Stranger Danger

Chapter 895: Trouble During Tribulation

One, martial practice after a warrior had entered the Trueman stage required understanding the principles of the Great Way and the rules of the world to achieve unity between body, true qi, and yang god. Only by building the bridge that connected a warrior’s inner world and the outside world could one welcome a tribulation and potentially become a Sage.

If a warrior could not achieve unity in qi, essence and spirit; if their body, true qi and yang god could not exist in harmony, then they could never become a Sage or a God-On-Earth.

Both the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” and the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture” were ultimate martial arts, and the martial intent and principles they embodied were completely different from each other. That wasn’t to say that it was absolutely impossible to achieve trinity of being with these two martial arts, but it was going to be a thorny journey for sure.

The Profound Yellow Mother Qi was the foundation and core of the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture”, so the yang god it created would definitely be compatible with his body. Commanding his mind with the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture” as the base would be greatly beneficial for his future cultivation and his entrance to godhood and sagehood as well.

Two, the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” was extremely powerful, but it was just as anomalous. The longer he practiced it, and the higher he climbed up the ladder of cultivation, the greater the pollution of red dust[1] and desire became. At a certain point, he would even gain a karmic bond with the Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon himself. Best case scenario, his personality would undergo a transformation, and he would become extremely temperamental. Worst case scenario, he would go insane and become a slave of the Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon.

The Profound Yellow Mother Qi was a qi of beneficence and Nature. It could secure one’s fortune and repel all evils. Using it to purify his Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Yin God and manifesting a yang god would cause his mind to become one with the Profound Yellow Mother Qi, immunizing it from all evils and influences. He would no longer have to worry about suffering a deviation or rebound from his martial art.

Three, the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” was a Trueman stage cultivation art only. He could not become a Sage through it. Unless he was satisfied with just being a Trueman, he must practice a new cultivation art or find an alternative.

He did not want to practice a new cultivation art. For one, it might not necessarily be as useful as the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”. Even if it was, it might not be suitable for him, not to mention that it would take time and effort to practice a new cultivation art.

Since the first option wasn’t palatable, he could only seek out an alternative. He could merge the Profound Yellow Mother Qi and his yang god into one, or he could push the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” to greater heights through the Profound Yellow Mother Qi and the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture”.

Of course, it wasn’t like purifying his yin god and manifesting his yang god using the Profound Yellow Mother Qi wasn’t without its flaws. The biggest problem with this alternative was the simple fact that he was straying from the original teachings of the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”, which dramatically increased the difficulty of his work. One small mistake, and his effort to manifest his yang god would fail miserably.

Still, the pros were far greater than the cons. That was why he went with it despite the risks.

Right now, Ye Qing was purifying his Heavenly Demon Yin God with the Profound Yellow Mother Qi.

At the beginning, the pain was immeasurable. The Profound Yellow Mother Qi and his Heavenly Demon Yin God were absolute opposites, so mixing them together resulted in a kind of pain that could only be described as being cooked alive in a pot of oil, or being cut by a million blades without end. It was so terrible that he nearly succumbed when he first experienced it.

The worst part was that the process of purifying his Yin God wasn’t something that could be completed in a short time. Worse, it could not suffer the slightest interruption. If, say, he stopped what he was doing to catch his breath, then all of his progress would be reset, and he would have to start over from the beginning.

That was why Ye Qing had no choice but to grit his teeth, maintain his clarity of mind, and endure the unimaginable pain again, and again, and again. It was self-inflicted torture at its finest.

The process lasted over three days, and not a second went by where Ye Qing did not feel like a prisoner in hell. Worse, a prisoner in hell could at least lose their minds to the pain, but he had to keep himself conscious the entire time so that his Yin God would not collapse. There literally wasn’t any room for even a single mistake. Frankly, Ye Qing himself didn’t know how he managed to endure it.

There was a silver lining though. The Profound Yellow Mother Qi was the mother of all qi, infinitely virtuous and tolerant. It wasn’t long before it adapted to the Heavenly Demon Yin God’s characteristics and reduced the amount of pain it inflicted. As his yin god slowly but surely shedded its yin shell and merged with the Profound Yellow Mother Qi, the pain was decreasing as well.

