Chapter 411: It Seems the Strength of the Seven Emotions Valley is by No Means Ordinary

"Why is it that I never run into such fortunes!" Meng Jingzhou lamented, feeling acutely that he had missed out on a grand and heavenly opportunity.

That dog Lu Yang, snatching away my fortune—this enmity is irreconcilable beneath the heavens!

"It is all fate; resign yourself to it," Lu Yang offered in mild consolation.

"Get lost!" Meng Jingzhou spat in fury, exasperated by how every stroke of luck seemed to stumble into Lu Yang's lap.

Neither Lu Yang nor Meng Jingzhou had any intention of raising a hand, rendering Zhao Po’s anxieties entirely for naught.

"Who is this person you’ve brought back?" Meng Jingzhou asked, tilting his chin forward.

Fearing that Lu Yang would once again proclaim him the second-in-command of the Corpse Driving Sect, Zhao Po hastily introduced himself: "I am Zhao Po, the runner-up of the Corpse Driving Sect's grand tournament, currently at the early stage of the Golden Core realm."

Meng Jingzhou was momentarily taken aback; noting that Zhao Po looked to be of an age with them, perhaps a year older at most, he wondered how such natural talent could only rank second among his peers in the Corpse Driving Sect.

Had Zhao Po come to their own Dao Sect, he would have easily ranked sixth.

"With your caliber, you only place second in the Corpse Driving Sect?"

At the mention of this, a bitter smile touched Zhao Po’s lips. "It cannot be helped. Though I loathe to admit it, Senior Brother Huang Ming is indeed a cut above me; moreover, his combat instincts far surpass my own. Even if we fought anew, I could not prevail. In that battle, I exhausted all my hidden cards, yet Senior Brother Huang Ming remained entirely at ease, showing no hint of fatigue—he surely possesses other techniques in reserve."

"Senior Brother Huang Ming has always been more outstanding than I. Every time we went abroad to fulfill missions, he was vastly ahead; while others were still searching for clues, he had already slain the mastermind behind the scenes."

"It is only that Senior Brother Huang Ming has been without mother or father since youth, an orphan of solitary temperament who is disinclined to converse with others."

Zhao Po shook his head regretfully; he had wished to exchange insights on cultivation with Senior Brother Huang Ming so they might progress together, but alas, Senior Brother Huang Ming would seldom waste words even on him, the runner-up.

"Senior Brother Huang Ming has taken the Sect Master as his master, so it will likely be even harder to encounter him in the future."

"That formidable?" Lu Yang’s estimation of Huang Ming rose by several degrees. He had initially assumed Huang Ming and Zhao Po were of comparable skill, but by Zhao Po’s account, the disparity between their strengths was vast.

"Let us not speak of me. I have heard that Senior Brother Meng suffers from a curse that prevents him from approaching women?"

Meng Jingzhou pondered for a moment. "It seems that even when I was not cursed, I could not approach women either."

Zhao Po offered comfort: "Senior Brother Meng must not lose heart. As the sages have said, when heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on any man, it will first exercise his mind with suffering, subject his sinews and bones to hard work, expose his body to hunger, manage him to poverty, and confound his undertakings. In this way, his mind is stimulated, his nature hardened, and his deficiencies mended."

Meng Jingzhou laughed, finding Zhao Po increasingly agreeable the more he looked at him. "Excellent! Worthy indeed of being a chosen talent of the Corpse Driving Sect. You speak far better than that rascal Lu Yang. I accept you as a friend; in the future, when you visit the Imperial City, if you ever worry about not finding enough trouble, just invoke the name of Meng Jingzhou!"

Zhao Po was struck speechless.

He felt there was something inherently amiss with that final sentence; had he perhaps misheard?

"To be precise, my curse ensures that I cannot draw near to females. I have heard that many cultivators in the Desolate Province excel in the arts of cursing, and since the Corpse Driving Sect is a major power therein, I intended to visit your noble sect to inquire if there might be a remedy."

Zhao Po gave it some thought and said earnestly, "If that is the case, I would strongly recommend that Senior Brother Meng proceed instead to the Valley of Seven Emotions."

"The Valley of Seven Emotions?" Like Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou’s understanding of this place was limited solely to the knowledge of its mere existence.

