World of Cultivation - Volume 03 - Seeking Survival On A Desolate Island

by Fang Xiang

  To have been smashed by a guy wearing Ten Thousand Appearances Gloves … …

  He shook and woke up.

  But when his eyes flashed across the snake pupil that was so cold and emotionless on the belt that the golden scaled warriors were wearing, his body uncontrollably tensed again!

  Snake Pupil Belt!

  … …

  His eyes unconsciously landed on the pair of feet closest to him. The slightly delicate boots were slightly strange being paired with the glittering golden armor. But, when Ma Fan’s gaze landed on the little sword on the shoes and the Big Dipper surrounding it, he only had one thought in his head

  ––It really was troublesome now!

  “Don’t just look. Just sit up.”

  A very young voice came from behind him. He hurriedly rolled up.

  He saw an expressionless face. It really was expressionless. The entire face seemed to be paralyzed. He had never seen such a strange face before. The thin body, with this wooden face, it looked like a zombie. However, this “zombie” was covered in valuable talismans. Ma Fan instantly woke up. He had heard before that many elders would have all kinds of strange habits and preferences.

  But the young xiuzhe next to the “zombie” was quite delicate, a slight smile on his face. He looked very friendly.

  “What are you called?” The zombie opened.

  “Ma Fan.”

  “As in troublesome?”

  Having expected the other’s response, Ma Fan hurriedly explained, “Ma as in sesame, fan for ordinary.”

  “Oh,” The zombie slightly paused. “Why are you guys fighting?”

  Zuo Mo pretended to be profound.

  “Elder, they want to steal our ling grains.” Ma Fan didn’t dare to conceal.

  “Ling grains?” Zuo Mo was very surprised. He had made his living from farming ling grains for several years but had never heard people fighting over ling grains.

  “Yes.” Ma Fan perceptively detected the disbelief in Zuo Mo’s voice and explained, “Elder may not know. After the yao army passed through, for some reason, the ling energy in the jie has gradually decreased. Not only has cultivation has become difficult to progress, but after a period of time, our stages may actually go down.”

  Zuo Mo hurriedly channeled his ling power and found that it was as Ma Fan had said. The surrounding ling energy was very thin. He had the mo matrix which would automatically take in ling energy from the surroundings which was why did he had not detected it. Also, Gongsun Cha was obsessed with War Chess and Chun Yu Cheng with his animals, the Golden Armor Guards did not need to cultivate, so their procession had not discovered the change in the ling energy.

  Zuo Mo suddenly shuddered in shock.

  * * *

  Translator Ramblings:

  Ma Fan (麻凡) is very similar to the Chinese term for trouble. Fang Xiang seemed really fond of this pun in this chapter.

  Little Mountain Jie is a small jie and so is Sky Moon. There are intermediate sized jie and large ones like Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie. Zuo Mo is on a whole new map but he is still in the beginner stage. Some also call this part of the story one of the best parts … … not my personal favorite … …

  I really marvel at how short World of Cultivation really is compared to a lot of the stories going on at the moment. Some stories might take 1-5 years depending on how fast a person writes. In terms of sheer productivity, Chinese web-novel writers are pretty crazy, especially those who do it part-time. There are hundreds of people churning out novels more than hundreds of thousands of characters every year, but part of it are writing differences. Chinese authors narrate and describe using more adjectives and idioms than English writers. Something that means shocked can be a four-character term and all of this adds up. In this story, I’m going to get sick of translating how soft, feminine, shy and bashful Gongsun Cha’s face is.

  Chapter 210: Collapse of Order

  For the longest time, ling grains had always been used to improve the body and as an aid to increase cultivation speed. Other than that, only those xiuzhe who were heading to Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie would use them.

  Due to this, the price of ling grains was low and very steady in the long term. Otherwise, Zuo Mo would have already become rich.

  But right now, the ling energy density at Little Mountain Jie had become low, and the importance of ling grains had instantly become evident. Jingshi, lingdan and ling grains were the only items able to supply ling energy. The ling power contained in jingshi was rich, but the impurities it contained needed to be purified and could not be used in the long term. Lingdan was made with all kinds of ling herbs and ling materials, so the cost was too high.

