Chapter Thirty-Five: Blazing Flames Engulfing the Body

  The eight-thousand-step stone staircase is a watershed.

  Xin Youtao stood on the 8,004th stone step, covering a tired yawn with his hand, and turned to look at Murong Qiu on the 8,000th stone step with a cold expression. He stretched out his right hand in front of his chest and drew a semicircle, "You must be very proud to have made it this far?"

  Xiao Qiu was well aware of the prince's cowardice and could come up with a few sarcastic remarks at any time, but these words only circulated in her mind for a moment before disappearing. After all the effort to climb so high, it wasn't to engage in a war of words with someone, but to accept an even greater challenge.

  He just adjusted his breath and calmed himself down, determined not to waste all his previous efforts.

  Xiao Qiu stepped up onto a stone step, with steep cliffs on her left and precipices on her right. Clusters of white clouds churned beneath her feet. Everything seemed unchanged except that she was now closer to Xin Yu Tao, but Xiao Qiu's feelings had undergone a drastic transformation: it was as if she had stepped into the midst of flames, her hair singeing, her skin melting, and her three souls and seven spirits flying out from the top of her head.

  The most torturous thing was that taking a step back would have eliminated the pain. The force behind her was so strong that Xia Qiu almost wanted to roll over directly.

  "It feels hot, right? It will cool down if you retreat. Retreat and it will be cooler." Xinyu Tao didn't miss the chance to mock him.

  Xiao Qiu didn't look at him, making an effort to stand firm, recalling the secret that Meng Yuanhou had imparted to him at the foot of the mountain. He made his breathing as long and steady as possible, thinking "all cultivation is against heaven." Xiao Qiu remembered Du's words and added another sentence: Heaven wants people to seek benefits and avoid harm, but those who go against heaven must instead face difficulties head-on.

  The searing pain was just an illusion caused by the spell, Xia Qiu's body was still intact, he struggled to suppress the urge to retreat and stepped up another level of stone steps.

  Xin Yutao nodded in approval, turned around and stepped up to the next level, effortlessly as if climbing ordinary stone steps. "Actually, I still have some admiration for you, Mu Xingqiu. When fighting against the snake demon, you were braver than others, but also a bit foolish, knowing you couldn't win yet still rushing forward to die. Of course, your luck wasn't bad, running into a Wuxing master, not only didn't die, but inexplicably obtained the Dao root."

  Xin Yutao turned his head and took a glance, "Have you ever thought that the young masters of Ye Lin Town are now stronger than others, not because of better qualifications, but because your Dao roots come from a more special place?"

  Xiao Qiu knew what Xin Yu Tao was hinting at, and he had indeed been suspicious. Ye Lin Town was an ordinary border town, but the nine boys who came out of here were all normal just a few months ago, without any special features. After being invaded by the demon species, they all underwent inexplicable changes. Not only did they possess Dao roots, but their learning abilities also became stronger.

  Before the arrival of other children with Tao roots, this was not obvious, and Zhang Lingsheng even thought they were useless people without a future. However, as time passed, the advantages of the Ye Lin Town youths gradually emerged, and even Shen Tongyu, the least hardworking among them, could rank in the middle among more than 100 children.

  The young people in Yelin Town had never discussed this matter before, but Xia Qiu had a number in her heart and knew that her companions also had similar doubts.

  Xin Yutao noticed that Mu Xiangqiu's expression had changed slightly, with a brighter smile. He quickly walked up the five stone steps, turned around and said: "Especially you, you're someone who has been in direct contact with the Demon King. Tsk tsk, climbing mountains to the highest peak, practicing staff techniques to perfection, I heard that recently you've also taken a liking to reading books, no wonder even the Sect Master holds you in high regard. Ah yes, and you have a little wife, one of a kind."

  Xiao Qiu suddenly sprinted up several stone steps and was instantly close to Xin Youtao.

  Xin Yutao was startled, his legs softened and he almost fell to the ground. He quickly turned around and ran out of a dozen stone steps before stopping. Looking back, he saw Mu Xiangqiu struggling to climb up step by step. His emotions finally calmed down, "You're quite capable, let's make a bet. I bet you can't reach 10,000 steps today. If you win, the dagger is yours and I'll never want it again. If you lose, return the dagger to me and publicly admit that you used despicable means to snatch it from me."

  In the forest of Ye Lin Town, Xin Yu Tao became a prisoner, Xiao Qiu took away a dagger with a ruby from him. In the Mirror Lake Village Lodge, Xiao Qiu had once voluntarily returned the dagger, but Xin Yu Tao felt embarrassed and refused to accept it. Now he wants to use the dagger as a bet again.

  "I bet." Xia Qiu spat out these two words, his internal energy fluctuating wildly. The scorching sensation that had originally enveloped his entire body now surged down his throat and into his five viscera and six bowels, forcing him to stop climbing and re-circulate his internal energy.

  By the time he came to himself, Xin Youtao had already turned a corner of the mountain and was out of sight.

  The Western Intercourse King's son climbed the mountain so easily, Xiao Qiu was only slightly surprised at first, and soon understood that Xin Youtao was using the talisman to cheat again, a few days ago he had just received a large batch of boxes, and naturally would also replenish the talismans that were confiscated and destroyed before.

  This is definitely not in line, but Xia Qiu didn't want to betray him. Meng Yuanhou was waiting at the top of the mountain, and Xin Youtao had to rely on his own strength to climb up the last section of the road. Xia Qiu thought that this coward would not even be able to step onto a single level of stairs in the end.

  After more than a hundred stone steps, Xia Qiu was already drenched in sweat. He looked up and saw that the peak was still far from sight. The extra distance he had walked today seemed to be all in vain. And one thought kept echoing in his mind: Meng Du hadn't said it was necessary to climb to the top today, there would be other opportunities later, and by walking a little further each day, he could eventually reach the summit successfully.

