by <unknown>
A cold chill suddenly went down his spine. He quickly turned and looked at his partner to see three heads falling from his senior martial brother's necks. Something had decapitated his partner!
Immediately afterward, he felt a thin thread curling on his necks, and the next thing that entered his visions was his own body with blood gushing out from his broken necks.
Before his heads even touched the ground, a tattered copper lamp appeared right beside the moon. On the top of the copper lamp was a round, shiny inner core that held a divine aura. There was a faint image of a blood-red Xiang Dragon swimming in the inner core.
The beast god inner core revolved rapidly, and a strong force of attraction came within the copper lamp —Shua!— the moon was sucked into the copper lamp!
Pu-tong, pu-tong, pu-tong … the Xiao Mang experts' heads finally touched the ground, and their bodies collapsed down. Their heads rolled on the ground; meanwhile, the copper lamp was dragged away by a sword silk after it sucked away the moon.
A few moments later, Zhong Yue raised his hand and reclaimed the sword silk. He looked at the tattered lamp in his hand as it quietly hovered above his palm.
The beast god inner core then flew straight back into his forehead and disappeared into his psyche ocean.
“Junior martial sister, we may leave now!”
Zhong Yue stored the copper lamp into his secret realms and laughed, "Xiao Yuan is probably on the verge of going crazy now as her dearest soul weapon has been stolen. She might even personally come for me, which is why we must return to Swords Gate as fast as possible!"
Chapter 303: What A Monster! |
In the saint palace located in the Fiery Capital, an old lady sat there with her eyes closed. This old lady was Xiao Yuan, the magnate Qi Practitioner from the Xiao Mang Celestial Race and it was her that controlled her moon from afar to kill Zhong Yue.
That lunar artifact looked like a moon, but in truth, it was just a mirror that went by the name of Bright Moon Mirror.
As her psyche surged all over the mirror, it would expand and turn into a moon, but when Xiao Yuan retracted her psyche, the moon will turn back to a mirror.
What the two Xiao Mang Celestial Race's Qi Practitioners did was bring the mirror to the place where Zhong Yue was last seen and slightly activated it. The one who was still in charge of the mirror was still Xiao Yuan.
Suddenly, Xiao Yuan flinched for a while, and she was in disbelief, for the bond between her and the Bright Moon Mirror had vanished without a sign!
The mirror was a soul weapon that she had been cultivating for her entire life, it was made from the core of the moon, and the bond between them was stronger than anything else in the world!
With the rarity and the value of the moon core, she was only able to procure a tiny piece of it. And that was only with the support of her status as a west celestial temple elder priest and the life-long effort she spent on trying to get it. The pain she felt after her Bright Moon Mirror was stolen from her could be imagined! She did not want to believe it, but what was done was done. The bond between them vanished just like that, and she couldn't even react in time!
“My Bright Moon Mirror!”
Xiao Yuan cried loudly and got up. She left the Fiery Saint Palace and charged towards the direction where her mirror went missing.
Who did this? Must be that Zhong Yue brat! Before the Bright Moon Mirror disappeared, I faintly saw an unlit lamp. It must be his doing! My precious treasures are not to be tainted by your dirty hands! If you want it, you will have to exchange for it with your life!
One day later,
she had arrived at the spot and turned into a three-headed Pan Ao with white fur. She then sniffed the area that Zhong Yue fought with the Qi Practitioners and proceeded to chase after Zhong Yue through the traces he left behind.
However, at this rate, she couldn't care less as she desperately wanted to kill Zhong Yue and retrieve her soul weapon back.
And at the same time, Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er were running as fast as they could without holding back, and after about a day of sprinting, they were extremely exhausted that they could barely move anymore. It was then they saw the connecting point between the Great Wilderness and the West Barren.
Because of the help from Zuo Xiangsheng and Tian Yanzong, Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er did not take the West Barren path. Instead, they took a detour back to the Great Wilderness and now, they were right in front where the borders of the Great Wilderness and West Barren met.
There were neither outposts nor fortresses here, which meant that they would enter the Great Wilderness after passing through the mountains in front of them.
