Chapter 1309: The Fishing Rod That Fishes From The River Of Stars

“What a cunning boy. No wonder he’s friend with that girl.”

Tao Youran figured out why Ye Qing had said this immediately. He was afraid that Tao Youran would fulfill the letter of the promise, but not the spirit.

Tao Youran was a sanguine man though, so he took no offense from Ye Qing’s suspicion. He let out a bright laugh and said, “Do not worry, young friend. I will fulfill my promise.”

As he spoke, Westwind’s Boss and Tao Youran moved at the same time.

The Boss’ figure blurred as people of all shapes and sizes suddenly walked out of his body. They were all incredibly lifelike. It was as if he was summoning humanity into this corner of the world.

It was easy to step into a crowd and disappear. As it turned out, that was exactly what Westwind’s Boss intended. His figure and his energies suddenly vanished from Ye Qing’s senses.

Every hair on Ye Qing’s person was standing on end though. It was because his instincts were telling him that allowing any one of these fake people to touch him might put him in danger.

“It’s no fun playing with a junior, is it? Allow me to entertain you, Dao Friend!”

In response, Tao Youran tossed his fishing line straight into the clump of humanity. One pull later, they sailed across the air and disappeared into the clouds just like that.

This was the power of the Lone Fisherman. He could fish even humanity like fishes and prawns.

In just the blink of an eye, Ye Qing was the only one left in the area. The fake people and Westwind’s Boss were nowhere to be found.

“Phew...”

It was only now Ye Qing dared to let out a sigh of relief. Just now, it felt like someone had pressed a blade against his back; like a fish bone was stuck in his throat. It was an uncomfortable feeling to put it mildly.

Thankfully, Tao Youran was as strong as he was reputed to be. He had somehow drew the crowd and Westwind’s Boss into the sky.

Right now, Tao Youran and Westwind’s Boss were clashing against each other at a place higher than even the nine heavens. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they were thousands and thousands of kilometers away from him. Despite this, Ye Qing could still feel the clash of powers and their killing intent as clear as day.

Tao Youran was dragging the sun, the moon, the stars, the space, the chaos with his fishing rod and throwing it at the clump of humanity like they were free.

Westwind’s Boss was standing at the center of the red dust with eyes that reflected the rise and fall of the celestial bodies. Time seemed to accelerate infinitely as everything Tao Youran threw at him dissolved into nothingness.

After blocking the attack, Westwind’s Boss pressed his fingers together and drew a chaotic, tarnished painting. With the red dust as his brush and karmic hindrance as his ink, he attempted to draw Tao Youran into a cage of humanity.

Instead of dodging, Tao Youran tossed his fishing basket forward. Like a portal to an infinite space, it easily swallowed the painting that was a world.

As soon as the painting was engulfed, Westwind’s Boss suddenly disappeared. He had slipped into that infinite space carrying his arts and spells with him.

“The world is the sea, and the people the fishes. My fishing rod fishes from the rivers of stars, you know!”

Tao Youran barked out a laugh as he whipped his bamboo rod forward like he was pushing away the stars and moon. At the same time, the fishing line and fishing hook swam across the infinite space as agilely as a dragon.

The space stirred like a lake that was disturbed by a gust of wind; a pool of spring water that was splashed by a dragon.

The next moment, the fishing hook seemingly detected the Boss’ presence and penetrated the void. Then, the fishing line grew taut, the bamboo rod bent fiercely, and the clouds underneath Tao Youran scattered as if struck by a great pressure.

“Hahaha... I found you.”

Tao Youran laughed loudly as he pulled his fishing rod. The next moment, the heavens rumbled like it was about to collapse.

Westwind’s Boss reappeared for an instant before disappearing once more. Sometimes he was moving, sometimes he was still. Sometimes he was far, sometimes he was close. Sometimes he was small, sometimes he was big. Sometimes he was light, sometimes he was heavy. Sometimes he existed, and sometimes he did not exist at all.

Clearly, Westwind’s Boss was trying all sorts of ways to break free from the fishing hook.

Unfortunately, Tao Youran was an experienced fisherman with seemingly infinite patience. Sometimes, he would loosen his grip and allow the Boss to struggle to his heart’s content. Sometimes, he would tighten his grip and engage him in a contest of strength. Sometimes, he would lower his fishing rod and allow the Boss to escape to whence he came from. And sometimes, he would lift his fishing rod and forcefully pull him toward him.

