by Fang Xiang
“A lot of people would probably go.” Gongsun Cha smacked his lips as he said, “People’s hearts have started to change as they arrived in Sky Water Jie.”
“This is also good,” Zuo Mo said.
The two became silent.
After a while, Gongsun Cha looked at Zuo Mo, and then at A Gui who was sitting woodenly. He asked, “Where do we go next? En, don’t say something like it’s dangerous, and you will go alone.”
Zuo Mo’s heart warmed and said, “I need to find Water Cloud Embryo.”
“Water Cloud Embryo?” Gongsun Cha looked at A Gui. “For A Gui?”
“En!” Zuo Mo nodded, “I don’t know what connection I have with A Gui, but since she became like this to save me, I cannot just sit back and do nothing.”
“That’s for sure.” Gongsun Cha had an expression of agreement and then raised his arms, shouting exuberantly, “For A Gui! We will find Cloud Water Embryo!”
Zuo Mo was very moved and a smile appeared on his face.
“Hee he, the best is if we can encounter more fighting! It makes me excited just thinking about it!” Gongsun Cha said calmly.
As expected from a battle maniac … …
“Oh, where are we going to find Water Cloud Embryo? Can we buy it?” Gongsun Cha asked.
“Don’t know.” Zuo Mo shook his head. He looked at A Gui and said, “We have to investigate.”
His heart suddenly moved and took out the sound tablet from his ring. Gongsun Cha’s gaze was attracted and he was very shocked. “Shixiong has kept this with you! It’s been so long since I listened to it!”
‘Yes, it’s been a long time since we listened.” Zuo Mo channeled ling power into the sound tablet.
The calm voice floated out from the sound tablet and was unspeakably intimate.
Under the moonlight, Zuo Mo and Gongsun Cha idly listened to the sound tablet, A Gui sitting silently beside them.
———
The morning of the next day.
Yesterday night was fated to be a difficult one for many people. The eyes of many people were bloodshot, some of them had heavy expressions. The number of people in the camp had been dramatically reduced.
Gongsun Cha’s expression was very relaxed. No one from Vermillion Bird Camp had left. The people that left were mostly from the Eastern and Western Camps. Of more than two thousand people, less than eight hundred remained.
“I can fill Vermillion Bird Camp now,” Gongsun Cha said with a smile.
Vermillion Bird Camp did not leave and Guard Camp did not leave. The departure of the majority of the Eastern and Western Camp was not out of Zuo Mo’s expectations. What surprised him was the forging division. None of the xiuzhe from the forging division had left.
Zuo Mo looked at the pairs of eyes below him and was very moved.
He opened his mouth, but when the words reached his lips, he didn’t know what to say.
“What are you all standing here for? Go back to work!”
Zuo Mo’s shout made everyone roar with laughter. The sorrow due the departures had dissipated greatly.
———
Rong Wei saw this scene and her heart shook. She increasingly felt that she could not clearly understand the Master of Golden Crow City. Yesterday, she had been very shocked when she heard the Master of Golden Crow City was letting people leave. How could there be someone that would willing weaken themselves?
But today, when she saw the determined looks of the xiuzhe from Golden Crow City, she seemed to understand.
This troop in front of her was more unified and had stronger morale than the previous group. Even if they encountered greater dangers, they wouldn’t easily break up!
The Master of Golden Crow City appeared to have weakened his power, but in reality, his primary strength had not been damaged, the organization had become purer, and the average strength had actually went up a level, and had gained strong abilities of survival!
Looking at that outrageously young face, Rong Wei felt it was almost impossible to believe. At a glance, Zuo Mo did not have any outstanding qualities. But the actions this youth took frequently displayed a maturity that surpassed his age.
She suddenly realized that even if the Master of Golden Crow City did not have that mysterious and powerful sect behind him, he would not be one of the masses with his abilities.
Just as she was thinking, Zuo Mo suddenly turned around to face her. “Miss Rong, where is the biggest city of Sky Water Jie?”
