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Chapter 170 Ascension and Death

Only great cultivators who are about to ascend will "see death"?
Why is this again?
When Wang Xi pressed for further details, the peddler refused to say anything more.

It wasn't that he was deliberately hiding his identity as the riddle solver, but rather that he genuinely dared not speak carelessly. The cautious and serious expression on his face seemed genuine, as if revealing the reason would bring some unexpected disaster upon him.

"Young man, I dare not say more, I can only tell you that 'seeing a funeral' is like a decree from heaven; its appearance foreshadows something."

The peddler pointed to the sky.

"And those great cultivators, only those who have witnessed a death are qualified to ascend; otherwise..."

"Otherwise what will happen?"

"To die and have one's soul disappear is considered good."

The peddler shook his head and said no more.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xi seemed to be deep in thought.

According to the peddler, "seeing the dead" is not actually an evil spirit, but rather a natural phenomenon, a manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth.

Its appearance signifies that a person is destined to die. Moreover, it only occurs to great cultivators who are about to ascend to immortality; ordinary people will never encounter it.

So what's going on with him?
Seeing Wang Xi's solemn and confused expression, the peddler hesitated to speak. He poured himself a glass of wine, drank it all in one gulp, and then slammed the glass down on the table.

Benedict!
The peddler laughed, "Young man, I've never heard of anything like this before. Are you some kind of immortal reincarnation? Hahaha..."

He does not mean that.

Wang Xi was immediately startled.

He is not a reincarnated immortal, but a demon from beyond the realm!
"Wang Xizhi" is a projection fabricated out of thin air by Chaos, which forcibly overlaid on the historical trajectory of the Mystic Realm.

Could it be that the Heavenly Dao of this realm sensed something amiss, and that's why it wanted to kill him in this way?
After all, that's how it's written in fantasy novels.

"Peddler, according to you, this 'meeting of the dead' doesn't seem to be a bad thing for a high-ranking monk?"

Wang Xi suddenly realized something and asked.

In his view, it was as if Heaven was using this unique method to hint to those great cultivators, "You are qualified to ascend, come quickly."

Ascension and death are originally clearly distinct, one leading to immortality, the other to mortal existence. However, in this mysterious realm, the boundary between the two is as hazy and indistinct as a mountain path in the morning mist.

After all, according to the peddler, they seemed to be equivalent.

Is ascension the same as death, or death the same as ascension?
This is so contradictory.

"Indeed." The peddler nodded, casually mentioning, "Those great cultivators, what they look forward to most is witnessing a funeral."

"But for ordinary people, this is a disaster, an unsolvable disaster."

He sighed, "As the saying goes, things don't happen more than three times, and the same applies to 'witnessing a death.' Young man, you've already witnessed two deaths; the next one will be your death day."

"Please, peddler, advise me, is there any way to save myself?"

Wang Xi quickly clasped his hands in greeting and asked.

He has only descended into the Mysterious Realm for the second time. If he dies like this, who knows if he will be able to come back again.

The peddler tapped his fingers lightly on the table, lost in thought.

I don't know if they're trying to find a solution or weighing the pros and cons.

After a while, he finally spoke: "Young man, it's rare to meet someone as compatible as you. I don't want to see you die in vain... Here's what I'll do: I'll teach you a method. It's only a temporary fix, but it can save your life."

"Sir, please speak."

The peddler immediately leaned closer and lowered his voice: "If it rains heavily, take shelter in a house, keep the doors and windows tightly closed, and do not go out."

Seeing his serious expression, Wang Xi felt a chill and nodded.

"Thank you for showing me a way out." He stood up, bowed, and paid his respects to the peddler. "I owe you a favor, sir."

"Oh, that's not necessary."

The peddler drank his wine and waved his hands repeatedly.

"If you die, where will I get free food and drinks, haha... Sit down, let's continue drinking."

"Okay," Wang Xi said with a smile.

The two chatted for a while longer, and after several rounds of drinks, the food was almost gone. Just as he was about to get up to leave, the peddler suddenly smiled with narrowed eyes.

“Young man,” he said in a deep voice with a hint of amusement, “you’d better clean up that tail behind you yourself… I’m just a peddler who goes from street to street, and I don’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble.”

Wang Xi was taken aback for a moment, then clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, "Understood, sir."

The peddler wasn't surprised that someone had followed him here, after all, the other party was a mysterious master who could predict the future with a snap of his fingers.

It would be strange if one were unaware of this.

He pushed open the fence gate and went outside.

After leaving the thatched hut next to the crooked tree and walking seventy or eighty steps along the narrow path, Wang Xi suddenly stopped.

He saw a person standing in the middle of the road not far ahead—a thin middle-aged man with a long braid and wearing a blue-gray long coat.

His current state was very strange; he was circling in place with a serious expression, muttering something to himself.

Wang Xi frowned as he looked over.

"Wuhu Sanren · Qingyaozi (Vice Guild Member) · Meng Chang (Opponent/Four-Star/Elite)"

Four stars in a bronze frame.

Vice President of the Jianghu organization "Wuhu Sanren".

"Is it because the four 'Grey Swallows' who stole brooms from the Zhang family mansion last time went missing, so the vice-chairman is personally investigating? But why are they targeting me directly?"

The thought flashed through Wang Xi's mind.

