nycdaug Chapter 99 Laughter, Bitterness, and Tears
Chapter 99 Laughter, Bitterness, and Tears
September 11th, light rain.
Ding Yi was off work today. He sat under the eaves watching the rain falling in the courtyard, lost in thought.
Suddenly, there was a knocking sound at the door outside the courtyard.
Ding Yi was pulled back to his senses by the knocking on the door. He got up, opened his oil-paper umbrella, went to the courtyard gate, and unlatched the door.
Standing outside the courtyard was Liu Xun.
"Master, the letter for leaving the city has been processed."
Liu Xun, holding an umbrella, handed a letter to Ding Yi.
"Have you found out where it is?"
Ding Yi asked.
"Found it. Head east out of the city, and you'll find Huanghua Village, about 200 li away."
"Hmm, what about the realm?"
"Master, I'm not sure about that, but it shouldn't exceed the Xuanji Realm. The people of the Seven Absolutes Palace have always been at odds with the Yin Yang Palace. Any movement by a master of the Divine Mansion Realm will attract a lot of attention."
Liu Xun quickly replied.
"Go."
Ding Yi waved his hand.
"Master, should we prepare the horses?"
Liu Xun asked again.
"no need."
Ding Yi shook his head.
Upon seeing this, Liu Xun glanced around and, finding no one nearby, bowed slightly to Ding Yi before quickly leaving.
Ding Yi, holding the letter, turned and returned to the side room.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Ding Yi, wearing a straw raincoat and hat, walked out of Qingfeng County. He briefly determined his direction and then headed east.
The light rain today made the road seem rather calm, and even though they had just left Qingfeng County, Ding Yi didn't see many pedestrians on the road.
After walking for about ten miles, Ding Yi's speed increased as there were fewer and fewer pedestrians around him.
Finally, Ding Yi took a step forward, his entire body leaping like a nimble ape, flashing past in the rain and appearing several meters away. Then, he took a few more steps and disappeared in a few breaths.
This was the first time Ding Yi had used the perfect-level "Flowing Clouds Crossing" technique to travel.
At this moment, Ding Yi leaped and bounded entirely on instinct, as if this method of exerting force had been ingrained in his very bones.
In his view, the speed at which the rain fell suddenly slowed down, just like a video suddenly switching to slow motion.
This is because Ding Yi is moving so fast at this moment that he can clearly capture the trajectory of objects that are moving slower.
This is also the effect of the perfect level of flowing clouds, which Ding Yi calls: hovering in the air.
In the misty world, with rain vapor rising, a figure leaped across the mountain path at great speed, and soon disappeared into the woods beside the official road, vanishing without a trace.
...
On the long and wide official road, three Taoist priests dressed in gray robes were walking side by side with umbrellas.
All three were dressed similarly as Taoist priests, and each carried a long sword on their backs. However, one of them had a constant smile on his face, another had a constant frown on his face, and the third had a constant crying expression on his face.
The three moved with great speed, clearly skilled in martial arts, and their Taoist robes gave them an air of otherworldly elegance.
"Senior brother, is it alright for us to enter the territory of the Yin Yang Palace like this?"
Of the three, the one on the far left with the bitter face suddenly spoke up and asked a question.
"It's alright. There's a traitor in their Yin-Yang Palace. We'll help them find him. They should be thanking us."
The smiling Taoist in the middle spoke slowly.
"Bai Yu, don't worry. Senior Brother Zhu transitioned from martial arts to godhood, and his strength is unfathomable. He can even fight against a master at the peak of the Xuanji Realm."
The woman on the right with the sour face said...
Although she spoke in a lighthearted tone, her face looked gloomy and strange.
“That’s true. I heard that the Yin-Yang Palace envoy is only at the Xuanji Realm. We can use this to negotiate with her and maybe get the Yin-Yang Palace to give up some of their territory.”
The three walked and talked, when suddenly the Taoist in the middle stopped.
"Senior Brother Zhu, what's wrong?"
The two people next to him were somewhat puzzled.
The smiling Taoist priest didn't speak, but instead looked at a figure that suddenly emerged from the corner of the official road ahead.
"Ok?"
The two people beside him followed the smiling Taoist's gaze and also noticed the newcomer.
"murderous look."
The smiling Taoist suddenly spoke up.
Upon hearing this, both women looked at Ding Yi opposite them. The woman with the pained expression asked in confusion:
"How strong can someone so young be?"
The person coming from the opposite direction was naturally Ding Yi.
With the added power of Da Cheng's "Flying Clouds", he arrived near the address given by Liu Xun in just over an hour.
Of course, he didn't expect to run into these three sorcerers head-on on this official road.
As for why Ding Yi knew they were demons, it was simply because the three of them were far too obvious.
The three people had the same expression on their faces, and since they were wearing Taoist robes and their directions matched, they were pretty much right.
Ding Yi took out the quicksand map, slowly unfolded it in front of him, but found no red crosses on it. He then shouted to the three people from dozens of meters away:
"Are the three people in front of you fellow Daoists from the Seven Absolutes Palace?"
"killed."
The smiling Taoist didn't waste any words and spoke softly.
Upon hearing this, the woman with the bitter face next to him immediately tossed her oil-paper umbrella high into the air with one hand, and then charged towards Ding Yi with her sword in hand.
On the other side, the crying-faced Taoist also charged forward with his sword. The two of them attacked in coordination, giving the impression of being well-trained.
Although they didn't think Ding Yi was that strong, they decided to act together just to be on the safe side.
At this moment, Ding Yi was still staring at the quicksand map in his hand. He found that even so, no red crosses appeared on the map, so he was relieved and then rolled up the map and put it into his pocket.
The next moment, Ding Yi looked at the two people rushing over, then waved his hand, and several yellow lights flashed by. It was the talisman for breaking evil spirits hidden in his sleeve that was activated.
"The talisman to ward off evil! It's you!!"
The moment the smiling Taoist behind him saw the yellow light, he roared loudly, his whole body crackling and popping like a furious lion.
He threw away his umbrella, took a step forward, and instantly overtook the other two. With another step, he was already in front of Ding Yi and swung a palm at Ding Yi's face.
At this moment, the fine rain silently turned into mist an inch away from the smiling Taoist, making him appear as if he were wearing a transparent raincoat.
But Ding Yi immediately recognized that this was a strange phenomenon caused by the Taoist's evil energy reaching a certain level and emanating from his body. This reminded him of the worshipper from Baiyun Temple he had encountered in the courtyard that day.
Both of them could release their evil energy a few inches from their bodies; if judged by martial arts standards, that would be equivalent to the minor success of the Blood Exchange stage.
"Blood transfusion? Strange, why isn't the quicksand map showing a red cross?"
Ding Yi was somewhat puzzled, but he threw a punch that collided with the smiling Taoist's palm.
"boom!"
The explosive sound of the colliding forces rang out between the two, but the smiling Taoist did not hesitate. Instead, he leaped into the air and unleashed three more palm strikes at Ding Yi.
Each of the three palm strikes was faster and more urgent than the last, and the surging evil energy stirred up rain and mist, drawing a dancing dragon between the two!
"too slow."
Ding Yi, however, had entered a state of suspended animation, and the Taoist's movements appeared to slow down several times in his eyes, which made him feel somewhat bored.
At that moment, he gently twisted his body, and two powerful energies rushed from his internal organs into his arms. His aura changed completely, and he became like a ferocious ape, punching down at the Taoist priest.
"Fist intent??!!!"
The smiling Taoist was as shocked as if he had eaten shit, but he couldn't show any other expression. He just stared blankly at Ding Yi, his pupils slightly dilated.