“Of course, I will welcome you.”

Ding Ning observed this youth closely and said, “While I do not know how you knew just now that that person was our enemy, but without you, maybe we would have to expend some effect. However, you have never met me before, so how come you are confident in me? You should know, this is a formation that only allows entry not exit. Do you have a way to get out?”

“I do not.” This youth clearly was not good at talking, and his words were very accented. He even had a hard time listening to Ding Ning’s words and he spoke slowly. “I have confidence in Yuanwu, and also, I do not have confidence in myself.”

Ding Ning stilled. Even he had no way of understanding this youth’s words.

“What do you mean?” Zhangsun Qianxue frowned and asked directly.

“I have never met someone stronger than my master but Yuanwu killed my master, so he is stronger than my master. Since he came here in person, and wanted to kill you at any cost, you are, of course, the person who poses the strongest threat to him.”

The youth’s head was still leaning against his knees. He did not look up. At this time, his figure seemed very sad. “Also, I know that I cannot surpass my master, and I cannot use my own strength in the future to kill Yuanwu.”

Tantai Guanjian stilled. He felt that the first words of the youth were very reasonable. This meant that this youth was very smart. And he was able to reach here traveling across a long distance. He had extraordinary bravery and state of mind. So he could not help but frown and say, “How come you know that you cannot surpass your master in the future? You should be the youngest realm seven in the world. Perhaps more accurately, you may be the youngest realm seven in history. Also, your sect is extraordinary. Your master was one of the strongest people in the world. You are so young right now. There must not be many realm sevens who would be a match for you right now.”

At those sincere words, the youth in black robes buried his head deeper and said slowly, “You do not know. I was able to reach realm seven so quickly because, in a certain point of view, I am my master’s lifebond item.”

Tantai Guanjian was stunned. Zhangsun Qianxue had not expected such a reason, and stilled as well.

Ding Ning thought for a moment, his head bowed. He seemed to figure out why.

Some of the strongest sects in the Qi Dynasty cultivated the path of ghosts, and were different from the other sects in the world. Yan Ying had made his own path and cultivated in the thousand graves. From some previous rumors and the actions of the black-robed youth, the cultivators of the other dynasties thought that the top grandmaster of the Qi Dynasty, Yan Ying, had forged the thousand graves into his lifebond item. And upon his death, the graves naturally were passed to his student, this black-robed youth in front of him.

This black-robed youth had previously moved this mountain into the imperial palace during the rebellion of the Qi Dynasty, using it against the enemy. In the view of outsiders, this was akin to Yan Ying giving his lifebond item made from his energy to his student, and his student used secret sect methods to perfectly control Yan Ying’s lifebond item.

But the true reason was, Yan Ying merged a lot of his lifebond energy into his student during his cultivation. In the many years of cultivation among the graves, he was nurturing his student and not the mountains or the graves.

“I heard that the Qi Emperor returned your master’s remains to the mountain of graves.” Ding Ning looked up at the black-robed youth.

“Our sect has a secret art. I used my master’s power to reach realm seven.” The black-robed youth nodded. He felt very bad inside. “But cultivation is a gradual thing, and I went directly to realm seven. I did not walk the paths of the other realms, so how can I reach realm eight? If I cannot reach realm eight, no matter how long I am a realm seven, I cannot win against Yuanwu.”

“I have no other choice. I am not as talented as my master. If I did not choose like this, maybe cultivating slowly, I may not catch up to Yuanwu when he dies of old age.” The black-robed youth slowly said, “I can just rely on others to kill Yuanwu.”

Everyone fell silent.

Ding Ning saw the shoulders of the youth were moving slightly. He knew that while this youth was not sobbing out loud, he was crying very hard.

While this black-robed youth was a grandmaster that the cultivators in the world feared, he was too young, and from his age, he was just a child. There had only been him and his master in the sect. After Yan Ying died, this black-robed youth was alone.

“If I can come out of this formation alive and flee, I will help you kill Yuanwu. I am capable of killing Yuanwu,” Ding Ning said after many breaths of silence.

While these words sounded like just words of comfort to a child, the black-robed youth turned his head upon hearing them and wiped his tears on his knees. Such young and childish movements meant that no one was able to relate him to the youngest grandmaster.

Then the black-robed youth looked up at Ding Ning and said, “It appears you are different from other cultivators. I think you are the same as Yuanwu says. You are that person reborn… But you seem to have something else terrifying hidden in your body other than the Nine Death Silkworm. What is that? You clearly have a very powerful lifebond sword, but do you have another lifebond item?”

“Your master’s cultivation method is as extraordinary as expected.” Ding Ning smiled faintly and explained, “That is not a lifebond item, but the elixir of life, from the ancestral mountain.”

“Very strange. It is very close to our energy,” the black-robed youth was stunned, and said unconsciously.

Ding Ning originally thought that he would keep on asking about the elixir of life out of curiosity, so he was shocked when he heard the youth’s words.

“But it is not the same. It seems to be a product after a certain change.” The black-robed youth’s eyes flashed with light as he tried to sense.

Ding Ning frowned slightly and pondered the meaning of these words.

“These swords have the remains of the lifebond energies of previous cultivators, but then these energies were twisted. Just one sword is nothing, but when there are so many, it is very powerful.”

At this time, the black-robed youth seemed to fear that Ding Ning would dislike him and said, “I may not be able to reach realm eight, but the method of the Thousand Grave Mountain can be used like this… In the future, I may be able to create an army.”

The last words were hard to understand, but this black-robed youth did not give others the time to think. His gaze landed on the ground at the side.

The soil there was turning over in large pieces, many of the pieces were raised by the black-robed youth’s energy like graves.

His gaze fell on a piece of ground. There was a bloody corpse there. This was the realm seven grandmaster that Tantai Guanjian had killed.

A black energy suddenly appeared in the air. It looked like a black gravestone was sinking down and falling on the corpse of the realm seven grandmaster.

A terrifying scene appeared.

That grand-master slowly and stiffly sat up.

“He cannot have his original power, but adding in my lifebond energy, he has a bit.” The black-robed youth turned to look at the shocked Ding Ning and the others.

“There was a Ghost Daoist during the You dynasty who was supposed to have the ability to control corpses to fight. Your methods are similar.” Ding Ning calmed down and asked the black-robed youth, “What are you called?”

The black-robed youth thought back. In his memories, his master had not seemed to name him. He pondered further and said, “Qian Mu.”

Translator Ramblings: Qian Mu is “thousand grave” so very imaginative name there.