by Fang Xiang
That was the true cause of the terror.
Zuo Mo quickly found that his life became incomparably terrible. To a xiuzhe whose goal was to become a ling plant farmer, living was the most important.
He decided to have a discussion with Pu Yao.
Just like last time, Pu Yao sat on the stele idly, in the same black clothing. Seeing Zuo Mo he smiled. That smile coming among the thick black smoke revolving around, it made him look full of evil. The conjecture about whether or not Pu was yaomo jumped out again of its own accord.
Zuo Mo’s heart shook. He didn’t lack in courage, but when the other was in complete control, he wouldn’t do such a stupid thing as to express bravery. He suddenly noticed the stone stele under Pu’s body. Half a person high, the stone stele was shrouded in black clouds. When he accidentally swept across the surface of the stone stele, he couldn’t help but be shocked.
Grave!
This was a grave!
It wasn’t a stone stele, it was a gravestone!
He instantly was frightened, his heartbeat speeding up.
“What? Wanted to find me for a chat?” A lazy voice. He didn’t know if it was this gravestone at fault but Zuo Mo felt that Pu’s voice was full of a kind of dark coldness that easily seeped into one’s heart.
Zuo Mo calmed his emotions, a fawning smile on his face: “Da ge, [3] look, my cultivation is this weak, and my body is all bones, there isn’t a few catties of meat, not good to eat.”
[tl: [3]大哥: big brother. ]
“Eat?” Pu suddenly smiled. He opened his dark red right eye, slowly speaking: “Speaking of delicious human meat, oh, that’s so long ago. The best human meat, there’s a lot to consider. The best is sixteen or seventeen year old girls. Tender meat, crunchy bones. Yum, yum.”
A scarlet tongue licked the lips, his expression full of reflection.
Zuo Mo’s heart was beating out of his chest. He forced a smile: “Yeah, yeah, see, shouldn’t you change a person?”
“Change a person?” Pu tilted his head, staring at Zuo Mo: “What? You don’t like it? Feeling that I took over your space?”
Being pierced by Pu’s deep red right eyes, cold spread through Zuo Mo’s heart. He hurriedly waved his hand: “No, no! This is my honor! Honor!”
He seemed to be very satisfied with Zuo Mo’s answer. Pu took away his gaze, his right eye closing again, his mouth absent-mindedly asking: “In your generation of disciples, how many are jindan? Ten?”
Zuo Mo shook his head.
“Eight?”
Zuo Mo continued to shake his head.
“Five?”
Zuo Mo finally couldn’t endure it. He felt the other was making fun of him: “Not a single one. In the shixiong of this generation, the highest cultivation is the last stages of zhuji.”
For the first time, a shocked expression came onto Pu’s face with his closed right eye. This made Zuo Mo feel smug.
After a while, Pu shook his head, sighing: “No wonder you suck so much.”
Zuo Mo almost spat blood.
Pu opened his eye, his gaze once again landing on Zuo Mo’s body. He examined up and down, his hand propping up his chin, murmuring to himself: “The body is really weak. Hmm?”
Zuo Mo was very irritated at how the other was discussing him like he was examining an object, but Pu’s “hmm” made his heart jump.
“Is something wrong?” He couldn’t ask hurriedly. He knew his body wasn’t normal. The hard zombie-face, and that dream that appeared countless times, it was like a thorn in his heart.
Pu lifted his head, the hair in front of his forehead almost covering the left half of his face. The crimson right eye that wasn’t covered glanced at Zuo Mo’s face, one corner of his mouth lifting: “No problem.”
“Alright, you suck very much, but not to a terminal point.” Pu returned back to his lazy tone of voice.
“I wanted to ask… …” Zuo Mo decided to lay his cards on the table with Pu. He wanted to find out what Pu’s true aims were.
“Oh, right.” Pu interrupted Zuo Mo. His blood-red right eye narrowed, his thin lips lifting upward on an angle: “Started practising [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation. How is it, is the effects alright? Almost forgot to tell you, [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation is good, but it has one pesky problem.”
Zuo Mo’s heart beat frantically. He had a bad feeling.
