World Of Cultivation

by Stayrr

World of Cultivation is the tale of a disgruntled young man and his quest to be the best farmer he can be, at least if it wasn’t for those annoying people who keep getting in the way of his pursuit of agricultural excellence. Will conspiring forces turn him into a sword cultivator, or will he manage to throw off the shackles of fate and grow the best darn crops in the sect? Those

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World of Cultivation #Seven Hundred and Thirty Seven – Entering the City - Read World of Cultivation Seven Hundred and Thirty Seven – Entering the City Online - All Page - Novel Next

Chapter Seven Hundred and Thirty Seven – Entering the City

He didn't know how much time had passed. Maybe it was just a moment, or it had been a very long time.

When Zuo Mo opened his eyes, something seemed to silently slide down his face. Many things had been shoved into his mind, so many that he needed to time to organize them. But his blurry gaze only looked at the figure that stood silently as she guarding him.

His blurry vision gradually cleared as though he returned from a dream to reality. Zuo Mo's emotions gradually steadied.

He suddenly reached out and rubbed A Gui's hair.

Gazing at A Gui's wooden face, Zuo Mo's gaze was warm but determined. A smile spread on his lips as he said lightly, "Gui Gui, now it is Young Master's turn to protect you!"

Zuo Mo stood up. His presence became even deeper. Most of the memory fragments that he had recovered were sad, cold, and filled with helplessness yet the present Zuo Mo was far from that gentle and helpless little boy.

He had been tempered in countless battles and tests of life and death, he was the man that built Mo Cloud Sea with his own power!

The pain, sadness, and hopelessness in his memories caused him to mature even more.

He would still feel terror but he would not retreat. He would stand up straight and dare to advance even if was seas of flame or mountains of blade up ahead. He would still feel lost, but he would not lose himself to it. He would reach out his hands to explore, even if his hands would be torn bloody by the thorns in the mist. He would still be just as greedy, but he knew what was most precious and worthy of protection. He would never give up protecting, even if he needed to pay with his life.

He started to understand his fate.

There were still many questions. He needed to organize all of these memories. It probably would take a few more attempts to regain all of his memories. And he would have to find some of the parts he lost from A Gui. Zuo Mo remembered the old man said that it would be very beneficial for A Gui to consume the Reverse Shadow Soul Silkgrass.

That old man definitely had a great connections with his family.

However, this was not the time to take care of these matters.

The riddle of his birth was unexpectedly enormous, so large that he needed to time to dig.

———

Yi An was panicked.

Zuo Mo had told him to organize an auction and he had immediately started. He was familiar with doing this and the beginning had been smooth. In order to raise the status of the [Angel Device Raiment, he spread the information that the [Angel Device Raiment] was a pseudo-shen device.

A weapon that was the closest to a shen device.

This immediately caused a great commotion in the mo territories. Under the unspoken agreement of the major factions the news that the [Angel Device Raiment] was a pseudo-shen weapon had not spread. Yi An broke this, and people finally realized why those major personages that rarely showed themselves were so interested in this single matter.

Shen device!

This was such a distant and unfamiliar term. Even if many people were not unfamiliar with shen power now, no one had mentioned shen devices before.

No one knew what a shen device was like. Its era was so ancient that it was difficult to find any records of it. On the other hand, all of the sky mo weapons were recorded in detail. While people would not see them, they would still know something about them.

The [Angel Device Raiment] caused the already frenzied Bu Zhou City to boil over.

All the factions and experts that had not intended to participate could not stop themselves. They knew even better than normal people the arrival of the shen power era could not be stopped.

At this time, the [Angel Device Raiment] was peerless in value.

For those experts that were laboring to explore shen power, the [Angel Device Raiment] could give them inspiration and act as an example. It would be of great help for them to comprehend shen power. For those factions that already possessed shen power, they hoped to reverse engineer the method to forge shen devices through studying the [Angel Device Raiment.]

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Shen power was great in power, and not something that talismans or mo weapons could tolerate.

Shen devices would be the future direction that forging would develop in.

Yi An was very satisfied with the effects of his arrangements. Watching as the entire mo territories became mad due to the [Angel Device Raiment, he was filled with a sense of accomplishment. The most famed time of Rare Artifacts Hall started from when they met Daren.

Yet, as the popularity of the [Angel Device Raiment] increased, and Daren was still missing, Yi An's sense of panic increased.

Even the yao elders had to control themselves because there were too many experts from many factions here. It had reached a terrifying level. The yao elders cultivated shen power but a marshal level mo was still a threat to them. If a marshal had an earth mo weapon, and if they were careless this threat was enough to be fatal.

Almost half of all the experts in the mo territories had rushed here. No matter how prideful Ming Yue Ye was, she would not think that they could match this enormous gathering of experts.

It was the opposite. They needed to be on their guard constantly. If someone manipulated the situation from the shadows, and these mo experts attacked them, then they would be in a dangerous situation. Even the most arrogant elder restrained themselves when they saw the increasing number of marshals around them.

Yet the gathering of so many experts by itself was filled with danger.

One conflict, one spar could likely cause a large scale melee fight. The situation would become something unable to be control. That result was something no one could tolerate.

However, Daren had not shown himself. Yi An could clearly feel that the experts that had travelled a long way to be here were rapidly losing their patience.

The situation was worsening, and if Daren didn't come out ... ...

Thinking about the situation that could appear, his scalp prickled.

When Yi An saw Zuo Mo, he immediately became overcome with excitement. "Daren ... ... Daren ... ..."

"Have you arranged the auction?" Zuo Mo thought of what he had arranged before he left.

Yi An nodded repeatedly and reported the recent situation in detail. He also spoke of his worries.

Zuo Mo smiled and praised, "You did good, I think we will be able to sell it for a high price."

Yi An grimaced. Daren was still able to smile at this time ... ...

Zuo Mo thought and then said, "If this is the case, then let's wait a while more."

"Wait even more?" Yi An's expression became even more bitter.

Zuo Mo smiled, and didn't waste words. He took out a pile of materials from his ring and started to forge right in front of Yi An.

Yi An perceptively closed his mouth.

The flames pulsed in Zuo Mo's hand as though they were alive. The materials that were added to the flames continuously melted into metal liquid of various colors as they flowed.

Zuo Mo's gaze was calm. The blurry and fragmented shadows that flashed across his mind started to become clear.

Other than A Gui, what he remembered the most clearly were those jinzhi of different styles and types, and learning from his father's legacy.

Time seemed to return to those days from many years ago.

A square city the size of his palm formed in his hand.

Yi An's mouth was wide as he stared in shock at the city that took form in Zuo Mo's hand. The little city was exquisite. The buildings were connected, and there were small copper bells on the towers that rose up, and it was possible to see each distinct brick on the city wall.

