by Fang Xiang
[tl: [22] = 师叔 (shishu): senior uncle. Male of a sect’s older generation. ]
“I heard your [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] is at the third level?” Hao Min pierced Zuo Mo with a stare and asked.
“Yes!”
“Very good.” Hao Min said, satisfied, “I’m going out for a period of time. During this time, the medicine fields will be in your care.”
Zuo Mo was given no time to speak as she threw a jade pendant at him and coldly stated, “This is the jade pendant and go to the medicine fields. Water the field once a day until I return. During this time, you must take care of the medicine fields.”
Her tone instantly became severe, “My temper isn’t very good. We’ll put the ugly words first. If something goes wrong with the medicine fields, then I won’t forgive you when I return!”
Finishing, she didn’t even look at Zuo Mo. Turning to look at Luo Li she wrapped her arm around his arm, her smile like a flower, and her voice gentle as water, “Shixiong, let’s go.”
A few hints of warmth floated on Luo Li’s face. He looked carelessly at Zuo Mo, snorted coldly and the two flew into the air.
Zuo Mo held the jade pendent, frozen to the spot as he watched the two disappear into the sky.
When a person meets misfortune, even drinking water would get stuck in the teeth. He had never thought he would be this unfortunate.
The outer sect disciples didn’t like Hao Min Shijie. She was ruthless and selfish. Being ordered about by her didn’t result in any benefits. Her temper was nasty and she was fickle as Luo Li Shixiong. If one wasn’t careful, it would result in beatings and a scolding.
From beginning to end, the two never even asked for his opinion.
Zuo Mo screamed inside.
From when he opened his eyes two years ago until now, he only interacted with the ling grains. He had never taken care of medicine fields before. Even worse, with his cultivation, he could only do the third level of [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] once every day.
Thinking about the contracts he had signed with the other shixiong, his mouth was bitter.
There were three places in Wu Kong Sword Sect for medicine fields. The one that Hao Min shijie was responsible was in Cold Mist Valley. He held the jade pendant, his heart jumping as he walked in the direction of Cold Mist Valley.
Cold Mist Valley was between two mountain peaks and had mist swirling about all year around. The temperature was lower than anywhere else on Wu Kong Mountain and that was how it got its name. It was one of the important areas of the sect. Outer sect disciples had no permission to enter. If Zuo Mo’s [Little Art of Rain and Cloud] had reached the third level, Hao Min definitely wouldn’t have picked him.
On the road, there were old trees and grass everywhere. The smell of the forest emanated from all around him and he was surrounded by life. Sometimes small animals like rabbits and squirrels passed by joyfully jumping. Zuo Mo had no interest in admiring scenery. His heart beat frantically as he held the jade pendant and furtively made his way, while his two legs trembled.
Everywhere on this road were jinzhi. They were in the open or in the shadows. Some strong jinzhi occasionally would release a suffocating and terrifying aura. With his seventh level lianqi abilities, if he accidentally attracted the jinzhi, not a drop of him would remain.
If it wasn’t that he naturally had a zombie face, his face definitely would be pasty white and bloodless.
Chapter 5: Cold Mist Valley
Using the jade pendant in his hands, Zuo Mo safely reached the entrance to Cold Mist Valley.
The entrance was shrouded in mist, a white curtain of nothing.
Zuo Mo hesitated for a while, and not finding any other roads, he could only stride towards the white mist.
As he approached, as if it recognized him, the white mist parted to reveal a small path. His mind relaxed and he let out a breath. He admired the techniques that the sect had. If one day he could do the same, it would be so refreshing.
His thoughts couldn’t help but wander away.
Following the path he walked half a mile, his field of view suddenly widened.
About five mu of the valley was filled with various kinds of ling medicine. Their colors varied and their shapes were strange. It was as though a colourful carpet had been laid out on the valley. Several dozen rainbow Sparrow-Tailed butterflies flew around. Black-banded Yellow honeybees formed troops and flew to and fro.