"The orthodox corpse manipulation that our Corpse Driving Sect excels in is, in truth, far less advanced in the realm of curses than the mastery found in the Valley of Seven Emotions. In our Desolate Province, whenever anyone falls victim to a curse, their first suspicion always alights upon the people of the Valley of Seven Emotions."

"It is only because the Valley of Seven Emotions exists in a state of semi-seclusion that outsiders know so little of it."

Lu Yang nodded, confirming his own suspicions. "It seems the strength of the Valley of Seven Emotions is by no means ordinary; it ought to be on par with your Corpse Driving Sect."

Zhao Po was astonished; how did Senior Brother Lu know of this? Even he had only learned it from the lips of an elder after securing second place in the grand tournament and elevating his status.

"Those of lesser strength would have long since been annihilated."

Zhao Po conceded that Senior Brother Lu’s logic was entirely sound.

"Then to the Valley of Seven Emotions we go; it happens to be nearby as well." Lu Yang consulted the map; at the old horse's pace, they would arrive in less than half a day.

"Right here," Lu Yang indicated the position on the map to the old horse, who snorted in response.

Zhao Po was greatly surprised by this sight; to his eyes, the old horse was but a mundane beast, yet how could it display such an understanding of human nature?

Suspecting this pertained to some secret of the two senior brothers, he refrained from probing further.

He was not one to pry; it was only natural for cultivators to harbor secrets. For instance, during their journey, he had felt something amiss regarding Brother Ye and Brother Wenren, yet he had kept his counsel, which had allowed the spectacle of two cross-dressing women secretly pining for one another and tricking an honest man to unfold.

The three men rode within the carriage, while Zhao Po instructed the living corpse to squat atop the roof to survey the surroundings and deter petty thugs.

Corpse drivers enjoyed an exalted status within the Desolate Province; for those who drifted afar and perished in foreign lands, a corpse driver was required to guide their bodies back to their ancestral homes for burial. Bandits and fierce outlaws, upon seeing a living corpse, would realize a corpse driver was inside the carriage and would willingly abandon their designs.

Inside the carriage, the two from the Dao Sect inquired about the nuances of corpse driving.

"I have long found it strange," Lu Yang remarked. "The living corpses possess no intelligence and are essentially objects. Why not place them within a storage ring for transport rather than lodging in inns?"

"Factually speaking, living corpses are indeed objects and can be placed inside storage rings. However, we corpse drivers believe that the living corpse possesses life, existing merely in a state imperceptible to ordinary cultivators. Since they are living, we must afford them the same treatment as the living, allowing them to eat, stay, and travel alongside us, and when they fight, we must 'invite' them into battle."

Zhao Po smiled ruefully. "It is precisely because of our peculiar view on life and death that rumors persist in the outside world, claiming the founder of the Nine Netherworlds Cult emerged from our Corpse Driving Sect."

Zhao Po expounded upon the various traditions of the corpse drivers, which was far more authentic than anything told by outsiders.

In less than half a day, the three men and the single corpse arrived smoothly at the Valley of Seven Emotions.

"I have a friend in the Valley of Seven Emotions who is a true disciple, exceptionally skilled at unraveling curses. Whenever I am cursed, I seek out this friend for a cure. What grade is your curse, Senior Brother Meng? My friend can break anything below the Nascent Soul level, has a fair probability of breaking a Soul Formation level curse, and even if it cannot be broken, its effects can be mitigated."

Meng Jingzhou hesitated for a moment before speaking. "At a conservative estimate... it is of the half-step Tribulation Transcendence grade."

After all, the curse had been shared equally with Sect Master Qiu, so its potency had been somewhat diminished.

Zhao Po’s body leaned back slightly, filled with a sudden, profound reverence.

When he went abroad and incurred enmities, it was generally with Golden Core ancestors, and the probability of encountering an old monster of the Nascent Soul stage was slim, while the Soul Formation stage was entirely unheard of.

Should one expect any less from the peerless genius of the Dao Sect? Even the curse he bore was of the half-step Tribulation Transcendence grade.

What under the heavens must one do to be struck by a curse of such magnitude?

Even if one were to slap the Valley Master of the Seven Emotions twice across the face, it likely wouldn't result in a half-step Tribulation Transcendence curse.

Lu Yang thought to himself that this was merely the tip of the iceberg; the enemies he and his brother provoked started at the Body Integration stage at the very least—anyone below that was beneath their notice.

The second update will be at eleven o'clock.

(End of this chapter)