Chapter 556: You Were On The Path To Heaven

Chapter 556: You Were On The Path To Heaven

The person in black was moving very quickly, but Ye Qing wasn’t slow himself since he had mastered the “Illusionist’s Grace”. But of course, he did not follow his quarry too closely. He did not dare to push his movement art to its fullest potential either. He made sure to withdraw his aura as best he could and keep a good distance away from his quarry. This way, he could make his escape even if his quarry somehow discovered that something was amiss.

The pursuit continued for a bit when suddenly, the person in black paused for a moment and turned his head sideways. Then, he continued to dash forward as if nothing was amiss.

Ye Qing took two steps forward when his instincts suddenly screamed at him to stop. It was like someone was pressing a blade against his back, or he had entered the sight of some ancient monster.

Once you had reached a certain level in martial arts, sixth sense was no longer just a superstition. Ye Qing narrowed his eyes a little as he recalled the person in black’s sudden pause and head turn. In and of itself, the movement was perfectly ordinary. But considering the circumstances...

Did he notice me?!

As soon as the thought flashed through Ye Qing’s mind, three of his left fingers immediately exploded without a sound. His flesh and blood then transformed into a giant maw that swallowed him whole.

Three breaths after Ye Qing was gone, waves of shadows abruptly crashed into the spot he was a moment before from every direction. For a moment, the darkened forest turned pitch black, the peace and tranquility of the night disappeared in the blink of an eye, and all light disappeared from the world.

For a moment, the all-encompassing shadow writhed like it was a living being. Then, it abruptly evaporated into thin air. Moonlight shone through the gaps between the leaves and branches, and it was almost as if nothing had ever happened.

Inside the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma, a pale-faced Ye Qing let out a huge sigh of relief. Despite the Strange Artifact’s disgusting gastric juice and vomit, he was smiling to himself and patting his chest to calm down his racing heart.

The shadow had felt as deep and unfathomable as the abyss itself. He had no doubt that it would devour and put him in grave danger if he had leaked even a hint of aura.

He was glad he hadn’t hesitated to use the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma or made the wrong choice of running away either. The consequences would have been unimaginable.

Assuming he chose to run, he was sure he would have run into the shadow no matter which direction he tried to escape to. Its range had completely exceeded his expectations. However, not running wasn’t an option either. He would have just died on the spot.

Luckily for him, he obtained the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma yesterday and did not hesitate to use it when the time was right. Thanks to a combination of luck and decisiveness, he was able to survive this potentially fatal crisis.

Finally, if this really turned out to be a massive conspiracy, he could inform Joy Bodhisattva about this. He would be improving his relationship with her, and she would owe him a huge favor. It would not be anything like the artificial favor she had forced upon him either. It would be a real favor.

Favor was a timeless currency. It was valuable and applicable across all places and times. Ye Qing wished to build a faction of his own in Northern Xinjiang, and that journey was guaranteed to be long and thorny. Therefore, every faction he could befriend, every good karma he could create, and every favor he could call upon would ensure that he was one step closer to his goals.

The reward was massive, but was it really worth the risk? After a moment of careful consideration, Ye Qing believed that the answer was yes.

For one, he had the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma. He could hide himself and even escape from the area at a moment’s notice, so his chances of being discovered were pretty low.

Two, the person in black had already acted upon his suspicion once and found nothing. Even if they were the paranoid type, they would be less paranoid for the moment.

In summary, he should be safe as long as he didn’t grow careless and screw himself over.

He thought for a moment longer before sacrificing another two fingers to the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma. Then, he moved the Strange Artifact toward the Blissful Spring without popping back into reality.

There was no chance he was getting out right now. The stench alone would alert every living creature within five kilometers of his vicinity, much less a Grandmaster. For now, he had no choice but to stay inside the Strange Artifact.

Luckily for him, the Strange Artifact could theoretically function forever so long as the user provided it with enough fingers, and this drawback wasn’t a drawback for him at all. With his vigor and tenacity, he could regrow even limbs instantaneously, much less a couple of fingers. He could remain inside the Strange Artifact for weeks if he wanted to.

Although he had lost sight of his quarry due to the delay, it didn’t matter because he already guessed their destination. It took him only a moment to arrive at the valley where Blissful Spring was located.

The valley pass leading to the Blissful Spring was guarded since it was a precious resource, but the disciples guarding the place all looked listless, sleepy, and inattentive. It was because what was a rare and invaluable resource to outsiders was nothing to them. After all, they lived here and got to enjoy the spring water every day.

Besides, they were all exhausted after working non-stop for almost the entire day, so it took Ye Qing almost no effort whatsoever to slip past them. He continued along the path leading to the Blissful Spring until he arrived at a cave entrance. There were no guards inside or outside the cave.

The cave wasn’t deep. A handful of night pearls and glowstones were embedded into the walls and the ceiling so that it would be fully illuminated even during nighttime.

It was exactly as Ye Qing had predicted. He saw the person in black as soon as he entered the cave. They were currently standing in front of the clear, bluish pool and thinking about something.