any further questions. He just continued to smash the remains of Shiyao Zongyuan, who was not completely dead yet and whose body was still squirming at his feet, with a moderate tone.

　"I haven't been in a good mood these past two days."

　“But life is like that, there are always bad days.”

　He said this as if he were talking about the weather.

　"Even the strong are not immune to this. After all, I am not a Buddha."

　Wu Tiao frowned, as if he wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Qi Xing.

　"So even if I'm in a bad mood, I won't hesitate or slow down when I kill whoever needs to be killed. And this person is the one who needs to be killed."

　He slowly raised his fist, as big as a casserole, and once again aimed it at the head that was still wriggling and regenerating.

　"There are so many people here, go find someone else to ask questions."

　Qi Xing's tone suddenly changed, and he said something like a casual instruction, but also like a warning: "But remember this."

　"If I see this kind of evil method of mixing insects spreading somewhere else next time..."

　"I'll fuck up your entire Onmyoji Bureau."

　As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere suddenly froze.

　Finally, cold sweat broke out on Gojo Masamichi's forehead unconsciously.

　open

248

　What a joke! Are you going to threaten the highest supernatural department of a country's government with your own strength?

　It's a metaphor, it's a metaphor, right?

　After a moment's silence, Gojo Masamichi finally calmed down and said in a solemn and calm voice, "It is our duty to bring the prisoner back alive if possible."

　He looked directly at the "strongest man on earth," the man who could rip his head off in half a second, and his tone was as steady as steel.

　As expected of a warrior who remained mentally intact despite being infested with insects for ten minutes.

　"So, preventing that from happening again is also a responsibility we must take."

　"If something really happens in the future—"

　He nodded, his voice firm.

　"Master Leipu, who are you going to ask? Just come and ask me."

　These words finally made Qi Xing smile.

　"Okay, you still have some backbone."

　Raising his hand and bringing it down again, Qi Xing's palm wind turned into thunder, smashing the half of the old man Shiyao's body and all the possibilities of its regeneration into powder with one palm.

　The rain stopped.

　-

　Later, the Onmyoji Bureau sent another team of official exorcists to seal up all the remaining members of the Hunchong Shiyao tribe who were still alive and take them back for careful examination.

　Qi Xing warned them to inform him as soon as possible when they found the next group of enemies, and not to go up and get killed themselves, and then he turned into lightning and flew away.

　When we returned to Xinxiang Village and near the hot spring hotel, it was just past noon.

　But he was in no hurry to return to the hotel.

　The spiritual energy of this rural village was far more pleasant than that of the city. A gentle breeze blew through the mountains and forests, carrying the scent of grass and earth. Qi Xing, a cultivator after all, simply stood by a stone tablet at the entrance of the village, closed his eyes, and breathed in, quietly enjoying the wind.

　Until Mini Sasa slowly poked his head out from the shadows at his feet: "Why are you in a bad mood?"

　"Go, go, go." Qi Xing half-opened his eyes and waved lazily, "Let me be alone."

　"What's the reason you're so upset?"

　The devil rolled his eyes, propped up his face with his hands, and sat on the edge of the shadow, swinging his legs, his eyebrows raised high.