novelraw Chapter 141 - 140: A Complete Makeover, Lost in the Crowd
Chapter 141 - 140: A Complete Makeover, Lost in the Crowd
"Zhou Guo! Zhou Guo!!!"
BOOM! BOOM!!!
Wu Dao Ming was on the verge of losing control. A series of furious roars escaped his lips, and his eyes had turned a bloody black. However, he ultimately suppressed the eruption of his Demon Nature and gradually calmed down.
WHOOSH!
At that moment, a stream of light tore through the sky. An immense figure appeared high above the peak of Dao Ming Mountain. It was the Exotic Beast Dapeng belonging to Zhou Bu’Er, the Hall Master of Dapeng Martial Arts Hall.
ROAR!!!
The Two-winged Red Tiger let out a fierce cry, roaring endlessly at the Exotic Beast Dapeng.
"Elder Wu."
A burly figure stood upon the Exotic Beast Dapeng’s back. It was Zhou Bu’Er, Hall Master of the Dapeng Martial Arts Hall. With his hands clasped behind him, he looked down upon Dao Ming Palace from his high vantage point.
WHOOSH!
The next moment, a figure shot into the air. It was Wu Dao Ming. The Two-winged Red Tiger also took flight, and Wu Dao Ming stood on its back, his gaze fixed on Zhou Bu’Er.
"Hall Master."
Wu Dao Ming cupped his hands in a salute. "May I ask why you have sought me out?"
By now, Wu Dao Ming had completely suppressed his Demon Nature.
"I’ve come to talk about that new disciple of yours, the one named Xu Qing," Zhou Bu’Er said.
"Xu Qing."
Wu Dao Ming frowned. "I wonder what the Hall Master wishes to discuss?"
"Wu Dao Ming."
Zhou Bu’Er asked bluntly, "Are you hiding something from me?"
"How could that be?"
Wu Dao Ming shook his head.
"Are you certain?"
Zhou Bu’Er asked again.
"Certain."
Wu Dao Ming nodded once more.
"I see."
Zhou Bu’Er nodded. He had no proof, no leverage over Wu Dao Ming, and he couldn’t act against him based on mere suspicion. "Elder Wu, you’d best be careful."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Bu’Er departed.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!"
Wu Dao Ming clenched his fists, a demonic light faintly glinting in his eyes.
Clearly, at this point, Wu Dao Ming already knew that Zhou Guo had planted a Heart Demon Seed in him long ago. With the Heart Demon now inhabiting his body, Wu Dao Ming no longer felt a shred of gratitude toward Zhou Guo.
At the same time, Wu Dao Ming was also filled with killing intent for Xu Qing, the one who had brought him the Dapeng Order.
"They all deserve to die! All of them! All of them!!!"
WHOOSH!
The words had barely left his lips when Wu Dao Ming’s figure tore through the air. He suppressed the Demon Nature in his heart, but he couldn’t contain the murderous intent deep within, and his actions grew increasingly unhinged.
Thus, Wu Dao Ming charged directly out of the Dapeng Martial Arts Hall and pinpointed Xu Qing’s location.
A few minutes later, Wu Dao Ming arrived at Xu Qing’s residence.
However, Wu Dao Ming was a step too late.
The courtyard house was already empty. Xu Qing had long since left, having moved to a new residence. All the information Kaya had passed to Wu Dao Ming was false.
"Bastard!!!"
After realizing what had happened, Wu Dao Ming fell into an extreme rage, his emotions spiraling out of control. He raised a hand and brought it down in a palm strike, conjuring a massive Palm Seal that blotted out the sky.
RUMBLE!!!
Wu Dao Ming’s palm descended with terrifying might, like a missile exploding. The entire courtyard house was obliterated.
CRACK! CRACK!
The surrounding streets cracked and split apart from the shockwave, riddled with fissures and crevices.
「The scene shifts.」
Moon River Prefecture City was divided into four major districts. The Dapeng Martial Arts Hall was located in the Beicheng District. After leaving his previous residence, Xu Qing put on the Evil Ghost Mask and disguised himself, transforming into an ordinary-looking, middle-aged man in his thirties. He then made his way to the Dongcheng District of Moon River Prefecture City.
It could be said that Xu Qing’s disguised appearance was completely unremarkable. He blended into the crowd, and if thrown into a throng of people, no one would give him a second glance.
「That afternoon.」
"Young Master."
Elder Yan returned from the brokerage with a smile on his face. "This old servant has already purchased a courtyard house in the Dongcheng District. The price was just a bit steep, at one hundred thousand taels of silver."
"Master."
Kaya said, "Wu Dao Ming did indeed give me a considerable amount of gold notes. In total, they add up to about one hundred thousand taels. Adding my own savings, we have two hundred thousand taels in gold notes."
’Two hundred thousand taels in gold notes.’
Xu Qing mused.
First of all, one tael of gold was equivalent to one hundred taels of silver.
Therefore, after a quick conversion, the funds at Xu Qing’s disposal amounted to twenty million taels of silver. This sum seemed enormous, but in a place like Moon River Prefecture City, this amount of silver and gold didn’t exactly make one wealthy.
This was because gold and silver circulated in the mortal world. Once a person stepped into the ’Second Realm: Extraordinary’, it signified they had left the mortal coil, shed their Mortal Body, and transcended the secular world.
As such, among the many Extraordinary beings, ’Primordial Stones’ were used as currency. Primordial Stones were nurtured by heaven and earth, forming ’Primordial Stone Veins’ of various sizes and shapes.
Most importantly, ’Primordial Stones’ contained extremely pure Heaven and Earth Energy. Cultivators of all paths could absorb it to restore their Power, and it could even help them break through to higher levels of Cultivation.
