Carefree Path of Dreams

"Where do you think I come from?"

Truth be told, if Fang Yuan were to tell a lie about his background, it might be sufficient to fool those low-leveled lackeys of the Rock Village. However, he would most certainly be unable to fool a person of Kongming the Godly Monk’s calibre.

Afterall, Descending Star City was too small. There was no way that it would suddenly produce an unknown Wu Zong.

"You must be from Da Qian!"

The old monk said confidently.

Fang Yuan felt slightly ashamed.

Great! Due to his exposure to Yang Fan’s dream world, he was able to speak the dialect fluently which caused Kongming to be mistaken.

"Could it be that the Da Qian is very close to here? Or that there are no other people gathered around here?

Fang Yuan asked.

"Oh?"

Kongming the Godly Monk was shocked and twirled his beads faster. "You are not from Da Qian? Then you must be from Vast Deserts? Hell of Thousand Ghosts? Death Corridor?"

’All these places are landmarks behind the Descending Star City?’

Fang Yuan muttered as he considered overpowering the monk and using his Dream Entering abilities.

"Or...from the South? Impossible!"

The monk racked his brains, "No one is able to break through the Ghost Gate in the icy gorge!"

Seeing how certain the monk’s tone was, Fang Yuan recalled that if he had not already broken through the Meridian Opening Realm and had the opportunity to strengthen his physical body, it would indeed be difficult to pass it.

From the way that the old monk reacted to the danger, Fang Yuan knew that there were few who managed to break through the Ghost Gate and reach the Yuan Wu Kingdom.

"Enough! What is the use of investigating where I come from?"

Fang Yuan smiled and asked directly.

"Not bad, I am just asking!"

Kongming the Godly Monk acted as though he had attained enlightenment and bowed at Fang Yuan again. "May I know what brings you here?"

While the Descending Star City was isolated, those with authority were in contact with their counterparts from other areas. It was just that news travelled slowly and as such, he was unable to discern Fang Yuan’s identity.

"I have no plans. I am just travelling!"

Fang Yuan appeared to be disinterested and said, "I heard that the Way of Array in the Descending Star City is second to none. As such, I specially came here to have a look..."

"Hehe...this is nothing more than lies which are perpetrated to deceive the commoners!"

Kongming shook his head. However, Fang Yuan was able to see the pride in Kongming’s eyes.

"I came across something strange on my journey and I would like to pay a visit to the city master. Would it be convenient to pay him a visit?"

Fang Yuan stared at Kongming the Godly Monk and asked suddenly.

"Although the city master is busy running the daily affairs, if he knows that someone of your calibre is here, he would definitely come and personally welcome you!"

Kongming put his hands together, "You said that you witnessed something strange, may I know what happen?"

"I passed by a village known as Red Leaf Village! All the villagers were slaughtered and the village was in a miserable state... I could hardly bear to look at it."

Fang Yuan said slowly and saw that Kongming’s actions quickened, "Tales of ghosts and monsters cannot be trusted. However, I am interested in this curse and would like to help!"

"Amituofo, you are so kind. You will definitely enjoy karmic reward in the future!"

Kongming nodded his head. "I will pass on this information to the city master. However, how the city master responds would be beyond my control..."

"Ohh...."

At this time, there was a cry of alarm.

Zhang Kongfan clutched his head and slowly got up. He saw Fang Yuan and his face was full of fear. "You...what have you done to me?"

"Cough cough..."

Kongming the Godly Monk coughed, causing Zhang Kongfan to turn around and bow. "Master!"

"Hmmm, this master over here is more senior than you and highly skilled. Why would he purposely make things difficult for you?"

Kongming chided before he spoke to Fang Yuan. "My disciple is stubborn and have not been inducted into the Way of Brahma. He is just a disciple. Please forgive him for all the mistakes he makes! Kongfan! Apologise to this master immediately!"

"Yes, Master!"

A master’s order should never be disobeyed. Furthermore, Zhang Kongfan had no confidence after seeing how his master was respectful towards Fang Yuan. He immediately turned to Fang Yuan and bowed, "Please forgive me for my mistakes!"

The fat shopkeeper, Hai Fu, who was standing by the side nearly fainted upon witnessing this scene.

Since when did the high and mighty spiritual array master have to treat a person with caution?

"It’s okay!"

Fang Yuan waved his hand. He was not interested in dealing with the lackey.

Furthermore, Zhang Kongfan was considered unlucky. His compensation was more than sufficient and Fang Yuan was lazy to pursue the matter.

"Thank you, Master!"

Kongming the Godly Monk was pleased. Zhang Kongfan, who was by his side, had no choice but to follow suit and bow. Hai Fu was still feeling dizzy. Everyone could see his condition but no one took notice of it.

"Do you have any place to stay in the Descending Star City?"

Kongming continued, "If you have not decided on a place to stay, I can offer you a place at the sambhogakaya monastery. It is quite peaceful..."

"Hmmmm, then I shall gladly accept it. Thank you!"

Fang Yuan rose and walked out of the shop with the old monk.

