Urban Martial Saint

This thought sprouted in Ye Qing’s mind and quickly filled his brain. For such a long time, he had been saved by Yin Xianzi several times, and he himself felt indebted to her.

Although both sides were initially in a mutually exploitative relationship, after spending so much time together, Ye Qing still felt that Yin Xianzi and Ding Lianshun were not bad people. This is also why Ye Qing would venture such a long way and risk danger to enter Beimang Mountain.

And now, with Yin Xianzi possibly in danger inside this cave, Ye Qing couldn’t just stand idly by.

After pondering for a while, Ye Qing finally gritted his teeth and walked straight into the cave with the Taoist Incantation symbol. Regardless of whether there was danger inside, or whatever situation Yin Xianzi was in, he had to go in and see. If possible, he might even save her life. If unfortunately, there really was danger inside, then he accepted it; there were, after all, three other caves. If this cave with Yin Xianzi had danger, the other three might also be dangerous, and the chance of surviving them was low. He might as well risk it and see if he could save Yin Xianzi.

The situation inside this cave was similar to the one Ye Qing had entered before, it was also very deep, and an inexplicable glow lit the cave brightly.

On both sides of the stone walls, vines of the Devouring Demon Flower climbed. A bit further in, one would see the flower buds of these flowers. The further he went, the more flourishing these flowers bloomed. Eventually, they were densely packed, everywhere one looked there were Devouring Demon Flowers.

Seeing the number of Devouring Demon Flowers around, Ye Qing knew he was close to the end of the cave. Yet, along the way, he had not seen Yin Xianzi, nor any traces of her. Where was she? Had she reached the end of the cave or had she been devoured by the flowers on the way?

Filled with worry, Ye Qing tensely continued his search forward. When he was about thirty meters from the end, he suddenly saw a figure jumping and twisting in the cave. The speed was so fast that Ye Qing was dazzled, unable to clearly see the person’s appearance.

However, judging by the clothes, Ye Qing instantly recognized the person as Yin Xianzi. But her speed was extraordinarily fast, so fast that Ye Qing couldn’t clearly see her movements, only a shadow running and leaping. This speed reminded him of the Purple Robe Lama’s ”Crossing the River with a Reed” technique he had seen before.

Ye Qing remembered that when the Purple Robe Lama performed the ”Crossing the River with a Reed”, neither Yin Xianzi nor Ding Lianshun could catch up, proving Yin Xianzi’s qinggong was far inferior. Yet her current speed was astonishing. With such qinggong, how could she not have the strength to counter the Purple Robe Lama?

Startled for a moment, Ye Qing suddenly recalled his own situation, his heart skipped a beat. On his side, at the stone platform at the end of the cave, there was a set of martial arts left by a monk. Could it be that at the end of this cave as well, there were martial arts left by someone from the Taoist Sect? This set of qinggong Yin Xianzi practiced, could it be the ultimate technique left by a Taoist expert?

Thinking this, Ye Qing’s heart was even more shaken. He and Yin Xianzi came to this place without finding the ultimate technique left by the Great Demon King, but instead, learned separate unique skills. Whether this was fortunate or unfortunate, he couldn’t say. Still, seeing Yin Xianzi’s speed, Ye Qing was sure that the martial arts he learned and the light body skill Yin Xianzi acquired were definitely not ordinary martial arts!

Seeing Yin Xianzi unharmed and even learning a set of qinggong here, Ye Qing breathed a sigh of relief. He walked straight over and finally saw the situation at the end of the cave. It was exactly the same as the cave he had just been in, with a stone platform inside, carved with numerous characters and some patterns. Needless to say, Yin Xianzi must have learned this qinggong from these patterns. As for those characters, they were Taoist Incantations, which even Yin Xianzi could not understand.

Just as Ye Qing approached, Yin Xianzi also saw him and with a leap, landed in front of him.

”Why are you here?” Yin Xianzi asked in surprise.

”I saw you hadn’t come out for a long time, so I came in to check.” Ye Qing replied.