“Once [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation] is started, it can’t be stopped. Supposedly, if one can’t get to the first embryonic breath in three months, there would be some minor problems.”
He raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers, the corner of his mouth raising higher, the fresh red of his eye even brighter: “Really, it’s just small pains such as blood flowing in reverse. Oh, did you know, before I had a very creative friend. He was in charge of the torture prisons.”
Pu seemed to be telling a story, actively narrating.
“One time, he encountered a very hard nut. He tried everything but couldn’t break open this guy’s mouth. He then begged for this method from me. He sent a subordinate to pretend to be a criminal and near this guy. And then, using his subordinate’s mouth, he passed this scripture over to him. Oh, you have to know, I always admired this guy. Creative, and patient.”
He said with a few hints of glee: “Such a pity that this criminal didn’t have much talent. Three months, he didn’t reach one embryonic breath. Oh, I always felt, it must have been that my friend purposefully left out a few words.”
“And then?” Zuo Mo asked, his voice shaking.
“And then?” The smile on Pu’s face became even brighter: “Cracked on the thirty-first day. But my friend was a soft-hearted one and didn’t kill him. Left him hanging for three months. Each day, he begged my friend to kill him. Listening to the exquisite and mellow wailing, such an experience! Supposedly, when he died, oh, his soul just exploded like a firework, extremely beautiful.”
A bone-aching cold spread over Zuo Mo’s entire body.
His pitiful nerves were like a spring that was pushed to its limits. All the accumulated anger exploded in one instant. He lost his rationality and screamed as he leapt at Pu.
––“You perverse renyao![4] Ye’ll kill you!”
[tl: [4] 人妖: Hong Kong slang for Thailand transvestites. It was then adopted as internet slang for males that used female avatars in MMORPGs. It’s also used to describe “girliness” in boys. The literal meaning is human-spirit. In this case here, Pu is really a yao, and he does look androgynous. ]
Chapter 18: Soup
In the seclusion room, Zuo Mo mediated with his legs in the lotus position.
He was furiously practising [Embryonic Breathing Spirit Cultivation], the damned [Embryonic Breathing Spirit Cultivation]!
The damned Pu Yao!
He cursed the maniac countless times. After exploding yesterday night, he was brutally oppressed. His consciousness was once again heavily wounded, torn to pieces by Pu Yao. The result of the wounds in his consciousness was the heart-wrenching pain. Now, without needing Pu Yao’s urging, he furiously practised [Embryonic Breathing Spirit Cultivation].
Once his head cooled down, Zuo Mo wanted to cry. That night, he should have never gone to the ling fields. Thinking about Pu Yao, that coldness and cunning that could burrow into the bones, it was like a venomous snake slowly sliding up the bottom of his pants. That uncontrollable terror spread through the entire body.
The brutal suppression last night, it also made him attain a deep understanding of an unattainable gap between the power levels of the two of them.
A strong, perverse madman!
Zuo Mo already expected that his future was a patch of darkness.
This guy didn’t have goodwill from the very start. From the black sea in the beginning, to the sword energy, and his spirit being wounded, then to [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation], step by step, he became the lamb being led to slaughter.
The pitiful him, he had though that there was only a ba
d-tempered neighbour living in there, he didn’t think it was a wicked yaomo.
If he was only suspicious before, now he was one hundred percent sure that Pu was yaomo. Other than yaomo, who would be so evil?
Slowly waking up, like the chaos before creation, Zuo Mo opened his eyes and lightly breathed out that breath of air that had been circulating inside his body all this time.
This breath was long and continuous. When it was being exhaled, it was as concise as an arrow.
Zuo Mo felt slightly reassured. This [Embryonic Breathing Spirit Cultivation] was a miracle. The pain in his spirit had lessened greatly and he could clearly feel his spirit stabilizing. When Pu Yao had just flicked his finger last night, his consciousness had almost been completely scattered.
He didn’t know where [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation] came from. The words were cryptic and hard to understand. The syntax it used was the opposite of the jade stick that Zuo Mo had brought. He had used a lot of energy before he barely managed to understand the first chapter.
