Chapter 183 - 132: "Don’t Fucking Touch It With Your Hand!
"Qi Yue, come with me. I have a gift for you."
...
Inside the main cave of the Mortal Realm camp.
Chen Fan led Qi Yue into the Yunling Pavilion, making no attempt to hide it. The moment the pavilion appeared before him, Qi Yue, who was following close behind, froze. His breath hitched, especially after stepping inside and feeling the dense Spiritual Qi.
The Yunling Pavilion... He had only ever heard of it in legends.
It was rumored to be even more advanced than a Training Room.
If...
If only he’d had a Yunling Pavilion back then, he might not have been forced onto the path of the Demon Dao.
Soon, Chen Fan led Qi Yue deep into the Yunling Pavilion. They stopped before a wall where a single Bamboo Scroll hung suspended by a hemp rope. Carved into its surface with chaotic Sword Qi was a single word: ’Diary.’ At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, but a second look revealed the sharp Sword Qi contained within the script. Chen Fan spoke softly.
"I know you have people you must kill."
"I won’t stop you."
"For the past month, you’ve been training Zhou Mo and the others every day. They’ve improved quickly."
"You’re a Sword Cultivator. This is my gift to you. You don’t need to—"
"Don’t fucking touch it!"
But he was too late.
The moment Qi Yue saw the Bamboo Scroll, he fell into a trance. As if bewitched, he involuntarily reached out to touch it.
The next moment—
Qi Yue was flung backward, flying out of the Yunling Pavilion in an instant. He vanished in a spray of blood and shredded flesh, landing squarely in the altar.
"..."
Chen Fan stared expressionlessly at the long trail of blood left on the Yunling Pavilion’s floor, then strode toward the exit.
’He can’t be dead, can he?’
’The guy actually dared to touch it with his bare hands.’
’My Jade Staff gives me the defensive power of a Level 3 City Wall, and even I couldn’t block that attack.’
’Did you think your body is tougher than a Level 3 City Wall?’
...
Within the altar.
Qi Yue had fainted. Chen Fan pinched his arm and gave it a shake. The feel of it was surprisingly good.
All the bones were shattered, and the skin was completely split open.
Shaking it felt like waving around a boneless chicken foot.
He had never shaken an arm that felt like this before.
"Don’t... don’t shake... stop."
Lying in the altar, Qi Yue struggled to open his eyes, his voice trembling with excruciating pain and weakness.
"You’re really lucky."
Chen Fan lowered the arm and looked at the bloody, mangled figure of Qi Yue in the altar, sighing. "You’ve stained my fucking altar red. Didn’t I tell you not to touch it? If you had landed just a little off, missed the altar..."
"I wouldn’t have been able to save you."
"I... I want... to join... the Mortal Realm."
At this moment, Qi Yue’s injuries were rapidly healing under the effects of the Holy Water. The process was extremely painful; his was an exceptionally thorough case of comminuted fractures. Every bone in his body had shattered into pieces and was now reassembling.
"Hmm?"
Chen Fan raised an eyebrow. He had always wanted Qi Yue to join the Mortal Realm—after all, having such a High Level Cultivator around would make many things easier. But since Qi Yue was still dealing with his inner demons, he hadn’t brought it up, planning to extend the invitation after Qi Yue had gotten his revenge.
He never expected Qi Yue to bring it up himself.
"Well, about that... I’ll think about it."
"Then... can I still comprehend... that Bamboo Slice..."
"Mortal Realm Members have unlimited attempts at comprehension. Outsiders only get one chance. You’ve already used yours."
Qi Yue’s injuries were mostly healed by now. He struggled to his feet and knelt inside the altar, his voice hoarse. "Domain Lord, I sincerely wish to join the Mortal Realm. Just now, I felt like I was on the verge of a breakthrough. I want to break through to Martial King, cut ties with the first half of my life, and start anew."
"Get up, get up."
Chen Fan hurried forward to help Qi Yue to his feet, a smile breaking out on his face. "I’ve thought it over. You’re in."
"Focus on healing for now."
"Once you’re recovered, you can take your time comprehending it."
...
One hundred Ghost Stones.
Two hundred Ghost Stones.
Three hundred Ghost Stones.
Chen Fan stood in the Yunling Pavilion, watching the scene before him with a blank expression. An hour had passed since Qi Yue joined the Mortal Realm. He was happy to have recruited such an expert...
But...