It was only then Ye Qing finally allowed himself a sigh of relief. This was the hardest and most dangerous part of the process bar none. Making even a single mistake would ruin it all and force him to start over from the beginning. But if he managed to overcome this hurdle, then it was no exaggeration to say that he was only a short journey away from reaching his goal. Not only that, the remaining steps were extremely simple. He simply needed to follow the instructions to fully shed his yin god’s yin shell and transform it into a yang god. Then, he could break through the Gate of Heaven and become a Trueman.

But of course, things were always easier said than done. Not stupid to grow lax at this point of his cultivation, Ye Qing hurriedly regathered his focus and resumed his cultivation.

......

“Looks like it’s your loss, Eccentric Yao!”

Outside the residences, the group of champions was still watching Ye Qing’s work. When they noticed that the yin god was slowly but surely stabilizing and growing more solid, someone could not help but tease Eccentric Yao.

Eccentric Yao did not look happy in the slightest. “We’re betting on whether the junior can manifest his yang god and become a Trueman. He’s not there yet, is he?”

To tell the truth, he already knew what the outcome would be. He just didn’t want to admit it, at least not yet.

“By the way, how did you know that the junior would succeed, Ye Feihua?” Someone asked.

“It’s because the object the junior is using to purify his mind is the Profound Yellow Mother Qi,” Ye Feihua answered smilingly.

“The Profound Yellow Mother Qi?”

“It wasn’t the Profound Yellow Qi?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ye Feihua. How can a junior possibly possess this much Profound Yellow Mother Qi?” Eccentric Yao couldn’t help but ridicule Ye Feihua, and many people echoed his sentiment.

It wasn’t that they were so unknowledgeable that they could not recognize the Profound Yellow Mother Qi. Everyone here was a champion, so they possessed the knowledge and experience to match their strength. In fact, they suspected that Ye Qing was using the Profound Yellow Mother Qi to purify their yin god at the very beginning.

However, to do so for three days straight? Not even the descendants of the Earthly Sovereign, the Earthly Sovereign Hall, could possibly own this much Profound Yellow Mother Qi. Even if they did, they would never waste it on something so trivial.

There was also the fact that the Six Livestocks Market’s unique laws and principles had greatly diminished their vision and perception. That was why most of them arrived at the conclusion that the mysterious qi was the Profound Yellow Qi, not the Profound Yellow Mother Qi.

There was only one word of difference between the two qi, but the gap might as well be heaven and earth.

“Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean that no one else can.”

Ye Feihua replied in a casual, even tone just like before, “The future belongs to the young, and you’ve gotten old, Eccentric Yao.”

“Save your snobbery, Ye Feihua. You haven’t won yet!” Eccentric Yao uttered through gritted teeth.

“We shall see,” Ye Feihua replied simply.

“Just don’t cry when you lose, Eccentric Yao. No one likes to watch an old man cry,” Mo Luo joked.

“Hahaha...”

Everyone burst out in laughter.

“Hmph...”

Eccentric Yao harrumphed, his complexion ashen with anger and regret. He was angry that Ye Feihua had tricked him, and he regretted his foolish decision to challenge Ye Feihua to a bet.

As the thoughts and emotions swirled inside his mind, an unbelievable amount of violence and killing intent suddenly well inside his heart. His eyes bloodshot, he roared, “Enough!”

“Hahaha... he’s panicking!”

“Oh my heavens, Eccentric Yao. Are you actually throwing a tantrum? Hahahaha...”

“You’re aware that our mouths are growing on our faces, right? It’s up to us whether we want to laugh at you or not!”

......

No one gave a damn about Eccentric Yao’s roar as a matter of course. If anything, they were laughing even louder than before.

“I said ENOUGH!”

At this point, Eccentric Yao’s eyes had literally turned as red as blood. His fists were clenched so tightly that veins were popping on the back of his hands.

“What’s wrong, Eccentric Yao? Are you going to attack us?”

“Come on, then! Your granddaddy is right here! I dare you to hit me!”

“See my head? Aim here! If you don’t, then you’re my grandson!” One man pointed at his own head while laughing.

“You are courting death!”

Eccentric Yao finally lost control of his rage and bloodthirst. He launched a palm strike at Mo Luo and the others.

1. Now that I think about it, it’s kinda like becoming more and more attuned with Silent Hill, and you don’t want to be attuned with bloody Silent Hill. ☜