  The ling energy in the ling foods were not just easy to absorb but did not harm the body. If used for a long time, it could even slowly change the body. Ling grains were the most widely used and basic ingredient in ling foods. Even normal xiuzhe that did not know how to make ling food could easily consume it.

  Many thoughts appeared in Zuo Mo’s head.

  Little Mountain Jie’s ling energy had become thin after the yao army had passed through. Without a doubt, it was the fault of the yao army. However, even though he knew this desolation was caused by the yao army, Zuo Mo had to sigh with amazement at the strength of the yao army. Little Mountain Jie might be a small jie, but to be able to change the ling energy of a jie, this power was enough to make him look up with reverence..

  Other than admiration, he started to think of the related problems this matter would cause.

  Long ago when he had been farming ling grains, due to listening to the sound tablet frequently, he gradually learned how to follow the threads through the complex and numerous news reports to find the useful information . He knew he was only a little character. If he was going to survive in this troubled world, he needed to learn how to avoid dangers.

  If the situation worsened, Little Mountain Jie would become a place like Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie. A place with no ling energy was a terrible place for xiuzhe, and Little Mountain Jie would quickly become the playground of the yaomo.

  Zuo Mo didn’t know what the yaomo had done, nor did he know if the change of ling energy could be reversed. If this change could be reversed that would be good, but if it could not be then the situation of the xiuzhe would be terrible! Under an environment without any ling energy, the offensive power of the xiuzhe would dramatically lessen, and the yaomo would become fish in the water. If this became the case, the disadvantages of the xiuzhe would continuously increase. The yaomo would only need to corrode one jie at a time, and the xiuzhe had to retreat.

  Damn it!

  Zuo Mo felt his heartbeat was increasing.

  Alright, he was worrying for nothing. Those large sects wouldn’t stand aside. Thousands of years ago, the xiuzhe had won over the yaomo. They could do it again this time!

  Zuo Mo comforted himself so.

  His thoughts turned back to himself. The great affairs of the world were nothing to him. It was more practical to focus more his efforts on his little life.

  The price of ling plant farmers was going to grow. At least, he didn’t have to worry about starving … … this thought flashed through his head.

  The order of Little Mountain Jie would completely collapse. He had to quickly leave this place.

  He had deeply experienced the ineffectiveness of individual strength on the front lines of battle. He couldn’t affect the battle, he couldn’t even decide his own life.

  In troubled times, lives were nothing.

  ———

  Ma Fan’s heart was fearful. The zombie elder had become silent. He felt the air in front of him had solidified, an invisible pressure making him tremble. He could clearly hear the increasing rate of his heartbeat. His mouth was drying.

  “Why don’t you all leave Little Mountain Jie?” The zombie elder suddenly asked.

  Zuo Mo finally spoke, and Ma Fan no longer felt he was suffocating.

  “Elder, it’s not that we do not want to
leave Little Mountain Jie, but the jie river towards Sky Water Jie has been under someone’s control. If we want to pass, we needed to pay enough jingshi and ling grains.”

  Zuo Mo instantly realized. He couldn’t help but think that these people were much more vicious than he was. Little Mountain Jie only had two jie rivers, one to Sky Moon Jie, one towards Sky Water Jie.

  Blockading the jie river towards Sky Water Jie, Little Mountain Jie instantly became a dead end. No one would dare to go to Sky Moon Jie.

  “No one has tried to kill their way out?”

  Ma Fan grimaced. “Controlling the Sky Water jie river is the strongest sect in the jie, Clear Sky Sect.”

  Hearing this, Zuo Mo shook his head. This wasn’t the way to do business.

  To do business, there was a relationship of mutual gain. What was traded was jingshi, but what this Clear Sky Sect wanted was lives. Half of the responsibility for the collapse of order in Little Mountain Jie could be blamed on Clear Sky Sect and what they were pushing from the shadows. The xiuzhe that could not escape Little Mountain Jie and could only continuously fight and steal both jingshi and ling grains from other people. Everyone would think that when they had stolen enough, they could escape this place.

