Chapter 931: The World Is Fate (1)
Editor: Henyee Translations
There was a valley in this world called the Night Valley. It was the darkest place in the world. At every moment, a large number of vengeful spirits grew. They were densely intertwined and formed powerful vengeful spirits like Gu. Once the strongest left the valley, they could even destroy all the living beings in the world.
But in the deepest part of the valley, there was an unremarkable natural grotto, in which there were a few pieces of furniture made of stone placed casually. This was the holy land of all the Luminarists. After every expert who had reached the nine-star Life Lamp died, their souls would return to the hall and light their own longevity lamps.
Ever since the beginning of the world, there were more than 80 longevity lamps floating in the cave, which meant that more than 80 experts of the nine-star life lamps had fallen.
“The man does not fight, so no one in the world can compete with him.” Inside the grotto, there was a man dressed in simple clothes sitting cross-legged on a stone platform, reading a bamboo scroll. He recited softly, then shook his head with a laugh. “What does it mean by not fighting? Only when you reach an unprecedented level can you not fight. Only when you transcend this world can no one compete with you.
“Legend has it that when ninety-nine longevity lamps are lit and gathered, one can see the other side of the world… It has been set up for tens of thousands of years just for this legend. Am I not also in the trap? Perhaps this is fate. Fighting with others is endless fun, and fighting with the heavens is even more endless fun!”
He closed the book, stood up and instantly arrived before the 80-odd longevity lamps floating in the air. “There are 13 longevity lamps left. But there are only four nine-star Life Lamp experts left in the world. None of them are easy to deal with. Forget it, I’ll choose the weakest one first!”
The man’s gaze was deep and vast, as if it had pa.s.sed through layers of s.p.a.ce and landed on the Luminarist with longevity lamps. Some of them had already grown up, some had just stepped into the ranks of Luminarist, and some had small achievements.
In this world, every Luminarist’s upper limit of their future growth was determined from the moment they were born. If one wanted to become a Nine-star Life Lamp expert, they had to have a longevity lamp.
…
The ox cart moved slowly on a rough mountain path. The mountain peaks on both sides of the river were emerald green, and the scenery was beautiful. When they pa.s.sed by the waterfall on the mountain, the water that poured down was like the Milky Way, splashing up thousands of layers of waves, even more so setting off the Rainbow Bridge on the cliff.
At noon, they ate the flatbread and flushed it down with hot water. Shen Ping and the others slept on the ox cart. Only Uncle Shuan would whip the old ox from time to time to make it pay attention to the b.u.mpy rocks in front.
At night, the mountains were silent. The ox cart’s bell rang. The oil lamp hung beside the car, dispelling the oncoming darkness. The few young men in the village were huddled together. The night was the most dangerous. If he was possessed by a vengeful spirit, it would be completely over.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. This bell is the Soul Reverberation Bell. It was blessed by the Luminarist. Those vengeful spirits in the wilderness don’t dare approach,” Uncle Shuan smiled and said. “Pingzi, come and drive the carriage for me. I’ll take a nap.”
Shen Ping nodded. “Okay.”
He changed his position. Uncle Shuan lit another oil lamp at the back of the ox cart. Looking at the shrinking young men, he scolded jokingly, “You cowards are not even comparable to the ten-year-old Pingzi. I’m old. In the future, this path will depend on you. If you’re so cowardly, how can you succeed?”
The young men’s faces turned red. Some were emboldened. “Uncle Shuan, why don’t I drive the carriage?”
“Sure.”
Seeing Uncle Shuan agree so readily, the young man immediately laughed dryly. “I was just joking.”
Sitting in front of the ox cart was the easiest to be attacked by vengeful spirits. They were also the first to see the horror of the surrounding darkness, so they did not dare. After midnight, a cold wind blew around them. The ringing of the bell became crisper and more urgent.
Uncle Shuan smoked a pipe and narrowed his eyes. He took out some powder from his pocket and smeared it on the oil lamp. At the same time, he let the other young men apply some on their bodies. The powder was very smelly, making them retch.
“This is made from the feces of ferocious beasts in the forest and some special herbs. Although it stinks, it can hide the smell on your bodies and prevent those vengeful spirits from seeing you.”
It had to be said that Uncle Shuan had some ability to travel between the village and the county for decades.
Indeed, cold wind blew along the way, yet no vengeful spirit could attack the ox cart. As dawn broke, four or five of them fell asleep. Uncle Shuan leaned against the board sleepily.
Shen Ping could not help but laugh. The sound of the wind was continuous, and the crisp sound of the bells entered his ears. He seems to have forgotten his place.
At noon two days later, the road gradually opened up. There were pedestrians on the side of the road and wide fields on both sides. The closer they got to the county’s official road, the more pedestrians there were, and the more rural people there were driving ox carts.
“Up ahead is the county. Remember, when you get to the county, don’t talk nonsense. Stay close.”
This time, in addition to sending Shen Ping to the county to become a luminarist, Uncle Shuan also had to sell some leather goods from the mountains to exchange for some daily necessities. They arrived at the entrance of the county.
A city guard checked them, and they paid the entrance fee before the ox cart could enter.
“Wow, what a crowd.”
“It’s so crowded.”
Hearing the various hawkers and shops at the city gate, the young men, who had come to the village for the first time, could not help but look around curiously.
Shen Ping took a glance and retracted his gaze. As an Immortal King, there were as many immortals as there were hairs on a cow in the Northern Ice Immortal City alone. He had seen even more prosperous cities, such as the blue giant hall world. In the busy technological society, any town far exceeded this county city.