Stranger Danger

Chapter 826: True Lord of the World

“If you don’t mind me asking, who is your master, Miss Wen?” Ye Qing asked.

“My master is Yi Zhouqian,” Wen Anran answered.

“Yi Zhouqian?” Ye Qing raised his eyebrows and looked at Feng Qingyou with a question mark on his face. Unfortunately, he wasn’t knowledgeable enough to know that name.

As expected of the walking encyclopedia, Feng Qingyou explained, “You may not recognize the name Yi Zhouqian, but I’m sure you know the one they call the True Lord of the World. He is the head of the Taihe Peak of the True Martial Sect, and he is a man of great cultivation and Dao. He enjoys drinking and is a master in arts that pertain to the world, and he is especially adept at divination and world calculation, so much so that he is considered to be rivaled by no one in this department. They praise him as the man who sees the world in his cup; the one who holds heaven and earth in his palm.”

“If master was here, I’m sure he would be delighted by your praise, Miss Feng.” Wen Anran giggled behind her hand. “However, he also said that the world is vast, and talented people are innumerable. Even he is but a speck of dust in an endless sea, which is why humility and fear would always hold a place in his mind, and why he would not dare to call himself champion of anything.”

“This junior only wishes that she possesses even a sliver of the magnanimity your master has,” Feng Qingyou replied smilingly.

“True Lord of the World?” Ye Qing muttered while rubbing his nose with an odd expression. In fact, he did recognize the moniker, but the True Lord of the World he knew was... quite different from the one the girls were talking about.

According to the rumors, the True Lord of the World was a Sage of the True Martial Sect, and his main cultivation art was the “World Evolution Art”. That part coincided with the girls’ description at least. However, the jianghu people claimed that the True Lord of the World was a Sage with none of the bearing and dignity of a Sage whatsoever. Lazy, unkempt, shabby-looking and mean-spirited, he was a petty man who loved nothing more than to screw over others with his unparalleled divination skills.

Not only that, the True Lord of the World was fond of stealing another’s treasure and fortune, and his favorite quote was, “This treasure and I are fated for each other.” To say that his reputation in the jianghu was trash would be an understatement. If he wasn’t a powerful Sage, if he wasn’t a godlike diviner whose ability to seek luck and avoid calamity was rivaled by no one, if he wasn’t backed by the True Martial Sect, he would probably be dead many, many, many years ago.

This was why he could not reconcile the True Lord of the World he knew with the one Feng Qingyou and Wen Anran was describing at all. If there was even a grain of truth to the rumors, humility and kindness were the last adjectives one would use to describe the man.

It could not be a different person. No two Sages shared the same title, so there could not be a second True Lord of the World. They had to be talking about the same person.

“What are you thinking, Joyless?” Feng Qingyou noticed Ye Qing’s distraction and curled her lips. “Are you perhaps thinking about...”

“Ahem!” Knowing her impish personality, Ye Qing hurriedly interrupted Feng Qingyou before she could continue. “I was just thinking that the jianghu wasn’t exaggerating about the True Lord of the World’s divination skills.”

It was the honest truth. The world was everchanging, and not even the Heavenly Way was always the same. It was hard enough to divine the present, but to divine the future? To accurately find out what was going to happen several months later? That took a level of skill that he could not even begin to imagine at his current level. It was quite terrifying.

“By the way, you had to be the one who made me the bait, right Qingyou?”

“You are correct,” Feng Qingyou admitted without shame. “The three goddesses had lived a long time and devoured countless people’s fortune. There was no chance we could have beaten them in a straight fight. However, they possessed a terrible weakness, and that was the fact that their existence was tied to the wall paintings they were sealed in. If we destroy the paintings, we destroy them.”

“The three goddesses were well aware of their weakness, which was why they rarely left their dwelling. If they sensed even the slightest threat to the wall paintings, they would return immediately and guard it with everything they got. Therefore, two requirements must be met if they were to be destroyed. One, they must be lured away from the wall paintings. Two, someone must delay them long enough for the wall paintings to be destroyed.”

“That is why I decided to use you as bait and lure the three goddesses away from their dwelling. At the same time, you were buying time for Anran to prepare her Demon Subjugation and Demon Slaying.”

“Aren’t you worried that I would prove wanting and die to three goddesses?” Ye Qing lifted an eyebrow.

“Duanmu Longhua and the three goddesses’ greatest strength lay in their ability to plunder one’s fortune in an instant. They are a grave threat against everyone—everyone, except you. Not only is your Profound Yellow Mother Qi the bane of their ability, you are also a Grandmaster. You more than anyone else possess the tenacity necessary to outlive their assault even if you are outmatched.”

Feng Qingyou smiled. “But of course, I would have lent you a hand if you were in serious danger.”

“I can’t say I don’t appreciate your confidence,” a bitter smile flashed through his face as he sighed, “but you could’ve at least told me your plan beforehand. There is no reason to keep it hidden from me, is there?”

Feng Qingyou blinked impishly at him. “And risk you slipping up and giving away the game? I think not.”

“As if I would ever do that!” Ye Qing rolled his eyes at her. If there was one thing he was confident at, it was his acting skills.

“Oh right, was Duanmu Longhua’s final action within your calculations as well?”

Ye Qing suddenly recalled the great array Duanmu Longhua activated at the very end. If she hadn’t taken control of the three goddesses and stopped them from returning, then this extermination would not have concluded nearly as smoothly.

“Not at all. What she did was but a happy coincidence,” Feng Qingyou answered.

“Is that so? Why don’t I believe you?” Ye Qing stared at her suspiciously.

While the trio were making idle chat, Goddess White Deer, Goddess Green Lotus and Goddess Moonview were growing increasingly weakened and dim. Then, Feng Qingyou declared all of a sudden, “It’s time.”

Ye Qing did not understand what she meant by that. He watched as Feng Qingyou tossed out a bronze furnace about the size of a palm. What was strange was that the furnace had a pair of arms and legs, and even a human face. Its mouth was square-shaped, and it had a pair of long, white mustaches. It was quite the conspicuous appearance to say the least.

After the bronze furnace flew into the sky, the human face on the furnace suddenly came alive. The furnace let out a long yawn before complaining a little, “Disturbing my slumber again, lass?”

“Sorry, Grandpa Xuanyang.” Feng Qingyou saluted him.

“It’s fine. I was born to labor anyway,” The bronze furnace sighed indulgently.

The next moment, the bronze furnace grew to the size of a mountain in just the blink of an eye. Then, it opened its cover and sucked the three goddesses into its belly.

Not done yet, the bronze furnace turned to look at the wall paintings that had been split into four halves. It grabbed them and shoved them into its belly as well.

With that done, it returned to its normal size and descended toward the ground. By the time it landed back on Feng Qingyou’s palm, it had shrunk back down to its previous size.

Something was clearly different though. For starters, the furnace looked a lot more bloated than usual. It was also burping golden light out of its mouth and nostrils from time to time.

“Burp! I see, they are Fortune Beckoners. No wonder they possess such refined fortune. You found some great stuff this time, lass.” The bronze furnace said while burping, “So, what do you want to make?”

Feng Qingyou replied without hesitation, “I’d like to make some Dragon Tiger Demonic Ascension Pills.”

“Dragon Tiger Demonic Ascension Pills? I can do that, but I don’t have the materials I need,” the bronze furnace replied.

“Don’t worry, Grandpa Xuanyang. I have them right here.”

Feng Qingyou flicked a finger, and three items flew out of her sleeve and into the furnace.

Although she acted quickly, Ye Qing saw clearly that the items were a tiger’s bone, a dragon’s whisker, and a single leaf.