Stranger Danger

Chapter 1132: Somehow Made It

“Argh!”

Ghost Taisui felt as if he was being ground into flour inside a millstone. The green flame wasn’t just burning him, it made him feel like he was being frozen, cut, and smashed all at the same time. It was a kind of pain that he could not even imagine or describe.

“Argh… it hurts, it hurts! Mercy, senior! Mercy…”

Just a few breaths later, Ghost Taisui broke and begged at the top of his lungs.

“Dare you betray me again, fool ghost?” The man’s voice asked coldly.

“No! I won’t betray you again, so please…” Ghost Taisui begged.

“Hmph.”

Almost as if the man’s voice was making a point, the green flame would continue to burn for another dozen or so breaths before it finally extinguished. The mysterious restriction also faded into nothing.

“This is just a small punishment. Betray me again, and I will teach you the true meaning of fate worse than death.”

“I won’t! I won’t!” Ghost Taisui hurriedly promised.

“I thought so.” The man’s voice scoffed. “By now, you should have figured out who I am.”

Ghost Taisui replied affirmatively, “You are a celestial of Kunlun, senior.”

“That is correct.” The man’s voice said slowly and arrogantly, “I am the lord of Kunlun and ruler of all celestials. From now on, you will address me as Imperial Lord!”

“Yes, Imperial Lord,” Ghost Taisui replied respectfully.

“Very good.” The man—Xuanyuan Kun—slowly took shape inside Ghost Taisui’s mind before saying, “It is your honor to be able to serve me. If I am not down on my luck right now, I would have crushed a filthy ant who practices the Way of the Ghost like you a long time ago, understand?”

“Yes! Yes!” Ghost Taisui hurriedly nodded. “This old slave swears to serve you faithfully and with all my heart, Imperial Lord!”

“Very good,” Xuanyuan Kun replied with satisfaction. “Don’t worry. I will treat you well so long as you are loyal to me.”

“I will teach you the unparalleled arts of Kunlun, aid you in attaining perfection in your Way, and become Immortal.”

“Thank you, Imperial Lord. This old slave will spare no effort to fulfill your wishes. If my life is necessary to achieve your grand plans, then this old slave will offer it up without any hesitation whatsoever!”

Ghost Taisui perked up when he heard Xuanyuan Kun’s promise. Assuming that the celestial truly taught him the celestial arts and aided him in becoming Immortal, then he did not mind becoming a slave.

After all, that was the entire point of practicing martial arts, wasn’t it? To become Immortal and powerful above all rules and restrictions?

Besides that, he was nearing the end of his lifespan. Although the cultivation art he practiced boasted the ability to extend his lifespan, the Heavenly Way was fair to everyone. It ensured that one must give up something in order to obtain something, and it placed a limit on anything and everything. Just as there was no such thing as a power glitch that one could exploit infinitely to obtain infinite power, he could no longer extend his lifespan any longer than it already was. Unless he stumbled upon a life-changing opportunity or something, he would run out of lifespan and pass away in less than nine years.

Now, that opportunity had appeared before him.

Although the dream of becoming free and unfettered was dead in the water, he could still become Immortal and live forever. It was a compromise he was willing to make.

Besides, anything was possible so long as one was still breathing. Who could say that he couldn’t attain both freedom and immortality in the future?

“Very good. Now, I have a task for you!” Xuanyuan Kun declared.

“Your orders, Imperial Lord!” Ghost Taisui answered.

“You will mobilize every man and woman you have and locate the man who grievously injured you with the Earthly Sovereign Bell in the shortest time possible. I believe that his moniker is Joyless Ye,” Xuanyuan Kun said.

“As you comm—wait, did you say the Earthly Sovereign Bell?

“What else besides the Earthly Sovereign Bell could possess so much power?” Xuanyuan Kun said coldly.

“No wonder it managed to hurt me this badly.” Ghost Taisui exclaimed in realization before asking, “Why are you seeking him out, Imperial Lord?”

