Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing couldn’t guess the identity of the masked old man, nor did he think much about it. After all, since Shen Tianjun trusted him, he must be a trustworthy person.

He didn’t hide anything further and recounted every detail about the situation inside the cave at Beimang Mountain. This included the coffin of the Great Demon King, the matter of Wu Tianchi, and the martial arts technique he learned from the stone platform.

After hearing Ye Qing’s account, Shen Tianjun furrowed his brow deeply. As for the masked old man, his expression was not much different from Shen Tianjun’s, clearly shocked by what he heard.

”Years ago, I also ventured into Beimang Mountain, but I couldn’t get past the last checkpoint!” After a long silence, Shen Tianjun sighed and said, ”I didn’t expect that beyond the last five checkpoints, there would be so many hidden secrets. The body of the Great Demon King even having a coffin? This is completely unlike the stories!”

”How is it different?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

”According to legend, the Great Demon King was shattered by the collaboration of Buddhist and Taoist forces, meeting his demise at Beimang Mountain. This means his body was shattered, falling into Beimang Mountain, making it impossible for there to be a tomb or a coffin. But you saw the Great Demon King’s body placed in a coffin, that’s odd!” Shen Tianjun said deeply, ”Could it be that after the Buddhist and Taoist forces vanquished the demon, they found a coffin to place his body in?”

”This...” Hearing Shen Tianjun’s words, Ye Qing was also surprised and said, ”Then... maybe the one in the coffin isn’t the Great Demon King?”

”Impossible!” Shen Tianjun shook his head firmly, ”The Devouring Demon Flower actually grew from the remains of the Great Demon King. In other words, the Great Demon King’s body is the seed of the Devouring Demon Flower. You saw those flowers growing from the coffin, so what’s inside the coffin has to be the Great Demon King. There’s no mistake about it!”

”The body of the Great Demon King being the seed of the Devouring Demon Flower!?” Ye Qing’s eyes widened in disbelief.

”Exactly!” Shen Tianjun confirmed, ”And it’s precisely these flowers that have preserved the Great Demon King’s inner strength over a millennia. Across the world, except for those who once cut down the Great Demon King—Buddhists and Taoists—no one could get close to the Great Demon King’s remains, and naturally, no one could find his techniques for longevity!”

”Is that so?” Ye Qing was even more surprised, ”Then... does that mean no one can find the Great Demon King’s longevity techniques? Yet, why have people been seeking them throughout history?”

”Human greed, it’s unavoidable!” Shen Tianjun said, ”Also, not many people know this. Even among those who know, some still want to take a chance. The allure of longevity is too great!”

Ye Qing agreed with this. Although many died in Beimang Mountain, there were still those willing to go in, driven by greed. However, no amount of greed is helpful if one can’t approach the Great Demon King’s remains, and thus can’t obtain his longevity techniques. Everything inside Beimang Mountain is like an illusory mirage, unreachable yet still, many risk their lives for it, driven by human nature!

”In that case, shouldn’t we spread this information to at least reduce the number of people dying for nothing?” Ye Qing asked.

”We can’t do that!” Shen Tianjun immediately shook his head, ”After defeating the Great Demon King, the Buddhists and Taoists could have eradicated the Devouring Demon Flower. But they didn’t, do you know why?”

”Why?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

”Buddhists speak of cause and effect, Taoists of fate and destiny. In essence, both are preordained by fate, unchangeable. Buddhists often say that pushing things to extremes hastens their end. Taoists say that nature’s way involves losing excess and replenishing the deficient.” Shen Tianjun looked at the confused Ye Qing, ”Put simply, nobody wants to entangle with this cause and effect. Killing the Great Demon King isn’t difficult, but he himself has transcended fate. By killing him and entrapping him back within fate, it’s equivalent to altering fate. Who would bear the consequences of such a change?”

Shen Tianjun’s explanation left Ye Qing even more confused. He scratched his head, ”Senior Shen, what... what is fate?”

Shen Tianjun smiled slightly, ”I don’t know either.”

”What?” Ye Qing was taken aback, ”You don’t know, yet you said so much?”

”However, let me give you a simple example,” Shen Tianjun continued, ”Take you, for instance. If you look closely, your rise began with Old Wang Ba helping Liu Changping find his illegitimate daughter. Before that, nothing seemed easy for you. But afterward, things went very smoothly. That incident was a turning point in your destiny. According to the rules of fate, Liu Changping might never have found his daughter. But Old Wang Ba defied fate and helped you find her. The result? Three years of great fortune for you, but at the cost of altering fate. And the price for defying fate? Remember, Old Wang Ba nearly crippled his arm. That hand still isn’t usable now; that’s the price!”