He didn’t think to go ask Pu Yao. The lessons in tears and blood told him, to try to take advantage of that guy, just wait to get tricked.
The first chapter was called [Chapter of Spiritual Concentration], it talked about how to meditate and condense the spirit, stabilizing the consciousness.
This was exactly what Zuo Mo needed at the moment. After continuous injury, his consciousness was almost in shreds. If he couldn’t fix it soon, it was probably that he could enter madness. As to the one breath Pu Yao mentioned, it meant being able to complete a whole embryonic breath.
Embryonic breath was the core of [Embryonic Breath Spiritual Cultivation] and it was the most basic cultivation method. It was also a kind of breathing that Zuo Mo hadn’t even heard of. Supposedly, it originated in the breathing of humans when they were embryos. They didn’t need to use mouth and nose to breath, but required to use the entire body as opening, take the air as thin strands and suck it in bit by bit before spreading it throughout the body. Hundreds of these tiny streams of air would circulate through the body, merge and then exhaled through the nose and mouth.
The holes and points on the body were like the stars in a galaxy. They couldn’t be measured. The nose and mouth were the biggest, the points on the body were second. The most abundant were those small, unable to be seen tiny holes that spread around the body.
Zuo Mo was very curious how the elder that had created this scripture had thought of such an outlandish method. Like goes with like. The scripture that Pu Yao, that crazy abnormal madman, threw out, it was just as abnormal as him.
He still couldn’t find a way to finish a whole embryonic breath.
Pu Yao’s words weren’t empty threats. It was clearly written in the [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation]. The last few days, he was really still using his nose and mouth to breath. No matter what, his first priority was stabilizing his spirit. If his spirit was unstable, just the occasional pain was enough to take Zuo Mo’s little life.
But when Zuo Mo’s consciousness managed to slightly stabilize, he would have to face a question. The question of completing a whole embryonic breath. One breath, it was the trademark of the introduction to [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation].
The deadline of three months was like a cloud over his head.
When he thought about the light of insanity in Pu Yao’s eyes when he talked about torture, Zuo Mo was certain if he really couldn’t achieve one breath in the three months and was facing a reversal of blood flow, Pu Yao would be watching in interest from the side at his painful state.
Such a tragic life!
Zuo Mo gritted his teeth and cursed the renyao inside, the fires of anger burning.
Suddenly, news from the sound tablet beside him aroused his attention.
“Continuing after the increase in price of the ling grains last month, this month’s ling grains price once again increases. The demand for high grade ling grains has greatly increased, pulling along the price of low-grade ling grains to also increase……”
He shook. The price of ling grains were rising! This was undoubtedly the best news he heard in the last few days.
Pu Yao suddenly came out: “Such an interesting thing.”
Zuo Mo started with wide eyes. A long pause later, he finally managed to react, pointing at Pu Yao, incoherently asking: “You you you ran out?”
Pu Yao blinked his dark red right eye: “Why why why can’t I come out?”
“Don’t you have to stay in the consciousness?” Zuo Mo asked dumbly.
“Who told you that?” Pu Yao turned to him, face baffled, as he asked in return.
Zuo Mo was speechless. Inside, he couldn’t help but wail. It seemed that he didn’t even have the last bit of bargaining power. So the other could really move out ……
Pu Yao listened for a while and yawned: “Oh, looks like a war is starting.”
“War?” Zuo Mo didn’t understand.
Pu Yao didn’t explain. He swept the sound tablet into his grasp, and faintly stated: “This thing is mine now.” Before the voice landed, he disappeared with the sound tablet.
“Damned renyao!” Zuo Mo’s furious shout echoed in empty yard.
At this time, he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.
Zuo Mo was curious inside. Who could it be? Usually, no one would run to his place here. Running over and opening the door, Xiao Guo pitifully stood outside.
She was holding a clay pot in her hands. Seeing Zuo Mo, her body instantly shrunk back, and timidly greeted: “Shixiong.”
“What’s the problem now?” Zuo Mo rarely had a good mood for this little bit of trouble. For some reason, whenever he saw the timidity on Xiao Guo’s face, he could never control his tone of voice.