"We are finally back at the Great Wilderness, these few days have been hellish, but we can now finally relax…."
Qiu Jin'er and Zhong Yue both let out a breath of relief, and they looked at each other as they smiled. Hand in hand, they then entered the mountains.
Shortly after that, they felt a horrendous Qi gushed towards them from behind. Qiu Jin'er's face turned pale in an instant while Zhong Yue said, "Xiao Yuan dare not enter the Great Wilderness. With everything going on right now, the Swords Gate will kill her for sure if she dares to step a foot into our territory. After all, she was one of the culprits that caused the "death" of Elder Shui."
Qiu Jin'er felt slightly relieved, and she completely calmed down after she saw an entirely white three-headed Pan Ao standing up and roaring angrily from the top of a mountain somewhere far behind them. It seemed reluctant to continue chasing them.
In truth, everything was exactly as Zhong Yue said; Xiao Yuan did not dare even to step foot into the Great Wilderness!
If she entered the Great Wilderness at this time, she was bound to face the Swords Gate's fiercest attacks since she was one of those responsible for Shui Zian's death.
"Senior martial brother, what is the thing you stole from her?"
As she looked at Xiao Yuan who was staring at them fiercely, Qiu Jin'er asked curiously, "What is this thing that is so precious to her that she is willing to risk her life by entering the Great Wilderness to chase after us."
"What can it be other than the moon artifact she used to attack us?"
Zhong Yue smiled and said as he took out the weathered bronze lamp, "In my lamp, there is another godly item with power way stronger than Xiao Yuan's artifact. I presume that not long after I put it into the lamp, it will be crushed by the godly item inside. Huh?"
He opened up the cover of the lamp, and he was surprised when he saw the moon artifact floating somewhere not far away from the Divine Wing Saber, unscathed and unharmed even after such a long time!
And this was basically impossible for the power of the Divine Wing Saber was far stronger than the soul weapons cultivated by Xiao Yuan, even if she was the magnate Qi Practitioner of her race. But now, to Zhong Yue's surprise, not only the mirror did not shatter under the immense power of the Divine Wing Blade, but it even remained in perfect condition!
"This does not look like a moon, but a mirror." said a surprised Qiu Jin'er after she examined the artifact.
"I remember that when I stole this soul weapon away, it was still a moon. Could it be that it has already been destroyed by the Divine Wing Saber, which made it look like this… The materials used to craft this soul weapon seem to be weird…."
As someone who did not know this soul weapon's true form, Zhong Yue felt surprised and said, "I thought the saber would crush it, but now it seems like the materials used by Xiao Yuan were something incredible to allow it to survive under the saber's power. Xiao Yuan's markings on the soul weapon, however, should have been erased by the saber. If I can get this soul weapon out from the lamp, I can easily make it mine and use it freely. The question now is, how am I supposed to get it out from the lamp…."
Zhong Yue was deeply troubled by this matter. His psyche wasn't able to stand up to the pressure of the Divine Wing Saber if he were to enter the lamp; removing the lunar artifact from the lamp was going to be quite tr
icky.
I might be able to retrieve the lunar artifact from the lamp if I used the Golden Peng Sword, but I have no idea if the power of the saber has completely disintegrated Xiao Yuan's markings. If not, then both of us will be killed in an instant if I took it out from the lamp, I should wait for a while more.
Then, he led Qiu Jin'er to the Great Wilderness, but Qiu Jin'er was confused as he did not head straight towards the Swords Gate but to somewhere else.
“Senior martial brother, where are we going?”
“Mountain Zhong”
Zhong Yue replied, "We will be dragged into conflicts right now if we return to Swords Gate before the end of the year so we should wait for a couple of months first. Now, we will go to my hometown, take a break and return to Swords Gate when it's time!"
“Zhong Shan Clan?”
Qiu Jin'er's heart thumped quickly, and after lowering down her head in an attempt to hide her blushed face, she thought, Am I going to meet his parents?
