Stranger Danger

“Where did you get your Livestock Creation Spell?” Ye Qing asked another question.

“I learned it from another senior.”

Tao Chong explained, “Three years ago, this junior accidentally ran into a great senior. He had recognized me immediately and claimed that he was a former acquaintance of the Tao Clan. He then offered to fulfill exactly one wish of mine.”

“At the time, all I wanted was to take revenge for my family. So, I begged that senior to grant me the power to take revenge against my foes.”

“In response, that senior taught me the Livestock Creation Spell. He told me that great opportunities lie with the spell, but whether it will turn out to be a blessing or a tragedy is up to me. Then, he left.”

“At first, I had no idea that it was the Livestock Creation Spell. It was only after the Six Livestocks Market appeared that I realized what it was.”

“Do you know who that senior is?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

“Unfortunately, no. that senior never told me who he was, nor have I heard of his likeness or deeds in the jianghu,” Tao Chong answered.

Ye Qing did not press him. There were countless extraordinary warriors in the jianghu who enjoyed toying with the masses without ever revealing their true identity, and this could just be one of them. “You’ve entered the Six Livestocks Market before, so you must know what it looks like. Tell me everything you know.”

Out of all the questions he had asked, this was the one he really wanted answered. Unfortunately…

“I have no idea, senior,” Tao Chong replied.

“Excuse me? What did you say?” Ye Qing narrowed his eyes dangerously.

Tao Chong felt a wall of killing intent pressing down on him like an avalanche or a tsunami, unstoppable and suffocating. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, senior! I truly do not know! All I remember is entering the Six Livestocks Market and returning to the real world. For whatever reason, I don’t recall what happened inside the market at all!”

“You’re saying you forgot?” Ye Qing lifted an eyebrow.

“That is exactly right, senior. Most of my memories regarding the Six Livestocks Market simply do not exist. It is as if someone or something has wiped it away,” Tao Chong answered.

Ye Qing’s demonic thoughts told him that Tao Chong wasn’t lying to him, but just in case, he looked at Feng Qingyou.

“He’s not lying.” Feng Qingyou nodded. “The Six Livestocks Market is a miraculous, unfathomable place. No one knows how it came to be, where it is, or what it contains. Everything one experiences inside the Six Livestocks Market would be wiped away as soon as they leave its confines. No one can retain the memory, so no one can speak of it.”

“This is why there are many rumors regarding the Six Livestocks Market in the jianghu, but the large majority of them are complete hearsay. This is also why the Six Livestocks Market is regarded as one of the most mysterious places in the world.”

“I see,” Ye Qing exclaimed in realization.

“If you wish to manifest your yang god and become a Trueman, this might be an opportunity, Joyless,” said Feng Qingyou.

Ye Qing hesitated. Although he now possessed the heart of an Animitta Heavenly Demon, an item of untold power, his “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” was no ordinary martial art either. On top of that, transforming his yin god to a yang god and becoming a Trueman wasn’t just a matter of acquiring enough power. He must acquire enough understanding and insight regarding the martial way and the world as well.

The fact was that he did not have full confidence that he would be able to manifest his yang god and become a Trueman even with the heart of an Animitta Heavenly Demon, and it so happened that the “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” was a Dark Way cultivation art. If he could enter the Six Livestocks Market, then this really might be his chance to become a Trueman.

Meanwhile, Tao Chong was feeling a little light-headed. Did he hear them correctly? Manifesting a yang god and becoming a Trueman? Were they saying that the young man whose one punch had caused him to quiver like a bowstring wasn’t a Trueman yet?

He, a Trueman and the direct descendant of the infamous Tao Clan, could not even take a single punch from a youngster who wasn’t even a Trueman yet?

How was that even possible?

Did he perhaps hit his head somewhere and thought that he was a Trueman all this time when he really wasn’t?

It was then a possibility occurred to Tao Chong, and he blurted, “You… are you a mind-body warrior?”

“Hmm? Yes. Is there a problem?” Ye Qing glanced at Tao Chong.

“N-no, not at all…” Tao Chong hurriedly replied, though his shock only doubled after hearing Ye Qing’s answer.

A so-called “mind-body warrior” referred to warriors who honed both the mind and the body. It was the ancient way.

In current times, most people honed only the mind or the body. No one doubted the strength of a mind-body warrior, but it took an ungodly amount of time and effort to do so. Only those with astounding talent, unyielding determination, and overwhelming courage might attempt it.

The young man before him was clearly a body-tempering Grandmaster, and he was apparently one step away from manifesting his yang god and becoming a Trueman. Tao Chong could not help but wonder which major sect or aristocratic clan had cultivated such a monster.

Ye Qing didn’t know what Tao Chong was thinking, of course. He asked, “Let’s say we’re interested. How are you going to get us into the Six Livestocks Market?”

Tao Chong snapped out of his daydream and answered, “There is only one way to enter the six Livestocks Market, and that is to learn the Livestock Creation Spell. This junior can teach you. All I ask is that you let me live.”

“The Livestock Creation Spell, huh? Well, I expected that.”

Ye Qing looked Tao Chong up and down several times before curling his lips into an ominous smile. “But how can I be sure that you won’t try and harm us when we are learning the spell? Or teach us the wrong details so we would fail or even suffer a deviation?”

“I wouldn’t dare, not even if I have a hundred people’s gall! Surely you can tell that I’m telling the truth, senior?”

Cold sweat broke out of Tao Chong’s forehead. His face was full of fear, and his heart was beating like a racehorse.

He wasn’t pretending. He really was terrified. Originally, he was planning to screw Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou over exactly as he said. After all, the only way to enter the Six Livestocks Market was to learn the Livestock Creation Art, and he was the only one who knew the spell. If the duo were interested, he was going to teach them a modified version of the spell.

The ancients say that one should always plan ahead, or they would find themselves troubled. From the first day he learned the Livestock Creation Spell, he had worried that he would run into this exact scenario one day. That was why he had come up with a modified version of the spell where certain critical parts were altered. Anyone who practiced it would suffer a deviation at best, or perish at worst. He would be able to escape his captors then.

The Livestock Creation Spell was profound, and the parts he chose to modify were all difficult to detect especially for first-timers. He was certain that he wouldn’t be discovered until it was far too late.

He did not anticipate being exposed before he even made a move though. He didn’t know that Ye Qing was just guessing, or if he truly knew what he was plotting either.

One thing for certain, he was panicking right now.

“Tsk tsk… it looks like you really were planning to screw us over this way!”

Ye Qing smirked as his demonic thought perceived the barely contained panic within Tao Chong’s torso. He turned to Feng Qingyou and asked, “Why do they always knock on hell’s door when they were given a highway to heaven, Qingyou?”

“It’s probably because they thought themselves smarter than their betters.” Feng Qingyou replied smilingly.

“Makes sense. Unfortunately for them, they are wrong.”

As he spoke, Ye Qing pinched his finges together and tapped Tao Chong once on the shoulder.