"This is as close I can get." Zuo Mo sighed with a thread of regret in his eyes.

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He had created this based on his memories of the place he had lived in during his childhood.

From the jade scrolls that his father had left him, he had learned that his father had built the city. He had not understood when he was small, but when he thought back now, he found to his shock that the jinzhi, seal scripts, and content of his father's jade scrolls were profound and hard to understand even now.

His father's jade scroll had every jinzhi in the city labeled clearly. That was one of the pastimes of his childhood. He would follow his father's markings and find secret rooms that were hidden and not known by others. Then he would break the jinzhi and there would be many things that his father had left behind. Those were the toys of his childhood.

But even if he had gotten back the memories related to those jinzhi, he was still unable to forge a city that was exactly the same as that in his memory.

However, this was already enough to use.

Zuo Mo focused his mind, and threw the city lightly into the air.

The bright seal scripts that had been floating in the sky above the Grave Ghost Mound suddenly rippled. Then they flew like moths to a flames towards the little green city in the air.

The millions of bright lights flew simultaneously towards the palm-sized city. The scene was spectacular.

The streaks of light were like rain, bright and glorious!

The experts that had been standing outside the Grave Ghost Mound were disturbed and numerous people flew into the air.

The palm-sized green city was like a bottomless pit that sucked in the lights in the sky.

In the span of a few dozen breaths, all of the multi-colored lights within fifty li vanished. Only the little city was left floating in the sky. Multi-colored mist floated like a nebula round it, beautiful and mysterious.

The crowd shifted.

Suddenly, the city expanded at an astounding rate.

This change attracted everyone's attention. Each of them stared with wide eyes in fear of missing a single detail.

When the city was more than one li in size, and was still growing, the restless crowd started to become silent.

Five li ... ... ten li ... ...

A green city that was fifty li in diameter appeared in front of the crowd. The crowd was silent. They had seen talismans before, and they had seen jinzhi before. A city that was fifty li was only the smallest of cities. But when it appeared in front of everyone in such a spectacular fashion, people couldn't help but be amazed.

The green city was shrouded in a rainbow mist that glittered prettily.

It slowly descended and landed on the ground of the Grave Ghost Mound.

Astounding yin energy was continuously absorbed by the city from the underground. Water started to appear in the rivers and lakes of the city. The water that was formed from yin energy flowed as it filled the river and lakes of the city.

At the central hall of the city, Zuo Mo pushed open the door.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar scene in front of him, countless scenes flashed through his mind. An emotion hard to describe rose. He instinctively reached out to rub A Gui's hair.

A feeling of hardness under his hand caused him to still and turned to look at A Gui.

The bone armor from the underground sacrificial altar had made its way onto A Gui at some unknown time. The bone armor seemed to have been made specifically for A Gui. It fit her tightly and showed off her perfect stature. The bone armor that was like a layer of grey crystal covered A Gui well, and added hints of mystery.

Zuo Mo smiled and rubbed A Gui's helmet. The Black Gold Seal Soldier was hiding. He had sneaked out to fill his stomach, and he was now afraid that Zuo Mo was going to punish him. Ceng Lian'er, Qinghua Xue, and Yi An gaped at the scene in front of him.

The deepness in Zuo Mo's eyes was put away. He recovered his usual smugness as his voice spread out.

"Everyone, welcome to the King's Forbidden City!"

Translator Ramblings: Don't expect a high point like yesterday. That took too much buildup.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Thirty Eight – Auction

Every person that entered King's Forbidden City was filled with shock and amazement, especially since this city had appeared in such an implausible fashion in front of them. Many people's opinion of Zuo Mo's power increased.

It was not news that Xiao Mo Ge was strong, but for these experts that had their eyes on the top of their head, they were filled with confidence in themselves. Defeating a marshal might be a great matter in the eyes of the average person, but what was that to these people?

They stood at the top of the mo territories, marshal level was just the basic requirement to be on their level. Some people had even started to reach shen power.

They were more wary of Zuo Mo's jinzhi.

The defeat of the Mo Shen Temple proved the power of the jinzhi. Otherwise, with Xiao Mo Ge's power, he definitely could not have faced the two mo gods alone and even wounded the chief mo god.

King's Forbidden City presence was stronger than the dots of light they had seen before. There were many places that people could not understand. However, most of the people had come here to see the [Angel Device Raiment] and controlled their curiosity.

The old man stood in front of the city. His face was upraised as he look at the tall green city walls with a complex expression.

Yi An was the first to recover from his shock. The Rare Artifacts Hall managers that had been waiting outside hurriedly entered the palace with dishes, dried fruit, and other things to set up the auction.

The auction would be occurring in the central palace in King's Forbidden City.

The managers of Rare Artifact Hall were quick in their movements and the location was soon prepared.

The experts that entered the auction all had wary gazes. Even the most confident person would not dare to relax when there were so many experts in the surroundings. The yao council elders silently stayed in a corner.

"What do you see?" Ming Yue Ye asked in a small voice.

A grey-robed elder beside her had an astounded gaze. He said in a low voice, "There are mo matrices, seal scripts, and some others I do not understand, they seem to be ancient totem glyphs."

"Ancient totem glyphs?" Feng Xin Zi on the other side of Ming Yue Ye stilled when he heard this.

"Shen glyphs," the grey-robed elder explained. He lowered his voice, "I hear that Tian Huan has already created a complete shen glyph but they are on a different path, and not the original totem glyphs. Their totem glyphs here are not complete."

"How is their power?" Ming Yue Ye asked.

The grey-robed elder grimaced. "Very strong, may be even stronger than we imagine. See the water in the lakes? That is composed of yin energy. If I am not wrong, there must be a yin vein of extremely high grade under here, he really found a good place!"

"It seems that we will have to bleed a bit." Ming Yue Ye laughed lightly and her tone was not dispirited.

The surrounding elders all had matter-of-fact expressions on Ming Yue Ye's confidence. In this world, there were not many factions that were richer than the Yao Council of Elders. The Council of Elders had already passed a resolution on the [Angel Device Raiment] and their order to Ming Yue Ye was to pay any price.

When Zuo Mo appeared, all of the discussion immediately disappeared. Every person's gaze gathered on Zuo Mo.

"Everyone, welcome. If there is anything lacking, please have forgiveness!" Zuo Mo smiled slightly and greeted the people. He ignored the wariness on their faces. In his eyes, they were all customers!

"Don't waste words, ye is tight on time!"

Someone in the crowd muttered.

Zuo Mo smiled and said with a nod, "Then, skipping pleasantries, I will move directly to the main topic!"

