Chapter 507: Gatekeeper
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
In the beginning, besides masters of Dharmakaya, they depended on pure luck when traveling in Bomi. They didn’t know which rift or gorge they would come across or even how to leave. They were completely lost without any sense of directions.
But later, with the guidance of the masters of Dharmakaya, they found that Nether Soldiers patrolled at the same time using the routes every day – in the early morning, straight from east to west. No one has ever seen them return!
It seemed to provide evidence for digging crevices through the Nine Serenities. Nether soldiers went westward all the way to enter the crevice and came out from the other end of the crevice. In this way, they went round and began again.
Meng Qi held sword hilt tightly in his right hand, keeping the villains of the exterior from the sudden attack. He was calm and his vital spirit was concentrated, ensuring that he was walking in a straight line.
The Flowing Fire was hidden in the scabbard which kept the sword cool. Meng Qi clearly knew that the Flowing Flame was just like an invisible sun, where high temperatures were contained and its flame was like the edge of a sword. If he released its full power, it could melt metals and stones!
After the sword absorbed Ze Luoju’s blood will, the Flowing Fire became closer to becoming a top grade weapon with each passing day. It seemed that it had reached a breakthrough point. Although it wouldn’t bring him too many Karma points, there would be a great leap in its quality!
It was cold and damp with the red mist engulfing his whole body. It was as if he was wearing drenched clothes. Meng Qi stepped forward and counted time silently. About an hour later, he deliberately kicked a piece of gravel.
The gravel rolled forward and soon made the uninterrupted colliding sounds that turned quieter and deeper, indicating that there was a gorge or seam ahead.
The sound of the falling stone reverberated and gradually became silent. It seemed like it didn’t fall to the bottom. There was a picture in Meng Qi’s mind: an endless crevice across the north to the south, filled with blood-red mist.
Meng Qi slowed down and walked even further where he eventually saw a crevice.
It cannot be called a crevice, perhaps only a canyon of tens of feet wide, with clouds steaming and mist swirling around it. Its red color like water. He could only see some protruding rocks. Looking down from the canyon, he could see further deeper down the bottom, in which the red mist seemed to solidify. Light twinkled now and then, faintly revealing a strong breath.
Meng Qi turned to his right and headed along the first gorge he encountered when entering Bomi to the south.
Nothing grew above the gorge. The rocks seemed to have been soaked in blood. When he stepped on them, he would feel a sudden cold and silence piercing his heart.
After walking for another two hours, Meng Qi saw a tall tree standing upright. Its root deepened through the rock crevices of the gorge, and its branches were withered and rotted in its exterior. Surprisingly, it showed a little bit of vital force.
When he saw the big tree, Meng Qi took a breath and stepped toward the gorge. He stepped over the air and slowly descended.
Walking about hundreds of feet, Meng Qi found a hidden cave directly below the tree, then he restrained sounds and crashed into it just like an arrow throwing the tree.
“Huamei Heights.”
After a moment of silence, an old, hoarse voice said, “Come in.”
The cave was rather deep and had many branches, but near the entrance, there was an old man dressed with a black robe seated cross his legs. He had white eyebrows, triangular eyes, wind ears and deep wrinkles in his face. From his appearance, Meng Qi guessed the old man might have been living in Bomi for a long time, thus he was full of the cold and dead breath.
He looked up Meng Qi and said, “Why didn’t Ye Yuqi come by herself?”
He paused and suddenly frowned. “When did Huamei Heights get such a young the Exterior Master?”
Through his sensor, he could feel Meng Qi’s vigorous breath, which was like the rising sun, containing both great power and strong vitality. Although he could not judge Meng Qi’s exact age, he could guess that he was a young man under the age of 30.
When one reached the stage of Oneness of Heaven and Men, his breath and blood were steady. His flesh was hard to grow old, only his appearance changed. His body could be preserved for a long time after death. But his vital spirit would age and decay, the more his vitality faded away. His death spirit would be strong so that others could estimate the age roughly. Unless he was Dharmakaya, he would decay after death.
Meng Qi fell on the edge of the cave and said sternly, “You have stayed here for too much time.”
Without introducing himself or explaining, Meng Qi had a token in his hand, which was light green and carved with thrush.
The black-robed old man stared at Meng Qi for a long time before sighing. “It’s true that the waves behind drive on those ahead, so each new generation excels the last one. When I was nearly 30 years old, I reached the Heaven-man Connection.”
