章 20: Chapter 20: The world is vast, yet it can be crossed in three breaths.
Afterward, Chen Qiu did not delay even for a moment. With his left hand clutching Huang Shikai's collar, he strode towards the cliff from which they had come. The resentful spirit he had summoned could only exist for an hour, after which it would dissipate automatically.
It could not be paused midway.
The "Unvulnerable Front and Back" entry for Huang Shikai was more useful than he had anticipated, so he had to make the most of Huang Shikai's residual effectiveness during the remaining time.
"Brother Chen Qiu."
Fat Long had also recovered by now and hurriedly followed Chen Qiu's quick steps, saying anxiously, "By openly summoning Huang Shikai's resentful spirit, everyone will know that you possess the ability to turn the creatures you kill into resentful spirits!"
"With so many onlookers here, it won't be long before the news leaks out."
"Your trump card is gone—what use is a trump card that everyone knows about?"
Chen Qiu walked briskly toward the cliff from which they had come, slightly quickening his pace.
"Who said this was my trump card?"
"Hurry, time waits for no one!"
...
"Hey."
At the Seeking Immortality Gate on the western city wall, the Guard Commander, clad in armor, watched the departing figures of Chen Qiu and his companion. Weighing the handful of silver Chen Qiu had tossed to him, he chuckled.
"This fellow sure knows how to conduct himself."
"Interesting."
Subsequently, he tucked the few pieces of silver in his breast, turned around to his guards who were eagerly watching him and scolded with a laugh, "What are you looking at me for? You think I can pocket all this silver myself?"
"Get to work!"
"After we're off duty tonight, I'll treat you to drinks in Fufeng City!"
"Just to make it clear in advance, we're only ordering one geisha—it's all on me unless you get touchy!"
"Anyone who wants more, pays their own way!"
At night, the Wentian Market doesn't keep anyone; only inns do.
Once the inns are full, others must leave the market.
These are the rules of the Wentian Market.
In the Wentian Market, there is a rule prohibiting fighting, yet daily, a great number of people come here seeking vengeance. It's one thing if it's just one power, but with the multitudes that come seeking revenge, even the Wentian Market, with Golden Core cultivators in place, cannot withstand the pressure.
However, those seeking vengeance from the Wentian Market often are quite generous.
After contemplating, the Wentian Market has set these rules.
They ensure that not too many powers are offended while also securing decent revenue.
Not far from the Wentian Market, atop the same mountain ridge, lies a small auxiliary city filled with inns, taverns, brothels, etc., serving as lodging for those who either don't want to descend the mountain or are merchants in the market.
In this auxiliary city, the no-fighting rule does not apply.
The guards of the Wentian Market work in shifts, a day on, a day off. It just so happens they are off tomorrow, so the commander plans to take his men to Fufeng City for a good time and to see the geisha from the Capital, who reputedly won't perform even for three Spirit Stones.
To give his men a feast for their eyes.
The Guard Commander had a smile plastered across his face thinking about the night's prospects, working even harder than usual. As a guard of Wentian Market, cleaning up the remnants of fights around the market was his duty after all.
There was no need for him to get a tip.
But the sudden extra money still made it hard for him to hide his grin.
...
"Can you fly?"
Chen Qiu walked briskly to the edge of the cliff to the young man he had met earlier: "Take me somewhere quickly, name your price."
"Where to?"
This young man, dressed as a scholar, lifted his head to glance indifferently at Chen Qiu and then lowered it again, speaking casually, "The times change so quickly. Is it now fashionable to walk around with a resentful spirit in tow?"
"For cooling off?"
Chen Qiu squatted down to meet the scholar's gaze, calmly stating, "No specific location."
"Within a hundred miles, where is there a place with plenty of Fierce Beasts, but not too many? Ideally, it should be demon beasts that don't act in groups and have a strong territorial consciousness. Also, the strongest Fierce Beast should not surpass the Qi Refinement Realm."
"And this place must also be ownerless, not belonging to any force, so hunting there would not violate the laws of Da Xia, and no one would obstruct."
"Tsk."
The scholar sitting cross-legged on the ground closed his comic book, looked meaningfully at Chen Qiu in front of him, and suddenly smiled, "There is, naturally, a place just like you described twenty miles to the west."
"It has no name."
"In a stone cave at the bottom of a cliff created by a natural crevice in the ground, about several hundred feet from the surface, there's only one kind of demon beast, called 'Human Face Spider.' This is a type of demon beast that cannot break through the Foundation Establishment Stage in its lifetime and doesn't develop Spiritual Wisdom."
"It loves a cold and moist environment."
"Yet, it is a clan of Fierce Beasts. They reproduce quickly, generally move in groups and never alone, and have an extremely strong sense of avenging their companions."
"Do you want to go?"
After a moment of contemplation, Chen Qiu nodded seriously. "Let's go. How long will it take to get there?"
"Three breaths."
"Three breaths again?"
"Heh."
The scholar laughed, "In this vast world, everything can be reached in three breaths."
"Fine, but you need to wait for me there and take me back after an hour."
"Then give me a Spirit Stone."
The scholar then slowly closed the comic book in his arms, carefully stuffed it into his bosom, and as he did so, the bearded strongman whom they had already met once at the base of the mountain appeared beside them without waiting for them to speak again.
He saw the scholar raise his right hand in front of him, his thumb and index finger slightly touching, the other three fingers naturally stretched out, pinching a Taoist Technique and whispering, "Knock."
The next second—
A Green Blade Long Sword quivering continuously violently burst out from the sleeve of the scholar's robe, transforming into a streak of green light and disappearing into the clouds in the blink of an eye.
Three breaths later.
The scholar, as if sensing something, his lips moved slightly, and his body instantly vanished from the spot, leaving only a mat made of dried grasses.
Before Chen Qiu and the others could react,
the bearded strongman standing beside them grabbed their arms, and immediately the surrounding scenery started spinning wildly again. Within less than a breath's time, when the scenery stabilized, they were already standing on a barren plain where the ground was desiccated and full of cracks.
...
"..."
Chen Qiu incredulously surveyed his surroundings; not a spirit field in sight, no official road, not a trace of human activity, the area looked as if it had been abandoned and faced severe droughts for three years.
Looking far to the east,
one could faintly see a mountain range enveloped by clouds and mist. That was the Wentian Mountain Range, and the market town of Wentian was thus named after it.
Due to its location on the plains with a vast field of view, although he couldn't estimate if the distance to Wentian Mountain Range was twenty miles, it certainly wasn't short.
This meant...
They had teleported twenty miles in just three breaths?
And he also roughly guessed that this scholar's technique, or his Cultivation Technique, should allow him to teleport to wherever his Flying Sword could reach, though it's unclear if there were any distance limitations.
First, let the Flying Sword reach the destination, the scholar teleports there, and then the scholar's brother brings them to teleport next to the scholar.
With such a method,
in this vast world, everything being reachable in three breaths isn't an exaggeration.
He had wanted to ask Fat Long if the speed of a normal Foundation Establishment cultivator's Flying Sword could be this fast. But seeing the incredulous look on Fat Long, whose jaw was virtually dropping to the ground, he roughly guessed the answer.
"We've arrived"
The scholar, still sitting cross-legged on the ground, looked towards Chen Qiu and Fat Long with a somewhat gentle smile and said, "The bottom of this crack is where the 'Human Face Spider' cave is."
Meanwhile, Fat Long, who had just snapped back to reality, noticed for the first time that this young man dressed as a scholar appeared to have some disability that prevented him from standing normally.
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