by Fang Xiang
Suddenly, Gu Wu Shuang asked, "Is Grandmaster willing to sell this chariot?"
Zuo Mo shook his head. "Apologies, not for sale."
It did not take much effort to forge this chariot, but he did not want any of the shen formations on the chariot to leak out.
Gu Wu Shuang laughed. It was the first time Zuo Mo saw a skeleton laughing eerily in front of him.
Zuo Mo did not want to waste time. "Since the negotiation has concluded, let's go."
He then said to Old Man Wu. "Have everyone prepare."
Old Man Wu seemed to wake up from a dream and hurriedly nodded. "Yes!" He went to organize the group as he lamented inside, the world changed too quickly! Just now, they had been fighting to the death to the Yin Tomb Guards and now they were working together.
Lan Bing opened her mouth and was about to speak when Zhu Nan Yue pulled her and indicated for her not to. In front of absolute power, speech was never as effective as fists. Unless the Nether Lord arrived with a group of experts at this time, anything said was meaningless.
The black-robed zombie admired Zuo Mo's briskness. He said expressionlessly, "Good."
"Boss, should we kill them?" Bu Ru Mia's voice came from behind the thick cloth wrappings in an unusually muffled manner.
Zhu Nan Yue's eyes widened. She did not fall back. She gripped the large black in her hand like a panther about to pounce. Lan Bing also displayed great fighting spirit.
The black-robed zombie said woodenly, "Let's go!"
Then the group was covered in smoke.
When the smoke cleared, the Yin Tomb Guards and Zuo Mo's group had disappeared.
Zuo Mo opened his eyes. He finally had absorbed all of the Nether Ghost Yin Heavy Wood he had. His body had been repaired to the eleventh level, and was almost one-third recovered. Zuo Mo was content was this level of progress.
Rising, he looked at the dark sky outside.
The sun would never appear in the sky above the Ten Thousand Tombs of the Netherworld. This place was filled with death energy and there was not one hint of green to be seen. There were bleached bones everywhere, the rivers were as black as ink. There were countless tombs which covered every visible mountain.
Qing Xiao did not like this place. He liked places that were sunny and bright. The Wu Clan members did not like this place. The nether energy here was filled with the flavor of death.
Zuo Mo liked this place a lot because he found that the death energy here was very useful to Wei Sheng and the others.
He walked out of the room.
Qing Xiao was teaching the Wu Clan members how to cultivate. The Yin Tomb Guards were very polite towards them and fulfilled all their needs. The Yin Tomb Guards, on average, had better temperments than Tuoba Yu and this made everyone feel much better.
Zuo Mo did not disturb Qing Xiao. He walked towards the neighbouring yard along the corridor. In the yard, five little pools roiled with grey mist. These were the death energy pools.
The five coffins were laid out in the death energy pool. It was possible to see grey mist burrow into the coffins at a visible rate.
These five coffins were not ordinary. Zuo Mo had made them of a wondrous tree that grew in the eye of shen spring he had stumbled upon in the endless void. Zuo Mo had never seen something with so much vitality. When he saw it, he immediately decided to turn it into coffins. The benefits of everyone being nourished by such strong vitality did not need to be stated.
But in the process of making the coffins, Zuo Mo encountered great difficulties. This tree was unusually hard and it was also difficult to cut. Another unexpected quality was that its regeneration ability was unimaginable. All the wounds on the tree trunk would heal in almost an instant. While cutting the tree and before he managed to withdraw his blade, a flying sword forged from flowing gold sand had been sucked in by the tree.
Zuo Mo tried all kinds of methods. In the end, he used flame knives formed from sun shen fire to slowly carve away. The process had been as slow as a snail.
To make these five coffins, Zuo Mo had spent a whole year.
With Zuo Mo's present skill, he wouldn't need one year to even forge a shen device. The strength of the wood could be seen from this. The shen tree had vitality so thick it almost crystallized. Through the shen formations, it constantly nourished the bodies of Eldest Shixiong, A Gui and the others.
Everyone's recovery relied on the shen wood coffins.
