Stranger Danger

“Be careful, young master. Ugly Slave is cruel, unpredictable, vengeful and cunning. Since you hurt him, he will surely seek you out for revenge,” Mountain Tunneling King added while recalling all the rumors regarding Ugly Slave.

“I would’ve sought him out anyway, so that’s perfect,” Ye Qing sneered.

“That’s true. I’m sure he won’t be a match for you, young master.”

Mountain Tunneling King gave Ye Qing an obsequious smile before voicing his curiosity, “By the way, where is the Magia Tree, young master?”

“It’s right here!” Ye Qing responded and raised his left hand. As it turned out, he was holding a small, crystalline tree about three or four inches tall in his left hand.

“That’s the Magia Tree? Why did it become so small?” Mountain Tunneling King was stunned to say the least. He could not understand how or why the gargantuan Magia Tree had shrunk down to this.

“I’m not sure myself. It became like this after I ripped it out of the ground,” Ye Qing replied with a shrug. As he said, the Magia Tree began shrinking after he ripped it out of the earth, and the floating island began crumbling. By the time they hit the ground, it was only three or four inches long.

Appearance wise, nothing else seemed different about the Magia Tree. It still had a massive canopy, and its branches were covered in many Magia Fruits.

As he spoke, Ye Qing casually waved the Magia Tree a little. Then, something unexpected happened. The Magia Tree abruptly shone brightly, and the Magia Fruits flipped open to fire a blast of wind and lightning. When it hit the ground, everything within a hundred meters immediately went up in flames.

“What the…”

Ye Qing was stunned, of course. He was also feeling a little light-headed. It was a sign that he had used up a little too much spiritual power.

The Magia Tree’s light slowly dimmed, and the Magia Fruits closed themselves. It returned to normal after that.

“Huh. Whoever says that nothing good comes out of a setback? This is wonderful!”

Ye Qing quickly figured out what just happened and broke into a wide grin. He didn’t know why, but the Magia Tree hadn’t died after he ripped it out of the ground. Instead, it transformed into something resembling a Strange Artifact. As long as he provided it with spiritual power, then the Magia Fruits would unleash their Magia.

He lost a Magia Fruit, but earned an entire Magia Tree as a result. This was awesome to say the least!

He would need to experiment with it. For starters, he wanted to know if he could identify the Magia imbued in each Magia Fruit. Even better, he wanted to know if he could control each individual Magia. If he could, then the Magia Tree would be a priceless weapon.

“Congratulations, young master! Congratulations on obtaining a… Magia artifact!”

“Thanks, but it remains to be seen how valuable it really is.” Ye Qing shook his head before saying, “Anyway, we’re done here. Let’s get out of this place.”

“Yes, young master.”

Ye Qing took the lead, and Mountain Tunneling King followed closely behind.

……

“Hah…”

Mountain Tunneling King let out a long stream of white breath as he trekked toward heavens-know-where, his hair and eyebrows covered in thick ice.

“Y-young master… is it just me, or is it getting colder?” Mountain Tunneling King asked while rubbing his hands furiously. He looked back and forth between Ye Qing—the young man was currently busy experimenting with the Magia Tree—and the huge, round sun above their heads.

Looking at the sun, you would think that the environment would be swelteringly hot. In reality, the sunrays felt as cold as ice and penetrated all the way to the bone. It was colder than standing naked in the middle of the coldest winter, which was why even he, a Grandmaster, was affected to a certain extent.

“Yeah. It’s probably because of the sunlight. Remember that the natural laws of this place are chaotic and in shambles. Most things do not work as they seem.”

As he spoke, Ye Qing gave his Magia Tree a shake. A sword beam missed the tip of Mountain Tunneling King’s nose by milimeters and cut open the grassy ground underneath his feet. Globs of blood immediately spilled out of the grass, and a dead body was revealed. It looked like the body had just died not long ago.

Maybe it was because the cold had slowed down his thoughts, but it took Mountain Tunneling King a good few seconds before he realized what just happened—or rather, what almost happened to him. His back immediately broke out in cold sweat.

If it wasn’t for Ye Qing, he might have been swallowed by the grassy ground and killed just like the dead warrior.

“Thank you for saving my life, young master.” Mountain Tunneling King hurriedly voiced his thanks.

“Mm. Stay alert,” Ye Qing instructed before returning his attention to the Magia Tree.

A short while later, a light rain began falling from the sky. The drizzle looked soft, dreamy, and invigorating like a spring rain, but…

“Shit! It burns!”

Mountain Tunneling King nearly jumped when the raindrops hit his skin and sizzled like it was oil. He hurriedly covered himself in a layer of astral qi.

The rainwater wasn't as ice cold as he thought it would be. Instead, it was as hot as boiling water.

Ye Qing didn’t seem to notice it though. It was probably because the rainwater automatically slid off as soon as it came within one meter of him. It was as if he was protected by an invisible shield. Not a single drop was able to touch his skin.

As time passed, the rainwater grew hotter and hotter. It wasn’t long before the entire place was colored in steam, and it felt like they were food inside a cooking pot.

Despite his astral qi, Mountain Tunneling King was sweating non-stop and turned completely red like a boiled lobster.

“Young master… I don’t think I can keep going…”

Mountain Tunneling King tried to wipe away the sweat on his forehead, but when he looked down at his hand, he realized that he had accidentally wiped away an entire layer of skin. The worst part was that he couldn’t feel any pain whatsoever. Clearly, his flesh had been cooked from the inside out.

At this rate, he really was going to be cooked like a lobster. Throw in some sauce and vinegar and add in a bottle of wine, and he would be the perfect dinner!

Ye Qing shot Mountain Tunneling King a glance before shaking the Magia Tree again. A beam of green, floral light struck the Grandmaster and filled him with a cool, refreshing sensation. His ailments disappeared, and his body recovered in just the blink of an eye.

“Thank you, young master!” Mountain Tunneling King saluted Ye Qing.

“You’re welcome. You should—”

Ye Qing looked up at the endless rain above his head and frowned. He was going to send Mountain Tunneling King back to the entrance.

The reason he brought the Grandmaster over in the first place wasn’t because he thought he would be useful, but because he was hoping to intimidate the man with his exploits. He wanted to cement his loyalty and make it so that Mountain Tunneling King would serve him from the bottom of his heart.

He succeeded. He could clearly sense Mountain Tunneling King’s fear and respect—no, reverence toward him. The Grandmaster now viewed him like his one true god, and he could no longer sense even a speck of betrayal in his heart. Therefore, it should be safe to send him back to Shangguan Hongjin, Pedant Earth and Mrs. Basket.

However, he wasn’t able to finish his sentence before a palace suddenly appeared in the sky. It was huge, magnificent-looking, and surrounded by thousands and thousands of ribbons of auspicious qi. It looked like a celestial palace floating in the clouds.

“Hahaha…”

The next moment, a bright laugh came from the palace. The clouds swirled, and the image of a woman sitting in a large hall appeared.

The woman looked like the paragon of beauty itself. Stunning, bewitching, fantastical. She was so beautiful that no singular term could hope to properly describe her. One look was all she needed to steal one’s breath and soul.

The moment the woman appeared, the rain froze, the fog stilled, and the wind stopped. It was as if time itself had frozen for this woman; capitulated to her in awe of her beauty.

At that moment, every living being in the world fell in love with that woman.

Then, they began charging toward the palace—more specifically, the woman—at top speed.

Ye Qing and Mountain Tunneling King were no exception.

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