Chapter 299: The North Borderland

In a short period of time, little Chi Maojiu had returned. He spoke to Wen Leyang, “The child’s name is very odd. He is named Wangle, Leyang Wangle!”

In the area of Lingnan, South of the five ridges, the practice of witchcraft spells were still prevailing. Of course, the Art of Witchcraft there was much weaker as compared to the Seven Maidens Mountains’ cultivation method. Ma Zi was supposed to be an unorthodox cultivator without any sect. He passed by the Yunnan province when he was young and discovered the local rare Art of Witchcraft Spell, and was soon infatuated by the practice. After he had cultivated a few Witchcraft Sect’s skills, he discovered that the power of the Art of Witchcraft was merely mediocre, so he completely disregarded the matter ever since.

About four years ago, when he was looking for herbs to refine into immortal pills at the Yan Mountains’ region, he could faintly sense the trace of a strand of witchcraft power rippling in the air. Ma Zi was curious, so he followed the vibration of the power and finally discovered a baby who was still in swaddling clothes in the depth of the great mountain.

Next to the baby, was a strong burly man who had just passed away recently.

The burly man’s appearance was disguised, he was dressed in the ordinary attire of mountain folk. His back and chest were covered in colorful tattoos. He carried along only a few items that were used by the baby.

Chi Maojiu was speaking, when Wen Leyang raised his eyebrows, and muttered to himself, “Tattoos?” That muscular man who was always on Leyang Wen’s side was also covered in tattoos.

Ma Zi examined the corpse carelessly. He could not find any clue that was related to the identity of the corpse. He could only confirm that the burly man was severely injured beforehand, so he could not sustain any longer.

He never found anything useful from the burly man’s corpse. Yet within the baby’s body right now, there was the utmost purest witchcraft power that was accumulated beyond his imagination. Ma Zi studied the Art of Witchcraft before. Even though he did not understand the situation of this child before his eyes, he knew the value of this baby’s witchcraft power.

On the baby’s neck, hung a longevity lock that was beyond exquisite. The golden lock was engraved with the baby’s name – Wangle.

Ever since that day, the baby has stayed by Ma Zi’s side. In Ma Zi’s perception, this boy was nothing but a spiritual beast that he took care of. He treated the boy in a manner that was beyond harsh on usual days.

As for the boy’s name, Ma Zi had never mentioned it before.

“Everything that Ma Zi knew, is only as such. He unintentionally picked up Leyang Wangle from the desolated mountains. As for what actually happened to the Painting Town, he had utterly no idea.” As he was saying that, little Chi Maojiu retrieved a longevity lock that was shimmering with a golden glow from his chest pocket and passed it to Wen Leyang, “This golden lock here has been cast with a witchcraft spell by someone once. There ought to be some important corpse dance moves that are sealed inside!”

Ma Zi’s Art of Witchcraft was only mediocre. He was also the unorthodox cultivator from Yunnan province. Although he could sense that the longevity lock was sealed by the Art of Witchcraft with great effort, there was no way he could remove the seal with his ability alone. The pure witchcraft power in the baby’s body was too incredulous. Ma Zi was afraid that the message hidden within the golden lock was a clue left behind by the master cultivator to his precious baby. So, he took the lock with him and refused to throw it away.

Under Chi Maojiu’s savage torture earlier, Ma Zi explained everything that happened in a crystal clear manner and handed over the golden lock. Judging by how he at least saved the only bloodline in the Leyang family, Chi Maojiu spared his life. However, his entire body’s worth of witchcraft power and vitality were completely ruined.

Wen Leyang was beaming with joy. He received the golden lock and had yet to speak when the ground suddenly trembled ferociously and stopped. Following that, the ground continued to shake and rustle. Little Chi Maojiu had quick and agile movements. One arm held Leyang Wangle in his cradle, while he looked towards the old monk, Ji Fei, with an astonished expression, “Is that an earthquake? Can there be an earthquake in the place of the outer fringe?”

The old monk, Ji Fei, stood steadily with great effort. His face was filled with forced laughter as he shook his head. He did not know what happened either.

The rumble was not long. It only took less than twenty minutes’ time from the beginning to the end. The place soon regained its calmness. The blind man’s expression was very relaxed. On the other hand, he did not wait for the others to inquire, but he hastily answered, “There have been frequent quakes recently. The quakes are all radiated from Shiwan Mountain.”

Wen Leyang remembered the wild burly man who had been bustling about continuously all his life in the Shiwan Mountain. He gave a forced laugh, “Is that place still having earthquakes?”

