Stranger Danger

“Great Grandmaster?!”

The King of All Poisons exclaimed in shock. Before he could react, Ye Qing suddenly appeared in front of him as if he just used Earth Contraction and threw out a punch.

The King of All Poisons subconsciously tried to slip away. So long as it was within his domain, he could travel everywhere he wanted whenever he wanted.

However, he felt spacetime freezing, and the world coming to a stop. Even his thoughts had come to a halt for a brief instant.

I’m dead!

That was the last thing that flashed through the King of All Poisons’ head before his consciousness turned still.

“Hahaha… please don’t kill him, my friend.”

Right before Ye Qing’s fist would land on the King of All Poisons’ forehead, a laugh suddenly broke in the air. It sounded incredibly melodious and soothing. Even at Ye Qing’s current level, he could not help but slow down a little when he heard the laughter.

It wasn’t just his thoughts and consciousness that were affected either. Even the surrounding origin energy was shaking and growing chaotic as if infected by the laughter. As a result, Ye Qing’s Suppression Hammer became much weaker than before.

That brief delay was enough for the King of All Poisons to snap out of the frozen space and time. Relief at having survived flickered through his face as he tried to escape.

“Seriously?”

Ye Qing grunted and channeled dark yellow light at the tip of his fist. As lofty as the sky and as thick as the earth, he shattered the quaking space in one punch.

The next moment, Ye Qing’s fist landed squarely on the King of All Poisons’ forehead. There was a soft bang, and the King of All Poisons shook like he was struck by a lightning bolt. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he collapsed in a heap on the ground. He wasn’t breathing.

“Are you together?”

Ye Qing turned his head and glanced in a certain direction. About thirty meters away from him, a plump, fair-skinned young man riding a soft litter was smiling at him.

They were all standing in the swamp, but the poisonous fog and fluid had automatically steered clear of the young man almost as if they were sentient. As a result, not a hair on the young man’s skin was harmed.

“Bah, disgusting…”

Ye Qing frowned at the poisonous air floating around him and stomped the ground. As if he was stepping on an earthly vein, the ground within a kilometer of him split open and flipped upside down. Literally. The poisonous fluid, poisonous fog and everything else unsavory all sank to the bottom, where the soil in the underground flipped upward and covered the surface.

In just the blink of an eye, the kingdom of swamp and poison was nowhere to be found. The air was clean, and the sky was bright. If not for the fact that the new clearing was a bit too empty and flat, it would be as if nothing had ever happened here.

“You can speak now!”

Ye Qing waved his sleeve to dispel the final wisps of poisonous mist in the air before looking at the young man.

“Gulp…”

The young man couldn’t help but gulp audibly after witnessing what could only be described as a godlike move. The four brawny men carrying him were on full alert as well.

“It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!”

The young man saluted Ye Qing with a smile. “Make no mistake, I am no friend of the man you just killed.”

“If you’re not together, then why did you interrupt me just now?” Ye Qing asked. It was true he did not sense any killing intent from the man. His action earlier was exactly just that, interruption. Otherwise, he would have attacked the young man already.

“It’s because he is wanted by my sect. I wanted to take him back for interrogation.”

The young man explained, “Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I am the Joy Envoy of the Sky Mending Palace. It’s a pleasure to meet you, brother.”

“Sky Mending Palace? Joy Envoy? You’re the Joy Envoy of the Seven Sky Mending Envoys?” Ye Qing exclaimed in realization. No wonder the young man’s ability was so unusual. No wonder he could destabilize his Suppression Hammer with laughter alone.

“So, you have heard of me? Hahaha… I guess I’m more famous than I thought!” The Joy Envoy laughed happily.

“But of course. The Seven Sky Mending Envoys are quite famous in their own right, and you in particular are even more famous,” Ye Qing said politely. Just listening to the young man’s laughter and watching his smile was enough to invoke good feelings inside him and decrease his killing intent and wariness. The “Joy Sutra” was definitely extraordinary.

The Joy Envoy’s martial art was called the “Joy Sutra”. It was derived from the Sage-stage martial art called the “Way of Seven Emotions”, something that walked the great way of red dust.