After another few days, they finally arrived at the Zhong Shan Clan, but both had different thoughts; Zhong Yue was happy to return to his own home while Qiu Jin'er was extremely nervous.
Zhong Yue's clan was named as Zhong Shan Clan because it was located under the Mountain Zhong. This clan was not a very big clan; when Zhong Yue left, there were only about a hundred families here. But when he returned, nothing much had changed as well.
Like other ordinary clans, the able-bodied men went hunting, and the women stayed at home to cook. The elderly men educated the children and also helped in refining weapons.
“Yue Yue has returned!”
When the two of them returned to the clan, the women and the old men were all shocked. They quickly set aside their tasks and shouted happily, “Yue Yue has returned!”
A white-haired old man looked at Zhong Yue and said in a shaky tone, "The little boy has all grown up! You were still shorter than me when you left, but now, you are so much taller! Yue Yue is now a Qi Practitioner, am I right?"
"Old man, you're the one who grew shorter," said an old lady beside him with a big smile on her face.
A woman measured Qiu Jin'er from head to toe, and she said with exuberantly, "Yue Yue, is this your wife? Where did you find her? How beautiful, too bad her butt is small. Birthing a child may be a problem, but at least her chest is big. She should be able to produce plenty of milk!"
“Are the two of you back here to get your babies?”
Qiu Jin'er blushed, and her head lowered down to the words of the woman. She had long heard of the bluntness of tribal women but experiencing it first-hand was still quite jarring for her.
Thank god senior martial brother is not like that…. thought Qiu Jin'er in embarrassment.
“A little girl!”
A woman stared at Qiu Jin'er, and she shouted, "Yue Yue you monster! She is still so young! How dare you! Monster!"
Zhong Yue then shook his hands and said with a smile on his face, "She is not that small!"
"Yes! What a monster!" The others around them echoed in agreement.
"Brilliant!" the old man blurted, and he immediately became the center of the women's fury.
The entire clan became filled with laughter and joy. The children were running around them while Zhong Yue smiled like an idiot as he said, "Aunt Shen, Aunt Da, we'll be staying in the tribe for a few days."
"This is your tribe. You can stay for as long as you want. Quick, quick, prepare some nice food, it's been a long time since the last time Yue Yue has come back!"
However, Qiu Jin'er couldn't see any signs of Zhong Yue's parents. She was puzzled and when she asked the ladies in the tribe about it. She learned that when Zhong Yue was still a baby, his father went on a hunt and never returned, while his mother died not long after that. It was the other tribesmen and families that took him under their care.
The two of them stayed at the Zhong Shan Tribe. Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er both changed their clothes for the tribe's beast-hide garments that gave the two of them a different aura than usual. The two of them went out to hunt and brought the prey back to the tribe, the other hunters came forward and received the prizes, taking them down to prepare. At night, the tribe started a bonfire party; when the night grew late, they all went to sleep, but the shy Qiu Jin'er couldn't sleep all night as her senior martial brother was sleeping in the same room as her.
After a few days, Zhong Yue brought back a thousand-year ancient wood. He was going to make a totem for the tribe; he was focused, concentrating on making it, however, it was not a totem pillar but a totem statue. The totem patterns on it weren't the Great Sun totem patterns nor the Bright Moon totem pillars, but his Sui Sovereign Yuan Shen's totem patterns.
The Sui Sovereign Yuan Shen was his third Yuan Shen, one that incorporated the sun spirit and moon spirit with the Golden Crow and Star Toad in the eyes of his Sui Sovereign form. Thus far, only Xin Huo was able to cast it; Zhong Yue had yet to attain it successfully.
Zhong Yue was lost in concentration. A dozen days passed before the final pieces of the totem statue and today, the last bit of the totem statue – the sun pupil and moon pupil – was nearing completion. But the young man stood in a trance before the totem statue. There was a slight surge of Sword Qi waltzing on the top of his finger while a gentle smile was held on his face.
He had sunk into a marvelous state of mind, and the surroundings grew silent – peaceful and serene. A glimmering luster was added to his eyes as the sun and moon emerged in them.