When Zuo Mo heard the Yin Tomb Ghost Lord speak of the death energy pools, his attention was attracted. The Nether Ghost Yin Heavy Wood had given him inspiration. The vitality formed from thick death energy was pure.
The Yin Tomb Ghost Lord and the others knew Zuo Mo's thoughts so they specifically arranged for a yard with death energy pools.
There were tens of thousands of years of tombs accumulated under the Ten Thousand Tombs of the Underworld. The legends said that this place had been an enormous mass grave in the ancient era. The layers of tombs caused the death energy in the ground to be so abundant.
Some of the death energy would erupt from the ground and formed earth energy pools.
For mo like those that forged corpses, the death energy pools were the best places. They could endlessly absorb death energy and turn it into shen power.
The shen power that the Yin Tomb Guards cultivated were unlike the others factions. Their shen power was filled with great amounts of nether shen power and was astoundingly destructive.
Zuo Mo had originally wanted to see if he could create vitality out of death energy. The Nether Decay Reincarnation Lotus that Zuo Mo had used on A Gui had been like that. Yet what he hadn't expected was that the shen wood coffins could directly absorb death energy.
Thesis astonished Zuo Mo.
The shen wood coffins constantly absorbed death energy. After the death energy was absorbed, it would merge with the vitality of the shen wood and form a strange new power.
The merging of life and death naturally matched yet was so unpredictable.
Zuo Mo continued to study and quickly found that the power that had formed was slightly like shen power but it did not have clear leanings of any attribute. Zuo Mo called it base shen power.
It was the first time Zuo Mo encountered shen power that did not have a type. Usually, shen power that was cultivated would have a type. For example, the sun shen power he cultivated was the classic fire type shen power.
The base shen power did not have any type but it was easily absorbed. Even though Eldest Shixiong and the others had almost no ability left in their bodies, the base shen power could easily meld into their bodies.
When the base shen power melded into the bodies of Eldest Shixiong and the others, it was of great help to their recovery.
Zuo Mo was joyfully surprised by this accidental discovery.
Even the dark and cloudy Ten Thousand Tombs of the Netherworld became much better in his eyes. His body was gradually recovering. As long as there were enough Nether Ghost Yin Heavy Wood, he could quickly repair his body. Once recovered, restoring his shen power was just a matter of time.
But Zuo Mo could not resolve the problem afflicting Eldest Shixiong and the others from the root.
He only saw hope when he saw the perfect merging of the death energy pool and the shen wood coffin which lead to the wondrous effects of the base shen power.
After persisting for ten years, Zuo Mo's excitement could be imagined when he saw the light of hope.
Everyone, wake up as soon as possible!
Zuo Mo silently thought as he carefully inspected every person and then the surrounding jinzhi before he left.
He could not delay the issue of shen devices any longer.
Even Zuo Mo felt that the Yin Tomb Ghost Lord had been very good to them. At least, he had enough patience. From this, it could be seen that the Yin Tomb Ghost Lord had unusual breadth of mind.
Unlike the harmony inside the yard, the outside of the yard was heavily guarded. There was a station every five paces and a scout every te
n. There were troops patrolling everywhere. Someone who was ignorant would think that this was a military base.
When Zuo Mo walked out of the yard, the guard outside immediately came over. "Grandmaster!"
Zuo Mo said politely, "Take me to see the Ghost Lord."
The guard hurriedly said, "Yes!"
Soon, a carriage pulled by four Nightmare Fire Bone Horses appeared in front of Zuo Mo. Zuo Mo did not refuse and made his way onto the carriage.
In the yard.
Old Man Wu said urgently to Qing Xiao, "It is okay for Daren to go out alone?"
Qing Xiao glanced at Old Man Wu and smiled. "What is wrong?"
"Safety!" Old Man Wu had an expression of urgency.
Qing Xiao patted Old Man Wu. "Do you think that Big Brother doesn't have the ability to protect himself?"
Old Man Wu stilled.
Qing Xiao waved his hand. "Do not worry for Big Brother. Someone that can defeat Big Brother, ha! Hasn't been born yet!" His confidence was clear from his tone.
Old Man Wu still had a doubtful expression but he accepted this. If Qing Xiao was not usually reliable, he would have cursed back in response.
