Chapter 411: It Seems the Strength of Seven Emotions Valley is Far from Ordinary

Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii

“Why didn’t I encounter these situations!” Meng Jingzhou regretted, feeling as though he had missed a great opportunity.

That damn Lu Yang! Stealing my opportunities—this is a grudge that can never be forgiven!

“It’s just fate, accept it,” Lu Yang said, trying to comfort him.

“Get lost!” Meng Jingzhou shouted angrily, frustrated that all the good things seemed to happen to Lu Yang.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had no intention of actually fighting, making Zhao Po’s concerns unnecessary.

“Who’s this person you brought back?” Meng Jingzhou asked, nodding toward Zhao Po.

Afraid that Lu Yang might introduce him again as the “second in the Corpse-Driving Sect,” Zhao Po quickly introduced himself, “I am Zhao Po, second place in the Corpse-Driving Sect’s most recent Sect Competition, currently in the Early Golden Core Stage.”

Meng Jingzhou was instantly surprised. Zhao Po seemed about their age, at most a year older, and with such talent, he was only ranked second in the Corpse-Driving Sect?

If Zhao Po joined their Dao Seeking Sect, he could easily rank sixth.

“You’re only second with this level of skill in the Corpse-Driving Sect?”

Speaking on the topic, Zhao Po smiled bitterly. “There’s no helping it. As much as I hate to admit it, Senior Brother Huang Ming is indeed stronger than me by quite a bit. His battle sense far surpasses mine. Even if we were to fight again, I wouldn’t win. During our battle, I used all of my trump cards, but Senior Brother Huang Ming was still at ease, showing no signs of fatigue. He always has another technique up his sleeve.”

“Since we were young, Senior Brother Huang Ming has always been better than me. Whenever we went out to complete missions, while others were still looking for clues, he had already slain the culprit behind the scenes.”

“But Huang Ming has been an orphan since he was young, with no family, and he’s always been withdrawn and unwilling to communicate with others.”

Zhao Po shook his head regretfully. He had wanted to exchange cultivation insights with Huang Ming to help each other improve, but Huang Ming didn’t even want to talk to him, the second-ranked disciple.

“Now that Senior Brother Huang Ming has become the Sect Leader’s disciple, it’s going to be even harder to see him.”

“He’s that strong?” Lu Yang’s estimation of Huang Ming rose even higher. He had initially thought that Huang Ming and Zhao Po were about the same level, but based on what Zhao Po said, the gap between them was quite large.

“Enough about me. I’ve heard that Senior Brother Meng has been cursed and can’t get close to women?”

Meng Jingzhou thought for a moment. “It seems like even before I was cursed, I couldn’t get close to women.”

Zhao Po comforted him, “Don’t be discouraged, Senior Brother Meng. As the sage says, those destined for greatness must first endure trials of the heart and body, face hardships and hunger, and suffer setbacks, all to strengthen their will and prepare them for what they cannot yet accomplish.”

Meng Jingzhou laughed. The more he looked at Zhao Po, the more he liked him. “Well said! You truly are the pride of the Corpse-Driving Sect. You speak much better than this rascal Lu Yang. From now on, we’re friends. If you ever go to the Imperial City and are worried about getting into trouble, just mention my name, Meng Jingzhou!”

Zhao Po: “…”

He felt like something was off about that last sentence. Did he hear it wrong?

“My curse, to be precise, makes it so I can’t approach women. I’ve heard that the Desolate Lands has many cultivators who are skilled in curses. Since the Corpse-Driving Sect is one of the major sects here, I was hoping to ask your sect if there’s a way to break the curse.”

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Po responded seriously, “In that case, I actually suggest that Senior Brother Meng go to the Seven Emotions Valley.”

“Seven Emotions Valley?” Like Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou’s understanding of the Seven Emotions Valley was limited to knowing it existed.

“Our Corpse-Driving Sect specializes in orthodox corpse-driving techniques, but when it comes to curses, we’re far less skilled than Seven Emotions Valley. In the Desolate Lands, whenever someone is cursed, the first suspicion is always that it was done by someone from Seven Emotions Valley.”