Qiu Jin'er looked at him from afar and found that his aura was indistinctly imperceptible. He was now in a state of enlightenment. His aura was undergoing constant changes, and oftentimes, it felt like as if he were a galloping horse, a crouching tiger, a flying bird, or even a silent rabbit.
He remained in such a state and was not moving at all for a very long time while the Sword Qi was lingering around his finger.
After a very long time, the three-legged Great Sun Golden Crow celestial being appeared behind him, then the six-eyed Star Toad celestial being; the two celestial beings were over 200 feet tall. All of a sudden, the two celestial beings began to shrink, and they eventually turned into a blazing sun and a bright moon. Then, the figure of an emperor slowly emerged in the middle while the sun and moon fell into his eye sockets to become his eyes!
Zhong Yue laughed out loud, the Sui Sovereign Yuan Shen took over the Sword Qi in his hand and completed the last bit of the totem statue.
Chapter 304: Sui Sovereign Yuan Shen |
Just as the last bit was drawn, the whole Sui Sovereign statue came to life. Wave after wave of totem patterns pulsed out in every direction with the statue at the center.
This statue was sculpted with the totem patterns of Zhong Yue's sun spirit, moon spirit, and was imbued with the effects of the【Sun Moon Prodigious Emanation Art】. The totem patterns would let out pulses of waves that would passively strengthen the villagers' mortal bodies and souls, cleansing away the impurities within them.
However, the process was incredibly slow, it was inconsequential when considered against the physique-refining arts of the Qi Practitioners, but it could last for a long time. As long as the Sui Sovereign totem patterns existed, the villagers' mortal bodies would continuously be strengthened, and their souls would be purified. They would be stronger and healthier, and moreover, their genetic constitutions would be better than before!
Under the subtle influence of the Sui Sovereign totem patterns, the Zhong Shan Tribe would steadily lowly grow stronger; the men could hunt with greater ease, and the children would be stronger from birth!
Even more, the newborns would receive even more benefits, and the benefits would accumulate over generations until the Zhong Shan Clan becomes one of the strongest in the future!
All of this was true even without the Sui Sovereign statue being worshipped by the tribesmen, albeit the effects would grow even more pronounced if they did!
Furthermore, when worshipped, the statue could unleash skill
s and have access to a myriad of means to defend the tribe from dangers!
This was the primary purpose of the totem pillars and totem statues!
The moment the statue was completed, Zhong Yue's aura turned barbaric, and clouds of blood essence emerged above the sky while right beneath it was the Zhong Mountain. The Zhong Mountain was shaped like a bell and covered a hundred miles of land. It looked like a maroon cloud was hovering above a bell on the ground – it was a truly marvelous scenery when viewed from afar.
In the tribe, the tribesmen looked up, and their hearts palpitated with awe, they felt like as if they have stepped into one of those legendary tales people always spoke about.
Qiu Jin'er was also not much different than the tribesmen, she mumbled, "Senior martial brother's cultivation base has taken another leap again … can sculpting increase the cultivation base as well?"
She was puzzled. In truth, when Zhong Yue was immersed in sculpting the Sui Sovereign, right before the last move that finished the statue, he gained a sudden insight that allowed him to attain the Sui Sovereign Yuan Shen, giving his cultivation base a huge push.
It was an oddly serendipitous situation that even Qiu Jin'er, who was also a Qi Practitioner, couldn't understand.
If Qiu Jin'er couldn't understand, then surely the tribesmen wouldn't be able to; they only felt the scene to be incredibly picturesque, as if a legendary tale had just taken place before them.
Moments later, the blood essence clouds slowly stopped swirling and dove into Zhong Yue's body.
Meanwhile, behind Zhong Yue, the Sui Sovereign Yuan Shen had grown even more imposing, like a saint and a solemn emperor who possessed tremendous power.
After a long time, Zhong Yue's aura finally calmed down, the Sui Sovereign Yuan Shen entered his body and disappeared away. He was back to the figure of an ordinary young man, a mediocre young man who felt no different to the other tribesmen.