His hand turned slightly, and then, suddenly, a rainbow-colored light carried a blue set of armor to slowly descend next to Zuo Mo.

[Angel Device Raiment]!

Sighs of shock immediately sounded inside the place. Many people couldn't help but stand up with excited expressions.

In the corner, the grey-robed elder was excited and kept on exclaiming, "Too beautiful! It really is too beautiful! It is the work of a genius, so beautiful ... ..."

"Is it a pseudo-shen device?" Ming Yue Ye interrupted him to ask. She was deeply attracted to this beautiful raiment.

"Definitely!" The grey-robed elder's response was certain. His gaze didn't bear to move away an inch as he murmured, "I smell the presence of shen power ... ..."

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Ming Yue Ye did not speak, but her gaze locked onto the Angel Device Raiment was unusually hot.

Zuo Mo could feel the passion, greed, and desire in the eyes of the people. This caused Little Mo Ge to be excited because it meant that the Angel Device Raiment did not lack for buyers.

This was good for increasing the price!

However, Zuo Mo decided to add more fire.

"I believe that everyone has knowledge about the Angel Device Raiment. I won't waste words and will demonstrate its use for everyone."

There was a faint smile on Zuo Mo's face as though he was a polite gentleman. His hand was placed lightly on the Angel Device Raiment.

As he finished speaking, a blue light rapidly coiled around his hand and covered his entire body.

When the light dissipated, Zuo Mo appeared in in front of the crowd fully covered in the Angel Device Raiment.

The icy blue battle armor, the dark red mask. An icy killing energy suddenly filled the entire venue. Gasps immediately rang out in the crowd, many people unconsciously got on their guard.

The icy blue scaled armor was covered in exquisite and complex patterns layered together beautifully. The pure white pair of wings on the back added some holiness to the presence.

Suddenly, a layer of dense blue flame floated on the surface of the Angel Device Raiment and burned silently. The flames quickly surrounded the wings on the back, and dots of blue energy started to fall.

The moment the blue flames appeared, everyone's expressions changed slightly. An extremely dangerous presence was faintly detectable, but hard to capture! What shocked them even more was that Xiao Mo Ge was standing in front of them but they were unable to detect his presence.

Rumble, many people unconsciously stood up and stared hard at Xiao Mo Ge in front of them.

They were unable to detect Xiao Mo Ge!

It was like there was no one where he was standing!

Those that were in marshal level were all people that had fought hundreds of times. They knew very well what it meant if one could completely hide their presence like this.

Yet Xiao Mo Ge gave them even more surprises.

The snowy-white wings lightly trembled.

His body suddenly disappeared from his spot.

So fast!

Many people's pupils suddenly contracted. They were unable to capture Xiao Mo Ge's figure. Such speed was astounding!

"Above!"

One person shouted, and everyone suddenly raised their heads.

A blue figure stood in the sky above their heads. The two white wings were upraised, and formed a scissor shape. Zuo Mo's body curved at a strange angle like an eagle waiting to dive.

The wings trembled, and Zuo Mo's figure disappeared again.

Boom!

When the blue figure once again appeared in people's vision, the blue flames that covered his body suddenly grew. He was like a meteor that was falling down!

In a moment, the blurry figure that was shrouded in blue flames took over their vision! In that moment, their extremities felt cold, and they felt as though he was unstoppable.

Shocked, some experts instinctively prepared to resist.

The blue figure suddenly disappeared again.

Clap clap clap, the light sound of clapping caused the people with their tense nervous to suddenly wake up.

"Good thing! Good thing!" The old man clapped, his expression praising and intoxicated.

Xiao Mo Ge had returned to his original spot. Beside his hand, the icy blue Angel Device Raiment had resumed its original state and gave off an indescribably beauty.

Everyone immediately recognized the old man. This old man had shaken the world in his fight with Youxi Ya Ke. This old man of unknown origins had become one of the main targets that all the major factions paid attention to.

Zuo Mo felt irritated. This damned old man ruined the mood he had worked to create.

The old man's origins was a mystery. No one was able to find him, even Zuo Mo didn't see any sign of the old man in the memories he had gotten back. But from all the signs, the old man had a very close connection to his family.

Refocusing, no one spoke, the venue was deathly silent.

Zuo Mo's gaze stabbed towards the old man as though he wanted to create countless holes in the damned old man. The old man met Zuo Mo's gaze, grinning and showing his yellow and missing teeth.

A moment later, there still wasn't a sound.

Had his act been bad?

Zuo Mo muttered inside. He could only force himself to say, "Everyone, what do you feel?"

No one spoke.

Zuo Mo was really stunned this time. Ge had worked so hard, shouldn't these people be showing hungry expressions? Why weren't they reacting at all?

Deathly silence.

Suddenly, someone muttered, "Name your price."

"How many mobei? Give a number! I'll take it!" A large man stood up.

"You'll take it? Your tone is really presumptuous! Mobei?! Is a shen device like this something that can be bought with mobei?" Someone said sarcastically from the crowd.

Another middle aged person stood up. "I will use a jie to trade. You can pick any jie under my command."

"What the good is jie, resources are the most valuable," another said coolly. "I will give ten ore veins, large ones, that produce sixth grade or above."

"When does Grandmaster have the time to waste on mining?" A female spoke, "I will offer one tenth-grade material, and ten ninth-grade materials."

This caused the place to quiet.

Even Zuo Mo was shocked by this price. This price was definitely a high one. Each ninth-grade material was a great price, and it was the first time Zuo Mo heard someone offer a two-digit number for ninth-grade materials. Even after Rare Artifact Hall's accumulation over thousands of years, they only had three ninth-grade materials, and not even one tenth-grade.

Zuo Mo had never seen a tenth-grade material. Ten-grade, that was the highest grade for materials!

But Zuo Mo reacted quickly. He recalled the old man's warning and hurriedly said, "I need things that will nurture souls. Treasures of this kind will be given priority, and don't offer anything average."

The female hurriedly said, "These materials are enough for Grandmaster to trade for many treasures that can nurture the soul!"

Zuo Mo shook his head, his expression determined.

"I have Living Soul Lure!" A person stood up with an excited expression. Many people had expressions of envy. A lot of auctions were like this, only trading and not selling. This depended on luck. This person clearly had good luck. The Living Soul Lure was a rare treasure that could nurture the soul.

Zuo Mo continued to shake his head, "Not high grade enough."

Many people inhaled in sharply. Even the Living Soul Lure wasn't high grade enough!

Ming Yue Ye showed a confidence expression. Ever since Xiao Mo Ge used mo weapons to trade for Reverse Shadow Soul Silkgrass, she guessed that Xiao Mo Ge required treasures of this kind and had prepared a few.

Her gamble was right.

