Stranger Danger

Chapter 418: Soaring Celestial Silk

“You flatter me, Miss Longing.”

Ye Qing smiled politely. Now that she mentioned it, Hua Mei was probably testing his physical strength with her pipa performance, and Jue Yan his mental strength and ability to pierce illusions.

It was all to confirm if he was qualified to venture into the fog and help them.

Had he failed either one of the tests and proven himself unworthy, he would probably be dead already. And judging from how practiced their methods were, he had no doubt that they had tested countless warriors for heaven-knows-how-many years.

Obviously, those people were long dead.

“Besides that, we are running out of time. The corpse is growing stronger with each person it devoured using the Boat of Longing and the fog. We can tell that it is slowly but surely catching up to us. It won’t be long before the corpse revives, and when that happens, me and my sisters will surely perish, and humanity will suffer a great calamity. We beg you not just to free us, but also save those who would fall victim to this monster from tragedy.”

All three women bowed to him again with pleading in their eyes.

“But of course. It is my natural responsibility to save fair maidens such as you three and prevent a calamity from befalling my people,” Ye Qing declared with a solemn expression.

That was what he said, but if he had a choice, he would never help them in a million years. The way they phrased their words, you would almost think that they hadn’t kidnapped him, threatened his life with their “tests”, and were now sending him off to his death. In the end, they were just doing this for themselves. He was just the tool they were using to achieve their goals.

Of course, he had no choice but to agree to their plan. It might look like they were treating him cordially right now, but that was only because they needed him to save themselves. If he dared to reject him, he had no doubt they would kill him faster than he could say, “Fuck you!”

That was just the way it was. This was doubly true since he was no match for either one of them, much less the three of them together.

It was also why he had agreed to their request in such a sanctimonious tone. He was doing this one way or another, so he might as well make himself sound as agreeable as possible. Dropping pretenses at this point of time wouldn’t help anyone.

All three women wore grateful looks on their faces. “What a benevolent man! If you really can save us, then we swear to repay your kindness a hundred fold.”

“You’re welcome. Like I said, it is my natural responsibility.” Ye Qing waved his hand before asking, “So, we will begin the mission after the fog is gone, right?”

To his surprise, Longing shook his head and said, “No. We begin now.”

“Now? But that killer fog is everywhere right now!” Ye Qing frowned. Although it was only a matter of time before he ran into the fog, it was obviously easier and safer to find the corpse after the fog was gone, right?

Jue Yan replied, “Unfortunately, you won’t be able to find the corpse if the fog is gone.”

“I don’t understand,” Ye Qing voiced his puzzlement. “You said you left it in the orlop deck, right?” Even considering how big this vessel was, it wouldn’t take him more than ten minutes to scour the whole area.

“Yes, and no.” Longing gave him an enigmatic answer. “It is true that we had placed the body at the orlop deck, and we had, in fact, tried to search for it multiple times while the fog was missing, but for whatever reason, it was nowhere to be found.”

“Over time, we came to realize that the corpse only appears when the fog is present. If the fog fades, the corpse would disappear with it.”

“I see.” Ye Qing frowned deeper. In other words, the corpse only existed in its self-made space, the fog. This was looking dicier and dicier.

He had no choice though. It was his only chance at escaping this place.

“Very well, but can I have a moment to rest and recuperate?” Ye Qing asked.

“But of course.” Longing smiled before swinging her sleeve, causing a few items to fly out of the painting and land in front of Ye Qing. “These items may be of use to you. Please accept them.”

Longing had given him a total of five items. They were two Strange Artifacts, two pills and a piece of silk.

“What are they?” Ye Qing could tell that they were extraordinary just by probing them with his demonic thought.

Longing began her explanation, “These two Strange Artifacts are Hatred-class Strange Artifacts. The crown is called the Mao Day Crown, and the accessory is called the Heart Moon. They’re both protective equipment that can clear the mind and protect the soul.”

“The two pills are known as Resurrection and Renewal. Resurrection can heal any physical injuries and restore your vitality, whereas Renewal can restore your spiritual power.”

“Resurrection and Renewal?!” Ye Qing exclaimed in shock. Created exclusively by the sect known as the Valley of the Medicine God, both medicinal pills were outstanding medicines that sold for at least thousands of gold a pop. They were also so rare that only the wealthiest and most influential could get their hands on them.

Resurrection, as its name might imply, could heal even the worst injuries in just a short time so long as the person was still alive. Hence the name. Renewal could not just restore one’s spiritual power, but also heal their mind if it was damaged. This effect was so rare that it was far more precious than even Resurrection.

“This piece of silk is called the Soaring Celestial Silk. I’m sure you’ve heard of its name.”

When Longing introduced the final item, Ye Qing’s eyes bulged like he was stunned beyond words. In fact, he was.

Legend has it that the Soaring Celestial Silk was woven by the famous female sword celestial, the Flying Snow Sword Celestial three hundred years ago. There were twelve in total, and it was said that each silk contained a wisp of the Flying Snow Sword Celestial’s sword intent and a single sword technique of the “Soaring Celestial Sword Sutra”. Back in the day, the “Soaring Celestial Sword Sutra” was the sword art she had used to dominate every jianghu in the world and become the greatest warrior of them all.

The White Jade Capital had even made a historical remark that was remembered to this day: What does gender matter when your sword triumphs above all?

The Flying Snow Sword Celestial wasn’t just stronger than any man or woman, her heart was bigger than most as well. Before she passed away, she inscribed her life’s work and insight into twelve pieces of silk so that everyone else in the future could benefit from it.

