by Fang Xiang
If Shishu found out … …
He barely kept his composure, his mouth going: “My luck was good recently. Originally, even I thought it would take longer.”
“This clearly says that our sect is soon to rise!” The smile on Yan Le’s face became energetic: “Let’s go, today is a happy occasion. Pick whatever you like, it would be Shishu’s gift to you.”
Li Ying Feng smiled from the side, adding: “Yeah, Shidi made this such an unexpected attack, as a shijie, I didn’t even have time to prepare a present.”
“No, no, Shijie is too polite.” Zuo Mo furiously waved his hand. Standing beside Third Shishu, he was extremely nervous and didn’t dare to even breathe heavily.
But Third Shishu started to talk and pull him at the same time.
Of the wealthiest in the sect, Third Shishu would be the wealthiest. Third Shishu had managed all the assets of the sect for many years and accumulated much wealth. Based on what could be seen now, Yan Le shishu seemed to want to nurture Li Ying Feng shijie into his successor. Zuo Mo felt this was pretty good. Li Ying Feng shijie was straightforward and honest, knew how to conduct herself and had a pretty good relationship with him.
The store that Third Shishu took him to was naturally much higher class than what he normally shopped at. All kinds of talismans dazzled his eyes, a veritable feast.
What he picked most of was jade sticks. For him, the jade sticks that recorded all kinds of scriptures and spells were what he needed the most.
Yan Le also noticed it and his attitude towards Zuo Mo became even more amiable. The fact that Zuo Mo would get the spring sprout jade medal before he entered zhuji was proof of his exceptional talents. After getting the jade medal, he wasn’t greedy and lived it up. What he picked the most were still jade sticks, that meant that he had strong motivations to keep going.
A young disciple that had both of those points, even if they didn’t have good opportunities, they would definitely reach a pretty good height.
There wasn’t an elder that didn’t like this kind of disciples, especially Yan Le who was used to the mediocrity of the disciples in the sect. He knew that there hadn’t been any attention paid to this disciple in the past. If he didn’t rope him in now, then he would be too stupid. Today, he had been coincidentally been at Dong Fu to take care of matters. Hearing that someone had received a jade medal, he had come over to see if he could attract them and hadn’t thought it would be a disciple of his sect.
He couldn’t help picking out a pile of talismans that Zuo Mo could have a use for.
At the side, Li Ying Feng also recognized that even though her zombie shidi hadn’t entered zhuji, but in reality, he had already become one of the core disciples.
Maybe in the Wu Kong Sword Sect of the future, Wei Sheng Shixiong would be in charge of fighting, Zuo Mo Shidi of internal matters, and she would take over her master’s role and be responsible for external matters. Especially since no one could replace her and Zuo Mo in their roles. Looking at it now, Luo Li Shixiong was unable to threaten Wei Sheng Shixiong’s position. Also, Wei Sheng Shixiong’s relationship with Zuo Mo Shidi was extremely good. For the elders, they were naturally happy to see everyone cooperating.
Li Ying Feng, who sorted out her thoughts, was also generous and gave two talismans to Zuo Mo.
Zuo Mo’s mind was completely blown. Holding a pile of talismans and jade sticks, his awareness was dizzy. Any item that he was holding now, in the past, was something he dreamed about. Now he was holding a pile in his hands.
The affable smile on Shishu’s face made him think of a previous life. In the past two years, after the first time he met the sect leader when he woke up, he had never spoken to another shishu after that.
And all of this, it was only because he received a jade medal.
The grey beaked goose flew steadily, it’s back broad and soft. It was very comfortable sitting on the top, nothing that Zuo Mo’s impotent flying paper crane could compare to.
“Little Mo doesn’t have a steed yet.” Yan Le said and turned to order Li Ying Feng: “I remember there are still a few more grey beaked geese, send one to Little Mo. Tell the people below to send over ling grass as necessary.”
“Yes.” Li Ying Feng noted it down.
Zuo Mo thought to himself, their sect does have some wealth.
When the three reached the gates of the mountain, the outer sect disciples had already lined up at the gates to welcome them. It was evident that the sect leader had already known of the news that he had received a jade medal.
