Stranger Danger

“Phew… good job.”

Ye Qing let out a small sigh of relief and smiled. Although the chapter only mentioned the Kunlun Ruins once, it wasn’t a useless find. It confirmed that there was a connection between the Kunlun Ruins, the East Kunlun and the West Kunlun, meaning that he might be able to find a way to enter the Kunlun Ruins through the two sects.

Although it was just a possibility, it was much better than searching for the Kunlun Ruins without a lead.

“You did very well. Thank you, and sorry for putting you through a tough time.” Ye Qing looked at Mister Taozhu and showered her with praise.

“I am simply performing my natural duty, young master. I would not dare not complain about it,” replied Mister Taozhu while looking overwhelmed and surprised.

Knock knock knock!

It was at this moment a series of knocks came from the door.

“Come in,” Ye Qing ordered.

“I greet you, young master.” Wan Dusheng stepped inside.

“Cheng Qishang has news to share with you!” Wan Dusheng said and handed him an indigo jade cicada. It was the Swordsgrave special communication Strange Artifact, the Indigo Ming.

Ye Qing accepted the Indigo Ming and pressed it to his forehead, causing it to chirp melodiously and rhythmically. The chirps sounded no different from a cicada’s chirp, but they were words to Ye Qing’s ears.

A moment later, Ye Qing set down the Indigo Ming and pondered to himself, looks like I’m definitely heading to West Kunlun.

Cheng Qishang reported that a dozen or so Swordsgrave disciples had been ambushed and killed while they were investigating the Kunlun Ruins. At the same time, large groups of mysterious elites had sprung out of nowhere and attacked people who were searching or asking about the Kunlun Ruins on purpose. Cheng Qishang claimed that their martial arts and attire all pointed to them being members of West Kunlun.

Assuming that Cheng Qishang wasn’t mistaken about the attackers’ identity, West Kunlun must be related to the Kunlun Ruins. It must be a top secret within West Kunlun as well. Otherwise, they would not bother to search and hunt down Cheng Qishang’s men.

If before he was still suspicious of the entry in the Taiping Martial Method, now he was absolutely certain that it was real.

With this, his destination was set. He was going to West Kunlun.

Ye Qing spoke to the Indigo Ming, “Qishang, tell Withered Sword and Old Child to stop looking into Kunlun Ruins and lie low. Their safety is the top priority right now. Once everyone is secure, head to West Kunlun immediately and standby for orders.”

He blew at the cicada after finishing his message. The Indigo Ming chirped twice before flapping its wings and disappearing through the window.

“Are you headed for West Kunlun, young master?”

“That’s right.” Ye Qing nodded. “Do you have something to tell me?”

“You are perceptive, young master.” Mister Taozhu said, “That’s right. The Kunlun Ruins must be a top secret in West Kunlun. If you ask about it recklessly, you may not get what you wish for. Therefore, I would advise caution.”

“Do you have a solution?” Ye Qing asked her.

This was exactly what Ye Qing was worried about. Judging from West Kunlun’s reaction, the Kunlun Ruins were a secret they would not allow a single outsider to find out. To ask them about it was to commit suicide.

However, infiltrating West Kunlun was no easy task either. After all, West Kunlun was one of the Nine Dark Ways. They were strong, numerous, and guarded by Sages. It was almost impossible even for him to slip into West Kunlun and find clues regarding the Kunlun Ruins without being detected.

It sounded like Mister Taozhu had a plan though.

“It’s like this, young master. The West Kunlun would be holding their novennial[1] Celestial Peach Gathering in five days. Every noteworthy warrior under the heavens is invited to attend it.”

Mister Taozhu answered, “It so happens that I’ve received an invitation as well. When the time comes, you can simply accompany me to West Kunlun without eliciting any suspicion.”

“The Celestial Peach Gathering? That is a good opportunity!” Ye Qing’s eyes lit up.

Legend has it that the ancient Heavens boasted a peach garden with a total of three thousand and six hundred heavenly peach trees. They were all natural spirit roots. It took them three thousand years to flower, three thousand years to fruit, and three thousand years for the fruits to mature. Anyone who ate a peach would ascend to the heavens and become as long-lived as the heavens themselves. Such was the power of a celestial fruit.

Therefore, the Queen Mother of the West held a peach gathering once every nine thousand years and invited all celestials and gods to join her.

There was a similar tree on the Kunlun Golden Peak of West Kunlun. Legend has it that it was the core of a heavenly peach a god had unknowingly flung to the earth after eating his fill. The core landed on the peak of Kunlun, and after countless years of nourishment from both the sky and the earth, it eventually grew into a peach tree.

The peach tree took three years to bloom, three years to fruit, and three years for the fruits to mature. Not only that, it only bore thirty six peaches each time. No more, no less.

As this peach tree was born from the core of a heavenly peach, its fruits could not compare to the real thing as a matter of course. It did not possess the power to “elevate one to the heavens” or make them as “long-lived as the sky itself”, but it could bring someone back to life, heal a person from the brink of death, and add nine years to one’s lifespan.

Of course, one person could only consume one celestial peach. It wouldn’t do anything for someone who had eaten a celestial peach before. Even so, the celestial peach was a rare spiritual object that could increase one’s lifespan and so was unbelievably valuable.

Because of this, the West Kunlun emulated the ancient Heavens and held the Celestial Peach Gathering every time the celestial peaches were mature. They extended invitations to all warriors under the heavens to partake in the fruits.

But of course, the claim that they invited “all warriors under the heavens” was a gross exaggeration. For starters, West Kunlun was a Dark Way sect, so they could only invite others of similar nature. No one from the orthodoxy was invited, and even if they were, they wouldn’t attend such a gathering.

Second, the peach tree only bore thirty-six celestial peaches at a time, so only a maximum of thirty warriors were invited every gathering. Of course, these thirty people were either champions or titans of the Dark Ways. They were all people whose footsteps alone could shake the jianghu, which was why the Celestial Peach Gathering of West Kunlun was considered a significant event to a certain extent.

For obvious reasons, Ye Qing wasn’t expecting the novennial Celestial Peach gathering to happen just five days later, much less the fact that Mister Taozhu was invited. It was a pleasant surprise.

Although only thirty people were officially invited to attend the Celestial Peach Gathering, it was famous enough that countless jianghu people traveled to West Kunlun to observe the event. The invitees were allowed to bring attendants with them as well. As a result, the day of the Celestial Peach Gathering was guaranteed to be a busy one, and the guards would surely be less capable of performing their duties than they normally would. When the time came, he could slip under the radar and search for clues regarding the Kunlun Ruins.

Even if he was discovered, he could use the attendees to create chaos and slip away without too much effort.

When he thought this, Ye Qing looked at Mister Taozhu and instructed, “Head back to your place and prepare what you need. We will be departing for West Kunlun immediately.”

“As you command, young master.” Mister Taozhu saluted him, and the little clay doll slowly retreated to the corner before crumbling into a pile. The soil then reattached itself to the hole it left behind earlier and restored the wall exactly the same as it was before. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

Ye Qing did not forget to instruct Wan Dusheng. “Wan, you should prepare as well.”

“At once.”

Wan Dusheng obediently took his leave.

Ye Qing turned around and looked outside the window, sighing. “Five days. Let’s hope you can hold on for another five days.”

The darkness was still, and the moon was round.

It was a silent night.

1. recurring once every 9 years. ☜

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You are mostly harmless, but one does not need a weapon to kill.