Chapter 166

The seventh day of the fourth month, the fifth year of Jingning.

Sancha Gang, Weizhou.

Moonlight like frost sprinkled across the hill; a procession of over twenty people moved south along the imperial road. The accompanying guards and government office Runners clustered near the carriage, listening to the clear, sorrowful voice coming from within:

"My hair stands on end with rage! Leaning against the railing..."

"Gugu jiji..."

"I raise my gaze! I look up and roar to the sky..."

"Jiji jiji jiji..."

Inside the carriage, lamps burned. A plump, middle-aged official gripped the window with one hand, gazing at the Central Plains land receding in the distance. Listening, tears streamed down his face, and he could not help but say:

"Alright, alright. Father is being transferred to Ruizhou, not exiled to Lingnan..."

"Ruizhou is Lingnan, Lingnan is Ruizhou!"

A white-robed youth of fifteen or sixteen, teasing a small black bird, sighed deeply:

"Old geezer, look at this official career. After more than ten years, I haven't climbed up; I've fallen down! Beauties are everywhere in Jingcheng. I barely endured until I grew up, yet I haven't married a single wife. What will we do once we go to Lingnan? Those are all Wu Sect demonesses..."

The middle-aged official lowered the window, picked up a small wine cup, and took a sip:

"Demonesses have their merits. With my son's qualifications, where wouldn't he be destined to embrace left and right, right, Bird Geezer?"

"Gu Ji!"

The youth looked slightly proud:

"That's true. Rest assured. Raise a son for a thousand days, use him for one hour. I have now achieved some learning. Though I am not an expert in anything, I excel at knowing a little of everything. As long as I encounter a Princess, Nangong Xianzi, or the like, I will surely leave them dazzled and confused. At that time, the two of us father and son will ride high on a noble branch and surely make a comeback..."

The middle-aged official teased: "You are only fierce with your mouth. You saw the back of Nangong Xianzi when you were seven or eight, yet you've held onto that memory until today. Yesterday, passing through Danzhou, I sent you to Mount Zihui to pay respects, yet you were too shy to go..."

The youth waved his hand: "She is a Patriarch at the mountain peak. What could a brat like me do by going to her door? I should go only after my martial arts are fully accomplished..."

"Sigh. If only you had studied one thing from childhood, you would have insisted on 'crushing the local natives.' If you had devoted yourself solely to practicing martial arts and cultivating the Dao, you would at least be a direct disciple of Mount Zihui..."

The middle-aged official, speaking here, lowered his voice again:

"By the way, Imperial Physician Lin of the Imperial Hospital is looking for a matrilocal son-in-law. The Miss is a few years older than you, but she possesses ten thousand in wealth and beauty that rivals the nation..."

The youth frowned:

"Ten thousand in wealth, beauty that rivals the nation, yet she cannot marry? I am after all a seven-foot man. How could there be any reason for me to enter the bride's family..."

Amidst such idle chatter, the carriage suddenly jolted. Outside came the long neigh of a fierce horse and the shouts of servants:

"What is that?"

"A demon... a monster..."

"Run quickly!"

The youth lifted the curtain, only to see rolling black fog surging from the dim forest, pressing rapidly toward the carriage. In the blink of an eye, it swallowed a guard who had gone forward to investigate, followed by screams and spurts of blood:

"Ah—"

The middle-aged official's face changed abruptly, but he did not seem very surprised by the demon's attack. He grabbed an official sword from beside him and rushed out of the carriage with the youth:

"It's coming for Father. You run quickly!"

The youth had lived since childhood in the home of a County Commandant, refining his techniques through reading and schooling. He rarely even left Jingcheng. How could He Ceng have ever seen ghostly fog that swept mountains and seas, with severed limbs flying and blood splashing everywhere?

After a brief moment of being stunned into paralysis, the youth came to his senses. Clutching the black bird, he leaped onto his own small white horse and grabbed the middle-aged official, who wanted to rush forward to block the demon:

"Run quickly! How many strikes can you block..."

The guards had almost no power to resist before being swallowed by the black fog and turned into shredded corpses. One could hear footsteps like a wild beast stampeding, and strange, bloodthirsty roars of excitement, like a fierce tiger roaring in the forest:

"Roar—!"

The middle-aged official's face turned deathly pale. He gritted his teeth, yet still raised his sword and leaped onto the white horse.

"Giddyup—"

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

The youth galloped the horse at full speed through the forest, asking anxiously:

"Why is this demon coming after us?"

