Chapter 378: 18 Paths of Test
In the small town nearest to the Lightning God Forbidden Area, the hubbub of the beginning, as if a briefly blooming flower, like the broad-leaved epiphyllum, had faded away. Many merchants that lost a small fortune due to the disappearance of the Lightning God Forbidden Area returned gloomily. While the left, they were complaining about the person who completed the mission of the Lightning God Forbidden Area. It was difficult for them to finally find a place where they were able to earn a fortune, and now, they had to leave. It was already hard for them to survive in these troubled times, and now, their source of fortune was taken away from them.
Long Yi’s group of seven arrived at a restaurant. Currently, this place was already deserted with only three to five people sitting at the tables inside the restaurant. Being a shrewd shopkeeper who had seen many people entering his restaurant, he instantly knew that Long Yi’s group were no ordinary people the moment they stepped in. He bowed unctuously and welcomed them, as he directly led them to the private room upstairs.
After refreshments and food arrived, Long Yi started filling his stomach as he asked Red Lady, “Big sister, what are you planning to do next? Do you want to travel together with us?” While they were on the way to this town, Red Lady had already told them her experience inside the Lightning God Forbidden Area, with the exception of the incident where Ye Changli tried to rape her.
Red Lady paused and her beautiful eyes rested on Long Yi for a moment before moving away. Shaking her head, Red Lady said with a smile, “No. First, I plan to go to the Mercenary Guild to dismiss the Lightning Mercenary Group. As for the things after that, I’ll think about it next time.”
Long Yi was startled. When he asked for Red Lady to follow the group to travel together, he had thought that Red Lady would definitely agree. However, to his surprise, she flatly refused him. Nevertheless, he nodded his head and didn’t insist on her following them because he clearly knew Red Lady’s character. She was a very strong and independent woman, and once she made up her mind, she wouldn’t change her decision easily.
“Big sister, come together with us! We can take care of each other on the way!” This time, Nalan Ruyue was the one who opened her mouth. Previously, she always had an ill-feeling towards Long Yi’s relationship with Red Lady. However, after interacting with Red Lady, Nalan Ruyue had changed her views and was urging for Red Lady to stay with them.
Red Lady was surprised when she heard what Nalan Ruyue said. She had never expected for Nalan Ruyue to urge her to stay with the group. The evaluation of Nalan Ruyue instantly rose higher in her heart as she replied with a smile, “Little sister, aren’t you afraid of me stealing your husband? If I were to follow you guys around, wouldn’t there be more chances for me to snatch Long Yi away from all of you?”
Nalan Ruyue rolled her eyes towards Long Yi and answered, “If you want to snatch, then snatch, who cares about him?”
Red Lady giggled and her coquettish appearance made Long Yi absent-minded until Nalan Ruyue pinched the soft flesh on his waist, waking him up with a start. Red Lady was indeed a great beauty and there would be no man who would be able to resist her charms.
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“Little sister, may I know who was the one who was jealous all day long when I joined your group? I remember seeing your sour face on the journey back to Blue Moon City!” Red Lady laughed.
“Who is jealous of him? I was only angry because he was looking at you, big sister, with lecherous eyes.” Nalan Ruyue’s beautiful face became red as she tried to justify herself. Nalan Ruyue was stubborn and didn’t want to admit being jealous of Red Lady, as a result, she shifted all the blame to Long Yi.
“Little sister, rest assured, big sister still wants to travel alone. In any case, thank you.” Red Lady sipped her tea as she took a quick glance at Long Yi. When she saw him smiling at her, she suddenly felt that among all the people who were present at the moment, only Long Yi was able to understand her thoughts. Even though there were many here who didn’t understand the meanings behind her actions, Red Lady felt that as long as Long Yi understood her, it was enough. Having such a confidant was a great blessing in her life.
