Stranger Danger

“Madman Chu, mouths exist so that people can speak. If you can’t speak, then you might as well shut up. It’s better for others and yourself,” Mistress Qu replied with a frosty expression.

“I’m just speaking the truth. What, the monk isn’t your lover?” Madman Chu shrugged.

Before Mistress Qu could say anything, the monk with a large head and big ears guffawed. “Hahaha… you’re a joker, benefactor. This poor monk does wish that he is Mistress Qu’s lover, but alas, that is not my destiny!”

Madman Chu’s interest was piqued by the monk’s answer. “Oh? You’re quite the interesting one, monk. What is your name?”

“This poor monk is Laughing Buddha. Well met, Benefactor Chu,” the monk answered with a chuckle.

That’s right. The two monks were none other than Laughing Buddha and the Holy Son of Maitreya, the two monks Ye Qing had met back at the Graveyard of Demons.

“You’re Laughing Buddha of the Six Venerable Ones of the Maitreya Sect?!” Madman Chu exclaimed in surprise.

“It is I,” Laughing Buddha confirmed.

“Strange. I never knew that the Li Hentian Palace and the Maitreya Sect are acquaintances. How on earth did you get involved with the old hag, monk?” Madman Chu voiced his puzzlement.

The Six Venerable Ones of the Maitreya Sect were the Laughing Buddha, the Weeping Buddha, the Blood Buddha, the Killing Buddha, the Mad Buddha, and the Audacious Buddha. All six of them were Grandmasters. In the Maitreya Sect, they were venerated monks with tens of thousands of people at their beck and call. In the jianghu, each and every one of them was an infamous villain who struck fear in any warrior who heard their name.

The Maitreya Sect was one of the Nine Demonic Ways. Naturally, their reputation was anything but good.

Despite the Maitreya Sect’s infamy, not all of the six monks were bloodthirsty bastards. Obviously, Blood Buddha and Killing Buddha were the most bloodthirsty of them all. Blood Buddha enjoyed drinking human blood, and Killing Buddha killed others for pleasure. They were both terrible monsters who had committed many horrible crimes and killed countless people in the jianghu.

Mad Buddha and Audacious Buddha were less chaotic evil and more chaotic neutral. Mad Buddha was literally mad, and Audacious Buddha was beyond audacious. Although not nearly as bloodthirsty as their demonic peers, they were slaves of their own whims and acted as they pleased. As a result, they had committed more or less as many good as they had evil. They were not as infamous as Blood Buddha or Killing Buddha, but their reputation certainly wasn’t good either.

Finally, Weeping Buddha and Laughing Buddha were the least infamous of them all. Despite being members of a demonic sect, they rarely committed evil and even kept a low profile for some reason. It was why many members of the jianghu did not even know that Weeping Buddha and Laughing Buddha existed, and why Madman Chu had failed to recognize Laughing Buddha immediately.

Even fewer people knew that Weeping Buddha and Laughing Buddha were, despite their relative anonymity, the strongest of the six of them.

Madman Chu did not care that Laughing Buddha was strong though. He was asking purely because he was curious how the two of them got together when the Li Hentian Palace and the Maitreya Sect, as far as he knew, did not share any ties whatsoever.

“I owed Mistress Qu a favor, and she invited me to join her on her trip to the Death Sea. So I did,” Laughing Buddha answered.

“Hahaha… do you even know why the old hag invited you to the Death Sea?” Madman Chu asked.

“Not at all!” Laughing Buddha replied.

“You didn’t ask?” Madman Chu got even more curious.

“I did, but she didn’t tell me,” Laughing Buddha answered honestly.

“Hahaha… the old hag’s no innocent flower, you know? I can’t believe you would follow her without knowing anything. What if she’s planning to stab you in the back?” Madman Chu blatantly tried to drive a wedge between them.

“Your audacity knows no bounds, Madman Chu! Cease your lies, or we will take action against you!” Mistress Qu interjected in a frosty tone.

“What’s wrong? Was I spot on?”

Madman Chu did not care for her threat at all. “You hear that, monk? That’s the whine of a guilty conscience. I would watch my back if I were you!”

“You jest, Benefactor Chu. I know very well that Mistress Qu is not such a woman, and this poor monk isn’t foolish either.”

