Chapter 325: Inheritance of the Big Dipper
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
“Make a deal with me?”
Darting a glance at Mo Yinyang, Zhou Bao showed no hints of emotion on his face as he said, “What kind of deal do you want to make with me?”
“I know that you have unfathomable power with continuous hidden advantages, but the assassins that come from the Li dynasty also have some real power, especially Ye Qingtian. Though the cultivation and combat capability of that guy isn’t as good as yours, he is still not easy to deal with!”
“I’m not going to joke around with my life. If you are just trying using this message to make a deal with me, then I need to know what exactly is it that you really want!”
“I do want to make a deal with you with some information, but more than just this. I will tell you the exact time and location that they want to confront you so you can be prepared and even have a chance to defeat them. As for the thing that I want, you don’t have it, but they have it. I want a Taiyuan Token!”
“A Taiyuan Token?” Zhou Bao whispered to himself, “I don’t even know you, so why should I trust you? What if you are a scout or bait that they sent?”
“I am one of the assassins that were hired by the Third Prince, but the reason I joined up is for a Taiyuan Token, not because I am your enemy. If you don’t believe me, I can make a Great Vow of the Heart Demon. I am a member of the Dark Sect, Great Vow of the Heart Demon…!”
“I know you are practicing the cultivation method of the Jade Toad Clan of the Ancient Dark Sect, which is enough. Make a Great Vow of the Heart Demon and I will believe you!”
Hearing Zhou Bao’s words, Mo Yinyang’s eyes flashed. Without anything further to say, he made a Great Vow of the Heart Demon in front of Zhou Bao immediately. Hearing his oath, Zhou Bao’s expression seemed to have become a bit milder at this moment.
“All right, now you can tell me. Where will they try to assassinate me?”
“On your way back to your territory. They know that you are here and considering this is the territory of the Jin and you are an earl of the Jin, they wouldn’t blatantly go against you, so they have a good plan to assassinate you on your way to your territory. No one would notice it!”
“That surely is a good idea. It is a long way from Yunzhou to my territory, desolate with no inhabitants. There are a bunch of families and servants with me so it is a really good chance for them to do it!” Zhou Bao’s eyes became cold and fierce. “Will you also go against me then?”
“Absolutely not, I will never go back now that I have left them, besides, they also wouldn’t allow me to come back. But they would never get the idea that I would come to find you!”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
“Because no one knows that the Taiyuan Token is with Ye Qingtian except for me. As far as they are concerned, I have no reason to betray them. As for why I left suddenly, they would never ask about that. The Dark Sect emphasizes a freewheeling lifestyle and doesn’t pay much attention to it.”
“That is hard to say. If I were one of you, I would certainly be suspicious!” Zhou Bao shook his head as he spoke. Nothing was really easy in this world, especially something surreptitious like an assassination. And suddenly, one of the assassins had disappeared and was nowhere to be found. Therefore, the assassination plan should definitely have changed no matter how deliberate it was, which was just basic common sense. Zhou Bao did not believe that assassins from the Li dynasty did not know common sense like that, and if they did not get it, the Third Prince of the Li dynasty just hired a bunch of inferiors. So in the view of Zhou Bao, Mo Yinyang’s explanation was not sufficient.
“I know. Not only you, but I would also do exactly the same thing to change the plan. But they won’t at this time, even though the plan isn’t thorough at all. The one who made this plan is Ye Qingtian and he is a man with a combat capability over Level Nine and has obtained Divine Fate at a young age. Because of that, he is super arrogant and overbearing and will not allow anyone to disobey him. His intention is to confront you by himself. As for the others, they will just be used to make a formation. Even if I, or every one of his subordinates, ran away, he would still wait for you at the planned location.”
“He has personality.” Looking at Mo Yinyang and considering that he would not lie about it since he made a Great Vow of the Heart Demon, Zhou Bao nodded and said, “What about the Taiyuan Token? What is it?”
“The Taiyuan Token is the road-leading token to enter Taiyuan Heaven, and Taiyuan Heaven is one of the most famous micro worlds from antiquity times!” Mo Yinyang said, “You should know, the antiquity times…”
“I know!” Zhou Bao interrupted Mo Yinyang once again. “Taiyuan Heaven is said to be the vastest and holiest of the 33 Heavens. And what? Can we just enter it with a Taiyuan Token?”
“So you know about the 33 Heavens from antiquity times!” Mo Yinyang felt surprised. He was the Holy Son of the Jade Toad Sect with a high status in the Jade Toad Sect of the Dark Sect, while the Jade Toad Sect was one of the most powerful schools to have access to these covert things from antiquity times, which was why he had had the chance to access it.
But what about Zhou Bao? He did not even know about the connection between the authorities of the Li and Jin dynasties, which apparently showed him a man with the Fate of the Immortal and had practiced from grassroots to the present phase. Normally, those like him had strong power but lacked a sufficient recognition of the world.
