Urban Martial Saint

Upon hearing Ye Qing’s words, the sorcerer was immediately energized and said anxiously, ”What... What question? Please ask, as long as I know the answer, I... I absolutely will answer you truthfully, I definitely won’t lie...”

”Good!” Ye Qing smiled faintly and said, ”This question is actually quite simple. I just want to know, what method exactly are you using to unseal the Corpse Ghost Dragon?”

”Um...” The sorcerer froze for a moment, not expecting Ye Qing to ask this particular question, which caused him to hesitate for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

He knew very well that if he told Ye Qing the method, then the Corpse Ghost Dragon would surely be done for. At this moment, he was wavering — should he show loyalty to the Corpse Ghost Dragon, or should he save his own life?

Seeing that he was silent, Ye Qing smiled and said, ”I understand your feelings, the Corpse Ghost Dragon is your master, and you are very loyal to him. But don’t forget, Naikun has already broken ties with you, and he won’t live much longer either. Just relying on your group, do you think you can save the Corpse Ghost Dragon?”

The sorcerer shook his head, knowing that even with Grand Master Naikun present, it would be difficult to save the Corpse Ghost Dragon. After all, experts abound in Huaxia, and if they choose to attack first, it will certainly be troublesome for them.

”Since you can’t save the Corpse Ghost Dragon, then it will be perpetually sealed within the Devouring Demon Flower on Beimang Mountain. He will survive thirty years, but what about fifty years, seventy years, or one hundred years? If no one rescues him, he will ultimately perish in there.” Ye Qing said, ”Is it worth sacrificing your own life for a dead man?”

These words caused the sorcerer to fall into contemplation. After a long while, he finally looked up at Ye Qing and said solemnly, ”Will you really let me go?”

”Rest assured, as long as you don’t deceive me, I will allow you to return to Nanyang!” Ye Qing said, ”Of course, if you deceive me, I definitely won’t let you off. Don’t have any illusions, I brought you here to ask you all this question. If your answers differ in the end, then someone will surely die. So, think carefully before you answer!”

The sorcerer couldn’t help but feel helpless. He originally intended to fabricate something to deceive Ye Qing. But upon hearing Ye Qing’s words, he completely abandoned this idea. At the most crucial moment, he still wanted to save his own life. After all, saving the Corpse Ghost Dragon was already out of the question, there was no need to also sacrifice his own life here.

”I... I’ll tell...” The sorcerer gritted his teeth and said solemnly, ”The method to open the Devouring Demon Flower was left by my Master when he entered Beimang Mountain years ago to study the Devouring Demon Flowers within. He discovered that in normal circumstances, the Devouring Demon Flowers in the deepest caves of Beimang Mountain won’t actively attack anyone, even if you initiate and chop down those Devouring Demon Flowers. However, there’s one Devouring Demon Flower that’s different. There’s only one in each cave. Once you touch this Devouring Demon Flower, even if it’s just a breath blown upon it, it will trigger all the Devouring Demon Flowers to attack you. This flower is also called the Main Flower!”

Hearing this, Ye Qing’s expression changed. He finally understood why those Devouring Demon Flowers suddenly attacked them at that time. It turns out that the Devouring Demon Flower hiding the Corpse Ghost Dragon on the stone platform was precisely the one the sorcerer spoke of.

Actually, it seemed that the conditions in the other caves were the same. When Ye Qing and Yin Xianzi entered, they did not suffer any attacks because they hadn’t touched the Main Flower that controlled the other Devouring Demon Flowers.

”Thirty years ago, my Master sensed his lifespan was nearing its end, thus he needed to employ a special method to feign death, waiting for the opening of the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates this time. However, once feigning death, he had no resistance at all, so he had to find a safe place to feign death. The Devouring Demon Flowers of Beimang Mountain were the best choice for him.” The sorcerer said, ”Years ago, my Master entered Beimang Mountain, hid in the Main Flower, feigned death, and left a message for us to unseal him before the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates would open. More so, Master left the method to unseal!”

Saying this, the sorcerer glanced at Ye Qing and said, ”Master’s method is simple. Since the Devouring Demon Flowers are yin in nature, they enjoy devouring individuals born in the Yin Year, Yin Month, and Yin Time, especially children. Therefore, to open the Devouring Demon Flower, the best method is to find children born in the Yin Year, Yin Month, and Yin Time, and place them near the Devouring Demon Flower. Even if the Devouring Demon Flower contains someone, it will open its petals to devour these children. Thus, we have to find ten pairs of children born in the Yin Year, Yin Month, and Yin Time, send them into the cave to lure the Devouring Demon Flower to open its petals. Once the Devouring Demon Flower opens its petals, Master can walk out from within and be completely unsealed!”

