Stranger Danger

That day, after they had survived the Heavens’ Eye’s bombardment, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou immediately left Vile Water and found a new hiding spot.

After their safety was assured, Feng Qingyou and Meng Feixue began settling the Nanjiang Royal Court citizens, while Ye Qing sought out a private location and entered secluded cultivation.

The location he chose was an underground cavern where a Disaster-class Stranger called the Earth Drake resided.

The Earth Drake loved sleeping. Every time it turned its body in its sleep, an earthquake would happen. It was why it was named the Earth Drake, and why people often addressed earthquakes as, “The Earth Drake is turning again.”

Ye Qing happened to be passing through the area while the Earth Drake was in the middle of one such rotation. After that… Well, there was no after that. Ye Qing had deleted the Earth Drake in one punch.

Later, Ye Qing discovered that the Earth Drake’s cavern was a surprisingly good place to practice. First, there was a spirit spring inside the cavern, ensuring that the area was always overflowing with origin energy.

Next, the Earth Drake was a Disaster-class Stranger, so the area within fifty kilometers of its abode was almost completely devoid of Strangers, meaning that he wouldn’t be disturbed. It was also pretty quiet.

That was why Ye Qing ultimately chose to enter seclusion in this cavern.

There were two reasons Ye Qing entered seclusion. One, it was to recover from his injuries and refine the Sky Mending Spring.

He had fought several great battles back to back since arriving at Nanjiang, and nearly all of them involved powerful warriors. He wasn’t so strong that he could emerge from those battles unscathed, so he needed time to rest and recuperate.

Two, he was planning to become a Great Grandmaster.

That’s right, Ye Qing was about to become a Great Grandmaster.

It had only been several months since he became a Grandmaster at the Demonbearer Abode. Several months were but the flick of a finger to a Trueman and Grandmaster. This was doubly true when it came to cultivation. Usually, it took at least years, if not decades of accumulation for a Trueman to become a Great Trueman, and a Grandmaster to become a Great Grandmaster.

Originally, Ye Qing was no exception. Although he was baptized by the Profound Yellow Mother Qi during his ascension to Grandmaster stage and as a result shedded his latent mortal shell for an innate flawless body, although his foundation was solid beyond imagination, it still wasn’t possible for him to become a Great Grandmaster in a short time. It should have taken him between three to five years of accumulation and tempering at least before he could contemplate his next upgrade.

However, he was Ye Qing, daddy heaven’s favorite son and Lady Luck’s secret lover.

First, he obtained the Earthly Sovereign Bell and the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture” at Goddess City. Not only was the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture” the Earthly Sovereign’s martial art, it was profound to the point where it was almost a manifestation of the laws and principles of the Great Way, and extremely close to the essence of the Martial Way. It was a ladder, no, an escalator that carried him straight to the heavens even if he suddenly turned into a sloth and stopped grinding altogether.

Later at the Six Livestocks Market, Venerable Six Livestocks assisted him in forging a yang god using Profound Yellow Mother Qi and becoming a Trueman, which made up for the flaws in his spirit.

Although a Trueman and a Grandmaster focused on different aspects of their cultivation, as the ancients said, all Ways eventually end up in the same place.

For a Trueman, becoming a Sage did not just require them to perceive the laws and principles of the martial way and becoming one with the world in mind. They must also make up for the things they missed such as the weakness of their flesh. For example, if their physical body was flawed in some way, then their ability to perceive the laws and principles of nature and martial essence would be impaired as well.

For a Grandmaster, their goal was to become a Sage through their physical body. However, if their mind was flawed in some way, then they would not be able to truly perceive the Great Way and transcend mortality either.

Therefore, even though a Trueman and a Grandmaster focused on different aspects of the martial way, they were really just different paths leading to the same ending. The end goal for a Trueman or a Grandmaster was always to achieve transcendence and become a Sage.

Therefore, the mind and heart were extremely important factors when a Grandmaster sought to become a Great Grandmaster. If their mind was flawed, or there were chinks in their heart’s armor, then it would become a huge obstacle standing in their way to ascension.

