Nightfall

Predecessor's Sword Style, Junior's Addiction

Mo Shanshan was still immersed in the shock of seeing the Great Blockage Formation, so she didn’t notice what Ning Que did. Looking at the stones that were scattered everywhere in the valley, she frowned and said, “Although it has been destroyed, the remaining power is still strong, I can’t figure out just how strong it is on earth in such a short time. Do you still insist on going inside?”

Ning Que aimed to enter the Front Gate to look for the Tomes of Arcane, especially now that he sensed that familiar strong breath that was far away and was pretty sure he knew whom the aura belonged to, so he naturally wouldn’t give up. Ning Que turned to look at her and asked, “Do we still have a chance to retreat?”

Mo shanshan looked at the surrounding stones, did some calculation for a while, and then she nodded and answered, “We just entered this big tactical array, so there is a chance to go back. If we go further, we can never return. I don’t know what danger lurks ahead.”

Staring at the scratches on the stones in front of him, Ning Que suddenly asked, “Do you believe in destiny?”

Mo Shanshan was slightly startled and didn’t know why he asked such a question.

Ning Que looked at her and explained, “Right now, I believe in destiny more and more. I came into this valley with you, a Calligraphy Addict, so I believe that the god has already arranged everything for me.”

Mo ShanShan understood what he meant.

At this point, Ning Que suddenly sensed something. He suddenly turned back, shot a Talisman Arrow from his bow and aimed at one direction. The arrow pointed at a red figure.

Tao Addict Ye Hongyu appeared again. She stepped on some sharp stones with her bare feet and quickly moved forward. Her bare legs under her red skirt were tight, her left shoulder was still bleeding and her face was pale. It seemed like the burst of breath when the Great Blockage Formation restarted caused her injury. Yet the injury was not serious.

The red figure in front of them whistled. It looked like they were far away from each other, but actually, they were very close. Logically speaking, they should have had a fight in the next minute, but somehow her direction changed. She intended to move straight forward, but was forced to turn right, at last, she started to circle around.

Ye Hongyu stopped and stood on a stone in silence. It seemed that she figured out why this happened. Raising up her head to look at Ning Que and Mo Shanshan, she said, “You are so lucky.”

Because earlier if the Front Gate hadn’t opened when it did, there was a possibility that Ning Que and Mo Shanshan would have become a pool of flesh and blood by Tao Addict’s thousands of Taoist Sword. That’s why she said they were lucky.

The Great Blockage Formation was really amazing. Even though they were standing face to face, and could hear each other, it was not real. Ning Que tried to aim at Ye Hongyu using his Primordial Thirteen Arrows but there was a weird refraction brought about by the stones, even space was deformed, thus he couldn’t shoot at her successfully.

Acting force and reacting force always complemented each other. Primordial Thirteen Arrows couldn’t aim at Tao Addict, in turn, Tao Addict couldn’t find where they were exactly either.

After making sure, Ning Que stopped pulling the bow and nodded to Tao Addict who was standing on a stone and stayed close by. Ning Que nodded toward her like she was just a passerby who he ran into. And then Ning Que left toward the direction of flowing water with Mo Shanshan.

The further they went, the less the water under the lake was. However, the power of the Great Blockage Formation became stronger and stronger. Aura of Heaven and Earth moved unevenly. It seemed like the air started to have sharp edges, making it painful to be breath.

Ning Que rubbed his cheeks which became numb due to the difficulty in breathing. He asked Mo Shanshan, “Soon, Ye Hongyu will figure out how to walk in the direction of the flow of water. Do you think she will be faster than us?”

Mo Shanshan looked pale, even her long eyelashes seemed frail. She replied weakly, “I can find a path in this Great Blockage Formation, but she can’t.”

The only one who has a strong will can stick to his own way, and the one who has a strong will is usually arrogant in some respect. At that time, Mo Shanshan was trying to figure out the law of this tactical array, most of her energy had been consumed, but the words “she can’t” were fearless and full of confidence.

Hearing this, Ning Que was relieved and helped her to walk forward.

They walked carefully on the stones. With the passing of time, Mo Shanshan became weaker and weaker, yet she forced herself to keep a clear mind so as to guide them in the right direction. Yet she was too weak to walk and had to be helped.

Seeing her pale face and her quivering eyelashes, Ning Que shook his head and directly carried her on his back. He said before she opened her mouth, “I am stronger than you. I can hold on for a while longer.”

Without resisting, Mo Shanshan gently gave a response and slowly rested her head on Ning Que’s shoulder. Her long black hair covered Ning Que’s chest. She closed her eyes, as quiet as being asleep, and occasionally pointed out the direction.

The power in the messy stones was strong. Sharp forces penetrated through their bodies, which was extremely painful. Not to mention that Ning Que was now carrying a girl. He told Mo Shanshan that he could hold on for a while, but in fact, he had already run out of strength.

Nevertheless, Ning Que had walked through that tough mountain path in the Back Mountain of the Academy, so he had lots of similar experiences. More importantly, every time he was about to give up, he would be motivated and encouraged by the sight of some clear sword scratches and moss.

A few decades ago, that man broke into the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine with his sword. At that time, the Great Blockage Formation had not been destroyed and had ten times more power than it had today, but that man just broke into it. A few decades had passed, as that man’s junior, how could Ning Que not have the same strong will as him? And how could Ning Que give up and shame him?

…

…

Tao Addict Ye Hongyu stood on a stone, watching the two figures disappearing from the messy stones. Her skirt was torn and the wound on her shoulders was horrible. She had been left there all alone and seemed so lonely.

She didn’t recognize the messy stones were the legendary Great Blockage Formation, but she knew that these messy stones contained great terrible power, that even she felt scared.

All of a sudden, she yelled in anger. Her voice spread out and echoed among the stones, reaching higher green cliff wall and then being reflected back. The empty space made her feel more lonely.

Her angry voice suddenly stopped. She ripped a piece of cloth from her skirt and then used it to wrap her wound carefully. Not paying attention to her exposed body, she jumped off that stone and walked along a thin layer of water to the center of the lake.

Hierarch of the West-Hill Divine Palace once praised her for knowing all laws. Yet even though she was addicted to Tao practice, she still couldn’t understand the talisman world. She only knew the Front Gate should be the place where the water disappeared and should be the center of the lake, yet she couldn’t figure out how to pass through these messy stones to get to the place where she wanted to go.

Relying on what she saw and her psyche power, she made her own judgment. However, after taking a few steps, she found herself lost again. Those scattered stones were like peach trees on the Peach Mountain, they all had the magic power to distort space.

If she kept going in this way, there was a possibility that she would never reach the center of the lake, or that she would be stuck in the messy stones, until she lost her mind and died of thirst.

Ye Hongyu glanced backward. She was sure that at this time she still had a chance to leave this place. If she went further, she may get stuck in the stone array and might never get rid of it. Considering this, she lapsed into a long silence.

Then she noticed the moss growing on these stones and saw sword scratches that had been hiding under the moss for decades.

She vaguely thought of who the man was, and then her indifferent eyes became bright, her body quivered as she became thrilled which caused some blood to ooze out from her shoulders.

There was no doubt that for those cultivators who were qualified to know the secret, all regarded that crazy man who broke into the Front Gate alone with his sword, and beat the Devil’s Doctrine, as the most powerful man in the world.

That crazy man became a West-Hill Divine Palace’s enemy forever, and he was punished by Haotian. Since then nobody, including the three gods, wanted to mention his name. However, Tao Addict Yu Hongyu was addicted to improving her power through battles and dreamed of becoming the most powerful person in the world, so she admired great men so much. When she heard that story, she had worshipped him.

Among the present cultivators, she worshipped her brother the most, but among the past cultivators, she worshipped that crazy man the most. Today, she had encountered many frustrations, what’s more, she was in a dilemma because of these messy stones that caused her great humiliation. In this situation, she encountered the sword scratches left by her idol, she was both shocked and speechless.

She finally saw the legendary scratches, seeing that historical scene, was like seeing the world she had worshipped and yearned for. Suddenly, a great power arose from her chest and destroyed the sharp power of the tactical array.

Through expiration and inspiration, Ye Hongyu became calm. She slowly pulled out her sword which was hanging on her waist. Using her hands to hold it and looking at the scratches on the moss, she said in a firm tone, “Since Mr. Ke left sword style here, how can I let him down? ”

When she finished speaking, a strong wind started to blow. She focused her mind on the cleaving stones in front of her. She didn’t understand tactical array and didn’t know how to find a path, therefore, she would deal with it in an easier way–the cleave stones which stopped her would open a path. She was not sure whether this was right or wrong but facing the sword style of the senior, she knew she had to do it.

…

…

Daming Lake dried up, leaving stones scattered everywhere. Compared with the green valley, the lake looked so desolate which made people feel sad.

Tang stood at the lake bank, looking down at the messy stones. After a moment of silence, he said, “Everything has changed since that man came here, so did the Stone Array Tactics.”

Tang Xiaotang stood beside her brother and also looked down at the messy stones out of curiosity. Vaguely hearing the sound of metal cleaving stones, she stuck out her tongue and said, “That bitch is so crazy.”

Tang replied, “People all call us crazy devils. If they want to enter our divine place to see what a devil looks like, how can they not be crazy? As the saying goes, if you are not crazy you will never become a devil. That man was also crazy at that time.”

This was the first time Tang Xiaotang had come to the divine place. She asked nervously, “Brother, should we really let them in?”

“Our Enlightenment Doctrine is always called ‘a dead place’. So even if they enter there, they may not come out alive. But in order to get the Tomes of Arcane, it seems that they will enter regardless of death.”

Thinking that Ning Que had now entered the Front Gate, Tang frowned his dashing eyebrows. There was something he couldn’t understand, he murmured to himself, “Are you just going to stand by? Do you have the confidence to save him in the divine place? Were you… really on the other side fourteen years ago?”

****

The Grand and Inconspicuous Stone Cave

In the verdant valleys, on the bank of a dried lake and on a pile of rubble, stood Tang Xiaotang. She released the clasp of the beast tail at her collar and revealed a tender face tinged with red. She heard the sound of sword meeting stone from afar and asked, “Brother, are the Tomes of Arcane really in there?”

Tang shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Tang Xiaotang did not understand, so she asked, “Then why did the old fogeys from the Divine Hall send people here?”

Tang answered, “According to news from the Central Plains, the Great Divine Priest of Relation prophesied after returning from the south. The prophecy said that the Tomes of Arcane would appear when the holy land opens upon answering the call of heaven.”

Tang Xiaotang scratched her head and asked, “But didn’t you say that the holy land is now a piece of rubble after it was destroyed? There isn’t anything there. How can the old fogey called Revelation be sure that the Tomes of Arcane are there?”

Tang said, “The three Gods of Divine Hall each have an amazing sense. The Great Divine Priest of Relation can sense the will of Haotian. Rumors say that he has a strong ability for making prophecies. Who wouldn’t believe in his words?”

Tang Xiaotang suddenly thought of the singing Taoist priest on the cliff. She did not know why, but fear stabbed at her heart. She asked woodenly, “Brother, do you think that person will come and take the Tomes of Arcane from us by force?”

Tang was silent for a long time. He shook his head, “No, because there is someone more important than the Tomes of Arcane in his heart.”

…

…

As time passed, the night became longer in the Far North of the world. The weather got colder too. It was at this mountain abandoned by Haotian where the verdant valleys that have disappeared for decades appeared again when it answered the call of heaven. All was empty in the Daming Lake. The legendary Great Blockage Formation was activated once more, triggering the aura of the earth. It shot up towards the skies, by the Snow-capped Peak, looking magnificent.

The reopening of the Devil’s Doctrine’s Front Gate brought about ripples in the Qi of Heaven and Earth. Even though it flickered out in a short amount of time, it rippled out of the boundless Snow Mountain and to far-away places.

In the Wilderness surrounding the Tianqi Mountains, black mud met white snow. One would spot an occasional beast caressing on the snowy ground. The sounds of the cold winter winds on tents were like cleaving knives. The wind itself was the sharpest of all hunting knives.

Ye Su walked between heaven and earth silently. The ordinary Taoist robes he wore were as smooth as the cliff’s walls. He did not seem to be affected by the cold wind at all. His steps, which seemed ordinary, traversed at least ten over feet. His feet left no trace on the snow and he floated as if he was a deity.

He came to a stop when the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine opened in the mountains far away and the Qi of Heaven and Earth rippled and reached his world from behind. He turned around to look at it expressionlessly but did not have any thoughts of going over to take a look.

As a World Wayfarer from the Zhishou Abbey, Ye Su knew of the prophecy by the Great Divine Priest of Relation before anyone else. He knew that the “Ming” Handscroll of the seven Tomes of Arcane would reappear in the Wilderness before the Great Divine Priest of Relation did.

It was just that as a cultivator at his level who could see past death and all things, he no longer cared about objects of the secular world, much less the Tomes of Arcane.

Furthermore, since he had lost the bet with Tang regarding Ning Que and Long Qing’s bet of breaking a state, he had to honor it. It wasn’t about him being cynical, he just didn’t want to allow any darkness to stay in his heart.

His appearance in the Wilderness had nothing to do with the Tomes of Arcane nor the move southwards by the Desolate Man or the reopening of the Devil’s Doctrine’s Front Gate.

He had lived in the abbey since he was a child. The first books he had read since he could, were the six scrolls from the Tomes of Arcane. He had always been cynical of the world. The move southwards by the Desolate Man might be a major issue in the secular world, but it did not hold his attention at all. The reopening of the Devil’s Doctrine’s Front Gate might be interesting, but the Devil’s Doctrine had long fallen apart and posed no problem.

There were not many people or things that could make him leave the Zhishou Abbey.

But the person who stood on the line 14 years ago definitely could.

Ye Su really wanted to meet that person. He had thought about it for many years, but it was just that the person was always within that great mountain or beside it. Even though he was proud and strong, he had no way of getting closer to that person.

This year, that person on the line had finally left that great mountain and came to the Wilderness.

He did not know where the person was.

But he knew that he would meet that person.

Because the unique aura of the great mountain and the person’s character had already decided on that.

That person will protect that guy, Ning Que.

When Ning Que encountered true danger, that person would definitely be beside him.

So he just had to wait for Ning Que to encounter true danger.

It was just that Ning Que was right outside the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine right now.

Why was he leaving the Devil’s Doctrine’s Front Gate for the south then?

…

…

There was a large cerulean lake south of Tianqi Mountain. It was deemed sacred land by the barbarians of the grassland who called it the Hulan Sea. A thin layer of ice floated on the surface of the lake. Many men from the tribes on the grassland who lived by the lake were harvesting aquatic plants before the icy surface froze completely.

Traveling merchants from the Central Plains would appear wherever there were barbarians from the grassland. However, it was the middle of winter and the war between the grassland and the Central Plain’s coalition forces had just ended. It was a little odd that a merchant caravan from the Central Plains appeared by the Hulan Sea right now. However, these businessmen were generous with their spendings and had paid the down payment for the leather goods they needed next summer. That was why the tribe leader had silently assented to their existence and even left an empty spot for them to camp on.

The traveling Central Plains’ merchants were cooking on a fire by the lake. Due to the mild weather, they did not hide in their tents but sat around the bonfire. Should one observe their actions, one would notice that one of the merchants amongst them was their leader.

The merchant who looked rather wealthy was munching on an oily lamb leg. He would grumble occasionally. It was evident that he was not satisfied with how the people on the grassland had treated them. A burly middle-aged man wearing a cap stood beside him and was probably a steward or guard. He tried to placate the merchant in low tones but received a thorough verbal lashing instead.

Suddenly, several pieces of white clouds appeared in the clear cerulean skies. It looked as if an invisible giant hand had tried to tear away at the blue canvas and added white paint on it.

The grassland barbarians and merchants from the Central Plains had noticed the anomaly in the skies at the same time. They looked at them in surprise.

The merchant leader cursed.

The submissive burly middle-aged guard looked at the wisps of clouds with half-closed eyes. His expression was grave.

It was not known why the wealthy merchant’s expression cleared and dared not curse anymore after looking at the middle-aged man’s grave expression. He lowered his head to hide the respect in his eyes and asked something in a low tone.

The burly middle-aged man looked at the clouds in the skies quietly. He felt the ripples in the aura of heaven and earth from the far away northern mountains. His hat hid the jumble of emotions that appeared on his face. Longing and warmth and after a long while, peace appeared on his face. And within all these, laid a faint trace of repentance or even sadness.

And then, the middle-aged man said four simple words, ” The door is open.”

…

…

Ning Que piggybacked Mo Shanshan’s frail body as he stepped on the rocks strewn about on the ground messily. They reached the middle of the lake and saw a large stone door. The stone door was enormous and looked like a small mountain as they looked at it from below.

Even the largest city in the world, Chang’an, did not have a stone door as large as this.

It was enormous. That was why this was the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine.

Ning Que had never thought that he would find the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine so easily and could not believe his own eyes. He did not try to understand how such a large stone door could be hidden in the Daming Lake and why he didn’t spot it when they traveled in The Great Blockage Formation. He turned around to look at the path they took earlier subconsciously.

The stone door was not visible at all when he walked in the rubble and sharp array. But when he walked out of them, the stone door appeared in front of him, as if the stone door would only allow itself to be seen by the people it chose to reveal itself to.

The opening of the Devil’s Doctrine’s Front Gate was easier than finding the Front Gate. One did not have to recite any spell, nor was there any scary scheme that they had to pass. When Ning Que’s right hand touched the rough but stately stone door, there was a puffing sound followed by the splashing of a thick layer of dust that had accumulated over the years. And then, the stone door opened slowly.

Ning Que raised his head and looked at the majestic Snow-capped Peak that was even taller than before. And then, his gaze met Mo Shanshan’s surprised and weak stare before he walked through the door.

…

…

Majestic, dignified, solemn, ambitious, sacred… These traits were usually built unto an enormous space. Just like the Chang’an city that even goshawks dare not enter at will, or the Divine Hall that overlooked the people on the Peach Mountain. These feelings would arise when these buildings were in stark contrast to the tiny bodies that belonged to humans.

These emotions overtook Ning Que and Mo Shanshan as they entered the large stone door, climbed up numerous stone steps and entered the main hall of the Devil’s Doctrine’s Front Gate.

That was because the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine was larger than any other structure they had ever seen.

The Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine was on the mountain. To be more exact, it was in the majestic Snow-capped Peak by the Daming Lake. The Devil’s Doctrine had formed the space by hollowing out the middle of a tall Snow-capped Peak.

Space was larger than one could imagine, deeper than the deepest end of the world and taller than the tallest skies. It even made one felt that it was a place that could only appear in dreams. Only Haotian had the ability to create this place.

A stream of light shone into the place. Several enormous rough stone beams hung in the air. There were an evident knife and axe markings on these pillars. These beams were strong and thick enough for four-horse carriages to cross together side by side.

The two looked at the straight hanging wide stone beams before them and realized that they could not see where the beams ended. The thick beams suspended in the air farther out looked as thin as spider webs in the large space.

The thick stone beams gathered in the middle like a spider web and came together in a stone platform farther in the middle of the empty space. There was a temple on the platform. The temple should be enormous, but when looked upon from the cliff walls, stood like it was carved from a grain of rice by a skilled craftsman. As for Ning Que and Mo Shanshan, who stood looking at the temple from afar, they looked like a grain of sand on the rock walls in the large space. It was as if they did not exist.

The two looked at each other and could see the shock in each other’s eyes.

Anyone would find it hard to repress their respect in the face of such an incredibly large existence. They would want to kneel and worship it or even feel incredibly small and tear up.

Men were just ants in the face of such magnificence.

However, the thing that truly shocked Ning Que was that the space that looked as if only Haotian had the ability to create was made by humans who were like ants thousands of years ago.

****

Someone had been Here

After a long time, Ning Que gradually woke up from his shock. However, he still felt confused.

The back of the mountain of the Academy was also one of those Unknown Places in the legends. However, it only exuded gentleness and warmth, unlike the harsh mental impact that this place gave off. He thought to himself that this must be the difference that Mo Shanshan talked about the other day. The back of the mountain of the Academy connected the divine and the secular world while the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine stayed indifferently above the secular world.

The Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine had long been abandoned after being buried in snow for decades within the Tianqi mountain. It looked utterly desolate and its emptiness and magnificence made it even more so. Ning Que thought back to when the Devil’s Doctrine was still going strong and how numerous believers knelt on the stone beams to worship and could not help but sigh.

The abilities the Desolate Man wielded were unbelievable, for they were able to dig such a huge space within the Snow-capped Peak a thousand years ago. Ning Que thought about how it was the Great Tang empire that had managed to chase these Desolate Man out of the Wilderness and to the Far North Cold Region. He sighed and a strong sense of pride welled up within him.

Then, he thought of a few more things as he looked at the majestic and otherworldly structures before him. The Devil’s Doctrine was not of this world because cultivators of the Devil’s Doctrine had forced the heavens and earth within their bodies, going against Haotian. Perhaps the Great Divine Priest of Light who had formed the Devil’s Doctrine had had the Desolate Man dig out such a space within the Tianqi Mountains to prove that humans could have the same abilities as Haotian did?

In a world where Haotian’s brilliance shone upon them, this silent way of expressing disrespect for Haotian could be described as extreme arrogance. It was no wonder why Enlightenment Doctrine was called the devil.

After looking at their surroundings in silence, Ning Que helped Mo Shanshan walk on the stone beams.

The thick stone beams joined the insides of the Snow-capped Peak together and met each other in the air. The stone beams were wide enough for four-horse carriages to travel on it side by side. Looking at the collision marks and the rubble, it was certain that nothing could smash these beams since they landed from above a thousand years ago. There was no way that the beams would even shake as the two walked on it.

However, the beams were suspended high up in the air and provided no cover on the sides. The wind whistled and swept through space, echoing through it. It was extremely scary. Ning Que looked at the empty world beyond the stone beams and listened to the wind. He felt his legs stiffening up. He thought that if the wind blew him away beyond the beams, he might stay in the air for a long time before falling into the depths of the ground.

The walk to the central beam was long. The two walked for a long time and had not even covered one-third of the distance. The temple on the suspended beam hanging afar looked minuscule. The feelings of fear and insignificance from walking in such a magnificent space faded as they walked on.

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan steps were faster than before. They even looked at the scenery around them even though it was dark and nothing could be seen.

And then, he noticed that there appeared several deep lines beneath his feet. These lines were gouged deeply within the stone beams. The lines extended wildly with no sense of order and tiny rocks rolled about within the lines along with the mountain wind.

Ning Que examined it seriously by the light shining from above. He realized that the lines formed a simple drawing when assembled together. The strokes were fierce and powerful and looked as if it was made by a metal weapon such as a blade or an ax. It looked like an ancient petroglyph.

The petroglyph moved along with their steps and gradually revealed before them.

The petroglyphs were large and there were many of them.

The first petroglyph was of a monstrous flood.

A man with blurred facial features stood on a cliff by the flood. He wore a grass skirt around his waist and held a pick in his hand. He yelled at the skies angrily in the rain.

The second petroglyph was of a wildfire in the mountains.

Several women with blurred facial features stood by the forest alight with flames. They wore short skirts made of coarse cloth and held pots of water in their hands. They wept pitifully beside wheat fields.

The third was of a world blanketed in snow.

Dozens of farmers with blurred facial features wearing thick clothing made of beast pelt held various types of tools in their hands. They ignored the falling snow above their heads and were focused on fixing the roof.

The forth petroglyph was of a tremoring land.

Thousands of unidentifiable black spots stood in the fields of scarred land. They seemed to be burying their dead and saving those who survived. They did not yell angrily nor cry but continued living their lives.

Every petroglyph was of Haotian’s releasing his wrath upon the world. The drawings were of mankind’s suffering and struggles. The people in the drawings were blurred out, but their human identity was clear.

The petroglyphs on the stone beams continued to spread. Following mankind’s ability to wield tools, their firm willpower, and understanding of nature, they became calmer in the face of various disasters. Their hearts might be burdened with sadness and anger, but no matter what, they would survive and they had survived until today.

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan looked at the petroglyphs below their feet as they continued walking. The expressions on their faces turned grave gradually. Even though they were unable to completely understand or confirm the true reason behind why those from the Devil’s Doctrine had carved these petroglyphs, they certainly felt something as a member of the human race.

The last petroglyph at the front of the stone beam was extremely simple. There were fewer lines than the previous petroglyphs. At the bottom were three rows of straight lines interspersed with numerous small stone caves. They probably represented the human race that had multiplied and had taken over the world. The round caves looked like men’s hands raised in the air for celebration.

Above the three straight lines were a circle and a semi-circle.

Mo Shanshan frowned lightly and looked at the picture beneath her feet that was so simple but hard to understand. She thought about the messages that could be hidden within it, but did not think of anything no matter how she thought about it.

Ning Que stared at the last petroglyph. His hand that was holding Mo Shanshan up started to tremble slightly. He felt his body becoming slightly cold and could vaguely guess something. However, he felt that his guess was too ludicrous.

It was a pity that he was in the desolate Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine. There was no time for him to think it through carefully. He had no time to think of the Fauvism symbolisms or problems surrounding Fauvism. Even if he had wanted to think about it, the petroglyph on the platform suspended in the middle of the Snow-capped Peak would not allow him to.

…

…

Numerous stone beams gathered here, forming a natural platform. The stone platform was suspended in the middle of the air, several feet from the ground. The wind from the outside blew inwards, blowing the dust off that temple.

There were several white skeletons heaped outside the temple. The dust fell through the cracks of the white bones and flew up again. The cycle had repeated countless times over the years. Under the white bones laid a thick layer of dust, which made others feel that they laid in a muddy river.

Walking down the stone beam, the first thing that Ning Que saw was the Devil’s Doctrine’s temple eaves. The second was the pile of bones lying in the aged dust outside the temple. He could not move his eyes from that.

The Devil’s Doctrine had experienced fierce battles when they were destroyed then. Many had died outside the temples. As the time went by, their bodies turned into white skeletons. Only the sharp marks on their bones and the scattered broken bone bits laying around were witness to the brutality that had happened then.

Ning Que helped Mo Shanshan through the pile of bones. They came to the steps near the temple and discovered several intact corpses. Their heavy armor had protected the bones within it and these bones did not scatter. Some bones that looked like branches were still holding on to their weapons. Even death could not make them release them.

