by Fang Xiang
The moment Dai Tao met the eyes of the black crows, his mind turned completely blank.
A desolate, cold, and vast presence came at him. His mind was actually stolen for a moment.
Zuo Mo's expression was focused and his eyes completely void of emotion. This was the first time he was using a shen technique and it took all of the shen power in his body.
From the beginning, he knew that the Ten Crow Celestial Domain would not be an actual threat to fanxu xiuzhe.
He was counting on the shen technique.
The shen techniques that had been lost by the passage of time had astounding power. Compared to the complex and exquisite methods of the three major systems at this time, shen techniques could be called simple. But this word 'simple' only applied to Zuo Mo now that he had finally set foot into the doorway to shen power. Before he had comprehended the Great Peeace Mo Stele, he had never successfully completed a shen technique.
But after comprehending it, the manipulation of shen power came naturally.
The ancient shen techniques were simple and ancient but held great power. Even in this era where cultivation was so developed, it was enough for the top xiuzhe to feel jealousy.
The power of shen techniques originated from shen power.
Zuo Mo had two shen power inheritances. One was the Greenvine Tribe's inheritance that Qing Lin had given him. The other was the Sun Tribe's shen power inheritance. Zuo Mo had studied the shen power inheritance of the Sun Tribe.
The Ten Crow Celestial Domain and the sun shen power could be used together. After the fight against Marshal Yu, Zuo Mo had spent a lot of effort to merge shen power into the transformations of his Ten Crow Celestial Domain.
With his present amount of shen power, he could not use shen power to fight a full battle like the totems in the ancient era.
Even using the most elementary shen techniques, the shen power inside him would be quickly used up.
For the present Zuo Mo, the shen techniques were his trump card!
Ji Zheng hadn't thought that Zuo Mo would use a killing move immediately.
Because when one looked at the situation, Ji Zheng was the one at a disadvantage. However, after the fight against Marshal Yu, Zuo Mo understood the great gap between him and fanxu or marshals.
If it hadn't been for the Anti Dragon Claw and the Sun Crystal Seed acting up during that fight, he definitely did not qualify to fight against Marshal Yu. He had advanced greatly in the period of time since, but there was still a large gap between him and a fanxu, much less fanxu like Ji Zheng who had been at this level for so many years.
Zuo Mo had judged his own abilities correctly from the start.
His strategy was effective!
Shen technique, [Crow Eye]!
The legends said in the ancient Sun Tribe, what they liked to raise the most were black fire crows with red eyes. These fire crows were vicious and wary, and when they flew, it was like an arrow. Their wings would cut the air causing a high pitched and piercing sound. The sound acted as an alarm for the tribe.
The ten black crows in the air suddenly spread their wings and the light in their dark red eyes brightened. An extremely dissonant sound pierced the eardrums and penetrated people's heads.
Under the strange piercing sound, the ling power around him uncontrollably froze for a moment!
Ji Zheng's expression on that golden face finally changed.
After entering fanxu, the ling power inside his body had become one with him and he had rid himself of all mortal thoughts. His dhyana heart was clear and open without any distractions. He had almost reached the limit of dhyana cultivation. Even if he was swarmed by ten thousand ghosts and had to enter the cycle of rebirth, the ling power inside his body would not separate at all from his physical body and mind.
In such a case, how could his ling power go out of control?
While Ji Zheng's mind was stunned, the ten black crows in the air suddenly flapped their wings and dove down at Ji Zheng.
Woosh woosh woosh!
Balls of dark red flames suddenly appeared from their toes and quickly covered their bodies. The three slender golden feathers on their foreheads dropped off and floated around them.
The ten dark red streams of light were like ten arrowheads pointing directly at Ji Zheng.
Shen technique!
Ji Zheng's pupils suddenly contracted. When he realized what this was, the ten flows of dark red light almost reached him!
The eerie dark red of the black crows' eyes captured people's minds and caused a chill to run through their minds.
A feeling of danger that almost consumed him caused every thread of ling power in Ji Zheng's body to respond unconsciously.
