Stranger Danger

“What do you want, Joyless?”

Murong Xianxian turned to Ye Qing with a gentle smile on her face after dealing with Cui Qiuyuan and Qu Langhuan.

“What do you recommend, big sis?” Ye Qing asked.

“If you ask me…” Murong Xianxian waved her hand, and two streams of water flowed over to them.

One of them was carrying an ancient text, and the other a broken armor.

“I noticed that you’re quite accomplished in the art of fists, so I believe that these items would be of use to you. Allow me to start with this ancient text.”

Murong Xianxian began, “This is a fist art manual written by a strange man named Trueman Old Moon after collecting every fist art in the world nine hundred years ago. It is called ‘One All Fist Manual’ because it extracts the essence of every fist art and boils it all down to one.”

Ye Qing’s eyes lit up immediately. Extract the essence of every fist art and boil it all down to one? That sounded amazing!

However, Murong Xianxian’s next few sentences deflated him like a balloon. “Trueman Old Moon was born in a powerful wulin clan, which is why he was able to collect every fist art in the world to create his ‘One All Fist Manual’. However, he was born with a weak body that could not practice martial arts, and he had never fought anyone in his life. He rarely watched a fight with one’s life on the line either. That is why the fist manual he authored looked magnificent, but is about as applicable as a floating pavilion, or a moon in a pond.”

Murong Xianxian thought Ye Qing’s disgruntled expression was very cute and so did not explain herself immediately. She waited a good few seconds before she finally said, “However, ‘A floating pavilion may be unrealistic, but that just means that its vision is that extraordinary’. That is what Li Hentian said after reading the ‘One All Fist Manual’.”

“Huh?” Ye Qing raised a curious eyebrow. It would seem that Li Hentian held a surprisingly high opinion of the “One All Fist Manual”.

“Trueman Old Moon had never practiced martial arts in his life, so it’s only natural that the fist manual he authored was quite unrealistic. However, its flaw is also its merit.”

Murong Xianxian explained, “Because he had never practiced martial arts, the fist manual he wrote was idealistic to the extreme. But since it is a book that aspires to boil every fist art in the world into one, idealism was exactly how it should be written. It showed its readers an idealistic vision that, should all the stars align perfectly, was theoretically attainable. It was a glimpse into the ultimate ceiling of fist arts.”

“To a beginner, ‘One All Fist Manual’ was undoubtedly a poison. It would only harm the practitioner and do them not one whit of good. But for someone who became a Grandmaster through their fists, it is a potent tonic that would only do them good.”

“You are one of the few who meet the requirement, and your fist art is already starting to shape up nicely. Reading the ‘One All Fist Manual’ would rid you of the prison of realism you are unknowingly trapped in and show you how you might become the ideal version of yourself; a true master of the fists. I am sure you will greatly benefit from it.”

“I see! Thank you, big sis.”

Ye Qing felt much better after hearing this. The “One All Fist Manual” might be useless for most people, but in his case, it was the opposite.

Murong Xianxian then pointed at the armor and said, “As for this armor, it was worn by the fist art Grandmaster, Lei Zhenwei a thousand years ago. Its name is Force Shaker, and it could nurture your fist intent.”

“Thank you, big sis.”

Ye Qig thanked Murong Xianxian again and accepted both gifts without hesitation.

“You’re welcome.” Murong Xianxian smiled. “I would give you more presents, but the really good items aren’t stored in the Northern Gui Water Palace. They’re all in the Central Wu Earth Hall. I’ll pick you a couple more presents when we’re there.”

Ye Qing thanked Murong Xianxian for the third time, “Thank you, big sis, but I’m satisfied with just this.”

As grateful as he was, he didn’t allow himself to lose himself to his own greed. Besides, just because Murong Xianxian meant him no harm—on the contrary, she was pampering him like an actual younger brother—didn’t mean that he should let his guard down and grow careless.

Satisfied with his response, Murong Xianxian paid him another compliment, “Good. Burn with ambition, but do not succumb to greed.”

After Cui Qiuyuan and Qu Langhuan were done picking their items, the group of four quickly left the Northern Gui Water Palace. After that, the waves churned, and the palace began shrinking at a visible rate. It wasn’t long before it transformed into a single bead of water and landed on Murong Xianxian’s palm.

The lake from before was completely gone. All that was left behind was a deep, dry pit.