The human heart possessed Seven Emotions, so the martial art boasted the Way of Joy, Way of Rage, Way of Worry, Way of Thought, Way of Sorrow, Way of Fear, and Way of Surprise. Each way corresponded to a human Emotion and could influence said emotion with a single thought. It should not need to be said how wondrous and potent the martial art was.

One who practiced the “Way of Seven Emotions” must, naturally, experience the Seven Emotions and cultivate the seven Ways to the absolute pinnacle. Assuming all went well, the seven Ways and Seven Emotions would combine into one, and the practitioner would become a Sage in an instant.

Of course, the “Way of Seven Emotions” was one of those martial arts that was easy to practice, but difficult to master. This was especially true for those who tried to cultivate all Seven Emotions at the same time. It was extremely easy for the practitioner to go insane and suffer a martial deviation.

Three hundred years ago, an astounding genius named Old Sky Mender successfully broke apart the “Way of Seven Emotions” into seven individual martial arts. They were known as the “Joy Sutra”, “Rage Sutra”, “Worry Sutra”, “Thought Sutra”, “Sorrow Sutra”, “Fear Sutra” and “Surprise Sutra”. Each sutra corresponded to a Way in the “Way of Seven Emotions”, and together, they were known as the “Heart Sutras of Seven Emotions”.

As expected, it was much easier to cultivate just one emotion instead of seven of them together, and the practitioner was no longer at risk of losing their mind and suffering a martial deviation.

Of course, the price was a significant decrease in potential and power. The practitioner could only become a Half Sage at most.

Still, it was a martial art that allowed a warrior to become a Half-Sage, so one could hardly complain about it.

Splitting the “Way of Seven Emotions” into seven individual martial arts wasn’t the only reason Old Sky Mender was praised as a genius, however. It was also because this method still allowed one to become a Sage.

First, seven warriors must practice every sutra to the adept level. Then, the warriors’ yang gods were extracted and molded together inside a furnace to create the Seven Emotions Pill. Consuming the Seven Emotions Pill would allow someone to reach the adept level of the “Way of Seven Emotions” and become a Sage without any problems whatsoever.

In other words, the seven warriors were human cauldrons.

Obviously, the warriors whose yang gods were extracted would perish in mind. They would never be able to reincarnate.

Although this method perfectly solved the biggest flaw of the “Way of Seven Emotions”, it was also extremely evil and heretical.

Normally, a cultivation method like this was forbidden by some famous clans or major sects. However, the Sky Mending Palace was one of the Nine Dark Ways. They did whatever they wanted and did not conform themselves to conventional beliefs.

Not only did Sky Mending Palace not forbid its disciples from practicing the “Heart Sutras of Seven Emotions”, they actively encouraged them to practice it via methods such as allowances, cultivation resources and more. Not only that, they did not conceal the consequences of practicing the “Heart Sutras of Seven Emotions”, nor did they forbid the disciples from scheming and killing each other to create the Seven Emotions Pill.

In summary, they allowed their disciples to do whatever they wanted. They did not force the disciples to practice the “Heart Sutras of Seven Emotions” either. It was completely up to them whether they wanted to practice the martial art or not.

The seven strongest warriors who practiced the “Heart Sutras of Seven Emotions” were unanimously called the Seven Sky Mending Envoys. The Seven Sky Mending Envoy's enjoyed extraordinary influence and power in the Sky Mending Palace. In fact, they were treated on the same level as an elder or a hillmaster. The reason was simple: it was because every Sky Mending Envoy was a potential Sage.

Naturally, the Sky Mending Palace gave them preferential treatment.

Because of this, countless Sky Mending Palace disciples practiced the “Heart Sutras of Seven Emotions” even though it invited all sorts of unpredictable consequences. A good number of them were extraordinarily gifted warriors as well.

After all, practicing the “Heart Sutras of Seven Emotions” was to gain a chance, no matter how slim, at achieving transcendence and becoming a Sage. Who could resist such a temptation?

The Seven Sky Mending Envoys were not to be underestimated as a matter of course. After all, they were the strongest out of everyone who practiced the “Heart Sutras of Seven Emotions”.

The Joy Envoy before Ye Qing was no exception.