The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS
Chapter 219 - 31: Encounter on the Mountain Road

Chapter 219: Chapter 31: Encounter on the Mountain Road

Sky Melting Mountain, an active volcano.

Yet, it was unlike any ordinary active volcano, or else Gongye Baiduan would not have chosen it to be his place of reclusion. As a generation’s Sword Casting Master, even when selecting a place to live in seclusion, he sought a location beneficial to forging.

Sky Melting Mountain had once been struck by a meteorite from beyond the heavens.

If it had occurred in Qing Yu’s previous life, it would have been nothing extraordinary, at most becoming a momentary marvel. However, in this Martial Arts World, under the influence of some unknown factors, the mountain underwent a wondrous change.

Using the terms of this world, it meant that the heavenly fire and earthly fire collided and merged, making it a geomantically treasured place for weapon forging.

Qing Yu looked up and saw that not a hint of green could be found on the entire Sky Melting Mountain; no plant could claim the slightest space to live upon this mountain that radiated high temperatures at all times.

The entire mountain bore a dark red hue; stepping on it, one could feel the high temperature emanating from the ground, scorching through the soles of one’s shoes.

Qing Yu’s "Heavenly Human Rebirth Technique" was extremely sensitive to the environmental energies, and he could sense the energies that were constantly boiling beneath the surface of the mountain, which appeared to be flat ground.

"With such high temperatures, a few steps would be all it takes for shoes to catch fire," he mused.

Qing Yu converted his True Qi into the cold attribute to flow under his feet, neutralizing the high temperature from beneath.

"Sss—"

The clash of cold and heat caused steam to rise from underfoot.

Thus, with each step puffing out smoke, Qing Yu strolled up the mountain.

After walking for a while, Qing Yu caught sight of a man and a woman conversing some distance ahead. The distance was too great for their voices to carry, but Qing Yu did not rely on his hearing to know what others were saying.

With the Superior Eyesight of the Void Eye, Qing Yu could easily read what the two were saying.

"Senior Brother, if Senior Gongye refuses to meet us, what should we do?" The woman’s face was tinged with resentful energy, seemingly bearing a grudge for Gongye Baiduan’s refusal to meet them.

"Senior Gongye is, after all, our predecessor from the Sword Palace. As long as we earnestly request, he should not refuse us. Don’t lose heart, Sister Sang Jiao. This time we have found Senior Gongye’s place of recluse, we must persuade him to cast a Treasure Sword that resonates with the heart and spirit for Senior Brother Yuan, to lay a solid foundation for his advancement to Divine Origin."

This Senior Brother seemed quite composed compared to his impetuous sister. However, his words almost made Qing Yu laugh. The Shadow King had expended three years’ worth of material expenses just to have Gongye Baiduan forge a sword for him. These two thought a few polite words would suffice to have Gongye Baiduan forge a sword for them; they were dreaming too beautifully.

"If Senior Brother Yuan can get a custom-made fine sword, he will surely advance to Divine Origin soon. By then, let’s see how Qingxu can strut around!" said the woman called "Sang Jiao."

’Senior Brother and sister of Yuan Jianyi?’ Qing Yu read their speech and immediately thought of Jianyi from the Sword Palace.

Yuan Jianyi, ranked second on the Dragon and Phoenix List, was a Sword Dao genius even stronger than Qingxu, who, with an ordinary iron sword, had swept through many young experts of his generation, only defeated by "Little Buddha" Shi Jue, who ranked first on the list.

’If Yuan Jianyi himself came, with his peerless demeanor in Sword Dao, he might have a slight chance of leveraging the connection between the Sword Palace and Gongye Baiduan to gain his favor and have a sword cast for him. As for these two... it’s better they give up...’

With a casual internal critique, Qing Yu didn’t stop his steps and was now close enough to be noticed by the other party.

