Chapter 1074: Chapter 1074

The monk was immediately displeased and said, "What kind of talk is that? What do you mean by 'another one popped up'?"

Ye Qing realized he had misspoken and quickly added, "I mean, how many junior brothers do you have?"

"I have many junior brothers," the monk sighed and said, "but there aren't many still alive."

"Oh?" Ye Qing was surprised, "You don't seem that old; your junior brothers couldn't be older than you, so why are there so few still alive?"

The monk glared and said, "You mean to say, since I'm not dead yet, they shouldn't have died before me?"

Ye Qing said, "That's not what I mean. I just want to ask, why are your junior brothers no longer around?"

The monk waved his hand and said, "Ah, it's a long story, better not to tell you."

Ye Qing said, "If not about your junior brothers, then let's talk about what happened last time in the Capital."

The monk immediately said, "Forget it, let's talk about my junior brothers. Actually, I used to have many junior brothers, but because of that one just now, most of them are gone."

"He killed those people?" Ye Qing asked, curious.

"You could say that," the monk paused and said, "but everything has a cause, everything has an effect. It can't be said that he killed my junior brothers, only that they were freed through his hands."

"Oh, you seem to be taking it quite well," Huangfu Ziyu, who had been listening, immediately snorted, "If that's the case, why didn't you free yourself through his hands?"

The monk immediately clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha, this humble monk's worldly ties have not yet ended, and I cannot be freed yet."

"If you don't want to die, just say so. You make it sound so nice!" Ye Qing also showed disdain. Previously, the monk was mysterious and Ye Qing respected him somewhat. However, after being duped by the monk last time in the Capital, Ye Qing suddenly realized that this monk was even more devious than Old Wang Ba. Put the two of them together, and they're a perfect match, always looking for a way to trick others. So Ye Qing's attitude towards this monk was no different than towards Old Wang Ba. Though he knew the monk was highly skilled, he just couldn't muster respect.

The monk shook his head and said, "This humble monk doesn't not want to die, it's just that the time hasn't come yet."

"The time hasn't come yet?" Ye Qing laughed, "Are you planning to live to a hundred or something?"

"Amitabha," the monk recited a Buddhist blessing, but his tone immediately changed as he cursed, "Pu Lei, are you cursing this humble monk or what?"

Ye Qing was immediately displeased and said, "How am I cursing you? I didn't say you'd live to seventy or eighty; I said a hundred, isn't that okay?"

"Saying I'll live to a hundred is cursing me in itself!" The monk looked disgruntled and said, "Alright, I won't waste words with you. Don't think that last time in the Capital I was tricking you; I just asked for a little favor. Anyway, I knew Helian Tiehua and Nalan Jingwei wouldn't act against you two, so I took you in. So don't give me that look as if I'm out to get you; besides, I did help you retrieve the Seven-Star Ancient Sword!"

"You still have the face to bring that up..." Ye Qing immediately thought of his Seven-Star Ancient Sword and said, "By the way, where's my Seven-Star Ancient Sword? Where did you take it?"

"Rest assured, the Seven-Star Ancient Sword has been sent to Shenchuan City," the monk said.

"Is that true?" Ye Qing looked somewhat distrustful.

The monk, displeased, said, "What's with that look, don't you believe me?"

"No, I don't!" Ye Qing straightforwardly said, "If you wanted to give the Seven-Star Ancient Sword back to me, you should have left it in the Capital last time."

The monk said, "If I had left the Seven-Star Ancient Sword in the Capital last time, I'm afraid my junior brother would have snatched it by now!"

"Huh?" Ye Qing was taken aback and said, "Which junior brother?"

The monk said nothing, just motioned with his mouth, "Look at the ground behind you first."

Ye Qing turned his head to look, and besides a few corpses, there was nothing else on the ground. He didn't know what the monk wanted him to see.

"Ye Zi..." Suddenly, Huangfu Ziyu gasped and said urgently, "The Cold Moon Blade is gone!"

Ye Qing's face changed; he finally remembered that the Cold Moon Blade had been on the ground earlier. But now, unexpectedly, the Cold Moon Blade was really gone!

He finally understood what the monk wanted him to see. It seemed that the monk in the blood-colored cassock not only took away White-haired Ding San but also conveniently took the Cold Moon Blade!

