Chapter 149: Let’s Make a Golden Statue for Master Celestial!
At the eastern rural areas of Fog City, within a valley full of flowers...
Zhao Hao knelt before the grave. His face was stark white, and there were strands of blood in his eyes.
As he had lost all fruits of his cultivation before, it was inevitable that he got tired easily, even though his physique was already much better than those who had never cultivated before.
Zhao Hao had been kneeling before his mother’s grave for a full day and night as of now, and tiredness washed over his whole body.
However, he still knelt resolutely before the grave and did not get up, even though his limbs were numb. He was bent on recovering his cultivation—he needed to prove to others that he could stand up from failures!
It’s just two more days—I need to persevere for another two days only.
Zhao Hao licked his cracked lips and encouraged himself.
At that time, a shooting star appeared and drew an arch across the dark sky.
Correct, this shooting star was none other than the bit of Nan Ming Li Fire’s Origins that contained the remnants of Sword Venerable Qian Yang’s soul, and it was shooting toward Zhao Hao by some luck.
Boom!
Zhao Hao was still cheering on for himself silently when he felt the hit. It was like being hammered throughout his whole body, and he toppled over on the ground in pain.
Once that terrible fire came into contact with his body, it engulfed him in flames.
Zhao Hao almost lost consciousness due to that extreme heat, but he was so obsessed about recovering his cultivation that he managed to remain awake throughout the whole ordeal.
So is this the fortuitous opportunity that Brother Shen was talking about? But didn’t he mention that it will only arrive after three days?
...Ah, I get it. Brother Shen must be trying to encourage me and let me keep up my motivation during this period.
So this was why he kept quiet about the fortuitous opportunity happening just after one day and told me it would take three days instead.
Correct, Brother Shen must be trying to give me a surprise!
Although that terrible fire burned his whole body, Zhao Hao did not feel scared at all. Instead, he was more than ever excited—because he finally felt that long-awaited Spirit Qi running through his body again.
That fire was being absorbed by his body gradually. It ran across the whole length of his Spirit Qi circulation routine and then finally entered his dantian.
Zhao Hao was too excited for words. Bearing utmost gratitude toward Shen Tian, he started his cultivation of the Sky-Incinerating Fire Sword Art again.
He could feel that this fire was very tame—it felt like this was a blessing from some higher-up immortal beings.
Zhao Hao thought to himself, Brother Shen must have predicted this beforehand too. He’s really so great at divination and so thoughtful toward me!
Of course, if these thoughts were made known to the dying Sword Venerable Qian Yang, he probably would climb up from his death bed and give Zhao Hao a fierce whacking.
He would most probably bellow, “This is no surprise from whatever ‘Brother Shen’! It’s me using up the last of my powers to save you, dumb kid!”
After all, it was under Sword Venerable Qian Yang’s guidance that the small bit of Nan Ming Li Fire’s Origins had entered Zhao Hao’s body in such a tame manner.
In any case, Zhao Hao felt like he had made a breakthrough and entered a new realm of cultivation. He felt that his entire being had merged with the fire, and he could even breathe fire now.
At this point in time, a familiar voice rang out in his mind. “So... It’s really the Nine-Yang Battle Constitution. The first time I saw you, I knew you were no simple person. But I could never have imagined that you actually possessed the legendary Nine-Yang Battle Constitution.”
Zhao Hao was stunned. He recognized this voice and immediately asked, “It’s you? Old Beardy, where did you come out from?”
Sword Venerable Qian Yang replied in a resigned tone, “That’s not important. What matters is that now my soul is very weak and fragile, and I will be falling into a deep slumber soon. The Fog Plain is very dangerous now. You need to leave straight away and escape as far as you can!”
With that, Sword Venerable Qian Yang’s voice disappeared. No matter what sort of questions Zhao Hao fired at him, there were no more replies.
This made Zhao Hao realize that his Old Beardy Master was really not feeling well.
Oh, wait, if the Fog Plain is dangerous... Then what will happen to Brother Shen and his company!
Worry was written all over Zhao Hao’s face.
Brother Shen has literally given me a new life! Now that he’s in danger, I must inform him of this news and tell him to leave!