Qing Xiao scratched his head and said to himself, "Big Brother says that my teaching is not effective, where is it not effective?"
Old Man Wu was drawn out of his thoughts, attacked by Qing Xiao's words. "Daren says that A Xiao's teachings are not effective? No! The clan members have improved so much, it is all A Xiao's work!"
Old Man Wu's words were not flattery. Even the Wu Clan members and the servants nodded in agreement. They knew just how great their improvement in this span of time had been.
"You do not understand," Qing Xiao said without even raising his head. "If Big Brother says that it is not effective, then it is not effective."
"It probably is that these people do not have enough comprehension abilities, and Daren is not satisfied. .. …" Old Man Wu said.
Qing Xiao's eyes lit up. "Comprehension! Yes! Since I don't know how to teach, then you can comprehend on your own! Haha! Just like me!"
Old Man Wu thought that Qing Xiao was going give up on them and was going to speak to stop him.
Qing Xiao turned around with a humorous expression. "Starting from today, anyone that escapes from my hands is qualified! Come, all of you together!"
Everyone gaped.
Translator Ramblings: Zuo Mo jumps ship and Qing Xiao is really using the Teaching Manual of Brute Force.
Chapter 863: Preparations
This really was a land of death!
Zuo Mo couldn't help but lament as he looked at the scenery outside. The grey mountain peaks in the distance appeared endless. Many of the peaks were shrouded in grey mist. Here the world was grey, black, and white. There were no other colors.
Seeing Zuo Mo's interest in the distant mountains, the guard spoke up to introduce, "That is Billion Bone Peaks."
"Billion Bone Peaks?" Zuo Mo was frightened by this name.
"Yes, that mountain is made entirely of bone, bones everywhere, innumerable. Sometimes, when it rains, the bones will flow down like water. Many of the bones here were washed over from there." The guard was like a tour guide.
"Where did so many bones come from?" Zuo Mo was extremely interested.
"No one knows!" The guard shook his head. "Before, many people were interested in Billion Bone Peak, but after searching for a long time, they did not find anything. Some people dug into Billion Bone Peak to seek the source but they never came out alive. There are many bones there. Some people are interested in bone materials so they like to go there to harvest and gather. Gu Wu Shuang Daren lives there."
Gu Wu Shuang, that skeleton that could talk.
Zuo Mo's mind suddenly shifted. "Where are the best death energy pools?"
"The best death energy pools … …" the guard thought about it. "I'm not clear about that. But there is the Sea of Ten Thousand Boiling Pools. If Grandmaster is interested, you should take a look."
"Sea of Ten Thousand Boiling Pools!" Zuo Mo noted that down.
This guard was skilled at talking and discussed many unique locations of the Ten Thousand Tombs of the Netherworld. It really broadened Zuo Mo's view. The Ten Thousand Tombs of the Netherworld were unique even in the Nether Realm. There was a reason why the Yin Tomb Guards were the only ones here. Normal mo could not tolerate such thick death energy.
If one did not cultivate the Yin Tomb Guards' unique scripture, they would be corroded by the death energy here and die.
Zuo Mo could hear from his tone that this guard was reverent of and faithfully loyal to the Yin Tomb Ghost Lord. Zuo Mo felt that the way the outside world saw the Yin Tomb Guards were not like what he saw.
Soon, they reached the residence of the Ghost Lord.
The Yin Tomb Ghost Lord's residence was simple. If he had not been told, he would not know that one of the top people in the Nether realm was living in a very ordinary building.
There were no guards outside the residence.
The guard came to the door and said respectfully. "Ghost Lord, Grandmaster is here!"
"Come in." The Ghost Lord's dissonant voice came from behind the door.
The door opened on its own.
Zuo Mo walked in. The yard was also ordinary and did not have any decorations. The Ghost Lord was sitting at the center of the yard. He slowly stood up and nodded to Zuo Mo. That could be considered a greeting.
"Grandmaster has come, do you have any thoughts about the shen device?" The Ghost Lord was expressionless.
Two chairs and a table of bone rose from the ground. The Ghost Lord sat in one of the bone chairs and gestured to invite Zuo Mo to sit down. After Zuo Mo sat down, two cups of bone appeared on the table. The cups were filled with a bloody red liquid.
