The next day.
Although the father and son of the Song family hadn't slept all night, their minds felt remarkably clear, filled with a sense of ease they had never experienced before.
"Dad, I feel so good."
"Son, Dad feels wonderful too."
The father and son looked at each other and smiled.
To absolve themselves of their karmic retribution, the Song family father and son decided to follow Ye Qingyun's advice and do more good deeds.
Father and son, accompanied by the Song family martial artists, set out.
They wanted to see where they could perform good deeds.
Seeing the members of the Song family approaching, the surrounding villagers quickly hid, not daring to get anywhere near them.
Witnessing this, the Song family father and son felt deeply ashamed.
"It seems our father and son truly committed far too many evils in the past."
The two resolved to turn over a new leaf and never commit even the slightest evil deed again.
"Father, look at that old woman over there! Is she trying to cross the river?"
Song Chenglong pointed at an old woman standing by the riverside not far away.
Song Xiaotian looked, and his eyes immediately lit up.
"You're right, son. That old woman does indeed want to cross the river. Go help her out quickly."
"You got it!"
Song Chenglong hurried to the riverbank.
"Old lady, you want to cross the river, right? Don't worry, I'll help you."
With a wildly enthusiastic expression and without a word of explanation, Song Chenglong hoisted the old woman directly onto his shoulder, channeled his spiritual energy beneath his feet, and strode across the water.
In just two or three steps, he had reached the far bank.
After setting down the thoroughly bewildered old woman, Song Chenglong even helped tidy her clothes.
"Old lady, no need to thank me. This is only right and proper."
Song Chenglong waved his hand and strode away.
"Ah, the feeling of doing a good deed is just fantastic!"
Filled with pride, Song Chenglong felt as though his entire being had been elevated.
The old woman finally recovered her senses.
"What kind of accursed madman is this? I just crossed over from that side of the river, so why did he carry me right back?!"
The old woman cursed to high heaven.
...
The Song family father and son continued their search for the next target of charity.
Soon, they spotted several children playing together.
They were only seven or eight years old, running and chasing each other around a well, making a joyful racket.
"Father, look! Those children are playing right by the water well. It's too dangerous! What if they fall in?"
Song Chenglong said with a worried expression.
Song Xiaotian nodded repeatedly.
"What you say is true. It is far too dangerous. We must help these poor children."
With that, Song Xiaotian walked over.
"Children, step back for a moment."
Song Xiaotian said with a kindly smile.
The children had no idea what was going on, but seeing that Song Xiaotian was dressed extraordinarily and wearing a strange smile, they were terrified and scattered in all directions.
"Such lovely children."
Song Xiaotian smiled, then channeled his spiritual energy.
Rumble!
A massive patch of earth in the distance suddenly rose into the air from nowhere.
With a wave of Song Xiaotian's arm, the soil directly filled in the well before them.
"There. Now the children won't have to worry about falling into the well when they play."
Satisfied, Song Xiaotian turned and walked away.
"Another good deed done. When the Master finds out, he will surely praise the two of us."
Not long after, some men from the village came over with buckets to fetch water.
Only to find that the well had been filled in.
"Which bastard filled in our village's well?"
"Utterly rotten!"
"They'll be struck by lightning for this!"
...
A few days later, the reputation of the Song family father and son for doing good everywhere had spread far and wide.
However, whenever they saw the Song family father and son coming out to do good deeds, the villagers hid even faster than before.
It could truly be said that wherever they went, not even a chicken dared to linger.
Seeing the villagers fleeing in panic, the Song family father and son found it quite strange.
"How is it that our father and son seem even less welcome than before?"
Song Xiaotian asked, puzzled.
Song Chenglong frowned. "It must be that the good deeds we've done are still not enough. We need to step it up."
"You're right, son. Let's step it up!"
...
On this day, Ye Qingyun was drying sweet potato strips.
Although there weren't many, they were all grown and harvested by Ye Qingyun's own hands.
Not far away, someone came running over in a panic.
"Hm?"
Ye Qingyun couldn't help looking over.
The person was disheveled and looked like a beggar.
However, it was not Guo Xiaoyun, whom Ye Qingyun knew.
"Are you Ye Qingyun?"
The beggar didn't look very old, only early teens, and asked breathlessly as soon as he reached him.
"I am. Who are you?"
Ye Qingyun asked, puzzled.
The beggar caught his breath, a look of extreme anxiety on his face.