Their gazes as they looked at him were extremely complicated. Jealousy, admiration, dissatisfaction……
Just a day ago, everyone was the same outer sect disciples. Today, they needed to come out to welcome him. Not many people had been surprised that Wei Sheng shixiong would become an inner sect disciple since he had been the first among the outer sect disciples and established a powerful image in their hearts.
But among them, Zuo Mo hadn’t been exceptional. Other than his [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] and that face that never had an expression, there were very few places which he had that people would remember.
Some of the people had caution and fear in their eyes as they looked at Zuo Mo. They had once bullied Zuo Mo and was afraid he was going to get back at them now. Even the most stupid knew that it was certain that Zuo Mo was going to become an inner sect disciple.
Seeing the looks of these people, Zuo Mo’s heart wasn’t comfortable either but felt slightly relieved. He had finally left this group, that meant that he had made progress. For him, any kind of progress right now was incredibly valuable and he didn’t care about the looks of the other outer sect disciples.
The grey beaked goose didn’t slow down but followed the mountain path past the outer sect disciples respectfully standing as it climbed.
Wu Kong Hall was the discussion place of Wu Kong Sword Sect. Many of the main matters of the sect were held here. When Zuo Mo and the others arrived, the sect leader and the other shishu were already waiting in Wu Kong Hall, faint expressions of joy on their faces.
The fact that someone from the sect could qualify for a spring sprout jade medal was definitely an unexpected delight. And such a young disciple, his future would be limitless. First there was Wei Sheng who had such outstanding talent and now there was a disciple in lianqi that could receive a medal. They were completely bowled over by joy!
Facing so many of the shishu for the first time, Zuo Mo couldn’t help but be nervous. Xin Yan Shishu’s pair of cold eyes made him feel there was a blade behind his back, his entire body frozen.
Please ……please……Pu Yao don’t make a fuss now!
Just as he was nervous, the sect leader Pei Yuan Ran opened: “At the beginning when I picked you up, I didn’t have too many expectations for you, and didn’t give much care. To be able to achieve all this, it is all your own efforts and extremely rare. To not give up in such a hopeless situation, swimming against the current, very good! In our sect, whatever strength you have determines the level of treatment. You showed your potential and so the sect will treat you better, do not have hate.”
Pei Yuan Ran was very straightforward. The bits of hate in Zuo Mo’s heart had dissipated much upon hearing the sect leader’s words.
“This disciple doesn’t dare.” He said with his head lowered.
Pei Yuan Ran nodded his head and his voice became warmer: “Now that you have a jade medal, you are the only ling plant farmer in our sect. The treatment in the past is naturally not appropriate for you. I heard your Fourth Shigu say that you are responsible for the medicine fields of Cold Mist Valley now. This will depend now on whether you have the interest. From this day onwards, you are formally one of the inner sect disciples of our sect. You will receive the same allowance of jingshi as your other shixiong. Other than that, our sect’s West Wind Valley has a patch of empty third grade ling fields, that will be given to you. The ling energy is thick in the valley, you could move to live inside the v
alley and try to enter zhuji earlier. If you need anything, you can ask your Third Shishu. As to the ling fields inside the valley, you can plant whatever you want. We will not interfere. You can also use the other empty ling fields in the sect, but at the end you need to give three tenths to the sect.”
Zuo Mo’s eyes widened, his gaze stupified. He felt that he was going to faint—the sect leader was giving an entire mountain valley to him!
[1]师侄: refers to disciple of a younger generation, 侄 means nephew
Chapter 34: Inner Sect Disciple
Pei Yuan Ran looked at Zuo Mo who was stupefied and a mirth filled smirk flashed at the corner of his lips.
“All inner sect disciples must have a master. Since you received the spring sprout jade medal, you should go under your Fourth Shigu’s line. Your Fourth Shigu is skilled at making dan. No one else in the sect can compare to her knowledge of ling herbs. Even in Dong Fu, she is famous for this knowledge. What do you think of becoming her pupil?”
