Stranger Danger

Yin and yang complemented each other. Everything had its natural laws.

Underneath the black-and-white portrait, Ye Qing’s bones were popping, his muscles were groaning, and blood was pouring out of his pores. The bleed was so bad that his black hair was dyed red, and his expression grew increasingly contorted.

Right now, Ye Qing felt like wheat caught inside a mill. The millstone was slowly but surely grinding his body into powder.

If the Great Way was similar to a millstone, then time was a merciless killer.

A hundred generations could turn even the thickest blood into water, and all life was naught but a finite journey.

The millstone that was the Great Way and time could grind everything down into nothing, so how could a man possibly be exempt from the rule?

As the black-and-white portrait continued to rotate, Ye Qing’s body slowly twisted into an indescribable shape. To give an example, it was like a pair of invisible hands had grabbed his head and his legs before twisting him in opposite directions like a rag. His muscles slowly tore itself apart, his bones began breaking and splintering into itsy bitsy pieces, and his blood spilled out of his flesh like the water of a wet rag. His entire body was dyed in red, and a pool of blood quickly gathered beneath his feet.

Despite this, Ye Qing remained perfectly silent. While holding back the pain, he slowly raised his arms like he was lifting a mountain.

When his hands had risen up to his chest, he clenched his fists and let out a heart-stopping roar. Demonic qi gushing out of his body, his hands abruptly separated like he was ripping something apart.

Maybe it was because he used too much strength, but both of his arms broke and splattered blood everywhere.

However, his action also caused a crisp sound to resound throughout the basin. It wasn’t loud, but it did sound profound and mysterious.

At the same time, the black-and-white portrait in the sky split in half from the center.

“Roar!”

As soon as the black-and-white portrait was ripped into pieces, the demonic ape leaped into the air and slammed into the portrait, causing it to scatter into irrecoverable bits. Then, he trapped the Earthly Sovereign with his left arm, grabbed his head with his right hand, and squeezed with everything he got.

The Earthly Sovereign wasn’t just going to give up and die, of course. He raised his free right hand and punched the demonic ape at the side of his head. At the same time, he raised his leg and kneed the demonic ape in the stomach.

The demonic ape ignored the counter attack. Although the Earthly Sovereign’s punch caved in half of his head, and the knee strike had broken the pocket world inside his body into pieces, he kept squeezing until his opponent’s head finally exploded in a shower of blood and gore.

As if his bloodthirst hadn’t yet been quenched, the demonic ape proceeded to grab the Earthly Sovereign’s shoulders and ripped the man in half.

“ROAR!!!”

After he successfully ripped the Earthly Sovereign in half, the demonic ape let out another heart-stopping roar before soaring into the sky. Then, he landed a solid punch on the dark yellow cauldron.

TWANG…

The dark yellow cauldron shook violently and emitted a long, loud ringing. It sounded like the ringing of a massive bell.

The bell ringing was heavy but not deep, loud but not deafening. When it spread out, it was actually calming and nourishing like the spring wind and fine rain.

“My fist strikes against a cauldron and create a ringing that lasts for eternity,

My heart rises with the wind and spreads spring unto infinity.”

After the punch, the demonic ape fell from the sky as if it had spent all of his strength. As he fell, Ye Qing transformed back into a human.

Ye Qing hit the ground with a loud thud, his aura weaker than it had ever been.

The next moment, the dark yellow cauldron in the sky scattered and reformed into the Earthly Sovereign.

Earthen yellow descended from the sky and landed beside Ye Qing. Smiling down on him from above, the Earthly Sovereign leaned down and briefly touched the young man’s forehead.

When he rose to full height once more, the Earthly Sovereign abruptly grew increasingly transparent until he was completely gone.

At the same time, an indescribably profound and virtuous aura of Dao emanated from Ye Qing.

“A celestial touched my head, so I prepared to receive immortality.”

Clearly, the Earthly Sovereign had injected the wisp of Profound Yellow Mother Qi directly into his body.

Realizing what just happened, some of the people lurking in the shadows could not restrain their greed any longer. They immediately pounced toward the unconscious young man.

Although the Earthly Sovereign had injected the wisp of Profound Yellow Mother Qi directly into the young man’s body, it would take time for him to refine and incorporate it into his body. All they needed to do was to kill the young man to extract the Profound Yellow Mother Qi and claim it for themselves.