The middle-aged official held his sword, watching the ghostly fog swiftly slaughtering the servants, and cried out urgently:

"On the day the palace was haunted, my stomach hurt, and I was taking a dump in the mountains. I saw He Man and He Hai sneaking around, bringing someone past the back mountain in a flash. I'm not sure if it was the Crown Prince. I feared the He family would silence me, so I didn't speak..."

"Damn... Giddyup!"

The youth knew death was certain. He drove the horse forward in a frantic sprint, but the black shadow behind, having finished off the servants, caught up in the blink of an eye, like a tiger or wolf biting the horse's tail. He did not hesitate to stab the horse's body with a dagger to force it to accelerate, yet it was still chased closer and closer.

Ding ding ding...

Behind them came the sound of metal striking metal. Occasionally, a burst of Qi whistled past the horse's side. After a few times, the fierce horse beneath him let out a painful roar and collapsed to the ground.

Before the white-robed youth fell, he grabbed the Tiangang Mace. His whole body crashed into the mud, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. Before he could push himself up from the ground, he was grabbed around the waist and thrown forward.

But after such a leap of only a few feet, a sound came from behind:

Pfft—

A chill spread through his chest, but pain had not yet arrived, and the time of the entire world slowed down at this very moment.

The youth, holding the Tiangang Mace, glanced at his chest as he fell. A spear tip, protruding more than an inch from his chest, was visible. Blood quickly dyed his white clothes red...

Chak—

The spear tip was quickly withdrawn, spraying a jet of blood.

The figure leaning against his back also detached, pushing him out. He raised his sword, turned his head, and let out a roar like a lion:

"Hah—!"

The youth fell to the ground, then pushed himself up using the Tiangang Mace. Turning back, he saw the middle-aged man in official robes. His left hand gripped the spear shaft thrust into his chest. He raised his sword to chop forward and turned back to urge frantically:

"Run! Run away..."

The figure holding the spear was a black-cloaked man, his body bulging with knotted muscles like a giant, blood qi flowing along the spear into his right hand; beneath the cloak, his eyes regarded the boy with mockery, as if he had no objection to letting his prey run a few steps first.

"Huh..."

Blood gushed from the boy's chest and back; he turned, gripping the Thirty-Six Section Heaven's Gang Scepter, his once-fine brows twisted into a demonic snarl, staggering forward as the blood pouring from his chest and back gradually stained the scepter's length.

"Ji ji ji——"

The little black bird swooped down, gripping the boy's collar, trying to drag him backward.

But the boy's bottomless hatred and killing intent were so fierce they could shake ghosts and gods; he charged forward with a bestial roar:

"Hah——"

Puff~

The cloaked black-clad man merely withdrew his spear slightly, then thrust forward—it pierced the boy's chest and abdomen, shoving him backward as blood qi flowed along the spear into his arm:

"This killing intent... a fine prospect for the demon path. Too bad the orders were to eradicate completely... Huh?"

Even as he spoke, the boy halted his retreat, leaning forward entirely, forcing his chest and abdomen through the spear's tip, sliding up the shaft to close the distance, and smashing the scepter into the cloaked man's head.

Boom—

The black hawk, as if gone mad, lunged at the black-clad man's face.

But the cloaked man showed no reaction, merely swatting the hawk aside with a casual motion, calmly absorbing the young man's blood qi, his gaze like that of a man watching a snarling ant.

Boom—

Boom—

The boy, impaled through the chest by the spear, swung the Heaven's Gang Scepter with all his strength against the figure's skull—each blow was like an egg striking stone.

The black-clad man had initially ignored him, but midway his gaze flickered; he reached out and seized the incoming Heaven's Gang Scepter.

Looking closer, he saw this weapon had drawn blood for the first time in sixteen years—blood slowly seeped into the characters "Heaven's Gang" on its surface, yet no qi flow or anomaly occurred.

"Seems like a special artifact. This time I've stumbled upon an unexpected boon..."

The black-clad man pulled back, attempting to wrest the Heaven's Gang Scepter away for closer inspection.

But the Heaven's Gang Scepter, with its round-tailed beast grip, seemed welded to the boy's right hand.

Looking up, the boy's left eye blazed with overwhelming killing intent, like a dying beast.

His right eye, however, was peculiar—no pain whatsoever, as if a god from the highest heavens were gazing through that pupil at the mortals below.

The cloaked spearman met that eye—and like a grain of sand facing a god or demon—he froze instantly, utterly motionless.

And at the same moment, on the other side of the pupil.

Beneath a mountain peak piercing the heavens, ridges stretching across the vast ocean.

A colossal crystal orb floated in a deep abyss that seemed like nothingness, displaying scene after scene of light and shadow.

