Stranger Danger

Well, maybe saying that life took him down a peg wasn't quite accurate. It was really an unexpected mishap.

His original plan was to refine the god demon heart at a basic level so that he could store it in his internal space. The mishap happened after he finished refining it and was in the middle of storing it in his internal bodily space.

The god demon heart had flown uncontrollably toward his heart. Then, it entered his heart.

It wasn't replacing it or merging with it. It just... went inside like a bird flying back to its nest.

It wasn't that he hadn't tried to stop it. It wasn't that his reaction speed wasn't up to snuff either. In fact, he had responded as soon as he sensed that something was wrong.

After his mastery of the "Earthly Sovereign Scripture" had entered the journeyman level, the inside of his body had turned into a world of its own, and his viscera the gods of this world. If an ordinary object attempted to invade his body, they would instantly be suppressed, melted, and destroyed by his internal world. It would be near impossible for the foreign object to approach his five viscera and six bowels, much less enter his heart.

And yet, the god demon heart was just too powerful. No matter how hard he tried to suppress, seal, or impede it, it was all futile. Unable to stop it for even a millisecond, he could only watch as the heart shrank into a translucent, dark green crystal and slipped into his heart.

If someone were to cut open Ye Qing's heart right now, they would discover that he had a heart inside his heart.

One heart was dark yellow in color, and the other dark green. One of them resided outside, and the other inside. One of them was good, and the other evil. They did not clash against each other, however. They existed naturally and harmoniously with each other like heaven and earth.

It almost felt like this was how the hearts should have been.

Obviously, Ye Qing was half-scared to death when the god demon heart entered his. He was beyond afraid that it would infest his heart like a parasite, or if the god demon would try to take over him and be reborn. Luckily, none of his worries came true.

Not only that, the god demon heart formed an inexplicable yet profound balance and cycle with his heart after entering it. The two hearts beat in tandem: heavy on the inside, light on the outside; slow on the inside, rapid on the outside. As the two hearts beat in tandem, his dark yellow-colored vitality began channeling unendingly into the god demon heart, repairing its damage and replenishing its loss.

At the same time, the god demon heart began beating and channelings its immense, powerful energy into his heart as well. Through his heart, it spread to his five viscera and six bowels, his meridians and bodily points, everything.

Somehow, the two hearts supported each other perfectly and formed a cycle that was no less harmonious than yin and yang.

Even better, Ye Qing discovered that his strength, his physical body, his force, his mind; everything was drastically greater than before.

For example, the old him could barely arm wrestle an ordinary Sage if he did not use the Earthly Sovereign Bell. But now, he could wipe the floor with them with brute force alone.

In other words, he was on the level of a Sage despite not possessing the domain or the lawful powers of a Sage.

Take his contest of strength against Old Man Profound Firmament earlier. The old him could not have stopped the Sage from bowing to him, not unless he went all out. But now? He could easily withstand and neutralize his power.

It was because the god demon heart had abruptly flooded his viscera, his meridians, his bodily points, and his flesh and blood with power when he made contact with Old Man Profound Firmament. The next thing he knew, the old man's power was gone just like that.

Yep. It was that ridiculous.

All things considered, it was no wonder that he was stunned by his own power.

Of course, Ye Qing knew that Old Man Profound Firmament hadn't used his full strength. However, that applied to him as well, didn't it?

He could only say that he struck the jackpot.

"Youth truly is a frightening thing. You are a living, breathing hero of the legends, my friend!"

Despite his shock, Old Man Profound Firmament sighed from the bottom of his heart.

"And you are hale and hearty despite the years, senior!" Ye Qing responded in kind.

"Hahahahahaha!"

The two men stared at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Alright, we should stop licking each other's boots now. The juniors are going to think less of us."

After laughing for a bit and letting go of each other's hands, Old Man Profound Firmament gave Ye Qing an affectionate clap on the shoulder and said, "Shall we get serious and talk about business?"

"Oh right, don't call me senior anymore. It sounds terribly estranged. Just address me as Elder Profound just like everyone else."

"You're absolutely correct, se—I mean, Elder Profound." Ye Qing smiled and looked at Danxia Zi. "What do you say, senior Danxia Zi?"

Everyone subconsciously looked in the Sage's direction.

It was clear what Ye Qing was implying. Whether he would actually comply wholly depended on whether Danxia Zi would fulfill his promise.

If he apologized, then he would comply with Old Man Profound Firmament's request.

If not...

For a time, the tension in the air was razor sharp.

"Senior, my senior uncle—"

Yue Ling was Danxia Zi's junior, so she stepped up and tried to defend him. However, Ye Qing cut her off before she could finish, "This has nothing to do with you. A man should bear responsibility for his own actions."

Ye Qing looked at Danxia Zi again after saying this, smiling.

He wasn't being petty or self-conceited. It was just that there were some things in life that you couldn't back down from, not unless you wanted to deal with the endless trouble that came after the compromise.

Besides, he was no longer the weakling anyone could bully back then. He no longer needed to tread every step with perfect caution or accept a compromise.

Jin Manshan and the others wished to play the mediator as well, but Ye Qing made it clear that it would be pointless. So, they shut up.

It simply wasn't an arena they could step into. There wasn't a single bigshot here that they could afford to offend.

So, they looked to Old Man Profound Firmament. They hoped that the virtuous, meritorious old man would be able to alleviate the situation somewhat.

"Ahem... young friend Ye, do you think..." Old Man Profound Firmament had no choice but to open his mouth. He was just about to advise both Ye Qing and Danxia Zi to take a step backward when the stiff Sage that had been silent all this time suddenly spoke up.

"Enough. There is no need to plead on my behalf. Right is right, wrong is wrong. I know what I should do." Dan Xiazi turned slightly to face toward Ye Qing, clasped his fists and bowed. "I apologize for my earlier recklessness and rudeness earlier. I also apologize for judging you with pettiness and deeply disrespecting you. I hope you can forgive me for my actions."

"As for compensation, I will give you anything so long as it doesn't break the laws of etiquette and propriety, does not require maleficence, and is within my power to give it!"

Danxia Zi kept bowing even after he completed his apology.

"Senior uncle!" Yue Ling cried out in surprise when he saw this. Jin Manshan and the others were stunned as well.

Even Old Man Profound Firmament was speechless.

No one was expecting Danxia Zi to actually bow his head and apologize to Ye Qing.

Danxia Zi wasn't just a Sage, he was notorious for his pridefulness, self-conceit, and great attachment to his face and dignity.

It was simply unrealistic to expect a man like him to bow his head, admit his mistakes, and offer a proper apology. And to do it in front of so many people? He would probably prefer it if Ye Qing had just killed him!

Old Man Profound Firmament especially knew this as he knew Danxia Zi better than most people. That was why he was planning to play the mediator from the beginning, and why he had spoken up earlier.

After all, no good would come from their continuous conflict. They would only be beleaguering each other at best. And in the end, the one who would suffer the consequences would be the people of the Profound Alliance.

However, Danxia Zi actually bowed his head and apologized.

It wasn't just a superficial apology either. He could sense that Danxia Zi was apologizing from the heart.