He had seen too many deaths in this life. He had seen even more cruel ones, which was why he could remain calm. He even knelt down and examined the complete corpses. However, Mo Shanshan had never seen such terrifying or cruel things. Her beautiful face was pale and she wrung her hands together, unable to speak.

The weapons clutched in the bony hands were extraordinary. They remained pristine even after decades. Ning Que noticed that there was a strong Fu character aura on their armor and was even more surprised. He thought that these men must have been the powerhouses of the Devil’s Doctrine then.

He extended a finger and wiped the dust off the armor. He had wanted to take a closer look at the Fu character. When his finger touched the surface of the armor, a crisp click sounded. The armor that had looked indestructible cracked open instantaneously.

The crisp clicks sounded one after another. The armor of the previous generation of powerhouses from the Devil’s Doctrine cracked. The aura of the Fu character left behind on them also dissipated in the air and could no longer be felt.

The crack in the armor was smooth and shiny and was obviously made with a sharp object such as a sword. Who could cut through such a powerful armor so easily with a sword? Furthermore, the sword style was one that cut through objects and yet not left behind any trace. It had stayed in the armor for decades and only appeared when Ning Que’s fingers touched it today.

Ning Que knew the answer to that question. He stayed silent.

Mo Shanshan was shocked at first. She looked at Ning Que who was silent, and then calmed down and looked slightly ashamed. After that, she experienced several other emotions as well.

The two walked up the stairs and pushed open the temple doors.

They opened the door to see a mountain. There was a stone stele that was as huge as a mountain.

The stele was made from an entire piece of stone. Its surface was extremely smooth.

“A no-word stele?”

Mo Shanshan was the first to notice the stele. She thought of the legends she had heard and said in surprise.

Ning Que was looking at their surroundings alertly. He asked subconsciously, “What’s a no-word stele?”

Mo Shanshan replied dazedly, “When the Great Divine Priest of Light founded the Devil’s Doctrine against Haotian’s will, he said, ‘Only time will know me and my sins.’ That was why he requested that not a single word should be written on his stele so that the world could comment on him freely.”

“So the body below this stele belongs to the Great Divine Priest of Light?”

Ning Que raised his head and looked at it. His expression turned into shock immediately.

Words had appeared on the no-word stele.

A line of words that were beyond this world.

“Ke Haoran of the Academy vanquished the Devil’s Doctrine here!”

****

A Dying Monk in the Pile of Bones

The words were carved deeply into the stone with a sharp blade in awe-inspiring strokes.

Ning Que looked at the line of words on the stele. His brows rose slowly. He did not lament but looked at it in silence for a long time. And then, he left without saying anything. He looked to the side, avoiding the bones by his feet.

He walked around the no-word stele a couple of times before returning to the front of it. He raised his head once more, looking at the stele in silence. His brows were raised so high that they looked as if they might take flight. He pointed to the words on the stele and said with a small smile, “My Youngest Uncle wrote that.”

Mo Shanshan had once heard her teacher mention this sublime being who had vanquished the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine. However, the name of this sublime being had never been revealed for some reason or another. She had once wondered if that person was the same senior who had disappeared from the Academy after committing a deed that had shocked the world.

Ning Que’s odd actions throughout their travels from the Wilderness to the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine, especially the kneeling and worshipping in the Stone Array Tactics had allowed her to confirm her suspicions. She had finally obtained a confirmation from Ning Que. However, she still found herself speechless with shock. How powerful was the person who had vanquished the Devil’s Doctrine with a single sword?

Her brows furrowed and her red lips pursed into a single line. After a moment of silence, she looked at Ning Que’s raised brows and drifting expression. She asked softly, “You seem very proud.”

Ning Que nodded honestly. He looked around himself in an attempt to negate the impact those words had on him. He realized that there remained a strong aura on the bones of the Devil’s Doctrine’s powerhouses. He was shocked, especially so as the bones were stronger than the average steel. So many powerhouses of the Devil’s Doctrine had died under his Youngest Uncle’s Haoran Sword. It was evident how scary his Youngest Uncle’s state was then.

Ning Que had long guessed that this Youngest Uncle was one of the most powerful beings in this world from the reactions of Second Brother and the others at the back of the mountain of the Academy. However, he had not guessed that he was that powerful. Could it be that he had already passed through the five states and became a Sage when he had broken into the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine back then?

As a disciple of the Second floor of the Academy, Ning Que could not help but feel proud that he had a Youngest Uncle like that.

However, pride could not be eaten. Ning Que and Mo Shanshan had experienced many difficulties before finally reaching the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine. They had done this for the “Ming” Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane as well as the aura left behind by Youngest Uncle. After they had stood before the stele for a moment and gathered their thoughts, they continued their trek towards the depths of the temple. He could sense Youngest Uncle’s aura in the hall behind the stele.

The Devil’s Doctrine’s main hall was majestic as well. It looked like a simple building held up by a single beam. The oil paintings on them gave it a sense of sacredness. There were hundreds of stone statues by the sides of the wide passageway. These statues were of curious divine devils that were rarely seen in the Central Plains. They were ferocious and silent.

The passageway was deep but dry. There was no hint of dampness at all. It seemed that the ventilation and lighting were done well when the Desolate Man had constructed it. It was still bright as the two walked on.

As they entered the depths of the main hall, the aura that moved Ning Que became even thicker. It felt as if it was about to become a tangible being. He looked at Mo Shanshan silently. They did not know what they would see later. No matter the “Ming” Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane or the secrets of the Devil’s Doctrine, he only hoped that he wouldn’t see what he didn’t want to.

The number of bodies in the passageway grew. As they made a turn, they saw piles of bones lying above each other, forming a small mountain. Ning Que helped Mo Shanshan forward and looked at the deeper and deeper sword marks. He thought about the bloody battle that had happened then and could not help but feel his heart pounding.

The main hall at the end was an ordinary room. The room would have felt wide and spacious usually, but the piles of bones and dried corpses took up the entire middle of the room, making it seemed a little crowded and small.

“How many have died then.”

Mo Shanshan exclaimed subconsciously as she looked at the mountain made up of bones in shock. Her hands were cold and her voice trembled. As a core disciple of the Master of Calligrapher from the Divine Hall, she had never felt any pity for the Devil’s Doctrine. However, after all she had seen today, she could not help but feel the hopelessness felt by the Devil’s Doctrine then.

Ning Que looked at the mountain of bones and said after a moment of silence, “I do not know why Youngest Uncle wanted to vanquish the Devil’s Doctrine then. But I guess he had his own reasons and there was a cause for it.”

Then, a voice sounded from the middle of the pile of bones.

“There are many times in the world when many things don’t require a cause or a reason. That is because when you think about causes and reasons in another way, they are but just delusions. There are many reasons today for why he did that. But the truth is, he simply came and did it.”

…

…

There were only silent bones in the room and still sword marks on the walls. It was silent as if it was not of this world. However, the voice that had sounded was especially clear even though it was feeble.

The voice was soft and weak but exuded calm and peace. It sounded clear to Ning Que and Mo Shanshan and was like a thunderbolt to their ears. However, this had nothing to do with the quiet environment.

The verdant valleys had been buried in the depths of the Tianqi Mountains for decades. The Daming Lake had disappeared from the realm for decades. The Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine had cut off all ties with the world for decades. According to speculations, this place had long become a ruin. It was impossible for there to be any trace of life within. And that was true from what the two had seen. However, there was someone alive buried in the past of bones and sword marks!

Ning Que was shocked speechless. He quickly pulled Mo Shanshan behind him and raised his bow and arrow. He used his most powerful weapon and shot at the pile of bones and bodies in the middle.

After looking carefully, he realized that there was a person in the mound of bones and bodies.

That person was very old. He was bald and toothless. There were only two extremely long white brows that hung off his face and reached his chest. The person wore extremely old robes of a monk. The robes were tattered and the threads and pieces of cloth hung from his body just like his brows.

The person was extremely skinny. His limbs looked like firewood. There was no muscle nor fat on his body and a thin layer of skin was wrapped around his jagged bones. The two black holes that were his eyes looked terrifying. However, the gaze that his eyes exuded was kind and warm.

Other than the thin layer of skin that had long lost its elasticity, the old monk looked almost like the bones and bodies around him. That was why it was so difficult to spot him in the pile of bones.

There were two very fine chains that went through the monk’s drum-like abdomen. The other end of the chain was nailed on the hard wall behind him. The fresh blood of decades past had turned black over the years and was painted on the tatters of his robes.

This image was rather strange and the old monk within it was terrifying.

Ning Que’s finger trembled and he almost shot his arrow that was in the bowstring. Mo Shanshan clasped a hand to her mouth before she could make a sound. They had stopped themselves in time due to the benevolence and warmth in the old monk’s eyes.

“Who are you?”

Ning Que held on to his bowstring tightly as he asked agitatedly. He aimed at the old monk in the middle of the Bone Mountain.

The sudden appearance of an old monk in the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine which had disappeared from the world for decades was hard to explain. It was unthinkable how the old man had managed to survive despite being so thin. And things that did not have a rational explanation were usually fraught with danger.

“Who am I?”

The old monk raised his head slowly. The chains that pierced through his belly rattled. A trace of pain appeared on his sallow face. However, his gaze remained warm as he reminisced.

A look of understanding passed through his eyes after a long time. Lips twitched on the loose skin as he smiled with difficulty. He said, ” I am a person who has bounded himself.”

“I have committed a grievous sin in the past and regretted it all my life. That is why I have locked myself in this place with metal chains. I swore that I would use the rest of my life to help these souls pass on in order to atone for some of my sins.”

Every slight action or words from the old monk would cause him pain from the metal chains that passed through his body. However, his weak voice and gaze were filled with benevolence like a gentle spring breeze.

Ning Que looked at the shriveled old monk with an aura of spring and asked in shock, “What sins have you committed?”

The chains rattled again. The shriveled old monk smiled as he looked at the bodies strewn around him. He extended a finger with great difficulty and gently touched a white femur before him. He said, “I have committed murder.”

“Committed murder?”

The old monk looked at him calmly and said, “I entered Buddhism at 20 and became a monk. I thought that with benevolence, I would be able to help the world with the light of Buddha. Who would have thought that it would lead to the birth of these bodies? That, is my act of murder.”

Ning Que understood it but did not understand it either. It was rumored that these bodies of the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine were killed by Youngest Uncle. The sword marks, as well as the words on the no-word stele, made it seem that the rumors were rather close to the truth. Why would the withered old monk say that this was his act of murder?

“You… do you know my Youngest Uncle?” He asked.

The old monk looked at the two like a senior looking at his juniors. He asked gently, “Crazy Ke is your Youngest Uncle. That makes you a disciple to the Headmaster of Academy. Who is this young lady?”

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan could feel the man’s kindness and trust. There was perhaps even a trace of doting warmth. They revealed their identities subconsciously.

The old monk lamented softly, “I had thought that I would spend the rest of my life atoning for my sins. I did not think that I would meet the descendants of my enemies. Does this mean that the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine has opened?”

He looked at Ning Que puzzledly, ” You are the Academy’s wayfarer of this generation? You seem to have only broken the realm and entered the Seethrough state only a couple days back. Why is your state so low? Could it be that the Academy has gotten weaker with each generation?”

Following that, the old monk looked at Mo Shanshan and smiled, “I’ve stayed in the Bone Mountain and not heard of anything. I do not know how much time has passed and only felt that I have slept and woken up. It seems that even little Wang has a successor now.”

Ning Que knew that he was the weakest World Wayfarer in the Academy’s history. However, he was still annoyed when the monk pointed it out. However, he thought of how the old monk had stayed in the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine for decades, and how he had called Youngest Uncle Crazy Ke and the Master of Calligrapher little Wang. He knew that the man was an Unworldly Sublime Being and could not bring himself to scold him.

It was just, who exactly was the withered old monk?

****

Liansheng 32

A man of old age and high status deserved respect. The withered old monk had sat on the Bone Mountain and atoned for his sins for decades. It seemed that he wasn’t a useless old one like Quni Madi. Ning Que kept his bow behind him but did not step forward. He looked at the withered old monk from about ten feet away and said respectfully, “I’m indeed a student of the Academy. The Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine has indeed opened. But I do not understand why your senior would say that this floor full of bones are the results of your sins?”

The old monk laughed weakly. He said, “This is a complicated story.”

One would always hear an incredible story from a long time ago whenever they met someone interesting in a valley. Perhaps it was because Ning Que had already anticipated this, he was very calm and said softly, “Please, senior, tell us about it.”

The old monk was silent for a while before he recalled, “Back then, Crazy Ke started to travel the world on behalf of the Academy. He had an ordinary cyan-steel sword strapped to his waist and no one dared to go against him. The Devil’s Doctrine was strong, arrogant and bloodthirsty. Several innocents were killed ruthlessly by those from the Devil’s Doctrine. The meeting between the two was doomed to be like a thunderstorm.”

“That thunderstorm was heavy and bloody. The powerhouses of the Devil’s Doctrine spread across the Central Plains all died at the sword of Crazy Ke. The West-Hill Divine Palace and those on the right Taoist path wanted to take the opportunity to remove all power from the Devil’s Doctrine.”

“Crazy Ke stood in the rain and yelled at the heavens and earth with no respect in his eyes. The old fogeys from West-Hill Divine Palace did not like him, of course. The Devil’s Doctrine was tortured in that storm and came up with a solution. They wanted to use the faction between the Academy and the Divine Hall to set up a trap, forcing the two into war.”

“During a great meet at the Lanke Temple’s Yue laan hungry ghost festival one year, the cultivators of various countries of the Central Plains met. There was dancing. The Devil’s Doctrine used this opportunity to kill many at the Lanke Temple and framed the Judicial Department of Divine Hall. That was how the story began.”

The old monk was as withered as a ghost. He spoke of the bloody and cruel past but his expression remained collected like the spring breeze. He spoke of the bloody images of the past in just a few words.

Ning Que helped Mo Shanshan sit by the wall. He looked at the old monk in the Bone Mountain and thought of the story that the old man had told them of the distant past. He said after a moment of silence, “Framing someone has always been a stupid act.”

The old monk’s lips twitched upwards and he smiled with great difficulty. His eyes were wet as he looked at Ning Que. He said regretfully, “The Devil’s Doctrine in the world outside must all be dead. Even if there were any survivors, I would guess that they are all living in hiding, like rats in the gutter. I suppose a child like you would not know what the Devil’s Doctrine was like then, and how frightful the power they wielded was.”

It had been two years since Ning Que left the City of Wei and entered the world of cultivation. Other than the meeting with the Desolate Man some time ago, he had only seen a Sword Master with the Devil’s Doctrine’s cultivation methods at the entrance of the Northern Mountain Road. That Sword Master was not very strong, in his opinion, which was why he did not find the Devil’s Doctrine fearful.

The old man’s eyelids closed like wilting leaves. He seemed to be thinking of the arrogance and bluster that the Devil’s Doctrine had back then. It seemed to be a blow to his peaceful mental state. And then, he continued in a soft tone, “The methods of the Devil’s Doctrine was stolen from the heaven. Those who cultivate using their methods are extremely strong and do not have any ripples in their Psyche Power. They are able to avoid any methods of detection from other cultivators. Those from the Devil’s Doctrine used this to their advantage then and entered various countries of the Central Plains, or entered the state and formed three generations of senior statesmen. It was rumored that some entered the countryside and built up a large family. They set up a network so strong, that there were people from the Devil’s Doctrine in the Imperial Center Administration of Tang empire and high positions in the West-Hill Divine Palace.”

The old monk raised his head slowly and looked at him calmly, “If not for fear of the Academy and other Unknown Places, the Devil’s Doctrine would have taken over the world when they came into their full power. They did not dare to do things against the will of the heaven. But would they leave any holes in their plots? No one would believe that, in truth, the Devil’s Doctrine had paid a heavy price to unveil the Priest hidden in the Judicial Department of the Divine Hall for decades at the bloodshed at the Lanke Temple.”

Ning Que frowned and asked, “What has the bloodshed at the Lanke Temple to do with the Academy and Youngest Uncle?”

The old monk sighed once more. His sigh was bellied with pity as he said, “The Devil’s Doctrine’s bloodshed at the Lanke Temple during the Yue laan hungry ghost festival looked as if they were going against cultivators on the right Taoist path. But in actual fact, it was against the officials of the Tang empire. But they had wanted to provoke Crazy Ke, so their actual targets were the poor women who only knew how to dance from the Tang empire.”

Ning Que tensed up when he heard that. He had heard from Second Brother that Mistress Jian and Youngest Uncle were lovers. He wondered if those dancers were the girls from the House of Red Sleeves. However, since Mistress Jian was well alive and would occasionally give him a rough dressing down, who had died then?

The Devil’s Doctrine had paid a heavy price for this scheme. They would certainly know who Youngest Uncle would barge into the Peach Mountain for. It was just like if he saw Sangsang lying in blood when he returned to the Lin 47th street and all the evidence pointed to the palace. He would not hesitate to bring his knife with him and barge through the palace gates and into the imperial study. He would tear up “The Flower Blooms on the Shore Astride” and cut the emperor into 365 pieces…

“But Youngest Uncle did not barge into the Peach Mountain. He destroyed the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine.”

Ning Que looked at the man in the Bone Mountain and asked in confusion, “What went wrong in the Devil’s Doctrine’s plot?”

The old man sat in silence for a long while before he finally smiled. There was a myriad of emotions in his wizened smile. There were lament and shock, bitterness and a bit pride.

“There was nothing wrong with the plot that they set up. The whole world had thought that the Judicial Department of Divine Hall was the one who killed those at the Lanke Temple then. And there were no other thoughts on who else could have done it when the Elder who had been living in seclusion in the back of the Lanke Temple came out and accused the attackers, stating that they were from the West-Hill.”

The old monk looked at him and said, “But Ke Haoran did not believe that.”

Ning Que asked puzzledly, “Why didn’t Youngest Uncle believe that?”

The old monk replied, “It would be difficult to fool someone like Crazy Ke.”

Ning Que was shocked, and shook his head, saying, “This is not a reason.”

The old man lamented, “I asked him the same question then.”

Ning Que listened attentively.

The old monk smiled, “In this very same room, he said, ‘Will I, Ke Haoran, be so easily fooled?'”

There was a moment of silence.

“And then?”

Ning Que asked. He supposed that every story had a continuation and an ending.

The old monk asked, with a bit surprising, “And then… does the world not know yet?”

Ning Que replied, “The storyteller is different, the content of the story might change.”

“This story has a simple ending.”

The old monk’s voice grew even weaker. He said, “The Devil’s Doctrine did not manage to fool Crazy Ke, so he went to the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine. The leader of the Devil’s Doctrine was full of himself then. He was not overly fearful and simply thought that he would kill him if he came. Crazy Ke did not want to be killed, so he killed all of them.”

He did not want to be killed, so he killed all of them.

This was such a simple statement, and the story was simple as well. However, the simpler one put the shocking past that resulted in annihilation and a history buried in past, the more alarming it was. After decades of years, only the old wizened monk and the countless bodies left in the main hall of the Devil’s Doctrine bore witness to what had happened then.

Ning Que looked at the old monk’s deep-set eyes. “Why are you atoning for your sins? What have you to do with this?”

The old monk raised his slender arms. The cloth on his arms was ragged. He extended his fingers. The joints beneath the skin over his fingers were scary and looked like a pair of skeletal hands from the Underworld. However, the aura that exuded from his palms was silent and warm. It was benevolent, like two white lotuses fallen from Haotian.

The aura wielded in the white lotus Emblematic Gesture was abnormally strong and concentrated but not lethal. The bones around the old monk glistened with the flow of the aura and looked as if they were coming alive.

Ning Que stared at the old monk’s hands before his abdomen and could feel the aura coming from within. He was shocked speechless. The power that the old monk had exhibited was of a state so high it could not be measured. It was the strongest he had ever seen in this life.

Mo Shanshan sat by the wall. She looked at the old monk’s skeletal hands that had formed into Emblematic Gesture of white lotuses. She thought of what her teacher had said once, and could not help but allow the shock she felt made its way onto her face.

“There is a lotus in the west that landed in this world. It was born with 32 petals, and each petal is unique. They each make up a different world.”

…

…

“I atone for my sins because the sins are mine.”

“Because there was never any plot by the Devil’s Doctrine. The plot was mine.”

“The Priest from the Judicial Department was from the Devil’s Doctrine. I knew about this many years ago. I knew what they wanted to do, but I did not do anything. I sat on the cold black seat and propped my chin up with my hands and watched them finish the matter quietly. Then, I found a suitable time and told Ke Haoran about it.”

“But I underestimated Ke Haoran. I did not need to show him the evidence that I had kept carefully, and he knew that the matter was done by the Devil’s Doctrine. That was great, so I sat quietly on the cold black seat and propped my chin up with my hands and waited for the moment to arrive quietly.”

The old monk who was as skinny as a ghost sat on the Bone Mountain. His bony hands bore the lotus emblem and his eyes were gentle and benevolent.

Ning Que looked at him with wide eyes and asked in a trembling voice, “Who exactly are you? What did you want to achieve back then?”

This was the second time the old monk had heard the question. He lifted his head towards the skies slowly, jostling the chains in his belly. He made a clear sound, allowing the pain to show on his wizened face once more.

The old monk looked at the skies with a gentle gaze in his deep-set eyes. The white lotus flowers in his bony hands blossomed.

“I wanted to vanquish the Devil’s Doctrine then. I wanted Ke Haoran to die. But he did not die despite the thunderstorm that was the Devil’s Doctrine that I created with all my efforts and directed at him.”

“As for who I am?”

The old monk retracted his gaze from the skies and looked at the two, “I am the judge.”

…

…

“Divine Lord Lotus?”

A voice filled with disbelief sounded from behind suddenly.

Ye Hongyu, the Tao Addict, who was dressed simply appeared. She looked at the skinny old monk sitting on the Bone Mountain and the Emblematic Gesture he made. Expressions of joy and disbelief filled her face.

Mo Shanshan exclaimed at the same time, “Master Lotus?”

Ye Hongyu had suddenly appeared in the main hall of the Devil’s Doctrine. Her left shoulder was soaked in congealed blood and her skirt was in tatters, unable to cover her completely. She looked utterly pathetic, but her eyes were shockingly shiny.

Ning Que did not know that outside the Front Gate she had used all the strength to split the rock before her before reaching where they were with much difficulty. However, it was evident that she had suffered greatly judging from her appearance and he could not help but be in awe of her.

As compared to the vague respect he felt, he was even more nervous when he saw the Tao Addict. He quickly held on to the hilt of his blade behind him with his right hand and was prepared to get rid of this fearful enemy at her weakest.

However, he realized that Ye Hongyu did not bother with him at all. Mo Shanshan who leaned against the rock wall did not concern herself with her either. Both the Tao Addict and the Calligraphy Addict looked at the skinny old monk in the Bone Mountain speechlessly and somewhat intoxicatedly.

…

…

To the east of the West-Hill Divine Kingdom near the sea, there was a large circular stone. It was used against the fearful waves. Behind the rock was the Kingdom of Song. It could perhaps be due to the rainy days and winds, many great people came from the humble little country. There were a great number of priests in the Divine Hall that came from the Kingdom of Song. The Great Divine Priest of Light who had been imprisoned for many years came from this place. And in a dark night many years ago, the lotuses in the garden of a certain mansion in the capital of the kingdom Song bloomed. Together with the blooming of the lotus flowers, was the birth of a baby boy. As such, the baby boy was named Lotus.

The child named Lotus was not exceptional in his youth. He was like the other young masters around him who went to school and took exams. After that, he received an official position and married. The couple did not have any children before his beloved wife passed on from an illness. After the death of his wife, Lotus stayed by her grave in a hut. He grieved beside it for three months.

On a stormy night, Lotus walked into the rain. He stood in tranquil contemplation for half of the night before walking back in wet clothes. He picked up a brush and wrote an essay in remembrance of his wife. After that, he threw the brush into the grass that had grown on the grave, laughed out loud thrice and walked away.

In the years after, Lotus explored the world and visited many different cultivation sects. His essay in remembrance of his wife had made its way into the world and caused many to cry. His name was well known and the sects met him with respect but did not tell him anything about cultivation.

On the second autumn, Lotus traveled to the Wa Mountain. It rained, and he sought refuge in the Lanke Temple.

That night, he slept in the back hall and heard an old monk talking about the Buddhism Sect. He thought about it into the deep night and returned to the main gate of the Lanke Temple and rang the bell. He entered the temple and told the receiving monk that he wanted to enter a debate with the host of Lanke Temple.

The debate lasted for an entire 32 days. Lotus’s speech was as flowery as lotuses blooming on the clouds of the Wa Mountain. A bird from the heaven hidden in the tree by the edge of the cliff chirped gently during the debate, attracting scholars and celebrities from around the world.

The debate at the Lanke Temple became yet another grand event after the Yue laan hungry ghost festival. Lotus’s name began to circulate in the world.

On the last day, the previous Haotian hierarch from the West-Hill Divine Palace came from the Peach Mountain. He invited Lotus to join the Divine Hall as a visiting professor before the masses. Lotus smiled and rejected his offer. Then, the Elder who had lived in seclusion in the Lanke Temple of Wa Mountain appeared. He touched the top of his head and hair fell off from the top like black lotuses. His Buddhist Heart became increasingly firm.

In the autumn when the leaves began to fall, Lotus left the Lanke Temple in the Wa Mountain. He traveled across the great river and reached the Ink Lake. He crossed forests and entered the Yuelun Kingdom before disappearing into the Wilderness north-west of Yuelun Kingdom. Nobody knew where he went.

After several years, a monk returned from the Wilderness. He traveled between the palace and the masses, between verdant mountains and seas. He told the princes and nobles and the ordinary folk about cause and effect as well as Lucky Chance. He was well-versed in Buddhism and did well everywhere. The world respected him.

Mr. Lotus disappeared from the world. And the world gained a Master Lotus.

At the peak of their power, the Devil’s Doctrine’s infiltration into the Central Plains was hard to prevent just like it was hard to prevent the darkness at night. There were two Elders from the Devil’s Doctrine who were most mysterious. They secretly played off the other sects of various other countries and created several bloody tragedies. However, no one knew exactly where the two Elders of the Devil’s Doctrine were hidden.

