“Little brat, you—how did you get out?”
Elder Longbrow asked in shock.
Ye Qiu replied, “I walked out with my feet, naturally. Didn’t you see?”
“You didn’t encounter an illusion?”
“No.”
In that instant, Elder Longbrow’s face turned extremely sour.
Patriarch, why are you targeting me?
I curse your immortal hide.
Elder Longbrow inwardly raged at Heavenly Master Zhang.
In the first trial, the poisonous miasma, Ye Qiu and Shuisheng passed effortlessly, while he had to use a life-saving talisman to get through.
In the second trial, the Soul-Devouring Ants, Ye Qiu and Shuisheng each scared them off with a single shout, while he was driven to a desperate escape using a teleportation technique, spitting blood and nearly dying in the process.
As for the third trial, he’d been ensnared in an illusion, not only stripping off his clothes but ultimately relying on the Five Thunder Orthodox Method to break free.
Now look at Ye Qiu and Shuisheng.
Shuisheng chanted a calming mantra seven times and strolled through the third trial with ease, while Ye Qiu didn’t even encounter an illusion.
How could Elder Longbrow not be furious?
“Damn it, I suspect the Patriarch is targeting me,” Elder Longbrow grumbled aloud.
Ye Qiu laughed, “Old man, be confident—drop the ‘suspect’ part.”
“What, even you’re mocking me?” Elder Longbrow clenched his fists, ready to strike, but remembering Ye Qiu’s innate true qi and knowing he was no match, he unclenched them and instead slapped Shuisheng on the forehead.
“Uncle Master, why’d you hit me?” Shuisheng complained.
Elder Longbrow snapped, “Do I need a reason to hit you? I hit when I want.”
You little punk, I might not dare touch Ye Qiu, but you think I won’t dare touch you?
Shuisheng’s face instantly filled with grievance.
Ye Qiu put away his smile and said, “Old man, to be honest, after these three trials, I’ve figured it out. Heavenly Master Zhang isn’t targeting you—he’s tempering you.”
“Tempering me?” Elder Longbrow sneered, “I’m about to die, what’s there to temper? Is he trying to grind me into ashes?”
Ye Qiu said, “Mencius once said, ‘When heaven bestows a great task on a person, it first tests their will, exhausts their body, starves their flesh…’ I think Heavenly Master Zhang had the same intention.”
“Enough, little brat, stop trying to console me. Let’s hurry up and find the Heavenly Master’s Sword… Patriarch, I curse you to clean toilets in the heavenly court,” Elder Longbrow muttered, still fuming.
“Uncle Master, does the heavenly court have toilets?” Shuisheng asked.
Elder Longbrow: “…”
The trio set off again, heading toward Dalong Mountain.
At this point, they were just two hundred metres away.
As they walked, Elder Longbrow asked, “Shuisheng, when I was caught in the illusion, did I do anything strange?”
“Yes, Uncle Master, you took off your clothes…”
“Shut up!” Elder Longbrow barked, “I’ll ask you again—did I do anything strange? Shuisheng, think carefully before you answer.”
Shuisheng, honest as ever, said, “Uncle Master, you not only took off your clothes but also hugged a stone figure and kissed it.”
Elder Longbrow exploded, “Nonsense! Stop slandering me!”
“I’m not slandering you. If you don’t believe me, ask Dr. Ye—he saw it too.”
“Little brat, did you see it?” Elder Longbrow glared at Ye Qiu, his eyes carrying a heavy warning.
Ye Qiu shook his head, “I didn’t see anything.”
“Shuisheng, you hear that? Ye Qiu saw nothing, and you’re still slandering me?”
“Uncle Master, I’m not slandering you. You were kissing that stone figure like it was a woman…”
Thwack!
Elder Longbrow smacked Shuisheng on the head, roaring, “Tell me you saw nothing!”
“No, I saw it.”
Slap!
Elder Longbrow slapped Shuisheng’s bald head again, shouting, “I’ll give you one more chance to rephrase—you saw nothing.”
“Uncle Master, I saw it, I saw everything,” Shuisheng said earnestly, “I’m telling the truth, why won’t you believe me?”
“You idiot, you’re going to drive me mad!” Elder Longbrow stormed off, sleeves flapping.
Shuisheng, baffled, asked, “Dr. Ye, what’s wrong with Uncle Master?”
Ye Qiu chuckled, “Ignore him, he’s got a screw loose.”
“Yeah, I think Uncle Master’s sick too, and not lightly. Dr. Ye, can you cure him?”
Ye Qiu: “…”
The two-hundred-metre distance passed quickly.
Dalong Mountain loomed about a hundred zhang high, like a colossal sword piercing the sky, its aura awe-inspiring.
The mountain itself was barren, but its base was lush with grass and trees.
Where could the Heavenly Master’s Sword be?
Ye Qiu’s gaze swept around, landing on a patch of grass, and his heart jolted.
“Old man, look over there—what’s that?”
Elder Longbrow followed Ye Qiu’s pointing finger, and the next second, he dashed over.
“A hundred-year-old wild ginseng!”
“A hundred-year-old gastrodia!”
“A hundred-year-old fleeceflower root!”
“A hundred-year-old codonopsis!”
“A hundred-year-old dendrobium!”
Elder Longbrow spotted over a dozen precious herbs, all over a century old, in one glance.
“Huh?”
Elder Longbrow let out a surprised sound, his eyes locking onto something beneath a rock, burning with excitement.
Ye Qiu walked over, his face showing shock as well.
A three-hundred-year-old lingzhi!
Beneath the rock grew a massive lingzhi, a metre wide, weighing at least twenty or thirty jin by the look of it.
“I knew it—a land of true dragons must hold treasures,” Elder Longbrow said, lunging for the lingzhi.
“Stop!”
Ye Qiu swiftly grabbed Elder Longbrow’s shoulder.
“Little brat, what are you doing? I saw this lingzhi first, you’re not stealing it from me!”
Elder Longbrow shook off Ye Qiu’s hand and lunged again.
Thud!
Ye Qiu kicked Elder Longbrow away.
“Ye Qiu, what’s your problem?” Elder Longbrow snapped, “Don’t think I won’t fight you just because I don’t want to bully the young.”
Ye Qiu said coldly, “If you want to die, I won’t stop you.”
Elder Longbrow froze, “What do you mean?”
Ye Qiu explained, “This lingzhi, along with the other hundred-year-old herbs, died long ago. Their medicinal properties are gone, and not only that, they’re full of deadly poison.”
“Poison? No way, they look perfectly healthy,” Elder Longbrow said, incredulous.
Ye Qiu unleashed a sword qi, slicing the lingzhi at its root.
Soon, Elder Longbrow saw black liquid oozing from the lingzhi’s base, foul-smelling and corrosive, hissing and smoking like sulfuric acid.
“What—how could this be?”
Elder Longbrow was stunned.
“It’s likely the soil,” Ye Qiu said, then fired another sword qi, blasting a pit into the grass.
To their surprise, the soil was pitch-black, exuding an eerie, sinister vibe.
Elder Longbrow’s face changed drastically.
“Damn it, the land of true dragons has turned into a place of great peril.”
