novelThe Quarrel
| ← Ch.248 | Ch.250 → |
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
There was no god's punishment placed on top of Chang Li's head?
Even though there was no way they could confirm this information, after the continuous in-depth analysis of the few experienced and skilled demon immortals, the possibility seemed to grow bigger and bigger.
In the beginning, Guo Huan, Cone Nail and even the demon cat Chang Li were prejudiced by the preconceived idea. Similar to the act of killing the devil fetus, they were under the assumption that the culprit who released Xiang Liu would certainly be struck by the wrath of the gods. In their perception, this concept was similar to salt was certainly salty and that fire was certainly hot, they had never questioned this information.
It was only when Wen Leyang's wrath of the gods did not arrive, Chang Li and the rest unintentionally understood the meaning behind all these.
Their initial surprise and joy gradually grew colder, along with that came not elation and inspiration, but empty suffocation! There was no god's punishment, so why was there a necessity to spend laborious efforts to deal with the evil soul and why was there a necessity to scheme incessantly in order to resurrect the Heaven's cone nail?
From two thousand years ago, the Grand Master Tuo Xie had planned laboriously, where the two grand masters, Lue Luo and Tuo Xie, their descendants and disciples took up the positions of the fallen and continued to rise. Yet, they did not understand the truth. Everything was just a joke!
Wen Leyang dared not express the oppression he felt in his heart. He was still trying hard to retain the smile on the corners on his lips, the brightness in his gaze and his expression.
Chang Li could see through him. She walked slowly and stood in front of him, and spoke in an exceedingly soft tone, "I..." She had only spoken a word when her tears flowed out of the socket of her eyes without a sign.
"I managed to test his feelings to me but I... I lost him... I do not know if I should regret." As she was saying that, Chang Li trembled gently and laid her charming head softly on Wen Leyang's shoulder, she muttered softly as if she was sleep talking, "After all, where is he..."
Wen Leyang did not know what to say, he stretched out his hand rigidly and was about to pat on Chang Li's back. Unexpectedly, as he was raising his palm, at the sound of a wail, Chang Li broke out in bitter sobs, "After everything, where is he now?"
Everyone kept silent. Chang Li's tears were initially burning hot, yet the moment the tears flowed out of her eyes, the temperature was cooled down by the cold wind at the end of the winter. Finally, the wetness that spread on Wen Leyang's shoulder was only a stretch of icy coldness.
"I released Xiang Liu because of him. I was only considered creating a temporary disturbance. Yet, he dealt with Xiang Liu on behalf of me and made everybody else suffered for the rest of their lifetimes for me." Chang Li's cries gradually lowered. In the midst of her sobs, her voice sounded a little piteous.
Wen Leyang felt uneasy from the oppression in his heart. He chimed in with a dried voice, "If there is no god's punishment, why is there a necessity to deal with Xiang Liu!"
Before his voice died away, Cone Nail suddenly sneered, "What kind of monster is Xiang Liu? He is the utmost evil creature under the heaven. If he were to struggle free from his entrapment then the entire world would suffer! There is no kindness in his eyes at all, how will he care about who released him. Tuo Xie's disciples dealt with the evil soul in the past and attempted to suppress him. He will come to kill all of you one by one! If we were to choose not to deal with him, he will come and deal with us sooner or later."
Chang Li raised her head, her eyes were red. There was only feebleness that was felt in the cold mountain wind. There was not a trace of an outstanding demon immortal in her. She shook her head gently to Cone Nail, "I am totally not related to the torments of the world, I am dealing with it not because I am afraid that it will come looking for us but..." Chang Li spat out a mouthful of foul breath before continuing, "... he was trying to suppress Xiang Liu for me, how can I just stand aside and do nothing! As long as Chang Li is still alive, this matter will need to be continued."
There was a knot in Wen Leyang's heart that could not be loosened but it did not hold up his thought process of figuring out the logical relationship of this chaos. Chang Li crushed the Heaven's cone nail stubbornly and Grand Master Tuo Xie took on the responsibility for the disaster on behalf of her. Hence, she wanted to inherit Tuo Xie's 'unfulfilled wish'.