They needed to act quickly though. They could still extract the Profound Yellow Mother Qi even after the young man successfully assimilated into his body, but its effects would be greatly diminished as a matter of course.

On top of that, the Profound Yellow Mother Qi was a natural creation with the power to nurture the body. It sounded simple, but the young man’s severe injuries were healing at a visible rate, and his aura was rapidly stabilizing in just a matter of breaths. It probably wouldn’t be long before he awakened from his coma and recovered enough to fight once more. If that happened, forget robbing the young man of his fortune while he was unconscious, they might even die for their audacity.

No one was stupid enough to underestimate the young man after his stunning battle against the Earthly Sovereign.

Long story short, there was no better time than now to kill the young man and rob him of his Profound Yellow Mother Qi. If they missed it, they wouldn’t get a second chance to try again.

“Sigh. That shall come will come, and will not tarry[1].”

Zhang Lingyang sighed as he observed the hyenas charging the young man from every direction.

“A heavenly tribulation is easy to overcome. The human heart? Not so much.”

Yun Qingxiao replied indifferently.

“So? Would you like to give it a go, Young Yun?” Zhang Lingyang teased.

“No. I am not interested,” Yun Qingxiao declared decisively. “It is beneath me to take what isn’t mine to take—but of course, no one can take what is mine to take either.”

“Hehe… how very manly of you,” Zhang Lingyang praised his compatriot before glancing at Mo Beiqiu. “What about you, Beiqiu? Do you want it?”

“Will you take it for me if I say yes?” Mo Beiqiu asked.

“If you want it, then of course! You’re my woman after all!” Zhang Lingyang declared loudly while slapping his chest.

Suddenly, a giggle came from somewhere. “Hahaha… to think that the righteous Little Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain would openly declare their intention to rob another man’s fortune like a lowly bandit. Aren’t you afraid that the Heavenly Master Mansion’s reputation would suffer because of you?”

No one knew when she arrived, but a woman wearing a mask and a green dress had appeared on a nearby tree. She was barefooted and carrying a red umbrella, and she was sitting on a tree branch and shaking her legs a little, the little bells tied to her ankle ringing melodious to every sway.

It was Greenlake Bai.

“Do I look like that type of person to you? I would never kick a man when he’s down!”

Zhang Lingyang’s eyes lit up like a pair of light bulbs when he saw the pretty woman. He immediately declared in a righteous tone, “What I mean is that I’m going to take the Profound Yellow Mother Qi after the bad guys had taken it! Is it bad to rob a robber? Never! We call that justice and karmic retribution!”

“Plus, I was planning to cover up my face and book it as soon as I got the Profound Yellow Mother Qi. No one will ever guess that it was I who stole the prize!”

Yun Qingxiao facepalmed. I don’t know this guy. He’s the shame of my sect.

“Hahaha… they all say that the Little Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain is a funny, unfettered man of passion. It looks like the rumors are true after all.”

Greenlake Bai giggled. “Do inform me when you decide to act. I’ll do my best to support you when the time comes.”

“Hahaha! I will happily accept your offer, my kindred spirit!”

Zhang Lingyang pulled back his sideburns before asking, “By the way, may I know your name, your hometown, your age, and whether you’re single?”

“Ahem!”

Yun Qingxiao coughed. He seriously couldn’t stand this any longer.

You couldn’t even wait until Mo Beiqiu is gone before you flirt with another woman? No wonder she isn’t interested in you!

“What? You got a bug in your throat or something?” Zhang Lingyang shot Yun Qingxiao a frown.

“It’s nothing,” Yun Qingxiao replied while glancing at Mo Beiqiu meaningfully.

“It is nothing,” Zhang Lingyang rolled his eyes. “The sages say that appetite and lust are only natural, and the ancients say that everyone loves beauty. So long as your heart isn’t covered in dust, then everything is all as it should be.”

“I’m conversing with this lady purely because I admire her appearance like I would admire a fine painting. I do not think of her romantically at all, and I’m sure Beiqiu understands me perfectly. Right, Beiqiu?”

“Get lost,” was Mo Beqiu’s response.

“See? I know that Beiqiu still loves me. She’s willing to shower me with harsh words after all!” Zhang Lingyang exclaimed with a wide grin.

Yun Qingxiao: “...” I really should’ve ignored him.

Buzz…

Suddenly, the earth shook again. Something unexpected had happened inside the basin.

1. Thought the quote was pretty cool and borrowed some of it to replace the simple ‘What must come must come’. ☜

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