The old monk, Ji Fei, too scratched his head impatiently. He muttered and scolded, “The place of the outer fringe is connected to the Shiwan Mountain, it is considered rather unfortunate!” As he was saying that he stood up and walked in great strides towards the outside, “I shall look for the fat monk, he ought to be done extracting information by now!” After the old monk left, Wen Leyang passed the golden lock back to Chi Maojiu, “Can we remove the witchcraft prohibition spell on top of this?”

Chi Maojiu laughed in a noncommittal manner, “Do give me a few more days’ time. It should not be a problem.” Upon saying that, he turned around and looked towards the child. His tone of speaking carried the sonorous and forceful mannerism of a strong person and the unyielding mannerism of a witch, “Child, your original surname is Leyang, your name is Wangle! Your family is among the best rogue cultivator sect in the cultivator world. It is also the strongest, unmatchable clan amongst the witchcraft sects, known as the Painting Town!”

The blind man could not help but to inhale a cold breath. It was only until then that he found out, this child who was constantly bullied, was from the widely known number one rogue cultivator family. He was the descendant of the Painting Town.

Wen Leyang cracked into a smile towards Leyang Wangle, “Your family’s first ancestor was the number one witch in the world. His given name was Lue Luo.”

The boy muttered the three names ‘Leyang Wangle, Painting Town, Lue Luo’. His initially slightly frightened face was lit up with an excited glow now. He braced himself to ask Chi Maojiu and Wen Leyang, “So, who are you then?”

Leyang Wangle was supposed to be an orphan without anyone to depend on. He had been daydreaming frequently, that one day his family would suddenly descend from heaven and kick away the people who bullied him, then hold him in their arms. He did not expect that his wish would come true today. When he learned that his family, his grand master was truly the first-grade strongest personage in the world, joy flowed from his tiny little heart!

Wen Leyang explained the lineage of Lue Luo and the origins of Tuo Xie’s disciples. Finally he looked at Leyang Wangle’s eyes. He did not mind that Leyang Wangle was just a young little boy right now. He spoke in all seriousness, “For the past two thousand years, we have been receiving boundless favors from your family’s first ancestor. If we ever have the opportunity to repay his kindness, we will even smile in our dreams.”

Leyang Wangle was overly flattered by Wen Leyang’s tone of speaking. He felt goosebumps and nodded in a half-understood manner.

Chi Maojiu placed Leyang Wangle onto the ground. He waved a hand and hundreds of fiery falcons dripping with dark red-colored scorching fire suddenly appeared. The falcons surrounded him and fluttered around!

Wen Leyang was startled too. The first time he witnessed the witch’s fire that belonged to Chi Maojiu was during the battle of Goddess Peak four years ago. It was a swarm of fiery butterflies at the time, now it had completely turned into atrocious and tyrannical falcons.

Leyang Wangle gasped in surprise. Excited, he stuttered as he shouted, “Witch’s fire… this is your witch’s fire!”

Chi Maojiu burst out laughing. He retracted his witch’s fire, “I shall teach you about the Art of Witchcraft. Hereafter, if anyone dares to bully you anymore, you are allowed to kill them if you wish! The Panting Town’s disciples, no one is allowed to offend them!”

Even though Leyang Wangle was still a child, as a descendant of Painting Town’s Art of Witchcraft, his quality was naturally extraordinary. He was also nimble in his thoughts. He did not forget to kneel on the ground to formally acknowledge Chi Maojiu as his master teacher, despite being caught in surprise. Little Chi Maojiu was startled, he stretched out his hand and pulled Leyang Wangle up. His legs fell limp and he knelt down towards the child. He was smiling in an indifferent manner as he spoke, “I am returning your salute, I am returning your salute! Tuo Xie’s descendant can never agree to receive the salutation of Lue Luo’s disciple.”

Dumbstruck, Leyang Wangle nodded. Chi Maojiu chuckled and stood up, “Hereafter, we shall regard each other as brothers. I am precisely your big brother!”

Leyang Wangle was startled by Chi Maojiu. He nodded after a long while, then he pointed to Wen Leyang who was standing on the side and asked, “How about him?”

Chi Maojiu was a little dumbfounded, “He is your big brother’s big brother…”

No one had expected that they had arrived at the place of the outer fringe earlier, let alone found the person who was capable of transforming ‘You’ve Got Me’ into a butterfly. They had also found the bloodline that was inherited by the Painting Town. There was no need to describe the joy they felt in their hearts.