Cone Nail squinted her eyes. After she muttered to herself for a long while, she spoke to Chang Li, "You are truly mad!" Following that, she suddenly laughed aloud, "However... this inspiration of yours to suffer is rather wonderful!"
Chang Li laughed, her eyes were still red and swollen.
It was unknown if it was an intentional flattery or a sincere praise, Guo Huan also burst out laughing, "That is correct, we spent millenniums to cultivate and transform into the human form, of course, we need to f*cking suffer! The lifetime of a demon is only considered worthwhile with such suffering!"
Darling Xiaowu was confused by this group of people, who suddenly cried and suddenly laughed. She crawled into Wen Leyang's cradle in a short while, pouted her little lips and muttered softly, "Evil demons!"
Chang Li stretched out her hand uncourteously and pinched the darling's cheek, then she shot her gaze towards Wen Shulin.
Wen Shulin put on a long face as he shook his head, "I did not manage to calculate any useful results..." This was the Ending Cave. Wen Shulin did not stop occupying himself all these while but he could only move about within the self-defense prohibition spell set up by Chang Li.
Chang Li did not trouble him, she pointed to the stone tower and said, "The stone tower is already subdued, it will never release demon seeds to harm others, you can start calculating now!"
As she was saying that, she stretched out her hand and fanned herself strenuously, "It is too suffocating in here! Is it true that the cultivation world is currently gathered on the Goddess Peak?"
Fei Fei and Wen Leyang gazed into the eyes of one another out of concern. If Chang Li planned to visit the Goddess Peak for relaxation then someone in that group of cultivators would be in unfortunate trouble.
Xiao Sha immediately nodded. Chang Li's face regained her prior peculiar and mischievous expression, "Then why are we not leaving yet!" Upon saying that, she was about to leave when Cone Nail grabbed her and looked towards Xiao Sha smilingly, "I heard that you know how to disguise people's appearance?"
Chang Li was immediately elated. The misery and sadness she was in were washed away into nothingness immediately, "It is only exciting if the people cannot recognize us!"
Wen Shulin had already started making arrangements to start calculating in order to decipher the secret of the big flat cake, broken gong and dog so that they could possibly deal with Tian Yin. Only after they were confident in dealing with Tian Yin, they could find out the whereabouts of Tuo Xie. This was an urgent and important matter for the old man, so the golden monkey Qian Ren spoke to the rest, "Qin Zhui has not woken up, I shall stay behind first, leave this old man to me." Upon saying that, the monkey's mouth widened into a laugh, "If that uh... Tian Yin? If Tian Yin was to come then the old father will bring along the two persons and run so he can never catch up to us!"
Xiao Sha patted on each and every person's face including Chang Li, Cone Nail, Wen Leyang and the darling in fear. In a flash, everyone's appearance transformed.
Chang Li and Cone Nail each flipped out a small mirror. After looking at their reflections, their faces filled with joy as they praised Xiao Sha continuously. As Xiao Sha realized that he was still alive, he heaved a sigh of relief. When he was patting on Fei Fei's face, he chuckled to himself secretively, "I have managed to slap all the top demon immortals in the world!"
Fei Fei laughed. She was patted by Xiao Sha into a breathtaking beauty.
Wen Leyang carried Fei Fei on his back, Cone Nail carried Xiaowu, Chang Li was empty-handed, the five persons moved as swift as the winds and rushed in the direction of the Goddess Peak. Xiao Sha put on a long face as he hiked up the rough terrain of the huge mountains strenuously step by step.
The five persons walked exceedingly fast, it did not take long before they arrived on the Goddess Peak. The moment Wen Leyang arrived at the peak, he could only feel his brain humming! It was a chaotic mess. A large group of rogue cultivators spoke with their saliva spluttering everywhere, everything sounded like a mess. There was no way he could tell what they were debating about. There were a good amount of old acquaintances amongst them but there were even more of them that he did not know. Wen Leyang's entourage was disguised by Xiao Sha. Even they could not recognize themselves, so no one paid too much attention to them either.
There were a lot of cultivators that arrived late, they came and left in an endless stream towards the mountain. Some had just arrived on the mountain and were still unaware of the situation, yet they immediately joined into the quarrel. Some of them hastily looked for their acquaintances while some of them squinted their eyes to secretly stare at their own enemies...
