Chapter 1679: Four Seas Restaurant

Although the presence of the Li Fire Divine Wheel protected them from all fiends and Strangers of Bei Yuan, the further north they traveled, the more the surrounding space and time fell into disorder. This wasn’t a problem the Li Fire Divine Wheel could solve. Even the Earthly Sovereign Bell’s power didn’t work too well here mostly because it took way too much energy to maintain its spacetime restoring effects. So, after traveling around five thousand kilometers and sensing that the end were still nowhere in sight, they had no choice but to give up and end this curious but ultimately fruitless trip.

The duo stayed in Bei Yuan for ten days or so. They left the way they came after Ye Qing had completely mastered the Li Fire Divine Wheel.

Now that they were experienced, they were traveling several times faster than before. It took them only a little over a month to return to Yan.

To make a comparison, the journey to Bei Yuan took over three months. It showed just how much easier the return trip was.

They didn’t linger after returning to Yan though. Instead, they immediately journeyed to the west toward Wei.

......

Four Seas Restaurant, Xijing, Wei.

Xijing (West Capital) was the capital city of Wei. Overflowing with people and beauty, it was in no way inferior to the imperial capital of Chu.

The architectural style of Wei was dramatically different from Chu’s though. Chu’s capital boasted carved beams and painted buildings, elegance and refinement. It was a place for the literati and scholars. On the other hand, Xijing’s buildings were much bigger, taller, and rugged. The streets were crawling with weapon-carrying jianghu warriors, and rings where jianghu warriors dueled each other were everywhere. One could often find a number of warriors fighting in the rings while spectators cheered them from the sidelines. It was a very jianghu capital so to speak.

This state of things was very much in line with Wei’s policy and tradition of the imperial family and the jianghu ruling the realm of Wei together.

The Four Seas Restaurant was one of the most famous restaurants in Xijing. It boasted a prestigious background and an immense amount of wealth. There was no one in Wei who didn’t know about its existence. It was praised as “the place where everyone from the four seas and the eight directions make merry.”

The Four Seas Restaurant was made of four independent, nine level tall towers. They were built using Profound Blossom Wood, Blackshine Stone, Phoenix Earth, and Blue Jade Crystal respectively.

Profound Blossom Wood was cyan, Blackshine Stone was black, Phoenix Earth was red, and Blue Jade Crystal was indigo blue. So, the Profound Blossom Tower was primarily cyan-colored, the Blackshine Tower was black, the Phoenix Tower was red, and the Blue Jade Tower was blue.

Independent bridges linked the four towers. At the center of the four towers was a gigantic arena.

Right now, a warrior and a Stranger were fighting in the arena.

That’s right. A human and a Stranger.

The warrior was a body-tempering Grandmaster overflowing with vigor. When he was still, he resembled an immovable mountain. When he moved, he resembled a raging river. He was obviously strong.

Despite this, he was unable to subdue the Stranger.

The Stranger had a goat’s head and a human’s body. Despite being inhuman, its sword technique was exquisite and excellent. It was wearing a green robe and wielding a sword. The light of the sword was bright, the qi of the sword was voluminous, and the intent of the sword was profound. Sometimes, it was like a soft trickle, gentle and silent. Sometimes, it was like a rushing river, ceaseless and unending. Sometimes, it was like roaring thunder. Sometimes, it was like a breeze in spring. Sometimes, it was ethereal and traceless like a celestial descending to the earth. Sometimes, it was boundlessly ferocious like a god or a demon...

Its sword mastery was exquisite and extraordinary. It was literally better at the sword than most warriors. For a time, the Grandmaster could not land a single hit on the goat-headed Stranger, while the goat-headed Stranger was able to bleed him like a pig.

If he wasn’t a body-tempering Grandmaster with incredible vigor and tenacious vitality, he would be at death’s door already.

That said, everyone could tell that it was only a matter of time before the warrior was defeated. The warrior himself realized that he was in danger. So, he took a step backward and summoned a cyan lion out of nowhere. The cyan let out an angry roar that resounded throughout heaven and earth and possessed enough power to subjugate many evils and demons.

“Cyan Lion Roar”

The cyan lion’s roar instantly dispelled all of the Stranger’s sword intent. The next moment, the warrior growled and swelled in size. He turned into a Vajrapani and grew two golden arms from his flanks. One hand was wielding a sword, and the other a saber.