Wen Leyang still wanted to further investigate the descendants of the heaven’s cone nails’ whereabouts. It was not as convenient for him to bring along the blind man and the child, so he had a brief discussion with Chi Maojiu and made the decision to wait for the two monks’ return. Then he requested the old monk to send them out to the place of the outer fringe and for Hanba Fifth Brother to bring them along when they returned to the Nine Peaks Mountain.

Wen Leyang was the top poisonous creature in the world. Yet regarding his knowledge and experience in poisonous vermin and Art of Poison, he was still far behind as compared to the few family elders in the village. The act of bringing the blind man home, and with the few family elders and demon immortals’ help, it was expected that ‘You’ve Got Me’ could transform into a butterfly soon.

Wen Leyang and Chi Maojiu were still discussing when Ji Fei and Shui Jing returned.

While Chi Maojiu and the rest were still in ‘Shudao’s Linen Suits’, the monk was wandering around the place of the outer fringe in an attempt to look for any clues that were related to the descendants of the heaven’s cone nails. This was supposed to be a place with information flying everywhere. The monk strolled around for more than half a day. He did manage to gather a messy pile of information related to the place of the outer fringe. The information was mostly about someone receiving something precious, or some family bumping into a great nobleman, et cetera. There was almost no useful information available.

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Wen Leyang did not speak of anything else. The few of them discussed for a while. They would temporarily use this shop as their lodging place. The old monk Ji Fei was assigned to bring the child and the blind sir who was sealed with a spell to look for Hanba. Chi Maojiu was assigned to stay in the shop to break the witchcraft spell that was left behind by the Leyang family on the longevity lock. The fat monk Shui Jing would bring along Wen Leyang and continue to wander around the place of the outer fringe.

The few persons separated into three ways temporarily.

Shui Jing had already roamed the nearby streets, he did not manage to discover anything useful. When he departed this time, he led Wen Leyang towards the North borderland of the place of the outer fringe.

North borderland was considered the busiest location in the place of the outer fringe, cultivators who were capable of setting up businesses over here, most of them were supported by adequate actual power or some special abilities.

The moment they stepped into the North borderland, Wen Leyang could truly feel that he had entered a new world!

As compared to the outside, the scale of the shops and the passing cultivators’ grace were much stronger than before. In the other locations of the place of the outer fringe, although numerous shops and stores were similar in color, the feeling of walking in the place was not much different as compared to strolling in the commercial street. However, within the North borderland, the place was truly brimming with the lustrous and dazzling view that was only available in the cultivation world!

In the ‘Hall of Heaven’s Path’, there were all sorts of immortal pills and potions being sold. An enormous, immortal pill cauldron with the height of three yards, three feet, three inches, and three lines, towered over the spacious hall. Four old men with white mustaches were urging the fire. Dozens of children cruised back and forth and bustled about akin to butterflies flying from flower to flower. The immortal pill cauldron was enshrouded by an unusual scent that could be caught even from afar. It made one feel energized and refreshed upon smelling it.

The ‘Soul’s Retreat Court’ sold all colors of spiritual beasts and immortal fowls. The shop assistants were not cultivators but were two white-headed apes that were capable of communicating with souls. There were also seven parrots that stood on the signboard, promoting their business in an orderly manner. After a customer entered a shop, the customer would stand on the back of a giant tortoise. There was no need to walk. The customer would be carried on the giant tortoise’s back and brought around the shop, while one of the seven parrots would perch on the customer’s shoulder docilely, speaking softly. It was said that the most precious item in this shop was a fiery Qilin egg; it was rumored that the egg had a double yolk.

It was unknown if the immortal sword in the ‘Nobleman’s Sword’ was of good quality. That azure blue little sword that was suspended on the side of the entrance, continuously gave out a crystal clear and pleasant hum. It sounded even more pleasing than the sound of a finger gently flicking on fine porcelain.

There was a Taoist magic shop that displayed an immortal eight diagrams. The shop’s owner had since made a vow that if anyone was capable of removing this eight diagram, he would give half of this shop to the person.

Anything that you can think of, from small items like clothing reinforced by a magic spell, toys, silver and gold jewelry, and items as large as cultivation methods, the secret skill of magic formation, ancient recordings, and even the demon immortal’s treasure map, could be bought here!

The fat monk Shui Jing was visiting his old site. He was in a rather good mood, he chuckled as he said, “This is precisely the essence of the place of the outer fringe. There are abundant exciting things over here! Moreover, the cultivators in the North borderland, the majority of them have been residing there for a few generations. The shops here are old and famous for thousands of years. It is truly different from those unscrupulous shops that were trying to fish for improper gains and trying their luck to sell their products on the outside.”

