Chapter 82: The Old Man's Late-Night Walk
Under the urging of the servants, the crowd and the pilgrims gradually dispersed.
The soldiers quickly arrived and collected the remains of the people killed by the fierce tiger on the street.
Gradually, the pilgrims returned to the temple, and everything seemed to return to normal.
Emperor Yonghe, feeling a little sad, left the crowd and turned away.
When he was young, he had seen officials and generals willingly sacrifice themselves for cultivators, but Qiao Pifu's death, so heroic and tragic, being honored as a hero, was something he had never seen before.
Forty years had passed, and the previous generation had almost died out. Now, encountering a Qiao Pifu, he had wanted to take the risk to save him, but in the end, it was all in vain.
"At the moment when the building is about to collapse, if I could leave behind a few loyal and righteous seeds, it would slightly comfort my heart, but..."
He sighed faintly and gradually walked away.
"Your Majesty..." Guard Chu suddenly spoke.
"The flying knife that I threw earlier and severed Qiao Pifu's arm landed inside the temple of Xuantian Temple."
"After the disappearance of the Saintess from Xuantian Sect, the flying knife also vanished. It is believed that she might have picked it up."
Emperor Yonghe paused for a moment.
Although he had carefully weighed the advantages and disadvantages when asking Chu Xing to take action, thinking that he could take the risk of being discovered by the Immortal Gate.
But when this moment truly arrived, he couldn't help but feel a heavy burden in his heart.
"Is there a risk of exposure?" he asked in a low voice.
"Yes," Chu Xing replied.
"Although this flying knife of mine is an ordinary one with an unknown origin, the technique of throwing knives is a superior hidden weapon skill exclusive to the Flying Fish Guard, called 'Flying Star Hand.'"
"If it were any other Immortal Gate disciple, it would be fine. But the person who came happened to be Wu Qingxin."
"Wu Qingxin was once a disciple of Martial Saint and a member of the Wuji Association. With her insight, she might be able to tell that the [Flying Star Hand] comes from the Flying Fish Guard."
Chu Xing's voice also became low.
If Emperor Yonghe could make a prompt decision, he believed he could save Qiao Pifu.
If Emperor Yonghe hesitated for a while longer, and gave up when Wu Qingxin appeared, then Chu Xing wouldn't be able to save Qiao Pifu. But it would be better than the current situation, where he hadn't saved anyone and yet risked being discovered by the Immortal Gate.
"...Let's go back and ponder on a strategy." Emperor Yonghe's heart sank even further.
"We can also investigate the Qiao family... a family that takes 'the rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of each individual' as their motto. If there are any high-quality martial artists apart from Qiao Pifu, they might be potential warriors."
Beforehand, he hesitated, but afterwards, he didn't have so many distracting thoughts.
.........
Xuantian Temple's back mountain.
After returning to the quiet room inside the top floor of the building, Saintess Wu Qingxin let out a breath and pressed her chest.
"That sixth ranked martial artist isn't someone sent by the Martial Saint, they just practice the 'Martial Saint Spiritual Technique'..."
In the world of martial arts, there is not a single person who doesn't fear the Martial Saint, including Wu Qingxin, who is a disciple and adopted daughter of the Martial Saint.
So, when her intuition pointed towards the mountain below, she immediately came out of seclusion and went down the mountain to investigate.
Unexpectedly, it was a false alarm.
"Martial Saint Spiritual Technique? This person is also a fool. Although that secret technique is amazing, anyone who practices it will eventually die at the hands of the Martial Saint."
Those who cultivate the Martial Saint Spiritual Technique will ultimately become nourishment for the Martial Saint.
Including her.
So she joined the Immortal Gate Xuantian Sect, actually to protect herself.
Although the Martial Saint is scary, as long as she remains the Saintess of the Xuantian Sect, it should be safe to be around her.
After joining the Immortal Gate these years, she rarely went out and frequently closed her doors for two main reasons.
First, she feared the Martial Saint and dared not go out.
Second, although she was appointed as the Saintess, she knew she was just a flag, a symbol in the hands of the Immortal Gate.
As a disciple of the Martial Saint, Wu Qingxin is extremely rare in the world, with excellent talent in both martial arts and immortal cultivation.
However, immortal cultivation cannot be accomplished quickly.
She is a late bloomer in her cultivation path, even though she has great talent. Because she has only been practicing for a short period of 20-30 years, her level of cultivation in the path of immortals is actually not deserving of the position of Saintess in the Immortal Gate.
So she secluded herself day and night, diligently practicing, trying to become a genuine Saintess.
Thinking about this, she waved her hand and a flying knife appeared.
"Are they people from the Flying Fish Guard? This might be someone close to the Great Yan Emperor... Does the Great Yan Emperor want to save that sixth ranked martial artist?"