There was a silvery waterfall ran down from a cliff to the bottom of the valley, the flowing water roared like thunder. With great force water smashed into a deep pond creating a countless water drops, which formed a fine mist.
Taking a deep breath, Zuo Mo felt unspeakably comfortable. The moisture and the fragrance of all the kinds of ling herbs blended together. He suddenly felt that taking care of the ling fields wasn’t as bad as he had thought.
Remembering that Hao Min shijie warned that he had to water the ling medicine once every day, Zuo Mo hurried and activated [Little Art of Cloud and Rain].
Moisture began to condense from the surroundings, and was visible to the naked eye. It gradually formed a cloud which floated above the medicine fields. The spell on Zuo Mo’s hands rapidly changed and after a series of dazzling movements, the cloud released a fine drizzle into the medicine fields.
This little rain lasted for an hour before the cloud dissipated. Zuo Mo gave a breath of relief. It was very humid here and made it much easier to do [Little Art of Cloud and Rain]. He couldn’t help but start to calculate. The situation was better than he had hoped for. If he toiled hard enough, he could barely finish what had been set out in the contracts.
What he had to pray for was that nothing would happen to the medicine fields, and that they would remain safe and compete until Hao Min shijie came back.
Nothing could be solved by him.
If he had any fantasies before, he understood the cruel reality now. He was very sensitive to the density of ling energy. The ling energy of Cold Mist Valley was very plentiful. To have ploughed medicine fields in such a good location, the grade of the ling herbs that were produced wouldn’t be low.
If something really happened on his watch, he would … …
He shuddered.
Even though the path in the mist was layered in jinzhi, there weren’t any in the valley. Zuo Mo went around the entire valley. The pond was so deep the bottom couldn’t be seen. The coldness of the water pierced straight into the bones. The roaring of the waterfall was thunderous, and echoed throughout the valley.
He crouched in the ling fields, inspecting the ling herbs one by one. He needed to etch the characteristics of each ling herb into his memory. He had only grown ling grains before and had no knowledge of ling herbs, so he could only use this brute method. Right now, he didn’t hope for receiving any rewards, and only hoped that nothing would go wrong.
Any ling herb here, even by selling himself, it would be enough to repay its loss.
He could guarantee he had never focused so hard before.
It was only when the sky began turning dark did he drag his exhausted body back to his yard. When he saw the mess surrounding the yard, the jinzhi that had been ripped to shreds, he wanted to cry.
At this time, he didn’t have the energy to reconstruct the jinzhi. He was so tired that he wanted to die. He didn’t have the strength to even raise his eyelids.
Returning to the seclusion room, he only managed to channel a drop of ling power into the sound tablet before dropping down on the mat and falling asleep.
He woke up in the sound of the sound tablet’s broadcast.
“The twenty third [Sword Test Conference] has finished its qualification rounds. Up until now, four thousand two hundred and fifty three sword xiu have receive qualifications for the competition. This year’s [Sword Test Conference] has plenty of rewards. The top one hundred will receive a fourth-grade flying sword. The top ten will receive a fifth-grade flying sword. The prize for the winner has been confirmed as [Arrowpoint], a sev
enth-grade flying sword. According to those familiar with the competition, this is the highest grade prize in the history of the [Sword Test Conference]. This has caused the interest of many major sect disciples including those from Wu Shuang Sword Sect, Suo Luo Sword Sect… …”
“Good thing, good thing. I want, I want. No chance, no chance.”
Zuo Mo carelessly climbed up from the mat, and hummed a strange tune.
Walking out of the seclusion room, he started to reconstruct the jinzhi. As to the walls, he would have to wait and rebuild them at a later time.
He could see broken bricks everywhere and began to clean the surroundings. Otherwise, he didn’t even have space to set up the jinzhi. With his seventh level lianqi sill, there were many restrictions for him to set up a jinzhi.
Humming a small tune, he cleaned up the broken and ruined walls. This yard had been built long ago and the walls were already in a decrepit state. Now, it was completely destroyed by Luo Li shixiong. Recalling the strong and intimidating Luo Li shixiong as he landed from the sky, Zuo Mo felt his heart palpitate even now.