Wen Leyang’s eyes were confused from looking at too many things. He felt fun and joyous. He visited the shops one by one, to widen his horizon.

The entire place of the outer fringe was a city that never slept. The people here seemed to need almost no sleep. There was no such thing as closing the shops for rest. Unknowingly, the pair strolled around the North borderland for almost a day. The fat monk, Shui Jing, was always busy. He was making small talk to the shopkeepers in an attempt to extract information. He was also probing around for new information. After the entire day, he still returned empty-handed.

Wen Leyang too did not count on locating the whereabouts of the descendants of the heaven’s cone nails immediately. He was not dejected nor disappointed right now. The fat monk, Shui Jing, was impatient because under the influence of a lucky coincidence, he had a fruitful result with the ‘Shudao’s Linen Suits’, while Shui Jing ran everywhere, yet he still returned empty-handed. The more he pondered the more infuriated he was. He started complaining gradually. Sometimes he pointed to a shop and acted scornful, while sometimes he glared at the shopkeepers.

Wen Leyang was at a loss of whether to cry or laugh. He patted on the fat monk’s shoulder as he consoled, “This is supposed to be a meticulous task that is as difficult as looking for a needle in a haystack. There is no way we can rush things here. We will still need to look around for a few days before we can plan further anyhow.” Upon saying that, he could not refrain himself from laughing, “However, this North borderland here is really very interesting. When we do have some leisure time hereafter, I shall bring Mumu and Xiaoyi along for a visit in the future.”

The fat monk, Shui Jing, heaved a sigh; he slapped his bald head habitually. He grabbed onto a handful of hair that was stuck onto his scalp by Xiao Sha. He startled himself and could not help but to laugh too. “Initially there were more than just shops that sell some treasured weapons and immortal pills. There are also a lot of interesting mysticism sects. Those people are not selling items, but they will help you to perform all sorts of tasks. I have not been here in four years. A few of those old and famous shops that deal with such businesses for thousands of years have closed down now!”

Wen Leyang laughed. He was about to blurt out an answer casually, but he remembered something that was uncanny there. He could not help but frown, “In four years’ time, would a few old and famous shops for thousands of years have closed down?”

Shui Jing nodded, he answered conveniently, “The last time the old monk and I were here at the place of the outer fringe, that was before the Goddess Peak’s meeting…” He was halfway through his speech, when he realized that Wen Leyang was pondering in all seriousness. He could not refrain himself from asking, “What’s going on?”

Wen Leyang pulled Shui Jing aside and found a secluded corner. He pondered as he spoke, “Four years ago on Mount Hua’s Goddess Peak, we captured the old man, Bao Ri. Fei Fei was on the scene at that time. Bao Ri did not have the opportunity to lie. Since he did not mention the place of the outer fringe, naturally they did not hide here at the time.”

The descendants of the heaven’s cone nails had been cultivating in seclusion for the past thousands of years. It was until the beginning of four years ago, they received the oracle from the immortal master teacher instructing them to return to the mortal world once again. Not long after that, Qin Zhui was imprisoned by them in the place of the outer fringe. The few demon immortals had already figured out on the Nine Peaks Mountain that the time when the descendants of the heaven’s cone nails were hiding in the place of the outer fringe, was less than four years at most.

The fat monk behaved like a mad person. He was not completely dumb anyhow. He soon understood Wen Leyang’s words. He could not refrain himself from giving out a strange laugh as oppressed as before, “So you are suspecting those shops that I have mentioned earlier, that the reason that the shops have closed down is related to the descendants of the heaven’s cone nails?”

Wen Leyang nodded, “The descendants of heaven’s cone nails came to the place of the outer fringe for four years. While many businesses that had been operating for thousands of years, closed down in four years, this is a little too coincidental right.” As he was saying that, he became high spirited, “Can you find out, from the time Qin Zhui was captured until now, how many old and famous shops had closed down in the North borderland?”

The fat monk, Shui Jing, was beaming with joy as he nodded, “That is an easy task; it will not take more than a half a day!” Upon saying that, he pulled Wen Leyang up, and they bored back into the incessantly crowded street.

The North borderland was different from the rest of the locations in the place of the outer fringe. The trading shops here mostly had histories that lasted for millenniums for the longer ones, while the shorter ones lasted for decades. The shops were under the control of cultivator families or sects that permanently resided here. Due to their experience in operating the businesses for years, the shops had their own trading rules and strategies for survival. Even though there were still some shops that changed hands or closed down, it was not very frequent.

