Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing shook his head slowly and said in a deep voice, ”It’s Ning Qianshu’s people, the opponent is very strong, difficult to deal with!”

”Ah?” Li Bingyu’s eyes widened in shock, ”King Yan Ning Qianshu? It’s actually him?”

Other members of the Li Family were also stunned. The Li Family, known in the martial arts world, naturally had heard of King Yan Ning Qianshu. However, the Li Family was in the North, while Ning Qianshu had been operating in the South for years, so the Li Family didn’t consider him a threat. Who would have thought Ning Qianshu’s reach was so extensive, stretching all the way to the Li Family here.

Actually, Ye Qing was more suspicious that these two people were actually after him. After all, Chen Yongchang had been chasing him trying to kill him before. But who exactly was that man in black?

Ye Qing knew that person was definitely not Ning Qianshu. If it were Ning Qianshu, Ye Qing would definitely be dead by now, there was no way he could have escaped. But if it wasn’t Ning Qianshu, then this matter was even more troublesome. Could it be that Ning Qianshu still had such a powerful master by his side?

”Where is Shishu?” Ye Qing asked in a deep voice.

”I don’t know, haven’t seen him.” Li Bingyu looked at the few people beside him, and they were all shaking their heads, obviously none of them had seen Li Changshan.

”Haven’t seen him?” Ye Qing was a bit surprised, something so serious happened, Li Changshan wouldn’t not know, right? Where did he go?

While Ye Qing was wondering, a man suddenly ran over, exclaiming, ”Alright, alright, Bing’en is awake, Bing’en is awake!”

Hearing this, Ye Qing couldn’t care about anything else, he quickly rushed to the room where Li Bing’en was staying. As he entered, he saw Li Changshan standing inside with his hands behind his back, his brows tightly knit.

”So Shifu was here!” Li Bingyu realized suddenly, ”It seems Shifu was worried that Bing’en was in danger, so he was here to protect him!”

Seeing Li Changshan, Ye Qing’s doubts dissipated. He quickly ran into the room and saw Li Bing’en sitting in a chair, still with his silly and cheerful appearance, but he appeared obviously weak.

During the day, he was stabbed by Ao Yangrong’s dagger, and at night he was poisoned by the double-headed snake. Li Bing’en was seriously injured today. Although the stab wound from the dagger could be quickly healed with the Ziyu Chenxiang Pill, the double-headed snake’s poison was not something the pill could cure. Fortunately, Ye Qing had Mu Ling in his possession, otherwise Li Bing’en would have been in grave danger.

”Shifu!” Li Bingyu and others rushed into the room, heading directly to Li Changshan with urgency, ”Earlier, we heard Brother Ye say it seemed to be King Yan Ning Qianshu’s people!”

”I know!” Li Changshan said solemnly.

”Ah?” Li Bingyu was taken aback, Ye Qing also turned his head in surprise, ”Shishu, you knew?”

Li Changshan nodded, pointing to the double-headed snake on the ground, and said in a deep voice, ”A snake with two heads, two poisons combined, this was a masterpiece of Ning Qianshu’s back in the day. Originally, the venom of two separate snakes wasn’t very potent, but if both snake venoms appeared together, they would merge into a highly toxic poison, difficult to cure. No matter how powerful you are, no amount of Inner Strength can force out this snake venom!”

Ye Qing looked at the double-headed snake on the ground, not expecting that the double-headed snake was also a symbol of Ning Qianshu. This Ning Qianshu was truly terrifying, creating such a double-headed snake, with a combined venom that was extremely dangerous. No wonder his Ziyu Chenxiang Pill couldn’t neutralize the poison, the pill’s efficacy was limited after all.

”How... how was this double-headed snake created?” Li Bingyu looked at the double-headed snake with disgust, ”Where did it come from?”

”This isn’t something natural, it’s Ning Qianshu using methods from the Miaojiang Gu Insects, attaching one snake’s head beside another to create this double-headed snake,” Li Changshan said solemnly. ”I haven’t seen such a thing for more than twenty years. I didn’t expect to see it again this time. It seems, Ning Qianshu is restless!”

Ye Qing thought of the man who appeared in the South, reportedly a member of the Twelve Green Halls, with extraordinary strength. And now, Ning Qianshu had also sent such a masked expert, it seemed the Twelve Green Halls really couldn’t sit still, the world was truly on the brink of chaos!

”But why would Ning Qianshu come after Bing’en?” Li Bingyu wondered.

Li Changshan looked at Li Bingyu beside him, sighed, and said, ”Bing’en’s talent in martial arts is exceedingly rare. If nurtured, he could surely have the potential to challenge the Five Uniques in the future. Ning Qianshu, to prevent our Li Family from rising, resorted to such vile means in order to send our Li Family to a complete decline!”

”Damn Ning Qianshu!” Li Bingyu gritted his teeth, hatred for Ning Qianshu festering to the extreme in his heart.

Ye Qing, however, had a different opinion. He thought there was something odd about the matter. Before Li Bing’en showcased his abilities today, everyone regarded him as a mere fool, posing no threat, and Ning Qianshu likely wouldn’t have anticipated Li Bing’en’s substantial strength. But from the time Li Bing’en demonstrated his ability in the afternoon until now, it had only been a few hours, and Ning Qianshu already made such arrangements to kill Li Bing’en? The timeline didn’t add up!