"Guo Xiaoyun is in trouble."
Ye Qingyun's expression shifted.
"What happened to him?"
"Last night, a man in black took Guo Xiaoyun away."
Ye Qingyun's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that Guo Xiaoyun had run into the evil cultivator Bai Suyin had mentioned?
"Do you know where they took him?"
Ye Qingyun hurriedly asked.
"I'm not sure, but that man in black headed east."
Chapter 35: One Shot, One Kill
Headed east?
Ye Qingyun frowned deeply.
He certainly wanted to save the boy.
The problem was, Ye Qingyun knew he was a weakling; going there would probably just mean throwing his life away.
And the other party was an evil cultivator.
Since the word "evil" was involved, they were bound to be ruthless and merciless.
Ye Qingyun didn't dare risk his life like that.
That meant he had to find someone to help.
Ye Qingyun did know quite a few martial arts experts.
The trouble was, Ye Qingyun couldn't get in touch with any of them at all.
What to do?
What to do?
Ye Qingyun was extremely anxious.
Although Guo Xiaoyun and he had only met by chance, Ye Qingyun genuinely liked this spirited little beggar.
If the boy just died like this, Ye Qingyun's conscience would trouble him endlessly, and he might even carry the guilt for the rest of his life.
"Looks like I have no choice but to break out my trump card."
Ye Qingyun took a deep breath.
He hardened his heart.
He had to give it a try.
He turned and went into the house.
And soon emerged fully armed.
On his back, he carried a long, narrow object wrapped in cloth.
At his waist hung two strange boxes.
On his body, he wore a gray vest that looked very thick.
Even on his head, he wore a sturdy steel helmet.
Fully armed!
All these gadgets were things Ye Qingyun had cobbled together under the system's torture in the past.
At the time, Ye Qingyun hadn't even believed he could build such things.
Yet they actually worked.
Consequently, these items had become Ye Qingyun's ultimate trump cards.
Unless it was an absolute emergency, Ye Qingyun would never use them.
But now...
To save someone, Ye Qingyun had no choice but to bite the bullet and go.
"Damao, you're coming with me!"
Ye Qingyun glanced at the lazy Damao and gave the order.
Damao immediately got up and lazily followed along.
The gray rabbit was left behind by Ye Qingyun.
Ye Qingyun descended the mountain and headed straight east.
"Damao, can you smell Guo Xiaoyun's scent?"
Ye Qingyun asked tentatively.
He hadn't really expected anything, but to his surprise, Damao actually lowered its head, sniffed around, barked in a certain direction, and then sprinted off.
Ye Qingyun was startled, then quickly followed.
"Are you sure you didn't smell it wrong?"
Ye Qingyun asked suspiciously.
Damao shook its head, as if telling Ye Qingyun to trust its nose.
There was no help for it.
Ye Qingyun had no idea where the man in black had taken Guo Xiaoyun, so he could only treat a dead horse as a live one.
"Let's hope we find him!"
Heading east all the way, they soon entered a mountain range.
This place was sparsely populated, with lush vegetation and the occasional cries of birds and beasts echoing through the trees.
Damao continued to lead the way ahead.
Before long, Ye Qingyun arrived outside a valley.
Any further, and they would enter the valley itself.
However, Damao stopped and let out a low growl, appearing to be on guard against something.
Seeing this, Ye Qingyun immediately turned alert as well.
"Could he be inside here?"
Ye Qingyun cautiously crept closer.
He peeked into the valley.
Ye Qingyun's pupils instantly constricted.
There were many people inside the valley!
Furthermore, the vast majority of them were children.
Basically under ten years old, around seven or eight.
These children lay scattered haphazardly across the valley floor, all looking completely motionless.
It was impossible to tell whether they were dead or alive.
A dozen men in black stood within the valley, each sitting cross-legged, faint gray auras surging around their bodies.
What shocked Ye Qingyun the most was right at the deepest part of the valley.
Sitting there was a man who looked like skin and bones.
That was skin and bones in the literal sense—almost entirely devoid of flesh, with only a withered, blackened layer of skin draped over his skeleton.
This strange man's eyes were like two gray whirlpools.
The gray auras emanating from the men in black were all flowing into this strange man.
The scene was utterly bizarre.
It made Ye Qingyun's hair stand on end.
It looked like some kind of evil ritual.
Anxious, Ye Qingyun searched frantically for Guo Xiaoyun.
Finally, he spotted him.
