đź“– Chapter 1005 - What Kind of Place?
As the voice rang out, the speaker also neared, finally arriving in front of the old ox a moment later. It was a boy who seemed fourteen or fifteen years old, with a skinny body and a disproportionately large head. His emaciated body was like a bean sprout, and it seemed like he would keel over if his head tilted one way or another…
Moreover, with his wiggling eyebrows and shifty eyes, the boy seemed like someone who was constantly up to no good. A strange light appeared in his eyes as he looked at Wang Baole sitting on the back of the old ox.
"This must be Wang Baole, the Sixteenth Junior Brother that Master mentioned some time ago. Haha, hi there, Sixteenth Junior Brother. You can just call me Fifteenth Senior Brother."
Wang Baole quickly stood up and left the old ox’s back, cupping his fists and bowing to the boy in front of him. Although this person looked young, Wang Baole knew that it was no use trying to judge a cultivator’s age by their appearance. There were too many old freaks out there who loved acting young…
Moreover, the boy was giving off the fluctuations of the Planet Realm, causing Wang Baole to become even more certain of his judgment. As he bowed, he respectfully offered greetings.
“Greetings, Fifteenth Senior Brother!”
“Sixteenth, there’s no need to be so polite. After all, we’ll be family from now on.” Fifteenth’s voice was gentle and his smile was broad, but with the natural wickedness of his face, his words just sounded suspicious.
Wang Baole grew slightly wary. On the other hand, the old ox just yawned loudly.
“Alright, here we are. Old Ox is leaving now.” As it spoke, the old ox turned and galloped toward the vault of heaven. Just before it left, Wang Baole hurriedly turned and bowed toward it. He was about to speak, but before he could, Fifteenth suddenly prostrated in mid-air and shouted loudly.
“I offer respectful farewells to the invincible, indomitable, unstoppable Senior Ox!!”
His voice was so loud that it instantly spread in all directions, causing Wang Baole to jump in surprise. When he heard Fifteenth’s respectful greeting to the old ox earlier, he didn’t think much of it, but looking at it now… it was clear that Fifteenth was buttering the old ox up.
This seemed to be a little different from what the old ox had been saying earlier… As Wang Baole was lost in thought, the old ox snorted before passing through the vault of heaven and disappearing without a trace.
Even after the old ox left, Fifteenth continued lying prone in the air. Finally, after almost ten breaths of time passed and Wang Baole was about to speak up, Fifteenth slowly stood up and looked at Wang Baole with his hands behind his back.
“Sixteenth, it’s not that your senior brother is trying to criticize you here, but you really have to learn from me in the future. Ya know, Senior Ox is my Raging Flame Galaxy’s sacred guardian beast. It was born in the sea of flames and can become one with the starry sky, protecting us from all directions… Even our master is always polite to Senior Ox.
“So, ya know… Whenever you see Senior Ox in the future, you must be as respectful as possible. Only bending over a little like just now is a bit inappropriate. You have to lay down like me to really show your sincerity.”
Wang Baole was taken aback. He seemed to want to clarify something, but in the end, he shut his mouth. He looked over to where the old ox had disappeared from, then at the bean-sprout-like Fifteenth, who looked dead serious. Finally, he spoke up after some hesitation.
“Fifteenth Senior Brother… are you telling the truth? I’m still young, don’t bully me with lies…”
“Kid, your senior brother here is old enough to be your grandfather. Why would I lie to you?” Fifteenth replied. Then he looked around and nudged closer to Wang Baole, whispering with a conspiratorial gleam in his eyes.
“Hey, Sixteenth, just listen to your senior brother. You definitely can’t provoke Senior Ox. It’s unbelievably petty, and even looking at it the wrong way will piss it off. Ya know, Master is always so polite to it, and tolerates whatever it does. I suspect… That the old ox is the real boss of our Raging Flame Galaxy!” Fifteenth’s words were extremely solemn, and Wang Baole became even more confused. He even wondered if this Fifteenth Senior Brother had some mental problems…
Whether it was the old ox or this Fifteenth Senior Brother, both gave Wang Baole a very strange feeling. However, he still plastered an expression of agreement on his face and nodded.
“Many thanks for your reminder, Senior Brother!”
Seeing Wang Baole nodding in agreement, Bean Sprout Fifteenth became very happy. He cleared his throat and continued speaking.
“Sixteenth, Master went out to go fetch something yesterday. Before he left, he told me to wait here and welcome you. Ya know, Master will probably call you over when he comes back, so let’s just do this for now: I’ll help you get accustomed to the environment here first, and I’ll also bring you around to say hi to the other senior disciples.”
