Nightfall

In the following days, the black horse-drawn carriage continued to encounter groups of grassland cavalries several more times while traveling across the wildness. Ning Que murdered two groups that had lesser people in cold blood. When using his binoculars, if he discovered that the enemy had more than 300 cavalries, he would not hesitate to slip away quietly, taking a detour around them.

In the Wilderness, the only possible explanation for an organized group of over 300 cavalries would be that they were either a squad of cavalry from the palace, or that they were the main cavalry force of a large tribe.

Even if Ning Que was confident in his abilities, he would rather not meet with the enemy head-on. One of the reasons being that his Big Black Horse was not armored. The bigger reason was that even if he became tremendously powerful after entering Knowing Destiny State, even if his body was ridiculously tough, even if he wielded his Psyche Power masterfully, he knew that he could not withstand endless waves of enemies that would come crashing against in.

Eventually, his Psyche Power would run out and he would become fatigued. If forced into that physical state after countless draining clashes with the enemy, there was nothing Ning Que could do after that point but die.

Thousands of years ago, the Desolate lost the war against the Tangs. Hence, according to the agreement they had, gave up the Wilderness and migrated to the Far North where the Cold Regions and Hot Seas are found. While people from the Central Plains could not adapt to life in the Wilderness so there was no migration en masse to the Wilderness left behind by the Desolates, the barbarians from the west came and filled that void. Over time, they became what was known now as the Barbarians of the Grassland.

Like stars in the sky, grassland tribes dot the vast lands north of the mainland. Due to the Min Mountain as well as natural geographical divides, they were split into three major palace factions. Among the three, the Golden Palace was the strongest while the Right King’s Palace was the weakest due to having a small population and the fact that its herdsmen were believers of the Buddhism Sect.

The cavalries encountered by Ning Que on the Wilderness plains were either from the Right King’s Palace or from tribes under the palace’s control. He already guessed that these Buddhism respecting barbarians received orders from Xuankong Temple.

The cavalry from the Right King’s Palace posed no real threat to the horse carriage, however, as they caught up, the several thousands of cavalry searching restlessly for them in the Wilderness would eventually slow down the carriage’s pace.

One day, when the black horse carriage passed by a large and baren rock that was crimson red in color which was cropping out of the ground, the normally cool Wilderness suddenly snowed. The flakes of snow drifted down like torn cotton. As they slowly and gently floated down, due to the low surface temperature, the red rock was rapidly painted white.

Out of nowhere, Sangsang took out a large white cloth and covered the exterior of the horse carriage with it. The leftover white cloth was cut into the shape of the Big Black Horse and the horse was dressed in white as well.

Looking at the carriage and horse wrapped in white, staring at its eyes that peer out from the slits in the cloth, Ning Que felt a moment of uneasiness. This scene before him that naturally looked evil somehow seemed familiar to him, as though he had seen it somewhere before, but he could not recall at the moment.

As the snow and wind gradually decreased visibility, the journey in the Wilderness became tougher. Ning Que steered the horse carriage around the large rock to somewhere that was slightly elevated but still very concealed for them to rest at. He took out his binoculars and stared out into the wilderness.

The wilderness became a monotonous world of black and white. As the snowflakes lazily drifted down to the ground, all was silent. Not a sound could be heard and not a figure in sight.

Ning Que held onto the icy cold exterior of his binoculars as he silently stared out into the wilderness. Even after being on the lookout for a long period of time, he did not lose his patience to the barren and desolate plains of the Wilderness. Though at long last, he saw what he wanted, or rather, did not want to see.

Ten monks appeared within the field of view of his binoculars.

The monks wore thick monk robes that were snow white and shoes weaved by dried grass. Beneath their feet were skies made up of thin long wooden planks that were slightly curved upwards at the ends. In their hands held two thin but strong metal staff. They skied through the snow as fast as sprinting horses.

Ning Que figured that these monks came from Xuankong Temple and could not help but frown a little. Xuankong Temple was situated far away from civilization where terrible weather conditions like heavy snow and rain were both commonplace. The monks that live within the temple appeared to have adapted to the environment of the Wilderness well. The fact that heavy snow did nothing to slow down their pace was proving to be troublesome.

What surprised him though was that those monks did not wear any woolen hats nor boots. The frigid cold seemed to have lost its powers against them. In terms of cultivating and practice, those monks had already achieved Seethrough Realm.

Although cautious and uneasy about it, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he continued to sit at the carriage window and monitor the Xuankong Temple monks that are passing by. He estimated the area of the surrounding wilderness and calculated the speed of those monks as well as their search efficiency. Afterward, he quietly told Sangsang.

Sangsang wrote down those numbers on a piece of paper. After thinking to herself for a while, she raised her head and said, “It would take at least 200 men for their search on this part of the Wilderness to be meaningful.”

Naturally, the disciples of Buddha would not partake in pointless undertakings. Her comment revealed one fact; in this part of the wilderness where the horse carriage was at, there were at least 200 or so monks from Xuankong Temple.

200 individuals that achieved Seethrough Realm. What kind of concept was this?

Even for the Tang Empire, it was difficult to gather 200 Seethrough Realm cultivators. Ning Que was silent. He originally thought that the only place in this realm that could send out so many masters so easily was the West-Hill Divine Palace. However, it would appear that Xuankong Temple was able to do so as well.

He did not have the confidence to claim victory over 200 Xuankong Temple monks, or even an idea of how to go about fighting them. Given enough time for him to roam around and kill at his leisure, in two or three years he might just be able to kill all of these Ascetic Monks. Alas, both Haotian and the Buddha would not give Sangsang and him enough time to do so.

He was puzzled. In the past few days, how did the grassland cavalry and Xuankong Temple monks always manage to track the black horse carriage in the seemingly boundless Wilderness?