At this time, a voice suddenly sounded, "Xi Xuan's [Five Element Soul Dan]!

Ming Yue Ye's expression froze on her face.

Translator Ramblings: Three guess who.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Thirty Nine – Someone From The Past

A large man with rough features stood up. He had a dry smile and his presence spread.

Gu Liang Dao!

Gasps immediately ran out among the crowd. As one of the best battle generals of the present, era the reputation of Xi Xuan's Tiger General Gu Liang Dao was known far and wide. Many people had wary expressions but their enmity decreased. Gu Liang Dao had left Xi Xuan and controlled a region. In the eyes of these people, he was just a small local power. Without the titan that was Xi Xuan behind him, the resources that Gu Liang Dao could muster were limited. He was not as much a threat as he had been when he had been acting as the vanguard for Xi Xuan.

Zuo Mo saw Gu Liang Dao and a expression of joyful surprise appeared on his face. "Brother Gu!"

Gu Liang Dao raised his folded hands in a smile and laughed brightly. "Brother, do not blame me for not notifying you I would be coming. It really is that we have come in a hurry, and I only recently discovered that it was you, Brother."

It was the first time the great majority of people here saw this past Xi Xuan Tiger. They instantly felt that he was as the rumors said. Gu Liang Dao's voice was like a bell, and his actions as fierce as that of a tiger. His presence naturally formed and caused people to unconsciously submit.

Zuo Mo said apologetically, "If it isn't that this young brother needs treasures that can nurture the soul urgently, I should gift this to Brother Gu."

Last time, Gu Liang Dao had and fought alongside Gongsun Cha to hold Great Peace City. Zuo Mo remembered this favor.

Hearing the sincerity in Zuo Mo's voice, Gu Liang Dao laughed. "We are brothers, there's no need to be so courteous. Old Gu is satisfied that Brother is willing to sell it to me. If Brother gives this to me, Old Gu doesn't dare to accept it." Finishing, he raised his hand, and a jade box flew towards Zuo Mo.

Zuo Mo took the jade box. The jade box was of extremely high grade, and was thin and transparent as cicada wings. It was possible to clearly see a five colored lingdan within that was the size of a longan. The five colored light swirled.

Zuo Mo didn't waste words. With a raise of his hand, the rainbow mist carried the [Angel Device Raiment] to fly towards Gu Liang Dao.

Gu Liang Dao's expression became joyed as he took it. At this time, a voice suddenly interrupted. "Wait!"

Ming Yue Ye stood out. "Can Mister Gu let go of this item, this one is Ming Yue Ye."

Gu Liang Dao turned around and his expression was slightly affected. "So it is Elder Ming, this one has heard of you. However, sorry, this item is extremely important to Old Gu."

Ming Yue Ye said coolly, "If Brother Gu is willing to part with them, the yao is willing to ally with Brother Gu and fully support Brother Gu. With Brother Gu's abilities, and the abilities of the yao, I believe that you will accomplish great things."

The expressions of some people present immediately changed, especially the factions that were close to Gu Liang Dao's territory. If the yao really did ally with Gu Liang Dao, they would be the first to suffer.

Gu Liang Dao only smiled upon hearing this. His weathered face carried a thread of pride and disdain. "Many thanks, Miss Ming, for you good intentions. Old Gu is a rough person, but knows that while one is poor, they must not lack ambitions. I, Gu Liang Dao, will take for myself what I want. Hm, I will not sell myself to become a slave!"

"You dare!" An elder was furious upon hearing this. He leapt out and shouted as he pointed at Gu Liang Dao.

A sharp ripple shot out his finger.

Zuo Mo's expression suddenly changed. He hadn't thought that the people from the Yao Council of Elders dared to commit a sneak attack under the eyes of so many people. Gu Liang Dao was a battle general and not skilled for his individual power. He would not be able to dodge such a sudden attack from a shen power expert.

Damn it!

There wasn't enough time!

Zuo Mo was extremely frustrated, and his killing intent rose. The entire King's Forbidden City suddenly shook. If one was outside the palace, they would be able to see the rainbow clouds that hung over the city suddenly move. The water formed from yin energy in the lakes suddenly boiled.

In this moment, Zuo Mo decided that if something happened to Gu Liang Dao, he would have all of these yao accompany his burial!

In a flash, a person standing beside Gu Liang Dao silently appeared in front of Gu Liang Dao.

The person's right hand was slightly open, five different kinds of light suddenly lighting up on his hands. Gold, wood, water, fire, and earth; the light seemed to ripple like water.

The yao council elder suddenly changed expression. Before he was able to react, the sharp needle-like ripple he had just released suddenly turned and appeared a handwidth from his face.

Pew!

He spat out blood and fell forward. His expression was as white as paper, and his breathing weak.

All of the yao council elders changed expression. Another elder hurriedly took out a pill and shoved it into the injured elder's mouth.

"Sir is?" Ming Yue Ye's pupils shrank slightly.

Everyone finally saw the person who had acted. This was a delicate and quiet youth. He had an average expression and his present wasn't special in any way. From the start, he had silently stay by Gu Liang Dao's side, Including Zuo Mo, everyone had missed his existence.

"I am Shuang Yu."

Everyone was puzzled at this unfamiliar name. It was clearly the first time they heard this name.

Ming Yue Ye had a thoughtful expression. Moments later, her pupils contracted again, "Shuang Yu who eight years ago went into seclusion in the Five Element Universe."

"Oh, you even know that?" Shuang Yu stilled. Many people in Xi Xuan didn't know his name, yet the other was able to point him out immediately.

Ming Yue Ye was intimidated. If her memory wasn't so good, she definitely would not have remembered. Out of the talented disciples in Xi Xuan, Shuang Yue was not outstanding, considered to be somewhere in the upper quartile. His birth was ordinary, and the sect did not pay great attention to him. The only thing that Ming Yue Ye remembered about him was because he had chosen to seclude himself in the Five Element Universe.

The Five Element Universe was a place that almost everyone in Xi Xuan had forgotten. It was a marvelous place that the Xi Xuan Founding Ancestor had found. It was a location where an extremely small jie was beginning to form, the five elements slowly manifesting inside. The Xi Xuan Founding Ancestor used great powers to seal it, and left only an entrance behind. He also said that only those that came out of the Five Element Universe would be the ones that had truly comprehended the true meaning of the five elements.

It seemed to be a great place to gain experience. When Xi Xuan had first been founded, many disciples chose to enter there to cultivate. Yet the reality was much crueler than they had imagined. If they could not comprehend the true meaning of the five elements, they could not come out. In history, there wasn't more than five disciples that had managed to come out.