Zhang Kongfan followed behind like a servant. He was sullen but had no avenue to vent his feeling. All he could do was glare vehemently at Hai Fu before walking out.

Hai Fu wanted to cry but no tears came as he witnessed this scene...

...

Fang Yuan and Kongming the Godly Monk walked side by side on the path. The soldiers at the sides immediately bowed and parted when they saw the both of them. It was clear that Kongming held a high position in the city. Afterall, he was a spiritual array master in the Elemental Gathering Realm.

"What do you think of the arrays in this city?"

Kongming the Godly Monk asked absentmindedly.

"Excellent...if I am not wrong, this array consists of 4 elements as its foundations. The 4 elements are Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion and Black Tortoise which guarded the four gates rigorously.....however, the array of the Vermillion in the South appears different from the conventional 4 Elements Spiritual Array. It appears to be a variant of the conventional spiritual array!"

While Fang Yuan may not be a spiritual array master, He was knowledgeable and not many could compare to him. His offhanded remark surprised Kongming, "You are so sharp and yet, you only dabbled in the Way of Arrays?"

Zhang Kongfan, who was standing behind, was shocked and felt ashamed.

Fang Yuan was proficient in the Way of Arrays and spying on him with his arrays was similar to provoking him openly. As such, it was no wonder that Kongfan would lose out.

"The Way of Arrays is mysterious and full of potential. How can I say that I dabbled in it? I merely tried it out as an eye-opener to this path..."

Fang Yuan smiled.

Truth be told, with Zhang Kongfan’s experience and his foundation in arrays, his skills were comparable to that of a spiritual array disciple. He was only lacking in terms of practice.

"I see!"

Kongming the Godly Monk laughed but he did not believe Fang Yuan.

Afterall, the Way of Arrays required much effort. His intuition told him that Fang Yuan was gifted as he was able to attain Wu Zong even though he was still young. What would the older generation and he be if Fang Yuan was able to reach his prowess in spiritual prowess so easily?

"This is due to the fact that the South faces the icy gorge and plains which possess hidden dangers. Amongst the arrays protecting the Descending Star City, the Vermillion Fiery Array had been adapted and is the strongest of the 4 arrays..."

However, the old monk did not delve deeper into the explanation and introduced it simply to Fang Yuan with a gentle smile. "Furthermore, there is still a layer of change hidden within the array!"

"Oh! What change?"

Fang Yuan asked while staring at the sky.

"It appears that you have figured out a thing or two, not bad. The answer to this lies in the history of the Descending Star City! The reason behind why the city can stand till today!"

Kongming said with a hint of pride.

"Please teach me!"

Fang Yuan put on a humble front. Suddenly, his gaze changed as he looked towards the city fair.

There, indistinct sounds of quarrelling could be heard. The noise came from a delegation of Rock Village.

"What?"

Kongming the Godly Monk stopped walking. "Are you interested in what is happening there?"

"Yes, I have met a few of them before!"

Fang Yuan said calmly.

"If that is the case, we should go there and have a look!"

Kongming the Godly Monk put his arms together and with the air of an important person, turned and walked towards the city fair.

...

"This is too much!"

Yu Jian’s face was red with anger. He pointed towards a businessman, "This is good quality Black Rice and beast hide! You agreed to trade green salt and casted steel for my goods and now, you dare to use inferior salt and rough steel to appease us?"

"Hehe..."

The businessman stroked his rat-like beard, his eyes shrewd, "Who says that your goods are of good quality? It is already not bad that you are receiving these as a trade for your rubbish! What? Still want to cause trouble?"

The businessman had backing, and as such, he was able to do business at the fair. Furthermore, he was a resident of the Descending Star City and as such, he was not afraid to call upon the soldiers. It was not easy to determine who would have the last laugh.

"Yu Jian, don’t be rash!"

Just as Yu Jian was about to leap forward and fight with the businessman, Li Hu grabbed onto his right shoulder and pinned him.

"Whatever! This deal is off! Return my goods to me!"

Li Hu coldly stared at the businessman with a killing intent.

"Okay!"

The crafty businessman smiled, "However, you only gave me 1500 kg of inferior black rice and 200 sheets of torn hide. These are not worth much..."

"You..."

Li Hu was fuming.

He remembered that the opposite party was frantically loading the goods. It was obvious that he had planned to scam them.

At this moment, even though he was well-tempered, he wanted to kill the businessman and his hand reached for the hilt of his sword.

"Soldier! Soldier!"

The businessman immediately shouted as he leapt away.

"What’s wrong?"

A group of soldiers who were patrolling came forward. The leader had a high spiritual aura and was a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates.

"Sir...these villagers from outside the city banded together to bully us citizens!"

The sly businessman was brazen in his accusations as he had backing. His uncle was a leader in the patrol.

If he did not have the connections, he would not have dared to do such a thing.

"I see!"

The leader of the patrol was familiar with the businessman as well. Without a second look, he signalled to his troops with a wave of his hand. "Capture all of them!"