The power of a fanxu finally was shown at the moment of death!
The [Mortal Thought Beads] that had been hanging from Ji Zheng's neck exploded. Grey mist fell down towards the ten dark red streams of fire.
At this moment of life and death, Ji Zheng did not hesitate to sacrifice the treasure he had forged through many decades!
When the first flowing fire black crow blurred, into the grey mist, it seemed to land in a bog and its speed quickly decreased.
Pew pew pew!
The ten crows all entered the grey mist.
When the grey mist came into contact with the flames around the crows, it was like adding cold water to boiling oil and exploded!
Pia pia pia!
The force from the rattle and pops, like that of fireworks, rushed towards people so quickly they couldn't breathe.
The grey mist immediately disappeared.
Ji Zheng's expression was grave but without any pain. His eyes were bright as his hands moved. In a moment, he went from the angrily glaring vajrapani to a venerable one holding a flower!
His brow was gentle, his smile as warm as the spring wind. The murderousness immediately dissipated.
The lotus flower in his hand was tender and beautiful.
Petals fell off the flower and floated towards those fast-approaching black crows.
But these seemingly slow flower petals managed to stop these black crows.
At this time, the cool moon essence that had been motionless, as if it had been waiting, broke free of the heavily damaged grey mist without any warning and shot at Ji Zheng.
This came in a flash!
The slowly revolving sea of sutra characters around Ji Zheng suddenly formed a wave of sutra characters that stopped this cool moon essence.
Almost at the same time, a light flashed through Ceng Lian'er's eyes.
Under the crescent moon, her long sleeves danced!
Pia, the moon essence that had been stopped by the sutra characters suddenly exploded!
The cool moon essence started from within the sutra character sea and spread at a rapid rate!
In a moment, the sutra character sea was covered in frost!
[Moon Frost Essence]!
Shen technique!
Another shen technique!
Ji Zheng's heart jumped and his expression changed again.
How was it possible?
How was it possible!
When Zuo Mo had cast his shen technique, Ji Zheng had been shocked but was able to face it calmly. But when he discovered that Ceng Lian'er could also use shen techniques, he was completely stunned.
How was it possible!
While the four great sects were still trying to recover shen power, there were two people here that were able to use shen techniques!
What he didn't know was that Ceng Lian'er's shen power inheritance was more complete than Zuo Mo's. After restoring the most important part, Ceng Lian'er's Moon Shen power inheritance was complete.
She also had cultivated shen techniques!
His mind became unfocused, Ji Zheng showed a weakness!
The frost was like a poison that infected the sutra characters. All of the sutra characters were destroyed and became countless cool moon energies.
The [Sutra Sea Kasaya] that Ji Zheng wore also di
mmed. It became as grey as withered leaves and slowly crumbled.
In an instant, two eighth-grade treasures were lost but Ji Zheng could not attend to them.
At this crucial moment, a five colored treasure wheel appeared and managed to stop the moon frost. On the treasure wheel, five colors cycled endlessly as it stopped the frost essence. This was Dai Tao coming to the rescue in time.
Eighth-grade talisman [Five Element Manifestation Wheel]!
This talisman had been originally crafted when Dai Tao had still been a roaming xiu. After he entered Xuan Kong Temple, he studied the sutras and reforged it.
The treasure wheels had five colors that belonged to the five elements. There was a different venerable one within each of the elements.
The Five Element Manifestation Wheel stopped the frost essence. The five elements circulated and dissipated the power of the moon frost.
Ji Zheng relaxed slightly. If they could endure the enemy's attack, they could take back the initiative! He had never expected that they could cultivate shen techniques. Caught off guard, he had been unprepared. But now, countless records flashed across his mind.
Shen techniques were dominant but they also require great expenditure of shen power. The other would not have the endurance.
Wait … …
An eerie shadow suddenly flashed across Ji Zheng's mind. He was alarmed. There was one other person … …
Not good!
Suddenly, a strange power silently entered his body from his back!
Ji Zheng's expression changed!
Dai Tao's expression also changed!