That spring, Master Lotus was invited by the Haotian hierarch from West-Hill to teach in the Divine Hall. During the meeting, the vice headmaster of the Revelation Institute spoke with contempt and neglect. Master Lotus walked up to him and killed him before the Hierarch Lord and other powerhouses of the Divine Hall. The vice headmaster of the Revelation Institute was one of the Elders of the Devil’s Doctrine.

The hierarch of Haotian Taoism invited Master Lotus to the Divine Hall once more, not as a visiting professor, but to be a Great Divine Priest of Judgment, a position that had been empty for years. Master Lotus said that the time was not right, and refused once more.

Mater Lotus left the Peach Mountain for the Wa Mountain. He had attained Tao enlightenment there then, and now that he had returned, he visited the Lanke Temple to practice. He did not receive any visitors for the next two years and was gradually forgotten by the world.

One day, a high ranking monk died suddenly while sweeping the floors at Lanke Temple. The whole temple was shocked. Master Lotus stepped out of his room and admitted that he had killed the monk. This monk was yet another Elder from the Devil’s Doctrine who had concealed himself in the Central Plains. Master Lotus had secluded himself in the Wa Mountain for two years to verify this.

The two most mysterious Elders of the Devil’s Doctrine who had hidden out in the Central Plains were both dead. Most of the bloody secret plans of the Devil’s Doctrine were all exposed. Master Lotus’ name was well renowned across the world.

The White Tower Temple of Yuelun Kingdom, as well as the Lanke Temple of Wa Mountain, named him as a guard to the Front Gate of the Buddhism Sect in commemoration of his deed.

The West-Hill Divine Palace invited him to view the six scrolls of the Tomes of Arcane as a reward and also named him the Great Divine Priest of Judgment.

Master Lotus became the first Buddhism Sect disciple in history to become the Great Divine Priest of West-Hill Divine Palace.

Several years later, the bloodshed before Lanke Temple happened. The Priest of the Judicial Department of Divine Hall was involved in the matter and Master Lotus, grieving from the death of an old friend was willing to assume responsibility. He disregarded all attempts to make him stay from the Peach Mountain and insisted on resigning from the position as Great Divine Priest and left. He stayed hidden and no one knew where he went.

From then on, Master Lotus had disappeared from the world of cultivation. However, his name remained in the world until today.

In the memories of today’s world, Master Lotus had always exuded benevolence and mystery. The benevolence came from his action and the mystery was due to the legendary life that he had led.

Master Lotus was good at writing essays and calligraphy. He had traveled the world, studied the classics and cultivated. He attained Tao enlightenment in the Lanke Temple and entered the Knowing Destiny State after only several years. He was well versed in Buddhism laws and knew all the different ways of the different sects. He was a great writer and calligrapher of his generation. He was a guard of the Buddhism Sect Front Gate and also a Great Divine Priest of Judgment of the Divine Hall.

A man who was willing to come close to all beauty of the world, who had the ability to bring enlightenment to the world, who was willing to shoulder the burdens of the world; a man who was this perfect had never been seen before and might never appear again.

To many, such a perfect person could not have been cultivated in later life. He must have been born this way. That was why the people said after he disappeared, “There is a lotus in the west that landed in this world. It was born with 32 petals, and each petal is unique. They each make up a different world.”

His monastic title was Liansheng 32.

He was like a white lotus who had floated into the mortal world. With each blooming of a jade petal, he would show a big power that brought solace to the filthy world.

…

…

Ning Que stood in the Great Blockage Formation outside the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine. He knelt and kowtowed to the mossy sword marks. He was worshiping his elder, the kin in his blood. He felt admiration and longing within him.

To the Tao Addict and Mo Shanshan, Master Lotus was like a great mountain that they had not stopped paying attention to since they started cultivation. A sense of closeness and admiration flowed in their blood.

That was why they did not care about what Ning Que wanted to do, and had no wish to fight. They kneeled and kowtowed respectfully to the withered old monk.

Compared with the Calligraphy Addict, the Tao Addict was visibly more excited. She was the Grand Master of the Divine Hall’s Judicial Department. Master Lotus was once the Divine Hall’s Great Divine Priest of Judgment. He was practically her senior. Furthermore, while the Judicial Department held most of the power in the West-Hill Divine Palace, their darkened names surpassed their sacredness due to their bad name from keeping prisoners. In the past century, it was only when Divine Lord Lotus held a position could the Judicial Department take control of the Devil’s Doctrine and gain respect from the masses. The elderly members of the Judicial Department still talked fondly of those times, which was why Divine Lord Lotus’ status was different in the eyes of those in the Judicial Department.

She could not suppress the shock and excitement in her heart. She looked at the Emblematic Gesture at the old monk made and said in a trembling voice, “Your disciple, Priest Ye Hongyu of the Divine Hall Judicial Department pays her respect to Divine Lord Lotus. Those from the Peach Mountain thought that you had ascended to heaven and became an immortal. I did not think that I would be so lucky to meet you, Divine Lord Lotus.”

Master Lotus did not expect that he would see a newbie from the Judicial Department here. He was slightly startled, but said with warmth and regret, “I have said before that I did not know how much time has passed in my time on the mountain. It seems that was very true indeed. A young and loveable young lady like you has been dragged into this pool of muddied water. That is such a pity. A pity indeed.”

If someone else had described the Judicial Department as a pool of muddied water, Ye Hongyu would have tortured that person. However, she did not react to this right now because the person who had said that was an old ancestor of the Judicial Department. She did not have the guts to behave unreasonably. Furthermore, Divine Lord Lotus’ voice was gentle and benevolent. He spoke like a grandfather to a grandchild, and it made her feel warm and slightly shy.

The three addicts were world-renowned. Both the Tao Addict and the Calligraphy Addict knelt before the Bone Mountain like obedient children while Ning Que stood still. Mo Shanshan pulled at him surreptitiously, but he pretended not to see her.

Ning Que was not like the Calligraphy Addict or the Tao Addict that had studied within sects since they were children. They knew about the legends of the cultivation world. However, he had only managed to enter the cultivators’ world after many difficulties two years ago. The Senior Brothers and Sisters in the back of the mountain of the Academy did not have much interest in telling stories, which was why he was lacking in knowledge regarding some things. He had never heard of Liansheng 32 before.

That was why he did not kneel in respect like Mo Shanshan and Ye Hongyu did.

When he heard the words “Divine Lord Lotus”, he looked at the old monk sitting in the pile of bones and laughed. He said, “So you were the Great Divine Priest of Judgment of Divine Hall. No wonder you wanted to vanquish the Devil’s Doctrine.”

His smile gradually dimmed. He stared at the old monk and said, “But I would still like to know, why did you spend half your life on a plot trying to harm my Youngest Uncle? I wouldn’t do it even if I had too much time on my hands.”

There was someone in the world who would speak with such disrespect to Divine Lord Lotus!

Ye Hongyu who knelt before the Bone Mountain glared at Ning Que. Her eyebrows were raised and looked like tiny sharp swords.

****

Join the Devil

The old monk looked at Ning Que warmly and said with a slight smile and said, “You seem not to have heard of me.”

Ning Que was slightly startled, he replied, “Should everyone have heard of you?”

A self-deprecating smile appeared on the old monk’s wizened face with some difficulty. He said, “It might sound a little funny, but I thought that after several decades, the young people would still remember my name.”

Ning Que did not know what to say. He looked at the cold gaze shooting from Ye Hongyu’s eyes and the confoundment in Mo Shanshan’s dark eyes. He thought to himself, “Was what this Divine Lord Lotus said true?”

“If you know my story, you should know how I attained Tao enlightenment in the Lanke Temple. I used to preach as the chief monk in the Xuankong Temple. I passed through the Divine Hall twice but did not enter. In the end, I became one of the Great Divine Priest of Judgment. But I doubt that even the two young ladies know, that I once almost became a High Priest of the Devil’s Doctrine.”

The old monk looked at the three youngsters who could not contain their shock. He said gently, “Since the Devil’s Doctrine could infiltrate the various countries of the Central Plains, the various Buddhist sects of the Central Plains would, of course, have similar tactics. There is no need to be so shocked.”

“Looking back at my life, I have once experienced too many things. I even feel that they were very excited when I think about them in the middle of the night. But when I think through them carefully, the thing that I am proudest of is that I had a friend like Ke Haoran. You asked me why I wanted him dead?”

The old monk looked at Ning Que, his expression was still benevolent, but slightly bitter. “Because he was my greatest friend, I knew of his earth-shattering abilities. We traveled through the wild mountains together when I was younger. When we met again, I realized that he had gotten stronger, and was getting closer to the darkness of the night.”

“There are many types of friends. I wanted to be a good one. The greater Ke Haoran’s ability was, the more I could not accept the changes in his view of the world. Which was why I would sacrifice everything, even my dreams, to bring him into this bloody storm. I would rather he died together with the Devil’s Doctrine than for him to join the devil.”

The room descended into silence when they heard of this soul-stirring piece of the past. Ye Hongyu and Mo Shanshan lowered their heads subconsciously. The young Talisman Master had heard the rumors surrounding this matter, while the Tao Addict lived in the West-Hill Divine Palace and knew more about Mr. Ke’s story than most.

Ning Que had never heard of this before. In the stories that the Senior Brothers and Sisters told at the Back Mountain, Youngest Uncle’s image was grand and proud. He held the cyan-steel sword with one hand and was second to none. He was never linked with the Devil’s Doctrine.

Ning Que’s brows rose on his forehead. He looked at Master Lotus and asked, “How would my Youngest Uncle join the devil?”

The old monk sighed, “The devil enters through one’s heart. Anyone can join the devil.”

Ning Que was not your typical Tang citizen. However, he had the Tang’s attitude. He could not believe such a saying. He shook his head and said calmly and certainly, “My Youngest Uncle is second to none. He is the strongest no matter in ability or spirit. He has no need for help from the outside. Why would he need to cultivate the Devil’s Doctrine’s method?”

The old monk said gently, “He had never cultivated the Devil’s Doctrine’s method. Just as you said, he had no need for their methods. But what you don’t know is, Ke Haoran was like the Great Divine Priest of Light from a thousand years ago. He would not be seduced by things and causes but would travel up that path because of his own thoughts. He had turned his back on the light of Haotian and walked towards the night the moment his view of the world changed.”

Ning Que was startled and said, “I do not understand.”

The old monk laughed when he heard such an honest reply. He shook his head lightly and slowly before wiping the smile off his face. He said calmly, “He had become the devil when he picked up that sword.”

Ning Que asked, “The Haoran Sword?”

The old monk acknowledged it tacitly.

Ning Que thought of the book “Exploring the Haoran Sword” he had read in the old library and also how Second Brother had taught him his sword move in the Back Mountain of the Academy. He remained silent before shaking his head. “The Haoran Sword has nothing to do with the Devil’s Doctrine’s methods.”

The old monk looked and him and smiled, “The world only knew of the Haoran Sword, but not the Great Spirit. If you have the lucky chance to one day understand what the Great Spirit is, you would understand why I said that.”

Ning Que seemed to have vaguely understood something. It seemed that Youngest Uncle’s state was very strong then and had walked himself into a corner trying to achieve a breakthrough. He had created the Great Spirit similar to what the Great Divine Priest of Light had done a thousand years ago. However, this Great Spirit was something that Haotian had banned, just like the methods of the Devil’s Doctrine.

“I still do not understand.”

Ning Que looked at the old monk in the Bone Mountain and smiled, “Anyway, I will not believe that Youngest Uncle would join the devil.”

This was him being unreasonable. No matter the Tangs or the Academy, they were the best at being unreasonable. He thought to himself, “This was, after all, something that had happened decades ago, what could you do to me, even if you were the Divine Lord Lotus?”

“It was ascertained that Mr. Ke had joined the devil later on.”

Ye Hongyu turned around and said suddenly, “He died from receiving heavenly punishment.”

Ning Que froze and then, he leaped up like a wild cat whose tail had been stepped on and yelled, “Punishment my arse!”

It was strange that Ye Hongyu did not retaliate angrily at his cursing. Instead, she looked at him with a myriad of emotions. There was a moment of silence before she said, “I will allow you to live for now out of respect for Mr. Ke.”

Ning Que came to a sudden realization that what she had said was the truth when he saw her reaction.

Back in the Back Mountain of the Academy, Second Brother had only said that Youngest Uncle was dead. He did not say how Youngest Uncle had died. No matter his master, Master Yan Se or the other cultivators he had met, no one mentioned about the Youngest Uncle from the Academy.

That was how Youngest Uncle had left this world.

Youngest Uncle was Second Brother’s idol and Second Brother was Ning Que’s. That was why Youngest Uncle was his greatest idol. It was a pity he had only heard fragments of rumors and had no clear idea of the whole situation. That why he was only vaguely proud of the whole situation.

Now that they have come to the Wilderness and felt the prideful and confident aura in the Tianqi Mountains that was like a snow cliff and pine trees, Youngest Uncle had come alive in his mind. He had traveled through the mountains following that aura and entered the verdant valleys. He had broken the realm and attained Tao enlightenment by the lake. He had stepped through the various formations confidently and come to the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine.

It was here where he finally heard of Youngest Uncle’s story and guessed the ending to it. In the shock, pain, and loss, he suddenly understood that this was the progression of the story.

A person as proud and confident as Youngest Uncle would, of course, pull out the sword at his waist and point it at Firmament when there was nothing worthy of a second look in the world.

It was just that, could a man be victorious over the heavens?

Ning Que stood in the Bone Mountain silently, he was lost for words.

The old monk sat in the Bone Mountain silently. He descended into silence just as he had decades ago when he heard that Ke Haoran had been punished by the heavens for joining the Devil. A trace of compassionate Buddha light glowed from his skeletal face.

“After everything, he had still died like that.”

The old monk bowed his head and sighed. One could not make out if it was one of praise or sadness. Following the sigh, his skinny body loosened suddenly. Traces of dust exploded from either within the cracks of his bones or the tatters of his monk robes.

…

…

At the end of an old story came love and hatred of a new one. Everything in the world happened in a bland cycle. Ye Hongyu’s bare legs became taught and her right hand came to hold the Taoist Sword by her waist.

Ning Que was shocked. He looked at her back with furrowed brows and quickly said, “Are you in such a hurry to fight onsidering Master Lotus’ state right now? I think we should save him first.”

The monk raised his head slowly and looked at the young man benevolently. He smiled, I am a person who has bound himself. Who can release me should I not wish for it to happen?”

Ye Hongyu knew that Ning Que was buying time. She held the hilt of her sword tightly. Just as she was about to turn around, she saw Divine Lord Lotus shaking his head at her from the Bone Mountain. She could not help the mild tremor that passed through her heart and she stopped moving.

The old monk smiled, “I have hidden here to help these souls move along to atone for my sins. I have long avoided the fights and deaths of the secular world. Why must you children let me see all of this? Bones are everywhere before us, is there any need to kill more?”

Ye Hongyu was puzzled. The legends say that when Divine Lord Lotus was still Bhadanta of the Buddhism Sect, he had killed someone before the Divine Hall’s hierarch and powerhouses. He would unleash the wrath of Buddha thunder when he got angry. How could he be the benevolent monk before them right now?

However, even with her tough spirit, she subconsciously relaxed as she looked at the benevolence gaze in Divine Lord Lotus’s deep-set eyes. There was no desire to fight left in her and she slowly released the hilt of the sword in her right hand.

The old monk said gently, “I have never thought that there would be a day when the Front Gate of the Devil Doctrine would open and that young people such as yourself would enter. I suppose that there must be many outstanding young people in today’s world. It must be a torture for you young people to listen to these bland old stories. But I would hope that you can bear with me and listen on as you are the future of the cultivation world.”

Ye Hongyu did not consider for a second longer. She bowed and sat back down again after hearing that.

Mo Shanshan sat cross-legged on the ground.

Ning Que would even have him tell his story for three days and three nights as long as he did not have to fight with the Tao Addict. He did not make any objections, but said sincerely, “Master, please teach us.”

Ye Hongyu frowned slightly, disgusted at his shamelessness.

…

…

“The world thought that the Judicial Department of Divine Hall were the culprits of the bloodshed at Lanke Temple. Only I and a few from the Divine Hall knew that it was the doing of the Devil’s Doctrine. Ke Haoran had found out the truth while we were waiting for the right time to tell him. Of course, this was just the first layer of the truth. To tell the truth, I still do not know how he came to find out even today.”

“That day, I watched him come to the side of Daming Lake on his donkey. He waved his hand and dispelled the water in the lake. I watched as he took out his sword and dismantled the Stone Array Tactics. I felt comforted because I thought that my plot was successful.”

The old monk paused for a long time when he got to this part. Then, he said softly, “I thought, then, that no matter if he destroyed the Devil’s Doctrine or was destroyed by the Devil’s Doctrine, he would never have the opportunity to join the Devil. And I would have done my best by our friendship.”

Ning Que thought that Youngest Uncle was very unfortunate to have a friend like that.

The monk’s voice was filled with regret and pain. “However, I have never seen someone kill like this my entire life.”

The old monk sighed with deep emotion, “I was debating at Mountain Wa during autumn that year when the hierarch came to see me. By the next autumn, I left the Central Plains and traveled towards the Wilderness to seek Taoism. The world thought that I had been living in seclusion at Lanke Temple during that period, but that’s not true. In fact, I was invited by the Divine Hall and had been silently cultivating the Devil’s Doctrine. This is what I meant by the reverse osmosis of the Central Plains’ right path previously.”

Ning Que shivered slightly upon listening to his words. “Could it be that this old monk had almost become the leader of the Devil’s Doctrine that year?” He thought to himself silently. It was really an excellent plan for the West-Hill Divine Palace to invite this great man, Lotus the 30th, to join the Devil, for he could help to raise the trustworthiness of the Devil’s Doctrine. After all, there was no doubt that his state, techniques, and mind were the top in the world.

The old monk had no idea what Ning Que was thinking about as he glanced around the dusty grey stone walls in the room warmly, as though he was looking at the clean walls of the Devil’s Doctrine’s main hall years ago. He then slowly continued, “Based on the impression from the world, people from the Devil’s Doctrine are evil and rotten jerks who ought to be killed and this is not far from the truth. Indeed, people from the Devil’s Doctrine often kill the innocent without any reason. They also kidnapped and forced children to cultivate the Devil’s skills. As such, many people died every year. Yet, could this Devil’s Doctrine be the end of everything?”

“In my time, the Devil’s Doctrine was at its peak and was divided into seven main schools with 28 sects. Each sect was different, from their cultivation ideas to their ideas of entering the human realm. Some were similar to how monks cultivate in Buddhism where they isolated themselves from the world. If that was the case, how could such sect be evil doers?”

The old monk withdrew his attention and looked at the three people in front of him, as he said calmly, “Just like any other religions, there are good and evil people in the Devil’s Doctrine. I admit that most of the people in the Devil’s Doctrine are evil, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any good men. However, when that sword split apart the stone array and fought its way into the Front Gate to start the blood war, who would know if the people who died under that sword was good or evil?”

“I was present in this mountain when Ke Haoran fought his way into the Devil’s Doctrine’s Front Gate.”

The old monk gradually lowered his head. A dry bone cracking sound was heard from his cervical spine as if his head might fall off anytime. He said, “I had been living in the Devil’s Doctrine for numerous years. Hence, it was natural for me to know many people. I knew men who were greedy, who loved spoiling his wife as well as men who loved giving his children a ride on his back. Yet on that day, all these men I knew were killed.”

“The purpose of my sneaking into the Devil’s Doctrine was to destroy it. When those people died in front of me, I should rejoice. Yet, I couldn’t and I had no idea why. I saw those familiar faces split into halves in front of me. I saw those lively children being torn apart in front of me. I saw the fresh blood flowing out of them profusely and staining the bottom of the no-word stele red with my own eyes. The blood flowed down the stone staircase, along with the stone columns which all of you have seen, and into the pitch dark cliff. I suddenly realized that I was very upset.”

Ning Que frowned and said, “That’s enough.”

The old monk gazed at him with compassion, as he shook his head slowly and said, “The massacre was not due to your Youngest Uncle. Though I still remember the scene, I am not blaming him for it. I just want to understand. What exactly is the Devil?”

“Is it the Devil’s Doctrine that kills the innocents, or is Ke Haoran who crazily killed them off the Devil? Did my concern about Ke Haoran joining the Devil and allowing him to massacre the people made him the Devil instead? Or was it me, who was behind all of these plots, the true Devil instead? When I saw the ground flooded with blood, I started questioning myself.”

The old monk’s voice began to sound doubtful. It was the same kind of doubtfulness that one had when viewing the sky while standing on the Peach Mountain, or when one stood in the midst of the ruins while feeling emotional about his past. It was the doubtfulness one had for himself and the world.

“How do you differentiate the right path from the devil one? What exactly is the devil?”

“If we differentiate via the mindset and views, then the Devil’s Doctrine is the Devil since they killed the innocents. Then again, which cultivator does not kill? The Buddhism Sect often say that everyone is equal, so if you kill, you’ve joined the Devil. Then what about butchers? What about you and I who threw stones at wild dogs when we were younger? When our hands were covered with grease as we sucked, munched and enjoyed the delicious taste of the trotters, have we thought that those were meat from pigs? Have we joined the Devil ourselves while doing all these acts?”

“If it’s dependant on one’s birth identity, then the Devil’s Doctrine was born a thousand years ago by the Great Divine Priest of Light. History had stated that the Great Divine Priest of Light was a respectable, temperament, compassionate and intelligent being, so which part of him was born evil? After all, the Devil’s Doctrine originated from the “Ming” Handscroll among the seven Tomes of Arcane in Haotian Taoism school. Hence, it in itself was a school of Taoism. Why would it become the Devil?”

The old monk quietly stared at the three youngsters in front of him and spoke softly, “When the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine was conquered, the place was flooded with blood. I lived in guilt for numerous years after that day and have been thinking of this question for numerous years.”

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan kept quiet as they thought about the old monk’s words. Each of them had a different thinking.

However, Ye Hongyu raised her head suddenly and without any hesitation, she said, “Divine Lord Lotus, what you’ve said is not true. The Devil’s Doctrine is the Devil has nothing to do with the mindsets, views nor the identity from birth. The skills itself simply belongs to the Devil.”

“When Haotian shone the earth with its Divine light, she had provided it with warmth and light, so as to cultivate a pleasant environment for living things to grow. This, in turn, created an exchange and movement of aura between the Heaven and the Earth. However, the skills cultivated by the demons in the Devil’s Doctrine had forcefully taken over the natural primordial Qi as they absorbed them into their bodies. Should these demons continue to steal this generous gift provided by Heaven, the aura between the Heaven and the Earth will gradually decline. The world will then come to an end. As such, what should we say about them? This proves that their skills have humiliated Haotian, as well as messed up the order of Heaven and the Earth. This is an act of disrespect and thus, it is the Devil.”

The young lady’s voice was extremely firm, determined and clear. When the topic was about the difference between Taoism and Devil, she had presented her arguments calmly and strongly in front of the Divine Lord Lotus, the man whom she respected and looked up upon. She said in her low voice, “The difference between Taoism and the Devil does not come from mindsets nor the identity from birth, but from the fact that one creates while the other destroys the world. It’s the same with the difference between black and white, or light and darkness. They can never exist together. Hence, I disagree with your thinking.”

Ye Hongyu’s clear koto-like voice helped to clear the doubts in Mo Shanshan. She nodded her head slightly in agreement. The difference between Taoism and Devil should be determined by whether one had good or evil intentions for this world.

In the past, Ning Que had a problem understanding why the West-Hill Divine Palace, Buddhism Sect and the cultivators in Tang Empire seemed pissed every time the Devil’s Doctrine was mentioned, which made his heart palpitate with fear. Yet today, Ye Hongyu’s words finally made him understand the logic behind it.

The Devil’s Doctrine made use of the primordial Qi to its own advantage. The higher state the cultivator was in, the more they absorbed. If the Devil’s Doctrine spread and influenced everyone to cultivate with them, there would be a possibility that the primordial Qi of the whole world would be absorbed by its cultivators till it went dry. By then, this world would be destroyed. It was the same logic as breeding a herd of sheep on a grassland. If the grass and leaves were all consumed by the herd of sheep, the grassland would turn into a desert and eventually, the sheep would die.

He finally realized that the reason why the whole world viewed Devil’s Doctrine as their enemy was due to an environmental problem.

…

…

When the three world’s addicts, Tao Addict, Calligraphic Addict and Flower Addict, came into an environment which Ning Que was very familiar with, they had become the intelligent, cultured and educated pretty young girls who were shameless to study till 3 A.M. every night. Such girls often have a kind of stubbornness or addiction in them, and they enjoyed arguing with others about what they thought was true logic.

The Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu, was similar to many other cultivators in the world, such as Ning Que. On her path to cultivation, she had doubts about the world, Taoism, and the Devil. She had also thought hard about such things and even to reflect on her thinkings. However, what made her different from the others was that she did not limit herself to the stubborn thoughts that the world had and stopped thinking about such issues. Neither did she let her hatred towards the Devil become a natural part of her. Instead, she kept on widening her knowledge about the world. From there, she analyzed the issue and finally, came up with her own conclusion.

The conclusion that one got after going through such deep thoughts would definitely be much more certain and firm than the mindset of an average cultivator. Hence, even if she was facing Divine Lord Lotus with respect and fear, she was still very determined with her own stand. She was not willing to back out because she believed that this was the true logic.

Her stand was neither fabricated nor fanciful. She did not bring up the arguments about opportunity, karma or retribution. She only talked about benefits, on how Taoism and the Devil’s Doctrine could benefit or harm the world. Because this was a simple logic, so she was certain that she was right, and thus it was tough to argue against.

Yet Master Lotus was indeed a master. With only a simple sentence, he managed to weaken Ye Hongyu’s standpoint. That was because Master Lotus had seen more, thought longer and learned in a harder way. Moreover, Ye Hongyu’s conclusion was not good enough.

“Just as what I’d said, I had spent a long time living in the Devil’s Doctrine and had experienced many of its skills though I’d yet to find the “Ming” Handscroll. I believe that I understand the Devil’s Doctrine deeper than anyone in this world.”