Ning Que’s queries and vigilance were tested once again in the moments to come.

The camouflage of the horse carriage was properly done. Tracks on the snow were swept away while the wind and snow reduced visibility. However, the two groups of Ascetic Monk that met up in the Wilderness seems to have detected something. Their staffs plunging into the snow, they went straight for the rock without hesitation.

Ning Que knew that hiding was no longer an option and so he struck the walls of the carriage with a heavy blow.

Hearing the loud and deep knock from behind, the Big Black Horse’s breathing quickened. Moisture that escaped from its nose and mouth passed through the white cloth, turning into a cloud of white mist in the frigid snow. Through the eyeholes were eyes that displayed both excitement and agitation. With a mighty kick from its hind legs, the carriage shot out from behind the rock.

The 20 Xuankong Temple Ascetic Monks saw a white silhouette within the snow and immediately tensed up. Their metal staffs moved so fast the action turned into a blur. The wooden plank beneath their feet sped across the soft snow and gave chase after that white shadow, attempting to intercept it.

Ning Que did not sit within the carriage, rather, he stood right behind the Big Black Horse and looked at the Ascetic Monks that sped along the snow. The wind and snow freely assaulted his face but he remained stoically in wait.

In the quiver beside him laid 50 arrows and two boxwood bows, with a boxwood bow strung across his back as well. If those monks from Xuankong Temple closed in enough, the bowstring would sound out in rapid succession.

As for the Ascetic Monks speeding across the snow, their expressions remained stern and determined, with a couple of gruff shouts escaping their mouths. In their eyes, the sudden snowstorm that occurred was due to Buddha’s frustration towards the Daughter of Yama. Within this snowy environment, no matter how fast the horse carriage traveled, it would not compare to their speed.

However, what the monks did not know was that Ning Que’s horse carriage was no ordinary horse carriage. The contact between the carriage wheels and the ground was incredibly light and gentle so no matter how soft the snow-covered ground was, it would not affect the carriage at all.

The Big Black Horse neighed with excitement. Hooves as fast as lightning sprayed countless flakes of snow and the snowstorm billowed past the white cloth covering the horse as it dragged the heavy looking carriage along the snow at high speeds.

After a dozen breaths, the horse carriage gradually left the skiing monks far behind them, carriage wheels leaving only a faint streak in the snow.

Although getting rid of those Ascetic Monks appeared to provide temporary safety, the truth was far from it. Ever since that encounter in the snow, in a very short time frame, the black horse carriage encountered a string of Ascetic Monks from Xuankong Temple in the wilderness. Even though they manage to escape successfully each time, the direction they were heading had to be adjusted.

Countless encounters with the enemy increased the pace of the escape and this caused tension to rise within the confines of the carriage. For the first time, the Big Black Horse’s eyes showed more agitation than excitement, maybe even some uneasiness.

Ning Que knew that the grassland cavalry they encountered earlier on were mere appetizers. The main course only started when the Xuankong Temple monks joined the chase in the Wilderness. Only then did the true escape began.

At that moment, he once again wondered about the question that both puzzled and troubled him. The whereabouts of Sangsang and himself had already been revealed, Eldest Brother, who has ascended into the Limitless State had yet to appear. If Eldest Brother did not know where he was, how was it that the monks from Xuankong Temple were able to accurately pinpoint his location every single time?

His gaze landed on the chessboard at a corner of the carriage.

After thinking for a moment, he placed the chessboard on his knees and took out the Big Black Umbrella. He then tore a piece of fabric from the damaged edges of the umbrella and wrapped it over the chessboard.

During a break in their escape, the black horse carriage stopped by a dead tree that glimmered like jade from the ice that coated it.

Ning Que grabbed the chessboard that was wrapped by the black umbrella’s fabric. He jumped off the carriage, took out his podao and dug a deep hole beside the tree. He tossed the chessboard into the hole without hesitation and filled up the hole.

The black horse carriage moved once again.

The wind howled and snow blew. In mere seconds, the ground below the frozen tree was layered with a thick layer of ice and snow. Even if someone were to stand right in front of the tree, he wouldn’t be able to tell that someone dug at that location before.

Sangsang said, “It’s kind of a pity.”

Ning Que replied, “If we auctioned off Buddha’s chessboard back at Chang’an city, we would definitely make a pretty penny. Or perhaps land a vicious strike on Yuelun Kingdom. It does seem like a real pity to just toss it away like this.”

Sangsang whispered, “I don’t mean that.”

Ning Que said, “Oh I remembered, you loved to play chess. I’ll make a great set for you next time, how about one made of white jade?”

Sangsang replied, “I meant that it was a pity a piece of the big black umbrella was torn for this.”

Ning Que was stunned for a moment, but then he burst into laughter.

Half a day later, several dozens of Xuankong Temple Ascetic Monks skied to the icy valley that the black horse carriage once stopped before. Their robes danced in the howling snow.

Chief monk Qi Mei from the Hall of Respect of Xuankong Temple stepped forward solemnly. He stared at the compass looking Buddhist relic in his hands with its Fuo Zhi Sheli that sat on top and frowned ever so slightly.

The Buddha’s finger bone Sheli can lead his believers to the relics that were left behind, and this was precisely the reason why the black horse carriage was unable to escape their pursuit. At this moment, however, the Sheli was uncharacteristically calm and no movement could be seen from it. It was as though it was unable to detect the chessboard.

Qi Mei’s was distraught, for he knew that the Buddhism Sect just lost their best chance at killing the Daughter of Yama. He quietly chanted the name of Buddha, silently praying that this would not be the last chance they will have.

A few miles away, a frozen dead tree that looked like a jade sculpture swayed gently in the wind, as though it was nodding along.