Thanks to his experience in the Six Livestocks Market, he was able to forge his yang god using the Profound Yellow Mother Qi and mend the flaws in his mind. It also cemented a solid foundation for his rapid ascension through the cultivation stages and understanding of the martial way.

Besides that, Ye Qing had fought countless battles in the past few months. A good number of them were deadly battles where his life was on the line as well. Not only did he witness an incredible battle between Sages, he had even fought a Sage for real. As a result, his understanding of the martial way improved, and his heart was further refined.

In fact, his bottleneck had been showing signs of weakening since he fought against the Chief Libationist at Lu Tai Yuan. After that, his adventure in Nanjiang had blasted open the door to the heavens for him.

Not only did Ye Qing fight several deadly and back-to-back battles after arriving at the Nanjiang Royal Court, he was able to witness Wei Nanhua’s fight against the Moon God, a natural deity, felt with his own body the sheer destructive power of the Heavens’ Eye, and finally saw a mixed battle involving multiple Sages. It all served to improve his martial understanding and perfected his heart.

It was thanks to all these extraordinary experiences and opportunities that he was able to glimpse the key to enter the Great Grandmaster stage so quickly.

That was why he entered seclusion as soon as his business was done.

Time passed quickly. He did not know how long he had practiced, but at some point, inside the dark cavern of the Earth Drake, he suddenly opened his eyes.

“It’s time.”

Light appeared out of nowhere and turned the cavern as bright as daytime.

The next moment, dark yellow qi floated around Ye Qing, and his eyes glowed as bright as the sun and the moon. A mysterious, profound rhythm connected with the land and co-existed in harmony with the profound yellow of the universe itself.

Ye Qing’s energies slowly became dense and heavy. His aura kept growing stronger and stronger as well.

It was grandiose and boundless like the sky, dense and immense like the earth itself.

At that moment, the earth shook, and the sky quaked.

He was less than two meters tall, and yet he felt as tall as the heavens, and as thick as the earth.

The highest point of the sky was black, and the lowest point of the earth was yellow. Together, even man could become boundless.

Seemingly enlightened by the small revelation, Ye Qing took a step forward. It was such a short, insignificant step, but it was like a step out of the cage of humanity and the nest of heaven and earth.

The hatchling was finally taking its first flight into the world.

A powerful force shot into the firmaments, and the mountains trembled rhythmically. Wind and clouds blew as if in celebration, purple qi surged from the east, and celestials and gods came to visit.

If someone were to turn this spectacle into a poem, it might read something like this:

The mountains tremble comfortably in congratulations,

The wind and clouds soar high in celebration.

Purple qi rises from the east,

To crush the profound gate and welcome the celestials.

……

“Purple qi rises from the east, and celestials show up in groups. Did a treasure appear?”

Five hundred kilometers away, four half-naked men with their upper torsos exposed were carrying a soft litter and running like the wind through the forest.

Sitting on the litter was a young man who looked to be in his thirties. He was plump, fair-skinned, and wearing a joyous smile on his face.

The young man was currently reading a book. From time to time, he would let out a chuckle that could only be described as crisp, clear, and mellifluous.

Strangely, his laughter seemed to be affecting the environment and the creatures around him. The plants began growing new shoots, the flowers bloomed and released a fragrant scent, even some gloomy, evil-natured Strangers gradually turned friendly and cracked a joyous grin as well. It was quite unusual.

Suddenly, the young man seemingly sensed something and set down his book. When he saw the strange phenomenon happening in the distant sky, he exclaimed in excitement, “Would you look at that! It must be quite something. I should check it out. Who knows, it might be my opportunity?”

“Please take me there.”

The young man gave one of the men carrying his litter a pat on the shoulder, and they immediately changed course for the source of the strange phenomenon.

……

“Keke… I can’t believe that my injuries are healed! The heavens favor me, the heavens favor me…”

An old man was standing at the entrance of an underground cave. He looked overjoyed and intoxicated from the mysterious energies and shockwaves flowing out of the underground.