The sword was imbued by a cyan lion. The saber was imbued by a white elephant.

It was the Four-armed Demon Subjugating Vajrapani Body.

The next moment, the warrior launched an all-out assault against the goat like a true Vajrapani. The pressure he exuded was tremendous to put it mildly.

The Stranger was beaten back as if it was no match, but after taking seven steps backward, sword intent abruptly exploded from the arena like a thunderclap.

It looked like seven stars were shining amidst the vast sword intent.

The seven stars connected to each other to form what looked like a dipper. It was the Seven Star Southern Dipper.

The Northern Dipper registered life, and the Southern Dipper registered death. When the seven stars that formed the Southern Dipper shone brightly, a thick, potent column of sword qi rolled down the Heavenly Court toward the warrior.

Rumble!

For a moment, no one could see the warrior. When the sword qi diminished enough that he came into view once more, the spectators saw that his four arms were severed, and his entire body was covered in blood. Practically no part of his body was unharmed. He looked terrible.

In the Profound Blossom Tower, Ye Qing sipped his wine and exclaimed with a bit of surprise, “The Southern Dipper Death Registering Sword? What a fortuitous Prosperity Cyan Goat!”

The Southern Dipper Death Registering Sword was the exclusive sword art of the Seven Star Sect that once existed over a thousand years ago. Their sword arts were separated into the Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword and the Southern Dipper Seven Dipper Sword respectively. The former governed defense, whereas the latter governed offense. Together, they boasted incredible power.

Later, the Seven Star Sect was destroyed, and the two sword arts went missing. Although some existing sects possessed some of the sword arts, they were all incomplete and missing parts. However, the Southern Dipper Death Registering Sword Art this Prosperity Cyan Goat just unleashed was profound in technique and perfect in intent. It was clear that it had somehow obtained the full version.

He wondered how the Stranger was able to earn the Seven Star Sect’s favor.

Of course, the Prosperity Cyan Goat was no ordinary Stranger. There was a saying called, “Three goats ushers in prosperity.” The reason the Prosperity Cyan Goat earned its name was because it was naturally fortunate and could bless others with good fortune as well. It was, in every sense of the word, an auspicious beast.

Besides that, the Prosperity Cyan Goat was sapient by nature and adored all things beautiful and good. Because of this, it was in love with human culture. Once, a Prosperity Cyan Goat participated in the imperial examination and took first place on its first attempt.

This particular Prosperity Cyan Goat was clearly in love with human martial arts. In fact, it was skilled enough to be crowned a grandmaster of martial arts.

At this point, it was clear that the victor was decided. The warrior’s four arms were severed, and his Vajrapani body was broken.

That said, the Prosperity Cyan Goat was obviously measured with its attacks. The warrior’s roots and foundation were untouched. That was why his injuries—as terrible as it looked—weren’t all that serious. He would recover with a period of recuperation.

“I lost. Thank you for showing mercy, senior.”

The warrior got up and bowed to the cyan goat. He would have saluted it, but he didn’t have arms right now.

“You’re welcome. Your Four-armed Demon Subjugating Vajrapani Body is well-tempered.”

The Prosperity Cyan Goat said in a clear voice, “However, the martial art demands its practitioner to be like a Vajrapani: fearless when subjugating a demon; unwavering in their belief in Buddhism. When you saw my sword intent, you instinctively felt afraid and wavered. That is why chinks appeared in your body, and my sword intent is able to pierce through.”

“If one day you become fearless and unwavering in your belief toward Buddhism, your Four-armed Demon Subjugating Vajrapani Body would naturally grow stronger. Most demons and heretics would not dare to challenge you. Even I would be hardpressed to pierce it.”

“On the other hand, if you cannot affirm your Buddhist heart and always carry fear in your heart, then your Vajrapani body may never improve. If you run into the enemy of your life, it is highly likely that your weakness would result in your doom. You have been warned.”

“Thank you for your guidance, senior! This junior will engrave your teachings to my heart!” Enlightened and excited, the warrior bowed to the Prosperity Cyan Goat again.

In fact, the reason he set foot in the arena was precisely to obtain the Prosperity Cyan Goat’s guidance.