“However, Seven Emotions Valley operates in a semi-hidden state, so people from outside the region know very little about it.”

Lu Yang nodded, affirming his thoughts: “It seems that the strength of Seven Emotions Valley is far from ordinary. It should be comparable to your Corpse-Driving Sect.”

Zhao Po was surprised. How did Senior Brother Lu know about this? Even he only learned of this after winning second place in the sect competition, when his status had risen, and an elder told him.

“The weaker ones were wiped out long ago,” Zhao Po admitted, agreeing with Lu Yang’s reasoning.

“Then let’s head to Seven Emotions Valley. It’s not far from here anyway,” Lu Yang said as he checked the map. With their horse’s pace, they would arrive in less than half a day.

“Right here,” Lu Yang pointed out the location on the map to their horse, and the horse snorted in response.

Zhao Po was amazed by this sight. In his view, the horse was just an ordinary animal, yet it behaved as though it understood human language.

This might involve some secret of the two senior brothers, so he didn’t ask further. Zhao Po wasn’t the type to pry. For example, during their journey, he had felt that Brother Ye and Brother Wenren were acting strangely but chose not to ask. That’s how the scene of two women disguised as men, secretly admiring each other while bullying an honest man, played out.

The three of them boarded the carriage, with Zhao Po commanding the Living Corpse to sit atop the carriage, keeping watch and deterring potential thieves.

Corpse drivers held a high status in the Desolate Lands. Many travelers who died far from home needed corpse drivers to return their bodies for burial. When bandits or raiders saw a living corpse, they would recognize that a corpse driver was present and abandon any plans of attacking the carriage.

While on the carriage, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou asked Zhao Po questions about corpse-driving techniques.

“I’ve always been curious about something. Living Corpses have no intelligence and are essentially objects. Why don’t you store them in storage rings for transport instead of taking them to inns?” Meng Jingzhou asked.

“Technically, Living Corpses are indeed objects and can be stored in storage rings. However, we corpse drivers believe that living corpses still possess life, though in a state that cultivators cannot perceive. Since they are considered alive, we must treat them as such, allowing them to eat, rest, and travel with us. When we ask them to fight, we use the word ‘please,’” Zhao Po explained with a bitter smile.

“Because of our unique perspective on life and death, there’s a rumor that the founder of the Nine Nether Sect originally came from our Corpse-Driving Sect,” Zhao Po added, explaining more about the customs and practices of corpse drivers, offering insights far more authentic than what others might say.

After a half-day’s journey, the three of them, along with the living corpse, arrived safely at Seven Emotions Valley.

“I have a friend in Seven Emotions Valley. He’s a true disciple and very skilled at breaking curses. Whenever I get cursed, he’s the one I turn to. If your curse is below the Nascent Soul Stage level, my friend can definitely lift it. If it’s at the Spirit Transformation Stage, there’s a chance he can still break it. Even if he can’t, he can at least alleviate it.”

Meng Jingzhou hesitated for a moment and then said, “If I had to estimate conservatively, it’s probably a half-step Tribulation Crossing Stage curse.”

After all, the curse had been split with Sect Leader Qiu, so its power had been somewhat diminished.

Zhao Po leaned back slightly, his expression becoming more respectful.

When Zhao Po went out and made enemies, it was usually with Golden Core Stage cultivators. The chances of encountering Nascent Soul Stage monsters were slim, and he had never even crossed paths with anyone at the Spirit Transformation Stage.

He couldn’t help but think, These truly are prodigies of the Dao Seeking Sect. Even the curses they receive are at the half-step Tribulation Crossing level.

What could someone possibly have done to earn a curse of this level?

Even slapping the Valley Master of Seven Emotions Valley twice wouldn’t result in a half-step Tribulation Crossing curse.

Lu Yang thought to himself, This is just the beginning. The people we’ve made enemies of, all start at the Unity Stage. Anyone below that doesn’t even catch our eye.

(End of the chapter)