Ye Qing took a deep breath. Shen Tianjun’s explanation made him realize that indeed, some kind of fate controls everything in the world.

”The same goes for the Great Demon King...” Shen Tianjun said, ”Though the Great Demon King perished, his body transformed into the Devouring Demon Flower, meaning he hasn’t truly died or returned to fate. But if you destroyed the flower, things would change. Once he’s truly dead and returns to fate, who killed the Great Demon King would shoulder that cost. And even Buddhists and Taoists don’t want to meddle with such affairs, proving that it’s no small burden. Who could endure it?”

”I see!” Ye Qing suddenly understood, but still felt some doubts, ”But we’re only spreading the news about the Great Demon King being the Devouring Demon Flower, not killing him. Why is that also not acceptable?”

”The Devouring Demon Flower needs living beings as nourishment to survive. If you reveal that the Great Demon King is the Devouring Demon Flower, fewer people would enter Beimang Mountain.” Shen Tianjun looked at Ye Qing, ”Without the nourishment, how long could the flower live? If it dies due to lack of nourishment, who among us would bear the responsibility for this cause and effect?”

Ye Qing finally comprehended, feeling deeply shocked. He never realized there were so many hidden truths about this matter. No wonder Beimang Mountain has remained for so long; no wonder so many powerful figures throughout history have refrained from changing it, unwilling to bear the burden of this cause and effect.

”However, those last five caves, someone did enter them, which truly surprises me!” Shen Tianjun said, ”By the way, you said you copied all the characters left by those people?”

”Yes, they’re all here!” Ye Qing handed his notebook to Shen Tianjun.

Shen Tianjun flipped through it, nodded slowly, and said, ”Indeed, it’s Buddhist texts, Taoist incantations, and this, Southeast Asian characters. Hmph, it is indeed the Corpse Ghost Dragon!”

”Senior Shen, you recognize Southeast Asian characters?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

”I lived in Southeast Asia for three years,” Shen Tianjun pointed to the line of Southeast Asian characters, ”This is left by the Corpse Ghost Dragon for the Southeast Asian sorcerer: don’t touch the Devouring Demon Flower on the stone platform after entering!”

Ye Qing’s face changed; he finally understood why they were attacked by those flowers. The Devouring Demon Flower on the stone platform was the trap set by the Corpse Ghost Dragon. Touching it would provoke an attack from the flowers!

Ye Qing didn’t know how they accidentally triggered the flowers, but it was likely due to some inadvertent contact.

”This Wu Tianchi...” Shen Tianjun looked at the last few characters Ye Qing copied, puzzled, ”I haven’t heard of this person before.”

Saying this, Shen Tianjun looked at the masked old man beside him, who also shook his head, apparently unaware.

”He left three sword marks on the stone platform, containing immense power!” Ye Qing explained, ”Yin Xianzi simulated one of the sword marks and was injured. And according to Yin Xianzi, there’s an extraordinary swordsmanship concealed within those marks!”

”Power within sword marks!” Shen Tianjun gasped and said solemnly, ”I never thought such a master existed!”

Ye Qing was also surprised, asking, ”Senior Shen, have you heard of such a thing?”

”Years ago, Divine Doctor An Shiping mentioned seeing such a person. But I was quite young at the time, and my memory of it isn’t clear. I haven’t heard of similar events since, so I didn’t pay much attention,” Shen Tianjun said deeply, ”I didn’t expect to encounter such a person here. Seems it’s truly possible to store power in sword marks!”

Previously, when Yin Xianzi spoke of this, Ye Qing was somewhat skeptical, but now even Shen Tianjun confirmed it, making Ye Qing confident in its truth. Since Divine Doctor An Shiping had personally spoken of it, it couldn’t be false. So, just how powerful was Wu Tianchi?

”Wu Tianchi! Wu Tianchi!” Shen Tianjun softly repeated the name, his eyes flickering with intelligence, seemingly pondering something. However, the expression on his face indicated that he hadn’t recalled anything.

”What exactly are those three sword marks like?” Shen Tianjun suddenly asked.

”I copied them at the end,” Ye Qing pointed to his notebook, and Shen Tianjun immediately turned to that page for a closer inspection.