Rong Wei gathered her thoughts and said with a slight smile, “There are twenty eight primary towns in Sky Water Jie. The most prosperous would be Bright Water City. Does City Master have any plans?”
“Oh, I have a batch of items I want to sell, and buy items along the way.”
“If that’s the case, Bright Water City is perfect. The biggest merchants in Sky Water Jie are all in Bright Water City.” Rong Wei then said with a smile, “This one’s house is located in Bright Water City, and have relationships with those merchants, we may be able to help.”
Zuo Mo hurried to give him thanks. “Many thanks, Miss Rong!”
———
Su Yue finished reading the paper crane that Gao Jian Ting had sent, and a shadow flashed through her eyes. Su Yue was very charismatic and attractive. She was still the most attractive woman even among the multitude of beautiful women in Hundred Flower Alliance. She had managed Hundred Flower Alliance for twenty years and had good relationships with all the sects. The disciples under her had mostly married the accomplished disciples from big sects, and she had a deep foundation.
“Let’s not rashly move on this matter.” Su Yue said deeply, “See what their origins really are.”
“Yes!” the female disciple respectfully responded.
“Where are they now?”
“They reached the border of the city last night.” The female disciple crisply answered, “It was Miss Rong Wei that brought them over.”
“Oh.” Su Yue was slightly surprised and then had an expression of deep thought. She could not see what connection Rong Wei had with this Master of Golden Crow City.
The House of the Crow Marquis was as deep as the sea, and hard for outsiders to probe. But Hundred Flower Alliance had countless eyes, and were the most skilled at spying. Su Yue could see a hint. Of all the factions in Bright Water City, the one Su Yue was wary of the most was the House of the Crow Marquis.
The House of the Crow Marquis was usually low-key and did not attend to outside matters. The Crow Marquis himself only focused on cultivation. However, all the hints showed that there was a deep background behind the Crow Marquis. Su Yue had detected this a long time ago, but after all these years, no matter how they searched, they still did not find anything.
Rong Wei’s trip this time was the biggest action the House of the Crow Marquis took in years.
Su Yue smelt an unusual flavor from this.
———
When they saw Bright Water City, Zuo Mo and the shidi were slightly shocked. Bright Water City was tens of times bigger than Dong Fu. The entire sky was covered in lights that streamed without end. In the sky above the city floated hundreds of islands of various sizes. The houses constructed on the lucky clouds were multicolored from the lights of all kinds of jinzhi and formations.
Sky Water Jie was more prosperous than Sky Moon Jie as expected.
The other people were alright, but the trio of Zuo Mo, Gongsun Cha, and Chun Yu Cheng were people that were inexperienced. Each of them gaped, their faces filled with shock.
Rong Wei who had been constantly observing them felt slightly confused. These three’s actions did not seem like those that came from large sects.
However, she was not suspicious. Many disciples from large sect never asked about worldly affairs so they could concentrate on cultivation. Some people would never even leave the sects mountain for decades.
She didn’t show any signs of scorn and enthusiastically showed them around.
“Bright Water City is
the best part of Sky Water Jie. Almost four-tenths of this jie’s ling veins are located here, and there are the most secret paradises here. If City Master wants to develop here, you could buy a few secret paradises. They are the best for cultivating.”
Secret paradieses did not hold any attraction for Zuo Mo. His mo physique could automatically absorb ling power from the world and it could process the impurities. He did not need a secret paradise.
The other people also lacked interest in the secret paradises.
Rong Wei was even more certain now that the Master of Golden Crow City came from a large sect. For normal xiuzhe, secret paradises were their biggest love as well as their greatest wish. Many xiuzhe worked their whole lives with the goal of owning a secret paradise.
Only disciples from large sects did not need to worry about secret paradises.
Zuo Mo’s procession could truly be called vast. They had camped at an empty area outside the city. What made Zuo Mo depressed was that the empty area outside the city was owned. It had taken Rong Wei coming forward to get the matter settled.