"Sss—sss—"

The sharp sizzling sounds drew the attention of the brother and sister towards the source, where they saw a young man in a black robe, carrying a wooden box about one foot wide (using the Tang dynasty measure of 30.7 cm), with smoke rising beneath his feet as he approached.

"Hey, who are you?" Nie Sangjiao asked rudely, without a hint of politeness.

The words were charged with hostility; it seemed she was taking out the resentment of being turned away by Senior Gongye on Qing Yu.

Qing Yu had no desire to engage in idle chit-chat with the petulant Sang Jiao and, ignoring her words, proceeded to walk straight between the two of them.

If the path was so narrow that neither of them had the self-awareness to make way, then they couldn’t blame Qing Yu for not showing them face.

"Hey, I’m talking to you?"

Seeing that Qing Yu had no intention of paying any attention to her and was about to pass by as if she didn’t exist, irritation flared in Sang Jiao’s heart. She raised her hand, intending to grab Qing Yu’s shoulder.

"You—"

Before her hand could touch Qing Yu’s shoulder, it was repelled by an invisible force. Having put some strength into her grab and now feeling the pain as her hand was thrust away by the Gang Qi, Sang Jiao pointed at Qing Yu, about to erupt in anger.

"Junior Sister!" A hand swiftly caught Sang Jiao’s wrist as she pointed at Qing Yu.

Turning her head, Sang Jiao saw her Senior Brother shaking his head gently, his eyes conveying a warning.

The two fell silent for a moment until Qing Yu’s figure had disappeared around the corner. Only then did Sang Jiao look at her Senior Brother with confusion. "Senior Brother, why?"

Bie Pengyue kept his gaze on the corner where the person had vanished and said gravely, "That person is very strong! We’re not his match at all."

The creed of the Sword Palace was to comprehend the sword with the heart, to cultivate the Heart Sword Dual Cultivation, making one’s perception extremely sensitive. Sang Jiao lacked sufficient power and hadn’t sensed Qing Yu’s true strength, but Bie Pengyue could feel the terrifying aura of that man.

It was a threat so severe that any confrontation would lead to certain death.

Though often haughty, Sang Jiao knows when to be prudent. Seeing her significantly more powerful Senior Brother so afraid, she dared not speak carelessly. Nevertheless, her dissatisfaction made her mutter under her breath, "Just look at him, totally unaware of the situation on the mountain. Just wait, he’ll be sent back soon enough."

After continuing on for a short time, Qing Yu suddenly felt an immense invisible force pushing him backwards. Even with his current power, he couldn’t resist being pushed back.

Knowing this was likely a method used by Senior Gongye to prevent outsiders from entering, Qing Yu fetched a square iron piece from his chest. This was the token Meng Yunfei had given to Qing Yu before.

The iron piece looked ordinary, with neither inscriptions nor engravings—just a small piece of iron one might find anywhere in a blacksmith’s shop.

However, once Qing Yu took out the iron piece, the invisible force that had been pushing him back vanished without a trace, allowing him to continue forth.

Meanwhile, back where they’d passed the corner before, Sang Jiao estimated that enough time had passed for that rude individual to have been turned away and to have walked back to this spot.

While she did not dare to openly mock the other party, seeing someone else receive the same treatment that she had would soothe the anger in her heart.

However, much to her waiting and waiting, even after thirty minutes had elapsed, the rude individual had not returned.

"Could it be that he was unwilling to give up and is just wasting time in front of that invisible barrier?" Sang Jiao muttered to herself.

"Junior Sister, let’s go," Bie Pengyue spoke up.

His expression, however, held a different conjecture than Sang Jiao’s.

The two of them hurried along, arriving quickly at the spot where they had previously stopped, only to find it completely deserted. The rude individual had not stopped there.

Bie Pengyue took a few tentative steps forward, only to be pushed back to his original spot by the expected invisible force.

"Senior Brother..." Sang Jiao now shared the same thought.

"Did that person get in?"

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