"Your junior brother also took our Cold Moon Blade!" Ye Qing immediately turned to look at the monk and said, "You saw it all, so why didn't you stop him?"

The monk shrugged and said, "I couldn't stop him!"

"Why?" Ye Qing's eyes widened. Though the monk in the blood-colored cassock was extremely powerful, this monk was his senior brother after all, surely he couldn't be weaker.

The monk said, "I made a bet with him. Until the bet is over, I can't make a move against him."

Ye Qing helplessly said, "Do you have to be so committed to keeping your promises?"

The monk shrugged again and said, "Can't help it; I'm just that kind of person who values honesty!"

Ye Qing was speechless; this monk is absolutely thicker-skinned than Old Wang Ba!

"Alright, enough chatter. I mainly came to tell you two other things this time," the monk paused and said, "First, you must be careful with Ding San. You can no longer regard him as a human. He has been completely controlled by the Murderer's Knife and Murderer's Manual, becoming a killing machine. So when you see him, you must be extremely cautious."

"Murderer's Knife? Murderer's Manual?" Ye Qing was stunned and said, "What are those?"

"I don't know either. Anyway, they are items taken from the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates, capable of allowing a blood change. This ability is similar to an ancient vampire technique, absorbing a person's blood and simultaneously their abilities. So, the more people one kills, the stronger his ability becomes!" the monk said solemnly.

"Are there really such things?" All three of Ye Qing's group were wide-eyed; they hadn't heard of any of this before.

But from this, they gained a crucial piece of information: the Murderer's Knife and Murderer's Manual also came from the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates.

Ye Qing had heard from Old Wang Ba about the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates before. From what he knew, the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates was very mysterious and wondrous. People coming out from it either became a grandmaster of a generation or a peak master or founded a dynasty as a sovereign emperor. In any case, whatever they ultimately achieved, they would become the top figures in their field. So, the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates had been bestowed with a mystical aura and had been contested for thousands of years.

Unexpectedly, the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates not only turned people into the strongest but also produced miraculous items like the Murderer's Knife and Murderer's Manual. To think these two items could transform an ordinary, weak person into such a formidable figure—how could one not be astounded? It's worth knowing that the three of them together weren't a match for White-haired Ding San just now, which speaks volumes about Ding San's strength.

"The Heaven Earth Man Three Gates harbor many secrets; anything could happen and anything could exist inside," the monk said, "The existence of all kinds of things like the Murderer's Manual and Murderer's Knife is not surprising."

"How come... how come Ding San didn't look like himself earlier?" Ye Qing asked, perplexed, "He seemed much older!"

The monk replied, "Each time he undergoes a blood change, his life force depletes, and he ages a little more. This is the biggest limitation of the Murderer's Knife and Murderer's Manual. Otherwise, if a person were to kill indefinitely, what then?"

"I see." Ye Qing suddenly understood, but his brows furrowed tightly again. He hadn't expected this series of murders to have such a cause. White-haired Ding San had now become incredibly powerful, how could they make him stop killing?

"The second thing..." The monk looked at Ye Qing and said, "You asked me how many junior brothers I have; most of them aren't around anymore. Only three are alive now. One you met last time in the Capital, that's the Joyous Monk. Another one was just now, he has a nickname, Bloody Monk..."

"Bloody Monk!" Ye Qing exclaimed, stunned, "You mean the monk in the blood-colored cassock just now was the Sect Leader of Sha Men, the Bloody Monk, who disappeared over a decade ago!?"

Everyone in Sha Men respected the Bloody Monk immensely; even someone as formidable as Cui Yulong greatly revered the Bloody Monk. However, rumors had it that the Bloody Monk was no longer alive; otherwise, how would Wang Tian'an and his group dare to plot against him?

The entire martial arts world of Huaxia would be thrown into an uproar if this news got out. The Bloody Monk was known as the world's greatest assassin, the only one who could rival the Five Uniques!

As shocking as this revelation was to Ye Qing, he couldn't help but recall the moment when the Bloody Monk appeared. Though he was frantic at the time, he clearly remembered the presence. It was as if the Bloody Monk had left behind his lethal aura, which wasn't easily dispelled given his title as the greatest assassin in the world!