’This guy sure burns through Ghost Stones.’
Qi Yue’s exact words were:
"When the Sword Qi rampages through my body, my comprehension is at its peak."
And so—
Qi Yue had turned into a masochist. He would lie in the altar, repeatedly touch the Bamboo Slice, get his bones and sinews shattered, lie there as a bloody pulp to heal, and then, once healed, do it all over again.
Chen Fan had built a new altar for Qi Yue inside the Yunling Pavilion.
Combined with the Yunling Pavilion’s comprehension-boosting effect, the speed was even faster.
Chen Fan didn’t know how fast Qi Yue was comprehending.
But he knew it cost a lot of Ghost Stones.
Qi Yue was a Level 9 Cultivator, so healing his injuries already consumed more Holy Water than it did for others, especially for wounds this severe.
Only someone like Qi Yue could comprehend things this way.
Anyone else who dared to try would die on the spot, with no chance to even begin healing.
"Look, man,"
Chen Fan stood by the altar and remarked with a sigh, "How deep does your grudge run to make you push this hard? Don’t you feel the pain?"
"It hurts."
Lying in the altar again, his bones and sinews shattered, Qi Yue murmured in a daze, "But it’s worth it."
"No one has ever helped me in my entire life. You’re the first."
"When this is all over..."
"I’ll spend the rest of my life repaying your kindness, and then I will marry Gongyang Yue."
"Don’t say that."
Chen Fan clicked his tongue. "The last guy who said he was going to finish some business and then marry the girl... well, he died a pretty miserable death. That phrasing is bad luck. Seriously, why do you people always treat marrying someone as a major life Node? Why does it always have to be ’after I’ve done this one thing, *then* I’ll get married’?"
"Er..."
Lying in the altar, Qi Yue didn’t quite understand what he meant but didn’t say anything more. He got up, touched the Bamboo Slice again, and once more ended up as a mangled, shattered heap of flesh and bone in the altar!
"You take your time comprehending. I’m heading out."
"Wait, Domain Lord! Take a look at this move."
Qi Yue struggled out of the altar again, his eyes filled with excitement. "I’ve comprehended a Sword Technique—a Martial Art I created myself! Domain Lord, take a look."
"So soon?"
...
「Mortal Realm Celestial Pit.」
Qi Yue stood before a rock wall, a Three-foot Cyan Blade in his hand. There was no opening stance; he simply closed his eyes, his breathing growing faint and long, as if he were trying to merge with the wall itself.
The next moment—
The Cyan Blade thrust forward, devoid of any sharp edge, more like a trembling brush.
The Cyan Blade touched the rock.
There was no explosion of shattered stone. The Spiritual Qi was completely contained. With a low "TSSSS..." sound, like a hot knife through butter, a smooth, half-inch-deep groove appeared on the rock wall.
Watching from the side, Chen Fan felt that Qi Yue looked less like the Jiangbei Old Demon and more like a scholar wielding a brush.
Immediately after, Qi Yue’s wrist vibrated at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. The Cyan Blade stabbed rapidly at the rock face, leaving behind a series of fine, deep dots with each thrust.
The Cyan Blade abruptly slowed.
As if weighed down by an immense force, it dragged slowly across the rock wall.
For the final stroke, he held his wrist suspended for a long moment. The Cyan Blade never touched the rock, merely tracing a path through the air.
And yet, it formed the final, heaviest stroke of the two words he was carving on the rock wall.
Chen Fan.
"..."
Chen Fan stared blankly at the two words Qi Yue had carved into the rock wall. After a long moment, he said in a hoarse voice, "To be honest, I don’t think carving my name into a rock wall is a particularly good omen. Why didn’t you carve your own name?"
That being said, he could clearly feel the power contained within this Sword Technique.
He had previously fired a Level 5 Cannon Tower at this rock wall, and it had taken several shots just to barely blast out a small pit.
In other words, this Sword Technique already had the power of a Level 5 Cannon Tower. It was not to be underestimated.
And he had to admit, the two words were carved quite beautifully. A single glance revealed an overt, razor-sharp edge.
Only then did Qi Yue open his eyes and look at the two words on the rock wall. He glanced down at the Cyan Blade in his hand, a little excited. "This is the first Sword Technique I’ve comprehended. It’s more powerful than any of the Martial Arts I’ve practiced before."
"Domain Lord."
"Where did you get this Bamboo Slice?"