Stranger Danger

Chapter 105: Nirvana Sutra of Burning Wind

“Couplet Coupler, eh? Let’s see if he can still call himself that after his innards are all coupled up from sheer regret!”

The Riddler let out a satisfied cackle after he tossed Ye Qing out of the Mountain of Riddles and listened to the young man’s frantic screams. It had been a while since he felt this gleeful.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing found himself standing at the edge of Redstone Forest with none of the rewards he was promised. He even went through his Nature’s Shells hoping against hope that the Riddler had somehow stuffed his rewards into the storage artifacts to no avail.

“I was wrong, elder one, big brother, ancestor! Please forgive me!” Ye Qing screamed as he stared at the fog-shrouded mountain. Heavens know he was moments away from breaking into tears. If he knew the Riddler was such a humorless person, he would never have dared to tease him until he quite literally blew his top. Now, he hadn’t just lost his additional rewards, he didn’t even have his Astral Refinement stage cultivation art!

Ahhhh! Why did I do that? Ahhhhhhhhh!

“Elder one, I can give up the additional rewards, but please, at least give me the Astral Refinement stage cultivation art you promised!”

“You’re the bigger person here, elder one! Surely you can find it in yourself to forgive a petty little shit like me!”

“Elder one…”

For a time, Ye Qing kept launching spit attack after spit attack at the floating mountain in the sky. Maybe his sincerity finally reached the Riddler, or maybe the old man simply had had enough of Ye Qing screeching like a banshee and disturbing his peace, but a couple of items suddenly fell from the sky and hit Ye Qing squarely in the head.

“Heavens, just how vengeful can you be?” Ye Qing muttered while rubbing his head. He looked down and found two jade slips and a calabash.

“Jade slips? Are they the cultivation manual I was promised?” Ye Qing’s eyes lit up as he hurriedly picked up the jade slips.

One of the jade slips was black in color, and the other white. Ye Qing pressed the white jade slip to his forehead first and probed it with his spirit. The contents of the jade slip immediately flooded into his brain.

“The ‘Nirvana Sutra of Burning Wind’ is a cultivation art that delivers one’s enemies to nirvana via the scorching winds of nature. The “Yellow Court Sutra” states, ‘There exists a strange wind in our world. It is vast and majestic, terrible and scorching, invisible and reclusive. It is capable of turning grass and wood into ash, blackening rock and earth, drying rivers and lakes, and extinguishing minds and souls. At its greatest, it can scorch mountains and boil oceans into wastelands. At its lowest, it can still extinguish minds and burn almost everything.”

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“The one who practices ‘Nirvana Sutra of Burning Wind’ must subsume a Burning Wind into their true qi. They would then use it to hone their body to flawlessness and perfect their blood vessels. By doing this, they would be able to carry mountains and rivers in their chest, and take in the sky and the earth into their heart. Only by possessing a smaller world of your own could one exist harmoniously with the bigger world.”

“The warrior who practices this cultivation art must meet the following requirements: One, they must augment all three hundred and sixty blood vessels to perfection. Two, they must possess a strong and resilient physique. Three, they must have a tremendous reservoir of true qi. And four, they must possess an iron will.”

“When the practitioner has reached the adept level, they would gain the power to deliver anyone to nirvana with the Burning Wind!”

……

“Hmm! This looks incredibly powerful!” Ye Qing muttered while massaging his forehead. He was very happy with what he found after he was finished digesting the contents of the white jade slip. However, his face quickly crumpled when he thought of its flaws.

The Burning Wind described in the cultivation art was obviously powerful. In essence, the Burning Wind was an incredibly potent astral qi. He could only imagine how strong he would become after he had subsumed it into his true qi and used it to temper his body.

The problem was that the requirements to cultivate the “Nirvana Sutra of Burning Wind” were extremely stringent, so much so it excluded ninety-nine percent warriors right from the get go. For starters, the warrior must achieve perfect Vessel Augmentation, possess a tough body and strong will, so on and so on. Those who tried to practice the cultivation art without meeting the requirements would cripple their body or mind at best, or burn to death to the very wind they were trying to subsume at worst.

The rewards were incredible, but the risks were equally terrible. For this reason, few people could even begin to practice the “Nirvana Sutra of Burning Wind”, much less reach the adept level.

Obviously, one must absorb and refine an astral qi before they could channel its power. Astral qi was a natural component of the world, so it could be found everywhere as a matter of course. However, the demand for astral qi was ever increasing, and not all astral qi were made equal or readily available. Some astral qis were extremely common and could be procured everywhere, whereas some were so rare one must venture to unknown lands and brave untold dangers just to have a chance at obtaining them.

This was why most Astral Refiners chose to subsume common astral qis. For example, Gui Water astral qi could be easily procured from places with lots of water such as rivers and lakes, Yi Wood astral qi could be procured from forests and jungles, and so on.