“The five buildings were constructed using the essence of natural Yi Wood, Geng Metal, Li Fire, Gui Water and Wu Earth.” Murong Xianxian stared at the water droplet on her hand as she explained, “This is the natural essence of Gui Water, and it is the most valuable treasure of the entire Northern Gui Water Palace.”

“Congratulations, big sis.”

“Congratulations, miss.”

Ye Qing, Cui Qiuyuan and Qu Langhuan all congratulated Murong Xianxian.

Murong Xianxian nodded. “Mm. Let us head to the next destination.”

The group began traveling in a different direction. This place was a pit of pure chaos where even the natural laws were dysfunctional or outright missing. If Ye Qing, Cui Qiuyuan or Qu Langhuan had to navigate it themselves, they might have lost their way a long time ago. But for some reason, Murong Xianxian didn’t seem to be affected in the slightest. She easily identified the safest, shortest path and led them to their next destination in no time at all.

It was a first filled with tall, massive trees that seemed to prop up the very sky. Unfortunately, they were all dead, and even the ground was a wasteland that was devoid of life. Not a single shoot of grass could be seen anywhere.

“This is the Eastern Yi Wood Garden.” Murong Xianxian reminisced as she stared at the dead forest in front of her. “The Eastern Yi Wood Garden is where we nurtured all sorts of unusual flora, fauna, and natural treasure we collected from all over the world. It was the most beautiful location in the Demonbearer Abode bar none.”

“Unfortunately, it would seem that it was completely destroyed in the war.”

Murong Xianxian let out a small sigh before tapping the space in front of her[1]. Heaven and earth shook, and the entire forest began floating into the air like some sort of gargantuan painting. When it slowly shrank down to the size of a painting, it rolled itself into a scroll and landed in Murong Xianxian’s hand.

With that done, Murong Xianxian led them south next. Obviously, they were headed for the Southern Li Fire Tower.

The “tower” in “Southern Li Fire Tower” made it sound like it was a tower, but it was really a volcano.

They were lucky that they hadn’t encountered anyone since leaving the floating palace, but alas, their luck couldn’t last. There was a very good reason for it though. The volcano was spewing not just lava, but all sorts of Strange Artifacts and other treasures from its crater. When they arrived, they saw at least a dozen warriors fighting each other over the valuables, and dozens more bodies on the ground. It was a massacre.

“It looks like someone had gotten ahead of us.” Murong Xianxian examined the combatants with a cool eye while ordering, “Kill them all!”

“As you command!” Cui Qiuyuan and Qu Langhuan responded and rushed the fighters immediately.

To be honest, the dozen or so warriors were quite formidable in their own right. Three of them were even Truemen. Unfortunately for them, their opponents were Cui Qiuyuan and Qu Langhuan.

Qu Langhuan was a Trueman on the Earth Champions Ranking. She was much stronger than your common stock. It would not be an easy fight, but her victory was cemented from the beginning.

Cui Qiuyuan was also a Trueman, but unlike Qu Langhuan, he currently held the Half Buddha, Chen Miaozeng, in his possession. Cheng Miaozeng wasn’t just any ordinary Sage either. Generally speaking, Buddhist arts excelled and tempering the body, and Chen Miaozeng was no exception. He had long since attained an Arhat Body and became impervious to most weapons and elements.

That was why Cui Qiuyuan led the charge with Chen Miaozeng and used him to block all of his enemies’ attacks. No matter what they tried, they were unable to harm a hair on Chen Miaozeng’s body. Not only that, Chen Miaozeng slaughtered them like a tiger in a sheep’s pen. Every time he threw a punch, someone would explode into a shower of blood and gore. Whenever he swung his palm, an unfortunate soul would be cut in half. If his hand caught someone’s head, he would squeeze it until it popped like an overripe watermelon. As for his legs, it resembled a scythe that cut through both metal and body like wheat.

In just the span of a few breaths, Cui Qiuyuan had taken out over half of the combatants. In comparison, Qu Langhuan had only killed one.

Obviously, the remaining survivors panicked. They scattered in every direction like rabbits.

“Hahaha… none of you are walking away from this alive!”

Cui Qiuyuan snarled savagely and chased after the stragglers. Just a teatime later, he returned with several bodies in both hands. He was basked in blood from head to toe, but his expression was merciful and kind.

Ye Qing sighed internally. Chen Miaozeng was a powerful Sage with a Bodhisattva’s heart, but now a vile man was piloting his body to reap untold lives. It was a true tragedy.

1. Ye Qing: Hey! That’s my signature move! ☜

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