As Xi Xuan gradually turned to enjoyment and luxury, the disciples forgot about the Five Element Universe. Shuang Yu was the only disciple that entered the Five Element Universe in the last thirty years, and it was only due to this that Ming Yue Ye had some impression of the name.

She hadn't thought that Shuang Yue had managed to come out of the Five Element Universe! And he had also thrown his lot in with Gu Liang Dao!

Sharp inhales sounded in the crowd, Many people had shocked expressions.

They had never heard the name Shuang Yu before, but all of them knew of Xi Xuan's Five Element Universe. Including Shuang Yu, there had been five disciples that had come out of the Five Element Universe. The previous four had all been the strongest of their era!

Those that came out of the Five Element Universe were qualified to stand at the peak of their era.

No one dared to dismiss him any longer, even if this youth appeared normal.

Their gazes towards Gu Liang Dao became filled with wariness as well. No matter what, the upper level of Xi Xuan would not be so stupid to push away a disciple that had survived the Five Element Universe. But Shuang Yu had still chosen to support Gu Liang Dao.

Gu Liang Dao himself was a fierce tiger, and this was giving him a pair of wings.

Zuo Mo was slightly surprised. However, after he asked Pu Yao about the origins of the Five Element Universe, he was filled with admiration towards Shuang Yu and felt happy on Gu Liang Dao's behalf. Gu Liang Dao was a top battle general. Adding on a top expert like Shuang Yu, his power could be said to have completely transformed.

Gu Liang Dao ignored the wary and hostile gazes of the other people. He patted Shuang Yu's shoulder and shoved the [Angel Device Raiment] into Shuang Yu's hands. His movements were natural as he was doing something normal.

Everyone finally realized. So the Angel Device Raiment was for Shuang Yu.

Shuang Yu stilled. "Big Brother ... ..."

"I originally planned to give it to you, but I am poor, and only had one lingdan that was acceptable. I was afraid that you would be disappointed if we didn't get it so I didn't tell you beforehand." Gu Liang Dao explained unconcernedly.

Shuang Yu felt his nose turn sour. He knew how poor Gu Liang Dao was. That [Five Element Soul Dan] was the only top level treasure Gu Liang Dao had.

Everyone was solemn and their gazes when they looked at Gu Liang Dao were filled with respect. Anyone that could do this was worth of respect. People finally understood that Gu Liang Dao's accomplishment had not been due to luck.

"Big Brother ... ..." Shuang Yu's eyes turned red.

Gu Liang Dao frowned and scolded impatiently, "After so many years, why are still you such a nag?"

Shuang Yu had a sheepish expression as he caressed the [Angel Device Raiment] in his hand. His expression was like that of a child that had received the toy of his dreams.

Ming Yue Ye saw this and was even more intimidated inside. She felt deeply wary at Gu Liang Dao's actions, no matter if it really was sincere or an act.

If this person was not a hero, he was an ambitious person!

Just now, she had felt a thread of shen power from Shuang Yu's attack, even if it had not fully taken form ... ...

With the [Angel Device Raiment] in Shuang Yu's possession, Shuang Yu's power would probably advance and become completed.

It was safest to kill people like Gu Liang Dao who could grow to become an enemy of the Yao Council of Elders! Ming Yue Ye felt murderous. Shuang Yu was strong, but if they did not care about the price, they would be able to kill him on the way.

If he perfected his shen power, he would become a great threat!

In Ming Yue Ye's mind, only Kun Lun, Tian Huan, and the Mo Shen Temple could become enemies of the Yao Council of Elders. The declining and rotting Xi Xuan was of benefit to the elders. Yet Gu Liang Dao was the person most likely to inherit Xi Xuan's wealth! If he inherited Xi Xuan's wealth, then his strength would grow to a terrifying level!

She had to eliminated a hidden and dangerous enemy like this.

Her expression did not change as though nothing had happened. The wounded elder was helped up. His face was pale white as he glared poisonously at Shuang Yu.

Yet Ming Yue Ye forgot that there was still a person here, and this person was the true master of this place!

"Little Girl, you wound my guests in front of ge, did you forget whose territory this is?"

Zuo Mo's low-class tone was murderous and glacial. The temperature in the palace suddenly dropped.

Translator Ramblings: Someone from the "recent" past.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Forty – Rage

Ming Yue Ye was of high status, and had entered the Genius Alliance from a young age. Then she had become the youngest elder, and now she was the most likely candidate to become the next head of the Yao Council of Elders. No matter at what time in her life, she had numerous protectors. She was like the bright moon in the sky. When she appeared, her radiance would cause everyone else around her to lose color.

When had she ever been called "Little Girl"?

When Ming Yue Ye heard the worlds, she stilled. Even the other people around her didn't immediately react.

The first one to react was Feng Xin Zi!

Feng Xin Zi was infuriated. In his mind, Miss Ming Yue Ye was the goddess of his heart with an unrivaled position. Xiao Mo Ge dared to call her "Little Girl." This was clearly blaspheming and insulting Miss Ming Yue Ye!

He could not endure this!

Even if he had some positive feelings about Xiao Mo Ge previously, all of the good feelings dissipated in this moment. What replaced it wa deep hate and dislike.

He looked at Xiao Mo Ge unflinchingly and said coldly, "Mister Xiao, do not speak rashly and cause a calamity to come to you!"

"A calamity?" Zuo Mo grinned and showed two rows of snowy white teeth.

Before he finished speaking, a rainbow coloured cloud suddenly came out of the ground and wrapped around Feng Xin Zi's legs.

Everyone's understand of Feng Xin Zi was limited to him completing a prison-breaking battle. Even among the Yao Council of Elders, there was only a rare few that knew that Feng Xin Zi had been one of the major players in solving shen power!

There was also no one that knew that Feng Xin Zi was the second member of this core group that was not a sky yao. However, he was of a deep mind, and did not show off so no one had discovered it.

Feng Xin Zi huffed. Pop pop pop, snowy white flowers suddenly bloomed around him.

The fragile flowers contained astounding power, pushing away the rainbow mist cloud that had wrapped around his feet. He was just about to take the opportunity to retreat when the rainbow clouds suddenly appeared around him.

He felt his body tighten and a strange field surrounded him.

Feng Xin Zi's eyes suddenly lit up. With a clear shout, the snowy white hyacinths suddenly exploded. Countless snowy white flower petals shrouded his figure.

These hyacinth flower petals composed of shen power froze in the air as though a paralyzing spell had been cast.

In the midst of it all, Feng Xin Zi felt the pressure on him decrease. These hyacinth petals seemed to form an enormous net. This was a field of power that belonged to Feng Xin Zi!

Because he was being suppressed by the rainbow mist, the area covered by Feng Xin Zi's field of power was compressed to its limits but this also made it as strong as possible!