Upon hearing Ye Qing’s words, Yin Xianzi nodded slowly, clearly gaining more affection for Ye Qing. She turned to look at the stone platform, saying: ”There are no ultimate techniques left by the Great Demon King here, only a set of qinggong and some characters left by the Taoist master. However, these are marked with Taoist Incantations, and I can’t understand their meaning. How about your side?”

Since Yin Xianzi was so open, Ye Qing also didn’t hide anything and told her about his side. After hearing Ye Qing’s words, Yin Xianzi was also a bit surprised, not expecting Ye Qing’s side to be the same as hers. So then, could the remaining three caves have the same situation? Where was the ultimate technique left by the Great Demon King actually hidden?

”It seems there is no danger in these five caves!” Yin Xianzi looked at the Devouring Demon Flowers overhead, saying: ”These flowers seem inactive and won’t attack proactively, so all five caves should be safe. I guess we need to search caves one by one.”

Ye Qing nodded; at this point, it was the only option. Considering the time, they had been inside Beimang Mountain for nearly two days. They didn’t even know the situation with Ding Lianshun on the other side, so they had to quickly find the ultimate technique left by the Great Demon King.

Before leaving, Yin Xianzi turned back to look at the patterns again. Ye Qing also glanced at the patterns, finding them too complex to comprehend, and eventually gave up. He took out his notebook and traced the Taoist symbols. If they got out later, they would find someone who understood Taoist Incantations to translate these symbols’ meaning, and maybe infer which Taoist expert ventured into this cave.

After tracing the symbols, Yin Xianzi also finished reviewing the patterns, and the two left the cave, arriving at the fork outside.

Now three caves remained, and after going through two of them, they suddenly realized there was no actual danger inside the caves. Thus, they did not split up but prepared to explore the remaining ones together.

However, choosing which of the three caves to enter first became a big question.

”How about we enter this cave without any marked signs first?” Ye Qing looked at Yin Xianzi, saying: ”Inside, we don’t know what’s left behind. But for the other four caves, people have entered before. If there really were things left by the Great Demon King, they would have been taken. If we go in again, we might find nothing. This cave has no signs, suggesting no one might have entered, perhaps the Great Demon King’s treasures are there.”

Yin Xianzi nodded, saying: ”You’re right, then let’s go into this cave.”

Once decided, they didn’t hesitate and walked directly into the unmarked cave.

The situation around this cave initially seemed similar to the previous two caves. But as they went further, the situation felt increasingly off. The stone walls, vines, and Devouring Demon Flowers seemed identical to the former places, but walking in here, both couldn’t shake off an indescribable oppression, as if an invisible pressure was continuously pressing on them. Moreover, the further they walked, the more pronounced this pressure felt. Eventually, even walking became arduous, as if an invisible weight burdened them, making every step difficult.

This situation bewildered Ye Qing and Yin Xianzi, neither had encountered such circumstance before. Though they saw nothing affecting them, they felt a clear, unbearable pressure—what was this?

”This cave is a bit strange.” Ye Qing said in a low voice.

Yin Xianzi also frowned deeply, despite her strength surpassing Ye Qing’s, her situation was barely better. The pressure here seemed to adjust based on their capabilities, with Yin Xianzi enduring much more pressure than Ye Qing, thus their walking speed remained the same!

”I’ve encountered this before…” Yin Xianzi whispered back.

”Oh?” Ye Qing immediately looked at Yin Xianzi, asking: ”Where did you encounter it? What… what exactly is this?”

Yin Xianzi took a deep breath, saying: ”It was when I just joined the sect and our founder just passed away. My Master took me to see the founder, beside his coffin it felt just like this, an invisible pressure that made it hard for me to even walk!”

”What was going on?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

”At the time I didn’t know what it was, later my Master told me it was the lingering True Qi of the founder, which condensed at the side of the coffin, creating an aura that made it difficult for anyone to move.”

Ye Qing drew a cold breath, staring at Yin Xianzi with surprise, and after a while he whispered: ”So, does that mean... there’s a corpse of an acme Inner Strength master buried here?”

But Yin Xianzi frowned again, struggling with a thought. How could anyone, she wondered, possess such strength in this world anymore?