The old monk looked at Ye Hongyu warmly and said, “I had the same thinking as you in the past. However, after I saw the cultivators in the Devil’s Doctrine, observed them from birth to death, and noticed their relationships with the Heaven and Earth, my thinking had changed. You were the same as me in the past. Both of us had forgotten an important issue.”

“Even though the cultivators in the Devil’s Doctrine were strong and had long lives, they would eventually die. When they died and their bodies hardened, the Qi of Heaven and Earth which they had absorbed for several decades during their cultivation would disperse and return to the Heaven and Earth.”

The old monk kept silent for a moment before he smiled gently and said, “After you understand this, you would comprehend that the goal of the Devil’s Doctrine was not to build another world. Instead, they wished to isolate a space for themselves in this world. That space could be the lake, the mountain, or perhaps a beautiful grassland. Whichever it is, that space would ultimately belong to a part of this world.”

“Both were born on earth and grew up under the blessing of Haotian’s Divine light. They cultivated through breathing and absorbing. In the end, their bodies turned into ashes as their aura dispersed and returned to Haotian. It may be true that each of them has walked different paths, but their beginning and ending points are the same. If that’s the case, can you tell me essentially, what’s the difference between the Devil’s Doctrine and the Buddhism Sect?”

Ye Hongyu was taken aback and could not answer his question. She felt that there was something wrong with the Divine Lord Lotus’ words, but she could not pinpoint the problem within the short period of time.

The old monk gazed at her peacefully and said, “I know what you’re thinking. If the cultivators in the Devil’s Doctrine died, they certainly would not cause any damage to this balanced and mightly world. But what if they have obtained immortality, which was what the Taoism cultivators, or should I say, what you have stated out of your caution and enmity towards them? Yet, when was there an immortal person in this world?”

Ye Hongyu gradually sat on her legs. Her black hair that was rested on her shoulders flowed down weakly. She appeared disappointed. It seemed that his words had impacted her Taoist Heart. On normal days, if she were to hear anyone declaring that Taoism and the Devil’s Doctrine were the same, she would definitely laugh coldly and slaughter that person. Yet today, these words were coming from Divine Lord Lotus, a great man whom she respected and feared. Most importantly, there were no loopholes in the words that the Divine Lord Lotus had said.

The old monk seemed to sense her insecurity and fear, as he looked at her pitifully and with compassion. He sighed softly before he raised his right arm with difficulty. A bright light shone between his fingers.

Ye Hongyu was stunned as she looked over.

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan were confused when they looked over.

The three of them could sense the holy aura emitting from the skinny stick-like fingers of the old monk.

“That year, I decided to isolate myself from the rest of the world to redeem my guilt. I set up a confinement in this room. This confinement is the world outside my body. At this place, the aura of the Heaven and the Earth is very thin but as time goes by, it can be slowly absorbed into and accumulated in the body. Now, the Qi of Heaven and Earth is circulating within my skinny body and that is the world within my body. When the two worlds come into contact with each other, a miracle will happen. This is because the confinement is from the Taoists Law, while the aura circulating within the body is from the skills of the Devil. When Taoists Law meets with the Devil’s skills…”

The old monk quietly looked at the pure holy light revolving around his fingers. He calmly said, “Divine Skill is created.”

The light surrounding his stick-like fingers gradually faded away as it swayed like a small heatless fire. It reminded one of the little lamplights on a windy and stormy night that seemed to extinguish anytime yet it would never extinguish.

Ye Hongyu gazed at the holy light between Master Lotus’ fingers, her eyes perplexed. Mo Shanshan was not any better than her as her eyes filled with shock. They could clearly feel the holy aura emitting from the light and couldn’t help thinking over Master Lotus’ words. They could not keep calm.

Ning Que’s cultivation state and knowledge were not as high as the two ladies. Hence, he did not appear as shock as them. He was only surprised why the old monk’s enigmatic Divine Skill was not pressurizing at all despite his advanced state? It was as if his existence was fictitious.

The light emitting from the old monk’s fingers was translucent, warm and bright. It was not blazing, neither was it scorching. It was similar to how the sunshine shone onto all the living things on earth, depicting an indescribable high state.

Mo Shanshan mumbled, “When Taoism connected with Devil, they would join the Gods?”

The old monk smiled and looked at her. His eyes filled with admiration as he said, “For the past decades, I have been brainstorming about the differences between Taoism and the Devil. I’d used the Taoists Law outside my body to confine a world and the Devil’s law within my body to confine another world. Finally, I’ve discovered a possibility, which what you’ve mentioned just now.”

Upon hearing these words, Ye Hongyu was finally awakened from the shock. She then recalled that whether the connection between the Taoism and the Devil could enable them to join the Gods, one would need to attempt to join the Devil first. She stared at the old monk in the Bone Mountain distressingly and felt that her own judgment was too absurd. How is it possible that the Divine Lord Lotus…

“Your guess is right. I have indeed joined the Devil.”

In the midst of the Bone Mountain sat a skinny stick-like old monk. For the past decades, the air had been dry and cold. Only the thin cracks at the ceiling of the room in the Bone Mountain revealed slight moisture. It was unclear how many days did those moisture take to accumulate and form a tiny drop of water.

The old monk slowly lifted his head as he gently raised the corner of his mouth. A drop of water fell from the ceiling and onto his cracked dry lips, which formed a smile on the skinny old monk’s face. That smile was full of compassion, which made one’s heart ache upon watching it.

The old monk grinned as he stared at her and said, “That year, I was worried that Ke Haoran joined the Devil. It was unexpected that I’d join the Devil in the end as well.”

…

…

At this point of time, Mo Shanshan and Ye Hongyu were too stunned and shook up by the fact. Each of them was in their own deep thoughts, and only Ning Que alone was still observing every movement of the old monk.

The moment they stepped into the main hall of the Devil’s Doctrine and followed by meeting this legendary man who had been isolating himself to atone his sin for decades, Ning Que had many doubts on his mind. How did this Master Lotus manage to survive without any food and drinks for decades? However, after noticing that Mo Shanshan and Ye Hongyu did not have such doubts, he guessed that perhaps this master was already in a state that was beyond average mortals’ imagination, a state that made him an inediate.

Now that he observed how the drop of water that was formed from the moisture accumulated at the cracks of the ceiling dropped and landed on the old monk’s cracked lips, he couldn’t help but be in a daze. He thought that this old monk must have been very clear about the regular pattern of the water droplets. For the past decades, he must have repeated this process for numerous times, or perhaps, missed this drop of water for numerous times, which made him full of regrets. Else why would he be so proficient in this?

The moisture in between the cracks had been serving this legendary man who had been atoning his sins for decades. Whoever seen this scene would feel pitiful and respectful towards this old man. Yet Ning Que’s heart was hard as steel. He raised his brows and thought, if he was here to atone his sins, then why did he even attempt to survive? If he had planned to atone for his sins via suffering, then why would he feel miserable when he missed the drop of water, which made him master the habit of raising his head to catch hold of that drop of water at the right moment?

As Ning Que was thinking of these things, Master Lotus had already begun his argument and analysis about the highest level in Taoism cultivation with Ye Hongyu and Mo Shanshan. He couldn’t help but frowned, as he thought that since Master Lotus could brilliantly debate at Lanke Temple till the hierarch of the Divine Hall came to visit, his standard was certainly not similar to that of Prince Long Qing. After all, he had locked himself up in the Devil’s Palace and debated with himself every day for several decades. Who could possibly win him in the argument then?

Indeed, as time went by, only the old and sorrow voice was heard in the room.

“If there’s true logic on earth, debating will make things clearer.”

“What exactly is a cultivator searching for? If what we are searching for is the method to know the world better and the strength to change the world, then why would strength be classified into good and evil? Only the person using the strength can be classified as good or evil.”

“A knife can be used either to chop vegetables, sculpture the carrot or to kill people. A stone can be used either for play, to build foundation or to kill people as well. A lake can be used either to breed fishes, to row boats or to kill people too. A mountain can be used either to climb, to build a temple on it or to kill people.”

“Everything on earth that can be used to help people, can also be used to kill people. However, these things are not at fault. Instead, humans are the souls of everything. They give spirits and purposes to everything. Thus, the blame should only go to the humans. The differences between Taoism and the Devil come from the method or the path taken, which is similar to all things on earth. As such, why should we blame them? Hence, the one and only to blame is human.”

The old monk’s words were not complicated nor deep at all. There was no hidden meaning nor was there a need to read between the lines. He had slowly put across a pure and simple logic, allowing the three youngsters to listen to the cultivation world he knew about.

The old monk sounded weak. His slight hoarse voice and tone were filled with his passion and compassion towards this world. Though his voice was calm, it was very convincing. Whatever he said sounded like golden words.

At first, Ning Que wasn’t even listening to the old monk, yet he was unknowingly being attracted by his words. He sat on the ground and began to listen to him attentively. Since he came from the Wilderness, he had been feeling tense. However, upon listening to his benevolent voice, he felt more relaxed and his body was less tense.

The Devil’s Palace seemed to have accumulated several years of loneliness as it had isolated from the world’s rowdiness. Only the old monk’s voice was gradually spreading like the lotus flower and echoing in the place. His voice and expressions were finally transformed into the dews on the lotus petals as they reverberated between the walls and his soul. A series of reverberation came one after another gradually, and the warm feeling somewhat made one uncomfortable.

A white bone with half-dried flesh was left in the midst of The Bone Mountain. The white bone was facing the sky and its dried fingers were stretched to the back of his head as though they were supporting his head. Its fleshless right leg was placed on top of its left knee. It seemed to be quietly and happily listening as well, and it looked extraordinarily at ease. Not sure if it was the creation of the wind or the water droplets, the head of the white bone would shake slightly, as though it was agreeing his words.

After an unknown amount of time, the teachings that were reverberating between the room and the souls had gradually stopped. The old monk gazed gently at the three youngsters, who were in deep thoughts. Upon seeing their troubled faces, he gently smiled and said, “The Front Gate is opened. Riots would certainly rise again in the world. By estimation, I believe it’s time for me to leave soon.”

Ye Hongyu raised her head in awe. She was lost for words.

The old monk looked at both his hands, which had formed into the lotus sign once again. He remained silent for a moment before he said briefly, “I’d seen the world using the secular eyes throughout my whole life and it was fruitful. I was born as a buddhist, practiced as a Taoist yet ended up joining the Devil’s Doctrine. Now that I’m coming to an end of my life, I recalled the words of that Great Divine Priest who had created the Devil’s Doctrine. He said if you know me, you will blame me. Yet as time goes by, one will feel that it doesn’t matter at all. After all, one will need to return to where he came from. Hence, why should I be mindful of who knows me or who blames me?”

“Only, who on this earth can really put down life and death totally? Even if one had gone through life and death, how certain that one would not leave any feeling for the world? Or even hope to leave some marks in the world? It’s the same for me.”

The old monk slowly raised his head and looked at the three youngsters. He grinned and said, “I’ve cultivated all three religions and had isolated myself from the world for several years to atone my sins. I dare not say that I have achieved a lot but I did obtain something from the past years. I hope to pass down the little strength that is left in my weak body. Not sure which of you is willing to gratefully accept my mantle.”

It was rumored that for Grand Cultivator who had cultivated to the highest point, due to their deep understanding towards the world, they could even know when they were going to leave the world. Master Lotus had locked himself in the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine to atone his sins via suffering for the past several years. In the end, he met with the few disciples at the Front Gate. This opportunity is probably a turning point of life and death. Hence, when the three of them heard him saying that he was about to leave this world, though they were shocked, they were not totally unprepared of it.

Yet, when they heard that Master Lotus had decided to leave his mantle with one of them, the cool and calm Ning Que could not help but be shaken by the idea. Ye Hongyu’s mind was wavering as well. She held her fist tightly and was speechless.

The two most important things in life were none other than knowing the way to understand the world and having the ability to change the world. Master Lotus’ way of understanding the world was already heard by all three of them previously for a long time. However, the ability to change the world was naturally dependable on the strength and state of a cultivator.

The right path of cultivation would never have a way to pass down the strength, only the strong ones from the Devil’s Doctrine could pass down their strengths to the chosen ones via initiations before they died. If Master Lotus wished to leave his mantle, then he should be using this method as well!

What kind of person was Master Lotus? Ning Que had never heard of him before, but now he was very clear.

He was a person who had cultivated in all three religions before and lived in two large Unknown Places before. He was once a protector of the Front Gate of the Buddhism Sect, a Great Divine Priest of Judgment of the Divine Hall, and had almost accidentally become the leader of the Devil’s Doctrine. He was qualified to be his Youngest Uncle’s traveling partner and had stayed in the forbidden mountain for numerous years to connect cultivation with the Devil’s skills to create the Divine Skill! He was such a legend, and thus, he was definitely the strongest human in the world!

If he was able to obtain his mantle, how many years could he save on this tough and long cultivation path? How powerful could he get? What type of world would he be able to experience after that?

Most importantly, Ning Que was certain that if he could obtain the old monk’s mantle, he would not need to wait for a long time before he could kill General Xia Hou, Prince Lee Peiyan and those sneaky shadows hiding behind them. He would not need to borrow the strength from the Academy and put his seniors into a tight situation. He would also be able to simply get his long overdue revenge.

His loving parents who had died in a pool of blood, his childhood friend who was stepped to death, his blood-stained chopper, the two people who had fallen in the woodshed, Darkie who was by the grey wall on a rainy day, as well as the innocent villagers who were slaughtered in Darkie’s hometown. All these scenes had suddenly appeared in his mind as they silently stared at him.

Actually, he had long forgotten the hatred he had for the massacre that year, but he was scared of this calmness. Hence, he felt the need to root this hatred deep within his bones. Though this hatred had already turned sour, it had also become the most vital pillar of support in his life. When this pillar was mixed together with his greed for power, it became a strong and an irresistible seduction.

This seduction was like an invisible hand that lifted him from the ground and encouraged him to spread his legs apart with difficulty as he moved his way into the Bone Mountain.

Suddenly, he stopped moving.

Just a few steps forward to climb up the Bone Mountain and accepted Master Lotus’ mantle, Ning Que would be able to exploit the skills that could tyrant the world and became the world’s strongest warrior. He would be able to inherit the enlightenment from the Divine state through the connection between Tao and the Devil. Yet it could mean that he might need to accept the power of the Devil’s Doctrine.

When Tao and the Devil connected, one could join the Gods. This was such a beautiful saying, yet under this beautiful robe, was the original naked truth that everyone knows — by accepting the transferring of the Devil’s Doctrine’s power, it meant that this power was neither from self-enlightenment nor the state of Psyche Power, but its real presence came from the natural Qi of Heaven and Earth. If this was not considered evil, then what was?

Before one could join the Gods, one got to join the Devil first? In this quiet and secluded room, Master Lotus could peacefully discuss the Devil, but in the real world outside this mountain, diabolism was deemed as evil and its presence was not accepted by the world. To the Central Plains, they were the devils that could destroy the country, the sects and everything.

Ning Que was one of the Headmaster of Academy’s core disciples. Ye Hongyu was the most favorited Tao Addict among the younger disciples in West-Hill Divine Palace. If people with such statues were discovered to have joined the Devils, they would be hated and abandoned by the whole world, just like these quiet ranges of mountains located in the south of the Wilderness.

Just advance a few more steps, he would join the Devil. How could he do that? Yet if he inherited Master Lotus’ mantle, he would become the strongest warrior in the world with unlimited power. The thought of owning such powerful energy and strong skills was truly seducing. Could he miss such a rare opportunity?

Ning Que could feel the heaviness of his legs, as though a thousand worth of pure silver were hung on his legs, making his movement difficult.

The gentle and compassionate voice, like the golden words from Buddha, seemed to reverberate by Ye Hongyu’s ears. Her eyes looked blank and confused. At times, they appeared to be determined and bright. Yet at times, they looked to be struggling with pain.

Similar to Ning Que, she was in a mentally unstable yet extremely relaxed state. Her thoughts were wavering between Master Lotus’ teachings and what she were taught since young.

To be able to inherit Master Lotus’ mantle was a great seduction to any cultivator in the world. Yet, if it was just pure seduction, it would not make someone who was loyal to Taoism like her to be slightly interested in the Devil’s Doctrine’s skills. However, deep within her heart, she could not rebut against God’s viewpoint. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she agreed with his words.

The eyebrows on Ye Hongyu’s pretty face twitched into a frown, making her looked in pain. She stretched out her left hand and placed it on her soft breasts as she sunk her nails deep into them. It was as if she was trying to dig out her unsettled heart from her chest. However, she had used too much strength and this caused the arrow wounds on her left shoulder to tear apart once more as blood gradually flowed out from them.

She mumbled in a soft voice, “Is there really a third path?”

At the same time, Mo Shanshan, who was kneeling on the ground, turned pale. Her lips were tightened into a thin straight line and there was no focus in her beautiful dark eyes. She was in a mess.

Master Lotus did not rush them nor appeared impatient. Instead, he gazed at them peacefully and a gentle yet sorrow smile stretched across his dried and skinny face. Perhaps he was hoping that they could overcome that barrier themselves and made their own choices.

The realization of the differences between Tao and the Devil had caused a mental breakdown to Ning Que and the two ladies, plunging them into the trough of pain and struggles. Such pain had mainly resulted in confusion and mental instability, yet they were combined together with a relaxed and empty feeling within them. This caused the pain and struggling feeling to be gradually gone like streamwater. Warm spring water like aura had filled their minds instead as they slowly settled their hearts and eased their tensions.

As the fear and negative emotions gradually faded within them, the three of them felt secure. Master Lotus was a righteous and pure man who had no reason to cheat them into joining the Devil. He shouldn’t have any bad motives against them as well since he was a powerful man and would not need to waste so many efforts to hurt them.

The real reason that made them more relaxed was still seduction. The seduction of inheriting a strong ancestor’s mantle. The seduction of being able to understand the true logic of the world. The seduction of blending Tao and the Devil together to form the Divine Skill.

This seduction was similar to the grassland, the starry sky, the fragrant taste of the butter cake during childhood, the feeling one got as one stood at the peak of a mountain looking down at the world, and the possibility of getting one’s name passed down from generations by carving it onto the mottled city walls.

The great door of seduction was slowly opening up to them in front of their eyes.

Behind this door was an unfamiliar, yet fertile piece of pasture. As long as they were willing, they could lie on this piece of soft and green pasture, as they enjoyed the beautiful starry sky and everything they owned.

Among the three of them, Ye Hongyu’s state was the highest and her understanding towards cultivation was the deepest. She had seen the power of the real strong warriors, which made her determined and focused in pursuing such strengths. Hence, the seduction she felt was naturally the strongest among all.

Suddenly, she heard the creaking sound of the tattered wooden bed, which reminded her of her weak and thin legs giving way when she was a child, as well as the humiliation and anger she had in the past.

Then she recalled her senior who had a bun on his head and carried a wooden sword on his back. At that time, her senior was an arrogant and lonely young lad. As time passed by, her senior became more and more lonely. Was it because I couldn’t catch up to him no matter how hard I tried? If I have the capability to be by your side and accompany you to enjoy the freezing breeze on the cliff, would you be less lonely then?

She raised her head abruptly and realized that Master Lotus was looking at her with his sorrow eyes. It was as if his eyes could see through her pretense. She suddenly felt a chill down her spine. She was fearful, for she felt that the door was going to close on her soon.

“This is not joining the Devil…not joining the Devil…”

She mumbled to herself. Her eyes became brighter as she stepped forward and towards the Bone Mountain.

“Yes.”

“No.”

She stopped in front of the Divine Lord Lotus and kneeled down on both knees. A few white bones were crushed under her knees as she humbly lowered her head and sincerely put down all the biasness she had for the world. She had opened up her mind to the world.

…

…

At the same time, Ning Que had also perceived the scene of him lying on the green pasture and enjoying the starry sky. His heart was serene and peaceful. Though this picture was filled with beautiful and pure seduction, something was lacking that prevented him from advancing. As he had stopped in front of the door for too long, lots of thoughts started to appear in his mind, making him felt that something was wrong with the situation.

A bright light flashed in his mind. It wasn’t a lightning, but it was more like a spring rain that had truly cooled him down in an instance. As his mind got rid of the confused status, he recalled the doubts that were on his mind previously.

If he volunteered to atone his sins, then why would he need to chain himself up? Would someone with such a high state like Master Lotus put himself through senseless physical tortures just to atone his sins? Such legendary man would have great determination and perseverance. He would have a wide knowledge regarding this world lives and deaths. Hence, why would he, for no reason, go against Buddhism just because the Youngest Uncle had fought his way into the Front Gate and killed numerous devil cultivators?

Even upon seeing such cruel acts, he himself would still be able to uphold his own stand firmly. Then why couldn’t someone, who was much stronger than him, do so?

These doubts kept hitting his mind like rain droplets and in the end, they gathered to form a possibility. This old monk did not isolate himself to atone his sins, but was locked up by someone to make him suffer and reflect on his sins!

With such a thought, Ning Que suddenly woke up. He realized the warm spring water that surrounded him and the peaceful yet sorrow aura had all disappeared. Instead, he found himself in a dry and severely cold environment. He then discovered that all the emotions and feeling which he felt previously were actually controlled by the old monk’s power!

He gazed outside the Bone Mountain in awe. All he saw was Tao Addict kneeling on the stack of white bones in front of the old monk. The old monk’s hand was already on the top of her head. A strong feeling of fear and panic overtook his body all of a sudden!

Mo Shanshan disconcertedly walked to the edge of the Bone Mountain. Ning Que immediately shouted and stretched his arm to pull her back. He then quickly took the metal bow on his back, placed an arrow and aimed directly at the once buddha-looking yet now cunning and dark-looking old monk who sat deep within the Bone Mountain.

…

…

The frail-looking boney palm covered with thin skin gradually landed on the young lady’s head. As it gently touched the lady’s silky black hair, a slight sense of painfulness from his struggle with lust had suddenly appeared in the old monk’s gentle-looking eyes.

The struggle was only for a moment before the old man’s gentle expression on his dried skinny face was torn apart in an instance to reveal his craziness within. In the end, his expression became extremely cold and quiet, like the stars on a silent night. There was no emotion on his face.

A thick and pure but not powerful aura was forced out from the bottom of the old monk’s palm.

Ye Hongyu suddenly opened her eyes. Seeing the old monk’s pale face being right in front of her, she could feel her Psyche Power gushed out from her sense of perception. Her body became very weak and she immediately knew what was going on.

Her bright eyes turned cold, her body started to wriggle like a fish as she screamed with anger. Both her hands swung in the air as she consecutively changed four types of Sword Formulas and gathered the surrounding Qi of Heaven and Earth to form a mock sword. She then pierced the sword into the old monk’s chest.

She was indeed a strong Tao Addict, for she was still able to make the fastest move that every cultivator could make despite being in an unexpected situation where she was facing the Divine Lord Lotus, a man well-respected by many cultivators. It was also the most correct move she should make. Her move was simple, direct and cold. It was a cruel Taoism move that could kill both the enemy and herself.

However, this move which made use of her years of devoted cultivation, or should it be said, the strongest Taoist Sword she had ever use in her life, had gone down the drain. This was because…when she consecutively switched between four Sword Formulas, she had failed to gather any Qi of Heaven and Earth.

The primordial Qi should be everywhere and as long as there was primordial Qi, Psyche Power could be used to sense and control it. Ye Hongyu, the Tao Addict, was an expert in such skills. Even if she was at the brim of death, she wouldn’t make any mistake in her Taoism skills. Yet now she was unable to gather any Qi of Heaven and Earth. There could only be one possibility: There was no presence of Qi of Heaven and Earth surrounding the old monk!

There were many methods of blocking the Qi of Heaven and Earth. However, in order to make a space with no Qi of Heaven and Earth at all, according to Ye Hongyu’s knowledge, there could only be one method —— by creating a real confinement area!

Ye Hongyu was very familiar with Judicial Department’s confinement. She was even one of the few who had seen the Great Divine Priest of Judgment setting up a confinement space with her own eyes. Yet the confinement space that had locked up the Great Divine Priest of Light for decades was not as powerful as the one before her right now!

As she felt her psyche power being drained out and her body getting weaker, she lowered her head and strengthlessly kneeled on the stack of white bones. Looking at the mountain of white bones beneath her with her gradually blurred vision, she revealed a look of despair and hopelessness.

White bones as the fence, and dried bodies as the barrier. What a powerful and horrible confinement area it was.

Now that the situation had changed with the Tao Addict being captured, it was only natural for Ning Que to escape with Mo Shanshan as far as possible. But he did not. Instead, he prepared to use his Primordial Thirteen Arrows to resolve the problem, because he knew there was no way for them to escape.

When he pinched the tail of the Talisman Arrow, the old monk’s palm had already released a powerful gush of aura.

As he pulled his metal arrow to the maximum, Ye Hongyu was already weakened and her head lowered.

He saw the look of despair in Ye Hongyu’s eyes. He had also noticed the cold and heartless look from Master Lotus.

Mo Shanshan was taken aback by him as she suddenly woke up from her dreamland. She threw her black flowing hair behind her as she drew in the air with her right hand. She knew that all three of them were in trouble and thus, she drew the most powerful talisman, Half Divine Talisman.

Facing the powerful double attack, the old monk, who was sitting within the Bone Mountain, showed no expression on his face. He had only given a plain look to his two attackers, as he stared into their eyes.

With just a simple stare, Ning Que could feel an intense pain in his head. It was as if Second Brother’s wooden club had repeatedly knocked him on the head in a speed of light. In the next moment, his vision went black as he loosened his grip.

Mo Shanshan could only feel her chest and abdomen being slitted apart by a sharp knife. The previously Stone Array Tactics accumulated within the big tactical array outside the Front Gate poured out. Even so, it wasn’t a feeling of relief, but a feeling of unlimited pain. The finger, which was used to draw the talisman, froze.

The Talisman Arrow left the bow and flew past like a dark shadow. At this moment, Ning Que’s sense of perception was in confusion and he had lost complete control of the arrow. The metal arrow swooshed past, flew slanted and into the corner of the Devil’s Palace. It directly burst the large boulder apart and the broken rocks had mounted together in a corner!

The Divine Talisman was circulating between Mo Shanshan’s sleek fingers as it gradually became dimmer and weaker. It was similar to a lamp light that was getting dimmer due to the lack of air circulation and was silently extinguished after the wind blew.