A Gui appeared behind Ji Zheng like a ghost. Purple energy was visible on her right palm as she pressed it to his back.
From the beginning when A Gui had disappeared, she had not appeared until now. Only appearing to deliver a fatal attack.
Ji Zheng's body shook and the golden color on his face faded at a visible rate.
At this time, the flower petals stopping the black crow burned up and turned to ash.
There were three black crows left!
Red light flashed through the three black crows. They turned into three streams of light that accurately hit Ji Zheng who had lost the protection of the sutra sea.
Ji Zheng's body abruptly started to burn. No one noticed that the nine slender golden feathers around the black crows entered Ji Zheng's body like needles.
"Shixiong!" Dai Tao frantically shouted.
After the successful attack, Zuo Mo did not linger and shouted, "Run!"
Before he finished, a hand appeared behind his neck. A Gui had appeared like a ghost behind him and grabbed his neck.
He felt his eyes blur and then found someone beside him. Ceng Lian'er was grabbed by the neck like he was by A Gui's other hand.
Ceng Lian'er's face was slightly pale. Using that shen technique had taken all of her power.
The two smiled at each other.
Detecting the sincerity in Zuo Mo's smile, an emotion that was not there in the past, Ceng Lian'er felt happier.
Boom!
An intimidating ling power vibration came from behind them.
Shocked, Zuo Mo turned to look back.
A faint Buddha figure that was hundreds of zhang tall appeared where they had been.
The authoritative Buddha glittered with golden light. A vast ling power vibration caused Zuo Mo's expression to change drastically!
That Buddha figure stared at Zuo Mo with an indifferent gaze.
Zuo Mo felt his heart seize. Suddenly, A Gui increased in speed. The purple energy flashed and Zuo Mo finally felt the pressure decrease.
Ji Zheng was covered by the Buddha figure. The golden feathers that had entered his body were forced out and turned to powder. The Buddha's figure also disappeared. Ji Zheng's complexion was pale. Looking at the rock that had shattered into multiple pieces and lost all light, aftering having been unaffected by losing so many other talismans, he finally showed pain for the first time.
The ultimate treasure of Xuan Kong Temple, Buddha Relic, had saved his life.
He suddenly raised his head and said to Dai Tao, "Do not give chase."
Dai Tao was shocked. While Ji Zheng Shixiong was injured, the enemy had no power to fight back. Even if he was alone, he could capture the three.
Ji Zheng said coolly, "The shen power that last woman cultivates is famed."
Translator Ramblings: Minor defeat for Xuan Kong Temple. I wonder what animal represents Zuo Mo best … … the golden crows are because he cultivates sun shen power, a turtle?
Chapter 670: Twenty Six Years Ago
A Gui was extremely fast.
But what surprised Zuo Mo was that the two old thieving bandits did not chase after them. The last attack by the Buddha manifestation had scared Little Mo Ge to the point his little heart stopped beating. It had also killed the little bit of hope that he felt.
If they managed to kill one, then escaping would be much easier.
Even when Zuo Mo thought of it now, their attacks had been flawless. No matter if it was individual performance or their teamwork, it was the best they could do. But that cold-faced old thieving baldy was so powerful it almost surpassed the imagination and he was even harder to deal with than Marshal Yu.
The three of them were much stronger than when they had fought Marshal Yu. He and Ceng Lian'er had both used a shen technique, and A Gui's ambush had been wondrous. But even so, the three of them working together could not finish off the cold-faced old thieving baldy.
The old thieving baldy's great talismans were much more powerful than Marshal Yu's.
The great wealth of Xuan Kong Temple could be seen.
Zuo Mo had become used to seeing the dominance that came with incontestable power. But this battle reminded Zuo Mo of the importance of talismans.
Thinking about the endless chase that would be coming, Zuo Mo decided. Wasn't it just competing with riches? While we aren't as wealthy as Xuan Kong Temple, we are not poor!
He started to search his ring.
Zuo Mo had to say after digging around that he did have a lot of good things.