The strange rainbow mist was blocked off by these tender snow white petals.

Zuo Mo had not expected Feng Xin Zi's strength but he did not care. In the King's Forbidden City, in this city, he was the true king!

They did not understand this, but Zuo Mo decided to make them understand.

Just how great the difference between them was in this city!

The palace disappeared like mist. In a flash, everyone seemed to be situation on a vast wildness. The endless rainbow colored mist caused fear.

Feng Xin ZI's expression changed slightly. The pressure from the rainbow mists multiplied.

The outermost layer of white flowers could not tolerate such great power, pop pop pop, they exploded into pieces!

The elders around Ming Yue Ye saw this and their expressions changed slightly. As they began to move forward. A cold smile appeared at the corner of Zuo Mo's mouth, his left hand moving slightly. The rainbow mists around the yao elders suddenly grew. The mists that were like specks of dust became seal scripts and mo matrices of various sizes that covered the space around them.

In front of the tsunami of power, the yao elders all changed expression and frantically reacted!

Looking at the panicked elders, Zuo Mo's expression was vicious, tendons bulging as he swore, "You little people, just you bunch of failures dare to throw a tantrum on ge's territory? You don't want to live? So what if I called her Little Girl? Let me tell you, in front of ge, all of you are little girls! Ah-ha? You disagree? You bunch of little girls! Ah-ha, a calamity? Have a taste of a true calamity!"

The experts that were watching the battle gaped at what they heard. Even a hero such as Gu Liang Dao that did not care for courtesy had a gaping mouth as he looked, in shock, at the raging Zuo Mo. Shuang Yu, like an innocent boy, was so scared by Zuo Mo acting like a street hoodlum that his body was froze in fear.

At some time, water drops containing yin energy rose from the lakes and floated in the air.

Zuo Mo's grin showed two rows of white teeth that appeared like two rows of fangs.

The water drops made from pure yin energy might only be something that other mo used in medicine pools or to forge mo weapons, but for Zuo Mo, it was a terrifying killing weapon!

Yin fire beads!

The killing move that Zuo Mo had first used when he stepped into the wider world. While it had been some time since he used it, but he had memorized the entire [Yin Fire Bead Chapter]! Additionally, the fire seed he had now was the Sun Shen Fire.

His arms spread out, Zuo Mo made a grabbing motion, and dozens of pure yin beads flew towards him. Golden fire suddenly came out of his hand, erupting and wrapping around the pure yin fire beads that came.

When the flames dissipated, dozens of round balls with golden patterns appeared in Zuo Mo's hand.

These round balls could not be called yin fire beads, but were yin fire shen beads!

Zuo Mo snickered coldly and threw the yin fire shen beads at Feng Xin Zi!

The moment the yin fire shen beads met with Feng Xin Zi's white flower petals, a golden light flashed and suddenly exploded! The unparalleled and domineering power of the sun shen power spread, carrying golden flames. Once the white flower petals were touched by the golden shen fire, they would be cleanly burned away.

Feng Xin Zi seemed to be struck by lightning and his body shook!

The dozens of yin fire shen beads immediately exploded in the area.

With the explosion of each one, Feng Xin Zi's body shook. Moments later, his complexion was pale white, and flower petals around him were scattered and had almost all vanished.

Under the domineering and ferocious attack of the yin fire shen beads, Feng Xin Zi was significantly injured.

Even the chief mo god had been defeated by the [King's Forbidden Firmament, much less the weaker Feng Xin Zi.

Everyone else was shocked. The power of the golden yin fire shen beads surpassed their imagination. The mo prided themselves in their physical abilities, yet what Zuo Mo used was definitely not a mo move.

But it really was powerful ... ...

The explosion of each yin fire shen bead was like thunder and lightning. People's hearts trembled. Many people thought 'what if it was them that was being bombed?' After thinking for a while, they found that there was no other solution than dodging. If they tried to fight back, there was no survival. Their expressions became ugly.

Zuo Mo also jumped in fright at the power of the yin fire shen beads but he quickly hid his reaction. The yin energy here was extremely thick and pure, and the yin fire shen beads he forged would be even stronger.

Having thought it through, Zuo Mo was even more excited.

He knew that such a fortuitous event such as this was a matter of luck. He could take the King's Forbidden City with him, but not this yin vien. Zuo Mo immediately decided that he had to enjoy himself to the fullest.

His hands beckoned. Woosh, another hundred pure yin beads appeared.

The yin fire shen beads were powerful but they did have weaknesses. If this was a normal battle, which user of shen power was not as fast as lightning? Before the yin fire shen bead could come into contact, the opponent would have disappeared.

But in the King's Forbidden City, this was the best killing move. The rainbow mist made from seal scripts and mo matrices were like a bog. They trapped Feng Xin Zi inside and he was unable to escape. From that, the yin fire shen beads could be used to maximum effect.

To use their physical body to stand up to the yin fire shen beads was not something even the mo famed for their powerful bodies could do, much less Feng Xin Zi, a yao.

"You're shameless!" Feng Xin Zi howled angrily, the tendons in his face showing. He also saw through Zuo Mo's move but the mist in the surroundings were like strong chains that wrapped around him to stop him from moving.

"Haha, you are right!" Zuo Mo was smug and did not disguise the savagery on his face. He said hatefully, "If I am not more shameless than you, how can ge sort you out?"

As he spoke, he forged yin fire shen beads. In the blink of an eyes, a few dozen yin fire shen beads took form.

Feng Xin Zi's face turned ashen.

He had received some serious internal injuries from the last attack. More importantly, his hyacinth flower net had already been destroyed.

"Xiao Mo Ge! Do you really want to become enemies against the Yao Council of Elders?" Ming Yue Ye could not attend to anything else and shouted harshly.

Zuo Mo was infuriated. "Ge will spit on you. Little Girl, from the start, it was you making trouble for ge, ah-ha, now that you see you aren't a match for ge, you say that ge will become enemies with your council of elders?"

Ming Yue Ye was stuck for words.

Zuo Mo said dismissively. "Ge is attacking your council of elders, so what? You don't agree? If you don't agree, bit me? Come on!"

At the side, Shuang Yu was dumbstruck. He weakly poked Gu Liang Dao, "Big Brother, this is the Xiao Mo Ge you said was peerless in heroism ... ..."

Gu Liang Dao could not keep his expression. He coughed and weakly defended, "Even a rabbit will bite when cornered... ... also, one has to be ruthless like the autumn wind to the tree's leaves when facing the enemy ... ... heroism, oh, let us not discuss this now ... ..."

Shuang Yu swallowed and clearly had received a bit of a fright.