Zuo Mo shook and instantly reacted. Bowing his head to Shi Feng Rong he said: “This disciple greets Master!” Entering Fourth Shigu’s line, it was the best possible outcome for him. His skills laid in farming and that is very beneficial for making dan. The demands of ling herbs in making dan were very large.
“Stand.” Shi Feng Rong said lightly, her voice sounding like her usual iciness.
Zuo Mo obediently stood.
“Shimei, in the future, he’ll be in your care.” Pei Yuan Ran said solemnly.
“Shixiong, don’t worry. I definitely wouldn’t conceal any of my knowledge. But if he isn’t willing to put any effort in, Shixiong cannot blame me.”
Shi Feng Rong’s cold words were like a basin of ice cold water that instantly woke Zuo Mo from his joy. He suddenly had a bad feeling. The implication in Master’s words made him feel apprehensive.
Pei Yuan Ran nodded his head and spoke: “This is good,” Turning to ask Zuo Mo: “Do you have any questions?”
Zuo Mo shook his head rapidly to show he didn’t have any more questions. Originally, he had wanted to ask if he could ask Second Shishu if he had any questions about forging.
He suddenly remembered that the snow white sword essence that tortured him countless times, and made him want to die, that it originated from Xin Yan Shishu? The words that reached his mouth instantly shrunk back. He felt that he was crazy, why would he ever have such a stupid idea?
Wasn’t that walking straight into a trap?
Pu Yao was still in his consciousness.
After his fright dissipated, his brain instantly recovered its clarity. He felt that in the future, he had to be a bit more careful. He might be an inner sect disciple now, but if Pu Yao was exposed, he was certain that the first reaction of Xin Yan Shishu was to cut him up along with Pu Yao!
Subdue yao and exterminate mo!
That was too terrifying!
Even though he was not as terrified as he used to be when facing that sword essence but that was only in his consciousness. In the real world, one blow from Xin Yan Shishu’s sword was enough to tear him into countless pieces. Pu Yao might be arrogant in front of Zuo Mo, but Pu Yao estimated if he had to face Xin Yan Shishu, he would also be killed instantly.
He still remembered the scene when Xin Yan’s sword cleaved the black sea.
Pei Yuan Ran detected Zuo Mo’s nervousness but didn’t put any importance on it. Which disciple in their sect didn’t tremble when they saw the masters? The sect leader and the shishu were all very busy. Even though it was a delight that Zuo Mo became a ling plant farmer, but the Shishu wouldn’t spend too much time on this matter.
The sect leader gave a few more words of encouragement and then left with the other shishu.
Shi Feng Rong moved away gracefully and Zuo Mo hurried to catch up.
Shi Feng Rong didn’t turn her head back and said, seemingly to herself: “I have warned you, but in the end, you choose the road to walk. Since you are now my disciple, I naturally will have my demands. Your private matters, I will not interfere but what I order to be done, you have to complete it.”
Following behind, Zuo Mo’s heart almost jumped out of his chest as he answered: “Yes!”
“Go attend to your own matters. After a few days, I will send someone to find you,” Shi Feng Rong said.
Zuo Mo carefully saw his master away, his heart very depressed. It seemed that his master wasn’t easy to interact with!
Returning to his little yard, he found the outside was full of people. Almost all the outer sect disciples were waiting for him.
“Ai ya ya, Shixiong’s back!
“I had said it before, with Shixiong’s talents, wouldn’t getting an inner sect position be easy?”
“Shixiong, this is a small token of Little Brother’s regard. Not enough to pay respects, shixiong, don’t look down… …”
…….
Zuo Mo’s head swelled up. Originally, he had prepared to reject the gifts, but noticing the worried glances of these people, he accepted the various gifts. As expected, when they saw him accept the gifts, these outer sect disciples all gave expressions of joy. Knowing that they would disturb Zuo Mo, they only gave their congratulations and stayed for a short while before leaving.
The little yard finally returned to its normal silence. Releasing a breath, Zuo Mo held a large pile of various gifts as he walked into the yard and put the gifts down.
This entire day today was so fantastical.
Taking out the spring sprout jade medal, he gently caressed it, feeling the fineness and smoothness of the jade medal.