Laughing Buddha said smilingly, “And while it is true that I have no idea if this incident will lead to good or bad tidings, your and Benefactor Six Yins’ presence confirmed to me that it is good.”

“Haha! You say that, and yet absolutes do not exist in this world. I hope you won’t come to regret your decision,” Madman Chu replied noncommittally.

The Dark Overlord’s inheritance was definitely an incredible boon, but just because it was an incredible boon did not mean that it was beneficial to everyone.

As if to change the subject, Madman Chu looked at the Holy Son of Maitreya and asked, “Oh right, who is that little monk beside you? Is he your disciple? He’s quite strong for his age. Barring any accidents, it’s only a matter of time before he becomes a Grandmaster.”

Laughing Buddha laughed. “You jest again, Benefactor Chu. As if such luck would ever befall this poor monk. He is the Holy Son of our sect.”

The Holy Son of Maitreya nodded politely at Madman Chu.

“He’s your sect’s Holy Son? Now that I think about it, I heard that you have a Holy Son who cultivates the Vow of Silence. Is he the one?” Madman Chu raised an eyebrow.

“That is correct,” Laughing Buddha replied.

“No wonder he carries himself with such boldness and poise! He’s definitely going to be stronger than you when he comes into his full power, monk!” Madman Chu complimented the Holy Son without reservation.

“But of course! It would be stranger if our Holy Son turned out to be weaker than this poor monk!” Laughing Buddha laughed.

Despite their praises, the Holy Son of Maitreya himself did not bat an eyelid. It was almost as if they were praising someone else.

“I don’t understand why you brought him with you though, monk. If something were to happen to your Holy Son, then you would have committed a grave sin, no?” Madman Chu asked.

“An uncut jade will not form a vessel for use[1], and a vessel that has not endured the wind and frost will never be a great vessel. That is why some tribulations are necessary.”

Laughing Buddha said unhurriedly, “Besides, Our Holy Son is blessed by the heavens and our Buddha. I am sure that he will overcome any coming trials.”

“Hahaha! Well said! A jianghu warrior who stays cooped up in the safety of one’s home could never become a great vessel. On the other hand, some blood and tribulations can transform even the most rotten wood into something great!”

Madman Chu laughed loudly. “You know what, I’ve decided that I like you, monk!”

“Hahaha… this is our first meeting, but this poor monk feels like he’s meeting an old friend as well.” Laughing Buddha smiled widely. “I hope we can enjoy some fine wine together one day, benefactor.”

“Oh! You’re a monk who enjoys wine and meat? Good! Good!” Madman Chu laughed even harder when he heard this.

It was at this moment Six Yins Boy suddenly spoke up. “Look. More are coming.”

The group turned to look, and they saw two men walking over from the distance. One of them was an elegant, cultured scholar carrying a book in one hand, and the other was a Taoist wearing Taoist robes. He had an outstanding appearance that made him look like a celestial from the heavens.

“That’s Chu Wangsun and Yun Qingxiao!” Xin Yins Boy exclaimed in surprise. “Tsk tsk… I did not know that the disciple of the Chief Libationist are good enough friends with the Dao Child of the San Qing Temple to recruit him for this venture.”

Yun Qingxiao was the Dao Child of the East Kunlun San Qing Temple and the fifth named warrior on the Human Champions Ranking, and the San Qing Temple was known as one of the Three Temples of Dao together with the True Martial Sect and the Dragon Tiger Mountain. In fact, it was once known as the ancestral court of Taoism before East Kunlun and West Kunlun split into two factions.

The San Qing Temple were composed of three groups, and they were known as Yu Qing, Shang Qing and Tai Qing. All three groups usually secluded themselves in the mountains to cultivate the body, mind, and heart. Unless the world was in chaos, the San Qing Temple rarely showed their faces. It would not be wrong to say that they were cut off from the rest of the world.

Of course, no one dared to underestimate or look down on the San Qing Temple despite their seclusion. Since Yun Qingxiao was this generation’s Dao Child, he must be quite something.

Although Yun Qingxiao was “just” the fifth warrior on the Human Champions Ranking, that did not mean that his strength was just that. His rank was low because he kept a low profile and rarely showed himself in the jianghu, much less fought against others.

As far as everyone knew, Yun Qingxiao had only fought three times in public. Each battle was earth-shattering, however.

1. Meaning that potential that isn’t unleashed will forever remain dormant. ☜

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