It shattered his preconceptions about Zhou Bao because Zhou Bao knew not only about the 33 Heavens, but also the so-called vastest and the holiest micro world of 33 Heavens, which was information that was not commonly known at all.
“It seems that those guys were correct and there is a strong backer behind Zhou Bao, but exactly who is still unknown. Maybe he is a secretly trained talent from an organization, so he knows so many covert things from antiquity times!” Mo Yinyang sighed to himself. Just raising his head a bit then, Mo Yinyang saw Zhou Bao’s playful eyes, and suddenly his heart fiercely stagnated. “Taiyuan Heaven would come out every other thousand years. With a Taiyuan Token, you could get a chance to go to Taiyuan Heaven. The treasure of heaven and earth and the pneuma of Taiyuan Heaven couldn’t be compared to those at present. For 50,000 years, 99% of those who survived from Taiyuan Heaven had succeeded in stepping into the Mysterious Realm. So this is a chance for everyone. And I joined the assassin group for the Taiyuan Token.”
“According to what you’ve said, Ye Qingtian is so fierce that you have no chance at all, even though you have reached the Expert Realm!”
“That is why I came here for you. Prestige comes with danger. If I don’t take a chance and risk it, then how can I succeed? Because if I don’t enter Taiyuan Heaven, I can only achieve Level Nine with my aptitude, even if I practice until my death. I have to fight to make progress.”
“All right, in that case, I will make a deal with you, but the deal won’t be like what you imagine. Ye Qingtian is trying to offend me, and I won’t be courteous to him. But if he is powerful and over Level Nine, I don’t have the confidence to take him down, either. So, I am not sure that I will eventually be able to get that Taiyuan Token.”
“That’s not a problem. Ye Qingtian is erratic like he is the biggest character in the world. Now that he has come to find you himself, he won’t leave without defeating you or being defeated.”
“Isn’t he afraid of death?”
“He doesn’t think that he’ll die!” Thinking of Ye Qingtian, the corners of Mo Yinyang’s mouth twisted. “This guy has the Fate of the Immortal, even an expert in the Mysterious Realm can’t kill him!”
“Humph!” Hearing this, Zhou Bao sneered. Without any further words, he now believed Mo Yinyang. He knew something about that Ye Qingtian. There were not many men like him in the world, but they did exist.
“How much do you know about Ye Qingtian? He must have fought against others in the past now that he has such a strong combat capability. What is he good at?”
“Ye Qingtian is a legend in the Li dynasty. He was once a disciple of a small sect. In this small sect, the highest cultivation was no more than Level Seven. When he was 16, this small sect was besieged by others and was about to be slaughtered. As a normal disciple of the sect, Ye Qingtian suddenly fought back and showed his combat capability at the peak of Level Eight along with his extraordinary power, killing all the enemies of the sect. He has always been a winner since then. Half a year ago, when he fought with five Elders at Level Nine of the Star River Ashram, he won with only a minor injury, killing two and badly hurting three others. That was when his reputation reached its peak. Now he is an assistant of the Third Prince and also the most powerful hatchet man in combat capability, and as for his advantages…” Mo Yinyang smiled wryly. “Generally, Ye Qingtian fights against others with his bare hands. His Internal Qi is also immense. I have no idea how he gets it. He has one Pure Yang Celestial Device that was eventually used as a celestial device to fight with those five Level Nine Elders of the Star River Ashra. It’s said that it is a golden ruler.”
“That’s it?”
Zhou Bao was dissatisfied with the information, but the embarrassing expression on Mo Yinyang’s face showed that he had already told him all that he knew.
“All right, such being the case, that’s it. Thank you for giving me this information. I will give you the Taiyuan Token as long as I’m able to get it.”
“Many thanks for that.” Putting his fist into his other palm, Mo Yinyang’s gloomy face looked a bit blissful. “I will leave now and expect good news from you!”
After finishing these words, his body darkened into a wisp of smoke and disappeared.
“Green Spirit, what on earth was the Kung Fu that he used to turn himself into a wisp of smoke?”
“That is an escaping skill that belongs to one of the 3,000 Small Powers. I thought that it had disappeared since nobody has used it after I showed up. It seems that the inheritance of 3,000 Small Powers is in the Li dynasty!”
“What do you think about Taiyuan Heaven? Can a Taiyuan Token really usher you into Taiyuan Heaven?”
“I don’t know about that. Taiyuan Heaven is one of the 33 Heavens. In antiquity times, the 33 Heavens basically belonged to others, so you had to get permission from its owner if you wanted to enter it. And as so many years have passed by, Azure Heaven has turned into another appearance. So of course, I don’t know what Taiyuan Heaven has turned into!”
