Chapter Eighty-Seven: Celestial Star Lake

In the wilderness, flecks of blood mist hung in the air, the stench of gore thick and suffocating. Ro Hao, drenched from head to toe in the blood of the azure-jade venomous scorpion, wore a grave expression.

The entire wasteland was eerily quiet. Beside an ordinary dead tree stood a full-figured girl in white, smiling faintly as she looked at him.

“Who are you?”

After a long silence, Ro Hao spoke first, while remaining secretly on guard. For someone to appear behind him without the slightest sound, this girl’s cultivation was certainly no ordinary thing. At the very least, it was impossible for anyone in the Blood Gathering realm to get behind him so silently. Moreover, though the girl’s face was veiled in gauze, even his gaze could not see through it.

“You’re amazing. You’re only at the ninth level of Spirit Qi, yet you managed to kill an azure-jade venomous scorpion!”

The girl in white’s words made Ro Hao freeze. He had never imagined that the first thing out of her mouth would be that.

Shouldn’t it have been murder for treasure, robbery in the midst of chaos, or black eating black? This script had opened completely wrong!

But thinking of the perilous Tiancang Mountain Range, where sometimes people were even more terrifying than fierce beasts, Ro Hao’s vigilance did not lessen in the slightest. His whole body remained taut, ready to strike back at once if the girl harbored any designs.

“Miss, you and I are strangers. I’ll take my leave here.”

Seeming to see that the girl in white had no intention of attacking him, Ro Hao did not wish to waste any more time and immediately flashed past her. She was of unknown origin, and her strength was above his. He truly did not want to tangle with such a person any longer.

Watching Ro Hao’s retreating figure, the girl in white suddenly smiled for no apparent reason. Then a crafty look appeared in her eyes, as though she had discovered something interesting about him.

“Little Youyu, why are you running so fast? You don’t even know how to spare a thought for these old bones of mine.”

An elderly figure emerged from the wilderness, only to see the white-robed girl gazing distractedly in some direction.

“Little Youyu, what is it that’s so fascinating? Hurry and tell Grandpa all about it.”

The old man, eager to gossip, leaned in with his silver-haired head.

The girl in white gave a delicate snort at her gossip-loving grandfather. “I’m not telling you!” Then she chased after the direction Ro Hao had gone.

It was said that Star Lake was formed when a celestial star crashed into the Tiancang Mountain Range. Another legend claimed the lake had been created by the aftershocks of a battle between two unparalleled experts.

Because the lake lay deep in the mountain range’s central reaches, nearly within its inner depths, few martial artists ever came here. But at some unknown point, word spread that Azure Water Crystal Lotus grew in Star Lake, and every five hundred years the place became exceptionally lively.

Many powers would risk entering the Tiancang Mountain Range when the Azure Water Crystal Lotus ripened, hoping to pluck one for themselves.

With the lotus’s maturation, five hundred years of peace at Star Lake had been utterly shattered. Around the crescent-shaped lake stood countless low peaks, and beneath them gathered many martial artists.

Even in the ancient forest at the foot of the peaks, some fierce beasts remained hidden. Without exception, these beasts were all comparable to Blood Gathering realm martial artists, but because powerful human experts were present, they had not yet shown themselves.

“Third Elder Zuo Qingfeng of the Wildfire Sect! I never expected you to come this time as well.”

Near the low peaks, a fat martial artist with a broad smile greeted a middle-aged man in blue who was walking toward him.

“Mmm. Pang-zi Dan, I didn’t expect you to come either. What, does your Five Peaks Spirit Academy want a share of this Azure Water Crystal Lotus too?”

Zuo Qingfeng’s square, stern face looked exceedingly serious. Though his words seemed to slight the Five Peaks Spirit Academy, a trace of wariness flashed in his eyes.

As the Third Elder of the Wildfire Sect, he knew very well that this fat, smiling fellow before him was absolutely a dangerous man. If one were fooled by that harmless-looking exterior and looked down on him, one would only be courting death.

Pang Yixiao of the Five Peaks, a name known to all from more than ten years ago, was said to possess unfathomable strength. It was precisely because of him that the Five Peaks Spirit Academy’s power had risen to a new level.

“Not at all, not at all. How would our Five Peaks Spirit Academy dare contend with the Wildfire Sect? It’s just that this Azure Water Crystal Lotus is a treasure nurtured by heaven and earth; gain or loss depends on one’s fortune, that’s all!”