At the same time, fresh blood was spurted out from their mouths as they fell weakly onto the ground and unable to get on their feet again.

Master Lotus stared at the two people who had spurted blood and fell onto the floor without any expression. His pupils were dark, cold and narrow like rice grains, which made him look like a devil. His dried chest seemed to be emptier than before.

Behind the simple plain stare was, in fact, a horrendous high-level state power. The old monk was jailed for decades and the Psyche Power which he had accumulated for the past decades would be drained in an instance through that simple stare.

Without any expression, Master Lotus stared at Ye Hongyu, who was kneeling in front of him now. He gently patted her head, which was now surfaced with veins, like a tender-hearted lover and all of a sudden, he revealed a smile on his face. It was the same benevolent smile as before.

With such benevolent and tender-loving smile, he lowered his head and placed it beside the Tao Addict’s slightly cold face. He looked as though he was tenderly kissing and whispering to her softly. He then lightly touched his lips on her left shoulder, where he sucked gently.

Like a leech, the wrinkled lips sucked greedily on the soft bare skin of the young lady. His dried skinny cheeks vibrated in a rhythmic manner as fresh blood gradually flowed through his lips and quenched his thirsty dried throat. The blood started to moisturize his internal organs which had not been well-utilized for decades.

After a moment, the old monk raised his head and looked at the young lady between his palms. His eyes filled with warmth as he gazed at her pitifully. A light and exquisite Buddhism aura revealed on his face. Even the drop of blood left on his dehydrated lips made him appear merciful as well.

Her sense of perception was completely under his control. With her Psyche Power being totally drained by him, her body became extremely weak till she couldn’t even lift a finger. The powerful Tao Addict was now as helpless as a newborn baby as she stared at the old monk without any expression and reaction.

She knew that she probably wouldn’t be able to live past today. The arrogant lady would naturally not beg for her life. Even when she felt a sharp pain on her shoulder and was disgusted by his previous acts, she remained calm, for she did not want to give the Divine Lord Lotus any sense of excitement. This was the only resistant that the arrogant lady could put up before her death.

“Your blood is filled with the power of light and is thickened with extremely pure Taoism aura. It was rare for me to taste such exquisite power-filled blood, even decades ago.”

Master Lotus gently looked at her pretty face, as he said regretfully, “It’s only a pity that you’re no longer a virgin. The dark shadow in your Taoist Heart added a sense of annoyance in your blood. Else it will be comparable with the cheerful beauty that year.”

Upon listening to his words, her hands that were strengthlessly placed on the broken bones to support herself began to tremble, but she stubbornly remained quiet and cold. All of a sudden, her pupils narrowed as she saw a very strange scene in front of her.

Master Lotus’ skinny and ghastly face had indistinctly inflated, making it looked plumper than before. His wrinkled and pale lips appeared to be redder, as though he was alive once again.

This reminded Ye Hongyu of a legend regarding a skill from the Devil’s Doctrine, which made her shiver with fear.

Master Lotus no longer looked at her. Instead, he raised his head to look at the moisture between the cracks of the rock. Perhaps it was because life was returning to him, or perhaps it was due to the delicious young lady’s blood, he could not help but began to recall all the beautiful and prideful memories he had. He mumbled, “Remember that year when the new Emperor of South Jin Kingdom took over, there were many beauties dancing in the hall…”

His old hoarse voice came to a pause, as he gazed at the two people on the ground, whose life and death were unknown.

…

…

Ning Que was neither dead nor concussed. He could only feel soreness and pain all over his body, as though his bones were broken. He sensed that he couldn’t control his body movements and understood that his sense of perception must have been seriously damaged by the old monk’s stare.

He used his elbow to support his body as he tried to crawl up. He hoped to grab his bow and arrow again. He hoped to draw out the big black umbrella behind his back. He hoped to pull out his three knives. Yet there was nothing he could do as he couldn’t move. All he could do was to stare hopelessly at the old monk.

With only a simple stare from the old monk, both Calligraphy Addict and he were defeated, which was indeed horrifying. Feeling painful and confused, Ning Que recalled the time when he questioned his master about battles with cultivators in the Knowing Destiny States. That time, Master Yan Se used Second Brother from the Academy as an example and said that Second Brother could have killed him with only a stare…

This old monk, who was jailed in the Bone Mountain for decades and whose body was so weak to a state where he was almost dying, could simply reach the level of Second Brother with only a stare. It was no doubt that this man was powerful and filled with energy decades ago. Which horrifying state had this man cultivated until when his body was still healthy? Could it be that he had already cultivated past the five states?

At this moment, the old monk stared in his direction.

He noticed the strange changes on the old monk’s face and became speechless. He couldn’t understand what had happened.

Due to the large amount of power exerted to destroy the Great Blockage Formation, Mo Shanshan was mentally weakened. Moreover, her Half Divine Talisman was previously destroyed by the stare of the old man, which injured her badly.

Now that she noticed the strange changes of Master Lotus, her body started to tremble vigorously. Her eyes were filled with fear and her face turned as white as sheet. She said in a trembling voice, “Tao Tie…are…are you…Tao Tie?”

In the teaching book of West-Hill Divine Palace, it was stated that there was a strange demon in the past named Tao Tie. It did not have a body but only a head, and it was famous for being greedy.

The teaching book of West-Hill Divine Palace had also stated another thing about Tao Tie. It was a very evil skill from the Devil’s Doctrine. Strong cultivators that cultivated such skill would consume cultivators’ blood and flesh to replenish and strengthen its own aura. It made one a greedy murderer, and hence it was the darkest and the evilest skill on earth. Most of the cultivators from the Devil’s Doctrine were ashamed to be in the same religion with such people.

This Tao Tie skill, which was despised by cultivators from the Devil’s Doctrine, was no doubt the most vicious skill of all.

Ning Que had never heard of such devil skill. However, when he saw how Lotus gently sucked the blood out of Ye Hongyu’s wound, he was already traumatized by the scene. After which, he could vividly observe the fast recovery speed of Master Lotus with his bare eyes. Thus, it was not difficult to guess the relation between the two.

Ever since he was born on this earth, he had witnessed many cruel things. He had even seen many horrifying and bloody scenes with his own eyes and thus, he understood that life and death were all fated. He could be described as being fearless. However, when he imagined how he would be slowly munched and eaten by this skinny and ghastly old monk later, the shadow cast on his childhood memories had slowly expanded. This made his face paler and his eyes were filled with fear.

Perhaps it was to suppress the fear in his heart, Ning Que said to Mo Shanshan, who was beside him, “Don’t be afraid. He has been stuck in this place for decades. I doubt if he was as powerful as before. Moreover, the stare previously should have exhausted the Psyche Power which he had accumulated for years. If he could still battle, he would have killed you and me previously. Look, he couldn’t even remove the metal chain that had penetrated his abdomen.”

The old monk took a glance at him and said gently, “Nice observation.”

Since the old monk was unable to remove the metal chain now, as well as he would require some time before he could digest Tao Addict’s body and blood and transformed them into his strength, it would mean that Ning Que and Mo Shanshan were now rushing against time. They were now competing against the old monk to see who recover faster.

Ning Que sat with folded legs, closed her eyes and put his hands together. Mo Shanshan pulled her left leg back and sat down with difficulties. Both of them began to meditate at the same time. After a while, both of them opened their eyes at the same time in shock and despair.

Master Lotus stared in their direction and both of them could sense a strong wave of attack. This sudden wave of attack caused an impact on their internal organs, and their sense of perception were badly injured. It was impossible for them to mediate peacefully as usual.

The two of them looked at each other, and with the tacit agreement, they decided to give up as they prepared to attempt the Talisman Taoism method. After all, drawing talisman would require lesser Psyche Power, yet in the next moment, they discovered that this method would not work as well!

The Qi of Heaven and Earth in this dark room was very thin. Even if Talisman Taoism required very little Psyche Power, it still needed to make use of the Qi of Heaven and Earth. Without any Qi of Heaven and Earth, the talisman would be useless!

The room was filled with Master Lotus’ warm and pitiful voice.

“White bones as a fence, and dried bodies as the barriers. This was just what you’ve observed. In fact, this confinement space uses the green stone as fence and sword mark as the barriers. It was personally set up by Ke Haoran. Even I am unable to set such a confinement space up, nor can I destroy it. How can kids like both of you destroy it?”

A confinement space personally set up by Youngest Uncle? Ning Que was taken aback as he looked around, only to realize that there were thousands of deep sword marks hidden on the mottled rock wall. Those sword marks seemed to be overlapping without any relation with one another, yet together, they formed a dark barrier, which prevented any aura outside the Devil’s Palace from seeping in.

There were many other matters that were still unclear, yet Ning Que could finally confirm some things. He stared at the old monk inside the Bone Mountain and said, “I was right that you didn’t isolate yourself to atone your sins. In fact, you were locked up by Youngest Uncle to reflect on yourself!”

The old monk kept quiet for a long time, before a pleased look appeared in his face as he said arrogantly, “If you know me, you will blame me, but this is only in spring and autumn. Whether it’s you, or others, or even Ke Haoran, have no rights to blame me.”

Ning Que’s voice trembled and asked, “Who are you exactly?”

“A Buddha, a Taoist, a Devil, an immortal, a tiger or maybe a rascal? I had played many different roles in this life, to the extent that I have forgotten who I am. Am I the Great Divine Priest from the Divine Hall, the protector of the Front Gate for Buddhism Sect, or the leading cultivator in the Devil’s Doctrine? Then again, what has my identity got to do with the true you and me?”

The compassionate look on the old monk’s face gradually dispersed with the blowing wind as he gently waved his torn and tattered long sleeves of his robe. His movement was appealing and charming, as he calmly said, “I am Liansheng 32. Everyone of us is different, yet I have no idea why people like to standardize us as the same? If I want to become a Buddha, I can become a Buddha. If I want to become a devil, I can become a devil.”

After the old monk finished his sentence, he revealed a pitiful look as he lifted Ye Hongyu’s slender arm, lowered his head and took a bite. He then shook his head left and right, as he torn a piece of flesh with difficulties and put it in his mouth. He began to focus on chewing the piece of meat in a serious manner.

Human flesh was rubbery to chew on especially for an old monk without teeth. So he concentrated on chewing it with his hollow cheeks moving slowly. Both compassion and greedy were reflected in his indifferent eyes.

As he chewed, swallowed and the flesh was absorbed, his deep sockets and hollow cheeks were refreshed. His face regained vitality.

The girl’s little arm was like a piece of lotus root washed away by the lake water, and with that heart-throbbing sound, it was eaten away alive with a piece of flesh. Blood ran down the wound, and her face was pale but strong and tight-lipped, refusing to utter a sound of pain.

The old monk stuck out his black tongue to lick off the blood near his mouth while maintained a compassionate expression on his face. The stark contrast was even more chilling.

Ning Que was stunned when he saw this and he found that things went beyond his expectation. Neither he nor Ye Hongyu saw this coming. They never expected that the venerable Master Lotus would be such a horrible monster. Moreover, the most important thing was that even though he knew there was something wrong with the old monk, he was unwilling to believe it.

After he completely ate that human flesh, even if his face was still covered with the girl’s blood, Master Lotus suddenly looked like a venerable and merciful Buddhism Sect Bhadanta.

He looked down at Ye Hongyu who was looking back at him desperately and resentfully. He swept across her young face and said, “How could I do this to you. You are so cute.”

Ye Hongyu’s sense of perception was blocked and she lost her body control. She could feel she was becoming weaker and weaker and the finger on her face was as cold as a snake.

“Why would I do that? Why didn’t I resist the temptation of your blood?”

The old monk’s eyes became hollow and perplexed. He murmured to himself and laughed, “I have saved all my Psyche Power for decades and I still have not been able to kill you two. Lotus you were too weak .”

He calmed down and explained to the three young people and himself. “I had to eat something because I was trapped here for a very long time. I had to.”

He said in such a normal voice that Ning Que and the girls felt grim.

Ning Que was sure that years ago when his Youngest Uncle broke the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine, he trapped Master Lotus with an inhibition and made him suffer for so many years instead of killing him.

Even if the old monk had a high realm of cultivation, he could not take such torment for so many years without breaking down. While he was about to die, the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine opened and Ning Que and the girls came in. They became his best bet for getting out of there.

So the old monk pretended to be merciful and he used his legacy to let them relax their guard. The Tao Addict then finally opened her spiritual world to him and he was able to control it.

Ning Que frowned and said, “Although I didn’t know you before, they did. They kneeled to you as soon as they saw you. Both Master Lotus and Divine Lord Lotus have a great reputation in cultivation and they trust you. Why didn’t you wait for them to help you get out, but instead took such a risk?”

The old man smiled and said, “Because you can’t unlock this array and I am the only one who can break this Confinement if I can get all my power back. I had to eat you up if I want my power back.”

“Even if we couldn’t break this Confinement, our sect elders could,” said Ning Que.

The old monk laughed and added, “There were only a few people who could break Crazy Ke’s Confinement, and yes, some of your sect elders could. But unfortunately, they all knew the story of what happened in that year, and they would rather kill me by pulling down half of the world than save me.”

Ning Que paused and said, “You are not well liked.”

The old monk sighed and continued. “With the bones for so many years, I had given up for a long time and I never saw hope coming. You, three poor kids, came here when the door opened. I think it’s destiny.”

Ning Que became silent and thought, “I, as the disciple on the Second floor of the Academy and the three addicts, are qualified to do something big in the world of cultivation. But in this former master’s eyes, we are just three cute poor kids. It means time really matters for a cultivator.”

“I hadn’t stored enough Psyche Power, so after you got in this room, I started my Buddhism Sect Torture Method to make you doubt yourselves. I thought you would be the weakest one, trapped in your delusion and never got out. I didn’t expect you are the only one who stayed conscious. How did you do that?”

The old monk smiled at Ning Que. Although he looked so skinny and ugly, he showed his arrogance to the world just like a free young man.

Ning Que thought that he was using every minute to absorb the human flesh and had no time to hurt them, so he tried to relax and prepare at this moment. He answered, “Maybe you haven’t tempted me enough.”

The old monk frowned a little and asked, “Doesn’t my legacy attract you?”

Ning Que answered, “I want power but I don’t believe you.”

The old monk said, “I didn’t lie to you. I have worked hard for many years to join the gods by connecting the Tao and the Devil.”

Ning Que froze and said, “I still need to join the Devil first.”

The old monk looked at him just like a goshawk looking at a chicken, and then he said, “I told you the Academy was degenerating. Look at you, even the words ‘join the Devil’ scare you off.”

Ning Que shook his head and said, “If I had to join the Devil to stay alive, I would like to do that. I will do what I need to. And since temptation has to carry some weight, the temptations that you showed in the Buddha’s Magic Sound earlier are not strong enough for me.”

He said that with contempt and disdain.

But Ning Que forgot that now Lotus was not the venerable Bhadanta he was before. Master Lotus quipped. “Is there anything more attractive than my legacy?”

Ning Que laughed at once. “I’m a disciple on the Second floor of the Academy and I’m going to take the Headmaster of Academy legacy. Even if I was going to join the Devil, I would learn from my Youngest Uncle. I think that is more attractive.”

When the old monk heard this, he choked. Even though he considered the three sects as the trash, he didn’t expect he was at the same level as the Headmaster of Academy. What was more, he was humiliated and hurt by Ke Haoran so badly.

“I haven’t met a truly unselfish man in my life and also believe that there is no such thing as a free lunch. So the more merciful you pretended to be, the weirder I felt,” said Ning Que.

“I’m wondering if the stories you told us were true or were they made up to fool us?”

He was curious about the stories because they were about his Youngest Uncle. But it looked so creepy when they were sitting on the ground and talking about old stories together in a crisis of life and death.

The old monk said, “They were true and I just skipped some important information. To Bloody Lanke Temple was planning by me. That beautiful dancer was also killed by me and I drank all her blood. She creeped me out that she died with a sweet smile on her pale face. I thought she was asking me why I killed her.”

He looked at Ning Que and said, “I was so scared when I saw her smile and I could not make that go away, so I had to cut her into pieces and eat her up. That was the first time I ate human flesh.”

Ning Que kept silent for a long time and suddenly asked, “Who was the dancer?”

The old monk smiled and said, “I killed her to drive Ke Haoran crazy, so of course, she was his girl.”

Upon hearing this, Ning Que though for a long time and then he asked, “Did you do this just because you wanted to start a war between the Academy and Divine Hall or for some other reasons?”

The old monk said coldly after a while, “There’s no other reason. But from then on, Ke Haoran saw through this in the end and Wei Guangming began to suspect me for no reason, so I had to leave the Peach Mountain and hid in Devil’s Doctrine.”

Listening to his turbid breath, Ning Que knew this old strong master had little vitality after being trapped for so many years by his Youngest Uncle. He planned all of this because he knew he couldn’t overcome them directly. What an insidious human-being.

However, when he remembered that this man was capable of starting wars among the three sects all over the world and he put them in such a dangerous situation so easily, he realized that seemed reasonable.

Ning Que looked at the old monk and asked what he cared for the most, “You can be an honorable bigwig no matter what you choose, Taoism, Buddhism or Devil Sect. Even if you don’t choose, you also can be a legend. Why did you choose such a bloody and boring way? Why? Why do you want to fight against the entire world?”

“It sounds familiar.” The old monk said slowly, “Many years ago, Wei Guangming examined himself in this way. He treated the entire world as his enemy because he believed he was right. But I was not like him. I did this because I knew the world was wrong.”

Suddenly, the old monk’s extremely long white brows floated out of his inexplicable madness rather than leisureliness. He stared with his eyes open and hard rubbed the girl’s hair with his skinny palms, shouting, “Is there anything reasonable in the world?”

“I was the Great Divine Priest of Judgment sitting on the ink-jade divine seat. I was a patriarch of Devil’s Doctrine, free to choose a sovereign. I was a guardian of the Front Gate in Buddhism Sect who could order thousands of monks. What a proud and splendid life I had! I was free to do anything sensational if I wanted, not mention to becoming a Buddha or a devil. Was there anything reasonable?”

“Don’t you see many pigheaded people living in this dirty world? Don’t you think the air you’re breathing is also so pungent? Don’t you feel it uncomfortable to breathe under a dirty silent sky for years? It’s natural for people living between heaven and earth to eat meat, including pigs, dogs, chicken and others. There’s nothing reasonable to say!”

Ning Que suddenly said, “But it doesn’t include eating human flesh.”

The old monk returned to silence. After some time, he regained the aura of compassion and said thoughtfully in a soft voice, “Yeah, there is still something reasonable in the world. Only the degree is not the same.” “In my opinion, the way in which you and I exist in this world is a collection of our own methods of knowing the world. After a rain beside the grave in those years, I’ve been struggling to find out the true essence of the real world and eventually changed the way I existed in the world. I expected to change the world and searched for the world that was already impossible to return.”

“When I attained Tao enlightenment and debated in Lanke Temple, the West-Hill Divine Palace hierarch spoke highly of my eloquence and asked me to enter Devil’s Doctrine as a spy of all the Central Plains sects. But he didn’t know I was actually born as a diabolism person.”

The old monk revealed a childlike smile on his old and skinny cheeks. There were no teeth inside his open lips. So he looked more like a newborn. And he made others feel a sense of innocence and purity, thus making his ridicule also look so naive.

“I only sought for strength and ways to change the world. I didn’t care about whether it was Taoism or Diabolism and who won or lost. The reason why I was willing to come to Devil’s Doctrine was that I wanted to look at the lost Tomes of Arcane.”

“But the ‘Ming’ Handscroll was not in the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine. Those Devil’s Doctrine people hid in mountains and in the Central Plains countries like rats. Those Elders who fanned the flames and agitated the people like women also made me feel disgusted. So I left once again.”

The old monk showed a very strong sense of irony and disgust on his face, just like a woman who saw others selling vinegar added with two bowls of water in a marketplace, full of natural pride and disdain.

“I went to the Grand River in the South Jin Kingdom and Yuelun Kingdom. And finally, I went westward to the distant Unknown Place. In that Xuankong Temple, I finally heard the preaching of the chief monk, saw the brilliant Buddism lights and heard the Buddism language under the lights. After a few years, however, I found that the monks in Xuankong Temple were nothing but some common people. The so-called Buddha’s language was deliberately mystifying and was no different from the fortune tellers in the street of the Kingdom of Song. What was more abominable was that the Buddhism Sect proposed penance and introspection. They could only humbly wait for the rotation of life, so how could they reach the ideal world?”

The old monk’s white brows floated upwards and then fell down. His eyes were full of dissatisfaction, just like a young scholar who stopped the prime minister’s sedan and suggested the minister revive the desolate country. Obviously, he had a much better impression of the Xuankong Temple and the Unknown Place of Buddhism Sect than the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine. But he was still angry with the non-aspirant attitude of the Xuankong Temple monks.

“Finally, I returned from the Wilderness and was invited by the hierarch to enter West-Hill Divine Palace. With the help of my trusted aide in the Devil’s Doctrine, I killed two Elders. And then I revealed my identity and sat on the ink-jade divine seat of Grand Judge.”

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan had listened to him silently. And now they finally could not help but ask, “Since you’re one of Devil’s Doctrine, why did you help the West-Hill Divine Palace to kill the Elders of Devil’s Doctrine?”

“How could I have won the trust of the Haotian Taoism sect if I didn’t do so? If not, how would that lousy Taoist temple allow me, a successor of Xuankong Temple, to read their precious Tomes of Arcane? But that Taoist temple was so mean. I only read ‘Ri’ book and ‘Sha’ book even though I had done so many things for the Haotian Taoism sect.”

The old monk said indifferently, “Although I only read two books of the Tomes of Arcane, they were indeed extraordinary. I thought I had finally found a right place and a good opportunity to understand the real world. But after I had spent some time in the Peach Mountain, I found that all the people in West-Hill Divine Palace were a group of cowardly idiots.”

Suddenly he looked down and saw that Ye Hongyu’s eyes were full of anger. He knew that his ridicule of West-Hill Divine Palace had made this girl feel angry and could not help saying with a slight sneer, “Poor kids, don’t you think so? Hundreds of millions of Haotian believers in the world know about the Divine Hall and don’t know Zhishou Abbey. The people sitting in the white temples of the Peach Mountain should know what to do if they really had some guts. But what did they do? They were gossiped about by a shabby Taoist temple.”

The old monk thought of that blue cloth in that shabby Taoist temple and looked slightly serious while saying cynically, “They were a bunch of dogs. That shabby temple was nothing but a dog of Haotian! Haha!… They were all dogs!”

Arrogant laughter burst from his dry bleeding lips. The old monk’s white brows flew up and seemed to be dancing freely. He was like a young swordsman who traveled around the countryside with a sword fighting for justice.

A hoarse but bold laughter echoed in the quiet dark room. Ning Que stared at the old laughing monk in front of the pile of white bones who seemed like he might fall anytime and felt the arrogance clearly conveyed in his laughter. Ning Que could not help but think that this old monk was really eligible to make friends with Youngest Uncle.

“I’ve lived in this world and searched around for so many years. But it was full of people as stupid as dogs and pigs. I still thought that Great Divine Priest of Light who had set up Devil’s Doctrine had something amazing. So I returned to the Devil’s Doctrine.”

The old monk said indifferently, “However, I didn’t expect that after so many years, the Devil’s Doctrine was still as messy as the past. Its leader was indeed a loser, so muddle-headed and stubborn. He wanted to abolish the inheritance of the Saintess of Diabolism just because he was unwilling to sacrifice his own daughter. The rest indulged in the dull pleasure of killing, and were just as boring as beasts.”

“At this moment, I finally found a glimmer of hope in the Front Gate. It was a young boy. From him, I saw the possibility of reviving Devil’s Doctrine and even changing the whole world. However, he didn’t believe what I said at all, for I had killed his father to establish my reputation to the Front Gate. I brought so many wonderful cultivation methods from the sacred place of Buddhism, but he didn’t want to learn them but to learn Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation that couldn’t give him a successful future!”

The old monk recalled and shouted angrily, “The only hope was shattered again. What should I do? Finally, I came up with a way. I wanted to destroy the world, including all the Taoist or Buddhism sects. So I could return the heaven and earth to tranquility and give birth to new shoots from the scorched earth. Only in this way could I change the world!”

Ning Que looked at the nearly mad old monk and suddenly asked, “What exactly did you want the world to look like? Or were you just annoyed with the world and wanted to destroy it?”

The old monk gradually hid his anger and calmed down again, saying, “You haven’t even seen the appearance of this world. Do you think you’re eligible to discuss the transformation of the world with me?”

After a moment’s silence, Ning Que said, “Since you had traveled around in search of ways to change the world, why didn’t you go to the Academy? I think the Academy in those years should not be inferior to the places where you had studied.”

The old monk said after a long silence, “There was already a guy named Ke Haoran in the Academy.”

Ning Que stared at his eyes and said, “So you didn’t want to change the world. You just envied my Youngest Uncle and wanted to make yourself stronger so that you could defeat him. But you still couldn’t make it. So you fell into despair in the end and wanted the whole world to die with you.”

The old monk was slightly startled and then laughed as if he heard the most ridiculous thing in the world. His empty hand kept rubbing at his shriveled abdomen. He said, “Would I be jealous of a madman?”

Ning Que did not laugh, but looked at him calmly and said, “You’re a madman yourself.”

The old monk kept silent and then sighed softly. He said, “You’re right. I was indeed somewhat jealous.” I had no obstacles on the road of Buddhism and could cultivate both Taoism and Diabolism. In Xuankong Temple, I could be a Bhadanta. In the Peach Mountain, I could be a God. In Devil’s Doctrine, I was a priest with the highest status. So I really didn’t need to be modest, for I always thought myself as a peerless figure within a thousand years. But I never expected to actually encounter a guy more incredible than me.”

The old monk said with a lament, “I learned lotus print of Xuankong Temple and got enlightenment easily. I learned Confinement tactical arrays of the Peach Mountain and could trap the whole world by waving my hands at will. I was an expert in the cultivation methods of 7 sects and 28 schools of Devil’s Doctrine. I even regained the Practice of Taotie that had long lost its successor and enlightened the Haotian oracle by reading two books of Tomes of Arcane. If it wasn’t because I didn’t want to be ordered by Haotian, I could be apocalyptic at any time. Do you think I’m a cultivation genius?”