Guo Xiaoyun was lying not far from the valley entrance, eyes closed, but he still seemed to be breathing.
Ye Qingyun felt a slight weight lift from his heart.
As long as he was still alive, that was enough.
Steeling himself, Ye Qingyun counted the men in black in the valley.
"Twelve in total."
He took the object off his back and unwrapped the cloth.
It was shockingly a sniper rifle!
Ye Qingyun stared at the sniper rifle. He had made it with his own hands, but it had never fired a single shot until today.
Today, he was finally going to use it.
Ye Qingyun then retrieved a silencer from his pocket and screwed it onto the barrel.
"Damao, go hide by yourself."
Damao immediately ran far away.
Ye Qingyun pressed his eye to the scope.
His hand gripping the rifle trembled slightly.
But in an instant, he grew utterly calm.
His hands became exceptionally steady.
Aim!
Pull the trigger!
Puff!
With virtually no sound at all, the forehead of one of the men in black was pierced straight through.
The man in black twitched, then his head slumped to the side, dying right there in his seated posture.
Ye Qingyun's heart churned.
This was his first time killing someone.
Yet he was killing to save a life.
Moreover, the person he killed was an evil cultivator—one whom everyone had a duty to execute—so Ye Qingyun didn't feel an overwhelming psychological burden.
Ye Qingyun continued to fire.
Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff!
One, two, three...
All twelve men in black were silently and utterly eliminated by Ye Qingyun.
These twelve men in black still maintained their cross-legged postures; not a single one had fallen over.
Naturally, though, the gray auras around them had vanished.
"Hm?"
The strange man deep in the valley seemed to sense something.
He abruptly raised his head, fixing his gaze on the twelve men in black.
"Why have you stopped? Continue converting the essence of these children to me!"
The strange man let out a hoarse voice, sounding like two pieces of old tree bark rubbing together, extremely grating on the ears.
Naturally, the men in black were unable to answer him.
The strange man frowned.
But the next moment, his expression shifted.
For he had already sensed that these twelve men in black had stopped breathing.
They were dead!
Someone had silently killed all twelve of his subordinates?
What kind of terrifying existence was this?
An expert had arrived!
The strange man immediately stood up, sweeping his gaze across the surroundings.
"What exalted expert has slain my disciples? Show yourself at once!"
Ye Qingyun's heart tightened.
Had he been discovered?
No matter then.
He aimed directly at the strange man.
He fired a shot!
The bullet tore through the air.
But the next instant, Ye Qingyun was utterly shocked.
The strange man actually reached out and grabbed it.
He caught the bullet!
"Holy crap!"
Ye Qingyun's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
A scene straight out of an exaggerated action series was actually playing out before his eyes today.
The strange man caught the bullet, opened his palm, and looked at it.
"What is this object? To be so remarkably sturdy?"
The strange man was also secretly startled.
He had relied on his deep, profound cultivation base just to catch that bullet.
Seeing that the sniper rifle couldn't deal with this freak, Ye Qingyun stopped hiding.
He stood up straight, drew two handguns, and biting the bullet, stepped into the valley.
"Senior, practicing evil arts here and harming the lives of so many children—don't you feel you are defying the heavens?"
Ye Qingyun raised both guns and shouted coldly.
Chapter 36: Dugu Qiubai?
The strange man stared at Ye Qingyun, and Ye Qingyun stared back at the strange man.
The two of them locked eyes in a staring contest.
The atmosphere grew somewhat tense.
Externally, Ye Qingyun looked as steady as an old dog.
Internally, he was freaking out to the max.
He was cursing up a storm in his head.
"Damn that accursed system! It taught me everything except how to cultivate."
"If I could cultivate, would I still need to use guns?"
"I'm probably dead meat this time!"
Panicked as he was, to protect his little life, Ye Qingyun could only put on a strong front of calm.
He even deliberately let a trace of disdain show on his face.
"Why can't I see through this person's cultivation base at all?"
Doubts swirled in the strange man's mind.
Given his strength, within the borders of the Tianwu Dynasty, the people whose cultivation he couldn't see through could be counted on one hand.
Yet this bizarre man before him was completely opaque to him.
In fact, he gave off the distinct impression of being an ordinary mortal.
However, the strange man didn't believe for a second that Ye Qingyun was just an ordinary mortal without any cultivation.
If he were a mortal, how could he have silently killed all his disciples?
