Chapter 249 (1/2)
”How did you manage to shoot those Horse Gang that night?”
”It's simple. I used my Psyche Power to determine their positions in the dark.”
”How did you make sure you would wound them considerably?”
”I used my Psyche Power.”
”They were so far away. How did you manage that?”
”That's because my Psyche Power is strong.”
”But... your potential for cultivation is not great. You aren't able to control much of the Qi of Heaven and Earth.”
”A needle might not be as strong as a knife, but it can still pierce a person's skin.”
”That's such an odd way of thinking. Furthermore... don't you think it's such a waste to use this method in a fight? You have to use your Psyche Power to determine the position of your opponents and you still have to gauge their silhouettes. You'll drain your Psyche Power in the sense of perception too quickly.”
”As I've said before, my Psyche Power is strong.”
”Have you thought of becoming a great Psyche Master?”
”No.”
”Why not?”
”Because I am a genius in Talisman Taoism. I want to become a Talisman Master like you.”
”You didn't use a talisman that night when you killed the deacon of Divine Hall.”
”I am accustomed to using my knife. There is a talisman carved on my knife.”
”Your method of fighting is really different from other cultivators.”
”I am a genius. Of course, I would take an unusual path.”
”But why do I feel that you were forced to make this decision.”
”My pride is injured by you once again.”
”I do not know how to lie.”
”That is why you were able to injure me.”
”Do you feel the high levels of Qi of Heaven and Earth in this forest?”
”Yes, a little.”
”You seem to be rarely aware of the aura of Heaven and Earth around you.”
”I care more about the aura in my own body.”
These were the kinds of conversation between Ning Que and Mo Shanshan all the way from the peak of the snow cliffs in the Wilderness to the bottom of Cang Mountain. Sometimes, Ning Que would feel as though he was back in the Back Mountain of the Academy or in the old library, talking to the annoying Chen Pipi who could not stop spewing nonsense.
What he considered nonsense was very important to Mo Shanshan though. The young talent who was addicted to calligraphy and talisman could understand Ning Que's methods in cultivation better through their conversations. Her expression got more and more worried, frustrated and lost as the two approached the Snow-capped Peak of the Tianqi Mountain.
The two rested beside a hot spring stream. Ning Que looked at her slightly hooded lids and the long lashes on her pale white skin. He thought of the changes in her emotions as they journeyed and could no longer suppress the curiosity within him. He asked seriously, ”What are you worried about?”
Mo Shanshan lifted her head and looked at Ning Que silently as if he was a sparkling jewel about to be buried in a sandstorm. Her eyes were filled with worry as she said softly, ”I am worried that you will join the Devil.”
Ning Que was startled, and then, he smiled.
Due to the combination of having been influenced by novels in the other world, life experience in this world as well as the jovial atmosphere in the Academy, he had indeed found it hard to feel any disgust for the Devil's Doctrine. However, he was also a practical person. He knew that there was no sin in thinking, but if he were to cultivate the Devil's Doctrine's arts, he would attract a lot of trouble.
He smiled, ”I am a core disciple of the Headmaster of the Academy. I will not be like those poor souls who are unable to retaliate after having been shamed and trod on. Unlike them, I will not sell my soul to the devil for power.”
Mo Shanshan looked at his clean and adorable face silently. She thought of what she had seen and heard throughout the journey and was certain that he was a person who would do anything to reach his goals. She could not sense an ounce of respect for Haotian in him. The method of cultivation he had chosen pa.s.sively or impa.s.sively placed emphasis on his physical skills and lacked communication with the Breath of nature. If he continued on this way, it would be easy for him to go astray.
This was especially so now that he was getting closer and closer to the mountain ranges abandoned by Haotian.
Mo Shanshan lifted some snow by the hot spring and blew it. She stared at the black and white mountain ranges not far away. After a moment of silence, she said, ”Will you promise me something?”
Ning Que asked, ”What is it?”
Mo Shanshan turned around and looked at him. She said seriously, ”If we encounter any arts from the Devil's Doctrine, please do not learn them.”
Ning Que could not help but be surprised when he heard that. He looked at the desolate mountain ranges that hung between Heaven and Earth as he wondered. He had heard about someone from the Divine Hall entering this mountain from the Desolate Man tribe and guessed that it had something to do with the Tomes of Arcane. But why would Mo Shanshan mention about the arts of the Devil's Doctrine suddenly?
