Stranger Danger

“Is there anything else I need to pay attention to besides the Origin Annihilating Divine Wind Array?” Ye Qing asked.

“N-No,” the purple-robed man stuttered out while wiping the sweat on his forehead.

Ye Qing shot him a strange look but did not say anything further. A black fish and a white fish appeared around him, and he began walking toward the Dragon Radiance Pavilion.

Whoosh whoosh…

As soon as he stepped into the range of the array, gusts of clear wind blew toward him. It looked gentle, but it contained enough power to annihilate every speck of origin energy in the air. Even Ye Qing’s astral qi was straining to maintain its integrity.

Origin Annihilating Divine Wind, huh? A fitting name, Ye Qing thought to himself. No wonder no one had tried to slip into the treasury and steal everything despite Duanmu Longhua’s death. Not that he was complaining.

Ye Qing narrowed his eyes slightly and brought down his foot. Wind and thunder could rage within one meter of space; one stomp could shake the nine provinces.

Bang!

The ground shook, and the array flickered erratically from the mighty stomp. Ye Qing heard something shattering into pieces like clay, and the Origin Annihilating Divine Wind blowing against his defenses disappeared just like that.

Ye Qing did not pause to admire his work. After crushing the Origin Annihilating Divine Wind Array in one stomp, he immediately started walking toward the Dragon Radiance Pavilion.

Behind Ye Qing, the purple-robed man swallowed audibly while staring at his back. He knew better than anyone just how deadly Origin Annihilating Divine Wind was, so the fact that Ye Qing had crushed it in one stomp only deepened his despair.

No! I still have a chance!

A flash of hope appeared in the purple-robed man’s eyes while Ye Qing was pushing open the door.

The second the large doors creaked open, the door god portraits plastered on their surface abruptly came to life. A door god wielding twin truncheons swung its weapon at Ye Qing’s head, whereas another door god sent the dragon-serpent on its shoulders toward Ye Qing’s abdomen.

The falling truncheons made a loud whipping noise that resembled thunder.

The dragon-serpent opened its bloody maw wide enough to swallow a man whole.

Now is the time!

The purple-robed man turned tail and ran at the exact moment the door gods attacked Ye Qing. He never looked back, and his movement was buttery smooth.

From the moment he was caught by Ye Qing, he had been waiting for an opportunity like this.

The two door god portraits on the doors were, in fact, not portraits. They were a kind of Strangers called the Gatekeeper.

A Gatekeeper was a Phenomenon-class Stranger. Legend had it that a door god was a Stranger that was born from worship, and it enjoyed attaching itself to a door and defending the residence for its master. But unlike a door god, a Gatekeeper was much more violent and protective. If a door god repelled evil, then a Gatekeeper crushed any intruder who tried to invade its master’s home and consumed their bodies using their dragon-serpent. Besides that, its protection only extended to its master and their family.

These two Gatekeepers were captured and sealed within the Dragon Radiance Pavilion by a city lord of Goddess City about a hundred years ago. Their duty was to protect the treasury from all intruders. Thanks to a century of nourishment, the two Gatekeepers were even stronger than your average Trueman and Grandmaster. Combined with the advantage of surprise, the purple-robed man was sure that they could surprise Ye Qing and delay him for a bit.

The purple-robed man never thought for a second that the two Gatekeepers could kill Ye Qing or even wound him. He had seen the young man battling against the three goddesses themselves after all. All he wanted was for the Gatekeepers to delay Ye Qing long enough to make his escape.

The reason he did this was simple. He just wanted to live.

The Origin Annihilating Divine Wind Array was another opportunity, but he did not make use of it because he did not think it would work. Anyone with half a brain cell would know that a forbidden area like the Dragon Radiance Pavilion would be heavily guarded and secured by multiple layers of restrictions, and Ye Qing was no exception.

If he lied to the young man claiming that the treasury wasn’t protected by an array, all he would obtain was a swift and merciless death. That was why he admitted the existence of the array but not the Gatekeepers. His honesty would fool the young man into letting down his guard, whereas his lie by omission would buy him the time and opportunity he needed to make his escape.

So far, everything was proceeding exactly as planned. He heard the Gatekeepers roaring angrily at the intruder and felt the shockwaves of astral qi and force whipping against his skin as the trio fought. He felt a growing excitement in his chest because it meant that his chances of survival had gotten just a little bigger.

However, the sounds of fighting came to an abrupt stop. It was like a symphony coming to a sudden stop the second it hit its climax, confusing and disturbing. The purple-robed man’s heart immediately sprung to his throat once more.

He still didn’t look back though. He just pumped his legs harder and ran faster. He was afraid that he would lose all courage to run if he looked behind him.

Then, he heard a crisp snap. It was the snap of a finger.

His mind came to an abrupt stop, and that was it.

His head had exploded in a shower of blood and brain matter.

At the entrance to the Dragon Radiance Pavilion, Ye Qing was clutching a Gatekeeper’s neck with his right hand and stepping on another. Not even bothering to look at the purple-robed man behind his back, he slowly lowered his left hand and injected a bit more strength into his limbs. Both Gatekeepers ceased living there and then.

From the moment he caught the purple-robed man, he had already planted a demonic seed in his mind. Had he done everything he asked and obeyed him to the letter, he would not have minded letting him live. Unfortunately, the purple-robed man overthought things and tried to trick him. From that point onward, mercy was off the table. His schemes were all for naught.

After killing the two Gatekeepers, Ye Qing took his time to scan his surroundings carefully with his demonic thought. After he confirmed that there was no danger, he finally stepped inside the Dragon Radiance Pavilion.

The treasury looked quite ordinary from the outside, but the inside was a completely different story. The interior was lavishly decorated and filled with all sorts of treasures.

“It was worth it!” Ye Qing whispered to himself as if it wasn’t the understatement of the week. His eyes glittered with greed as he stared at the treasure hoard.

Goddess City might not be a big sect with over a thousand years of history, but they were an average sect with centuries of history. The gold, silver, and jewelry needed not be mentioned, the Strange Artifacts and martial arts manuals alone numbered in the hundreds. As for the pills and random treasures, they were literally innumerable. Their shine was so bright he almost felt blinded by them.

As a member of the Pacification Bureau, he had seen all kinds of treasures. He thought that his horizon was broader than most as well. Even so, the magnificent sight before his eyes still stunned him deeply.

More importantly, these treasures were all his now. All his! To say that he was excited would be an understatement!

A few breaths later, Ye Qing finally calmed down enough to start shoving the treasures into his Nine Heavens. He did not even miss out on the racks, shelves, and boxes. Why? Let’s just say that it was way easier and faster this way.

That said, there were only so many treasures he could carry. Not even Nine Heavens could store everything within the vault, so he could only steal the valuable stuff. He supposed he didn’t mind leaving the ordinary treasures to their destined ones.

“Now this is what I call a first-world problem!” Ye Qing sighed happily while making his way deeper into the vault.

“Hmm?”

Ye Qing had just entered the area where the Strange Artifacts were stored when suddenly, his Profound Yellow Mother Qi started stirring without warning.

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