While the group was talking at the table, the cooks in the restaurant were complaining bitterly about Long Yi’s group. Who were these people? Ten roasted whole pigs, over a hundred roasted ducks and piles of other dishes were actually unable to sate their hunger. Could these people actually have a black hole for a stomach? Those seven people had eaten food enough to feed a hundred people, however, it still wasn’t enough for them! While they were complaining, they didn’t realize that a great majority of the food had went into the stomachs of the three god-beasts.
After several hours of enjoying their meal, they stepped out of the restaurant after paying. After they paid, the shopkeeper looked at them with a gaze which seemed as though he was reluctant to part with them. However, there was a huge smile on his face which was unconcealed and his eyes were shining when he looked at them. Such a generous customer, if he was able to encounter such generous customers every day, how wonderful would that be? The shopkeeper spread out his plump palm as he stared at it with dollar signs in his eyes, there was a genuine Amethyst coin silently lying on it.
When the group reached the exit of the town which wasn’t far away from the restaurant, they saw that there were two roads which led to different directions ahead of them.
The seven people stopped at this fork as they all knew that the time to part had arrived.
Red Lady was still wearing her fiery red skintight leather armor with the Scarlet Blood Bow on her shoulder. She appeared valiant and heroic in bearing as she turned and said with a smile, “I am going this way. Since we are headed in different directions, let’s part here. I hope we’ll see each other again.”
Long Yi also smiled, and after shaking off the sadness in his heart, he said, “There is no banquet without ending. Big sister, take care of yourself, we will definitely see each other again.” The rest of the group bade their farewells in succession as they prepared to set out in the other direction.
The beautiful pupils of Red Lady wandered around and finally rested on Long Yi’s handsome face. A complex expression flashed on her face on her moment, an expression of reluctance appeared briefly as it disappeared in an instant. With her face back to normal, she asked Long Yi with a smile, “Brother, can you hug your big sister?”
Long Yi smiled. This naturally was all he could wish for. He stepped forward and hugged Red Lady tightly.
“Little brother, don’t forget about your big sister.” Red Lady said using a low voice which could only be heard by the both of them. Without waiting for Long Yi’s reply, she pushed him away with a gentle shove and kissed the corner of his lips while standing on her toes. After that, she immediately turned around and left with a smile. In a moment, she disappeared from everyone’s line of sight.
Long Yi smiled and shook his head. With a voice that concealed his sadness, he said to everyone, “Well, we should also be leaving.”
Nalan Ruyue snorted and Feng Ling looked at him with a grin.
“What’s up? Is there any problem?” Long Yi asked in confusion.
“Boss, your…” Barbarian Bull smiled fatuously as he pointed to the corner of Long Yi’s mouth.
Long Yi placed his palm in front of his face and congealed a water mirror. In the mirror, he saw a bright red lip print at the corner of his mouth which was left behind by Red Lady.
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At the north-west edge of the Proud Moon Empire, there was a small town called Nine Deviation. That was there the Moxi Village was located. The Moxi Village was well known throughout the entire Blue Waves Continent as that was where the Moxi clansmen came from.
Like other people, Moxi clansmen also worked in the daytime and rested at night. However, what made them well known was that every single one of these clansmen practiced either magic or douqi. From the elderly who are already over 200 years old, to the ignorant youths, without a single exception, practiced either magic or douqi. Moreover, since the Moxi Clan was formed, they had a produced an astonishing number of Magic Gods and Swords Gods. Every single clansman in the Moxi Clan was proud of their own bloodline the most. As they believed that they were the descendants of God, the Moxi clansmen had pride in whatever they did.
It was unknown what day it was today, but inside Moxi Village, all the clansmen were gathered in the northern suburbs of the village. All of them were gazing far into the distance, seemingly waiting for the arrival of someone.
“Today is the final day, I wonder if the young patriarch can return before it gets dark.” A beautiful young girl of the Moxi Clan muttered as her eyes were flashing with affection.
“Yes, I hope we’ll be able to see him, otherwise our Qian’er will keep gazing till her eyes are strained.” Another young girl giggled and teased. Young Patriarch Li Qing was cool and handsome. Many unmarried maidens of the clan adored him very much, unfortunately, this young patriarch was not interested in any of them. He always had an icy expression on his face and refused to interact with anyone.
