Urban Martial Saint

Black Bear took that ancient book, flipped it open and glanced at it twice, then said in surprise, ”Captain, what’s written on this? How come I can’t understand a single word?”

”This is called Taoist Incantation. If you haven’t learned it, of course you can’t read it!” Ye Qing waved his hand and said, ”Don’t worry about whether you understand it or not, just have a few copies made first.”

”Okay, I’ll go find someone to do it right now!” Black Bear held the ancient book and, when he reached the door, suddenly turned his head to look at Ye Qing and said, ”Captain, General Helian asked me to tell you, there are many experts coming this time. If the stuff in the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master isn’t that important, there’s no need to get into a conflict with these people!”

Ye Qing nodded slowly. He understood what Helian Tiehua meant. To put it bluntly, Helian Tiehua was telling Ye Qing that the people coming this time were just too strong. If it really didn’t work out, then hand over the things from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master. It looked like the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance probably wouldn’t be able to hold on to the things in the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master.

Which was only normal. Ye Qing had already guessed it would turn out like this. The Seven Rudders of Hong Alliance were strong, but they still couldn’t stand up to the combined forces of all the experts under heaven. Normally, those experts were all scattered, but once the Seven Rudders of Hong Alliance took control of what was in the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, these people would definitely unite to deal with the Seven Rudders of Hong Alliance. So it would be very hard for the Seven Rudders of Hong Alliance to keep what was in the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master; that was within the normal range.

However, at this moment Ye Qing had also thought of a way to handle the situation. That ancient book he had just handed to Black Bear was actually something Ye Qing had obtained while he was at the Doomsday Sect. The whole thing was written in Taoist Incantation; Ye Qing hadn’t understood it before. After coming back this time, he read it through from beginning to end and finally saw clearly what was inside. This ancient book was called the Returning Origin Technique, a Secret Manual created by a master of the Taoist Sect. After Ye Qing read it, he discovered that this Returning Origin Technique had some similarities with the power of the Primal Mysterious Body within him, but this Returning Origin Technique was far inferior to the power of his Primal Mysterious Body. In other words, this Returning Origin Technique was only a very small part of the Return to Origin Sacred Body, far from the complete Return to Origin Sacred Body.

Even so, this Returning Origin Technique was still a very marvelous Secret Manual. Anyone who didn’t understand the Return to Origin Sacred Body would definitely take this Returning Origin Technique as the Return to Origin Sacred Body, which would naturally attract countless people’s attention. You have to know, the Return to Origin Sacred Body is the Taoist Sect’s top level Secret Manual.

Ye Qing could not hand over the things in the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master to these people, but if he didn’t take out something, that was impossible too. So he took out this Returning Origin Technique and pretended it was obtained from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, to fool everyone under heaven. But after hearing what Black Bear said, Ye Qing had already decided to tweak his strategy. He wasn’t just going to fool everyone; he also wanted to find a way to take care of those people from the Sword Saint Sect as well.

Black Bear went downstairs to find people to copy the Returning Origin Technique. Ye Qing sat in the room for a short while, then got up and went downstairs too, planning to go out and find Fu Qingping to learn more about the Sword Saint Sect. But just as he went down the stairs, he saw Old Chen sitting on the stairway with a bowl in his hand, eating ice cream while watching him. This old guy’s mouth seemed to have never taken a break since he woke up this morning.

Seeing Old Chen here, Ye Qing couldn’t help being surprised and said, ”What are you doing here?”

”Nonsense, of course I’m waiting for you!” Old Chen looked at Ye Qing and said, ”Come, come, explain to me, what exactly does Old Bangzi mean? How did I become Old Bangzi? Is this Old Bangzi a compliment or an insult?”

Ye Qing was speechless. This Old Chen really had nothing better to do. Eat, sleep, and when he had nothing to do, he’d come here to argue with people. But Ye Qing really didn’t have the time to argue with him now.

”Take it however you want, I’ve got things to do, I’m not wasting time with you!” Ye Qing sidestepped Old Chen and headed out, but Old Chen deliberately bumped into him. Ye Qing was coming down, the stairway was narrow, and with that one bump he was directly blocked by Old Chen.

”What exactly do you want?” Ye Qing looked helplessly at Old Chen blocking his way. Why did this old guy have so much crap to pull? Things were so busy right now and he was still here making trouble.

”I’m full, take me out for a stroll!” Old Chen shouted.

”Can’t you go out by yourself?” Ye Qing said helplessly.

Old Chen said, ”Nonsense, I’m not familiar with this place. What if I get lost?”

Ye Qing was already full of pent-up anger. Hearing this, he snapped, ”You, a Tomb Robber, are afraid of getting lost? Underground tombs are like mazes, twists and turns everywhere, how come you don’t get lost in there when you’re walking around? And now you’re yelling about getting lost?”

”Who says I don’t get lost underground? I got trapped in that damn Tomb of Ghost Valley Master exactly because I got lost!” Old Chen said, reaching out to pat Ye Qing’s right shoulder. ”Alright, enough talking, take me out for a stroll.”

