World of Cultivation - Volume 03 - Seeking Survival On A Desolate Island
Page 25
The presence of Zhang Hao’s ultimate attack had alarmed everyone.
The Head was going all out?
How was it possible?
That was the first response from the Black Wind Bandits. They couldn’t wrap their heads around it. Who could force the Head use all his power?
Just as they were shocked, they heard Zhang Hao’s angry bellow. Everyone realized that Head really was fighting with all his power!
The Black Wind Bandits did not hesitate to fly towards the bellow.
———
At this time, Bo Feng who was looking from far away suddenly gasped, his eyes lighting up, “Zhang Hao is going all out!”
Gui Feng was slightly startled. Chang Heng did not speak, but the light that increased in his eyes revealed his surprise. The two became even more wary of Bo Feng’s unmeasurable strength. The entire Desolate Wood Reef was tightly locked down. They were very far away and could not see a thing.
It was terrifying that Bo Feng could judge so accurately.
However, Zhang Zhao was going all out … …
The sentence quickly filled their thoughts. When had Zuo Mo become so strong that he could force Zhang Hao to fight at full power? The two of them were not Zuo Mo. In the period of time they had followed Bo Feng, they had constantly tracked the Black Wind Bandits and were clear regarding how strong Zhang Hao was.
Gui Feng and Chang Heng knew. The other thirty six xiuzhe also knew.
None of the other analysis’ that Bo Feng did were as effective as this one sentence.
A zhuji had truly forced Zhang Hao to fight at full power!
———
So many people could feel Zhang Hao was going all out, so Zuo Mo, who was closest, could he not feel it? But at this time, he didn’t have the energy to spare to think. All of his attention was on this series of attacks.
As the red sword energy sliced down, Zuo Mo’s vision was entirely red. That suffocating presence would make one tremble instinctively.
Zuo Mo did not tremble.
Completely in battle mode, there was no joy nor sorrow in his heart, no emotion at all. His mind was clear and could detect any change within five zhang of him.
He suddenly understood.
[Little Thousand Leaf Hands] must be used with [Great Thousand Leaf Hands] to be able to reach its maximum power.
Every hand motion of the spiritual leaf hand flowed across his mind. He was like a bystander, silently savouring the profound changes embodied in each hand movement.
It seemed to be a long time, but it was just a short instant.
The lightning of [Yang Fiendish Hard Lightning] was as thick as an arm, twisting and giving off a faint red light.
Zhang Hao’s sword energy was another kind of red, a bloody red that carried hints of black.
The two powerful red lights accurately clashed!
Boom!
A little sun suddenly formed between Zuo Mo and Zhang Hao.
———
The Black Wind Bandits that had rushed over were blinded by the light and stopped in their tracks. Some weaker xiuzhe wailed and covered their eyes.
Ding ding ding!
Messy chimes suddenly sounded.
Pew pew pew!
A bloody hole had suddenly exploded on the chest of several of the Black Wind Bandits.
[Micro Void Arrow] of the [Skyring Moon Chime Formation]!
Lil’ Pagoda was controlling the Skyring Moon Chime Formation and had grasped the rhythm perfectly. The flash of Zhang Hao and Zuo Mo’s attacks had lit up without warning. Many of the Black Wind Bandits had been caught unaware and Lil’ Pagoda’s [Micro Void Arrow] was clearly a level higher than Zuo Mo.
Seeing a big hole explode in the chest of their compatriots, the other Black Wind Bandits paled!
Only now did they remember they were on dangerous grounds!
The Skyring Moon Chime Formation had previously given off a feeling of a turtle formation and had not shown any offensive qualities. This had caused them to slightly relax. That level of relaxation wasn’t enough to be fatal originally, but when the news that Zhang Hao was in danger was passed to them, their instructive choice made this relaxation quickly grow.
Any little change could cause an avalanche of responses.