The broken arrow from the Archer Tribe, the fragments of Eastern Water Tribe's treasure, Heaven Summoning Bell, the Nether Ghost Core of the Nether Ghost Tribe, the golden leaf, the Jade Hook Tree, the Yinyang Null Polarity Bead, the Corpse Sea Bamboo, the tears of the Mist People, the Black-heart Treasure Coins, the Green Carp Tongue Sword … …
Zuo Mo's confidence increased and he immediately felt his spine straighten.
The spring wind blew, the battle drums beat, who's afraid of who's talismans?
Having found a safe place, A Gui stopped fleeing. Zuo Mo carefully set up jinzhi and hid their traces. The three began meditating to recover their energy. Four hours later, Zuo Mo was the first to recover. His right hand could constantly provide shen power. At this time, the small amount of shen power it provided greatly increased his recovery speed.
After a while, A Gui and Ceng Lian'er also opened their eyes.
Zuo Mo took out all kinds of materials, talismans, and mo weapons, and arranged then in rows.
"See what can be used, pick what you want."
Ceng Lian'er's exquisite face showed shock. The ground was covered in materials, talismans, and mo weapons that all gave off different lights. It dazzled the eyes. The cave's walls reflected rainbow light.
A Gui grabbed the Nether Ghost Core and the Corpse Sea Bamboo. Zuo Mo was slightly shocked. He hadn't thought that A Gui would pick these two. Even Qing Lin hadn't known how to use the Nether Ghost Core. The Corpse Sea Bamboo was an extremely dark talisman.
Ceng Lian'er was not polite and picked the Green Carp Tongue Sword and some blood thunder beads. The blood thunder beads had been taken from Wu Yu's personal items and there were sixteen beads.
Unlike the xiuzhe who would usually possess all kinds of talismans, mo would usually only have one or two mo weapons. But when Zuo Mo saw the blood thunder beads, his eyes lit up. He reached out a hand.
"Give me a blood thunder bead."
Ceng Lian'er handed a blood thunder bead as he requested.
The blood thunder bead was about the size of a thumb, the colour of wine-red, its surface reflective but the bead was translucent. A line of silver slowly curving over the surface of the bead as though it was alive and gave people a feeling of extreme evilness.
Feeling the blood thunder bead in his hand, Zuo Mo managed to discern the general method to make these beads. In the extremely yin blood pools, plant thunder plasma, after five years, blood thunder beads would be produced. It was not easy to obtain blood thunder beads and they were extremely valuable. General level mo would do almost anything to obtain a few to use as life saving measures.
Some of the content from the [Yin Fire Bead Chapter] floated into Zuo Mo's mind. His thoughts shifted, his hand flipped, and a thread of fire appeared in the middle of his palm.
The Sun Shen Fire immediately wrapped around the blood thunder bead.
Zuo Mo's hands moved and all kinds of spells flowed into the fire.
Moments later, the new blood thunder bead flew into Zuo Mo's hand. The new bead was slightly smaller than before, the silver line was even brighter, and there were dots of gold energy on the bead.
"Let's call this bead the Gold Star Silver Thread Bead." Zuo Mo threw the bead over to Ceng Lian'er and then focused on reforging the other fifteen blood thunder beads.
The [Yin Fire Bead Chapter] was a method that Zuo Mo had gotten from Pu Yao a long time ago, and was extremely familiar with the contents. As a xiuzhe, he was skilled in forging, after his time in the Ten Finger Prison, he became skilled in yao arts. His pure Ten Crow Celestial Apparatus was enough for him to dominate in body cultivation. He was also skilled in mo matrices. Without realizing it, Zuo Mo could be said to be "learned in the methods of all three territories."
Even though his strength could not enter the ranks in the three fields, Zuo Mo could definitely be called a freak in terms of how many different things he learned.
What Zuo Mo did wouldn't be permitted in large sects. People had limited energy and time, so if what they learned was varied and unfocused, it would be hard to accomplish anything in the future. Due to this, after sect disciples went through the initial recruitment tests, the sect would send experienced elders to give them suggestions which area to focus on. From then on, the disciple would focus on only one field.