With a face full of smiles, the corpulent Pang Yixiao repeatedly denied any such intent, then led several disciples of the Five Peaks Spirit Academy toward another side of the low peaks.

“Master Pang, why should we fear the people of the Wildfire Sect?”

A disciple of the Five Peaks Spirit Academy following behind him seemed somewhat dissatisfied with his attitude.

“Fear? Heh. You’re still too young. You’ll understand later. Let’s go.”

Without further explanation, Pang Yixiao led the disciples away.

“Just as slippery as ever, and every word he speaks leaves no opening at all. A talent, a pity.”

Watching Pang Yixiao depart, Zuo Qingfeng let out a sigh.

Ro Hao’s figure moved swiftly through the wilderness, the scenery beside him whipping past and falling behind. He lightly tapped a branch of a dead tree with the tip of his foot, and his eyes lit up.

“At last, I’m here. I must seize the Azure Water Crystal Lotus. Little Black, wait for me to come back.”

He silently swore in his heart. Thinking of Little Black, a sudden pang of pain shot through him. No matter what, he had to bring the Azure Water Crystal Lotus back.

“Mmm, so many people. And hidden beasts too.”

At first glance, Ro Hao sensed countless powerful auras lying in wait around Star Lake. Some were so formidable that he felt as though he were facing an enraged beast. Those auras could only belong to martial artists of the Heavenly Gang realm.

By comparison, his own peak Spirit Qi cultivation seemed far too insignificant here. Yet that was also his advantage: in the eyes of those Heavenly Gang realm experts, he was no different from an ant, not worth any attention at all.

Whoosh!

A streak of golden light burst beneath his feet, and Ro Hao’s figure appeared in the dense forest near Star Lake. When he saw the lake before him, he could not help but marvel. Within a radius of several hundred miles, there was only a vast expanse of deep blue water.

Under the bright sun, the entire Star Lake looked like a dark-blue gemstone, deep and clear. Yet upon the lake’s glassy surface, he could not see the slightest trace of the Azure Water Crystal Lotus.

“How can this be?”

Ro Hao was puzzled. Many martial artists around Star Lake had also noticed him. Fortunately, before entering Star Lake he had altered his appearance. Once they sensed his Spirit Qi realm cultivation, they immediately lost interest.

Any martial artist who came to Star Lake had at least Blood Gathering cultivation. In their eyes, a Spirit Qi realm cultivator was nothing more than an ant, utterly incapable of threatening them.

“We meet again.”

Just as Ro Hao was preparing to withdraw from the area around Star Lake, a woman’s voice sounded behind him, causing him to halt abruptly in the middle of retreat.

“Mmm? Miss, I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Ro Hao’s expression darkened somewhat. This stranger was already appearing behind him without a sound for the second time, and this time he had even changed his appearance!

Apparently sensing his displeasure, the girl in white still smiled and said, “Though you changed your appearance, I remember your aura. Are you also here to seek the Azure Water Crystal Lotus?”

“My affairs seem to have nothing to do with you, Miss.”

Ro Hao had no intention of entangling himself with the girl in white. He answered coldly, then once more stepped past her.

“Boy, it’s rare my Little Youyu is willing to speak to you, and yet you act as though she’s beneath your notice. This old man is very unhappy, and the consequences will be severe!”

A voice suddenly rang beside Ro Hao’s ear, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. Looking up, he saw a silver-haired old man with a wine gourd in hand somehow standing before him.

“Old man?”

At the first sight of the silver-haired elder, the words slipped from Ro Hao’s mouth. It was as though he had seen that scruffy old man who once led him onto the path of martial cultivation.

“Since that is so, this junior apologizes.”

Ro Hao could not begin to fathom the old man’s strength. I’m afraid even Heavenly Gang realm experts might not necessarily be his match. Such a person was simply not to be provoked.

Seeing Ro Hao walk past him, the old man suddenly laughed. “Little fellow, it’s not that this old man looks down on you. With your Spirit Qi realm cultivation, trying to seize the Azure Water Crystal Lotus is no different from a foolish dream.”

“Senior is so certain?”

“Having spirit and drive is a good thing when you’re young, but you must still know your place. Leave aside everything else, just that Earthflame Weakwater alone is something you cannot get past. Soon this place will become a field of slaughter. This old man offers you one piece of advice: leave early.”

“Earthflame Weakwater?”

Ro Hao froze for a moment, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes. Then he still walked past the old man.

After a long while, a cool, indifferent voice drifted from behind the elder.

“I, who returned from hell, may not necessarily fear a field of slaughter.”