Ning Que’s heart trembled with each sentence the old monk said. Ning Que had never seen such a mighty cultivator in his life. Even Master Yan Se and Second Brother seemed to be far worse than him. Of course, a figure like him was a cultivation genius.

He said honestly, “You’re an expert in every cultivation method. You’re indeed a great person.”

The old monk laughed at himself and said, “Do you know how many cultivation methods Ke Haoran learned?”

Ning Que kept silent.

The old monk slowly shook his head and said, “He only learned one.”

Ning Que said in surprise, “One?”

The old monk said quietly, “Ke Haoran could only use a sword, from a child-like woodchip sword in the very beginning to a sword piercing the sky. Both of them belonged to his Haoran Sword.”

Ning Que glanced at the disorderly sword marks on the walls in the room and felt puzzled. If Youngest Uncle could only use Haoran Sword, how could he arrange such a powerful Confinement tactical array to trap Lotus for decades?

The old monk seemed to sense Ning Que’s and Mo Shanshan’s doubts, so he smiled and said, “You said that I was an expert in every cultivation method. But Ke Haoran mastered every cultivation method by using one method. He could only use a sword throughout his life. But he could turn a sword style into all Taoists Laws in the world. The Confinement in this room is one example.”

A sword turned into thousands of Taoists Laws in the world!

Ning Que was too shocked to say anything and thought about how many years of cultivation he needed to reach such a state.

The old monk smiled and said, ” In fact, I really felt helpless to meet such a person.”

“Ke Haoran was not as good-looking as I. His donkey was even worse than my horse. His feet sweated so much that they stunk when he took off his shoes. But he still liked sitting and scratching his feet. He got a bad temper and even scolded with the Headmaster of Academy for three full days and nights, just for a bowl of braised pork. All the people revered him even though he was someone like that. When I traveled with him, the people could only see him. No matter how many amazing things I had made, the people could only see him.”

The old monk wore a slightly bitter smile and raised his left hand to make a lotus print in front of his chest. He gently rubbed the head of Ye Hongyu as if he was spoiling a kid and continued, “Indeed I was jealous of him, so I wanted to do something amazing. However, I wanted to find a way to the ideal world more. He stood in my way no matter what I did. So I had to think of a way to make him die.”

“But he still saw through your plot.” Ning Que said.

The old monk said with a lament, “At that time, Wei Guangming almost exposed my trick. So I had to hide in the Devil’s Doctrine. Unexpectedly, Ke Haoran had seen through the matter at Lanke Temple and also chased after me. I didn’t mind it at that time, for I always thought that the whole Devil’s Doctrine could always kill him. So I was even somewhat glad of his coming and prepared to kill him.”

“I hadn’t fought with Ke Haoran before. I knew he was very strong, but I didn’t care whether he was the strongest man in the world. However, after all, I still didn’t expect he would be so strong.”

The old monk said indifferently, “He was strong, so he won. This truth was acceptable for the people in the Devil’s Doctrine. So I accepted my failure. Even if he killed me with his sword, I had no complaints. But he should not have let me live.”

“He should not have let me live!”

The old monk’s skinny cheeks suddenly became distorted and his deep eyes were full of venomousness like a ghost fire. His hoarse voice seemed to come from Underworld and he shouted painfully. “He ruined all my cultivation and threw me in this dark room. He sealed all my Qi of Heaven and Earth with the Confinement I most admired and suppressed me like a monster in this dark place where I couldn’t see a blue sky for the rest of my life! He made me bear a lifetime of loneliness and despair!”

“Could anyone endure loneliness and isolation for decades? Do you know the despair I feel when I look at the light coming from outside the temple every day for counting days? Do you know what a terrible punishment it was to only look at these four walls for decades? Do you know, when a person stays alone for a long time, even quietness could become the most terrible torture?”

The old monk stared at Ning Que’s face grudgingly, as if he was looking at the face of that man in those years. His breath became unusually rapid because of his excitement and his voice became increasingly mournful, just like his mood at this time.

“There is only absolute silence, no sounds at all. No ants crawling by, no leaves rustling. Nothing at all. Your ears eventually become very sensitive because you desire so much to hear any sound. You can even hear the bodies around you rotting. You hear how the bloated bellies of the corpses explode and they sound like a thunder!”

The old monk’s shrill voice reverberated in the quiet room like a never ending roar of thunder.

“All the bodies in the room have rotted, or dried out and these sounds have stopped. The sounds that have previously made you nauseated have become the most wonderful things in your memory. Do you know this feeling?”

“In the end, you can even hear your blood flowing in your veins, your muscles losing its water content. You can hear your stomach drying out and sticking to your intestines. You hear them tearing. It’s really interesting, isn’t it? If you listen for a long time, you’d definitely want to vomit. But the problem is, you can’t.”

The old monk’s eyes had lost all its shine. He reminisced about the decades of suffering like a granite statue. He muttered, “Even the strongest cultivators must eat or drink. You have to eat something, no matter how disgusting it is. If you spit it out, you will die.”

The old monk suddenly yelled shrilly, “I know that living like this is even crueler than death. I should have killed myself when I was imprisoned by Ke Haoran. But this fellow, he seemed bold and tough, but he had a heart more insidious than the devil himself. He knew that I thought of living, and he made it so that I could never die! He is the real devil!”

Ning Que asked, after a moment of silence, “What did you eat to survive for the past decades?”

The mountain of bones below the old monk consisted of both dried corpses and white skeletons.

Ning Que’s gaze landed on them, and could not help frowning.

Mo Shanshan followed the trajectory of his gaze and found that there were several silvers of bones in the mountain of bones. There were marks on them that looked as if a beast had chewed on them. She had a sudden epiphany. Her body stiffened and her face became especially pale.

The old monk laughed loudly when he saw their reactions. His laughter was bitter and shrill, and it sounded like a sad ghoul crying grievously. However, the tears that flowed from his eyes were cloudy and pebble-like due to the fact that he was severely dehydrated.

Even the toughest man might feel sympathy for the old monk; looking at the pair of old, cloudy eyes, listening to the heart wrenching, crazy laughter, and thinking of how he had been imprisoned in the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine for decades, leading a life worse than death. However, Ning Que did not feel anything like that. He looked at the old monk and said, “Sympathy is not something that can be pleaded for.”

The old monk’s crazy laughter stopped. He looked at Ning Que with what seemed like a ghost fire in his eyes.

Ning Que looked at the rock walls and continued after a moment of silence, “It must be due to the fact that I have seen too much danger as a child. I am someone who lacks a sense of security. I like thinking about what would happen to me should something happen all the time. Who would raise Sangsang? What would happen if Sangsang meets with an accident? How can I persuade myself to continue living?”

“If someone treated Sangsang like how you did, I would think long and hard about how to revenge. It’d be too easy on you if I were to kill you with a single stroke of my blade. If I break your arms and legs and throw you into a shit hole, you might not last for long. You won’t suffer for long. That wouldn’t make me happy either.”

He retracted his gaze and stared at the old monk. He smiled lightly and sighed. “Now that I think about how you have spent the last few decades, I realized how Youngest Uncle is indeed a genius who is well versed in cultivation. He is even talented in torture methods. I will not pity on you. I will learn from such methods, and I can only hope that I will not have to use it in the future.”

The old monk did not know who Sangsang was, but Mo Shanshan did. She glanced at Ning Que.

The old monk smiled and did not say anything else. The questions that he had asked previously already released the anger he had felt for the past decades. He had something more important to do now.

He lowered his head slowly and placed his dry lips on the girl below his palms gently.

Ye Hongyu looked at the old monk coldly. However, goosebumps erupted on her skin. Anyone would find it impossible to get rid of the fear in their hearts when they were about to be torn into shreds and eaten slowly.

A series of chocking sound rang in the quiet dark room.

Ning Que had pulled out the podao behind his back. He leaped up like a tiger who had finally caught his prey after an entire night of waiting. He leaped towards the old monk in the Bone Mountain.

He was suspended in mid-air and a shred of light splashed out like a thunderstorm.

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan’s sense of perception were severely injured by the old monk. They were no longer able to control parts of their bodies. However, they had managed to overcome this through unknown means and forcefully regained control of their bodies. At this time, the old monk was about to sink his teeth into Ye Hongyu’s flesh and was not aware of the happenings around him. This was a good time for them to ambush him.

The old monk managed to see the light reflecting from the blade from the corner of his eyes. The podao in Ning Que’s hands was only half an inch away from his neck. He would be unable to prevent his imminent death no matter from which angle one looked at it from.

However, the glace from the corner of his eyes was sufficient.

The old monk saw the light from the blade and his mental state rippled.

Other than the sacredness of Haotian, there was nothing faster than one’s mental state.

A power that, while not strong, was mild and pure in state exuded from the old monk’s gaze. The numerous white bones in the pile of bones answered to the power and flew up. A strong femur stood and blocked the shiny blade.

It was unknown which powerhouse from the Devil’s Doctrine this strong femur belonged to. Its spirit was long lost, but its strength still lingered. It collided with the blade strongly. A deep gouge appeared, but it did not break apart.

The entire room was filled with a Confinement tactical array set by Youngest Uncle back then. The Fu character set on the podao by the two Senior Brothers could not absorb any Qi of Heaven and Earth. He could not fight against the bone controlled by the old monk’s Psyche Power.

Ning Que harrumphed. An immense force came from the blade, breaking his wrist. Blood spurted from his mouth as he was thrust backward with a great force.

The white shards of bones activated by the old monk’s Psyche Power began to beat on his body like a storm. He suffered hundreds and thousands of heavy blows and blood spewed from his body without stopping. The bones in his body cracked and broke.

Ning Que fell to the ground heavily with a loud crack. More blood splattered on his shirt. It was fortunate that the bones had fallen to the ground after leaving the Bone Mountain as a storm and did not attack again.

Neverending pain radiated from all parts of his body as if all the bones in his body had broken. Ning Que frowned. He set the podao on the ground and leaned against it to get up, but succumbed to the pain. He fell on a knee heavily.

The old monk’s face was pale and his cheeks were sunken. His pupils were bright and his body wavered lightly. It was evident that he had paid an enormous price countering the sudden attack from Ning Que. Several decades of power and the bite of flesh he had consumed earlier had long been expended. However, no matter how weak he was, he still controlled Ye Hongyu under his palms.

…

…

Being separated from the Qi of Heaven and Earth was a scary existence for cultivators. There were several feats of Taoism that cannot be completed without the Qi of Heaven and Earth. This was especially since Master Lotus had previously hurt their sense of perception with his high state. They were unable to use their perception to control their bodies. Cultivators in this situation were like calligraphers without their brushes and musicians without their instruments. They were aware of what to do, but had lost all abilities and would surely fall into a total despair.

But Ning Que was unlike most cultivators in the world. He had just learned about cultivation. In the past ten years, he had fought on the thin line between life and death. He did not depend on any Taoist Laws or flying swords, but on the three swords behind his back and himself.

Even the impact on his sense of perception by Master Lotus could not force him into a total despair. That was because his control over his physical body was stronger than anyone could imagine after numerous battles. He could control his bones and muscles. He had tightened and loosened his muscles at a high speed during the long conversation they had previously. He had wanted to relax his body, leaving the control the sense of perception had over him.

One had to acknowledge that Ning Que was really good at combat. This was especially so when he was in a situation that seemed to be utterly hopeless, where he was weak and the enemy was strong. He would become especially calm and his will to combat would become even stronger then. It was a pity that the difference in abilities between the two was so large that even the will to combat or analysis could not help to mend the gap.

“The control you have over your body is so strong?”

The old monk looked at Ning Que who was kneeling on the ground with a look of surprise. His brows floated in the air as he sighed. “Even though the Desolate Man are strong in both spirit and body, but the connection between their body and perception is not as good as yours. It is hard to imagine that there is a wayfarer of the Academy in this generation that would be so well suited to cultivate in the Devil’s arts. It’s such a pity, such a pity.”

Ning Que was severely injured and could no longer hold the hilt in his hands tightly. His body wavered, but he eventually fell to the ground once more. He did not listen to what the old monk had to say clearly. Instead, he wiped the blood off his lips and coughed painfully twice.

Everything had happened too quickly. Mo Shanshan was not mentally prepared for this at all. Now that Ning Que was lying in a pool of blood, her eyes were filled with worry. However, she had no way of getting closer to see how he was doing.

Ning Que looked at her expression before he slowly maneuvered himself against her back with great difficulty. He coughed painfully again before saying in a weak voice, “I won’t die for now, but I really can’t move anymore.”

The old monk looked at him and got even happier as he looked on. He said in a pitying manner, “Such a talent. If you weren’t a disciple of the Academy, I would want to teach you all my skills and see how you would end up in the future.”

Ning Que had once thought that he was a genius in cultivation. However, he had only entered the cultivation path after much difficulty. Once he had gotten on the path, he had seen too many true powerhouses. There were Second Brother, Chen Pipi and other weirdos like them. And then, he had met the Calligraphy Addict and the Tao Addict who were geniuses too. That was when he had gotten rid of such stupid notions and realized that he was but just an ordinary person in cultivation.

That was why he could not help feeling that something was odd when he heard the old monk’s lament. The corners of his lips flicked up with difficulty. He panted and said self-mockingly, “I only have ten clear acupoints in the Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi. How could I be a talent?”

The old monk looked at him and said weakly, “If you wish to cultivate in the Devil’s arts, so what if you only had one clear acupoint?”

Ning Que leaned against Mo Shanshan’s back weakly. He looked at the old monk in the Bone Mountain and smiled with difficulty. He said, “Master, I am willing to cultivate in the Devil’s arts under you. Will you let all of us go? Why do we have to fight to our deaths?”

The old monk looked at him pityingly. He answered weakly, “Is this the time to make such jokes?”

Ning Que coughed twice and gasped, “It is not a joke, I can swear on this by the name of the Headmaster of Academy.”

The old monk smiled laboriously, “Ke Haoran and I have been life-long enemies. I know the truth of the Academy better than anyone else in the world. I might believe others, but I know that there is no one trustworthy from the Academy.”

Ning Que could not help laughing loudly when he heard that. However, pain wracked his chest and he started coughing violently again.

The old monk looked at him puzzledly, “Why did you choose that moment to attack if you could have held back? Even though the timing was good, it was still a little too early. Would it not have been better if you waited for the moment when I start devouring her flesh?”

Ning Que coughed up fresh blood and replied, “It was indeed too early, but I do not like watching people eat human flesh.”

The old monk’s expression turned vicious when he heard the words “human flesh”. He said coldly, “I have been chewing on bones and dried meat. In the end, the meat had turned into dried dregs. Do you think they taste good?”

The old monk looked at the young couple leaning against each other and said bitterly, “The human flesh that I have eaten when I traveled the world was because they were part of my plan and because I wanted to make myself stronger. Do you think I’m a crazy pervert who likes eating human flesh? Do you really think that human flesh tastes good?”

The old monk thought of the black robes that had floated by the Devil’s Palace decades ago. He smiled rather lunatically and said, “Ke Haoran sealed me in this jail away from the world. He forced me into eating human flesh. And then, there was a fellow who came here. He wouldn’t release me or kill me no matter how much I begged. Instead, he got me another ten bodies and left them for me to eat. He said that this was a reward from Haotian. If I am a devil eating humans, what are they?”

He looked at Ye Hongyu who was still beneath his palm. Her face was pale as she pursed her lips stubbornly, unwilling to beg or cry out in pain. He looked at Ning Que and said icily, “This Taoist woman is the first fresh meat I’ve eaten in decades. It already tastes better than anything else. Do you want to try it?”

Ning Que looked at the haunted eyes on the old monk’s face. He said after a moment of silence, “No, I know that it doesn’t taste good.”

Mo Shanshan who was leaning against his back weakly did not understand that. She thought that he was just speaking factually. Everyone knew that human flesh didn’t taste good without having to eat it personally.

However, the old monk had understood. Surprise filled his worn face and the enmity in his eyes turned into sympathy and benevolence. He sighed in admiration, “The Academy is indeed the Academy. I admire them.”

Ning Que knew that the old monk was praising the Academy for admitting someone like him. It would take an unimaginable amount of guts and an inclusive attitude. That was why the Academy deserved admiration.

He said proudly, “In this world, victory belongs to the Academy.”

The old monk said mockingly, “However, the Academy will end up in ruins.”

Ning Que replied, “Everything in the world would. However, at least the Academy would not turn into ruins from your curse.”

The old monk looked at the severely injured and weak lad who was proud and confident. It felt as if he was looking at the old friend from many years ago. After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, “How long has Ke Haoran been dead for?”

Ning Que was startled and said, “I do not know.”

“I’ve once told him that the Haoran Sword had joined the Devil’s path, but he did not care. I warned him that he would be punished by Haotian should he continue to be so prideful, and yet, he did not care either. I’m sure that he has long turned into ashes and has been scattered throughout every stream and every mountain in this world. I wonder if he is still as proud right now. Hahaha…”

The old monk lowered his head and laughed like a madman. A single turbid tear appeared at the corner of his eye.

Ning Que said, “Youngest Uncle should be proud even in death.”

The old monk raised his head and looked at him coldly. “But he still died before me. I have won.”

Ning Que said mockingly, “Some has died, but he is still alive. Some is still alive, but he is already dead.”

The old monk said emotionally, “You have such a sharp tongue on you.”

“Will I succeed next time?”

Ning Que suddenly asked sincerely. His body was still shaking beneath the cotton shirt. While this method expended a lot of energy, it was the only way to retain one’s mobility when one’s mental state was under the control of a person in a terrifying state.

The old monk looked at him and said sincerely, “There will be no next time.”

Ning Que replied, “You are indeed the strongest person in existence that I can imagine. However, you are a defeated ruler who have been imprisoned for decades while I am a fierce young tiger who have just left the mountain. The Confinement that has blocked the Qi of Heaven and Earth has no impact on me. I am used to relying on my strength. There is no reason why you should recover faster than me.”

The old monk smiled lightly and said, “You do indeed have a sharp tongue. It is a pity that I am so old I don’t have any teeth.”

He lowered his head and took a bite out of Ye Hongyu’s naked shoulder after he said that.

Ye Hongyu’s brows raised violently, but she refused to lower her head. She glared at the old monk who was chewing on her flesh as if she was imprinting the image in her mind. She would not want to forget this even when she entered the Underworld.

The old monk did not have any teeth. He used his gums to chew with great difficulty like a toothless old lion on the brink of death trying to tear apart the solid meat of a doe. Fresh blood dribbled from wrinkled lips.

After a moment, the old monk raised his head and looked at Ning Que with a small smile. “You want to waste time away, so do I. After I digest the first mouthful of flesh, I will absorb the second even faster. You don’t have to attempt to struggle. You’d be happier welcoming death peacefully. I will destroy this Confinement and emerge from the mountain once I eat all three of you and regain my powers. Then, the world will be mine, and it could be said that it belongs to you three too.”

The old monk’s voice was slightly muffled due to the flesh in his mouth. However, it was as warm as the waters in spring. Blood dripped from his aged lips, wrinkled skin and chin, but his smile was benevolent and looked like it was plated with Buddha light. The Bone Mountain and dead bodies beside him looked like a sacred lotus throne, emanating light. This image that hovered between Buddha and the Devil was extremely scary.

Ning Que knew that what he said was true. He thought through all his ways of staying alive but did not find any that would break the status quo right now. No matter the pouch that Master Yan Se gave him, the Primordial Thirteen Arrows, or the Fu character on his podao, they all required a connection with nature before they could unleash their true powers. He could not help but think of death silently.

He stared at the old monk and said resolutely, “The world will not become yours even if you can get out of here.”

The old monk thought of that glimpse of a sleeve of a robe. He smiled, “I have already joined the Devil. Would I be afraid of the powers of this world?”

Ning Que shook his head and said, “There is still the Headmaster of the Academy in this world.”

The old monk descended into silence. And then, he said, “The Headmaster of the Academy would eventually die. Those from the Academy are too proud. The prouder one is, the easier it is for them to die. This is the fate of the Headmaster of the Academy. And this is the fate of the Academy. It cannot be changed.”

Ning Que frowned and said, “You’re speaking nonsense.”

The old monk suddenly asked, “Who is the empress of the Tang empire in Chang’an? How many great generals in the Peak state of Martial Arts have appeared these years? Have the Devil’s Dance appeared again? Did the Headmaster of the Academy rush up and get revenge on the Peach Mountain after Ke Haoran was punished? Wait, there’s something that’s not right. This young lady said that she was the Grand Master of the Judicial Department. Does that mean that the Divine Hall has yet to be destroyed?”

Ke Haoran’s punishment and the Headmaster of the Academy heading to the Peach Mountain; in his eyes, it seemed that the Divine Hall on the Peach Mountain would have been destroyed. However, he knew that the West-Hill Divine Palace still existed, so he could not help but wonder for he believed that his plan was fool-proof.

Ning Que did not know how he should answer the questions. It felt like the crazy questioning from a lunatic, but the questions were full of history and dust. And within the dust, laid many hidden secrets that cannot be told.

“I have planned many things before the Front Gate was destroyed. I arranged for the saintess to head south. I believe that she would complete what I have asked her to do. I have arranged for many disciples to head south. I trust that one of them would be able to complete the task I had set.”

The old monk looked at him and grinned slightly, his smile was so full of confidence it looked a touch tyrannical.

“Back then, the Enlightenment Doctrine had already started to rot. I do not think that it is a pity that it was ruined by Ke Haoran. On the burnt ground, new sprouts will grow. I would rather set up a new Devil’s Doctrine on ruins. The new Devil’s Doctrine transplanted on the rich soil of the Tang empire would definitely flourish and thrive.”

“I believe that my plans must be in motion after so long. I just have to wait quietly for the Headmaster of the Academy to pass away once I get out of here. Who do you think the world would belong to then?”

Ning Que’s body felt extremely cold when he heard that. He wondered to himself if there were many powerhouses of the Devil’s Doctrine hidden around Chang’an. Had all these people heeded his order to head south? If they allow this man to leave the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine, what kind of storm would the world weather?

“You must have thought that Youngest Uncle would kill you then. Even if you have hidden so many people and set up plans in the Central Plains, what is the point of them once you are dead?”

The old monk looked at him in ridicule. He looked at Ning Que like how the white snow on a snow peak would look at a summer worm. He said, “Even if I were dead, my plans would still survive. Ordinary people like you would never understand. A person’s life or death did not matter. What is important is whether we can change the old world and welcome a new one. And then, we can use the abilities of the new world to change certain rules. Why would it matter if I died if I can do all of that?”

Ning Que asked, “What rules?”

The old monk replied, “The rules of Greater Taoism.”

Ning Que asked, “If… you couldn’t change anything after plotting for your entire life, then what?”

The old monk smiled and answered, “At least I have worked hard at it.”

Ning Que furrowed his brows and said, “You would not hesitate to have the world die with you just because of your attempt?”

The old monk said calmly, “What has the end of the world to do with me?”

This was perhaps where plotters derive joy, Ning Que thought to himself silently. He really admired the old monk’s plot. However, he was also extremely frightened, for it was always difficult to emerge victorious when in a combat with lunatics.

At this moment, the world-renowned Master Lotus was a complete lunatic in Ning Que’s eyes. Ning Que did not understand what he was saying. Even if he did, he did not know whether it was real or not. He could not even make a sound judgment on what the person saying all that was like.

The old monk was sometimes as innocent as a newborn baby, sometimes, he was as violent as an unreasonable woman in the market. Sometimes, he was as passionate as the young scholars in the capital who wished to save the world; and at other times, he was like a young swordsman who was full of pride, wanting to fight all evils in the world with a sword. At times, he was like a benevolent Buddhist Bhadanta, and at times, he was cruel like the devil himself.

No matter which image he resembled, it could compare to the real deal. One could not see any signs of falseness and each facade was inherently different but came from his heart. It was so pure, it made one’s heart flutter. If he wanted to become a Buddha, he would. And if he wanted to become the devil, he could. He viewed the world as a true Buddha and a true devil with benevolence and indifference.

He was simple but capricious. He was lonely and weak, complicated and annoying. He was sometimes jealous and sometimes sinister. He liked to compete and would occasionally complain. He was selfish and boring but pervertic and adventurous. He enjoyed sophistication and loved imagination. He was kind and benevolent, but also hatred and vengeful. He was domineering and prideful. He was silent and sad. He was full of contradictions and hypocrisy. He was happy yet sad. He was great and yet small.

Liansheng 32, each petal was different.

It was hard to imagine how a person’s character and thoughts could be so complicated.

Ning Que thought, could it be that this person has got 32 different personalities?

…

…

The old monk was done with his speech. He closed his eyes calmly like a lotus going back to sleep at night. He began to unleash the secret power of the Devil’s Doctrine and attempted to digest the Tao Addict’s flesh and convert it into the primordial Qi in his body.

Ning Que’s voice echoed in the silence of the room. However, his tone was uneasy and boring when no one replied. It even seemed desperate.

“There is no devil in this world. It only came into existence because there are too many people like you out there.”

“You are the devil no matter which role you play.”

“Liansheng 32, every petal of yours is dirty.”

“When one links Tao and the Devil, they become God. But they might also end up being a lunatic.”

The old monk sitting on the mountain of bones did not have any reaction no matter what Ning Que said. He spent much effort trying to think of these seemingly philosophical statements, which were wasted in the dry air. It did not annoy his opponent nor did it do anything to harm his opponent’s psyche either.

Ning Que placed his head on Mo Shanshan’s shoulder weakly. He stared at the bluestone ceiling. He knew that once the old monk devours and digests the second mouthful of flesh filled with the aura of Haotian Taoism, his state would return to one that he could not touch. Then, there would be no way to change their fates. His eyes dimmed.

The light in the room of the Devil’s Palace became dimmer and dimmer. Night had come to the world outside the mountain. The temperature dropped.

He lifted his head and looked at the sword marks on the stone ceiling. Those were marks left behind by Youngest Uncle. They formed a Confinement that had kept Liansheng 32 trapped for decades. He sighed lightly in his heart.

He had only glanced at them in passing. He had not controlled his psyche deliberately. It must be that he was used to using the Eight Strokes Calligraphy of Yong in the old library. The crowded sword marks in his field of vision suddenly separated and became clear.

