Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
After many years, the two fellow brothers from Ghost Ax Sect appeared in the demon world.
They were thrown out of a storm and landed on the top of a cliff. The wind was laced with freezing cold demon qi that pierced through the bone, and the two of them couldn’t help frowning.
Old Antique couldn’t help sighing. “So this is what it’s like inside the Gate Between Worlds… As expected, it’s very different.”
Taoist Taotie nodded his head. “No wonder people say that the environment here is very harsh; it’s difficult just trying to withstand the demon qi alone. Given my and senior brother’s realms, we can just barely handle it, but a person at the Soul Formation stage or below who shows up here without any protective measures won’t last even a day.”
Speaking up to this point, Taoist Taotie suddenly felt rueful. It was a good thing that he hadn’t impulsively gone through the Gate Between Worlds years ago… The conditions here were far worse than he had imagined.
But this time, the two fellow brothers had resolved their differences and had made ample preparations before coming here, which was a source of deep relief to Taoist Taotie.
They were here for the legendary demon world holy water.
Based on reliable information which Taoist Taotie had obtained many years ago, the demon world holy water could be found in a remote village inside the Gate Between Worlds. With the holy water, they would be able to completely get rid of the side effects of cultivating the wrong art.
Taoist Taotie revealed a rare, excited expression when he thought about how he could take off his face mask after wearing it for hundreds of years. “Senior brother, we’ll definitely succeed!”
Old Antique nodded. “Let’s hope so; just let nature take its course.”
On the cliff, they unfolded the map to reconfirm the location of that village. This map had been extremely costly for Taoist Taotie to purchase from a dealer in precious maps. These map dealers traveled all over the world the whole year round and collected precious maps of secret locations. It was a lot more convenient if you had a map of the secret location; at the very least, you wouldn’t need to worry about getting lost in an unfamiliar place.
This map of the Gate Between Worlds was part of the map dealer’s collection, and he would update it regularly. While the Gate Between Worlds only opened once every five years, there would always be big shots who would emerge halfway from traveling around the Gate, and the dealer would get the latest updates from them.
Of course, it was extremely costly to buy this type of map.
There was no way regular people could afford to buy it.
The two fellow brothers had had to pool their funds together in order to buy this one map, and in preparing to enter the Gate Between Worlds this time, they had used up almost all of their savings.
These were two epic-level killers in the murder industry… what more was there to say about anyone else?
Staring at the map, Taoist Taotie felt like his heart was bleeding. “Senior brother… if we’re unable to find this demon world holy water, wouldn’t we have spent all this for nothing?”
Old Antique: “Hm… if we can’t find it, we can just travel around the Gate Between Worlds, draw a new, updated map, then sell it.”
Taoist Taotie: “…”
There was this kind of operation?!
After confirming the location, they instantly set out. It was impossible to absorb spirit energy inside the Gate and store it as spirit power inside the body since the spirit energy here was very thin. They could only take spirit power supplements and ensure that they weren’t consuming spirit energy continuously; if they grew short of spirit power, it would be very dangerous for them.
For a short-term operation inside the Gate Between Worlds, the smartest method hence was to get things done as quickly as possible. This time, however, the two fellow brothers had prepared enough elixirs for two people to use. If they were careful with how much they used, the elixirs could last them for about three months.
They had made all of these preparations for the sake of the demon world holy water.
They were determined to obtain it.
The coordinates which the dealer had marked on the map were very precise, and following the map, the two individuals finally found that remote village.
According to the map dealer’s description, this village wasn’t very old, and had actually only been established several years ago. Furthermore, the village chiefs were two human cultivators who had entered the Gate Between Worlds by mistake. They had survived by relying on an abundant supply of demon world holy water, and in the end they had simply put down roots here and established a village.
As the both of them approached the village entrance, they frowned deeply at the view in front of them.
This was because the spirit energy inside this village was abnormally dense! Unlike the sparse spirit energy everywhere else in the Gate, the spirit energy here was as dense as if it had been gathered a hundredfold with a spirit gathering array. Just approaching the village entrance gave you a carefree and relaxed feeling. In a world with sparse spirit energy, this village was simply like a refreshing oasis in the desert.
Not only that, Old Antique even saw that there were many types of spirit grass and trees that had been planted in the village. These varieties were the kind which relied on a pure environment in order to grow. In an extremely harsh environment like the Gate Between Worlds, which was filled with demon qi, it should be impossible for them to survive.
How was this possible?
“Senior brother, look…”
Stretching out one finger, Taoist Taotie used spirit energy to draw in a bit of demon qi from the air around them, and it transformed into a purple spirit light which hovered above his fingertip.
The moment he pointed his finger at the village, this demon qi actually disintegrated in a blink of an eye.
Taoist Taotie theorized, “It appears that the dense spirit energy around the village has already formed a natural barrier which the Gate’s demon qi can’t penetrate at all. This village probably doesn’t even need to worry about being attacked by demon beasts; these beasts hunt prey with the help of demon qi, and since the village is cut off from demon qi, the demon beasts wouldn’t be able to enter at all.”
Speaking up to this point, both of them had pleasantly surprised expressions on their faces. This was like an utopia inside the Gate Between Worlds!
As they were thinking this, they suddenly saw a man carrying a bamboo basket on his back walk out of the village.
“Huh? Human cultivators?” That person was astounded to see them, but showed no sign of fear.
When they didn’t respond, the villager became anxious. “Don’t just stand there, hurry up and come in first… the demon beasts will sense you if you’re outside.”
After he spoke, the villager pointed to a stele at the entrance. “See this stone? This is the boundary line.”
Startled, the two of them hurriedly stepped into the village in perfect rhythm, as if they had rehearsed the move.
The villager couldn’t help laughing. “Are you here for the holy water?”
They were taken aback once again, and Old Antique nodded. “That’s right.”
It was obvious that this villager was already used to this. He heaved a sigh. “You’re not the first to come here looking for the holy water, but to be able to find our village, you must be men of great ability. But if you want the holy water, you have to meet our chief first. He’s busy at the moment, so how about you come to my place first?”
Taoist Taotie: “Will that be alright?”
The villager replied with a smile, “Of course it’s alright; after all, you’re our clients, and our chief has said that the customers are god.”
They followed the villager down the road, and met the hospitable gazes of many other villagers along the way.
Old Antique asked, “Are there many people living here?”
“Not many, since this village hasn’t been around for very long. The first ones were some cultivators who became trapped inside the Gate and weren’t able to get out. The chiefs then discovered a use for the holy water, and so took it upon themselves to establish this village,” the villager replied.
Taoist Taotie: “Then what do you normally do here?”
The villager thought for a while before he answered, “We’re very laid back; we plant melons, we plant grass, but our main business is selling holy water… sometimes we also weed the socialist wool 1 .”
Old Antique: “…”
Taoist Taotie: “…”