  As for the people remaining, there was only one outcome.

  Zuo Mo didn’t feel anything guilt about profiteering from war, but what Clear Sky Sect had done was enough for him to feel cold.

  Clear Sky Sect’s actions of pushing people to the edge of death was like playing with fire. If they were not careful, they could also fall in. However, from the outside, it was also possible to see their absolute confidence.

  Of course, Zuo Mo was not so carefree as to worry about the life and death of other people. Clear Sky Sect was blockading the jie river, and so was stopping their road to leave Little Mountain Jie.

  Would Clear Sky Sect allow him to leave? Not possible. Clear Sky Sect had no relationship with him, would they let go of the chance to get rich?

  As to making it through by force? That was even more unlikely.

  Gongsun Cha might have been very relaxed in directing the golden armor guards to sort out the ten or so xiuzhe, but the power that large sects like Clear Sky Sect had was not something so few people that they had could face.

  Give jingshi?

  Zuo Mo did have jingshi, but he felt that in other people’s eyes, he was definitely a fat sheep. If it was him who saw such a fat sheep, there was no reason not to squeeze everything he could. How could they be content with just jingshi?

  Zuo Mo quickly vetoed that plan.

  Then, there was only one remaining way, kill his way through them! If he was going to kil, it wasn’t possible with just the three of them. Then, he needed to expand the strength he had. He needed a power that the other could not dismiss. Clear Sky Sect definitely would not get in a conflict with him to the point both sides were wounded and suffered significant losses. It was very simple. Zuo Mo had nothing, but Clear Sky Sect was waiting and raking in jingshi.

  Ma Fan would never think that his few words had caused so many thoughts to flashed through Zuo Mo’s mind.

  Zuo Mo asked for some of the general information regarding Sky Water jie river. As expected, the Sky Water jie river was unable to be penetrated under Clear Sky Sect’s management. It also killed off his last hope. Originally, he had thought about passing under the water of the jie river by the date seed ship.

  Zuo Mo was going to ask Gongsun Shidi’s opinion, but when he saw Gongsun Shidi’s excitement and fanaticism, he already knew the answer.

  This extreme militant!

  Muttering inside he found Pu Yao, “Is there a way to make them listen to me?”

  Pu Yao’s bloody pupil flashed and he snickered, “There’s very many. What you xiuzhe use the most is jinzhi.”

  “Jinzhi?” Zuo Mo asked curiously.

  “This isn’t strange.” Pu Yao said. “This is mostly used on xiu slaves, but some strict sects would use them on their disciples to stop the disciples from betraying them.”

  “So scary!” Zuo Mo shook. He could not imagine that he needed to be implanted with jinzhi when he entered a sect.

  “Do you want that method?”

  “Yes.”

  Zuo Mo only hesitated for a beat before deciding to take it. If it wasn’t their death, it was his, there was nothing to say. First, get past the jie river. Jinzhi were not moral, but it was the most effective method right now. There was no time for him to waste.

  Zuo Mo didn’t want to be still in Little Mountain Jie when the yao army returned.

  Pu Yao was strangely brisk this time, teaching Zuo Mo several kinds of jinzhi.

  It was not that easy to use jinzhi, especially to Zuo Mo who was only first stratum ningmai. He spent some effort before he barely managed to learn it. This was due to his exceptional consciousness. Otherwise, jinzhi were not something he could use.

  The pitiful Ma Fan became the first experiment.

  ———

  Just as Zuo Mo was trying his best to put down jinzhi on the unconscious xiuzhe, Pu Yao revealed an amused expression in the sea of consciousness.

  “You must also have great anticipation!” His chin was propped up in his hand, his eerie bloody eye deep as a bloody sea, as he lightly said to the gravestone. “So practical! Really makes one admire him more and more! He is destined not to walk your path … … you stupid self-destructive f***er!”

  The gravestone was silent and motionless.

  ———

  When the last jinzhi was put in, Zuo Mo was exhausted. He put jinzhi in all the ningmai. In total, there were sixteen people.

  “The remainder is all down to you.” Finishing, Zuo Mo, whose consciousness and ling power had all been used up, instantly took a piece of jingshi and entered meditation.