With that, Zhao Hao made three kowtows to the grave in front of him and said, “Mother, your son can no longer keep guard over your grave. Please wait for me to go and save Brother Shen. I promise, once I am done with this deed, I will come back and finish the remaining two days of keeping vigil as promised!”
...
Within Fog City, a gigantic Divine Firmament protective array covered the entire palace. All the cultivators directed their Spirit Qi into the protective array and were prepared for the attacks.
Yet all of a sudden, all the Divine Binding Vines started to wither and dry up.
Within a few breaths, the ferocious Divine Binding Vines actually turned into ashes and dissipated in the air.
Needless to say, all the people within Fog City were shocked.
After a few moments of silence, joyous shouts of relief rang out throughout the whole royal hall.
“Since these foul creatures have withered, I presume Master Celestial must have already subdued those demons in the Fog Plain?”
“That must be the case! Master Celestial is indeed powerful! He managed to subdue such a strong demon in this short period of time!”
“We cannot be ungrateful people. Master Celestial has saved our lives, so we must remember what he did for us!”
“I say, why not we raise some funds and give them to Master Celestial as repayment for his services?”
“Ah, I doubt this is appropriate. Master Celestial already said that he would not take any repayments from those who are fated with him. He definitely won’t accept this money.”
“Umm, I also think it’s too trite giving him money... Wait, why don’t we make a golden statue for Master Celestial instead?”
“Yes, that’s a great idea! Master Celestial is so good at divinity, and he even has the ability to subdue terrible demons!”
“Well, Master Celestial saved the whole population at Fog City, so it’s just right that we make a golden statue for him.”
“Yes, let’s go and find our King and suggest making the golden statue in the middle of Fog City!”
“I agree!”
“Me too!”
“And me, same for me!”
...
A whole army of people swarmed toward the palace. This shocked the Hidden Fog Country’s king so much that he almost screamed, “Guards! Protect me! There’s a rebellion!”
Fortunately, he managed to stop himself in the nick of time.
After hearing that these people only wanted to make a golden statue for Master Celestial, the King agreed to it.
For heaven’s sake! Not to mention that this Master Celestial is so unfathomable and has such great skills in divination—just look at how the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground’s Saintess is holding him in high regard. How can he be just anybody?
Do you think only you guys know how to suck up to Master Celestial? Your Majesty—I, also know how to do so!
The king mused for a while before speaking, “Master Celestial has saved Fog City, and thereby the Hidden Fog Country.
“How is one golden statue enough? I am going to build a 30-meter pure gold statue for Master Celestial in the middle of the city!
“At the same time, I am also going to build four replicates of this statue and place them at each of the four city gates.
“From today onward, the Hidden Fog Country’s royal family shall set up longevity tablets for Master Celestial.
“All descendants of the Hidden Fog Country’s royal family shall never forget Master Celestial’s great help!”
With that, the king turned towards Zhang Yunxi and asked, “Saintess, what do you make of my arrangement?”
Zhang Yunxi sweated secretly and thought to herself, Well, there’s some reason that this fellow can become the country’s king. When facing great men, he could let go of his dignity as a king and even express gratitude for others’ help.
Much as though Zhang Yunxi did not like to handle people who liked to suck up to others, she did not feel uncomfortable by the king’s actions.
Of course, the fact that the person whom the king was being so grateful toward was Shen Tian had helped too. After all, earning the respect of so many cultivators was not a bad thing—in fact, it could be considered helpful for Shen Tian’s future development.
“I am fine with this decision. But let’s wait and discuss further after this fog goes away!”
Zhang Yunxi looked coldly at the thick spirit fog, which still lingered outside the palace.
“Before that, don’t go out of the array! We must be careful. What if this is a trap set up by the demons? We will be walking into their traps if we leave now!”
After making sure that this warning was registered to everyone at the scene, Zhang Yunxi sat down on the ground and started meditating. She had spent too much energy sustaining the protective array, and now she desperately needed some rest.
Junior Brother, I don’t know where you are, but I hope you remain safe!
...
Meanwhile, the person who occupied everyone’s minds at the palace—yours truly, Shen Tian—was vexing over a serious problem.
He was still hiding behind the boulder, but there was a set of female clothes in his hands.
Shen Tian looked like he was at a loss of what to do.
Oh, such a dilemma!