“No no!” Xiao Guo shook her head like a rattle-drum, hurriedly explaning: “Xiao Guo has come to give something to Shixiong. Last time when Shixiong helped Xiao Guo, Xiao Guo hadn’t thanked Shixiong.”
As she spoke, her little mouth twisted, and the mist in her eyes rose, with tears in her voice, she muttered: “Xiao Guo doesn’t have jingshi……”
Seeing the direction wasn’t right, Zuo Mo hurriedly shouted: “Stop!”
Xiao Guo was frightened to shrink back even more, but her crying instantly disappeared.
She carefully put the clay pot in front of Zuo Mo and like a rabbit, she jumped back. She timidly looked at Zuo Mo and gathered her courage to say: “This is some soup Xiao Guo made, Shixiong……Shixiong, just take a sip, you just have to take one sit……”
Before she could finish speaking, she descended into incoherency, her face so red due to anxiety it almost bled. She couldn’t control it and covered her face as she turned and ran.
After running a few dozen steps, she suddenly stopped. Hesitating, she turned and yelled: “Shixiong, if it really doesn’t taste good, you ……you should throw it out……”
Zuo Mo watched as Xiao Guo disappeared and then at the clay pot in front of his feet. He bent down and lifted it.
The soup was still warm.
Raising the clay pot, he took a mouthful. The soup was thick and fragrant.
“The taste isn’t bad.” Zuo Mo said to himself. He drained it to the bottom and turned, holding the empty pot, to go back to his room.
Pu Yao suddenly emerged, the crimson snake-like tongue unable to resist licking the lips, his two eyes gazing in the direction Xiao Guo disappeared in: “Such a tender little girl.”
Zuo Mo stared in shock at him.
Pu Yao turned around his peerlessly handsome face. At this time, he seemed like a gluttonous cat, the light flashing in his deep red eye: “Such good lucky, this little girl’s meat definitely would be very tender and delicious.”
Zuo Mo suddenly erupted, raising his hand to viciously throw the empty pot in his right hand at Pu Yao.
Bang, the pot cracked, the pieces scattering.
“Get lost!”
The Thousand Wings Ship stopped in midair
.
Li Xian Er looked at the green moon star outside the window, her fine brows furrowed: “It’s seems that the little yao ran away. Uncle Chi Ye, has there been a reply from the sect?”
Chi Ye zhenren shook his head: “Miss, there are thousands of yaomo suppressed under the Yao Smelting Tower. And it was a long time ago, there’s nothing to research. Most of them came from the great battle three thousand years ago, captured by our sect’s supreme power. Most of these yaomo are ones of great power, difficult to kill so they were suppressed under the Yao Smelting Power, to be slowly destroyed. I’ve never though that these yaomo were this tenacious. After three thousand years, yet there were still survivors!”
Li Xian Er revealed a reminiscing expression: “Three thousand years ago, our sect was so strong!”
Chi Ye zhenren sighed as well: “Not just our sect. Three thousand years ago, each sect in in the cultivation world were far more powerful than now. The ten thousand strong alliance of the yaomo were completely eradicated by the elders. And it was that battle that the xiuzhe established today’s status.”
And then he gave an expression full of pity: “However, even though the yaomo were almost completely captured, but the xiuzhe were also greatly wounded. Only one in ten of the great powers remained. Many sects fell in that great war, countless scriptures were lost. Three thousand years, and the xiuzhe still cannot recover to the prosperity of the past. However, compared to us, the blow the yaomo suffered were even greater. These years, have you seen them ever break through the Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie?”
Li Xian Er listened, entranced. Even though it was history she already knew but hearing it each time, it still captured her mind.
“Grandpa is calling me back.” She pouted her little mouth, face full of unwillingness: “It was so hard getting a chance to come out, and this was so short and he’s urging me back. We didn’t even catch the little yao yet. If we return, it should wait after I catch the little yao.”
Chi Ye zhenren looked at the innocence on her face and a hint of indulgence flashed across his face, but he still urged: “Miss, the sect leader urging Miss to go back, it’s probably due to another matter.”