Ji Fei and Shui Jing stood on the largest and most striking piece of rock piteously. They continuously shouted loudly but no one that listened to their announcement. The Great Mercy Temple, One Word Palace, Liu Zheng and Rangjung, who was leading the highland cultivators, were chatting and laughing softly in groups, completely disregarding the situation that was taking place before their eyes.
Chang Li and Cone Nail were beaming with joy. They pulled along Wen Leyang and urged continuously, "Quick! Let us explore. What are they fighting about actually?" Following that, she pointed to the direction where the disciples of the Great Mercy Temple were standing and reminded, "Do not look for them, do not let them know that we are here!"
Wen Leyang brought along the three young girls and a little darling as they went through the crowd of people. They continuously looked for others to inquire but the people on the mountain peak were either engrossed in the quarrel or sneering and did not speak. No one would acknowledge them. Wen Leyang was initially afraid that Cone Nail or Chang Li would be infuriated and kill someone, yet unexpectedly the two demon immortals were still lit up with delight. They were still exceedingly happy despite being rejected over and over again by the others.
The rogue cultivators that were quarreling were infuriated, their voices grew louder and braver but they were speaking in different dialects. Those dialects were all mountain and village slang, Wen Leyang could not figure out what they were saying. Fei Fei could not help but laugh softly, "This is so noisy, do they even know what are they quarreling about?"
Wen Leyang did not know who should he talk to when the vision before his eyes suddenly brightened, he could not help but laugh...
Perhaps the Red Grandaunt was at Wen Buzuo, or the jade knife Guo Huan's standard, but, amongst Wen Leyang's acquaintances, she was considered the most talkative one. The first time Wen Leyang left the mountain to Mount Emei and traveled together with the rogue cultivator companions, Red Grandaunt almost did not stop talking during the entire journey.
Red Grandaunt still appeared the same as before. Her face was slathered with rouge and white powder. At first glance, she appeared as if she came out from the Zhizha offerings shop. She was standing together with three old men, her arms were waving around and her expression aroused, "First Brother, Second Brother, Fourth Brother, the older the three of you get the more confused you have become! This disturbance arose in a violent and urgent manner..." Red Grandaunt cultivated in the Hebei provinces, her accent deviated towards the local dialect of Beijing, yet Wen Leyang could understand her clearly. He was surprised as he did not expect that Red Grandaunt had brothers too.
Fei Fei could see through Wen Leyang's thoughts with one glance, she chuckled as she explained to him, "Red Grandaunt had four siblings, they each started their own faction. Their influence was never weak. Red Grandaunt could achieve an esteemed position amongst the rogue cultivators not just because her personal cultivation base was remarkable, it was also related to her two elder brothers and a younger brother.
Wen Leyang pondered attentively, he had never seen the other three old men. They had not participated in the battle of Mount Emei. Their appearances were actually rather similar to Red Grandaunt but their physiques were unusually large. The eldest old man was tall and fat, his face was filled with fatty flesh. His neck was thicker than an ordinary person's head. The old man standing in the middle was short and stout, his eyes were squinted. The one who appeared the youngest had a moderate physique, he was not considered too tall but he was unusually sturdy. There was a gush of hardcore disposition between every movement of his.
Fei Fei was quick-witted, she intentionally spoke louder. As expected, the four old man turned around and looked towards Fei Fei in unison.
Before Red Grandaunt could speak, the fattest old man could not refrain himself but to ask, "The few of you... are common people?" Fei Fei was a genuine common person. As the other four persons each possessed exceedingly high cultivation base, Red Grandaunt could not tell with her eyes.
"You cannot judge a book by its cover!" Red Grandaunt pouted her dried lips, she stretched out her hand and pointed to Wen Leyang as she spoke to the others, "I know a young lad, he was also about the size of this boy, he appeared to be a mortal person but he was an equal match to the supreme leader Zi Que of Jilong Sect. He even seized the supreme leader's treasured weapon..."
The big fat old man interrupted her impatiently, "You have repeated this at least eighty times!" Following that he widened his cow eyes as he looked at Fei Fei, "So you know our origins? Why don't you tell us more about that!"