“Thank you, Fifteenth Senior Brother.” Wang Baole wasn’t in the mood to complain about Fifteenth saying “ya know” every few sentences, so he quickly offered some words of thanks. He didn’t have any objections to Fifteenth’s arrangements – as a newcomer, it was only natural for him to familiarize himself with the new environment and get to know his fellow disciples.
Moreover, Wang Baole figured that he could get a better read on the Flame Patriarch’s personality through meeting his senior brothers and sisters. Plus, this place would be his second home for the foreseeable future, so he naturally wished to get along well with his senior disciples. As for this Fifteenth Senior Brother, although he seemed to have some mental problems and looked a little weird, Wang Baole felt that he had no ill intentions.
Thus, after Wang Baole agreed, the bean-sprout-like Fifteenth immediately puffed himself up and brought Wang Baole down to the ground while talking about the various buildings in the area.
“Our Raging Flame Sect is pretty simple, ya know, and there’s not much to talk about. You just need to know that the tallest pagoda over there is where Master lives. It’s also where we go whenever he summons us.
“As for the sixteen smaller pagodas all around it, they’re the residences of us disciples. The sixteenth pagoda over there was built just recently, and it’s where you’ll be living in the future.” Speaking to this point, Fifteenth pointed at a tall pagoda in the distance. Wang Baole looked over and memorized its location. Soon, Fifteenth pulled him over to the fourteenth pagoda.
“I’ll bring you to greet Fourteenth Senior Brother first. Fourteenth Senior Brother is a nice person, and his temper is almost unbelievably good. Even if we beat or scold him, he won’t fight back at all. Ya know… he’s really a role model for all of us.” Fifteenth shook his oversized head and looked very emotional.
Wang Baole had already gotten used to the way Fifteenth spoke and suppressed the strange feeling in his heart. After they arrived in front of the fourteenth pagoda, he saw that the doors were shut tight. Aside from a rock garden that seemed to be a decoration, there was nothing else around. At the same time, no fluctuations escaped the pagoda, so Wang Baole was just about to greet the pagoda itself…
But before he could cup his hands and bow, Fifteenth suddenly walked over to the decorative rock garden. Bowing deeply, he shouted a greeting.
“Fifteenth greets Fourteenth Senior Brother!” As he lowered his head, Fifteenth shot Wang Baole a wink.
Wang Baole was confused. He looked at the rock garden, then at the winking Fifteenth. In the end, he braced himself and stepped forward. Bowing deeply, he, too, offered greetings to the seemingly lifeless rock garden.
“Sixteenth greets Fourteenth Senior Brother!”
The pair’s greetings didn’t elicit the slightest reaction from the rock garden. After waiting for a while, Fifteenth sighed lightly and straightened his back, speaking to Wang Baole in a quiet whisper.
“I was right, wasn’t I? Look, Fourteenth Senior Brother really is our role model. Not only does he not care if we beat or scold him, he doesn’t even care about our greetings.”
Wang Baole didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. After looking at the rock garden carefully, he hesitated for a while, then asked in a low voice.
“Fifteenth Senior Brother, is Fourteenth Senior Brother a lifeform made of stone?”
“What? Stone?” Fifteenth looked at Wang Baole with a surprised expression.
“Sixteenth, Senior Brother has to criticize you here. How could you say such a thing about your Fourteenth Senior Brother? Let me tell you, Fourteenth Senior Brother is extremely talented, and just like us, he had a body of flesh and blood!
“It’s just…” At this point, Fifteenth paused and looked around. He pulled the bewildered Wang Baole aside and whispered conspiratorially.
“It’s just that he was too obedient. One day, 137 years ago, he listened to Master’s orders and began cultivating a transformation technique from who-knows-where. He ended up turning himself into a rock. In the end, there was an accident, and he couldn’t transform back… and he’s stubborn, ya know, so… he refused Master’s offer of help. He said he wants to transform back with his own efforts…
“It’s been 137 years since then…” Under Wang Baole’s dumbfounded gaze, Fifteenth let out a long sigh.
“According to my analysis, Fourteenth Senior Brother should succeed in changing back after another 500 years pass.”
As he listened to Fifteenth’s words, he recalled everything that had happened since he’d arrived. Now, when he looked at the rock garden again, Wang Baole’s expression turned dazed. A single question filled his mind:
“What kind of place… have I come to…”