Shu Long and the others did not have any interest in touring the city. Having recovered his youth, Shu Long’s mania on cultivation was enough to make Zuo Mo sweat. With him as the role model, everyone in Guard Camp had become cultivation maniacs.
The people of the forging division also stayed at the camp with only Sun Bao and Ji Wei coming along. Other than that, Bao Yi was a person that could not be left behind. Considering that they should not be high-key, Gongsun Cha still took along three divisions, Sky Peak Platoon among them.
Even so, this procession was very eye-catching.
The killing aura of Vermillion Bird Camp that had been forged through combat was completely different than normal guards. Landing in the eyes of those who understood, they couldn’t stop themselves from speculating.
Fortunately, Rong Wei knew many people in Bright Water City and people would occasionally come up to exchange greetings.
Rong Wei’s mind suddenly moved and when she raised her head, a paper crane flew over.
The paper crane landed on her palm. She lightly unfolded it. When she finished reading, there was a surprised expression.
The Marquis was not in the compound!
The compound guard she had sent back to the compound informed her that the Marquis had left half a month ago and had not yet returned. Rong Wei felt slight regret. She had wanted to take the Master of Golden Crow City to meet the Marquis. The Marquis was very knowledgeable and might have been able to see his origins.
It seemed like she could not do it. She was worried about the affairs of the house and bowed in apology to Zuo Mo, “My sincere apologies. Rong Wei did not know that the Marquis had left a fortnight ago, and has not yet returned. There are many affairs in the compound. Rong Wei will bid farewell early. City Master, please give your forgiveness.”
Hearing this, Zuo Mo hurriedly said, “Miss Rong has helped us greatly. We are very grateful, you should hurry! We will just walk around by ourselves!”
Worried about the internal situation of the house, Rong Wei left.
The procession of people hadn’t walked around for long when Zuo Mo’s expression changed and suddenly stopped walking. Someone was following them!
* * *
Translator Rambings: Sometimes I find wordpress painful. Because I can’t find the comments, I’ll reply to some here.
One person was right on the dot regarding why Zuo Mo is letting the people go, he doesn’t have the money to support all those people. To the person who offered donations, I’m happy that you like the translation so much but I won’t be accepting any donations at this point. To the reader who mentioned Chun Yu Cheng, he’s alive and still being a mad animal farmer. It would be funny if Zuo Mo and Gongsun Cha just forgot about him but they’ve been together for at least a year so that’s not likely. I know my ramblings are long sometimes but you guys actually get the condensed version. I end up deleting non-essential stuff.
Zuo Mo does something to save money and people are thinking too highly of his “wisdom.” The increased unity is just a side effective of Zuo Mo’s miserly nature and pragmatism. Rong Wei who thinks of him like this extremely violent person that is extremely intelligent and can be set off easily, which I guess is not an improvement over thinking of him as a lecherous person.
Chapter 308: Brute!
Zuo Mo gave everyone a look. They all understood and purposely walked towards a less populated area.
“Is there a reason Sir is following us?”
Zuo Mo looked coldly at this xiuzhe wearing almond-yellow Taoist robes, with white hair yet had a child-like appearance. There were still many people passing by. When these xiuzhe saw the yellow-robed old Taoist, they all changed expression and hurriedly left!
“Little baby is pretty clever to have noticed Old Forefather.” This old person’s tone was very proud. Facing Zuo Mo’s procession, he showed no fear.
The three divisions of Vermillion Bird Camp silently prepared to fight and could attack at any moment.
“I urge you to not move.” The yellow-robed old Taoist snickered. “Otherwise, this Old Forefather would make you feel it.”
Zuo Mo rolled his eyes. Why did everyone speak so much these days?
However, Zuo Mo didn’t want to make trouble right after arriving in Bright Water City. He glanced at the yellow-robed old Taoist. “Sir has followed us for this long, it shouldn’t just be to chat, right?”
“Hee hee, little baby, you have a talisman. Since you can’t use it, why don’t you give it to this Old Forefather?” the yellow-robed old Taoist said cheerfully.