The Five Colored Pagoda was Zuo Mo’s soul-tethered talisman and could be considered Zuo Mo’s second mind. What Zuo Mo knew, it also knew; Zuo Mo’s viciousness and cunning meant that the Pagoda’s wasn’t any less.
———
Zuo Mo felt the leaf hand suddenly shake. A trembling came from deep within his soul. Everything around him suddenly became blurred.
His spirit had been wounded!
At this time, the turbulence of his energies passed into his heart.
Splat!
Uncontrollably he spat out a mouthful of blood.
How could it easy to take in a full-power attack from a ningmai?
Zuo Mo’s state of mind could not avoid being affected by the injury to his consciousness. The terrifying presence given off by the combined sword energy and the Yang Fiendish Hard Lightning made him instinctively fearful!
He wanted to turn and run!
But he forcefully pushed down the impulse and terror inside, his finger quickly drawing in the air.
[Void Pass] of [Little Thousand Leaf Hands]!
The sword essence and lightning that had charged towards him made a strange turn and brushed dangerously past his body.
At the same time, another part of Zuo Mo’s mind controlled the sword energies of the Wu Kong Flag!
———
Zhang Hao looked much worse off than Zuo Mo. [Yang Fiend’s Hard Lightning] was fourth-grade. Even though Zuo Mo’s power was limited, but the strangeness of the attack method was extremely effective against Zhang Hao.
At the moment the sword energy and the Yang Fiendish Hard Lightning struck each other, he was injured like Zuo Mo!
At that time, his injuries were much less severe than Zuo Mo. The two were too close. He knew that Zuo Mo received heavier wounds and probably did not have the power to attack. Such a good chance to retreat, would he waste it?
In any case, Zuo Mo was already wounded. The rest could be left for his brothers to do! Zuo Mo’s endless bag of strange tricks had created a psychological shadow in him. He wanted to retreat.
Zhang Hao, who had decided to retreat, his expression suddenly changed!
Gathering his remaining strength, he barely managed to pull the heavy sword in front of him.
Clap clap clap!
Three sharp notes heavily struck his flying sword. It was Lil’ Pagod taking advantage to ambush him.
If he was uninjured, the three [Micro Void Arrows] would just be a minor threat to him, but being heavily injured he had almost staggered and fell to the ground.
This was like the start of a nightmare.
Zhang Hao, who wanted to leave the fight to find his fellows, discovered three blue chains came out of nowhere lightning fast and latched onto him.
He instantly lost his mind!
[Dragon Tying Formation], [Three Talent Sword Formation], [Dipper Formation] … …
All third-grade formations. He could see it was all formations released by formation disks. The power was not strong. Usually, Zhang Hao wouldn’t pay attention, but right now, they were messengers of death!
How many formation disks had this guy thrown out … …
Zhang Hao’s face was black as mud!
But he was a wise man and knew he did not have an avenue of retreat now.
The ball of light behind him could explode at any time. If he was hit by the ripples, he didn’t have a chance of survival.
Eyes red, Zhang Hao stumbled and forced his way through the formations with his heavy sword, disregarding his wounds.
He was covered in blood, his clothing torn!
Finally out!
As the thought appeared, a sharp and dense sword energy took over his vision.
His eyes
only saw snowy white. He could almost see a snowy white dragon proudly swaying!
* * *
Translator Ramblings: Lil’ Pagoda shows how cunning it is.
Fang Xiang plays with tropes and breaks the typical mold. The best example I can think of at the moment is Pu. Pu is the omniscient-master-grandfather-archetype that is found in a lot of other stories. However, he’s quite different because he doesn’t always help Zuo Mo, and drags him down. His actions of taking away jingshi can irritate people, and his attitude is terrible. Additionally, he fails. The best comparison I can give is Yao Lao from Battle Through The Heavens. That person is a great mentor who really aids in cultivation, provides knowledge, and can make money, while Pu provides (dangerous and sometimes useless) knowledge, takes money away from his host, and hampers Zuo Mo’s cultivation. Also, I don’t think I’ve read about a powerful and knowledgeable archetype be unable to make money. It’s quite ironic considering how important jingshi is to the story and the main character that Zuo Mo’s “golden finger” can’t make money directly for him like in other stories. Other characters get into bidding fights at auctions and throw money around while Zuo Mo counts his “pennies.”
