Chapter 80: Was It a Coincidence?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Li Nianfan looked at Nanan and exclaimed, “Nanan’s going to be a cultivator?”
“Yeah.”
Nanan nodded and clenched her tiny fist. “I want to go fight monsters! To protect everybody!”
“Haha, you’re ambitious! I’ll get you a gift if you got into the Sect,” laughed Li Nianfan.
This brat clearly remembered being captured by a monster.
“Really?” Nanan asked excitedly. She nodded and put out her pinky finger. “Pinky promise.”
Li Nianfan laughed. “Okay, pinky promise.”
“Brother Nianfan, I want to be a cultivator, too.”
“Me, too! I want to go!”
The other children all yelled.
“Oh? Why’s that?” asked Li Nianfan.
“I want to see Wukong!”
“I want to fly.”
“I want to cause havoc in the Heavenly Temple!”
The children all talked nonsensically, but it was funny.
Li Nianfan laughed. It seemed like his ‘Journey to the West’ story left a huge impression on the children. The children all became fans of cultivators.
It reminded him of Martial Arts novel fans in the past realm. Every reader had a martial arts dream.
However, those dreams came with big obstacles and challenges. Not a lot of people held out in the end.
Li Nianfan smiled and said, “Then you guys need to work hard! Get into the Cultivating Sect early and become cultivators!”
Li Nianfan said goodbye to everyone and headed to the market. He went to the fishmonger that he was familiar with.
“Mr. Li,” greeted the fishmonger. “It’s been a while since you came here to buy fish.”
Li Nianfan said, “I’ve been hunting recently. Been eating wildlife for a while.”
“Nice!”
The fishmonger gave him a thumbs up. Then, he said, “Mr. Li, see any fish you like?”
“Your fishes are not what they used to be.” Li Nianfan shook his head. “The fishes are smaller and there’s less variety.”
“Damn, don’t even mention it.”
The fishmonger sighed, “A demon has been disrupting the Clear Moon Lake, so I can only go fishing somewhere else. The quality is naturally worse than that of the Clear Moon Lake.”
Li Nianfan asked out of curiosity, “Is no one going to deal with the demon disruption?”
“Nope, there have been too many demons recently. It’s a mess. Troubled times lay ahead.” The fishmonger sighed. He looked like he was worried for the world.
Li Nianfan thought about the disruption in the mountains, too.
“When can we regain peace again? The situation recently sure is uneasy,” sighed Li Nianfan.
The only downside to living in the Immortal Realm was the constant presence of demons and monsters.
It was not easy being an ordinary man!
Daji took notice and thought to herself, ‘Seems like I’ll have to rush my sister. Master wouldn’t worry so much if peace is restored.’
Li Nianfan let the fishmonger pick a few big fishes. He planned to prep them into meals for the next few days. He decided to stay indoors before the Lunar New Year.
There were a lot of demons and monsters on the loose. They should stay inside until the coast was clear. Better safe than sorry.
…
The Izumo Mountains were huge.
There were a lot of cliffs and wild grass everywhere but not a lot of trees. That was why not a lot of people hung around the Izumo Mountains. Usually, only mountain demons could be seen here.
However, the Izumo Mountain was rather crowded today.
People were flying toward the Izumo Mountains.
They were clearly after the same thing. They all landed on the same spot.
The cliff hole was weird. The ground was shaped like an ocean wave, connected to multiple cliff edges. The mountain rocks inside were uneven and pointy. It looked like the mouth of a huge monster that was going to devour something.
There was a spot inside the cliff hole that stood out.
A stone wall was exposed. It was shiny, smooth, and glimmering. Anyone could tell there was something special there.
An ordinary man would not be able to cross over, but it was a piece of cake for cultivators.
They jumped in and levitated. Then, they observed the stone wall.
Old Man Sun and Lin Mufeng joined in, too.
“This must be a door!” guessed Old Man Sun.
“You’re right. It must be the entrance to the secret border.” Lin Mufeng nodded and scouted the area.
Although the news of the secret border was not made public, there were still around ten cultivators here. They seemed strong.
An old cultivator with white hair spoke up. “Everybody, it’s not easy being on the cultivation journey. We should let luck decide our experience in the secret border and we should keep it civil. What do you all think?”
“I agree!”
“Agree!”
Everyone agreed to that statement.
Old Man Sun told Lin Mufeng, “He’s the Qingyang Elder, a masterful predictor. He’s quite famous around here. He was the one who discovered the secret border in the first place.”
Lin Mufeng nodded. “If that’s true, this trip would be more convenient.”
The Qingyang Elder nodded at everyone. Then, he performed hand seals with both of his hands. He pointed at the stone wall.
Boom!
The stone wall was shining in neon lights. Then, it started vibrating. Everyone stared in surprise.
The light was brighter but it did not open. Instead, a bizarre pattern appeared on the stone wall. It had lines that were crisscrossed with stars and dots on it. It looked like a chess game.
Everyone stared at it with a questioning look.
Lin Mufeng was reacting normally at first. However, he lost it when he saw the pattern.
He stared at the chess game hysterically and felt a shiver crawling up his spine!
This, this, this…
The chess game in the expert’s yard?!
He almost lost control as he felt his skin crawl.
But… How could this be?!
He stared at the chess pattern in disbelief.
So, the chess game he saw was not a coincidence. The expert showed it to him on purpose!
Scary!
Incredible!
So, the expert planned this all along!
He felt relieved.
He was glad that he decoded the hints and followed Old Man Sun to this secret border. Otherwise, he would have disappointed the expert. He did not want to fail this opportunity of a lifetime!
A cultivator chuckled and looked at the Qingyang Elder. He sarcastically said, “Qingyang Elder, no wonder you told everyone about this place. You wanted us to help you crack the code of this chess puzzle, right?”
“Truth be told, that was indeed the case,” answered Qingyang Elder casually. He nodded and admitted, “I tried to decipher the puzzle to no avail. This chess game is set up by someone far superior in Chinese chess. It’s an astounding puzzle.”
Since he was being honest about it, nobody had anything to say. They put themselves in his shoes, then asked themselves what they would have done in this situation, too.
Everyone studied the chess puzzle.
Even the Qingyang Elder thought it was unfathomable.
Lin Mufeng snapped out of his shock. He stood at the side calmly and was being observant.
The Qingyang Elder did not seem as trustworthy as he looked. The cultivators here were inferior to him!
Was it coincidental? Doubt it!