Therefore, the ’Primordial Stone’ itself possessed inherent value.
’Primordial Stones’ were not equivalent to the mortal world’s gold. If one had to make a comparison, a single Low-grade Primordial Stone was worth about ten thousand taels of gold.
This was because ’gold’ and ’silver’ were also materials that could be used for refining various Dharma Artifacts and Treasures. However, using ’gold’ and ’silver’ for Artifact Refining and the like required enormous quantities.
"Master."
Kaya continued, "You are at the First Level of the Mental Realm and require at least a pound of Level 4 Spiritual Food every day. I am a Demon Cultivator on the Demon Path and do not need Spiritual Food; I only need to absorb Heaven and Earth Energy."
"However,"
"Elder Yan is at the Peak of Invulnerability and also needs a pound of Level 3 Spiritual Food daily."
"Mm."
Xu Qing nodded. "Two hundred thousand taels of gold... we’ll make it last as long as it can. We’ve already left our previous residence, and I’ve changed my appearance."
"Also,"
Xu Qing added thoughtfully, "you two need to be disguised as well."
In the end, Xu Qing bought the courtyard house himself, spending one hundred thousand taels of silver. This gave them a foothold in the Dongcheng District.
Furthermore, Xu Qing bought two masks from a street vendor: one Rakshasa Mask and one Faceless Mask. These were intended for Yan Gu and Kaya.
「Dongcheng District, inside the new courtyard.」
"Elder Yan, Kaya."
Xu Qing called out.
"Young Master."
"Master."
The two of them stood respectfully before Xu Qing.
"Mm."
Xu Qing nodded and took out the two masks.
BUZZ! BUZZ!
The Encyclopedia of All Things flickered with a fluorescent light.
The next moment...
...
[Cataloging Complete!]
[Rakshasa Mask Level 1: 0/5 (A mask fired from clay by a craftsman and hand-painted with the face of a Rakshasa.)]
...
[Cataloging Complete!]
[Faceless Mask Level 1: 0/5 (A mask fired from clay by a craftsman. It has no facial features painted on it, creating a faceless ghost mask.)]
...
"From this day forward, you two will wear these masks. Do not take them off, not even when you sleep. And don’t go out casually anymore," Xu Qing instructed.
"Yes, Young Master."
Elder Yan put on the Faceless Mask.
"As you command, Master."
Kaya put on the Rakshasa Mask.
"Mm."
Xu Qing nodded.
Similarly, just like the Rakshasa Mask, as long as the Faceless Mask was worn, it would grant one Experience Point for every minute that passed. If worn twenty-four hours a day, it could yield a maximum of one thousand four hundred and forty Experience Points.
’Good thing I planned ahead,’ Xu Qing mused, ’I had Kaya buy Level 4 Spiritual Food in advance. We have a full month’s supply stored up. This way, I won’t need to leave the house for a whole month.’
Time flew by.
「One month later.」
A major event occurred at the Dapeng Martial Arts Hall. Wu Dao Ming, one of the nine True Inheritor Elders, suddenly went mad, fell onto the Demon Path, and became a deranged Mad Demon.
Overnight, Dao Ming Mountain was bathed in a river of blood. All the servants and disciples died at Wu Dao Ming’s hands. After Devouring all of them, Wu Dao Ming’s Cultivation actually advanced a step further.
In the end, Wu Dao Ming was besieged by the many experts of the Dapeng Martial Arts Hall but managed to escape. However, because of this incident, the Dapeng Martial Arts Hall was suppressed by the other two martial arts halls and lost a great deal of territory in the Beicheng District.
「Nightfall, outside Moon River Prefecture City.」
"Zhou Guo, Xu Qing... Zhou Guo, Xu Qing..."
A disheveled figure wandered aimlessly through the desolate plains. Demonic Qi surged around his body as he raved like a madman, endlessly muttering two names.
BLARE! BLARE! BLARE!!!
Just then, a strange phenomenon occurred.
The piercing blare of a suona horn echoed out.
Directly ahead, a dense forest suddenly materialized in what was once an empty wilderness. Within this forest, two paths appeared, and on these paths, two processions emerged.
One was a wedding procession, the other a funeral procession.
’Anomaly: The Red and White Clash’.
Upon closer inspection, the ’Anomaly: The Red and White Clash’ processions were much larger this time. The processions Xu Qing had encountered before consisted of only thirty-six paper effigies.
This time, however, there were a full seventy-two paper effigies.
The number had doubled.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The ’Anomaly: The Red and White Clash’ processions blocked Wu Dao Ming’s path.
CLANG!
Suddenly, the paper effigies set down the bridal sedan chair. A corner of the red curtain was lifted by a jade-like, fair hand, and a cold voice rang out.
"Were you just speaking of Xu Qing?"
A voice, both cold and alluring, emanated from within the sedan chair. Its powerful aura pressed down on the maddened Wu Dao Ming as it questioned him in a low, stern tone.
Under the pressure of this immense aura, the crazed Wu Dao Ming actually regained his composure. No longer raving mad, he stared intently at the sedan chair.
"Hahaha..."
Suddenly, Wu Dao Ming let out a wild laugh. His Demonic Qi shot to the heavens as he broke through the ’Anomaly: The Red and White Clash’s’ blockade, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
But the ’Anomaly: The Red and White Clash’ did not give chase.
「Meanwhile, within the borders of Moon River Prefecture City.」
「In the Ten Thousand Forms Demon Cave.」
"Jie jie jie..."
Countless streams of Demonic Qi swirled about.
A sinister laugh echoed out. "It’s starting, it’s starting... The seed I planted is finally beginning to sprout. Another half-year... just another half-year..."