Zuo Mo was slightly surprised. He said, “Talisman? I have many talismans. Which one is Sir speaking of?”
“You have a pile of scrap metal. There’s only one that can be considered a talisman, it should be a sixth-grade talisman!” The yellow-robed old Taoist narrowed his eyes that twinkled with greed.
Sixth-grade talisman. Zuo Mo’s heart shook. The number of people that knew the Nine Turn Sky Soil Disk had landed in his possession was pitifully few. How could this old Taoist know?
“Sir is joking! A sixth-grade talisman isn’t something someone like this one can possess!” Zuo Mo refuted.
“Don’t pretend in front of this Old Forefather.” The expression of the yellow-robed old Taoist turned cold and he seemed impatient. “Old Forefather doesn’t want to hear you blab. If you are wise, hand it over. Old Forefather naturally won’t forget to give you something in return.”
“Sir means?” Zuo Mo said lightly, his eyes turning cold.
“Ha, don’t think that Old Forefather doesn’t dare to attack you because you glued yourselves onto the House of the Crow Marquis. Hmph, even if the Crow Marquis personally comes, he can’t save you!”
The presence of the yellow-robed old Taoist suddenly grew. The ling power in the surroundings seemed to become chaotic and become abnormally restless.
The faces of Zuo Mo and the others changed dramatically!
Jindan!
This yellow-robed old Taoist was actually a jindan!
“Hee hee! Be wise, and take it out. Don’t make Old Forefather personally act. It won’t look good then!” the yellow-robed Taoist said darkly.
The strong ling pressure was like lead that pressed down on them to the point of suffocation. Zuo Mo and the others had never directly faced a jindan at such a close distance. Their battle against Clear Sky Old Forefather had been in the air. The feeling now was completely different. In their eyes, the figure of the yellow-robed old Taoist was as high as a mountain. They were as small as insects, and unable to shake him.
At such a close distance to a jindan, just this terrifying ling pressure was enough for the great majority of ningmai to lose their will to resist.
“Hee, I hadn’t noticed that you do have some talent!” A flash of shock passed through the eyes of the yellow-robed old Taoist and then he snickered. “Pity that it isn’t enough in front of Old Forefather!�
��
A light flashed through the eyes of the yellow-robed old Taoist.
Everyone suddenly felt their body be pulled down and could not move. They couldn’t even raise their arms. Everyone had shocked expressions.
Power of the earth!
“You … …” Zuo Mo glared angrily, but his body didn’t move at all. He finally knew why the other wanted the Nine Turn Sky Soil Disk! The other cultivated earth element spells.
What … … what earth element spell was so tyrannical!
Xie Shan gave a muffled grunt and forcibly channeled his ling power to activate his sword scripture.
“Somewhat interesting. It seems you are almost at jindan.” The yellow-robed old Taoist had a surprised expression again. However, he then was unconcerned. “It’s a pity that your luck isn’t good.”
Pew.
Xie Shan felt the ling power in his chest reverse. He couldn’t not stop himself from spraying up a mouthful of blood.
“Don’t struggle!” The yellow-robed old Taoist looked scornfully at Xie Shan. “It is useless. There is just one line between us, but this one line is the difference between heaven and earth.”
Finishing, he ignored Xie Shan and turned to walk towards Zuo Mo.
“Hee hee, why did you have to force Old Forefather to act?” The yellow-robed old Taoist smiled smugly and casually walked in front of Zuo Mo and slapped Zuo Mo’s face. He roared with laughter. “Old Forefather’s luck today is really good, many thanks to you!”
The xiuzhe of Vermillion Bird Camp all glared angrily, furiously channeling their ling power to struggle!
“They are pretty loyal to you!” The yellow-robed old Taoist snickered and continued to slap Zuo Mo’s face. “But so what? Ha ha!”
Zuo Mo bore the pain and asked through his teeth, “How did you know I have this talisman?”
The yellow-robed old Taoist was very proud. “I’ll teach you a lesson. Sixth-grade talismans have cognition, and Old Forefather knows a spell to find cognition.”
