Nightfall

The podao, that was splattered with blood, had been wiped down, now it was gleaming. Because of its dark color, it did not shine like snow, but was more like smooth stone. Ning Que sheathed the blade and looked out through the window into the desolate Wilderness.

Based on the black horse carriage’s terrifying speed, he could have simply escaped. The old monk could not have stopped him. However, the monk could have alerted Xuankong Temple, which was why he chose to lash out.

Just like what he had told Sangsang, the old monk who practiced penance was definitely not an ordinary person from Xuankong Temple. His palms emitted gold light, which made it evident that he was well-versed in the skills of the Buddhism Sect. His true powers were definitely stronger than what he had shown in battle.

However, the old monk had cultivated in Buddhism in Xuankong Temple for many years. He was well-versed in Buddhism and his cultivation state was exquisite, but he seemed not have experienced true battle. He had not expected Ning Que to lash out while they were speaking and that Ning Que would use his three most powerful skills. As such, he had been caught off guard and died.

Recalling the violent battle that had ended in mere seconds, Ning Que felt that Ye Hongyu had been right back then: cultivators of this world only know how to cultivate, but not how to fight.

A breeze entered the carriage through cracks in the window, whistling as it swirled around. The Big Black Horse pulled the carriage through the Wilderness quickly and quietly. It headed southeast in the direction Ning Que pointed at.

Looking at the desolate wilds outside the carriage, calculating the distance and the results of his previous calculations, Ning Que knocked against the panels of the carriage, signaling the Big Black Horse to stop. Then, he jumped out of the horse carriage and headed towards the depths of the Wilderness.

After some time, he returned with a black iron arrow in his hands. Congealed blood still covered the arrowhead. It was the arrow he had used to injure the old monk.

Much of the quiver, containing 13 iron arrows, had been emptied at Lanke Temple. Now he was in the Wilderness and might encounter danger at any time – each iron arrow was extremely important.

Hidden in a huge crater in the ground, as clouds continued to float by, huge yellow temples, looming between the peaks, were silent and peaceful. Suddenly, a faint chanting sounded from one of the temples.

After some time, several ascetic monks dressed in red monk robes walked the steep stone path down the cliff. These monks were expressionless, their faces akin to rocks.

The monk at the front wore robes that were obviously different. He was the chief monk from Xuankong Temple’s Hall of Respect – Qi Mei. He looked at the desolate plains before him, squinting and frowning slightly.

The chanting from Xuankong Temple had come from the Chief Preaching Monk, who ranked the highest in the temple. Chief Preaching Monk’s meditation heart had been uneasy, and he had ordered the monks from the Hall of Respect to search the Wilderness. Qi Mei might be the chief monk of Hall of Respect, but he had to turn up personally for the search as well. Furthermore, he knew very well why the chief monk would feel uneasy.

A preaching monk from Xuankong Temple had violated laws of Buddhism Sect, and had been burdened by the useless illegitimate son. As such, three years ago he had been banished to practice penance in the Wilderness. He had already fulfilled his sentence and should have returned to Xuankong Temple. However, they still had not seen him.

Chief monk Qi Mei brought the sadhus with him and went to the depths of the Wilderness as the Chief Preaching Monk had sensed. They continued walking until evening and when twilight came upon them, painting the world the color of blood, they finally saw a pile of ash.

The winds were strong in the Wilderness, but the pile of ash remained. That was because the pile of ash contained several shards of bone that could not be incinerated by any kind of fire.

Looking at the colorful bones in his hands, Qi Mei was silent. The sadhus in red robes were solemn as they surrounded the pile of ash. They sat down cross-legged and began to chant from the scriptures respectfully.

Qi Mei gave the shards of bone to a monk for safekeeping. Then, he knelt before the ashes and reached into them. He began searching silently. His stone-like fingers moved through the preaching monk’s ashes. They were like a sieve – didn’t miss a spot.

The preaching monk’s corpse had been burned thoroughly by talisman fire. Other than a few shards of bone, the rest of his body had been burnt into white ash. Qi Mei should not have been able to find anything, however, with the movement of his fingers, his expression grew heavy because his fingertips had found the remnants of the Great Spirit, which were difficult to dissipate.

Qi Mei stood up and walked toward the path they had taken earlier. Then, he recalled that when he had passed the Bodhi tree earlier, he had felt that the tree looked a little different from how it had been for the past decades.

He walked to the Bodhi tree and looked at the line of words engraved on its grey bark. His expression grew cold and the flame of anger in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

“In the 16th year of Tianqi, Ning Que of the Academy and his wife – the Daughter of Yama – Sangsang had been here.”

Why was it the 16th year? Qi Mei did not understand. He waved his sleeves at the ground, the pebbles, scattered around the Wilderness, rolled wildly, revealing faint tracks left behind by a carriage.

Qi Mei followed the tracks for several feet. Then the faint tracks disappeared completely from the Wilderness. He looked up into the distance, trying to guess where the black horse carriage was heading.

Night was approaching, the world in the crater had already been shrouded by the long dark night. At the yellow temples, at the apex between the giant peaks, one could still see the last of the setting sun. A chime rang from that temple, spreading down the peak. Several chimes rang back in several yellow temples at the same time.

The chiming of the bell in Xuankong Temple left the quiet world beneath, reached the desolate surface and spread in all directions. In a few days, everyone in the world would know that Yama’s daughter was still alive and that she was with Ning Que of the Academy, fleeing in the Western Wilderness.

In the depths of the Wilderness, by a well that had been abandoned for millennia, was a black horse carriage. Moments later, Ning Que emerged from the abandoned well with a filled water pouch in his hands. Through some unknown means, he had managed to find clean water in the well that had been abandoned for many years.

The nights were always cold, however, in order not to reveal himself, Ning Que would not make a fire, but place a few fire talismans into a copper basin in the carriage for warmth. This method was too luxurious – even Ning Que, who had plenty of Psyche Power, had to carefully calculate the usage of talisman paper to ensure that he and Sangsang could leave the Wilderness.

After having cold water and some dried food, Ning Que would begin cooking porridge for Sangsang, using the boiled water. Since the road ahead was tough, he had to take stock of his equipment – the most important things.

He was someone who wasn’t daunted by difficulties and had a store of talismans. However, his cultivation state was low in the beginning, so the talismans that he had written could not be used in the battles he fought in now. He only had about 20 talismans that he could use in battle, and there were not many iron arrows left in his quiver.