Ah, Zuo Mo suddenly stopped walking and bent down to pick up something.
It was a little pink paper crane, much smaller than Zuo Mo’s yellow paper crane, and very well made. This was Little Thousand crane, used for passing letters and speech. This was a plaything. It’s speed wasn’t as fast as sending letters with flying swords, especially over long distances. Using it wasn’t very convenient so most of the users were xiuzhe that were lower than jindan.
How did it arrive at his place?
Zuo Mo rudely unfolded the pink Little Thousand crane and suddenly understood. It was a Wishing Little Thousand crane.
Very long ago, when the xiuzhe started to break through the void and search for new jie, they frequently would encounter dangers and become trapped. These trapped xiuzhe found that they couldn’t break free, so they would write their wishes and pleas for help on the Little Thousand Crane and send it away. Since there weren’t any imprints, no one knew where the Little Thousand Cranes would end up, but the life of a xiuzhe was long. If they were lucky, they could survive for a long period of time.
After the first time a Wishing Little Thousand crane was successful in helping rescue a trapped xiuzhe, the Wishing Little Thousand crane became fashionable in the xiuzhe world. As time progressed, this became a game for female xiuzhe to expel their feelings. They would write their emotions on the wishing Little Paper Cranes and send them out. They would also imprint the crane so the one who picked it up could sent the Wishing Little Thousand crane back to owners hands.
What could make a young girl’s heart beat faster than a fate that couldn’t be calculated and was too wonderful for words?
Zuo Mo couldn’t understand it. In his heart, there were only jingshi, ling grains, and cultivation. Romance, this kind of luxury, he didn’t have any of it.
Unfolding the Little Thousand Crane revealed a few rows of beautiful writing.
“Hoping so much
To carry a bag
Go out alone to roam
At a place where there was no one else
Sing
Soak in the sun”
Sentimental nonsense. Zuo Mo snorted coldly inside and responded with the criticism he thought most accurate. It was such a pity to waste such good paper. He didn’t know what paper it was made out of, but it was at least third-grade quality.
To use third-grade paper to make a Little Thousand Crane was a waste that would raise people’s hairs.
Once the paper was used this way, it couldn’t be used again. Such a pity, Zuo Mo thought.
He was preparing to crumple the pink paper into a ball when he suddenly stopped. Expressionlessly, he tilted his head. Thinking, he started to run into his room.
Rushing into the room, he looked around and found what he wanted.
Fresh and thick cinnabar and a weasel bristle brush.
Taking up the brush, dipping deep into the cinnabar, his wrist flowing as he wrote out a word.
– “Dumbass.”
Smugly looking at the bright red colour that stretched across the pink paper, Zuo Mo roared with laughter.
His life was nerve-wracking and full. It was extremely hard and he didn’t have any time to be depressed. He knew very well the difficulty of life. Everyone was putting their lives on the line in order to survive, for their families, and for their descendants, Like Old Black, even if work was hard and exhausting Zuo Mo didn’t dislike this kind of life. He felt the opposite. This was life.
Sentimental nonsense. Only people who had idle lives and no ambitions would have that. Zuo Mo looked down on those people.
In a cheerful mood, he hummed a tune as he folded the paper again into a Little Thousand Crane.
“Who’s a dumbass, who’s a dumbass. You’re a dumbass, you’re a dumbass……”
Using the imprint that was on the Wishing Little Thousand crane Zuo Mo channeled ling power into the Wishing Little Thousand crane, and threw it up in the air.
The pink Little Thousand Crane flapped its tiny wings and disappeared into the sky.
Zuo Mo’s mood became exceptionally well. He exuberantly cleaned the yard, his steps lighter than usual.
——–
When the jinzhi were finished, it was past noon. He got something to eat before going back to the seclusion room to meditate.
Normal outer sect disciples rarely would spend such a long time on meditation. Compared to learning the spell arts, meditation and cultivation practice wasn’t profitable.