“So, is Taiyuan Heaven worth going to?”
“What? Do you want to enter it?”
“You have seen what Azure Heaven looks like. These microworlds from antiquity times really are treasures, so I would definitely try if I had the chance!”
“Taiyuan Heaven is vast and holy and belonged to Emperor Wanluo in antiquity times, where it was not open to outsiders. But I heard that there were many magic herbs and spiritual creatures inside with abundant pneuma. Meanwhile, there were some weird things there. But all of that is hearsay. I never entered before so I can’t attest to what the real situation is like. If you want to know the specifics, you can just enter it and see. It won’t hurt. Do you want to go back on your promise of giving the Taiyuan Token to Mo Yinyang?”
“I don’t intend to withdraw my promise,” Zhou Bao said with a smile, “but I don’t believe that there is only one who is allowed to enter Taiyuan Heaven with a Taiyuan Token. You have seen what Azure Secret Area is like, once the gateway is open, the accepted amount is limitless, so I believe that Mo Yinyang won’t refuse my company if I help him to get a Taiyuan Token.”
“That is a damn good plan!” Green Spirit scolded in a low voice.
“All right, cut out this chitchat and let’s just arrange these things before us. Why not give them a surprise since they are trying to make trouble for me?” Zhou Bao’s vision became piercingly cold. “This time, I must be well-prepared since they will try to hold me up on my way back. After all, there are others, like Yunfei, along with me. It is kind of troubling, but I can solve it.”
“Now, What are you going to do?”
“I will absolutely go there to see what they are capable of since I know that they will come after me. But I won’t take others, like Yunfei, with me. Besides, even though they are staying here, they still need protection. I will contact Wang She and ask for his help. With his help, those guys from the Li dynasty will definitely fail no matter how good they are!”
“Are you so confident with that guy?”
“The hidden advantages of Wang She might be stronger than ours. That guy loves to hide and always plans in advance. He wouldn’t suffer a defeat!” Zhou Bao said, “I will arrange for others to go with me in order to lower their guard!”
“Um, that is a nice idea. But you must be careful about Ye Qingtian. What if he is also someone with great luck like you? His cultivation is over Level Nine at an age of no more than 20. Hey, that was rare even in my era. I would be the first one to not believe it if I was told that he didn’t have great luck!”
“Don’t worry, I am the one fearing death, so I will take it carefully!” Zhou Bao nodded.
…
…
At noon, three days later.
In front of the Grand Mansion Gate of the Zhou family in Qingyang Market, it was noisy with the hubbub of voices and extremely busy.
A bunch of people from the Zhou family came out from their big house, which caused a crowd of Qingyang Market to gather. It seemed that Zhou Bao would go back to his territory in the northwest with his wife, the princess.
The princess had gotten married, and especially, the favorite daughter of the emperor had gotten married. All of the corresponding etiquette and standards were supreme. Therefore, the dowry alone had installed 20 big carts. And the servants, eunuchs, and maids granted by the Imperial Court had reached four to five hundred in total. Of course, all of these people would not go to Zhou Bao’s territory at one time. In fact, some of them would be on their way to Zhou Bao’s territory already in order to make preparations for Zhou Bao and Yan Yunfei’s arrival.
The people who set off together would only be about 100 this time and they would take care of Yan Yunfei and Zhou Bao along the way, which was an established practice and was a so-called ritual that could not be abolished.
Because all kinds of trifles needed to be arranged in advance, they went out after breakfast. It was not prepared until the afternoon. Then they started moving toward the northwest. Over 10 big carts and almost 100 people went toward the west in a grandiose fashion.
There was not one accident on the first day, nor on the second day. Everything seemed peaceful over the following days until the 10th day, when the fleet had just arrived at a place over 500 miles away from Dragon-pressing River. And it was exactly at that time that Zhou Bao, the poker-faced man riding on a horse, finally smiled.
That was because the assassins were already here.
Pulling on the bridle, Zhou Bao beckoned the fleet to stop.
A slender man in white stood in front of the road with a gentle face, full of mystery. Putting his hands behind him, he glared at the fleet from a long distance as if the mystery of the world was engulfed in his deep and profound eyes. Anyone with a weak spirit would fall into it with one simple glance.
Zhou Bao’s eyes were born to possess Divine Sense and were immune to the eccentric eyes, so he did not get affected. But those who came with him were different. Although it was far away, they were still enchanted by his fantastical eyes, just standing there stupidly with their eyes becoming blank.
“It shouldn’t be like this. Something is wrong, the spirit of this guy isn’t right!” The psywave of Green Spirit passed on to him at that moment. “Why is this guy’s Qi so eccentric?”
“Do you feel something?”