Ning Que’s gaze stayed on those sword marks for a long time. His mental state wandered together with the sword marks and a feeling emerged from within him. This feeling was obscure and hard to catch and examine. However, his body warmed up because of this.

The obscure feeling in his body did not garner much attention from Ning Que. He even thought that the warmth came from Mo Shanshan who was behind him. He only looked at the sword marks on the bluestone ceiling silently. He thought of how Youngest Uncle had waved his sword around him gracefully then and how hopeless he felt now, waiting for death. He felt ashamed and embarrassed.

Waiting for death hopelessly was a sad thing. Those in this situation were usually silent. Master Lotus did not say anything, so Ning Que did not find himself wanting to say anything either. The room in the Devil’s Palace was deadly silent.

The deadly silent environment was just like Master Lotus’s angry memories. They were indeed scary after a prolonged period of time. There was no sound of the breeze or the rustling of plants. Ning Que even felt that he could vaguely hear his lungs expanding and contracting. He could hear his hair chaffing together. He thought it was really incredible, but also scary.

He would have thought that he had already reached the Underworld had he not been able to feel Mo Shanshan’s soft body.

Mo Shanshan leaned on his shoulder weakly, and she asked in a haggard manner, “Are we going to die?”

Ning Que answered after a moment of silence, “It seems that way.”

Mo Shanshan’s brow furrowed and she said, “Why can’t you comfort me?”

Ning Que coughed painfully before he said self-mockingly, “It is a comfort to be able to die happy.”

Mo Shanshan understood what he meant. It would be a happy death if Master Lotus killed them straight. It would be the most terrifying thing on earth if they ended up like Ye Hongyu who had to watch herself get eaten alive.

The young girl’s beautiful face paled at that thought. Her long lashes fluttered and her lips pursed tightly into a straight line. She was silent for a long time. Then, she looked at Ning Que whose brows were furrowed deeply from his coughing. She said with a mild tremble in her voice, “I have said that I liked your writing back at the palace.”

Ning Que did not know why the Calligraphy Addict would mention that at this time. After a moment, he smiled and comforted her, “I know that I write well. I will write a thousand words for you when we get out.”

Mo Shanshan smiled lightly, “I have also said that I liked your Big Black Horse.”

Ning Que was startled. He said bitterly, “I can’t bear the thought of leaving that stubborn thing to someone else.”

“I don’t want the Big Black Horse.” Mo Shanshan bit her lower lip, and then, as if she had decided on something, she said lightly, “I indeed like your words and the Big Black Horse. But I want to tell you something else.”

“I like you.”

This confession turned Ning Que into a block of wood. He looked at the haggard but beautiful face. He could smell the faint scent of the girl beside him. After a long moment of silence, he thought about how he should reply to this confession.

This was the first time he had received a confession from someone of the opposite gender in both lives. This was one of the most touching things he had heard in both his lives. Even though it was a pity that they were in the dark Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine and that they were on the brink of death. But it was still as touching as the rustling of a willow branch by the lake. Was the lake the Ink Lake at the foot of the Mogan Mountain?

The girl beside him was one of the most beautiful women in the world. She was also a top player in the cultivation world and was world-renowned. There were many young men who admired her but were too ashamed of themselves to say so. To Ning Que, Mo Shanshan was perfect if not for her bad eyesight that caused others to think that she was lofty and prideful.

They were a perfect match no matter in their sects, family backgrounds or her political inclinations. The Tang Empire and the Great River Kingdom were allies, and the Headmaster of the Academy and His Majesty would both think well of this match. In terms of their hobbies, the two could be said to be the best match in the same Taoist path. If they were to end up together, other than having relations, it would be wonderful if they could write and admire each other’s calligraphy at night.

But the crux of the matter was, did he like her? Of course, he did. Liking someone was complicated for men sometimes. But most of the time, it was really simple. It was a given, to like someone like Mo Shanshan. Ning Que did like her.

But it was just that they were about to die at the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine and he was still able to think about such matters for so long. When he finally roused himself, he could not help but laugh. He felt that something was not right.

This feeling was really weird. Nothing of the secular world mattered when one was dying. Furthermore, he had reflected deeply and was certain that he did like the girl who was as innocent as calligraphy and ink. However, he could not erase the feeling that something was off. It felt like a crucial step one would make before joining the Devil. There was something terrifying hidden behind a wonderful thing.

What was that something terrifying? Ning Que did not know. He looked at the girl beside him and said bewilderedly, “Junior sister, Shanshan. I like your character and your appearance and also the way you handle things. At a time like this, I shouldn’t… ”

There was no shyness that would be present on any girl after she confessed on Mo Shanshan’s face. There was only warmth and calmness. She knew why Ning Que had hesitated and was even more certain than him why he had done so. She could not help but sigh lightly in her heart.

She leaned into his chest gently and murmured, “You are really clueless about many things. I just didn’t want to die without you knowing how I feel. I am in no hurry to hear any words of comfort from you. Everything you say now does not count and would not be fair either. I just wanted to tell you that.”

Ning Que wanted to retort that he wasn’t clueless, but on the second thought he realized that he was clueless indeed.

Why did he not express his true feelings, hug the girl to his chest, tell her that he liked her too and make up for the experience he lacked in both lives? What was he afraid of?

He was touched by Mo Shanshan’s affection for him. He said softly, “I know.”

Mo Shanshan smiled contentedly. She shut her eyes slowly and leaned into his chest. She said, “That is enough.”

In the dark room within the Devil’s Palace, a pile of bones laid in the middle. The old monk’s palm pressed gently on the head of a beautiful girl who was bathed in blood. It was as cold as winter. In the corner of that room, was a couple who were about to welcome death. They embraced each other lightly and spoke in soft tones like little animals. It was as warm as spring.

This cruel and yet beautiful scene was heart wrenching and touching.

…

…

Beautiful emotions could not make the world beautiful. It might look as warm as spring, but in actuality, the room became dimmer and the temperature dropped as night embraced the mountain peak outside the Devil’s Doctrine. Mo Shanshan laid in Ning Que’s embrace, unconscious. Ning Que who was heavily injured could feel the energy in his body slowly slipping away.

He could vaguely remember the warmth he felt earlier. He raised his head subconsciously and looked at the bluestone ceiling once more. He suddenly discovered that the sword marks on the stone did not disappear together with the night, but had started to glow with flames.

Youngest Uncle had killed many powerhouses of the Devil’s Doctrine then. Had the blood on the sword meet the stone walls and become the ghost fire that it was today? But Ning Que clearly remembered that ghost fire was something that only stayed on rotting corpses. It wouldn’t last for so long.

He squinted and found that the sword marks on the roof were getting clearer. He was entranced by it and attempted to decode it using the Eight Strokes Calligraphy of Yong. He forgot about the injuries he had sustained and forgot to cough.

The flaming sword marks began to turn into numerous shards of light, and then, they started to spin in his vision. It felt as if he was lying on the grassland and they were the numerous stars in the skies above his head. It was beautiful and calming.

Suddenly, Ning Que experienced another feeling of warmth in his body. This time, he did not allow this feeling to slip, but he did not pay too much attention to it either. He just savored it.

The stone ceiling with the sword marks on them remained in his field of vision as they spun in a certain order. The warmth seemed to correspond to that and began to spread in his body. It spread from his wrists to his neck and left behind a comfortable warmth where it passed.

Ning Que mind had wandered by then. He chased the warmth subconsciously, wanting to dissipate the coldness in his body. His gaze moved together with sword marks and they gradually imprinted on his sense of perception.

Those sword marks entered his pupils and his body, turning into a warm flow of air. It passed through his wrists and several joints. It entered his organs and turned into a presence that seemed almost tangible, hurrying him to stand up coldly. The sword style hidden in the sword marks was proud, how would it allow hopelessness and surrender before death?

And so, Ning Que stood up.

He raised his head and looked at the sword marks on the ceiling quietly. He did not seem to know when he had stood up.

Mo Shanshan was shocked from her slumber. She looked at Ning Que who stood before her in stunned silence. She did not know what had happened.

Ning Que looked at the sword marks above his head silently. He did not know how much time had passed, but his pupils grew darker but were shiny. It looked as if he was looking through an abyss.

There was a clink as he slowly drew the podao behind his back.

He looked at a perpendicular sword mark on the ceiling and stepped forward with his right foot.

He looked at the clumsy, short and straight sword mark at a corner and his left knee landed heavily on the ground.

He looked at the gentle circle of a sword mark on the wall across him. He turned suddenly and struck out with his blade.

The blade hummed, and the air between it split. There was a sudden gust of wind in the quiet room.

…

…

The old monk had awakened. He looked to the side. He had used the Practice of Taotie and taken two continuous bites of the Tao Addict’s pure flesh. His cheeks had filled out slightly and the life in his dried body became vigorous.

Ning Que was waving his blade around in the corner of the room. He stared at the sword marks littering the walls and ceiling of the room. He could not stop waving around the podao in his hand. He did not sense anything else around him and have seemed to enter a deep meditation state.

The old monk could feel the aura of the sword marks around him slipping away and entering the body of the young man. His eyes filled with anger suddenly as he yelled shrilly, “You are already dead. Do you still want the broken sword you left to come back to life?”

The old monk’s cheeks that had just filled out slightly earlier began to sink. He pointed at the dried fingers of his right hand at Ning Que who was in a trance. He looked as if he wanted to kill him even if it took the last ounce of blood in him.

Mo Shanshan was the first to react. She supported her body weakly and reached out behind her to hold on to a few hard objects tightly.

Ye Hongyu who was so silent felt as if she was long dead, remaining beneath the palms of the old monk. She raised her head suddenly and her hands which were buried in the pile of bone shards began to tremble slightly. Stubbornness and a will to live glowed in her cold eyes.

Before she raised her head, Ye Hongyu looked at Ning Que with an emotionless gaze.

Ning Que was holding on to his long podao and waving it along to the sword marks on the bluestone ceiling and walls. His expression was one of stunned confusion. His strokes were stiff and clumsy and he looked like a confused idiot.

Ye Hongyu looked at him. He had been grievously injured by Divine Lord Lotus and should be lying on the ground limpidly. However, he was waving his sword around. She did not know what had happened to him but could guess that he had encountered an opportunity and was in an important process of enlightenment.

A small opening appeared in the situation that had seemed to be a dead-end with Ning Que’s encounter with this opportunity. She knew that Divine Lord Lotus would not give Ning Que any opportunities but she must grab hold of this last chance.

She started to cry out loud.

Her tattered red dress suddenly lost all its color together with her cries. It turned a pale white as if all signs of life and blood were sucked away.

Her pale face became abnormally red instead. The corner of her eyes and the tip of her nose were as red as flowers and looked very bewitching. There were two streams of red tears that looked like blood flowing from the corner of her eyes. Her hair flowed behind her, dancing in the air.

Her state that had been doubly suppressed by the Confinement Formation and Divine Lord Lotus had returned to her body due to an unknown cause. The dark room was filled with the aura that belonged to a Grand Cultivator in the Knowing Destiny State.

The Knowing Destiny State aura only flared for a short amount of time before dimming. It was like a wild grass that had been pressed beneath a stone. It had barely managed to push the stone off itself to take a glimpse of the skies before being pushed down again.

States would retract and disappear unexpectedly. However, this did not happen. The Knowing Destiny State within her did not collapse and fluctuate, not because it was suppressed but because it was traveling downwards. It broke the bottom threshold of states and all the states that she had cultivated returned to the Seethrough state!

She had already progressed to the Knowing Destiny State. How did she force herself to return to the Seethrough state? All cultivators in the world would only want to progress upwards. Who would turn their backs and walk downhill instead? Even if there was a lunatic who wanted to descend in states, how would they manage it? You were already taller than the willow tree by the Revelation Institute and skipped over the rocks by the lake. Would you allow yourself to become shorter than the willow and not be able to step on the rock before you?

This was something that had just happened and was puzzling. Why did Ye Hongyu do that? She had slogged and tolled before she had finally found a Lucky Chance and entered the Knowing Destiny State. Why did she use such an obviously dangerous mean to return to the Seethrough state? What was she trying to do?

Unimaginable things continued to happen.

Ye Hongyu lifted her head and stared at Divine Lord Lotus. Stubbornness and a will to live flowed from her eyes. Her red skirt had turned white and her state had plummeted to the Seethrough state. However, a strong aura gushed from within her, breaking the control of the palm on her head had on her and towards the old monk.

…

…

One’s state would never plummet automatically. It was rare to hear news about cultivators who were able to descend in states by themselves. However, Master Lotus had studied the ways of the devil and was well-versed in all laws of the world. He knew of Ye Hongyu’s intentions the moment her aura suddenly changed.

There was a strong Taoist Law in the West-Hill Divine Palace. This law allowed cultivators to lower their own state. Once they used such a Taoist Law, the aura that they had learned and collected in the upper levels of their state would gush out in a split second. The force behind this power was frightfully strong as it was the explosion of decades of cultivation and meditation.

It was just that the price to pay for this Taoist Law was too high. Which cultivator could bear to give up the states that they had spent much effort in cultivating and was more important than their lives and families to start all over again? Furthermore, it would be several times more difficult to break the realm if the cultivator wished to enter the state they were in if they were to try again after using this Taoist Law.

For all the cultivation powerhouses in the Divine Hall who had the right to understand and learn such Taoist Laws, there wasn’t anyone who was willing to use such Taoist Laws on the long road of cultivation. This was more painful and sadder than asking them to die. Powerhouses of the Divine Hall who used these Taoist Laws would have to be in a situation worse than death. It required a lot of courage and determination.

The Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu was a Grand Cultivator in the Knowing Destiny State and had the whole world in her hands. She was, without doubt, one of the most influential persons in her generation. However, at this moment, she did not hesitate to allow her Knowing Destiny State to plummet to the Seethrough state forcefully. She did not care about the price that she was to pay.

That was because she was in a situation that was even more frightening than death. As compared to the cold Underworld, she saw a shard of hope, which was why she did not hesitate to face death in exchange for this slight chance. What else could she do other than burning her own state in this cold room devoid of Qi of Heaven and Earth?

The aura that burst out of her body like a storm was the distance between the Knowing Destiny State and Seethrough state. This was half a foot of distance that the old monk’s palm was jarred back from her head.

The storm-like aura gathered near her body and the old monk’s body trembled slightly. The fingers that were pointing at Ning Que shook. His expression was calm and he looked at the girl with fierce hatred from above. There were no human emotions in his deep eyes.

He did not think that someone as young as Ye Hongyu would know such a high-level Taoist Law. He might not have been so surprised if he had known that this young Taoist lady was like him, who was well versed in all Laws and had the name Tao Addict.

His withered lips cursed and a single lotus print formed in his right hand. A sacred light glowed from his fingertips, as bright as candlelight. The aura that was between Tao and Devil took up the entire mountain of bones within seconds.

With the forceful suppression of Divine Skill, the old monk’s withered palm made a reach to press down on Ye Hongyu’s head slowly once more. Every inch downward looked slow, but could not be stopped.

Ye Hongyu did not lower her head but stared into the old monk’s eyes coldly without flinching. She bit her lips tightly and forced out the power she had from descending in states without holding back anything in an attempt to stop the withered hand from descending.

She pressed her hands to the ground. Several shards of bones had pierced deeply into her palms. The pain kept her conscious and stubborn. Her wrists trembled violently and looked like bamboo shoots which were about to break. However, they supported her body stubbornly. Her body was shaking violently too and looked like she might fall over any time. However, she stayed stubbornly upright as well.

The two paths of power within her body met and compressed. Blood flowed from the pores on her delicate face before congealing into tiny pearls of blood before landing on her now white skirt which had lost its colour previously.

However, that withered hand continued to fall mercilessly.

It fell inch by inch, even though she had already paid such a heavy price. She had even burned up her life power, but the distance between her state and Divine Lord Lotus’s was too wide and there was no way to stop him.

At the last moment, Ye Hongyu glanced at Ning Que expressionlessly.

Ning Que was still holding on to the podao and mimicking the marks of the Haoran Sword on the wall. He danced at times, and at others, he would descend into silent rumination while holding on to his sword. His mental state was separated from his body and he did not know what was happening at all.

“I have tried my best, if you don’t awake, there’s nothing else that I can do.”

Ye Hongyu looked at Ning Que. A strong sense of hopelessness passed through her eyes which were made even more beautiful by the tendrils of blood within. She thought, “You idiot! When will you wake!”

And then, she shut her eyes.

The withered hand still landed on her head.

The old monk looked at the young girl beneath his palm with a heavy expression. His cheeks that have filled out slightly earlier had sunken in again and he was once again as withered as a ghost. He harrumphed and sent in all the power that he had gathered over the past decades!

A strong gush of aura burst out from his withered palm.

Ye Hongyu’s hair which had been dancing crazily in the air returned to her shoulders. She fell towards the ground slowly and two tracks of red tears flowed from her eyes. However, she still kept her cold gaze on the old monk’s face stubbornly.

The old monk was very pale and his body shook slightly. It was evident that he had paid a huge price to tame the power that Ye Hongyu had burned her life and state for.

The fight did not end here. What made the old monk uneasy and alert was not the girl beneath his palm, but Ning Que who was dancing with his sword. That was because Ning Que was dancing the strokes of the Haoran Sword.

He raised his withered palm once more. He pointed at Ning Que whose psyche had entered the sword style and was unaware of what was happening around him.

Lotus did not use up all his power even though Ye Hongyu had unleashed such a terrifying Taoist Law. That was because he had to keep a reserve to ensure that he could kill Ning Que before he learned the sword style.

He had to die and not leave any possibility of a future troublemaker. That was why he did not just simply glance at Ning Que, but waved his finger in the air with an intense expression on his face.

A strong power that was almost tangible grew from his fingers. It broke the silence of the room and tore apart the cold air, piercing at Ning Que’s back.

Ning Que was staring at the sword marks on the stone walls dazedly. His mental state was empty and dazed, just like a young child staring at ants moving houses, unaware of a flying rock coming at him from behind.

Ye Hongyu, the Tao Addict, had already fallen into a pool of blood and had no strength to continue. He was in a vulnerable state. There seemed to be nothing that could save his life from Master Lotus’ finger dripping with ill intent.

At this moment, a white shard of bone flew up before Master Lotus’ psyche.

In theory, not even the strong bones of powerhouses from the Devil’s Doctrine could withstand the power of Master Lotus’ psyche power. Was there any tangible object that could stop the intangible psyche power?

However, the dim light in the room refracted suddenly. The fire in the sword marks on the ceiling and walls grew as they were affected by an invisible object.

While one’s Psyche Power was intangible, it could still feel. Should light be affected and be forced to refract, what about one’s Psyche Power? There was a sudden puff and Master Lotus’ fingers missed. Ning Que continued standing with his knife, looking vacant.

Two white brows floated up. The old monk looked at the corner of the room in surprise.

It was a forgotten corner.

And in the forgotten corner, was a forgotten girl.

The girl had not displayed any amazing state or abilities since the beginning. She was really weak, which was why Master Lotus did not deign her important enough and forgot all about her in the corner.

But she was Mo Shanshan.

She was Mo Shanshan from Mogan Mountain.

She was the Calligraphy Addict of the same rank as the Tao Addict.

That was why, as long as she could move, she could still achieve things that ordinary people cannot even though she was weak.

…

…

The old monk looked at Mo Shanshan but did not bother with her. He pointed his fingers and unleashed his power at Ning Que.

Mo Shanshan was sitting on the ground with her knees crossed. Her head was lowered and she looked so weak that she might fall anytime. She reached for another rock with her right hand and tossed it at a distance. It might have looked like she was doing it at random, but it blocked the power from the finger once more.

The old monk frowned. He waved his withered finger and focused his psyche power, pushing it at her chest.

Mo Shanshan’s fingers loosened and a fistful of white bones flew before her.

Then, she lowered her head and coughed, blood dripping down the front of her robes.

The young Talisman Master had already used up most of her Psyche Power after days of counting by the Front Gate and leading Ning Que through the big tactical array of the Devil’s Doctrine’s Front Gate. Her sense of perception was also severely injured by Master Lotus earlier. However, she kept herself upright and used everything that she could touch beside her to form an array in an attempt to stop Master Lotus.

Those white bones were not talismans, but arrays.

Most tactical arrays in the world were just talismans in another form. It required a connection with heaven and earth and uses the aura of nature. One could not sense the Qi of Heaven and Earth in the dark room due to the Confinement Formation’s suppression.

That was why the array she had set up was different from the regular tactical array.

An impressive person had changed and made this tactical array possible a thousand years ago. The original intention of it was not to get closer to heaven and earth, but to fight with it. That was why this tactical array was not used to move the Qi of Heaven and Earth, but to break it, and even block it.

There was no Qi of Heaven and Earth in the room, so this tactical array could not break it. However, it could break and block all other intangible powers. For example, the power that Master Lotus had cultivated after eating two bites of flesh and decades of imprisonment.

This array was called the Stone Array Tactic.

The dozens of shards of bones between the old monk and Ning Que were what Mo Shanshan had studied and learned from the Great Blockage Formation outside the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine. Even though it was not as good as an original Stone Array Tactic, it was sufficient.

Master Lotus’s expression grew grave. He could sense the thick uneasiness and shadows in the rotation of life. That young man had understood the Haoran Sword style left behind by Ke Haoran. The young Taoist girl had managed to accomplish an amazing feat of lowering her state and the girl who had looked weak and harmless was able to understand Stone Array Tactics!

The lotus flower in the old monk’s withered hand bloomed vigorously. Each petal was a strong Psyche Power attack.

The young girl picked up the broken shards of bones and the rocks that had fallen from the walls. She kept mending the tactical array that she had just learned.

Ning Que studied the sword strokes in silence within the simple tactical array formed by bones and rocks.

There were loud scraping sounds in the palace. The old monk was expressionless and his gaze was as deep as the netherworld.

Fresh blood dribbled like a clear stream from Mo Shanshan’s thin lips. It soaked through her thick white robes. Her long lush lashes fluttered on her pale face as if she might shut her eyes anytime.

Ye Hongyu stared at the old monk’s aged face amongst the blood and bones. A passionate excitement glowed in her eyes. She looked crazy with the blood on her beautiful face even though she was weak. She laughed loudly and oddly, “You old loony. Suck on! I want to see if you’re faster or if he is before you suck all my blood. I want to see who will live on!”

Master Lotus gave her an indifferent glance before smiling suddenly. He lowered his head and sucked off the beads of blood on her delicate face as if he was sucking the dew off a lotus flower. And then, he bit off a piece of flesh.

Pain flashed through Ye Hongyu’s eyes, but she laughed maniacally. “You are afraid.”

Master Lotus did not pay her any attention. He chewed the third mouthful of flesh and tried to regain his energy and vitality in the shortest time possible before Ning Que regained consciousness.

He was the most terrifying and strongest person in that world decades ago. Today, there were three elite cultivators of the younger generation who had unleashed their powers before him. They had finally seen a glimmer of hope and fought hard for a chance in the face of death. This dangerous process was filled with confidence and determination. Even Master Lotus who had witnessed several earth-shattering events felt his heart palpitate and treated it seriously in a show of respect.

The Calligraphy Addict had built the Stone Array Tactic to block Master Lotus’s Psyche Power attack at the expense of her sense of perception. The crux of the matter was whether Master Lotus would regain his strength after using the Practice of Taotie to absorb the flesh and blood first, or would Ning Que comprehend the Haoran Sword method and emerge from his muddled state before that.

Ning Que did not know how dangerous the situation was. He did not know about the sacrifices and effort the Calligraphy Addict and the Tao Addict had made to stop Lotus from breaking him out of the cultivation state he had entered. He did not know what he was doing. Neither did he know why he felt a sense of familiarity when he saw those sword marks and flames. His body and the aura in his blood wanted to move along with these sword marks subconsciously. He had even forgotten everything that had happened before and the world outside.

This state was very dangerous. It was like a helpless naked baby walking in the wild forests. He might be attacked and eaten by wild beasts anytime. However, it was also because this state was filled with innocence and purity that it was able to accept the images imprinted on one’s soul from the exoteric.

This state was called Empty Understanding.

Ning Que felt great and powerful in the Empty Understanding state.

There were only stone walls and the four corners of the bluestone walls in his eyes. The sword marks on the stone walls looked as if they had come alive. They entered his soul through his eyes and turned into numerous things.

They were like stars circulating in the night sky; like a stream dancing in the valley; like clouds floating in the blue sky; like a proud mountain in the world and like a traveler walking happily on a road.

The flow of the sword marks was like turning a page of a book. Each page was painted with a clear map that appeared to be some amazing steps, or like a formidable swordsmanship style. It even seemed like an amazing exercise but was nothing at all but an attitude.

He followed the sword marks in his eyes and began to imitate them. He waved his knife like a sword and began to think silently. He savored it with a smile and his pace became smoother and the way he waved his podao became more fluid.

Vaguely, he seemed to have understood something deep.

The sword marks that Youngest Uncle had left on the stone walls were originally a way of expressing his emotions.

His pace was even smoother and his sword waving more fluid. In the end, it was even considered carefree.

For travelers to see more of the world, they had to forget the weariness and pain they have experienced in their journey and should dance and sing while they were at it.

A great mountain standing alone on earth and having to ignore the worshiping of ordinary folks would, of course, become proud.

Following the direction of the wind, clouds would stop or float by in the blue sky.

The stream in the valley flowed and took every collision with rocks as a game. It flowed along with gravity, and every collision created beautiful splashes. This was called jumping for joy.

The numerous stars littered in the sky stilled or moved according to their wishes as they smiled at the world.

Everything happened naturally.

This was a carefreeness called nature.

And because of the nature of things, I would go when I want to even if there were thousands and millions of people before me.

I have The Great Spirit, and so I would walk freely.

This was a principle of the world.

…

…

His injured sense of perception and the Psyche Power that he had gained from meditation over the past decade began to slowly move like the clouds, stars, and stream. They towered like the large mountain and was as cheerful as the travelers.

The sword style hidden in the scattered sword marks on the walls floated with the flames and gradually entered his body. The sword styles flooded into him as his soul became enlightened. And then, together with the flow of Psyche Power, it stopped the joy.

