Stranger Danger

The final two items were two martial arts manuals. The first item was “Call of the Nether”, which was kindly donated by Su Xiu, and the second was “Dream Butterfly True Scripture”, which was donated by Dream Master.

“Call of the Nether” was a Grandmaster-stage martial art, and Ye Qing had witnessed its power with his own eyes. He could confidently say that it was outstanding.

As a matter of course, he had no plans of replacing the “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” with “Call of the Nether”. After all, the martial art wasn’t inferior to “Call of the Nether” in the slightest be it in terms of power or potential. That said, there were some Magias and secret arts in “Call of the Nether” that were good enough to be borrowed and applied to his current repertoire of skills, so he would do just that in the coming days.

Even if “Call of the Nether” wasn’t up to his standards, he wasn’t going to throw it away willy-nilly. After all, not everyone was as lucky and fortunate as him.

There was nowhere in the world where a Grandmaster-stage martial art would be valued any less than a priceless treasure. If it was leaked to the jianghu, it could singlehandedly trigger a massacre that would be remembered for years to come, not to mention this was the exclusive martial art of the Nethercall Abode, one of the thirteen West Kunlun abodes. Its quality was above average be it in terms of power or potential.

Therefore, “Call of the Nether” was valuable as a trade item or a gift even if he wasn’t planning on using it.

Of course, the risk was that the people of West Kunlun might find out about this. There was a saying that went something like this: “One does not teach Dao to those who are inhuman, nor should they pass down the arts to a third pair of ears[1].” Knowledge was power, and all sects practiced exclusivity of knowledge to a certain degree. If West Kunlun found out that he was selling their exclusive martial art to others, they were going to hunt him down like a dog. The fact that they were a demonic sect meant that they would be that much more ruthless with their methods.

Whatever he chose to do with “Call of the Nether”, he would have to be very careful about it.

Ye Qing wasn’t interested in “Call of the Nether”, but Dream Master’s “Dream Butterfly True Scripture”? Now that was a different story.

Just like “Call of the Nether”, “Dream Butterfly True Scripture” was also a Grandmaster-stage martial art. He hadn’t just witnessed its power either, he had personally felt it with his own flesh and bones. Mysterious, anomalous, evil and potent, it could kill without a trace and possessed many useful secret arts and Magia. In terms of flexibility and unpredictability, it was the equal of his “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”.

Most importantly, the “Dream Butterfly True Scripture” and the “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” complemented each other well to a certain degree. The “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” beguiled the heart, whereas the “Dream Butterfly True Scripture” bewitched the mind through dreams.

If he could somehow combine their techniques, then his “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” would become even better than it already was, not to mention that some of the secret arts and Magia taught by the “Dream Butterfly True Scripture” were pretty interesting. They deserved to be learned or referenced to.

These six items were the most valuable loot he obtained out of this venture. Of course, they weren’t the only valuables he had gotten out of this venture, but the other items paled in comparison to the likes of “Call of the Nether”, “Dream Butterfly True Scripture”, Ruyi of Fortune and more.

Whatever the case, the kind donations of Eight Legions and Su Xiu’s group had made him positively wealthy.

“Such kind souls. I sure hope that our paths will cross again in the future!” Ye Qing chuckled to himself.

After his excitement had subsided, Ye Qing began plotting his future training and cultivation.

Right now, his loot was just that, loot. In a sense, they were meaningless until he had converted it all into his power.

Some time later, when Ye Qing was finally done charting his future, he got to his feet, stretched a little, and waved at Giggle. “Come on, Giggle. It’s time to go.”

The young man’s smile was as dazzling and unchanging as the rising sun.

He was nothing like who he used to be, and yet his heart had not changed one bit.

He would beg neither celestial nor the Buddha for power. One step at a time, he would one day claim the universe for himself.

……

A mountain was just a mountain until a celestial bestowed it a name,

And a body of water was just a body of water until a dragon chose to turn it into its nest.

The Dragonrider Mountain was one such place. It was neither tall nor beautiful, but it was a famous place everyone in Bei Mo revered and held in high esteem. Why? Because the Dragonrider Mountain was graced by both celestials and dragons.