“Do not ask questions. Simply fulfill your orders,” Xuanyuan Kun ordered imperiously.

“Y-Yes! Forgive this old slave’s mouth!” Ghost Taisui replied fearfully.

“Remember, I want him alive. He must not die no matter what,” Xuanyuan Kun emphasized.

“As you wish, Imperial Lord!” Ghost Taisui answered. “This old slave will message my Taisui Mountain and order everyone to seek out Joyless Ye immediately. We will definitely capture him in the shortest amount of time possible and present him to you!”

“I hope so.”

Xuanyuan Kun lifted his head and gazed into the distance. He then muttered under his breath, “I will find you. You are mine. You are mine. You cannot escape…”

……

Boom!

A ray of golden light suddenly descended from above and crashed into a snowy peak.

The collision was such that the snowy peak snapped in half, and the snow mixed with rocks flooded toward the bottom. It quickly formed a gigantic avalanche that looked like it could destroy anything and everything.

Luckily, the avalanche had taken place at a no man’s land. Otherwise, it would have taken countless lives.

“Are you alright, brother?”

Somewhere in the middle of the mountain, an old Taoist was crouching next to a young man who was covered in blood and breathing weakly. His voice was tinged with urgency and terror as he said, “You cannot die, brother! Look at this god forsaken place! How do you expect me to survive this frozen hell without you?”

“If you must die, brother, at least leave your Earthly Sovereign Bell and your treasures to me.”

Finally, the blood-soaked man opened his eyes and let out a weak cough. “Cough… cough… I see you are more concerned for my treasures than my life, you bastard.”

“Hahaha! I knew a cockroach like you wouldn’t pass away like this, brother!” The old Taoist was so overjoyed that he could not stop shaking the young man for a time.

“Cough! Gentler, you bastard. You’re going to shake me to death at this rate,” the young man complained in a helpless voice.

“Oh! Sorry, sorry. I got a little too excited there.”

The old Taoist apologized before slowly lifting the young man to a sitting position. After placing his back against a rock, he asked, “So? How are you doing?”

“I’m okay. I’ll be fine after a moment of rest,” the young man replied weakly.

“Good, good.” The old Taoist heaved out a huge sigh of relief before laughing like a madman, “We got insanely lucky back then, eh grandson? Hahaha! Hahahaha!”

“Who the hell are you calling your grandson? Stop messing with your brother in need, dammit.”

The young man rolled his eyes at the old Taoist, but he was wearing the same look of sheer relief. “But yeah. We got lucky.”

The old Taoist and the young man were Yi Pin and Ye Qing, of course.

In fact, they were quite lucky.

Forget about their experience in the Kunlun Ruins, their narrow escape earlier was harrowing enough.

If Lady Luck hadn’t favored them today, the Sages would have annihilated their ass already.

Of course, luck wasn’t all of it. In fact, Ye Qing’s unpredictable action was the main reason they had survived.

Xiahou Zun and the other Sages had wanted to kill them. It was a lineup that even another Sage would have found difficult to escape from, much less weaklings like them. Therefore, their only chance lay in doing the unthinkable and muddying the waters.

Doing the unthinkable here meant catching the four Sages by surprise. They had no idea who he was and believed him to be a small fry that they could wipe out as they pleased. That was a weakness he could exploit to his advantage.

Muddying the waters meant changing what was a one-sided fight into an even one. He and Yi Pin had no chance of escaping so long as the four Sages were still in control of the battle, so he needed to ruin their advantage somehow and give Xuanyuan Kun a fighting chance.

So, Ye Qing concocted a plan. He would summon the Earthly Sovereign Bell when the time was right and give the four Sages a big surprise. This would ruin the chokehold the Sages held against Xuanyuan Kun and give him the chance to launch a devastating counterattack against them. While both sides struggled for control and dominance, he and Yi Pin would slip away.