”I really have urgent business right now. I’ll take you out later!” Ye Qing tossed back, quickly dodged around Old Chen, and ran outside. He didn’t dare waste another word with Old Chen. If he kept talking, he definitely wouldn’t be able to leave. And Old Chen looked like a man in his seventies or eighties; even though Ye Qing was very annoyed with him, he didn’t dare so much as flick a finger at him, afraid he’d flick the old guy to death.

Old Chen didn’t chase after Ye Qing. Instead, he stood at the stairway, watching Ye Qing walk away, a strange smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. In fact, his eyes weren’t fixed on Ye Qing, but on Ye Qing’s right wrist—on that bracelet of the Taoist Sovereign which was slowly shining with Qing Mang light!

Ye Qing hurried out of his own courtyard, first going to find Wen’er and her mother and having the two of them hide for now. Next, many people would be coming to this manor of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, and there would definitely be some searching for those who had gone into the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master with Ye Qing before. In this situation, having Wen’er and her mother hide could save a lot of trouble.

After settling Wen’er and her mother, Ye Qing rushed off to Fu Qingping’s courtyard.

At this moment, Fu Qingping was sitting in the courtyard drinking tea. Seeing Ye Qing hurry in, he put down his teacup and said, ”The people who went to Chatiang Peak are back?”

Fu Qingping was also a very astute man. Seeing Ye Qing like this, he had already guessed what had happened.

”Yeah.” Ye Qing walked to the table and sat down, sighed, and said, ”Not only are they back, but the situation is very troublesome!”

”Trouble is only to be expected!” Fu Qingping said. ”After all, the things in the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master are bound to attract the attention of everyone in the Jianghu. So many hidden Peak Masters all want a chance to extend their lives. They’re all convinced that the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master holds an opportunity for longevity, so of course they’re not willing to miss it. They’ll definitely unite against us and force us to hand over what’s in the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master!”

Fu Qingping’s guess about the situation at Chatiang Peak was more or less on point, and it matched Ye Qing’s earlier guesses as well. But this still wasn’t what truly worried Ye Qing.

Ye Qing sighed, then told Fu Qingping everything about the Sword Saint Sect in full detail. It was obvious that when Fu Qingping heard about the Sword Saint Sect, even his expression changed. It could be seen that he also had some fear of the Sword Saint Sect.

Ye Qing had been watching Fu Qingping’s expression. Seeing Fu Qingping’s face change, he too began to worry. It seemed Helian Tiehua was right—Fu Qingping also couldn’t afford to provoke the Sword Saint Sect. Just how powerful was this Sword Saint Sect, that even Fu Qingping didn’t dare cross them?

”Master Ancestor, what exactly is the origin of this Sword Saint Sect?” Ye Qing asked in a low voice. Right now he just didn’t understand the background of the Sword Saint Sect, so he had no idea how to handle the matter.

”Ai!” Fu Qingping let out a desolate sigh and said in a deep voice, ”I really didn’t expect the Sword Saint Sect to get dragged into this as well. Ai, looks like the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master and the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates have brought out far too many people!”

”Is the Sword Saint Sect really that powerful?” Ye Qing asked in surprise. From the way Fu Qingping spoke, he had a bad feeling in his gut.

”Powerful doesn’t even begin to describe the Sword Saint Sect!” Fu Qingping gave a bitter smile and said, ”Let me put it this way: if the people of the Sword Saint Sect were willing, they could slay the Corpse Ghost Dragon any time they wanted!”

”What?” Ye Qing was stunned. To slay the Corpse Ghost Dragon—how terrifying must that power be? Ye Qing had done it using the power of the Buddha’s Relic; could it be that someone in the Sword Saint Sect was even stronger than the Corpse Ghost Dragon?

”I’m talking about the Corpse Ghost Dragon at its peak!” Fu Qingping slowly added that line.

Ye Qing was shaken again, his expression almost frozen. That sentence and the one just now were two completely different concepts.

The Corpse Ghost Dragon he had killed with the Buddha’s Relic had not even recovered thirty percent of its strength. But what Fu Qingping was talking about was slaying the Corpse Ghost Dragon at its peak; the gap between the two was enormous. Could the people of the Sword Saint Sect really be that strong?

”If the Sword Saint Sect is so powerful, why have I never heard of them before?” Ye Qing asked in puzzlement.

”Because they rarely step into the Jianghu.” Fu Qingping said, ”I’ve lived almost one hundred and fifty years, and I’ve only heard about the Sword Saint Sect twice. The first time was a hundred years ago, and the second time is this time!”

”A hundred years ago?” Ye Qing stared at Fu Qingping in astonishment. Fu Qingping slowly nodded and said, ”That’s right, a hundred years ago. Which means people of the Sword Saint Sect might not show up even once in one hundred years!”

”Then where are they usually?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

”People from the Sword Saint Sect seldom appear. No one knows where they are, and no one knows what they do. It’s as if they’re cut off from this world, with no ties to the outside at all. However…” Fu Qingping took a deep breath and said, ”Every generation of the Sword Saint Sect who steps into the Jianghu has terrifying strength. Especially the Sect Leader of the Sword Saint Sect—their power defies the heavens!”