Stranger Danger

Wen Anran nodded. “You are quite knowledgeable, warrior Ye. That is correct. They are the ‘Northern Dipper Demon Subjugation’ and ‘Seven Killing Demon Slaying’ of the ‘True Martial Demon Subjugation Sword Scripture’.”

“No wonder they’re so powerful,” Ye Qing sighed. The “True Martial Demon Subjugation Sword Scripture” was a foundational martial art invented by the founder of the True Martial Sect, the one they called the True Martial Demon Subjugation Great Emperor. A martial art that could uplift a warrior all the way to Sage stage, it was one of the central pillars that uplifted the True Martial Sect to godlike status together with the “Pure Yang Boundless Temple Art”, “Supreme Yin Boundless Art”, “Supreme Ultimate Stratagems of Nature”, “True Martial Seven Swords of Interceptions” and more.

In fact, the “True Martial Demon Subjugation Sword Scripture” was the martial art that saw the True Martial Demon Subjugation Great Emperor all the way to sagehood back in the day. It boasted such killing potency that it went against the natural order, meaning that the world itself conspired to minimize the number of warriors who practiced it, if not wipe it from existence outright. Therefore, its practice requirements were unbelievably stringent, and few people practiced it.

That said, everyone who managed to grasp the “True Martial Demon Subjugation Sword Scripture” was a world famous genius whose name was etched into the annals of history. Five hundred years ago, the Demon Subjugating True Lord had slain every heretic within 1,500 kilometers of a region and singlehandedly stomped the reputation of the unorthodox sects and the Dark Ways into the mud.

Three hundred years ago, the Boundless Sage Manifesting True Lord rose above the nine heavens, sliced open the heavenly gate with his sword, slew the remnants of the ancient Heavens such that headless bodies bled a river of blood.

And finally, the current third-placed warrior on the Earth Champions Ranking, Yu Beidou the Demon Sweeping Trueman, “swept” nine Heavenly Demons out of existence and slew so many evils with a single dark iron sword that the very mention of his name struck the fear of heavens in both heretics and Strangers with his murderous power.

As a result, the jianghu people and especially the heretics and Strangers loathed and feared the “True Martial Demon Subjugation Sword Scripture” to the bone.

Of course, Ye Qing had never witnessed its power with his own eyes. He had only heard about it from passing stories and rumors… until now.

“You flatter me, warrior Ye. My cultivation level is limited, so I am unable to unleash Demon Subjugation or Demon Slaying’s true power. I was only able to destroy the Fortune Beckoners’ foundation via borrowing the power of the stars.”

Wen Anran replied humbly, “If there is one person who deserves praise for their strength, that honor undoubtedly goes to you. I am most impressed that you were able to hold your ground against three Fortune Beckoners. If you haven’t bought me enough time, there is no way I would’ve been able to slay them.”

Wen Anran then gave Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou a deep bow. “Thank you deeply for lending me your aid.”

“I did not deserve such thanks. Joyless is the one who put in all the work.” Feng Qingyou smiled and pulled Wen Anran up.

Wen Anran shook her head. “You shouldn’t disparage yourself, Miss Feng. It is true that warrior Ye singlehandedly delayed the Fortune Beckoners until I was able to gather the strength to slay them, but without your planning, there is no way things would have gone as smoothly as it had. For that alone, your merit deserves the highest praise.”

It was at this moment Ye Qing interrupted with lifted eyebrows, “Planning? Fortune Beckoner? I feel like I’m missing an entire chunk of the story. Can someone please enlighten me already?”

He thought that Feng Qingyou was the mastermind behind the slaying of the three goddesses, but the way she put it, it sounded like she was simply lending Wen Anran a hand.

Also, what the hell was a Fortune Beckoner? He had heard of the fortune beckoning cat and killed a couple of Toads of Cornucopia before, but he had never heard of a Fortune Beckoner.

“It’s like this,” Wen Anran began her explanation, “the Fortune Beckoner is an exceedingly rare Disaster-class Stranger that may not appear even once in a century. Shaped like a human female, she possesses the ability to manipulate and feed on a living being’s fortune. That is why she is called the Fortune Beckoner.”