It was unknown how these sword styles existed. It became a warm flow once it had entered his body and it repaired his sense of perception in a short time. Then, it followed the flow from the middle of his forehead and pierced the Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi.

The reparation of his sense of perception felt great. Ning Que stood before the wall with his knife in his hands. He was in a muddled state and did not know what was happening in the world outside his mind. However, his brows relaxed subconsciously and then came together tightly. He could feel an intense pain radiating from his chest and stomach.

The sword styles in the scattered sword marks flowed in his body brutally, as if there were tens of thousands of little swords ricocheting everywhere. They tore through his organs that the naked eye cannot see and riddled them with holes.

This was scarier than the Taoist Sword that the Tao Addict had used by the Daming Lake.

Then, thousands of small swords flew to his waist and abdomen where the snow mountain was and began to hit it without stopping. The sharp blade cut through the hard ice at the Snow-capped Peak easily. Mounds of snow flew up and the rate at which the sword style was hitting the mountain increased rapidly. It had already made hundreds and millions of cuts in the blink of an eye. The cuts between the edge of the sword and the ice began to heat up. The Snow Mountain that had been silent for years began to melt and evaporate.

Thousands of millions of small swords began to fly within his body or his consciousness. They flew towards a calm Ocean of Qi. And just like how they had hit the Snow Mountain, they began to focus on making hundreds of millions of cuts once more. The calm Ocean of Qi began to churn and a huge wave emerged as if the ocean itself was boiling. In the end, it began to boil and turned into a mist in the air.

The Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi melted and evaporated into mist as they continued to flow through a certain passageway in his body. The flow was neverending and permeated throughout his body. It would leave some mist everywhere it went and the mist would coagulate into a drop of dew and begin to moisten him.

As the mist coagulated to become drops of dew that moistened him endlessly, his body began to deconstruct and rebuild, just like the disassembling and rebuilding of an old house. The rebuilt house was beautiful, sturdy and unafraid of the wind and rain.

Ning Que felt the warmth flowing through his body as if energy was pouring through his muscles and bones. This feeling was comfortable and strong and it made one feel intoxicated and reluctant to awake.

The sword marks on the stone walls continued to spin. The deeply engraved sword style in the sword marks continued to enter his body endlessly, turning into numerous small swords that bombarded his Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi, moisturizing and strengthening his body.

Time ticked by.

A sudden shadow flitted past Ning Que’s soul, which was immersed in pain and intoxication. He had suddenly remembered something and he became greatly afraid. His body felt cold even though he was in a place filled with light.

Would his Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi be ruined if pounding of the sword style continued? Could he still cultivate if his Qi orifices, that he had gone through several hardships to clear, disappeared?

He suddenly regained consciousness due to the fear and anxiety.

He looked at the sword marks on the wall uneasily. He was soaked in cold sweat and the air between his palm and the knife hilt was bone-piercingly cold.

These sword marks and sword styles. They were Youngest Uncle’s Haoran Sword.

He finally understood what Master Lotus had meant.

Practicing the Haoran Sword and the Great Spirit in his chest.

If he wanted to practice the Great Spirit, he had to turn his back against Haotian and even become enemies with Haotian.

Becoming enemies with Haotian would mean joining the Devil.

Youngest Uncle had joined the Devil the moment he had held on to this sword.

That was why Youngest Uncle had been punished by the heavens and died.

He had already comprehended the sword style of Haoran Sword. If he accepted the sword style and allowed it to enter his body, he would be following in Youngest Uncle’s footsteps.

And he would also join the Devil.

Following in Youngest Uncle’s footsteps was something glorious and to be proud of.

But it was also the most dangerous thing on earth.

Even Youngest Uncle who was one of the strongest could not avoid death after he had joined the Devil.

If he learned the Haoran Sword, how many days more could he live on earth?

…

…

Ning Que looked around him distractedly.

The old monk was practicing his Devil art in the mountain of bones. Ye Hongyu laid beneath him, unconscious.

Mo Shanshan smiled with difficulty when she saw that he was finally conscious. She could not hold on any longer, and fell into a dead faint.

Night had long come to the world outside the mountain. The room was darker than ever.

He held on to the knife and stood before the mountain of bones. His shirt was soaked with sweat as he stayed silent, not knowing how to proceed.

The sword marks on the walls stopped moving as they waited in silence.

The sword style in his body stopped flowing and waited in silence.

His will awaited his final decision in silence as well.

Even someone like Lotus would have to hide in the dark once he joins the Devil. If he wanted to walk proudly in the open like Youngest Uncle, he would be punished by the heavens and died no matter which cultivation state he was in.

Ning Que looked towards the sky, but could not see anything. He could only see the cold stone walls and the colour of the dark night.

This was the most difficult decision a cultivator had to make.

Their respect for Haotian would not allow them to touch that world in the dark night.

Even a cultivator who had not a shred of respect for Haotian would struggle due to the fearful considerations between life and death. He would think about it and meditate on it for half a life and would not reach a conclusion.

He thought and struggled over it for what seemed to be an entire lifetime.

In actuality, he had only considered it for the amount of time it took for thirty spring onion slices to fall from his palm into noodles with fried eggs.

He wanted to live on.

He wanted to live on with a certain person.

This was the most important thing.

Compared to this, Haotian was a pile of shit.

Dog shit.

…

…

Ning Que raised his podao to rest in front of his brows.

This would be the last time he worshiped the heavens.

And his knife landed.

The blade landed on the stone walls.

And onto the sword marks that Youngest Uncle had left behind all those years ago.

His wrist turned the blade and it followed the two sword marks, making two strikes on both sides of it.

The flames beneath the blade danced as if they were stars leaving the night dome.

Following this simple movement, the sword style that had waited silently gathered.

Numerous tiny swords gathered, and with the Ocean of Qi, they cleaved the Snow Mountain.

At this moment, Ning Que knew that he had entered a brand new world.

The Psyche Power in his sense of perception still existed, but it no longer played music for the heavens. Instead, it created a beautiful new world in his body. There were trees and lakes, mountains and seas in the new world. All it needed was life to multiply and fill it.

A new path was created in the Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi. The path seemed to have always existed, but had been blocked and hidden. It had finally made its existence known. The majestic sword style turned into a certain aura and whistled through the path. It went forth with vigor and was endless. It rushed towards the skies.

That was the Great Spirit.

The minuscule stream of air spluttered. Dust and debris erupted from Ning Que’s body

His eyes glittered before they returned to normal.

Snow covered the yellow grass by the Hulan Sea. The surface of the lake had gradually frozen. The man on the grassland was seizing the last opportunity to catch fish.

The middle-aged man wearing a felt hat looked at the lake silently. He looked powerful with the hard lines of his face and the beginnings of a beard. A subordinate stood behind him respectfully.

This team of traveling businessmen from the Central Plains had stopped here for days. Those from the tribe did not know what they were waiting for. They were too early to be waiting for the leather goods that would only be ready at the end of summer. But they did not bother the businessman due to the taels of silver and goods that they had gifted them with.

His subordinate looked at the ice and snow gathered on the surface of the lake and asked in a low hesitant voice, “Will the Tomes of Arcane really appear here?”

The middle-aged man was silent before he said, “The Great Divine God had released news about the Tomes of Arcane being in the Wilderness since he returned from the south. He must have received confirmation from the abbey dean. I heard that Li Qingshan had also worked with Huang Yang and ascertained that the Tomes of Arcane would appear by the Hulun Sea. There shouldn’t be any mistakes.”

The subordinate frowned. He thought for a moment before saying, “Sir, I should not question you. But I feel that it is a little risky for us to place all our hopes on the prophecy of the Great Divine God.”

After a momentary pause, he said softly, “We can’t keep the news from Tuyang City. If the imperial court finds out that you have left the General’s Mansion without permission… Furthermore, we have received news that Lin Ling is indeed dead.”

The middle-aged man looked at the loyal adviser who had followed him for the past twenty years. He thought of the subjects that had been equally loyal but had died. He then touched the hair on his temples lightly and said, “We shall settle that later. The situation at hand right now is complicated. We can only make a further move in this situation should we get our hands on the Tomes of Arcane. Everything else is just a small matter.”

He looked at the mountain ranges in the north, on the other side of the lake. He said expressionlessly, “I believe in what the Great Divine God had said. Other than myself, there are not many in the world who would know that the exit of the Front Gate is at the Hulun Sea.”

The adviser asked with furrowed brows, “Why didn’t you enter the Front Gate to search for the Tomes of Arcane? Even if there are many powerful parties who are scrutinizing us now, there are not many who have the power to enter the Front Gate. Grasping the opportunity would still be better than waiting passively.”

The middle-aged man looked at a spot in the far-off north silently. He did not answer the question.

Mr. Ke had not taken the Tomes of Arcane away. They should still be on the sacred land.

He was unwilling to return to the Front Gate. Instead, he waited silently by the lake for the opportunity to steal the tomes. Other than tactical considerations, it was also due to the fear in his heart. He was not very old then, but he clearly remembered the bloody images and the cold expression on his teacher who had several incarnations.

The advisor looked at the middle-aged man who had a pondering expression on his face. He wondered silently about what the man would do after he steals the Tomes of Arcane. Would he present it to His Majesty, or would he return it to the Divine Hall, or would he keep it for himself?

Could the Tomes of Arcane really change everything? In the past twenty years, the adviser had followed his master to several lands, in search of a living. They seemed to have weaved a dense web, but the web had eventually wrapped around them, making it difficult to breathe. He could not help but sigh deeply in his heart when he thought of this.

The middle-aged man stared at a far-off spot on the other side of the lake. He once again thought of his teacher who had departed from this world.

Over the years, he had struggled and fought to survive between the empire and the West-Hill Divine Palace to protect himself who was from the Enlightenment Doctrine and his sister who was hidden in the palace of Chang’an.

His teacher had traveled around the world amongst the various forces but was like a fish swimming in the lake. He was at ease and exuded satisfaction and happiness. How had he managed that?

…

…

Rough fingers stroke the stone platform. Animal skin fluttered in the wind. Tang stood in the abyss and looked at the huge vertical and horizontal stone beams as he recalled how his teacher had described the sacred land. He compared it to the world that laid before his eyes. It was made more desolate due to its magnificence. He was silent for a long time.

He walked to the edge of the cliff slowly, looking at the dark abyss. He thought of how the Haotian Taoism could lead the Central Plains for a millennium and knew that there was a reason for that. He should not take them lightly. This was especially so for the Taoists in that Zhishou Abbey. They must be really powerful. They had placed much importance on this matter, so the Tomes of Arcane must definitely be in the Front Gate. Why have they not been found yet?

He looked palace full of bones near his feet. He suddenly opened his mouth and said, “According to what teacher had said, Mr. Ke had broken into the sacred land with a single sword then. He did not kill everyone in the Front Gate. Before that, two disciples were evacuated southwards. Before teacher had left, he had confirmed that many of the disciples had been evacuated. Apart from those who had died in the war, many in these pile of bones had committed suicide. The front Gate had been sealed after.”

Tang Xiaotang stared at the sight with bright eyes. She looked at the palace below the beams. They had already passed by it earlier and had not discovered anything. She asked curiously, “Where did they go?”

A gust of wind passed over the stone beam, scraping the shattered stones and their clothes. Tang could feel the aura of heaven and earth in the Front Gate through the wind. After a moment of silence, he said, “I can’t feel them. They must have already left.”

The two siblings walked into the depths of the Front Gate. Tang’s thick eyebrows rose slowly. He was uncertain about many things that had happened back then. There were also many things he had not understood when searching for the Tomes of Arcane. For example, he was certain that those people had already left the Front Gate, but why was he still feeling so uneasy?

…

…

Decades ago, Ke Haoran had set the Confinement personally, separating this room from the world. As long as you did not enter it, you would realize that it existed. If you really enter this world, you would never be able to leave it as this world was a prison he had gifted Lotus personally.

“Cough … hum … you have actually learned the Haoran Sword!”

Master Lotus looked at Ning Que from the center of the pile of bones. He mouth was split wide open with a child-like laugh. His lips twisted downwards and he began to cry like a child. The sounds of laughter and crying came together and sounded hoarse and ugly.

Ning Que held on to his podao and looked at him. He said, “Indeed.”

The old monk’s gaze was as cold as ghost fire. He glared at Ning Que and asked, “This is impossible!”

Ning Que replied, “It has happened.”

The old monk’s next statement came rapidly. He roared like the thunder, “Doesn’t this mean you have joined the Devil!”

Ning Que’s face was blank as he replied calmly, “Indeed.”

The old monk asked solemnly, “Are you not afraid?”

Ning Que replied, “I am not afraid of anything else in the face of death.”

The old monk said sarcastically, “But you have joined the Devil.”

Ning Que frowned, “So?”

The old monk said sharply, “Those who have joined the Devil have to die.”

Ning Que answered, “But you are still alive.”

The old monk shook his head slowly. He said with slight ridicule, ” These are two completely different choices. The Daming Sect is but just hiding from the Haotian Divine Light in the dark like a mossy rock. Even though we say that we do not respect Haotian, we are particularly afraid of the existence of Haotian. That is why Haotian allows us to exist, even though we are a contrast to light. However, you have lost all respect and even fear for Haotian the moment you picked up the sword left behind by that person. That is truly joining the Devil. Haotian will not allow the existence of someone like you.”

Ning Que descended into silence. And then, he replied, “Living is better than death.”

The old monk was stunned, and then, he began to laugh maniacally. Cloudy tears streamed from the withered corners of his eyes slowly. He pointed at Ning Que’s face with a skinny shaking finger and barely repressed his desire to laugh. He said viciously, “Crazy Ke had died from joining the Devil and you are following in his footsteps. I wonder if the Academy had been cursed. All of you will be destroyed by Haotian. This must be your fates.”

He stared into Ning Que’s eyes and panted, “You have to be strong enough to be able to walk on this path resolutely. The faster you become strong, the faster you will die. Do not dream that you would be able to escape this fate.”

The old monk asked faintly, “When have the heavens spared anyone?”

Ning Que was silent, he held on the hilt with both hands as if he was prepared to impale fate with it.

And then, his answer rang in the dark silent room.

“If man were to beat the heavens, why would they need to be spared?”

…

…

The statement was both bland and proud. Master Lotus’ face twitched. He looked at Ning Que silently and then said suddenly, “The one foot of land before a cultivator is his own world.”

Ning Que had heard of this saying before but did not understand why the old monk had said that at this moment.

The old monk looked at him and said slowly, “You have been enlightened in the Haoran Sword. The sword style hidden in the mottled sword marks by Crazy Ke have entered your body. Then, this Confinement that has hidden the skies and earth must naturally cease to exist.”

Ning Que looked at him and said, “I know. I can even sense the Qi of Heaven and Earth entering this room. It is just that I need time to get used to this brand new aura in my body.”

The old monk lamented, “It seems that we are still wasting time at this point.”

Ning Que said calmly, “Time is fair to everyone.”

The old monk smiled lightly and said, “My time is up.”

Ning Que replied, “My time is also up.”

With that, the monk raised his skinny arms slowly. The remnants of his tattered monk robes swung in the wind that had appeared. With this simple movement, the aura of heaven and earth seeped into the room through the cracks in the bluestone walls and turned into gusts of wind that surrounded his body.

The Haoran sword style that Ke Haoran had left behind in the sword marks had mostly been absorbed by Ning Que and been used to transform his body and clear a path in his Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi. The sword marks without sword style were but just shapes. They were naturally unable to support the Confinement. Even though there were remaining traces of the Haoran sword style left on the stone walls, they were unable to prevent the old monk from connecting to heaven and earth.

The Great Blockage Formation outside the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine could sense the sudden fluctuations in the Qi of Heaven and Earth. The mossy sword marks on the stones began to gleam with bright light and the Snow-capped Peak shone in the dark night. The Qi of Heaven and Earth entered the Front Gate rapidly, driving the aura between the rocks and even starlight forth.

The fresh and vibrant aura of heaven and earth finally got through the broken Confinement and reached the palace that had been devoid of it for decades. And then, it flooded into the old monk’s skinny body steadily.

The old monk’s deep eyes gleamed suddenly and turned into pieces of crystals. His skinny face filled up at a rapid pace that was visible to the naked eye. His two arms which were outstretched in the wind became smooth and supple.

As he had said previously, his time was up.

Ning Que’s time was also up.

He had completely understood the Haoran Sword aura that Youngest Uncle had passed on to him. He was able to control his changed body and was absorbing the aura of heaven and earth that rushed into the room greedily, converting it into his own power. He had taken in the Qi of Heaven and Earth into his own body. This was unmistakably a Devil’s Doctrine art that was shunned by the world!

A fresh and endless stream of the aura of the heaven and earth entered his body and was burned through by his Psyche Power. Then, it passed through the passage between the Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi, becoming a formidable force. It was transmitted to various parts of his body through the meridians. His arms, muscles, bones, fingertips, and even his hair began to tremble at a high frequency as if they were jumping for joy.

…

…

His feet landed on the ground and there was a snapping sound as he crushed a single bone before him.

The second time he landed, his feet had crushed a pile of white bones.

Ning Que swept through the mountain of bones and arrived before the old monk.

He held on to his knife with both hands and plunged it into the old monk’s chest.

The blade trembled due to the powerful force coming from the hilt. It split the surrounding air and wisps of white currents could be seen. The talisman on the cold blade was activated and the speed of the knife became even more terrifying.

This was the fastest raid in his life. It was like electricity.

This was the strongest strike he had made in his life. It was like thunder.

There was no time to blink or think. He drove the knife into the old monk’s chest with the strike of the electricity and thunder-filled Great Spirit. The sharp edge of the knife had already wedged into flesh before the old monk had time to respond.

Master Lotus was still absorbing the aura of heaven and earth endlessly. His cheeks had filled out and his arms were restored. The vitality of his body was like that of a recently-bloomed lotus flower. However, he had not anticipated that Ning Que’s first strike would be as great and difficult to avoid.

He had already regained 10 percent of his state’s power at his peak. He was Liansheng 32 who had many incarnations and overlooked the common people. Even if he had only regained a percentage of his strength, he would not have died with that strike.

The skinny ghost-like hand had already filled out. His skin was white and tender, like two pure white lotus flowers.

The white lotus bloomed, and its petals spread. The blade stopped between the petals and did not move further towards the monk’s heart.

The aura of heaven and earth that had broken through the Confinement was still surging into the monk’s body. He was still growing stronger.

Ning Que harrumphed. He slapped his left hand on the end of the hilt heavily.

His left hand was like a heavy hammer.

The podao delved deeper into the old monk’s chest. Blood stained the sharp edge of the knife.

The old monk looked at Ning Que coldly.

A force that was so powerful that it was terrifying pierced his sense of perception.

There was a puff, and blood sprayed from Ning Que’s mouth.

The blood landed on the knife hilt.

His left hand landed on the hilt once more.

He bore through the immense pain and his left hand-hammered down on the end of the hilt once more like a heavy hammer.

The blade drove another inch into the old monk’s chest.

The old monk let out a piercing shrill scream as his lotus-like hands that were used to nip the blade began to tremble vigorously.

A wave of energy flowed down the blade and met with the Haoran Sword that was affused into the blade by Ning Que.

Bam!

A cloud of dust flew up in the dim Devil’s Palace. The Bone Mountain started to collapse, making the broken bones and bone shavings looked like rubbish as they flew around in the sudden gush of wind, hitting and creating slamming noises on the rock wall.

Both Mo Shanshan and Ye Hongyu, who were still in a coma, flew along with the strong wind and were slammed to the corner of the wall.

…

…

The Qi from Heaven and Earth, which Master Lotus was deprived of for decades, began to repair his weak and fragile body at a continuous and horrendously rapid rate. The first thing that grew to become powerful and strong was none other than his mental power.

At the same time, Ning Que was also absorbing the Qi of Heaven and Earth, before transforming them into his own primordial Qi within his body. This would finally turn into a powerful energy which he had never experienced before.

In the end, both of them were still competing with each other against time. It all depended on whether Ning Que could recover faster than the old monk in terms of strength. Once he got stronger, he would be able to kill the opposite party completely.

Thus, Ning Que used neither the talismans in the pouch nor the Primordial Thirteen Arrows. These methods would need to make use of the Qi of Heaven and Earth to strength the attack, as well as the user’s Psyche Power being free from any disruption.

Under this situation, he strongly believed, and could only believe the three blades behind him. After all, these blades were used to kill from Min Mountain to City of Wei and from City of Wei to Spring Breeze Pavilion. They were podaos that had once killed numerous enemies.

Then again, absorbing the Qi of Heaven and Earth was a method belonging to the Dark and Master Lotus was a senior of the prior generation from the Devil’s Doctrine. It was a pity that regardless of the use of the method or the user’s state, Master Lotus was way more experienced than Ning Que.

Both parties’ states were far apart from each other, thus the competing of speed would no longer be fair. Since Ning Que did not manage to stab the other party’s to death, the situation was getting worse for him as the time gradually passed by.

He could vividly feel that his body was much stronger than before, yet his hand, which was grabbing the hilt of the podao, began to tremble weakly. Soon, he would not be able to hold the hilt tightly because the power that came from external to his blade was starting to overtake his own strength!

He lifted his head and saw the cold stare from the old monk.

Their exchange of stares was no longer the same as before when they were fighting with their auras on the blade. No destruction was created, but it was as gentle and quiet as the ripple created on the lake surface when a dew rolled down from the lotus petal.

The ripple spread out and a new world was created.

…

…

Master Lotus’ sorrowful cries spread across the night sky.

“This is my world.”

Ning Que looked at the starry sky and kept silent. He knew that his sense of perception was finally once again being conquered by the horrifying stare from the old monk. He had also finally understood that a foot in front of any true strong cultivator was their world, thus the opponent’s strength or perception within that area was still under their control.

Suddenly, the sky began to shake. There was no crack, but the shock caused hundreds of millions of stars to fall. Those stars fell across the endless sky, hitting the Wilderness in front of him. The earth moaned in pain upon the impact as it started to tremble. Winter trees and frozen grasses were uprooted and were either covered by the mud or burnt by the falling stars into ashes.

He knew the meaning behind this scene.

Hundreds of millions of stars falling from the night sky represented the mental strength of Master Lotus. The moaning Wilderness and plants that were impacted by the falling stars was his sense of perception. When the Wilderness and plants were burnt into ashes from the impact of the falling stars, his sense of perception would be damaged. This would either kill him or make him into a useless man who had no sense nor perception.

Ning Que stood on the Wilderness as he gazed at the wildfire in the distance which was caused by the impact from the stars falling onto the earth. He then looked at the scary-looking huge pit near him on the Wilderness. He did not brush off the mud that splattered onto his body, nor did he dodge them, because he had no idea how he could dodge them.

Bearing the risk that he would be cursed by the Heaven, he had just inherited his Youngest Uncle’s mantle. He thought that he could finally survive through this scary ordeal, yet in the end, he fell into such a hopeless situation where he could die anytime. Could this really be fate? Was this really Haotian’s curse on him?

He felt cold and truly hopeless. Yet behind such hopeless feeling was a strong sense of unhappiness and an urge for him to destroy all these stars.

It was as if something had detected his strong unhappiness and urge, an extreme light-toned shadow gradually cast over his head and his whole body.

He stared at the shadow, as well as his own darker shadow within the shadow before he turned around abruptly.

There was nothing behind him in the Wilderness.

Only a statue.

A black statue.

The statue was like a human, yet it looked like a god as well. Because it was back facing the sun, its expression and body were immersed within the darkness of its shadow, thus one would not be able to see the features clearly.

The stars in the night sky were still falling.

Hundreds of millions of stars were continuously hitting the Wilderness at a more rapid speed, as they gradually destroyed Ning Que’s body.

Yet after this statue appeared, those falling stars, similar to how moths were mesmerized by the fire, were attracted to it by an invisible force as they started to fall slantly towards it.

Unlike the loud noises created by the demanding falling stars when they hit the earth, these stars appeared to be weak like fireflies as they hit the huge black statue.

Hundreds of millions of stars, like a bunch of delicate fireflies, were continuously attacking, igniting waves and waves of weak sparks.

Those weak sparks were also absorbed by the black statue.

The temperature of the black statue began to rise and turned red, looking as though it had been painted blood red.

It should be very hot now, I suppose?

Ning Que thought as he stared at the huge statue blankly.

All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain in his waist. As he lowered his head to look, he saw green gases coming out from his belt. It looked as if his belt was catching fire, yet he had no idea exactly what was burning inside his belt!

…

…

Ning Que was back to the real world.

He then realized that the old monk had already pulled out the blade from his chest by a few inches. The hard hilt had reached his waist and it was pressing on something in his belt. And that thing which was being pressed seemed to be burning right now! And it was making him crazy!

Ning Que stared at the old monk’s bright and moisture, yet cold and heartless eyes. His hands grabbed tightly onto the hilt as he pushed it forward fiercely.

Fresh blood gushed out from the corner of his mouth, like a waterfall.

He roared in pain. His feet looked as though they were nailed deeply into the rocky ground and his body leaned forward. He made use of the hard item in his belt to block the hilt of the blade as he placed his weight onto the hilt, pushing the blade an inch deeper into the opponent’s chest.

The old monk witnessed the blade gradually going deeper into his chest as his eyes revealed a look of disbelief.

His mental strength came into contact with Ning Que’s body and disappeared into thin air in an instance. It was similar to how a cow disappearing into the sea, and the speed of loss was disquieting. Only within a short period of time, his sense of perception was gone by half!

Using Devil’s skill to absorb the Qi of Heaven and Earth was all dependable on the precision in controlling one’s Psyche Power. At this moment, the Psyche Power within the sense of perception was wilting. Naturally, the Qi of Heaven and Earth that was moving freely within the Devil’s Palace could no longer enter his body. In fact, it was now flowing towards Ning Que’s body!

The old monk could vividly sense the strength coming from the blade in his hands was gradually increasing.

He stared at Ning Que again, then lowered his head and took a glance at Ning Que’s waist.

A very light friction sound.

Like the sound of the breeze that brushed across the lotus leaves.

The sharp blade sliced off several fingers as the broken fingers slowly fell onto the ground.

Like how the pure-looking lotus flower fell off petals by petals.

Ning Que hissed as he violently pushed the podao in his hand together with his ongoing willpower from the Haoran Sword. The bright blade stabbed deeper into the old monk’s chest and penetrated through his heart.