  This idea is reasonable, Xia Qiu has turned back twice, and finally forced herself to continue climbing the seemingly endless stone steps.

  He had already agreed to make a bet with Xin Yutao, and he must win over him. Moreover, there was another voice in his heart reminding Xia Qiu that it was precisely the idea of climbing several more levels of stone steps tomorrow that had led to his slow progress over the past period of time, until today when he finally reached the eighth thousand level of stone steps.

  Cultivation is against heaven, and Xiao Qiu has a deeper understanding of this sentence.

  After turning a few mountain bends, Xin Yu Tao reappeared, smiling and looking down at the pursuers behind him. "Eight thousand nine hundred levels, still far from it, Mu Xing Qiu, don't know how far you can walk before dark, let's make a deal, if it's too late, I won't wait."

  "Until nightfall, if you don't reach the destination, I'll consider it your win." Every word was a kind of torture, but Xiao Qiu had already mastered the skill of manipulating her internal energy, even when speaking without interruption.

  "Good." Xinyin Tao sat on the stone steps, "I have to thank you."

  "What's the thanks for?"

  "You didn't spread the news about the talisman everywhere, that talkative little Taoist must have told you about the punishment I received from the Precepts Department, right? You can keep secrets, you're a tight-lipped person."

  Qiu only told Fangfang about the confiscation and destruction of the talismans by the Discipline Committee, and the two never revealed it to a third person. It wasn't that they wanted to maintain Xin Yutao's reputation, but rather they didn't want to speak ill of others behind their backs.

  "Hmm, it seems you haven't learned your lesson."

  "Haha." Xīn Yòu Táo laughed very naturally, "It's fortunate that you are still a subject of the Holy Symbol Empire of Western Jiè Country, yet you know nothing about the symbol. The symbol is a good thing, it doesn't require a Dao root, nor does it need an inner elixir, as long as you add a simple symbol seal on your body——" Xīn Yòu Táo raised his hand over his shoulder, pointing to his own back, where his symbol seal was located, "even ordinary people can cast powerful magic."

  Xin Youtao raised his head, gazing into the depths of the clouds and fog. His expression was solemn, as if he were paying respects to a divine being. "The Fu Lu is the foundation of our dynasty," he said. "It's because of it that we humans can occupy the most fertile lands and multiply in large numbers. So don't speak of the Fu Lu with disdain. You're alive today, and even your birth, are all thanks to its power."

  "You've forgotten the Nine Great Paths." Xiao Qiu continued to climb step by step, getting closer and closer to Xin Yu Tao.

  "How can we forget? In the matter of resisting demonic invasions, the Nine Great Daoist Sects have indeed played a huge role, but the number of Daoists is too small. Look, the prestigious Mount Pong Daoist Sect only recruits over 100 disciples per year, and nearly half of them will never be able to condense their energy into a dan. The remaining half may be killed or become demons. Do you know how many demons there are in this world? Countless millions! Only talismans can equip large numbers of human troops, and only such an army can guard vast territories."

  Xiao Qiu wanted to ask "such an army" why they couldn't protect Ye Lin Town, but he didn't want to show his emotions towards his hometown and family in front of outsiders, so he asked: "Are you still going to come to Pangshan?"

  Xin Youtao shrugged his shoulders, "I am the prince, where Western Xiao needs me to go, I will go there. You can't understand this kind of thing."

  Xiao Qiu also unintentionally understood that he had already walked to Xin Yutao's side, and was about to brush shoulders with him when a shrill cry suddenly came from behind.

  Xin Yutao was taken aback, "Someone has actually caught up, Mu Xingqiu, you'd better work hard, if all else fails, just call out the demon seed."

  Xiao Qiu didn't respond, because he felt that the scream was a bit familiar. In the entire Pong Mountain, there was only one person who could make such a sweet and gentle sound even when screaming at the top of their lungs. He immediately forgot about the bet and the reward on the mountain peak, turned around and ran down the mountain.

  "Hey, does this mean you're admitting defeat?" Xīn Yòutáo shouted from behind, "What about your demonic powers? Does it allow you to do this...?"

  Xiao Qiu jumped down several stone steps with each step, and soon turned around four or five mountain corners. He ran too fast, if not for a level of stone steps that had obviously been damaged, he might have passed directly by.

  "Is it Xia Qiu?" A voice came from below the mountain ridge, apparently having heard the footsteps above.

  Xiao Qiu ran to the edge of the cliff and looked down, her heart skipped a beat and she even forgot to control her inner breath, until the feeling of being engulfed in flames became too intense, only then did she regain control of her inner breath.

  Fang Fang had one hand tightly grasping the crack in the cliff, while the other hand was firmly holding onto Xiao Qingtuo, about ten feet away from where Xiao Qiu was standing.

  "I'll pull you up." Xiao Qiu immediately lay down on the ground and stretched out her hand to reach for them, without asking why they had fallen off the cliff.

  "Little Autumn brother." Xiao Qing's voice trembled, her soft and gentle tone carrying a hint of fear, sounding like a five or six year old child.

  Fang Fang didn't say a word, she just looked up at him.

  Xiao Qiu stretched out his arm with great effort, but it was still too far away. He couldn't move any further down, or else he would fall off himself.

  "My goodness, what's going on?" Xīn Yòutáo also came down and stood at the top of a dozen stone steps.

  "Hurry up and help me, grab onto my leg."

  Xin Yutao hesitated and swayed on the spot, suddenly changing his face, pointing at Xia Qiu's head, "Be careful!"

  (Collection needed, recommendation needed)