“Please tell me where is Yang Zhenchan now,” Meng Qi said, secretly thrilled.
If one wanted to find the whereabouts of a person, one could only rely on the villains of the Exterior by chance for a long period. Huamei Heights had been seeking for a long time to find the strong master who was willing to cooperate. In early autumn, the master left a message saying that he had found clues.
Originally, Progenitor Doumu intended to deal with it himself. However, it happened to coincide with Meng Qi’s application for examination so it was simply handed over to him.
The black-robed old man smiled. “I heard a fellow mentioning that he met Yang Zhenchan twice in the depths of the third and fourth ravines to the east. Yang was collecting Nether Pearly Grass and Red Soul Ginseng. He seemed to be planning to fabricate pills to make up for the hidden danger of his body. Hehe, they had the quite power, so they did not fight.”
“Was there any further news?” Meng Qi asked. This clue alone was not enough for him to track Yang Zhenchan. Maybe he has already picked up enough wonder herbs, or maybe he has gone somewhere else.
The black-robed old man shook his head. “Everyone who hides in Bomi is very careful and cannot reveal himself. My fellow maybe met him again later, but I don’t know. You can ask him.”
“Where can I find him?” Knowing that it would be a great challenge to find for Yang Zhenchan, Meng Qi calmed down and remained patient.
The black-robed old man pointed to over his head. “It’s almost time for the frontier trade. From the big tree, head west for about a thousand paces and you will come across a huge bloody stone. If all goes well, he will be there. When the frontier trade is over, scream the word ‘Gatekeeper’ and let your voice resonate. He will know to stay and find you.”
“Gatekeeper…” Meng Qi repeated these three words in a low voice, finding it strange. “His nickname is Gatekeeper?”
The old man smiled. “He has a well-known nickname of the Seven Luminaries Devil before hiding in Bomi.”
“Seven Luminaries Devil?” Meng Qi maintained his composure but was secretly surprised.
This was a truly a great reputation!
Seven Luminaries Devil, ever a Heterodox Expert, killed several top Exteriors experts and became arrogant. Later he offended the Destruction Sect and Luo Denomination, turning both the decencies and their counterparts into his enemies. Since then, he had disappeared without a trace. It turned out that he had hidden in Bomi.
Even before, Seven Luminaries Devil had already passed the first Celestial Ladder. From the black-robed old man, the Devil was similar to Yang Zhenchan. It seemed that Yang paid a heavy price to get rid of the murders at that moment.
“Well, once getting ideal he became savaging, but now he came down like wild dogs.” The old man sighed, feeling as if he was broken and grieving but was full of hatred and enmity.
Meng Qi nodded his head slightly but suddenly questioned, “Frontier trade? Is there the frontier trade in Bomi?”
“Haha! Where there are people, there will be a frontier trade.” The old man relieved his wrinkles. “Every Exterior expert here don’t think of staying here forever, so they wouldn’t give up their cultivation and promotion. Due to the special environment in Bomi, exotic minerals and produce growing here has quite a sinister nature, nether and bloody. However, everyone’s skills are different, some want the Divine Sun Stone, while the others want the Demonic Crystal of ghosts. Bomi cannot be fully satisfy all their needs, where it is difficult to get a breakthrough simply by breathing the vital Qi of heaven.”
“Therefore, some brainy businessmen bought similar goods and sent them to Bomi. Early, mid, and end of each month, there would be frontier trades happening under the huge bloody stone. The businessmen will then trade for specialties such as Red Soul Ginseng that we collect and make a great fortune from there. I’ve also got their help to relay my message.”
“It’s a matter of the long development, those vicious guys can resist the thought of killing.”
Meng Qi sighed and said, “So that is how it is.”
As for those who wanted to enter Bomi for collecting secrets directly, they either have the powerful strength, or they would be left here forever by those who were extremely vicious.
After dispelling doubts, Meng Qi turned back and planned to first look for Seven Luminaries Devil. When coming out of the cave, he remembered something and turned around to ask, “Do you know how many Peerless Master Pros and grandmasters are there in Bomi?”
“No more than the number of fingers on your hand. The strong in this stage are needed by all forces in rivers and lakes. As long as they become anonymous, they will never lack shelter. The Nine Evil Paths have no fear of being attacked at all,” the black-robed old man replied, slowly standing up.
Those who had to hide in Bomi tended to offend several major forces, both the decencies and their counterparts so that they were unable to stand in the world outside.