He was of common birth but had never worried about clothing or food. From a young age, he had entered Xi Xuan and worked hard on his cultivation without pay attention to matters of the world. The education he received taught him to first offer diplomacy before war, maintain rationality, and to not lose his poise. When had he ever seen someone like Zuo Mo that was so unreasonable and didn't care about poise at all?

But this guy was astounding powerful ... ...

Zuo Mo's words angered the yao elders to howl.

"Xiao Mo Ge, you go too far!"

"I will kill you!"

"Xiao Mo Ge, you are dead, you will not be able to escape no matter where you go!"

"Curse, keep on cursing!" Zuo Mo's teeth were like two rows of knives. He snarled, "You guys, you think you will be able to escape? Ge wanted to sort you out a long time ago!"

Without another words, the hundred yin fire shen beads on his hands were thrown in a ferocious barrage at the yao elders!

Translator Ramblings: My day yesterday went from "I can do this" to "I did it" to "everything failed" to "okay, there's a second chance." Let's just hope I can make up for it today.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Forty One Fire Battle

The hundreds of yin fire shen beads came like a rainstorm, with a rumble, turning into a black cloud that flew at the elders.

The yao elders trapped in the rainbow mists were immediately alarmed but they could not break free of the cloud mist. All kinds of complex powers formed a field that was hard to break free of. No matter how hard they fought, they could not break away from this terrifying invisible net.

Yet the yin fire shen beads that flew through the air were not affected by the strange restrictive power at all.

The yin fire shen beads grew closer, and all the yao elders felt their hairs stand on end. Just now, they had clearly seen the power of the yin fire shen beads.

There was an immediate panic as all kinds of defensive yao arts were released.

Light shields, banana leaves, wheels of flowers ... ..

All kinds of colors and lights that layered together to completely surround them.

The golden yin fire shen bead hit the defensive yao arts.

Boom boom boom!

As hundreds of yin fire shen beads exploded simultaneously, golden flames shot out and covered the figures of the yao elders.

The yao eldest felt their vision turn bright, their ears ringing. A tsunami of power crashed into their defensive yao art. Many people seemed to be hit by something large, their body shaking, and their faces slightly pale.

The Council of Elders had only recently solved shen power and they had only created a few shen techniques, and defensive shen techniques made up a rather small portion of this. What the yao elders used in their panic were mostly defensive yao arts.

Defensive yao arts that encountered the yin fire shen beads forged in sun shen fire immediately wavered.

Zuo Mo did not care about that. The supply of yin beads was endless here. He could use the jinzhi here as easily as he could think. Here, he had the advantage of home territory. Even he did not understand that these people who clearly knew that they were within his jinzhi still dared to challenge him. How idiotic were they!

"You dare to be so arrogant on ge's territory? You don't want to live! Let me tell you, on ge's territory, if you are a dragon, coil up, if you are a tiger, stay on the ground!"

Zuo Mo's furious and aggressive shouts echoed in the King's Forbidden City. Everyone else watching perceptively closed their mouths. They had heard of Xiao Mo Ge's reputation before but they hadn't ever thought the rumored hero was really just a gangster.

Anyone present would not easily dare offend the Yao Council of Elders, much less fight them.

That was the Yao Council of Elders!

They ruled all of the yao, they had numerous battalions under their command. Countless prestigious families worked for them. All of the manpower and resources of the yao were in their hands.

This was a terrifying titan!

But ... ... but ... ...

Seeing their faces become covered in ash from the yin fire shen beads, and unable to keep their faces up, everyone felt as though this was an illusion. They could not imagine just how rash a person needed to be to act this way!

None of them would chose to do such a thing. They would even feel that Xiao Mo Ge was an idiot. However, they all admired Xiao Mo Ge's bravery. Those experts that had been restless were now silent. They were all intelligent people, and knew that they could not easily provoke a rash person like Xiao Mo Ge.

He was someone that would beat and kill yao elders, and he didn't have any qualms ... ...

The yao elders were furious when they heard this, but when they looked at the hundreds of yin fire shen beads behind a snarling Zuo Mo's body, their faces turned green!

"Die! Idiots!"

Zuo Mo's hands moved, and a new batch of yin fire shen beads headed for the yao elders like a fatal black cloud.

A hint of irrepressible anger flashed through Ming Yue Ye's eyes. She suddenly bowed towards a green-robed elder beside her and said respectfully, "Elder Ye, please!"

The green-robed elder was thin and tall, his expression was indifferent. He seemed to not see Ming Yue Ye's respectful bow and just responded with a light, "Oh."

He was extremely eye-catching among the disheveled yao elders. There wasn't any speck of dust on him, and his expression seemed to be unaffected by everything that was happening around him.

He slowly walked towards the front of the group. The rainbow mists did not seem to affect him at all. Deep respect and awe flashed across the eyes of the other yao elders. They perceptively made a path and each of them seemed relieved of a burden.

Zuo Mo had noticed this person with the cool expression a long time ago.

Usually, a person with this kind of expression was usually a true expert.

Expert?

A hint of excitement flashed through Zuo Mo's eyes, and his fighting spirit rose!

Elder Ye looked indifferently at the yin fire shen beads that flew towards him. He raised his right hand and grabbed at the yin fire shen beads in the air.

A scene that was almost difficult to imagine occurred.

The yin fire shen beads seemed to lose control and flew towards him like birds returning to the nest. When they flew to within arms-length of him, they stopped in the air.

Gasps rang out among the crowd. No one understood this move.

Zuo Mo's eyes flashed.

Elder Ye casually picked up a yin fire shen bead. He examined it and then slowly said, "It is slightly interesting. Yin fire bead forged with shen fire. I hadn't thought that someone still knew such an ancient skill."

"Idiot!" Zuo Mo squeezed out between his teeth with a cunning smile on his face.

Elder Ye's eye suddenly twitched and his expression changed slightly. Before he could react, boom, the yin fire shen bead on his fingers suddenly exploded and his figure was enveloped in golden flames.

Boom boom boom!

The scene of hundreds of yin fire shen beads exploding in such a narrow area was spectacular.

Within the golden flames were even spots of white flame, the terrifying power pushing the golden and white flames up dozens of zhang. The terrifying wave of heat swept outwards in all directions.

The defensive yao arts of the other yao elders collapsed under this great wave of air. Some of the weaker yao arts were thrown about as though they were struck with a hammer.

All of the King's Forbidden City shook. The people watching the battle were almost unable to stay standing as they stared in shock at the pillar of fire that shot into the sky!

Experts such as Shuang Yu who were at the edge of shen power changed expression. The shen power dense vibrations so roared within that pillar of fire, and he almost couldn't believe his eyes.

So there really was a freak in the world that had cultivated shen power to such a level ... ...