Chapter 191: The First Battle of the Yin Fire Bead
Zhang Hao was sliced in two by the ice dragon sword essence.
Zuo Mo couldn’t suppress his injuries anymore and spat out another mouthful of blood!
That amazing ice dragon sword essence had not been cast by him directly, but through him using countless sword energies to construct it. The copycat sword essence was not very pure but the power was not something Zuo Mo could reach himself. The sword energies of Wu Kong Flag came from jindan experts and were extraordinary.
Already on the last of his strength Zhang Hao did not muster a response to the sword strike.
Zuo Mo wiped the blood from his mouth. His body was deathly tired. Using the sword formation while injured was his limit.
He grinned, a bit of madness flashed through his eyes.
So what if he was ningmai? Fight with ge, ge‘ll kill you!
Glancing at the corpse on the ground, Zuo Mo thought for a moment and then took it into his ring. This guy probably had a lot of good things. However, it wasn’t time to view his spoils, Zuo Mo thought regretfully.
He must first resolve the ball of light!
Zhang Hao’s sword energy and the [Yang Fiendish Hard Lightning] had merged into a ball of light. He really did not understand it. However, he didn’t have the time to ponder it. If this thing exploded, all of Desolate Wood Reef would probably be flattened.
The ball of light was like a miniature sun. Zuo Mo could clearly sense the terrifying ling power contained inside.
His little heart jerked and beat rapidly. He hurriedly asked, “Pu, what to do with this?”
“Run!” Pu Yao’s response did not contain anything unnecessary. He sighed helplessly, “I’m too weak now, and can’t even deal with a little thing like this,” He sounded very reflective.
Even Pu Yao couldn’t deal with it … …
Zuo Mo’s heart froze, his mouth volleying, “Aren’t you a Sky Yao?”
Pu Yao smirked, “It’s not there are no ways, there just aren’t any you could use.”
Zuo Mo paused. Did he really have to run?
But on this vast expanse of ocean, where could he run? Even if he had just killed Zhang Hao, the other side still had four more ningmai. He definitely would not be able to escape.
No, there had to be a way … … There definitely had to be a way!
Zuo Mo said to himself.
The “miniature sun” shook slightly. Even the ripples it gave off was frightening. The close he went, the more Zuo Mo’s heart shook.
Inside was a brutal ling power that could explode at any time!
Such a waste of ling power! Zuo Mo wanted to criticize Zhang Hao’s wastefulness. This absurd thought suddenly turned to a stroke of lightning.
Ling power!
This light ball contained ling power and hard lightning!
Wasn’t this an enormous jingshi? Except this jingshi was slightly dangerous … …
He opened his eyes as he had an daring idea.
The trembling of the “miniature sun” seemed to increase. It was becoming less stable.
Zuo Mo’s heart shook. The time did not allow him to think more. The idea he just had was bold but at least he could see hope.
Different materials appeared on his hands, his speed at maximum. He wanted to have a few extra pairs of hands as he furiously set up formations.
———
The expressions of the Black Wind Bandits were both shocked and suspicious. They all stopped moving.
The Head’s presence had completely disappeared!
After that earth-shaking impact, Head’s presence had completely disappeared.
Had the Head been killed?
This absurd idea was like a poisonous viper that slowly corroded their remaining courage.
The big formation still existed. If the Head had won, the formation definitely would have broken. Head’s presence had disappeared, but the big formation was still present … …
Realizing that Zhang Hao was in trouble, every person’s first response was to go give aid. Yet, knowing that Zhang Hao had been killed in battle, their first response was flee!
———
In the blink of an eye, Zuo Mo had finished setting up a formation.