“As a Fortune Beckoner feeds on fortune, anywhere it appears turns into a wasteland of misfortune where all fortune has been sucked dry. It is a walking natural disaster whose mere presence could cause the death of countless.”

“The worst part about them is that they are extremely difficult to kill due to their propensity to be fortunate. Moreover, the more fortune they consume, the stronger they become. At a certain point, they could even become immortal and eternal.”

“I see. The three goddesses are the so-called Fortune Beckoners,” Ye Qing confirmed.

“They are, but they are different from your average Fortune Beckoner.”

Wen Anran continued, “Goddess City is the Dao Domain of a warrior named True Lord of Great Fortune five hundred years ago. He was a man who ascended to become a Sage through an unorthodox martial art called the ‘Three Thousand Fate to Attain Dao’. I won’t go into the details, but the martial art enables one to practice via consuming fortune.”

“As a Fortune Beckoner possesses the power to manipulate and plunder one’s fortune, True Lord of Great Fortune sought out three of them after much time and effort and sealed them within these mountains using his vast power. Then, he refined the entire city into a Strange Artifact and floated it into the skies. That’s right. Goddess City was once a floating city that flew around plundering other people’s fortune to accelerate True Lord of Great Fortune’s cultivation.”

“Unfortunately, the act of stealing fortune was against the natural order. During his cultivation, he somehow triggered a terrible tribulation and perished as a result. The city too was destroyed and fell to the earth.”

“Although True Lord of Great Fortune was dead, the Fortune Beckoners who were turned into wall paintings weren’t. Not only that, they had been sealed within the mountains for so long that they had become one with it. They could no longer stray too far away from their wall painting or live independently. As a result, they had no choice but to pretend to be goddesses and borrow the hands of mortals to sustain their lifestyle. That is how the Goddess City and Goddess Festival came to be.”

“That said, fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin. The seal that damned them to an eternity in the mountains also allowed them to hide their true natures much, much better than your usual Fortune Beckoner. In fact, they were identical to mountain or river spirits, just much, much stronger. Combined with their human-like intellect, they were able to harvest humanity for their nefarious purposes for centuries undetected.”

“How did you know all this, Miss Wen?” Ye Qing asked a question.

Wen Anran replied, “I had a junior brother who died a sudden death while he was exploring the world to broaden his horizon. A senior of my sect performed a divination and eventually found out that his death might have something to do with Goddess City. I am the one they dispatched to investigate the matter, and I was able to find out the truth after an extremely long investigation.”

“I see!” Ye Qing nodded. If he had to guess, Wen Anran’s junior brother had participated in the Goddess Festival and was “blessed” by one of the goddesses. Later, Duanmu Longhua killed him and refined him into her Divine Fortune Pill.

He was quite certain that Duanmu Longhua had no idea that one of her victims was a disciple of the True Martial Sect. Otherwise, she would not dare to kill him even if she had two lives.

“Since you found out the truth, why didn’t you inform your sect about this and have them send a powerful champion to handle this? Why are you risking your own life?” Ye Qing asked another question.

He wasn’t looking down on Wen Anran. She was the true disciple of the True Martial Sect and the sixth named warrior on the Human Champions Ranking, the Junior Dao Lord. She was anything but weak. However, she was definitely not in the same league as the three goddesses.

The three goddesses were on par with Great Truemen and Great Grandmasters, a.k.a the late-stage of the cultivation level. On top of that, Goddess City was protected by powerful Truemen such as Duanmu Longhua, Nail Grandma, Tiger Master Gong, Armless and more. Forget a Half-Step Trueman like Wen Anran, even he had nearly succumbed to the enemy.

In fact, he would have if he didn’t have the Profound Yellow Mother Qi, a priceless qi that safeguarded his fortune. As the three goddesses and Duanmu Longhua specialized in fortune manipulation and plundering, losing the ability was like having one arm and one leg tied behind their backs. That was the only reason he was able to put on such an outstanding performance. Otherwise, forget the three goddesses, even Duanmu Longhua could give him a run for his money.

“I am well aware that my strength is no way enough to defeat the likes of Duanmu Longhua or the three goddesses. However, my master informed me several months ago that I would encounter benefactors on my journey and somehow overcome this tribulation.”

Wen Anran smiled like spring and she added, “I know now that he was referring to the two of you, Miss Feng, warrior Ye.”

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