“So hateful, big sister is teasing me again. As a matter of fact, I am perfectly content with being able to see young patriarch every day. I never had any extravagant hopes because young patriarch’s heart no longer has any place for any woman.” The young girl called Qian’er sighed and appeared somewhat dejected when she talked about how the young patriarch would never have any place in his heart for a woman.
“Can it be that young patriarch already has someone he fancies? Who is she?” Another young girl curiously asked.
Qian’er looked around and whispered in her ear. That young girl softly exclaimed and immediately covered her mouth. Then, she lowered her voice, “How do you know?”
“As a matter of fact, this is not a secret. Any observant and conscientious person is able to notice this. She was the reason the young patriarch had become such an ice cold person.” Qian’er said as she felt a sense of loss.
Just when the other young girl wanted to dig deeper, the crowd suddenly cheered. Qian’er looked as far as her eyes could see and in the distance, she saw a small black dot. That small black dot was increasing in size rapidly it rapidly rushed over to their side. The speed which he exhibited was extremely fast as he managed to travel across such a large distance within a few seconds. Just a moment ago, they couldn’t even see his face clearly, but in the next moment, he was already in front of all of them.
Li Qing slightly bowed in courtesy towards the cheering clansmen. However, his expression was still as cold as ice and he didn’t say a single word. Now, his long green hair was casually tied up on the back of his head. His clothes were in tatters and he was covered with bloodstains which had long dried up. It was clear with a glance that he had experienced a cruel battle during the time he was away.
“Father, fortunately, this son didn’t fail to accomplish the mission. I have broken through the 17th Path of Test, Hell Magic Forest. Father, please allow this son to enter the 18th Path of Test, Heavenly Prison.” Li Qing walked to the front of a tall and sturdy middle-aged man and knelt down asking for permission. Even when facing his own father, his expression didn’t change a single bit.
“Qing’er, rest for two days. After two days, I will allow you to enter the final test, Heavenly Prison. I hope that you will not disappoint me.” The middle-aged man nodded his head and a trace of happiness flashed in his cold eyes. He was very satisfied with his son. When he was Li Qing’s age, he would never have dared to challenge Moxi Clan’s 18 paths of ruthless tests. However, his son, Li Qing, was able to pass 17 Paths of Test to reach the hardest path, the 18th. Never in his wildest imagination would he have thought that his son would be an amazing genius which surpassed himself.
Li Qing responded in agreement before getting up and walking towards the village. As for the crowd of clansmen, they moved to the sides, opening up a path for him to walk through. As Li Qing proceeded back to the village, every single villager was looking at Li Qing’s aloof and ice-cold expression.
“The back of young patriarch looks very lonely……” Qian’er muttered. Just a moment ago, when Li Qing brushed pass her, the coldness which spilled out of Li Qing’s body had nearly frozen her into a block of ice.
The Moxi Clan’s clansmen were extremely simple people. Their houses were made using wood and stones without any excessive decoration on them. The only things that appeared luxurious were the weapons that were hung on the wall of every household. There were various kinds of swords and there were magic staffs of different elements. Anyone of the weapons in the Moxi clansmen’s household would be able to fetch a sky-high price if sold in the outside world. Not to mention that the Cold Ice Sword Li Qing was using, that sword was priceless.
Li Qing, after changing his clothes, sat cross-legged on his bed and placed his nearly transparent Cold Ice Sword on his lap.
Among the 18 Paths of Test of the Moxi Clan, other than the first six Paths that were considered fairly easy, the Paths after the sixth one would increase in difficulty exponentially. Li Qing had hovered at the gates of hell countless times and had almost seen the king of hell many times. However, he managed to struggle and keep his life. After experiencing all sorts of deadly situations, Li Qing’s strength grew greatly. The divine bloodline within his body was completely awakened, and the god-beast silhouette he summoned was a lot clearer now.
“Young master, Li Qing will not disappoint you.” Li Qing softly said, and fluctuations appeared in his frozen eyes.