Rare astral qis were much more powerful than common astral qi, but they were rarer, harder to find, and considerably more dangerous. Generally speaking, there were two ways to refine a rare astral qi. One, the warrior could seek out the location where the astral qi was concentrated. Two, they could absorb the smidgens of rare qi in the air and refine them little by little.

The first method was highly risky because places where a rare astral qi was concentrated was usually very dangerous as well. The second method was so slow that one could practice their whole life and still not make it to the adept level.

A warrior who aimed low and refined a common astral qi would never become a powerful Astral Refiner, but a warrior who aimed high might never become an Astral Refiner in the first place either because they couldn’t gather enough rare qi, or because they were dead as a dodo. In short, both options had their pros and cons.

In Ye Qing’s case, the first and biggest problem he faced if he wished to practice the “Nirvana Sutra of Burning Wind” was, where could he obtain the Burning Wind? And no, he wasn’t referring to the smidgens of Burning Wind mixed within the atmosphere. The slow and steady option was never an option to him not just because he had grown used to scaling the power level rapidly like a wealthy man who had grown used to living a luxurious life, but also because he had no time to waste. Qing Kui’s junior brother was still out there watching him from the dark and waiting for an opportunity to end his life. The longer he took to enter the Astral Refinement stage, the bigger the likelihood that he wouldn’t live to see another day. That was why he needed to find a location with the high concentrations of Burning Wind and refine it as soon as possible.

“I’ll check the Pacification Bureau’s archives first. If there is nothing, then I’ll ask the Annon Sutra!”

His mind made up, Ye Qing picked up the second jade slip—the black one—and pressed it to his forehead. A long time later, he lowered the item and bubbled with excitement, “A fist martial art! This is even better than I expected!”

The black jade slip contained an Astral Refinement stage fist martial art named the “Cloud Vaporization Style”. The name was inspired by the quote, “Vapor comes up from the lowland of clouds and dreams; surging waves strike against the city wall of Yueyang.” By enlightening oneself upon the vastness of a river, and studying the forces that molded the clouds, a warrior could learn how to vaporize one’s enemies. Supposedly, an adept could throw a punch that could scorch the earth, boil a river, and vaporize even the clouds in the sky. It would be like the sun itself had descended upon their enemies.

It was clear from the description alone that the “Cloud Vaporization Style” was an exceedingly vigorous and potent fist art that combined impetus, intent and power into one. It was a perfect fit with the “Nirvana Sutra of Burning Wind” as it maximized the power of the Burning Wind.

“The Riddler is a good person!” Ye Qing said happily. The old man had given him a top-tier Astral Refinement stage cultivation art and a complementary martial art to boot. If he wasn’t a good person, then who was?

What? Someone was cursing his good name earlier and wishing him the worst earlier? The gall! Whoever it was, it definitely wasn’t a guy named Ye Qing!

Ye Qing carefully put the two jade slips into his Nature’s Shell. Then, he looked at the third and final item the Riddler had awarded him, the calabash.

The ancient and mysterious-looking calabash was quite small. It was barely bigger than his palm and grayish black in color. It looked like it was made out of wood, but when Ye Qing grabbed it he found that it was as cold as jade. He had no idea what kind of material it was.

As soon as he grabbed the calabash, white air abruptly gushed out of its bore and formed lines and lines of words in the air. It was a description of the calabash’s features.

“The Head Turn Calabash’s rank and origin are unknown. It possesses the power to sprain anyone’s neck.”

“To use it, the wielder simply needs to stand behind their target and call out to them. If the target responds to the call and looks back at the wielder, then they would sprain their neck and feel abject pain. It does not matter if the target is a human, a ghost, a celestial, a demon or a god. So long as they have a neck, the calabash will work one hundred percent of the time. But beware! No matter how painful the sprain is, it will never be enough to kill the target!”

“P.S. Dare you respond if I call out to you?”

“What an insi—I mean, strange calabash!” Ye Qing commented. He was going to say insidious—it was a perfect match with that treacherous old man who called himself the Riddler—but the Riddler did reward him handsomely despite that little joke he played on him earlier, so he changed his wording.

Seriously though, this was one of the most insidious Strange Artifacts he had ever seen. Imagine going to the streets and crying, “Ladies and gentlemen! I have something to say!” while holding the Head Turn Calabash. The mere thought of everyone spraining their necks with an audible crack at the same time was… no, no, you’re one of the good guys, you mustn’t use this to play a prank on innocent people! You can’t!

Jokes aside, the calabash was extremely powerful. It claimed that anyone with a neck be it human or Stranger, strong or weak, would sprain their necks so long as they responded to his call and looked around. A Strange Artifact that worked one hundred percent of the time was exceptional to say the least, not to mention that its effects, while seemingly situational, could be incredibly potent in the right situations.

Ye Qing toyed with the Head Turn Calabash a while longer before pulling out a rope and tying it to his waist. Now, it looked just like an ordinary drinking gourd.