Mo Shanshan blinked and said softly, ”The Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine is within this mountain range abandoned by Haotian. The mountain is large. Other than the sublime being who destroyed the Front Gate, not many people know of its existence.”
Ning Que's shock gradually dissipated. He frowned at the mountain and said after a pause. ”I did not know about this. No one told me about it.”
”The information from the Desolate Man tribe stated clearly that the people from Divine Hall created trouble in the Wilderness in order to attract attention from the powerhouses and senior statesman of the Divine Hall. The true powerhouses of the Divine Hall have all infiltrated this mountain.”
”News from Chang'an say that the Divine Hall is searching for the Tomes of Arcane and they think that the Desolate Man tribe have it. I wonder why they have entered the mountain then.”
He retracted his gaze and looked at Mo Shanshan with furrowed brows. ”If the Divine Hall think that the Tomes of Arcane is within the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine, and they have always been within the Tianqi Mountain, why did the Divine Hall not come in search of the Tomes of Arcane before this then? Why would they only come when the Desolate Man have moved southwards?”
Mo Shanshan shook her head. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears and said, ”It is the will of heaven for supermundane items such as the ”Ming” Handscroll from the Tomes of Arcane to appear in the world. We cannot understand or guess this Lucky Chance. But in my opinion, the probability of the Tomes of Arcane being in the Desolate Man tribe is not as high as it appears in the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine.
Ning Que asked, ”Why”
Mo Shanshan answered, ”Because items like the Tomes of Arcane should belong to the Unknown Place.”
Their conversations in the forest at the foot of the mountain surprised Ning Que constantly. A hazy memory of a mention of the Unknown Place floated in his mind, but he could not remember it clearly.
He asked solemnly, ”What is the Unknown Place?”
Mo Shanshan was shocked. She realized that he was not joking and answered gravely, ”It's a place where people cannot go.”
Ning Que rubbed his forehead and said helplessly, ”Can you explain further?”
Mo Shanshan looked at him with furrowed brows as if she was looking at a very odd tree. After a moment, she continued, ”The Unknown Place are mysterious lands outside of the secular world. It is rare for people to see these places with their own eyes. People who have entered the place will not talk about it either. That is why there are only rumors of the Unknown Place floating about in the cultivation world after thousands of years.”
Ning Que asked confusedly, ”If the Divine Hall is an Unknown Place, then the Devil's Doctrine is a branch of the Divine Hall in my opinion. Why would it's Front Gate be considered an Unknown Place?”
Mo Shanshan answered his question grimly, ”I asked my teacher the same question when I was little. According to the teacher, it is because the Great Divine Priest of Light who started the Devil's Doctrine had already become a devil that had gone beyond five states when he started the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine. That is why.
”Beyond Five States?”
Ning Que thought of the sage that Lyu Qingchen mentioned as well as the terrifying states of Tianqi and No Rules and could not help but felt his heart waver. He felt that one probably shouldn't get near to that Unknown Place.
”Other than the abandoned Devil's Doctrine's Front Gate, I believe that there are other powerhouses who have gone beyond the five states in the Unknown Place. It is just that there aren't a lot of them and they don't appear in our realm. Only a young apprentice would enter the human realm every few years or so and they'd be called a World Wayfarer. Once these World Wayfarers enter the human realm, they would be Grand Cultivators in the Knowing Destiny State. Even Liu Bai, the Sage of Sword from the South Jin Kingdom would fear them.”
Mo Shanshan looked at Ning Que with conflicting emotions in her eyes. The message that her eyes gave off was that the world she had seen with her own eyes were different from what she had just talked about. She did not believe it.
Ning Que did not notice that. He ruminated over the shocking news that had just been shed about the cultivation world. He thought about his daily life in the Back Mountain of the Academy and was rather annoyed that Second Brother, Third Sister, and Chen Pipi didn't even mention something so important to him.
He frowned and said, ”If something like the Tomes of Arcane can only exist in an Unknown Place, those who are able to steal the Tomes should be the World Wayfarers from the Unknown Place. I thought that the compet.i.tion was just people of the Tao Addict or Long Qing's caliber and that I had a chance. But if we meet Grand Cultivators in the Knowing Destiny State, we have no chance against them.”
Due to some reasons, Mo Shanshan felt that she could not understand what the lad was trying to say. Her brows looked tightened as though they were drawn with ink. ”What exactly are you thinking about?
Ning Que answered earnestly and honestly, ”I was thinking if we should return to the south immediately. If you are unhappy, I can invite you to Chang'an and treat you to Osmanthus Cake.”