Saintess Wu Qingxin muttered to herself, and another Message Jade Talisman appeared in her hand.
"Elder Sun, it seems that the Flying Fish Guard, who is by the side of the Great Yan Emperor, has appeared in Heyang City..." She pondered for a moment, then relayed the message.
After a while, the Message Jade Talisman flickered and showed a line of writing.
"Understood."
Wu Qingxin looked at the writing and her expression slightly froze.
Not long after, the Message Jade Talisman flickered again.
"Please Saintess, continue to diligently cultivate, and enter the Foundation Building period soon."
After putting down the Message Jade Talisman, Wu Qingxin felt a little relieved.
After sending such an important message that could affect the Great Yan Emperor, she felt she had contributed to the sect and could possibly receive some helpful medicine for her cultivation.
.................
Nan Province.
Deep within the Qingming Mountain range is where the Xuantian Sect is located.
At this moment, in the sect's conference hall, several elders with white hair from the Immortal Gate were having a discussion.
"Saintess Wu Qingxin sent a message, saying that the Flying Fish Guard of the Great Yan Emperor appeared in Heyang City, and it seems to be a martial artist who specializes in Spirit Refining," Elder Sun said.
"Oh? That's good news."
"Emperor Yonghe, has he already arrived at Heyang City? If it weren't for his cooperation, it wouldn't have been so easy for us to deceive others and achieve our hidden agenda," these Immortal Gate elders laughed heartily.
"How much time is left?"
"Is it one month or half a month? Anyway, it's almost here, no need to rush."
"The sect leader is currently in Zhong Province, carrying the treasured artifact 'Tianwu Mirror' of our Immortal Gate, deceiving the other Eight Immortal Gates and secretly luring the Great Yan Emperor to this Nan Province."
"Half a month later, on the first day of next month, the Great Yan Emperor will follow our plan and come to the main peak of Qingming Mountain to pay respects to Qingyun Temple."
"Emperor Yonghe will disguise himself as an ordinary pilgrim and bow three times and kneel nine times to the statues of our Xuantian Sect's immortals in Qingyun Temple."
"With this kneel, the important matter will surely succeed!"
"As the first Immortal Gate that the Great Yan Emperor bows to, our Xuantian Sect will rise greatly and have the chance to be at the forefront of the Nine Immortal Gates!"
Although Xuantian Sect is strong, there are still other Eight Immortal Gates in the world, and they are not necessarily united.
To gain more benefits in the Great Yan Imperial Court, they devised this clever plan to deceive the world.
In the meeting hall of the Immortal Gate at this moment, the laughter of the elders fills the air.
"It's laughable that Emperor Yonghe is indecisive and foolish, yet he still cooperates in this way."
"He actually thought that weighing the pros and cons would allow him to survive under the hands of our Immortal Gate... How ridiculous."
The Nine Immortal Gates, located high in the clouds, wiped out the elite warriors of Great Yan forty years ago. So why didn't they just overthrow the current ruler and let cultivators become the kings?
The real reason is... unnecessary.
In this era, there's no need for violence and killing.
The cultivator's desire is to take resources from the human world, including the power of incense, what use does it have to be an emperor among individuals?
It's like someone keeping a group of monkeys in their backyard, and each monkey is treated as an asset.
Among the monkeys, the monkey king can eat the most fruit and mate with any female monkey... Why wouldn't the backyard owner become the monkey king if it's so enjoyable?
Supporting a monkey king easily obtains the power of incense, isn't it wonderful?
The Emperor Yonghe bears the eternal infamy, and the grievances of the people are only directed towards the Great Yan Imperial Court.
The immortals live high above, unaffected by worldly troubles, and continue to be worshipped by people. They have both face and substance, isn't it fantastic?
And the second reason is the traditional belief in fortune.
It is said that mortal emperors bear the burden of fortune, unable to live long and have the same lifespan as ordinary people. But these cultivators shouldn't get involved with fortune, as they have committed some taboos.
Of course, the idea of luck seemed unreal to even these cultivators, and not all of them believed in it.
"Since Emperor Yonghe has already arrived in Heyang City, then this secretive plan has already succeeded halfway."
"The only thing to be cautious about... is a small matter," Elder Sun frowned and said.
"An ordinary martial artist forcefully entered Heyang City's Xuantian Temple and died... such a trivial matter is not worth mentioning."
"What is worth noting is Emperor Yonghe's thoughts."
"It seems that he sent the Flying Fish Guard to save that ordinary martial artist against my intentions? This is a bad sign."
With that, the elders of the Immortal Gate fell silent.
"It appears that even though Emperor Yonghe is cooperating with our Xuantian Sect's plan, deep down he has not fully submitted and still harbors a sense of luck."
"What should we do then? Keep hitting him?"
"...Don't use force. At this critical moment, we must not complicate things."