Ye Qing was greatly astonished. He finally understood why these people were consistently searching for children born in the Yin Year, Yin Month, and Yin Time, and it turned out to be for this reason.

”But since you can use these children, why bother to cultivate Living Corpses?” Ye Qing asked.

”These children can’t pass the last five checkpoints...” the sorcerer said, looking at Ye Qing. ”My Master stated that the last five checkpoints primarily create illusions, and anyone with thoughts cannot enter. So to pass these last five checkpoints, it is necessary to make these children lose their thoughts. The best method is to cultivate Living Corpses, ensuring the children’s yin nature while causing them to lose thoughts. The key is also enabling control over them to enter — this is the best method!”

Ye Qing took a deep breath, realizing he thoroughly understood why these people cultivate Living Corpses, and that it’s to rescue the Corpse Ghost Dragon. This method is indeed cruel, rescuing a Corpse Ghost Dragon entails the sacrifice of many children as nutrients for the Devouring Demon Flower, highlighting how truly ruthless these sorcerers are.

”Are you sure this is all true?” Ye Qing asked sternly.

The sorcerer said anxiously, ”I swear it is all true. If you don’t believe me, you can test it. How would I dare deceive you?”

Ye Qing said sternly, ”I will definitely verify this. If you’re deceiving me, I suggest being honest now. Otherwise, once I find out, you won’t make it back to Nanyang!”

”Everything I’ve said is true, not a single falsehood! You must believe me!” the sorcerer trembled as he replied.

Ye Qing looked at him, seeing that he indeed did not have the appearance of someone lying, so he didn’t ask any more questions. He left the sorcerer there, turned around, and grabbed another sorcerer to interrogate him in another place with the same question.

This sorcerer, like the previous one, became compliant immediately after Ye Qing analyzed the Corpse Ghost Dragon’s situation, and revealed the method to rescue the Corpse Ghost Dragon in detail. The method he described was identical to what the previous sorcerer said, with no discrepancies.

Having heard this sorcerer’s account, Ye Qing was already certain that this was indeed the method left by the Corpse Ghost Dragon for unsealing. After all, if these two were fabricating lies, it’s impossible they’d say exactly the same thing.

To be on the safer side, Ye Qing questioned the remaining few individuals as well — their answers were the same, thus Ye Qing was completely certain that this was the method left by the Corpse Ghost Dragon.

However, knowing this method left Ye Qing in a more dejected mood. Obtaining this method was tantamount to not having a method for him. After all, Ye Qing couldn’t cultivate a group of Living Corpses to rescue Ding Lianshun and Yin Xianzi; he wasn’t one of those heartless sorcerers capable of such cruel deeds.

Ye Qing recounted this method to Shen Tianjun and said helplessly, ”It seems we still have to go to Tai Island to find Heavenly Master Lin Xuan Yue.”

Shen Tianjun furrowed his brow slightly, acknowledging that the Corpse Ghost Dragon’s method was indeed impractical; but is finding Heavenly Master Lin Xuan Yue really the answer? Can Heavenly Master Lin Xuan Yue indeed open those Devouring Demon Flowers?

After a moment of silence, a howl suddenly reverberated from afar. Shen Tianjun immediately looked up and said sternly, ”He’s calling us over, something must be happening over there. Let’s talk about finding Lin Xuan Yue later; we should rush over to see!”

Ye Qing knew that Shen Tianjun must be referring to the masked elder. He did not drag his feet and quickly followed Shen Tianjun over.

The masked elder stood an estate’s back, due to the fire incident earlier, stationed upon a clearing not far from the estate. Beside him, amid spreading white smoke, someone was striding boldly. However, though the stride was ample, it remained stepping in place without moving far. Moreover, faint screams could be heard among the white smoke; the sound was subtly quiet but persistent, suggesting the person inside retained a certain resilience.

Ye Qing observed carefully, realizing the person within the white smoke must be Grand Master Naikun. It appeared that upon escaping to the back, he had been stalled by the masked elder. Nevertheless, Ye Qing was bewildered by Naikun’s seemingly perpetual pacing in place.

Clearly, it was the masked elder who had manipulated Naikun, yet just what actions had the elder undertaken to make Naikun continuously step in place was truly odd. Moreover, Naikun was not merely pacing, but was sprinkling the Bone-Attaching Maggots’ white smoke upon himself, thus enveloping himself in this acrid smoke.

Ye Qing had seen the potency of the Bone-Attaching Maggots earlier — Grand Master Naikun had been struck by Shen Tianjun’s Karmic Retribution, causing the maggots to afflict his head brutally, leaving no semblance of completeness. Now, by showering himself in copious amounts of the Bone-Attaching Maggot smoke, this was undoubtedly a suicide endeavor!