"Please." The Ghost Lord picked up a cup and drained it.
Zuo Mo curiously picked up the bone cup. He smelled it. There was no strong bloody tang he had expected, but an unique fragrance.
The Ghost Lord saw Zuo Mo's action and gave off dissonant chuckles. "This is one of the products of the Ten Thousand Tombs of the Underworld, Vermillion Red Marrow. It looks like blood, but it is actually the milk of a stone."
Zuo Mo drained it. When it entered his throat, he felt extremely refreshed all the way to his heart.
Good stuff!
Zuo Mo became alert!
A presence slowly revolved around his flesh and blood in a comfortable manner.
The Ghost Lord seemed to be in a good mood. He laughed and said, "Grandmaster likes this. I have a batch here, and will give it to Grandmaster."
"Many thanks!" Zuo Mo did not refuse. After savoring the taste, he spoke, "I have come this time for the matter of the shen device."
"Please speak," the Ghost Lord said.
"The forging of a shen device is both easy and hard. If the materials are good and the effort is there, that's about all you need. Good materials are top materials. Those that can tolerate shen power, especially strong shen power, they will not be low in grade. Effort, that is the engraving of shen glyphs and seals formations have to be paired appropriately so that they can express the attributes of the materials and benefit the user," Zuo Mo said casually.
"Good explanation." The Ghost Lord nodded. "Then what kind of materials does Grandmaster need?"
"I'm not familiar with nether materials." Zuo Mo said after a moment. "What kind of materials can Ghost Lord not destroy with your shen power?"
The Ghost Lord stilled. He tilted his head to think and said, "Grandmaster, please wait."
Then he disappeared.
Zuo Mo was not in a panic when the other did not appear for a long time.
The Ghost Master appeared an hour later. Clack clack clack, some materials fell to the ground. The Ghost Lord said, "My shen power cannot destroy these materials."
Zuo Mo first picked up a bone. This looked to be the femur of a human, but it was an unique dark gold as though it was carved from metal.
When it ent
ered his hand, Zuo Mo suddenly felt a feeling of familiarity. Faint warmth came from the bone.
"Could you give this bone to me, I can trade for this with other things," Zuo Mo lifted his head and said.
The Ghost Lord was slightly surprised when he heard this. But he shook his head and said, "There is no need to trade, I will give it to Grandmaster."
Zuo Mo changed expression. He didn't believe the Ghost Master could not see the extraordinary nature of this bone. He hadn't expected the other to be so generous to give it to him. Zuo Mo smiled. "Then I will accept it."
He had no more intentions of skimping. He decided to forge a good shen device for the Ghost Lord. Zuo Mo had a lot of materials to work with as he had the assets.
He put the dark gold bone into his ring. Zuo Mo started to inspect the other materials.
A pale skull. The empty eye sockets seemed bottomless. When Zuo Mo looked, he felt his body being pulled in. He was alarmed and he immediately woke up. He stood motionlessly where he was.
This skull was slightly strange!
The two balls of mist in the empty eye sockets were deep and serene.
Without even looking, Zuo Mo knew that this was a top-tier material. Even with his god-level cultivation, he had been pulled in. The illusory ability of the skull was incomprehensible.
Zuo Mo put down the skull and reached his hand to another material.
This was a black stone. It looked ordinary but when Zuo Mo held it, he was not able to move it.
He tried again. The stone still remained motionless.
"This rock is thirty thousand catties heavy. I accidentally obtained it," the Ghost Lord said woodenly.
Zuo Mo was slightly shocked. This stone the size of his hand was thirty thousand catties heavy! No wonder he could not pick it up! While Zuo Mo's cultivation was god-level, his body had not recovered and he could not lift such a heavy stone.
The third material was a grey piece of wood. The wood was covered in burnt marks.
The wood was extremely light and seemed like nothing when held in his hands. What surprised Zuo Mo the most was that this stone had a clear wasteland presence.
Zuo Mo had ancient records and he guessed that this was the Grey Feather Wood, one of the shen woods of the world. The Ghost Lord's shen power naturally would not be able to destroy it.