This matter was not a secret. The fat monk, Shui Jing, did not put in any effort. He had already found out about everything. Especially since those four years ago, there were seven old and famous thousand-year-old shops that were completely uprooted by someone in a span of three months.

In the place of the outer fringe, there was no law and regulations. When a shop swindled its customer and the customer came back for revenge, in a milder case it would result in a quarrel. In a severe case, the property would be confiscated. This occurrence was a scene that was seen often, but these occurrences rarely happened to those old and famous shops.

In the perception of the people in the place of the outer fringe, when seven old and famous shops were exterminated in three months, it was indeed a surprise, but it was not too worthy of their attention. However, in the eyes of Shui Jing and Wen Leyang, the timing coincided with the descendants of the heaven’s cone nail entering the place of the outer fringe. It was also the only direction that they could figure out and investigate now, so they paid a great deal of attention to this.

The fat monk jotted down each of the four shop’s names and the nature of their businesses on a paper. He passed it to Wen Leyang before he gave a forced laugh, “The people of the shops were all completely exterminated. I’m afraid it will not be easy for us to find the murderer just like that.

What was even more surprising to Wen Leyang was, the fat monk’s writing was spaced widely. The words he wrote were penetrating with the elegance of beautiful penmanship within his resolute strokes. His writing was truly quite remarkable. Following that, he suddenly recalled Hanba’s tiny handwriting. He could not refrain himself from laughing in secret – for good handwriting was often written by a hideous person…

‘Accuracy in Every Quarter’ was a shop that specialized in administering, surveying, and drawing maps.

‘Three Steps Away’ was a shop that specialized in tracking and searching for people.

‘Dragon’s Point Court’ – the shopkeeper inherited the rare Art of Feng Shui/Geomancy throughout the ages. It brought the painted dragon to life by putting in the pupils of its eyes, and gave directions to the Qingniao that were the messenger birds of the fairy godmother.

‘Stargazing Platform’ – studied and practiced with the positions of the stars and moon to give directions on good or bad luck.

Wen Leyang was reading the shops’ names when the ground started shaking again. It regained calm a moment later. The cultivators in the North borderland of the outer bearing had since become accustomed to it. Not only did they not panic, on the contrary, some people were laughing.

While Wen Leyang felt as if his heart did a somersault, he stretched out his finger and pointed to the names on the note. He raised his head and asked the fat monk, Shui Jing, “In the place of the outer fringe now, is there any similar trading business still?”

Shui Jing pouted his lips, “There is almost none. This form of trading business operates based on the Art of Divination. Ordinary cultivators are incapable of operating a business as such.”

Wen Leyang read through the note again meticulously, only then he raised his head, “The trading businesses that were operated by these shops, were all related to positions. Once they received a customer, they would need to use the measurement or differentiation of position.”

Shui Jing laughed as he answered, “That is of course, let alone trading businesses. Even when they are cultivating their power on usual days, they will also need to measure position and distance.”

Wen Leyang exhaled a long breath. He explained his prediction softly, “In the place of the outer fringe, it may not necessarily be connected to the Shiwan Mountain. It is the descendants of the heaven’s cone nails who launched some form of magic spell, urging or expanding the place of the outer fringe… Such that it is connected to the Shiwan Mountain…”

In the place of the outer fringe, everyone who was involved in the study and practice of position-related cultivation methods was dead. As long as the expansion or displacement of the place of the outer fringe was steady enough, no one would discover it.

Ever since nine years ago, Wen Leyang awakened a hundred days after his life was saved by the Return-to-Before Herb. He started getting involved in the cultivation world’s ghastly disturbances. He was exposed to the three grand master’s schemes that lasted thousands of years. He learned of the sinister intentions of a top-grade sword immortal, and he even personally experienced countless extremely wicked revengeful murders. Even though he was inherently innocent, he was absolutely not an idiotic good for nothing.

If anyone more foolish had experienced those life and death encounters of Wen Leyang, that person’s thoughts would be polished into an exquisite form. Moreover Wen Leyang was inherently intelligent from the beginning.

Four years ago, the descendants of the heaven’s cone nails snuck into the place of the outer fringe.

The trade and family’s cultivation method of the seven shops that were closed down at the time, was related to positions.

The people from the place of the outer fringe had been living and cultivating here for generations. If it was not due to the earthquake from Shiwan Mountain recently, they would not have realized that the place was connected to the Shiwan Mountain until this day.

Wen Leyang’s method of deducting the truth was simple. He listed out the clues that he had already known. Then, he used those clues to find an explanation, and then he connected these clues into one incident…