Such was their contest that the heavens trembled, the stars shook unsteadily, and the sun and moon grew dark.

“Phew... a Sage’s power is seriously terrifying.”

Ye Qing looked away from the sky and sighed on the inside. Some people might grow arrogant after becoming a Half-Sage; a walking god among ordinary men. However, his newfound strength only gave him a better sense of how impossible it was to bridge the gulf between a Half-Sage and a Sage; informed him just how powerful and deadly Tao Youran and Westwind’s Boss really was.

“Thank goodness it was Tao Youran. The Boss wasn’t joking when he said an ordinary Sage could not have handled him.”

Tao Youran was strong. He was even stronger than Ye Qing initially thought. If he was on the same level as say, Papersmith or Ghost Taisui, then not even two of him would be a match for Westwind’s Boss. At the very least, he would not have been able to prevent him from escaping.

He wasn’t the one who recruited Tao Youran, of course. It was Feng Qingyou who sent him this powerful reinforcement.

From the moment he began plotting against the Boss, Ye Qing realized that he could not count on Xiahou Zun, Wan Lingxiao, and Long-browed Divine Monk to help him. He was hardly strong enough to kill a Sage either. So, he needed outside reinforcements.

It wasn’t as easy as just calling for help though. The only one who could kill a Sage was another Sage, but even his strongest subordinates was just a Half-Sage. They might as well be ants compared to Westwind’s Boss.

Therefore, not only did he need a Sage to help him, they must be powerful enough to kill Westwind’s Boss.

Unfortunately, no such person existed. There were barely any Sages who were on good terms with him. In fact, he had far more Sage-level enemies than he had Sage-level friends.

Luckily, he did not need to rely on his own connections only. He had Feng Qingyou.

To this day, Ye Qing still had no idea who Feng Qingyou really was. However, he was certain that she was of extraordinary background; backed by a powerful faction.

So, he contacted her. As usual, she did not disappoint him.

In fact, Tao Youran had arrived even before the East Radiance gathering had taken place. He just stayed hidden because Ye Qing ordered him to.

As for why Westwind’s Boss Three-Day Nightmare Spell failed to work on Ye Qing, that was even simpler. It was all thanks to the Earthly Sovereign Bell and the Profound Yellow Mother Qi.

The Profound Yellow Mother Qi was the mother of all qis. It was capable of repelling all evils and safeguard one’s fortune and destiny.

Of course, the Profound Yellow Mother Qi alone would be hardpressed to resist the Three-Day Nightmare Spell. That was where the Earthly Sovereign Bell came in.

The Earthly Sovereign Bell was born at the same time as the Profound Yellow Mother Qi. Naturally, it possessed the power to protect one’s fortune as well. Besides that, it had grown much stronger after devouring the four God Continent Cauldrons, so his fortune was more or less unaffected by the spell.

Naturally, the fateless situation Westwind’s Boss had described did not happen.

“Do you think you have won, Mad Lord?”

Just when Ye Qing was gathering his concentration to observe the clash between Tao Youran and Westwind’s Boss once more, an old, gravelly voice suddenly rang beside his ears.

At the same time, the Earthly Sovereign Bell suddenly rang loudly and shone brightly.

The bell chime and the profound light only lasted an instant though. It was followed by a painful whine that sounded like the Earthly Sovereign Bell had taken a serious blow.

“No, you can never win. You are just an ant.”

The old voice rang beside his ears again, and this time it was even closer than last time. It was as if someone was standing beside him and whispering right into his ears.

As soon as he heard the whisper, a Buddhist light burst out of Ye Qing’s body, and an alms bowl floated above his head. A hundred and eight Buddhas were reciting a Buddhist mantra.

However, the Buddhas suddenly dropped dead, and the Buddhist light grew dim. Web-like cracks also rapidly spread across the alms bowl before it shattered into pieces.

At the same time, the “Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull” painting floating in Ye Qing’s mind flickered rapidly as Laojun waved his horsetail whisk and unleashed ripples of Dao.

As if caught by surprise or realization, Ye Qing abruptly executed “Flowing In The Six Places” and appeared three hundred meters away from his original spot.

It was only now Ye Qing’s heart finally skipped a beat. It would proceed to beat rapidly like a drumbeat, causing cold sweat to pour down his forehead like a waterfall.