The abyss was silent and empty, no scenery visible—only two enormous eyes, watching the crystal orb, their gaze like a mountain-top succubus just awakened from sleep, yawning:

"Aaahhh~~ Slept so well..."

"This little bug's a bit fierce. Looks like a martial prodigy. Wonder if I raise him right, he might dig me out of this boring place..."

"But he's dying soon, and too far away..."

The voice echoed through the abyss like a god's whisper.

Then the crystal orb's image shifted, shrinking rapidly to reveal the entire Three Forks Ridge and Weizhou.

Above the clouds, a speck-like figure rode the wind, flying swiftly through Weizhou toward the north.

"Oh my~ This little bug looks pretty strong. Left, left~..."

The voice echoed like an ancient god's murmur!

The figure in the crystal orb, caught off guard, dodged sideways a hundred zhang, scanning the surrounding sea of clouds in bewilderment; after a moment of stillness, he cautiously flew leftward.

And within Three Forks Ridge.

The black-clad spearman stared at the boy's strange right eye—as if facing a god or demon—and stood frozen in place.

The middle-aged official lay in a pool of blood, staring blankly at the boy pierced through by the spear.

The boy gripped the spear shaft, fixing his gaze on the cloaked figure before him; his eyes blazed with fury, yet held a flicker of confusion.

And in the next instant, a tearing wind suddenly came from above:

Hu—

The sound drew near; the middle-aged official looked up and saw a streak of Jin Guang piercing through the clouds, plummeting rapidly to halt just a few zhang away from the three of them!

The figure did not land but hovered midair, clad in golden armor, face masked; only his flowing wine-red hair behind him was visible. He glanced around briefly, then raised his right hand and clenched it.

Boom—

The motionless cloaked spearman, still stunned, exploded into a cloud of ash, scattered by the wind, vanished without a trace.

Plop~

The boy, deprived of support, collapsed to his knees, blood gushing from chest and back; he stared at the golden-armored divine figure, his eyes filled with indescribable awe:

"Cough..."

The middle-aged official, blood pouring from nose and mouth, struggled to sit up, crawling to the boy's side:

"Immortal, save my son! Save my son!"

Hearing the words, the boy looked down at his chest—he saw his robe soaked in blood, no pain, only an overwhelming, uncontrollable weakness; he slumped to the ground.

The golden-armored divine figure's wine-red hair fluttered in the wind; his face remained hidden behind the mask as he gazed at the father and son below:

"How did you summon me?"

The boy thought for a moment, then tossed the Heaven's Gang Scepter slightly away:

"Cough... Probably this. The vendor said it was an ancient divine weapon, once used by the Emperor. I'm giving it to the Immortal Sister..."

The Tiansheng Mace rolled several times before coming to rest before the Golden Armored Divine Warrior.

The Golden Armored Divine Warrior raised his right hand slightly; the long mace flew into his palm. He glanced briefly at the two characters "Tiansheng," then gripped it with both hands and gave it a forceful bend.

The result was that the iron mace, like an absolutely rigid body, did not bend in the slightest.

"Heh~"

The voice clearly held delight.

The Golden Armored Divine Warrior sheathed the Tiansheng Mace, flipped his wrist lightly, and tossed out a pill box:

"I am not a deity; I have only one life-saving pill on me. You..."

Before he could finish, his words abruptly ceased.

The young man, though appearing to breathe his last, reacted swiftly. He hurriedly grabbed the pill box, took out a yellow pill, and shoved it into the middle-aged official's mouth.

The middle-aged official's chest and abdomen were riddled with a hundred holes; he was already gasping for breath. It was too late to spit it out. With his mouth covered, he could only struggle to emit:

"Mmph—!"

The pill dissolved upon entering the mouth. The wounds on his chest and abdomen almost instantly stopped bleeding, even showing signs of healing, and the man subsequently fell into a deep slumber.

"Hey?!"

Seeing the wounds still healing, the young man's eyes were filled with delight. He sat on the ground, holding the official, and looked up at the celestial being in the sky:

"Thanks. Trouble you, Divine Sister... to send my father out... and this eagle as well. I give her to you, Divine Sister. The merchant said she is a Black-Winged Great Roc, very intelligent. When raised, she can eat dragons... if there are dragons in this world..."

His voice grew weaker and weaker, bloodstains nearly dyeing his entire body red.

"Goo-goo-goo!"

Sensing its master's life hanging by a thread, the black eagle shook its head and body frantically, trying to stir even a shred of sympathy in the Golden Armored Divine Warrior.