What he set up was a Four-Turn fire formation, one that used the light ball as a replacement for jingshi. This idea was incredibly daring. The light ball was extremely unstable and could explode at any time. From any perspective, this idea was preposterous.
It might have been the stimulation of danger that caused Zuo Mo’s thoughts to be usually clear.
He swept the fire formation quickly. No mistakes! He released a breath and then his eyes became serious. Reaching out with his right hand, he started to draw in space.
The second move of [Little Thousand Leaf Hands], [Leaf Birth]!
In empty space, a green character of light took form. Immediately, the character shattered and the green pieces of broken light merged into the fire formation.
The green pieces of light were like seeds which rapidly germinated and grew.
In the blink of an eye, the fire formation was crowded with patches of green leaves. What was miraculous was that the unstable ball of light seemed to become more stable, not giving off the feeling of danger any longer.
Zuo Mo finally released a breath!
The fire formation started to turn.
The restless ling power from the light ball was absorbed by the leaves, and turned to an endless and continuous steady flow of ling power.
Zuo Mo wiped the sweat off his head. He had been extremely nervous just now. If he had made the smallest mistake, this close to the ball of light, not even ashes would remain of him. Even Pu Yao hadn’t dared to disturb him then.
It was the first time he used [Little Thousand Leaf Hands] with formations. From the present result, it seemed he had succeeded!
After learning [Void Pass], Zuo Mo had learned [Leaf Birth]. In Zuo Mo’s mind, [Leaf Birth] had been an extremely useless spell. Its only effect was to regulate chaotic flows of ling power.
If he could regulate the ling power of his opponent then it meant he could resolve the other’s attack. It was a pity that this [Leaf Birth] could only be used on the ling power existing in the world and did not belong to anything. The ling power of the light ball came from Zhang Hao, but Zhang Hao was dead so this connection had disappeared, making it orphaned ling power. Zuo Mo’s [Yang Fiendish Hard Lightning] was just taking and using ling power that existed in the environment.
Zuo Mo had never expected that the most useless move of the three moves of [Little Thousand Leaf Hands] would save his life!
Killing a strong enemy, staying alive after a tribulation, the joy of success, and the fear … …
Several emotions were tied together, the feeling
was indescribable.
The bright red lines of fire crossed in the air. While heat rolled away from it, Zuo Mo’s heart suddenly moved and he had another idea.
Why didn’t he use the opportunity to temper the Buddha Sound Hoop? The BuddhaSound Hoop was almost complete. If it could be successfully tempered, then power of the big formation would definitely increase.
Looking at the bright orange moon, it might have been killing Zhang Hao or merging [Little Thousand Leaf Hands] with formations, but his confidence had grown. Beckoning with his hand, the Buddha Sound Hoop flew into the fire formation.
The bright red fire was like a furious wild beast continuously gnawing on the copper hoop.
Zuo Mo glanced at it and shook his head. The grade of the flame that was in the fire formation was too low. The grade of the Buddha Sound Hoop was not low and it was hard to temper.
He suddenly thought of the Golden Crow Fire he possessed and face palmed. He was too dumb to have forgotten about such a good thing!
The Golden Crow Fire was the finest of fourth-grade flames and it had a very beneficial quality of being able to easily merge to other flames. The price of Golden Crow Fire wasn’t low, but Zuo Mo knew how to create it and naturally would not be frugal.
He threw nine mini boxes into the formation.
As expected, the power of the fire formation increased with the addition of nine wisps of Golden Crow Fire. A hint of pure gold appeared in the red fire. The Buddha Sound Hoop which had been still finally showed signs of finishing tempering.
The rest required time.
Zuo Mo looked closely for a while and made sure they wouldn’t be any problems before he turned to leave.
He shoved a large handful of lingdan into his mouth. The ling power inside his body shook. However, Zuo Mo still could feel the weakness from the heavy damage to his body under the fullness of his ling power. It was not wise to use medicinal power to suppress wounds. However, the battle was far from finished. He knew it was harmful to his body but still did it.