Stranger Danger

This was a punch that reverted everything to Primal Chaos.

Try as the Nine-headed Snake Demon might, she could not perceive a single escape route. Forget running away, even defending herself was but a pipedream. She could only scream in soundless despair as her very existence dissolved into chaos and disappeared into the world.

“Is she trying to commit suicide or what?”

Ye Qing scratched his head after unleashing “Break Hammer”. He wasn’t planning on killing the Nine-headed Snake Demon if only because the Seven Demons of Yandang were infamous for their madness. He had no intentions of provoking a bunch of crazies unless he could kill them all in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, the Nine-headed Snake Demon insisted that he sent her to the afterlife, so he had no choice but to oblige. Just because he didn’t want trouble didn’t mean that he was afraid of trouble.

After killing the Nine-headed Snake Demon in one punch, Ye Qing appeared in front of the Shadowless Leopard demon next and stomped down on his head. The warrior was currently unconscious and so was completely incapable of defending himself. Ye Qing easily stomped him to dust and snuffed him out in both body and mind.

Since he already killed the Nine-headed Snake Demon and provoked the Seven Demons of Yandang, he might as well kill the Shadowless Leopard Demon and the Powerful Bull Demon as well. No reason to leave behind evidence for his pursuers to find and whatnot.

Besides, now that he thought about it, the Dragonmount Duke would surely think that the Seven Demons of Yandang had escaped, whereas the Seven Demons of Yandang would think that the Dragonmount Duke had killed their three companions. No one would find out that he, an unknown third party, was really the one behind their murder. It was killing two birds with one stone.

Even if the truth came out in the end, it did not matter either. One, the Seven Demons of Yandang still wouldn’t know that he was the one who killed the trio. They wouldn’t know where to even begin their vengeance.

Two, in the case the Seven Demons of Yandang somehow found out that he was the murderer, they would not be able to seek him out in the short term. After all, they had basically wiped the floor with the Dragonmount Duke and the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance. So long as the Dragonmount Duke and the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance still existed, they would never let this humiliating defeat go unchallenged. The Seven Demons of Yandang would be too busy trying to survive the Dragonmount Duke’s wrath to come after him right now.

No matter how he looked at it, it was a win-win for him.

“Moo… Brother Leopard!!!”

His timing was a tad unfortunate, because Powerful Bull Demon chose this exact moment to awake from his coma. The first thing he saw after he opened his eyes was an unknown young man stomping his fellow to dust. Naturally, he was both shocked and furious.

“I’ll kill you!” Powerful Bull Demon roared with bloodshot eyes as he lifted his gigantic axe and swung it at Ye Qing.

Powerful Bull Demon carried the blood of the Disaster-class Stranger, the Powerful Bull Demon[1]. Famous for its supernatural strength, the Powerful Bull Demon was supposedly strong enough to lift up the sky and rip the earth in half. Naturally, Powerful Bull Demon’s axe strike also possessed a similar quality.

Ye Qing did not try to dodge, however. His response toward the incoming strike was to bend his knees slightly. At the same time, wisps of dark yellow light surged out of the earth, disappeared into his body, and gathered at the center of his fist.

The Earthly Sovereign was indestructible and powerful beyond imagination so long as his feet were planted firmly on the earth. As the practitioner of the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture”, Ye Qing possessed the same power—albeit at a much weaker scale.

Bang!

Axe met fist, and Powerful Bull Demon’s eyes widened in shock and horror. It was because he saw his Sierra Axe[2], a Disaster-class Strange Artifact forged from the core of a Sierra, shattering into pieces like it was made of paper.

The next moment, an unstoppable force poured into his body and flung him into the air.

Powerful Bull Demon’s eyes widened even further. He could not believe that his prided strength was so puny before the young man’s. It was like the difference between a child and a wild beast!

It was also his final thoughts before he abruptly exploded in a shower of blood and gore.

Ye Qing waved his hand casually, and the blood and gore crumbled into dust. After retrieving the three warriors’ Nature’s Shells and wiping away all energy traces in the area, he took a moment to scan his surroundings using his demonic thought. When he was certain that his intervention was noticed by no one, he did not hesitate to turn around and leave.