  “No problem!” Gongsun Cha raised his handsome and feminine face, smiling and revealing his teeth. An excited light was in his eyes.

  At the side, Ma Fan felt a burst of coldness start at his tailbone and climb up his spine.

  ———

  Sky Moon Jie, Desolate Wood Reef.

  “Miss, Yan Yue of the Thirteenth Corps has already reached the jie river towards Bright Wave. The Jin Bao Zheng of the Sixth Corps has reached the jie river to South Beauty Jie. On the road, the two troops have not found any suspicious targets.” The middle aged man respectfully reported.

  “They’ve moved pretty quickly.” Mu Xi said faintly. “The net has already been cast. The remainder is to slowly search. Be more attentive.”

  “Yes!” The middle aged person sternly responded. He hesitated, and then said, “Miss, we’ve found signs of mo activity.”

  “Mo?” At the side, Yan Feng’s expression changed slightly, and he shouted.

  Mu Xi’s gaze slightly narrowed. She raised her head to ask, “Have they determined who it is?”

  “To be able to go through the Blood Jie cracks , it can only be mo under brigadier.” The shock on Yan Feng’s face did not disappear. “Which Moon Mo colonel? Why did he come? Does he have the same goal as us?”

  “Why is it not possible?” Mu Xi glanced at Yan Feng. “You’ve missed a possibility. For example, a true mo brigadier that has sealed their own power.”

  The face of the middle-aged person changed.

  “Instantly make an investigation.” Mu Xi said decisively. “Even if he is a true mo brigadier, do not worry. It would be best to establish communication with him. Maybe he could help us.”

  “Yes,” The middle-aged man accepted his orders.

  Seeing the worry on her subordinate’s face, Mu Xi smiled. “Don’t worry too much, no matter if it is a moon mo colonel, or a true mo brigadier, they have the same enemy as us.”

  Mu Xi’s features could only be called clean, but this smile seemed to have a special power to make others calm down.

  “Miss is right,” The middle-aged man said with a smile.

  Translator Ramblings:

  It’s karma, that’s what it i
s.Sky Moon Jie is now completely closed off.

  Chapter 211: Trash and Poor Ghosts

  Zuo Mo looked at the dozen or so unfamiliar faces in front of him. Some of the people were terrified, but more of them were rebellious.

  He was thinking about ways that he could control this group. Presently, Little Mountain Jie was like a cage, a gladiator stadium, the surviving xiuzhe were not average.

  “From today onwards I am your Boss, the Big Boss!”

  Zuo Mo’s opening did not stir any reaction. Scorn was in most people’s eyes. Zuo Mo had just a one stratum ningmai cultivation. In front of these people, he didn’t have any qualities that he could be proud about.

  Zuo Mo didn’t pay any mind to this, and kept on speaking.

  “I believe you have all had a taste of the jinzhi. I don’t want to spend more time talking. My goal is very simple, to go through the jie river. As for you trash and poor ghosts, you have nothing to be squeezed out so I don’t have much interest in you.”

  The words were nasty to hear, but many people’s wariness lowered.

  The expressionless person in front of them did have the qualification to say this. That date seed ship was clearly a rare jingshi talismans, a row of seven cinnabar-pattern blue spikes as sharp as teeth, clearly from an crocodile maw. They could smell faint traces of blood from the teeth. The long and elegant body of the ship was surrounded by a ling shield that occasionally flashed with lightning as it wrapped tightly around the ship.

  Each person couldn’t help but drool when they saw the grand talismans and flying swords the three Golden Armor Guards were wearing. If it wasn’t that they had jinzhi in their bodies, these people who have leapt at the opportunity regardless of the risk.

  Even the richest person in the group was too embarrassed to open his hundred treasures pouch when facing such a grand scene.

  “I hope everyone can have happy interactions. Of course, with your present skill level is hard to make me happy.” Zuo Mo was full of scorn and disdain. “Look at all of you fighting so messily, even worse than wandering bandits, no finesse at all. From today onwards you all have to remember one thing.Gang fighting requires high finesse and is skilled work!”