As mentioned before, each silk contained exactly one wisp of sword intent and one sword technique of the “Soaring Celestial Sword Sutra”. Those who grasped both the technique and the intent would become the owner of one of the twelve sword techniques. If someone was lucky enough to obtain all twelve Soaring Celestial Silks, then they would have a shot at mastering the sword art that once took the world by storm.

The Flying Snow Sword Celestial had intended for everyone to learn her sword art and create a Golden Age of martial arts. Unfortunately, the world wasn’t nearly as open-minded and ahead of her time as she was, and instead of prosperity, her inheritance caused a bloody massacre that ultimately resulted in the twelve Soaring Celestial Silks being separated and lost in the annals of the jianghu.

But every once in a while, the Soaring Celestial Silks would resurface every once in a while and trigger yet another bloody massacre.

Sometimes, the road to hell was paved with good intentions.

Ye Qing never thought that Longing would own a Soaring Celestial Silk. Considering what she told him earlier, it had most likely been “donated” to her by one of the unlucky bastards who were kidnapped to this place.

“As I thought, you’ve already heard of the Soaring Celestial Silk. In that case, I won't waste your time.” Longing smiled. “The sword intent contained within this silk can suppress the fog to a certain extent as well.”

“On a related note, this Soaring Celestial Silk will be part of your reward if you succeed.”

“Thank you kindly for your generosity.” Ye Qing didn’t hesitate to accept all the goods. He was doing their dirty work after all. It was only natural that they paid him appropriately for his services.

After that, Ye Qing sat down and meditated right in front of the three women. He wasn’t worried that they would try anything.

Longing, Hua Mei and Jue Yan exchanged a glance with each other. No one said anything.

A little over an hour later, Ye Qing finally opened his eyes. His earlier fatigue was completely gone.

Longing floated up to Ye Qing and asked, “Have you recovered, Scion Ye?”

“Yes, I have,” Ye Qing answered. “Now, please tell me how the Boat of Longing is structured, where the corpse is supposedly located, and anything I might need to know to ensure the success of this mission in detail.”

“But of course,” Longing replied with a small bow. All three women would spend the next ten minutes or so telling Ye Qing everything he needed to know.

At the end of their explanation, Longing added, “Be warned that the fog is anomalous and everchanging. We cannot promise that what we told you is absolutely true. You’ll need to be ready for anything.”

“Understood.” Ye Qing nodded and took a moment to digest everything he heard. Finally, he said, “If there’s nothing else, then let us depart.”

“We’re counting on you, scion Ye.” Longing, Hua Mei and Jue Yan gave him a solemn bow.

“Don’t worry. It will be done.” Ye Qing gestured. “If you may…”

The three women nodded and flew back into their objects. Then, Ye Qing stored the pipa, the bronze mirror and the painting inside his Nine Heavens.

After he put away the items, Ye Qing sucked in a deep breath and mustered his courage. Then, he opened the door and stepped out of the room.

As soon as Ye Qing left the room, the fog flushed in and caught him in its disgusting embrace. It felt cold, humid, and evil. His skin hurt like it was being eaten by acid, and the rotten stench ravaging his nasal cavity was vomit-inducing to put it mildly. Even his mind felt a little slower and blurrier than normal. Clearly, he was suffering from minor corruption.

If he was weaker, there was a huge chance he might be corrupted and decayed as soon as he entered the fog. He would lose his consciousness and perish just like that.

The good news was that this much was within his limits to endure. Besides that, he noticed that the filthy energies in the fog was somewhat beneficial to his demonic thought.

The “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” was a demonic art, and it grew stronger by feeding one a person’s negative emotions. Negative emotions also greatly accelerated the practitioner’s cultivation speed and the power of one’s demonic thought.

However, Ye Qing had a small cache of golden dragon-serpent runes. That was why he rarely cultivated the “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” this way besides that one time at the Demon’s Tomb. There wasn’t nearly enough negative emotions in his surroundings for him to grow his strength in a meaningful way anyway.

That said, the energies within the fog were too varied, confused, and full of madness. Only a small portion of it could actually be used to improve his cultivation art. The rest weren’t just useless, but a grave threat to the purity of his mind and soul. That was why he didn’t dare to refine it willy-nilly.

While he couldn’t refine the fog for his own use, this discovery meant that his resistance was much higher than another warrior’s. He certainly wasn’t going to complain about it.

Ye Qing stepped deeper into the fog while maintaining a tight shield of demonic thought around his person. However, he had just taken a few steps when countless silhouettes appeared in the distance and rushed him without warning. They were incredibly fast!

Although the silhouettes were right in front of him, Ye Qing still couldn’t see their faces. That was because they didn’t have a face. They were merely indistinct shadows.

Not stupid enough to underestimate the silhouettes, Ye Qing lifted Red Sleeve and executed a saber technique. Crimson light manifested into existence before splitting into a thousand lines like the spring wind spreading out across the land, gentle and soothing. The lines then passed right through the shadow’s necks.

This was one of the three ultimate moves he created using the “Saber of Spring Wind and Fine Rain” as the foundation, and the “Soulchasing Saber” and his own martial insight as the supplement. Its name was “Spring Wind”.

However, the saber force failed to inflict any damage to the silhouettes whatsoever. It was almost as if they didn’t exist. They continued to charge him unimpeded and unharmed.

Caught off guard, one of the silhouettes managed to grab Ye Qing by the shoulder.