……

Not long after Ye Qing left, five figures appeared in front of the Lampfire Palace. They exchanged glances with each other before spreading out. Then, they invaded the Strange Artifact at the same time.

A few breaths later, the five figures reappeared outside the Lampfire Palace and reported to each other.

“The Seven Demons of Yandang aren’t present!”

“They must have escaped.”

“Dammit. We’re just a little too late. They ultimately escaped in the end.”

“They had taken everything in the Lampfire Palace as well.”

“What should we do now?”

“Considering the damage the Lampfire Palace sustained, not even the Seven Demons of Yandang could have gotten away unscathed. They might still be in the area. The three of you will search nearby and hopefully find their traces. The two of us will stay behind to do some repairs.”

“I guess it’s our only option. We’ll leave now.”

“Take care.”

“You too!”

……

“You killed Nine-headed Snake Demon, Shadowless Leopard Demon and Powerful Bull Demon?”

On a road, a horse carriage was leisurely moving toward somewhere. Inside the carriage, Ye Qing was sitting opposite Qingyou and enjoying a cup of warm tea.

“Yep. They wanted to die, so I obliged their wish.” Ye Qing took a sip and looked soothed to his bones.

“Well done.” Feng Qingyou didn’t react much to Ye Qing’s murder of the three warriors. In fact, she broke into a smile and congratulated him, “Congratulations, Joyless.”

“Hahaha… you too, Qingyou!” Ye Qing barked out a laugh, his joy unbridled. Since the three warriors were dead, their ill-gotten goods including both money and items had naturally fallen into his hands.

He had already killed them. Why would he spare them their wealth?

What this meant was that he was now in possession of both the heart of the Animitta Heavenly Demon and a massive amount of fortune. How could he not laugh like a maniac?

If the transactions at Dragonmount Meet weren’t conducted on the spot, if he had just a bit more time, he might even be able to claim every treasure and wealth in the Lampfire Palace for himself.

To put it simply, the sandpiper and clam warred together, and the fisherman caught both. If wealth was represented by fat, he would look like a mountain of fat right now.

Feng Qingyou did not disturb Ye Qing’s jubilance. She waited for him to calm down before asking smilingly, “Where are we going next?”

“Our next destination is Mirror Lake City. You will rest there for a bit while I search for the Endlessly Durable Water and Dustless Earth,” Ye Qing answered immediately as if he had already planned for this.

The unexpected interruption had drawn most of Dragonmount Duke and the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance’s attention to the Seven Demons of Yandang. Thanks to this, Ye Qing had become less of a priority to his enemies, meaning that they now had more time to search for the remaining two items necessary to treat Feng Qingyou.

Yes, they could simply use the Fruit of Wishes to heal her, but the five extraordinary items would not only heal her, but also boost her strength. There was no reason to give up on that opportunity since they could afford the time and energy.

“Do you have a lead?” Feng Qingyou asked.

“Yep.” Ye Qing nodded. “The items are probably at Mirror Lake Peak and Floating Dust Sea.”

Feng Qingyou exclaimed in realization, “I see. No wonder you chose Mirror Lake City as our next destination.”

The Mirror Lake City was situated between Mirror Lake Peak and Floating Dust Sea. Mirror Lake City was controlled by a sect called Mirror Lake Sect. The Seventy Two Water Land Alliance had less of a presence there, so the chances they would be discovered would naturally be lesser.

“Both locations are infamously dangerous though. Are you sure you can do this, Joyless?”

“Don’t worry. When it comes to staying alive, I am a professional,” Ye Qing declared with a confident smile.

“Even so, you mustn’t be careless,” Feng Qingyou insisted.

“I know. Don’t worry. I will be careful,” Ye Qing promised.

Inside the carriage, words and smiles lingered in the air like an old dream.

Outside the carriage, a sunny sky and the cool wind felt like spring.

1. Nope, it’s not a mistake. Both the guy and the Stranger he shares blood with share the same name. ☜

2. The original is Mountain/Hill Axe, which is… yeah. ☜

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