"If Emperor Yonghe becomes rebellious and betrays any other Immortal Gate, our plan will be ruined."
"If Emperor Yonghe wants to save that ordinary martial artist, let him do it. After all, a mere mortal is not important."
The elders nodded in agreement.
Talking about this, Elder Sun felt a bit embarrassed.
"But according to Saintess Wu Qingxin's message, that person has already died, couldn't be saved."
"...Who killed him?"
"It was Saintess Wu Qingxin herself."
The elders looked at each other, and after a moment of silence, a hint of amusement appeared in their eyes.
It's quite a coincidence when you think about it.
Saintess Wu Qingxin, in fact, is just a symbol, a flag of sorts.
Having both excellent martial and immortal talents is indeed rare... but these cultivators never pay attention to ordinary martial artists, what use is martial talent?
Wu Qingxin is called the saintess because of her last name, Wu.
Martial Saint's Wu.
Simply put, it's just like buying a horse bone for a thousand gold coins, a sample to show their mercy.
This doesn't mean that this horse bone is very important.
Over the years, many martial arts slaves have come to join Xuantian Sect, but that's about it.
"To appoint Wu Qingxin as the Saintess of the Immortal Gate, at first, it was just to use her as bait and defeat the Martial Saint."
"The Martial Saint has been unresponsive for so many years, it seems like I have underestimated Wu Qingxin's value."
"If that's the case, what's the point of keeping her?"
"Does she really think she is the Saintess?"
"For the greater good, it's only right to sacrifice a pawn."
Saintess Wu Qingxin, a member of the Saintess Wu Qingxin Clan, didn't know yet that the important message she delivered to the clan didn't bring her any credit, but instead became a symbol of danger.
...............
The moon shines faintly.
In a dark alley in the north of Heyang City, a small, scruffy-looking cat is walking in the shadows.
This little cat may seem like an ordinary stray, but its fur seems to be luxuriously spread out, with a hint of shimmer.
What's even more peculiar is that this cat is walking as though it's drunk, swaying back and forth.
Trying to remember what happened earlier this morning, the little cat's head is still a bit fuzzy.
It belched, and a tiny invisible breath of death was expelled from its body, causing it to swell and weaken.
The deathly aura was so strong, it was almost overflowing!
In the short and brief life of this little magical cat, it had never seen such a strong and heavy feeling of death.
This is very abnormal.
It also didn't understand why, because it was just a little kitty.
Thinking back to the daytime, it was so excited that it started to doubt the meaning of its cat life, feeling weak all over.
It originally wanted to stop that person from seeking death, but it was too tired and lacking strength.
After all, being full after a meal or full at every meal, it could still tell the difference.
Later, whether that person actually died or not, it wasn't quite clear to it, because it was already so excited that it fainted.
The little cat continued walking in the dark alley, only to see the moonlight gently pouring down from the ground, covering everything in a silvery glow.
Then suddenly it shivered all over, trembling with excitement.
Because there was a mysterious figure that appeared in front, it had a strong and irresistible fragrance...
This is an old man with slightly gray hair on his temples. He looks to be around sixty years old, but his eyes are lively and don't show the signs of old age.
"Life and death are uncertain? That's a suitable mascot for me."
Qiao Mu, who had died and come back to life again, smiled faintly.
With a thought in his mind, his consciousness sank into the depths of his heart.
Current Death Assessment: A (not respectful to gods or respectful to heaven, only burning flesh and blood for all beings)
Lifespan consumed by death: 16 years
Remaining resurrection chances this week: 4 out of 5
Current age: 60 years old
Skills:
Long Life Punch (Intermediate level)
Ripple Stacking Wave Power (Second Level: Double Wave)
Martial Saint Spiritual Technique (Intermediate level)
Pure Yang Wuji Skill (Third Level)
Military Spear Skill (Advanced level)
Shadow Transformation Sword Technique (Intermediate level)
Iron Crotch Skill (Expert level)
Golden Bell Shield
Iron Cloth Shirt Skill (Intermediate level)
Shadow Step (Intermediate level)
Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method (Expert level)
Flesh Changing Skill (Proficient level)
...........
"Time flies, and years pass by. Unintentionally, I am already sixty years old."
"Thinking back to the young and vibrant years at the age of fifteen, it feels like it was just recently..."
With mixed emotions, Qiao Mu entered a thatched cottage by the road and untied his pants.
The worry in his heart finally vanished.
With a mastery of the Iron Crotch Skill, not only could he become as solid as a rock, but he could also move up and down, left and right...
"Old Huang is still amazing!" Qiao Mu gave a thumbs up to Old Huang, who was far away in Yan City.
Translator: Volume 8 has been translated and published on Amazon (https://amzn.to/44CLkgn). Half of the story has been translated, it's estimated that the entire novel has 16 volumes.