Fei Fei smiled gracefully, her pronunciation was crisp and clear as she answered, "Sir Pig from East of Shanhaiguan's Pig-Killing Ridge, First Brother Cat from Henan's Sycophant Cat Valley, Red Grandaunt from Hebei's Little Red River, Sir Army from West Shanxi's Breach Army Mountain! No one has never heard about the Pig, Cat, Red and Army in the cultivation world, they are the true heroes and warriors, the renowned family in the cultivation world!"
The four persons of Pig, Cat, Red and Army were the stronghold amongst rogue cultivators. On usual days, wherever they go they were respected by rogue cultivators but when the same statement that came out from the mouth of a common person, especially when it was a young maiden with bright eyes and white teeth, it felt completely different. They were each bursting with joy and nodded smilingly.
Fei Fei immediately continued and asked, "What are all these seniors quarreling about? We have just arrived here, we did not manage to inquire about the situation..."
Grandfather Pig was even more talkative than his sister Red Grandaunt, he stretched out his hand and pointed towards Ji Fei and Shui Jing who were bawling aloud on top of the giant rock, "Those two fellows are unaware of their own limitation, they wanted to become the leaders of the rogue cultivators..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Red Grandaunt shook her head and interrupted, "Ji Fei and Shui Jing are albeit rather strange in their conduct, their behaviors were exceedingly good. When I was trapped in the Great Mercy Temple, they rushed over to rescue me, heh, I did not see any of you came rushing over at the time..."
First Brother Cat gave an unpleasant humph, his voice was sharp and soft, "Before we rush over to your aid, you have already been rescued by them! I have never agreed for you to go back; do you think that Mount Emei is a good place for you to provoke huh..."
Sir Army frowned as he diverted the topic, "They saved Third Sister's life, we will definitely bear this favor but this debt of gratitude we cannot repay here. Let alone us, Pig, Cat, Red and Army, this stunt is not something that Ji Fei and Shui Jing are capable of pulling through. Speaking of the Painting Town, whether it is their treatment to our family's first ancestors, or our siblings a few years ago, they were kind beyond words. However, if we were to declare Ji Fei and Shui Jing as our leaders, then it will make us seem a little undependable!"
Sir Pig's face was filled with rage, "Fourth brother, your statement made us brothers sound like the Painting Town's slaves! The Painting Town did treat us kindly but we did not sell..."
Red Grandaunt stomped her foot impatiently, "Both Ji Fei and Shui Jing are trying to become the Great Virtue, they are not related to the first well-known family of the rogue cultivators that is the Painting Town. Most importantly, right behind Ji Fei and Shui Jing's back, there is the Wen family of Nine Peaks Mountain. With such a banner as their defense, which sect from the right or evil path of cultivation dares to attack the rogue cultivators..."
The quarrel between these four siblings was just the epitome of the entire Goddess Peak.
Wen Leyang finally understood, people on the Goddess Peak, who quarreled into a chaotic mess, were just like these four siblings. Their topic was the same. It was a debate on the battle between the right and evil path of cultivation, the Painting Town's residual favors, Ji Fei and Shui Jing's feigned loyalty in the past and Wen family's background et cetera...
Especially last night, the World Sect suddenly spread out the information that they were only respectful to the Wen family of Nine Peaks Mountain. They carried absolutely no intention to become enemies with the Wen family... The Rainbow brothers albeit lost their memories, they still remembered Chang Li. After Wen Buzuo's extortion, they immediately spread out this information, which lifted the Nine Peak Mountain's status by a large portion invisibly.
In the eyes of the ordinary cultivators, the Wen family they had already become the most mysterious family. They had the protection of the Great Mercy Temple in the right path, the four great sects in the evil path had clearly displayed their submission. When Ji Fei and Shui Jing organized a meeting, even the One Word Palace that was gradually living in seclusion and the Kunlun Sect that moved its sect and disappeared rushed over obediently. The Jilong Sect that had once created trouble in the Nine Peaks Mountain could only retreat into seclusion and seal their mountain.
Fei Fei raised her gaze and looked in all direction. She spoke to Wen Leyang softly, "Those that are quarreling loudly should be the rogue cultivators but it is also possible that there are some people from the World Sect that are chiming in..." Wen Leyang nodded, the rogue cultivators called themselves free and unfettered that they had no concern over worldly affairs and dispute. However, as long as one was living in the world, as long one could not stand loneliness, one could never free oneself from the world!