“It is kind of familiar to me. I am sure it is extremely dangerous!” The psywave of Green Spirit was full of discretion and doubt. “Boy, be careful. This guy must have the inheritance from one of the great emperors of antiquity times. That is why he made me feel that he is dangerous. I went to a meeting of the Heavenly Court once in antiquity times, and some great emperors with excellent cultivation attended as well. The spirit of one of them is similar to that of this guy. But I was not qualified to meet that influential great emperor at that time, therefore I can’t offer a judgment about whom this guy has inherited from!”
“Does such a place like the Ancient Celestial Court really exist?”
“There was a Heavenly Court in antiquity times just like now. Otherwise, how would someone belong to the current Heavenly Court?” Green Spirit smiled coldly and said, “But you should be careful if this guy really has inherited something from the Great Ancient Emperor. He might have a fairy weapon besides the Pure Yang Celestial Device!”
“A fairy weapon? Crazy! Then what should I do now?”
“Don’t worry about it. His cultivation isn’t high enough to control a fairy weapon!”
Zhou Bao gradually calmed down upon hearing this.
“Are you Zhou Bao?” Staring at Zhou Bao in the distance, Ye Qingtian suddenly interrupted the communication between Zhou Bao and Green Spirit. “No wonder you have a high cultivation at such a young age. It turns out that you have a Demon Spirit from antiquity times!”
“Good judgment!” Zhou Bao’s eyes flashed. Let alone a Level Nine expert like Wang She, experts in the Mysterious Realm from the Mingyi School, did not know that he had Green Spirit. But Ye Qingtian discovered that with just one simple glance, so he did have a kind of excellent ability.
“Humph, I don’t know how many people this Demon Spirit has killed from antiquity times to be able to survive until now. Zhou Bao, hand it over to me and let me destroy it, and I will let you live!”
“What?” At first, Zhou Bao thought that he had heard him wrong and was momentarily distracted. Then, he stared at that guy in white named Ye Qingtian, blinking his eyes fiercely and laughed suddenly. “Where does this lunatic come from? You have a lot of nerve to act drunk in front of me. Just leave quickly, otherwise, you will get yourself killed!”
“Oh, this damn kid is so disgusting just like those guys at that time. Sh*t, boy, beat him and maliciously kill him!”
Green Spirit was infuriated, the psywave transmitted to Zhou Bao’s mind was turbulent like a wave. “Boy, go and kill him. I will tell you the method of cultivating spirit so that you can refine your Poisonous Hitching Post. Damn, this guy deserves to die. Destroy his spirit, eliminate his theory, and leave him no chance to live forever!”
Zhou Bao rolled his eyes and a thread of a smile flashed at the corners of his mouth as he said to Ye Qingtian, “Why are you still here? Do you really want me to kill you!”
Ye Qingtian smiled as well. Although these two were different in age, personality, and the way that they behaved, they had one thing in common, which was confidence. They were both very confident and believed they could overcome any obstacle in front of them, even though the adversary was at same level as themselves.
“Zhou Bao of Yunzhou, you are really deserving of your reputation. I didn’t believe it when I heard that you fought with the Mingyi School alone, but now it seems it is the truth. Even though you are still not my match, if you just give me the Demon Spirit, then maybe I can let you go!”
“Humph. I know that you have inherited something from the Great Ancient Emperor and fought against five Level Nine experts of the Star River Ashram alone, but does that mean something? You wouldn’t be my match until you step into the Mysterious Realm. Do you really think that you are invincible because you have an inheritance from the Great Ancient Emperor?” Zhou Bao sneered.
“Is that so?” Ye Qingtian’s smile was withdrawn. An enormous spirit emanated from his body and then the essence of the world around became agitated like a monstrous wave above the sea.
“How splendid the Internal Qi is!” Zhou Bao frowned and his expression became strange.
The Internal Qi that erupted from Ye Qingtian surprised him, but that was it.
“It seems that he also knows how to practice acupoints and possesses more than one acupoints, but not much more. Except for Dantian, he just has practiced two acupoints. And those two acupoints are already much better than ordinary people’s.”
“Damn, I know who he inherits from—the Big Dipper Emperor. If I am not mistaken, he has practiced three of the Seven Apertures of the Big Dipper and has hidden his strength, so maybe he has practiced four acupoints, and even all the Seven Apertures of the Big Dipper are open. But it doesn’t matter, it is no big deal even if he has practiced all Seven Apertures of the Big Dipper. Your Real Dragon’s Nine Acupoints are two acupoints more than his. Besides, your Internal Qi’s quality isn’t worse than his. Wait! His Internal Qi…!”
Green Spirit became shocked suddenly as if he had felt the strangeness of Ye Qingtian’s Internal Qi. Then, he shouted weirdly, “The Star River Essential Qi, it is the Star River Essential Qi. Boy, be careful, the quality of his Internal Qi isn’t worse than yours, and your Real Essence’s quality seems equal. You do have a real adversary today!”