The figure in golden armor hovered in the air, watching the young man whose life force was gradually fading. After a long silence, his form slowly descended to the ground, and he raised his right hand.

Hoo~

Golden-red blood qi seeped visibly from his five fingers, forming a line that flowed into the young man's chest. The Tiansheng Mace was also planted beside the youth:

"I know how you summoned me. Here is your thing. If you wish to repay a debt or seek revenge, head south after you heal."

The young man's wounds gradually healed, and a hint of vitality and surprise appeared in his eyes:

"I go... where?"

"I am not clear either. You keep walking south, do not stop, until the ends of the earth. If you die on the road, it means you have no fate; I will take care of your family. If you meet Him and return alive, I will crown you a King."

After the Golden Armored Divine Warrior finished speaking, he raised his left hand slightly. The unconscious middle-aged official floated up, hovering beside him, and then rode the wind away, gradually piercing through the clouds.

The young man propped himself up with the Tiansheng Mace, touched his chest, and then looked up at the immortal in the sky:

"I will definitely return alive. When I do, where do I find Divine Sister?"

"Yanjing."

As the words fell, the figure had already broken through the void and vanished, leaving behind only a ground littered with wreckage, and one person and one bird in the forest.

The young man gazed at the night sky for a long time before finally withdrawing his gaze. He looked around, then walked over to the small white horse lying on the ground, moaning in sorrow.

A large hole had been slashed across the white horse's waist and abdomen; its internal organs spilled out, leaving only a faint breath.

The young man remained silent. After a moment of hesitation, he covered the horse's eyes with his blood-stained sleeve and raised the Tiansheng Mace:

"Sleep well. Later, I will slaughter the entire He family to avenge you and everyone else."

Boom~

The mournful moaning ceased, and the mountain forest returned to silence.

The young man removed the mace scabbard from the horse's side, clutched his chest, and walked south. The small black bird landed on his shoulder, and the pair gradually disappeared into the depths of the forest.

And this journey took him very far.

He passed through Weizhou, Huzhou, Ningzhou, and Ruizhou.

With no funds for the road, the young man could only rely on his Martial Path Rank 8 foundation to deal with Martial Path Rank 9 thugs, confiscating their illegal gains along the way. His days were quite hard.

By the time he exited the Zhenan Pass and arrived in the Southern Borderlands, life had become somewhat easier.

The Southern Borderlands were full of evil demons and heterodox paths. His methods grew increasingly skilled; as long as he wasn't eaten, he would eat whoever he could catch. Both the person and the bird grew a bit plump.

However, after venturing deep into the Southern Borderlands, the vast land and sparse population meant there were no "fellow daoists" to rip out their hearts and lungs. Evil beasts that could eat humans were everywhere, and life became difficult again, leaving him skin and bones.

The young man did not know where to go, nor who to seek; he simply kept heading south.

By the time he crossed the endless mountains and rivers of the Southern Borderlands, traversed the Fire Phoenix Plain, and reached the coast of the South Sea, a year had passed.

Though only seventeen, he looked like a rough man in his thirties.

With no road ahead, the young man could only follow the coastline, finally arriving at Phoenix Port.

Phoenix Port was territory of the Wu Sect. The host was Sikong Tianyuan, and their main business was smuggling medicinal herbs to various nations via sea transport.

The young man pretended to be a laborer. Under the cover of night when no one was guarding, he alone boarded a bandit's small boat loaded with goods and set sail for the South Sea.

At that time, thugs were still chasing from behind, but once they moved away from the coast and faced the treacherous South Sea, they wisely retreated.

Relying on a compass, the young man sailed south for no less than two months. He saw not a single piece of land, not a single island, not a single living person, and eventually not even a single flying bird.

Food and fresh water were running critically low. A return was impossible. At this moment of desperation, he encountered a towering storm.

The storm battered the small boat until only a broken plank remained. When he awoke, he was lying all alone at the end of the world.

He gave the little bit of food to the small black eagle, hoping it could fly out of this endless ocean. He himself watched the towering waves in the distance, and the thunderclouds gathering once more, feeling fear, helplessness, and despair, but no regret.

After all, he and his father should have died at San Cha Lin, but Heaven had favored them, and they had survived.

He followed the instructions, never stopping his steps until the moment of death, doing his utmost to pursue the power for revenge and gratitude.

Thirty thousand li of wind and frost had tempered him. Not seeing the person the immortal spoke of could only mean he had no fate to seek immortals and ask the Dao; such was his destiny.

Boom—

The boat plank was overturned by the towering waves and sank into the endless ocean.

The young man thus sank into the deep sea...

……

———

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(End of this chapter)