However, Zuo Mo persisted in spending four hours each day on meditation. After he found the ling vein in the seclusion room, he had spent even more time each day in mediation. The cultivation was the foundation; that was a rationale all xiuzhe understood.. What he cultivated with was the most basic scripture but he had the benefit of the ling vein so the results were still outstanding.
Just how rigid the ranks were in the cultivation world, he had a very deep understanding. If he could achieve zhuji, even if he was an outer sect disciple, Hao Min and Luo Li wouldn’t dare to treat him so poorly. Zhuji was a division line. It would directly decide the quality of your life.
To receive a beautiful life. The only way was to continuously increase your own power.
Once he sat down, he began mediating.
———–
Six hours had passed before he opened his eyes again.
His eyes were filled with joy. Lianqi eight level!
Persisting in cultivating, the reward finally came. He made it to the eighth level!
The cultivation of eighth level liangqi, in all of the outer sect disciple of the entire Wu Kong Sword Sect, it definitely could enter the top three.
He spread out his fingers and started to activate a spell. A layer of aged gold energy appeared around his finger. Once his cultivation increased a level, it was much easier activate a spell. An excited Zuo Mo started to activate [Little Art of Cloud and Rain]
He instantly felt the difference. The speed at which the moisture condensed was much faster, and raindrops fell like they wouldn’t stop. He took the time to savor the new experiences.
Remembering the medicine fields, he stood up and rushed out of his yard.
Running to Cold Mist Valley in one go, not taking the time to recover, he started to activate [Little Art of Cloud and Rain]. Only when everything had been watered did the stone in his heart land on the ground.
Chapter 6: Highly Dangerous
“Shixiong has come.” Fei Yun enthusiastically gave a greeting. He was wearing the light yellow robes of the Everything Pavilion disciples. It was just the front had been rolled up and tucked at the waist.
Zuo Mo’s voice was friendly, “You’re on duty today?”
“Shixiong has to look after me.” Fei Yun chuckled. He was aware that this zombie face was a large account among all the outer sect disciples. Most of his sales came from this person.
Wu Kong Sword Sect was far from Dong Fu, and
it was exceedingly troublesome to make a round trip. The Everything Pavilion had been set up to ease the purchase of items for everyone. There wasn’t much higher-level inventory sold at the Everything Pavilion, but for outer sect disciples, it could fulfill most of their needs. Even if the prices were slightly higher than in Dong Fu, it was much more convenient, and everyone had become used to buying what they needed here.
Even for Zuo Mo who owned a flying paper crane, it was troublesome to go to Dong Fu.
The two were familiar, and he wasn’t overly courteous, “Anything good lately?”
“There’s a few first-grade talismans but I’m afraid it isn’t what Shixiong wishes for.” Fei Yun smiled as he answered. Upon familiarity, he had experienced Zuo Mo’s shrewdness. He rarely would buy something that he didn’t need.
“I’ll take a look.” Zuo Mo didn’t refuse.
Fei Yun took out some talismans. Zuo Mo flipped through them one by one.
An orange colored bangle carved from a single piece of fire jade could increase the ability to control flames. Zuo Mo put it to one side. This bangle was useful for those who made medicine. He didn’t need it, and the price of ten pieces of second-grade jingshi was too expensive and not useful enough.
The following few items, he put them down as well.
Only when he saw a yellow copper ring did he examine it for a long time.
“Shixiong is interested in this ring?” Fei Yun saw hope and started his sales pitch, “[Golden Sword Ring], first-grade gold element talisman. Only need to channel gold ling power until it is full and then it can release three sword strikes. The power is astounding and overwhelmingly strong. The best part is, the price is great! Just five pieces of second-grade jingshi. A talisman for five pieces of second-grade jingshi, it’s a deal you won’t find anywhere else.”
Fei Yun ran on, talking up the [Golden Sword Ring]
Zuo Mo didn’t speak. He adjusted his energy and channeled ling power towards the ring. Previously, he couldn’t use the ring, but now that he had learned [Aged Gold Energy] and could turn his ling power into gold ling energy, he could use the ring.