"This person's cultivation is unfathomable, and the items in his hands are truly bizarre. My injuries aren't healed and my vital energy is depleted; I must proceed with caution."
The strange man felt a covert chill.
These two people were both panicking more than the other.
And both were extremely wary of each other.
"Who on earth is Your Excellency?"
The strange man asked in a deep voice.
Ye Qingyun took a deep breath.
"Want to know who I am? Do you think you're qualified?"
The strange man frowned.
"Even if Your Excellency possesses profound cultivation, this old man is no mere nobody. If we truly fought, Your Excellency might not be a match for this old man."
This remark was purely the strange man gilding his own lily.
His sole purpose was to probe Ye Qingyun's background.
Ye Qingyun was actually quite scared.
What if they really fought? Would he have to rely on these two pistols?
They definitely wouldn't hold up.
Forget it; bluff this old fellow first and worry later.
"Since you're so confident in your strength, I suppose I can tell you my moniker."
Ye Qingyun took a deep breath.
"I am Dugu Qiubai."
Dugu Qiubai?
The strange man paused, racking his brain to search his memory.
He didn't seem to have ever heard of such a person?
Still, the name sounded quite domineering.
Qiubai (Seeking Defeat)?
Utterly arrogant and conceited.
"Hmph, this old man has never heard of this name."
The strange man said coldly.
Ye Qingyun sneered.
"A frog at the bottom of a well like you—how could you have ever heard my name?"
"You can go ask Xu Changfeng of the Profound Sword Sect. Back then, he visited my humble abode three times to seek my guidance on martial arts. I merely gave him a tiny bit of direction, yet it benefited him endlessly and led to his achievements today."
Disregarding everything else, Ye Qingyun began spouting total nonsense.
The strange man was genuinely startled.
"Xu Changfeng was actually guided by this person?"
What kind of figure was Xu Changfeng?
He was the Sect Master of the Profound Sword Sect, and currently the peak powerhouse of the Tianwu Dynasty.
Though the strange man possessed profound strength, he privately admitted that if he went up against Xu Changfeng, he would still have to give him a wide berth.
Only if the strange man returned to his peak strength could he hope to contend with Xu Changfeng.
"And what about Martial Emperor Dongfang Su? Before he ascended the throne, he overestimated himself and came to challenge me."
"With a single finger, I defeated him, making him understand the truth that there are heavens beyond the heavens and people beyond people."
Ye Qingyun continued his wild fabrication.
The strange man trembled with fright.
Even Martial Emperor Dongfang Su had been defeated by him?
Granted, that was when he was young, but a young Dongfang Su was also an immensely formidable expert.
Defeated with a single finger?
What kind of terrifying strength was that?
"By the way, do you know Shen Tianhua?"
Ye Qingyun added.
Shen Tianhua?
This time, the strange man's expression changed drastically, and a look of sheer terror even surfaced in his eyes.
The Seven Absolutes Elder, Shen Tianhua!
Back then, the strange man had been defeated at Shen Tianhua's hands, suffering severe damage to his cultivation, complete scattering of his vital energy, and almost meeting his death.
Had he not relied on a fake-death profound technique he cultivated in his early years to fool Shen Tianhua, the strange man would have long since perished.
Because of that disastrous defeat back then, hearing Shen Tianhua's name now made the strange man unable to suppress his terror.
Could it be that this fellow calling himself Dugu Qiubai actually knew Shen Tianhua?
"Judging by your reaction, it seems you know Shen Tianhua?"
Ye Qingyun keenly noticed the terror creeping onto the strange man's face.
The two individuals he had mentioned earlier—whether it was Xu Changfeng or Dongfang Su—hadn't evoked any fear in this strange man.
Only when Shen Tianhua was mentioned did this freak turn terrified.
Could it be that this strange man had suffered at Old Man Shen's hands in the past?
Very likely!
Thinking of this, Ye Qingyun gained a bit of confidence in his heart.
"I might as well tell you, just a few days ago Shen Tianhua brought his newly accepted disciple to visit me, hoping I could offer some guidance to the youngster."
"It's just a pity that Shen Tianhua's aptitude was lacking back then. Everything I taught him, he only grasped half-heartedly, barely managing to stumble his way to his current standing."
Ye Qingyun put on an expression of utter disappointment.
As if in his eyes, a supreme powerhouse like Shen Tianhua was nothing much after all.
The strange man stared, disbelief written all over his face as he looked at Ye Qingyun.
"You actually guided Shen Tianhua?!"