Even though there was no real dispute that had happened between the right and evil path, the dark tide, in the beginning, had already surge onto the surface of the sea, it was slowly and faintly brewing into a billow, the World Sect's master cultivators were oppressed by the right path for millenniums, they had been waiting for this exact moment.
When the Five Blessings was formed millenniums ago, the Painting Town led the rogue cultivators. In reality, they had already leaned towards the right path. When the fierce battle was already approaching at that moment, by the time the master cultivators of the right and evil path each displayed their actual powers that were hidden in the closet, the rogue cultivators were trapped between two parties with no way out, they would certainly need to choose a camp. Even though they wanted to retreat completely and keep out of the affair, they refused to disgrace their reputation, for this form of fortunate event was not served to everyone.
Ji Fei and Shui Jing's reputation was quite bad primarily. If only they could mingle around until they were like the status of old man Gongye, Giant Bull or the Pig, Cat, Red, Army, they would only need to shake their arms once and the crowd would succumb. After all, the rogue cultivators still possessed some wild and intractable temperament, the moment they thought of how they would need to welcome Ji Fei and Shui Jing with smiling face hereafter and address them as the Great Virtue, they felt like their blood was flowing back into their hearts...
Other than this, there was another issue. The Wen family appeared to be enshrouded in mystery. The right and evil path of cultivation kept clear from them. However, whether they were capable of protecting the crowd, no one felt that they were reliable. A thousand years ago, the Right Heaven Path was the leader amongst the right path of cultivation and was all-powerful. Their master cultivators were as high as the clouds in the sky but in the end, they still ended up in a crumble and not even a crushed stone was left!
Fei Fei continued, "The people who were hiding aside, other than the right path of Five Blessings and the sects under their commands, there were others too... I cannot tell their exact details." As she was saying that, she used her finger and pointed to the edge secretly, "Judging by their appearance, they are all waiting, they look rather excited."
Wen Leyang's gaze followed Fei Fei's finger, he looked towards the people who were dressed as cultivators, some were grouped and partners, some were solitary and lonesome, most of their expressions were rather dull, some even seemed disgusted and impatient...
The two Great Virtue were covered with sweat. When they started the meeting this morning, it was still fine in the beginning. The crowd was listening to them patiently and occasionally someone laughed and jeered, but when they revealed the fox's tail as they mentioned faintly that they hoped that the crowd would grant the both of them a status, the nightmare-like noises started...
They watched helplessly as the crowd quarreled louder and fiercer. As the crowd seemed like it was about to fight in a while or leave after the quarrel, Ji Fei was anxious and furious. He jumped down from the giant rock and gave a forced laugh to the big and small demon rabbits who were kindest to himself, "The two divine monks... please speak of a few words on behalf of us!"
The small demon rabbit Shan Duan could not reject Ji Fei, so he gave a forced laugh and shook his head. He took a few steps forward, raised his voice and spoke slowly, "Fellow divine immortals please calm down and listen to my word..." Shan Duan's voice was serene yet loud, firmly echoing into everyone's ears on the scene. With only a word or two, he had already pinned down the noises of thousands of rogue cultivators firmly!
Before he could finish his sentence, the uproar of messy noises was heard. The rogue cultivators continued to raise their voices and quarrel. That rapidly covered Shan Duan's voice, the entire Goddess Peak was akin to a boiling pot of water, Wen Leyang even felt that there were countless headless large flies that opened up their wings and dogged everywhere next to his ears. He continuously stretched out his hand and flicked the medicinal powder that refreshed and nourished the heart into Fei Fei and Xiaowu's nostrils.
The small demon rabbit Shan Duan was startled. He did not expect that the moment he spoke he became the oil that was poured onto the fire, he inhaled a deep breath as he spoke once again. His voice was already enshrouded with the supernatural power of Buddhism Sect's Sanskrit incantation but this portion of supernatural power that was enough to scatter the rogue cultivators on usual days, when it was delivered to the crowd, it was completely ineffective to his surprise!
Not only that, some of the cultivators that were standing aside and watching the bustling scene, seemed to be infected by the ambiance. They started walking in groups of twos and threes into the crowd and they started to join the quarrel. It did not take long before more and more people participated in the quarrel, there were even some small sects from the right path of cultivation that took part as well.