The “celestials” in question were of course the martial sect who took residence in the mountain and called themselves “Dragonrider Mountain”, and the “dragons” in questions were referring to the legends that Dragonrider Mountain was protected by a true dragon.

No one actually knew if the Dragonrider Mountain was guarded by a true dragon, but it was one hundred percent true that it was the headquarters of a martial sect.

Dragonrider Mountain wasn’t named among the Two Temples of Buddha or the Three Temples of Dao. It wasn’t named among the Five Profound Sects, the Nine Demonic Ways, or even the thirty six unorthodox sects. However, it was a reputable sect in Bei Mo who was famed for their dragonslaying arts.

Countless jianghu warriors, dao seekers and immortality dreamers had sought out Dragonrider Mountain in hopes of learning their signature dragonslaying arts, but as many people quickly found out, finding the mountain was easy, but scaling it was a completely different story.

This was natural. One did not simply forge a karmic bond with celestials, just as true arts did not come easily to anyone.

All outsiders who wished to enter the Dragonrider Mountain must climb the Dragonscaling Road, cross the Dragon Nurturing Gorge, and overcome the Dragon Subjugating Arena. Only then were they granted the right to join the Dragonrider Mountain.

Unfortunately, the road was harsh, not a single one of the obstacles was easy to overcome. In fact, only three to five people out of a hundred succeeded in joining the Dragonrider Mountain. Almost everyone else was either dead or driven mad, and only a handful managed to withdraw with their mind and body intact.

Despite this, countless fearless, reckless people still showed up to challenge the obstacles every year. They all wanted to fight to better their future.

It was February 2nd, the Longtaitou Festival. It was a good day for prayers, and a bad day for burial.

Every year at this time of the year, many people would gather at the foot of Dragonrider Mountain. Why? Because it was February 2nd, the day where the Dragon Head Rises (Longtaitou), and the day where the celestial gates of Dragonrider Mountain was open to all challengers.

It was also the day the Dragonrider Mountain offered sacrifices to their ancestor, and the day they accepted new disciples.

Anyone who managed to scale the Dragonscaling Road, cross the Dragon Nurturing Gorge, and overcome the Dragon Subjugating Arena would become a disciple of the Dragonrider Mountain.

“What’s the occasion, brother? Why are these people just standing here and doing nothing?”

At the foot of the mountain, a travel-worn youngster looked at the throng of people gathered at a clearing curiously and called out to a random passerby.

“It’s February second and the Longtaitou Festival today, brother. It is the day the Dragonrider Mountain opens their gates to pray to their ancestor and recruit new disciples. That should be enough to answer your question, no? Also, it was rumored that whoever became the champion this year would be accepted as the mountain lord’s inner disciple directly. Naturally, there is an even bigger crowd than usual.”

The speaker was an arrogant-looking young man carrying a sword at his waist. He declared arrogantly after answering the youngster’s question, “Too bad for them, I, Zhou Xianyang have arrived. They would not get that chance.”

Many pairs of eyes immediately glanced at the young man’s direction upon hearing his name. Loud murmurs broke out as various people shot him stunned, envious, or jealous looks.

Sensing their gaze and hearing their discussions, Zhou Xianyang grew even more pleased and proud of himself. He shot them a disdainful look and declared loudly, “I, Zhou Xianyang, will be the one to become the mountain lord’s inner disciple!”

It was at this moment Zhou Xianyang finally recalled the travel-worn youngster he was speaking to and shot him an arrogant look. “Aren’t you here to join the Dragonrider Mountain as well? How did you not know about this?”

“I see.” The travel-worn youngster saluted him good-naturedly. “Apologies, but I’m not here to join them.”

“If you’re not here to join Dragonrider Mountain, then why are you here?” Zhou Xianyang asked in confusion.

“I’m here to pay them a visit,” the youngster answered.

“Excuse me?” Zhou Xianyang only looked even more confused. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s very simple.”

The youngster stepped around Zhou Xianyang, looked at Dragonrider Mountain and clasped his hands in salute. Then, he declared in a loud, crisp voice that deafened the ears, stirred the clouds, and sent reverberations throughout the Dragonrider Mountain,

“Joyless Ye has come to pay Dragonrider Mountain a visit as promised.”

1. The first line means one should not teach those who are unqualified/undeserved, and the second line means that secrets should be guarded very closely. ☜