Meng Qi stepped in the air and suddenly heard a chain dragging on the floor. He looked back subconsciously and only saw the old man disappeared into the depths of the cave with many branches. He had dark and heavy strange chains around on his ankles, extending into a distance that sight could not reach.
“Being chained… Gatekeeper…” Meng Qi immediately speculated that Gatekeeper was probably the black-robed old man!
What kind of door did he guard?
Who’s locked in the depths of the cave?
Not wanting to provoke unnecessary trouble, Meng Qi flew back to the top of the canyon.
…
Under the bloody rock stood a crowd of people dressed like desert tramps. Some, however, looked like people from the Central Plains and the West Regions.
Feeling the cold and evil of the red mist, a beautiful young girl could not help shivering and whispered, “Dad, when does the frontier trade begin?”
She was a lively girl with bright eyes and splay eyebrows dressed in a white robe that covered her figure.
“Be patient. I told you to stay at home, but you insist on following me to see the elephant!” Her father was in his forties, wearing a black robe and a soft hat. Compared to the younger generation like his daughter, he seemed uneasy and vigilant.
“But I don’t know uncle couldn’t come in!” the young girl said grievously.
“Those hiding in Bomi have many enemies. They are afraid that somebody will take advantages of the frontier trades to make trouble, so only those underneath the Exterior realm are allowed to enter.” Her father seemed to be one of the leaders of the caravan.
As these words were spoken, a mighty strong breath appeared nearby, just like an endless dark marsh.
The newcomer stepped out of the red mist and took another step back after glancing around, hiding in the mist.
“What a horrible breath! It’s deep… deeper than uncle’s…” the young girl exclaimed.
Considering they were separated by red mist, her father kept his voice down and suppressed the sound, “That is Slayer Yaksh, who freely moves about in the Immensity Sea 20 years ago. Back then, he had offended ‘Mad Flurry Sword’ Shen Duliao and ‘Evil Blade of Immensity Sea’ Ze Luoju. Later, he even provoked Crying Elder, forcing him to hide in Bomi.”
“Slayer Yaksh!” The girl was stunned, her eyes rounding.
Every time she was obedient as a child, her parents would frighten her by pretending to complain to Slayer Yaksh. They told her that his favorite meals were boys and girls, where he would swallow with his three-feet-long tongue. They also mentioned how he would ride the black wind with his whining voice.
“It turns out to be this old monster…” She took a step toward her father in fear.
Red mist swayed, bringing with it another horrible breath. It was darkness rolling in the air, making people hallucinate. But soon, this breath also retreated and hid within the red mist.
“That’s Merciless Tyrant. He destroyed a city 18 years ago.” The girl’s father introduced to her again to expand her knowledge.
“I know…” the girl whispered. That horrible thing accompanied her for her entire childhood. Every time her close friends would scare each other with stories of the Tyrant. Now, the real thing was here!
He was also an old monster!
Suddenly, seven stars rose from the red mist, and the evil sense appeared and disappeared immediately.
“Seven Luminaries Devil. I don’t need to elaborate, do I?” The father’s eyes were full of vigilance.
The young girl nodded with trepidation because she knew that this was an old monster with even reputation than the other two.
The Exterior experts of Bomi came one by one, all stopping right on the edge of the perceptible red mist. They only made spoke to ask about the goods up for trading this time.
They were not only wary of the caravan, but also of each other.
The young girl’s father was about to introduce the exotic minerals and produce this time when he suddenly saw the red mist separate, revealing a young man dressed in a white robe. His appearance was not outstanding with an ordinary face and cool temperament. He held a sword in his hand.
This man has just appeared companying with strips of strong breath broken through the red mist which illuminated him. He came with the surging fog, scaring the caravan with trepidation.
“Who is he? How could he rush into this so unexpectedly…” the young girl said with good intention.
When she had this idea, she suddenly felt that the young man disappeared from her sight. A round of red sun rose up slowly and glow around. Till it reached the right Yang and purity, just like sword light and sunshine, dispelling red mist and shining all directions!
He seemed to be more frightening than all the old monsters who came before!
Hum! Along with sounds of defiance, all the strong breaths were withdrawn, and red mist subsided its fluctuation.
The young man stepped back and integrated into red mist as well.
The young girl was astounded, subconsciously thought:
What a powerful expert of the Exterior!
He is another old horrible monster!