He stood a dozen meters away, observing quietly.

But the man frowned and said, "That's strange, how did we lose track of him..."

Suddenly, his expression changed.

"No, I've been here before!"

Swah——

The man dashed forward several meters, then turned 180 degrees and ran back, then spun around again, repeating the cycle endlessly.

Wang Xi's expression was strange. He realized that the other person couldn't see him at all, as if he were trapped in a maze.

'This is most likely a peddler's trick.'

Wang Xi said secretly.

'Any stranger who approaches the hut will get lost and trapped in a maze of illusions...'

He thought to himself, and raised his hand.

——"The Heart Thief"

In the blink of an eye, his right hand turned grayish-black and flicked through the air. A dozen meters away, an icy hand suddenly condensed in front of the man and struck him in the face.

Snapped!
A crisp slap.

"Ah!" The man cried out in pain, clutching his face, and stood there looking around in surprise and disbelief. "Who?!"

A few seconds later, seeing no one respond, his unease became more pronounced, and he started running around faster and faster.

She was still cursing under her breath: "That useless bitch Huang Li, that fortune teller she hired from the Liu family, she must have made a mistake..."

Wang Xi stroked his chin and flicked it again from a distance.

Snapped! !

This slap was even harder than the previous one. Meng Chang's head tilted to the side, and he staggered several steps, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Ah!" His expression shifted several times, first anger, then terror. "A ghost?!"

The man then ran wildly as if he had gone mad.

But it's still going around in circles.

Seeing this, Wang Xi felt inexplicably sorry for the man, while at the same time being alarmed by the peddler's cunning methods.

"Fine, I'll send you on your way."

He shook his head, stopped testing the waters, and pushed with his hand.

puff! !

The icy hand struck the man's chest instantly, blasting a large hole in it, and his heart was shattered by the force.

— "Open your heart"

A renowned martial arts master of external martial arts, a four-star expert with a bronze frame, died quietly in the outskirts of Qingwei Town.

Meng Chang died without ever understanding who killed him. His eyes widened in resentment as he collapsed to the ground.

"The target has been killed!"

"Does it possess the ability to capture 'Meng Chang'?"

'Yes. '

Wang Xi said inwardly.

A green light appeared on the man's body and flew straight into his brow.

Wang Xi immediately spent 100 energy points to draw a card and obtained a "Bewitching Powder" item card.

After use, it can induce a brief state of mental confusion, causing sluggish thinking and reactions. During the duration of its effects, the person may unconsciously reveal the truth, but its effectiveness will be greatly reduced for those with strong willpower.

"Crooked ways."

He gave a disdainful sneer.

He then tucked the card into his pocket.

Wang Xi stepped forward and bent down to search Meng Chang, nicknamed "Green Hawk." He quickly found a money pouch and a jade identification token the size of a mahjong tile.

The money bag contained a dozen silver dollars, several dozen coins, and two ten-dollar notes.

The jade pendant bears the seal character "青" (qing), surrounded by a pattern of a soaring sparrow.

Wang Xi carefully packed everything away, turned around, clasped his hands in a salute towards the direction of the thatched hut, and then dragged the corpse away.

Wait until he is completely gone.

Outside the peddler's thatched hut, a white creature the size of a millstone was slowly approaching.

It raised its forelimbs and extended a claw to gently knock on the door.

"Old Pan, you're here!" The peddler, fiddling with his erhu, greeted the doorman with a smile. "Come in."

The plump, round object opened the doorway and, like an old man, slowly made its way to the table, laboriously climbed onto the bench, and sat down opposite the peddler.

It was a huge hedgehog.

"Thank you, Er." It spoke in a human voice, its tone deep and honest. "You asked me to guard this thatched hut? This life is so boring. Qingwei Town isn't far from Fengdeng, the provincial capital, and all my old friends are there. Why haven't you left yet?"

The peddler chuckled: "I've found an interesting person in this town. He's naturally gifted and will surely become a cultivator in time. His junior brother is even more blessed with good fortune; with just a little guidance, he'll be able to rise to prominence... Staying here a little longer won't be a bad deal."

"Was that the person from just now?" The hedgehog shook its head, its quills rustling. "You always love to meddle in other people's business."

The peddler's smile faded.

He leaned closer to the old man, his voice extremely low:
"I have foreseen that Qingwei Town will face a great calamity. If we leave now, many people will die!"

"Calamities are predetermined."

The hedgehog stared at him with its two little black eyes.

"Your sect is in decline because you always meddle in other people's business, which has brought about five deficiencies and three shortages. Why bother?"

"I disagree." The peddler's expression turned serious, and he slammed down his erhu. "Those who recklessly reveal heavenly secrets, defy fate, and interfere arbitrarily will be punished by heaven. I am merely going with the flow to ensure I have a clear conscience."

He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked to the side.

“We cultivators never only cultivate life and longevity... we should also cultivate our minds.”

"If one's heart is not cultivated, how can one speak of 'seeing death' and ascending to immortality? In the end, one will suffer sorrow and transform into a demon, adding another calamity to the mortal world."

The old hedgehog remained silent for a moment.

It sighed softly and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"Wait a little longer." The peddler didn't turn his head. "An interesting person will be coming to this town soon. I'll have those two help me get through this ordeal."

(End of this chapter)