“Perfect!” Ye Qing nodded in satisfaction. Who would ever suspect that the “drinking gourd” was the Strange Artifact that made them sprain their neck?

With that done, he looked up at the Mountain of Riddles and shouted one last time, “Thank you, Riddler! You’re a good person through and through!”

As if on cue, the floating mountain suddenly grew fainter and fainter. At the end, it vanished like it was never there.

“It’s time to leave!”

After the Mountain of Riddle was gone, Ye Qing turned around and left Redstone Forest, whistling a cheerful tune the whole way. This trip had turned out to be even more fruitful than he thought, so how could he be anything but happy?

It would seem that Lady Luck was smiling down on him today, because he ran into the Pacification Bureau group he came with as soon as he left the vicinity of Redstone Forest. Yun Yan was with them as well.

Yun Yan looked extremely glad to see him. She greeted him with a warm smile, “Joyless! Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, Sister Yun. Thanks for your concern!” Ye Qing shot her a smile before asking the others, “What about you guys? Is everyone alright?”

“We are. We’re not sure why, but we were teleported out of the mountain all of a sudden. Not that we’re complaining, of course!” A Pacification Sentinel replied to his question with clear relief. However, he quickly turned sad again and said, “Not all of us survived though. Young Ma and the others…”

“You have my sincerest condolences!” Ye Qing sighed. He had already done the best he could. There was a reason perfect endings only existed in fairytales.

Suddenly, Xiao Yang approached him and asked in an unfriendly tone, “Tell me the truth, brother. Was it you?”

Ye Qing looked confused. “Was it what?”

“Was it you the one who caused us to be teleported out of the Mountain of Riddles?” Xiao Yang narrowed his eyes as if trying to discern if Ye Qing was acting or not. “It happened after you made it to the peak. It’s the only logical explanation, isn’t it?”

“Nope! It wasn’t me! I didn’t do anything!” Ye Qing fired off a triple denial. He enjoyed bragging about his achievements like any other person, but today he felt like being humble.

“Really? Are you sure?” Xiao Yang remained doubtful despite his insistence.

Ye Qing shrugged. “Perhaps only one person can make it to the top, and everyone else would be teleported out of the mountain after a while!”

“I… can’t say that isn’t a possibility,” Xiao Yang muttered but still looked very doubtful. “Speaking of which, what did you get from the Riddler?”

According to the rules, the challenger who made it to the top could ask the Riddler one reasonable wish. If Ye Qing had used his wish to send them away, then he would have nothing to show Xiao Yang. But if Ye Qing had obtained something from the Riddler, then he was most likely telling the truth.

“A bone!” Ye Qing didn’t tell Xiao Yang the truth. Instead, he used the Chang Bone to support his lie. The Chang Bone came from Little August Hill, and anyone who knew about it was dead or beyond reach. Naturally, there was no way anyone could expose his lie.

But why did he lie in the first place? It was because the rewards he obtained from the Riddler were more than enough to garner unwanted greed and trouble. You could never be too careful, and this was doubly true when you were facing someone like Xiao Yang!

“Bone? What bone?” Xiao Yang asked suspiciously.

Ye Qing pulled out the Chang Bone and handed it to Xiao Yang. “This one. The Riddler told me it’s a great item, but he didn’t say what makes it great or even how I should use it. Would you happen to know what it is, brother?”

Xiao Yang accepted the Chang Bone and inspected it closely. A while later, he replied, “This is a Chang Bone; the Chang Bone of a Mountain Turning Tiger, a Hatred-class Stranger to be exact. It’s a natural Strange Artifact that can be used to command yin souls and other ghosts! The Riddler wasn’t lying to you when he said it’s a great item!”

“Well damn! And here I thought the old man had played me like a fiddle!” Ye Qing exclaimed in surprise while taking the Chang Bone back from Xiao Yang. It wasn’t faked either. He had no idea that Uncle Fu’s gift was this powerful.

Xiao Yang couldn’t hear Ye Qing’s inner monologue, and he didn’t care. As soon as he had returned the Chang Bone, he abruptly threw his arms into the sky and screamed on top of his lungs, “Why? Why are you doing this to me? I had suffered ninety-nine punishments and was one step away from completing the climb, and you threw me out right before I was about to make it to the top?”

“How is this fair? How is this justice?”

“Give me back my Strange Artifacts, my manuals, my treasures; you swindler!”

“Damn it all!”

It really was him? Ye Qing recalled the unfortunate bastard he saw on the ninety-ninth step right before the Riddler had sent everyone away. He had thought he was mistaken, but he was right after all. Thank goodness he had chosen to keep a low profile, or Xiao Yang might have been angry enough to fight him here and now! It doesn’t matter anyway. I did a good thing, even if it cost Xiao Yang a little bit of pain!

“Let’s go, Sister Yun!”

The poor fuck could cry to death for all he cared. It might be a sin to make a woman cry, but not a man!

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