His body was very tired but his mental state was still excited. The sect leader had divided an entire mountain valley to him. Even though part of it was due to his ling plant farmer profession, but this kind of benefits was still very generous. Other than Wei Sheng Shixiong, it probably would be him that had the best benefits.
Suddenly remembering the jade box that he had buried in the ling vein of the seclusion room, he instantly became alert.
Quickly running to the seclusion room, carefully digging out the jade box, he opened it for a look. The gold ore had disappeared as expected, and the black gold worm had clearly changed. There was a new additional mark on the pure black shell similar to a coin, extremely eye-catching.
Zuo Mo ran into his sea of consciousness. Pu Yao was sitting on the gravestone, listening to the sound tablet. He didn’t even blink an eyelid. Shrouded in the black clouds, the red rhombus shaped jewel was alluring and attractive.
After last time, Pu Yao had continued to maintain this attitude. He seemed like a completely different person than before.
“Pu, has this black good worm reached fourth level?” Zuo Mo tried his best to make his tone as friendly as possible.
“Five pieces of second grade jingshi.” Pu reached out a palm.
As expected……
When did this guy become even more greedy than he was? Zuo Mo didn’t get it. Almost all of his jingshi ended up in Pu Yao’s wallet, yet he hadn’t found Pu Yao using the jingshi for anything. Pu Yao was like a bottomless hole that ate jingshi.
Supposedly yao could eat souls. However, compared to just a lianqi cultivator, yaomo was an insurmountably strong and incredibly distant entity. What function did eating souls have, only ghosts would know. In the future, he should go to the records in the sect where it was possible to find some traces. In any case, now that he was an inner sect disciple, the records in the sect were open to him.
But right now, he could only comply.
“Okay.” Zuo Mo gritted his teeth and decided to spend the money.
When his voice landed, five pieces of jingshi disappeared from his wallet. On this point, Pu Yao was much better than before. He would never take extra.
“Yes.” Pu Yao spat out a word.
Glee rose in Zuo Mo’s heart. He remembered that Pu Yao had said that fourth grade black gold worms were able to find ling veins.
“How do I get it to find ling veins?”
“Fifty pieces of second grade jingshi!” Pu Yao made an outrageous demand without even raising an eyelid.
Zuo Mo was dumbstruck. After a moment, he gave a wail: “You’re killing me!”
This was definitely premeditated. Zuo Mo only had fifty two pieces of jingshi remaining. He hadn’t thought that Pu Yao’s opening quote was his entire wealth.
Pu Yao disregarded Zuo Mo’s struggle: “I increase the amount by ten jingshi every day.”
Zuo Mo almost spat blood, but Pu Yao was at a complete advantage. Zuo Mo had no other choice. Gritting his teeth, he said fiercely: “Fine! If it’s fifty, then fifty it is!”
Clink, clink, clink. The sound of jingshi moving was extremely clear.
Pu Yao was doing it on purpose!
Zuo Mo’s teeth itched in hate but he didn’t have any solution. An enormous benefit was enticing him. If the black gold worm really could find ling veins, it would be nothing less than a long-term benefit for him. Finding ling veins, he could then create high grade ling fields. Adding on his techniques as a ling plant farmer, no matter what he planted, it was certain that there was more profit to be made.
Right now, he was an inner sect disciple. If he could find a new ling vein, other than giving up a portion to the sect, the large majority would still land in his pocket.
Jingshi was one of the factors of strength, especially when he had at his side a money-grubbing yaomo like Pu Yao!
Pu Yao threw a spell fragment at him. This spell allowed him to control ling worms, and it was very short and easy to learn. Zuo Mo easily learnt the spell in a short amount of time.
Zuo Mo treated the worm like treasure.
If his own yard had a small section of ling veins, it was possible there were more ling veins in the Wu Kong Mountains. Every section of ling veins were very valuable, even the thinnest ling vein.
Even though West Wind Valley had been assigned to him, but ling fields, especially high grade ling fields were in short supply. Just his master’s place, it needed large amounts of ling fields to support. The price of high grade materials were just way too expensive.