Ye Qing felt that there must be more hidden beneath the surface of this matter. Logically, Chen Yongchang must have come here to hunt him down. However, Chen Yongchang targeted Li Bing’en first, which made no sense.

Li Changshan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly thought of something and turned to ask Ye Qing, ”By the way, Ye Qing, how did you cure Bing’en’s poison?”

Upon hearing this, Ye Qing suddenly remembered that his Mu Ling was still in Li Bing’en’s mouth. He hurried over and asked Li Bing’en to open his mouth, only to find that it was empty.

”Where’s that thing from just now? Did... did you swallow it?” Ye Qing asked urgently, as that Mu Ling was a very precious object. It could even cure the poison of a double-headed snake, so it seemed the Wood Stretching Gu Master was right; this Mu Ling could indeed cure all poisons in the world. If Li Bing’en had swallowed it, what then?

”What thing?” Li Changshan asked curiously from the side.

”Mu Ling.” Ye Qing paused and explained, ”It’s something I brought out from the Miao Borderlands to detoxify.”

Ye Qing didn’t notice that when he mentioned Mu Ling, a brilliant flash appeared in Li Changshan’s eyes, as if he was shocked. After a moment of bewilderment, Li Changshan said solemnly, ”Mu Ling, isn’t that the Treasure of Zhendong from the Miao Borderlands’ Zhenmu Dong?”

”Uncle, you know about Mu Ling too?” Ye Qing asked in surprise.

”I heard my elder brother talk about it years ago. Miaojiang Gu Techniques are incredibly magical. And among them, there are also extraordinary items, Mu Ling being one of them,” Li Changshan said. ”However, Mu Ling is the Treasure of Zhendong from the Miao Borderlands’ Zhenmu Dong; how did it end up in your hands?”

”It’s a long story...” Ye Qing said while searching for Mu Ling around Li Bing’en, briefly recounting the events of his journey to the Miao Borderlands.

Upon learning of the appearance of the Gu Mother in the Miao Borderlands, Li Changshan’s expression changed, and he asked with a trembling voice, ”Miaojiang... has the Gu Mother really appeared in Miaojiang?”

”Yes, when I left, the Miao people were worshipping it.” Ye Qing paused and said solemnly, ”However, the Gu Mother has been deceived by Ning Qianshu’s disciple, and I foresee future troubles for Miaojiang. The Wood Stretching Gu Master recognized this and handed the Mu Ling to me, asking me to take it out of Miaojiang.”

As Ye Qing spoke, he suddenly noticed Li Bing’en’s hand was clenched tightly. Astonished, Ye Qing pried open his fingers, revealing a wooden bead—exactly the Mu Ling.

Upon finding the Mu Ling, Ye Qing let out a long sigh of relief, thinking that Li Bing’en had swallowed it. To his surprise, Li Bing’en hadn’t swallowed it but had been playing with it in his hand.

”Miaojiang Gu Mother, Miaojiang Gu Mother!” Li Changshan repeated these four words slowly and then said softly, ”Unexpectedly, in my lifetime, I can witness the appearance of the Miaojiang Gu Mother, leaving no regrets.”

”Master, what precisely is the Miaojiang Gu Mother?” Li Bingyu asked curiously.

Li Changshan didn’t answer directly but asked back, ”Do you believe in gods?”

”This...” Li Bingyu thought for a moment and said, ”I actually don’t believe in such things.”

”But what if there really are gods in this world?” Li Changshan asked again.

”What kind of question is this?” Li Bingyu widened his eyes.

”If there really are gods in this world...” Li Changshan took a deep breath and said, ”The Miaojiang Gu Mother is the living god in Miaojiang!”

”What?” Li Bingyu’s eyes widened nearly to bursting, and he said, ”God? What god? How many gods?”

Ye Qing could understand Li Changshan’s words, having observed the Miao people’s reverence for the Gu Mother, which truly reached the level of mortal worship of a deity. Miaojiang often saw battles, with the Seventy-Two Dong not acknowledging each other. However, with just a word from the Gu Mother, the Seventy-Two Dong could set aside all grudges and stand together again; this exemplifies the Miao people’s reverence for the Gu Mother.

Indeed, the Miaojiang Gu Mother can be said to be a living god!

Li Changshan said, ”Once you visit Miaojiang, you’ll understand what status the Gu Mother holds in the hearts of the Miao people!”

”That’s just what the Miao people think; why should we Han people acknowledge her?” Li Bingyu said.

”Hmph!” Li Changshan cast a sidelong glance at him and said, ”In any era where a Gu Mother appears, all Han people will pale in comparison due to the presence of the Gu Mother.”

”Is there really such a saying?” Ye Qing was also shocked; could the Miaojiang Gu Mother be this formidable?

”In history, there was someone who had entered the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates and emerged as the Supreme of an era. However, at the height of his power, he unfortunately met the newly emerged Gu Mother of Miaojiang. In that battle, the Gu Mother used her real power to prove to the world the never-defeated myth of the Miaojiang Gu Mother!” Li Changshan looked at Ye Qing and said, ”From ancient times to the present, anyone who has entered the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates can lead an era, but in an era with a Gu Mother, it’s the Gu Mother who leads the era!”