The rogue cultivators' faces were flushed, green veins popped out of their foreheads, they had utterly entered the state and forget about themselves. Let alone the small demon rabbit's Sanskrit incantation, it was afraid that even the god's punishment and divine thunder were to suddenly strike onto the Goddess Peak could not stop them from quarreling.
Cone Nail and Chang Li frowned, they gazed into the eyes of one another. Fei Fei furrowed her brows as she spoke to Wen Leyang softly, "Something is wrong!"
Wen Leyang had yet to answer to her, little Chi Maojiu who had been standing in the Five Blessings' leader troop all along suddenly leaped up. He squalled at his own people, "Someone is casting a witchcraft spell, it is the Villain's Blow!" As he was speaking, he somersaulted to the front of the giant rock that Ji Fei was standing on earlier. Just as he was about to make a move, that little house-like giant rock underneath his feet turned into a pile of soft and mushy mud. At the sound of a 'pop', an air bubble popped and swallowed little Chi Maojiu in a flash. Immediately, it returned to its prior state.
The people standing behind little Chi Maojiu's back were all the famous master cultivators in the right path of Five Blessings, they were all shocked. One by one shouted as they were about to crush the rock to rescue Chi Maojiu when Second Mother stretched out her hand and stopped them. Her expression valiant and heroic bearing, "This requires the skill of witchcraft, let the little boy handle this himself!"
The large group of cultivators did not react to the situation that had just taken place. They continued to quarrel noisily, they saw that there were already some people that had started waving their arms and legs about, the expressions on their faces became gradually ferocious, Fei Fei seemed to be a little restless, her breathing sounded more and more rapid, yet her face turned ghastly pale. Cone Nail raised her hand leisurely and dipped in between Fei Fei's brows gently, a drop of crystal clear water droplet melted into her skin visible to the naked eyes, Fei Fei's body shook once, there was confusion in her expression, she was awakened after a moment!
Not long after the giant rock swallowed little Chi Maojiu, it startled trembling. After the crisp sound of cracking was heard, the rock's surface was covered with dense fissures, tuffs upon tuffs of grass grew out of the fissures strenuously. The grass grew sturdier, the roots also expanded the fissures on the rock!
Finally, with a muffled bang, the giant rock was squeezed into pieces by the thousands of little grass that grew out from within forcefully. Little Chi Maojiu broke out of the rock, he stretched out his hand and summoned. His witch's fire appeared before himself. Wen Leyang who had been focusing at little Chi Maojiu could not help but be astonished, this was the first time he had seen Chi Maojiu triggered the witch's fire ever since the Wen, Miao and Luo's three arts fused into one.
Chi Maojiu's witch fire was flowing with hundreds of dark red-colored fiery butterflies, that were fluttering and encircling his body! Chi Maojiu babbled and hummed a tune in his mouth, his arms and legs moved and dance. In the midst of the red fiery butterflies, he slowly displayed the Qing Miao witch's play. The little grass that grew out of the rock too followed along and swayed enchantingly, that appeared like the snake that was being charmed.
The babbling sound of his singing gradually grew louder with the witch's play by Chi Maojiu and gradually grew sharper. However, little Chi Maojiu seemed to have suddenly recalled something, he suddenly waved his hand as he put away his vital fire, he heaved a sigh and said in a mischievous tone, "I cannot fight you but I cannot watch them getting harmed by the Villain's Blow anyhow!"
Pop! Suddenly, an extremely sharp noise could be heard. The sound was akin to the magnified sound of two glass cups bumping into each other until shattered. It erupted ferociously in midair. The cultivators, who were quarreling noisily and had already lost their minds, were all stunned. They closed their mouths in unison and woke up, their gaze was filled with confusion and also fear!
A sound of polite laughter could be heard as the short man Leyang Wen walked out of the other mountain rock as if he was performing conjuring tricks. His gaze swept past the cultivators that had just been cast by his witchcraft spell, he laughed and spoke with a fluent Beijing accent, "The Painting Town has been taking care of everyone, the sirs like to quarrel, so we ought to hastily arrange for that, ought we not?"
| ← Ch. 248 | Ch. 250 → |