The pride hidden deep in Shuang Yu's heart couldn't help but waver at this time.

Feng Xin Zi looked dazedly and wordlessly at the pillar of fire. If this was him ... ...

This thought could not be excised from his mind. His extremities grew cold and his heart continued to sink.

Ming Yue Ye's expression changed drastically and she could not maintain her calmness. Elder Ye was the strongest person of this group! If even he wasn't a match, then the result would be terrible ... ...

Zuo Mo's expression was smug. Yin fire beads were hard to control, but these yin fire shen beads were forged in his sun shen power. He could make simple manipulations of the sun shen fire inside the yin fire shen beads.

"You should die!"

A deep roar like that of a wounded animal came out of the pillar of fire.

In the corner, the old man who had been idling away relaxedly suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp cold light flashing through them.

Woosh!

The pressuring flames extinguished without warning. A figure with an astounding presence slowly walked out of the remnants of the pillar of fire.

Everyone was stunned by this scene.

How was it possible ... ... how was it possible that someone could survive that kind of explosion ... ... that was shen power ... ...

Zuo Mo was also stunned. Even he would not survive the power of the hundreds of yin fire shen beads exploding together. But the other was still alive!

But when he saw Elder Ye's appearance, after blinking, he suddenly fell over on the ground and roared with laughter. "Hahaha, you look too ... ... so special!"

The people who had been stunned speechless by Elder Ye's terrifying power were startled awake by Zuo Mo's sudden laughter. When they looked at Elder Ye, muffled laughter rang through the entire venue. They did not dare to be as careless as Zuo Mo. They hurriedly covered their mouths to stop the sound of laughter from coming out. But their expressions became strange.

Elder Ye's hair was a mess as it gave off smoke. His eyes were two black circles like that of a panda. But what really set them off was that his almost naked body had been scorched and looked like that of a zebra. It was unknown what method he had used in the end to block the pillar of fire but his body was scorched black in regularly spaced streaks. The black and white parts made him look like a zebra.

A zebra panda ... ...

"You should die!"

Elder Ye was murderous, his eyes filled with blood. That pair of eyes were ravenous. Vast shen power was like a monster that was twisting its enormous body. With every movement, it let people feel the great power it contained.

The expression of the old man in the corner became serious. A hint of surprised flashed through his eyes. This person's shen power ... ...

An almost tangible pressure filled every corner and made people unable to breathe. Even those marshal experts changed expression now. In their eyes, Elder Ye that was slowly walking out of the aftermath was like a hope-robbing figure of legend. He only needed to reach out with a hand to crush them into powder.

Shock flashed through Shuang Yu's eyes.

Zuo Mo snorted, stopped his jovial attitude and stood up. Facing Elder Ye, he raised his head and stared rebelliously at Elder Ye. "Still not admitting defeat? Then I will beat you until you accept it!"

He almost spat out the last sentence, pausing between each word. His presence reached another level.

Each word was like a hammer hitting people in their minds.

As his presence increased, the rainbow mists floating in the air seeming to receive a summons to gather rapidly where Zuo Mo was. Inside the underground cavern, the yin energy that had been slowly flowing was being drained out of the yin vein at an astounding rate, and taken up by the King's Forbidden City.

The earth started to tremble.

In this moment, almost everyone had a feeling that the King's Forbidden City was waking up.

Translator Ramblings: This reminds me a lot of Zuo Mo when he was facing the Clear Sky Forefather. Something about cities and home territory advantage ... ...

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Forty Two – Intensify

Zuo Mo completely entered a rage. Ceng Lian'er and the people familiar with him automatically moved far away. They had seen how terrifying and vicious a berserk Zuo Mo was. The only one that did not move was A Gui. Dressed in the bone armor, A Gui stood there motionlessly like a statue.

Ming Yue Ye had never expected that the event would proceed like this.

Xiao Mo Ge would definitely become a great threat to the Council of Elders. When this thought popped out, she jumped in fright at her own thought. Gu Liang Dao should be a bigger threat. Gu Liang Dao who came from Xi Xuan and had the aid of a top expert like Shuang Yu was very likely to take control of Xi Xuan.

But Xiao Mo Ge?

A few battalions, a few small territories, he was individually brave, but in front of the Council of Elders, this was a joke. Then look at Xiao Mo Ge's actions, rash, idiotic, without any intelligence. How could such a person threaten the Council of Elders?

But this thought was so strong that Ming Yue Ye could not dismiss it.

However, the present situation did not allow her to think carefully why she would have such an absurd thought. The two sides would go off at any moment, and she was worried that Elder Ye could not win.

She suddenly asked the grey-robed elder in a low voice, "Is there any method that can affect the jinzhi?"

The grey-robed elder was called Elder Lin and was one of the rare elders among the council skilled in jinzhi. The reason that Ming Yue Ye had brought him along this time was for him to evaluate whether the [Angel Device Raiment] was real or not.

Elder Lin also knew the situation right now was urgent. That wave of yin fire shen beads had been stopped, but all of the people on their side had been affected. His scalp prickled at the thought of another wave.

"It is possible to affect it. But it will be very short, only about twenty breaths."

"That's enough." Ming Yue Ye said decisively. At this time, she didn't care about fairness or dueling decorum.

Elder Lin understood and a black yao core appeared on his hand. His expression was pained, but he didn't hesitate to throw the black core out.

When the black core landed on the ground, it turned into a ball of black mist.

The black mist quickly spread and dyed the seal scripts and mo matrices floating in the air like a great toxin. The black energy then flowed along the seal scripts and mo matrices to spread quickly.

In a flash, the rainbow mist made out of seal scripts and mo matrices became inky black.

Several black threads had even appeared on the yin beads in the air. They were frozen in the air, unable to move.

A hint of joy appeared on Ming Yue Ye's eyes, and her tone was slightly reproachful. "What is this? Why didn't you take out something like this before?"

Elder Lin grimaced. "This is [Black Blunting Smoke, a kind of yao core. It can slow jinzhi, but its effects are limited, only twenty breaths of time. Once it is used, it needs to be soaked in special medicinal liquid for a month before it can be used again."

"Twenty breaths is enough!" Ming Yue Ye's words were filled with confidence in Elder Ye.

The other elders had overjoyed expressions as though they had already won the battle.

———

Zuo Mo immediately detected the effects of the [Black Blunting Smoke]. The King's Forbidden City seemed to be a machine that suddenly rusted, and felt difficult to use.

There was something this strange? A hint of astonishment flashed across his mind.

"Haha, how's that? You can't do a thing! Boy, you cannot escape, I will kill you!"

Elder Ye immediately detected the change in the King's Forbidden City. His voice was filled with murderousness and savagery. He walked slowly towards Zuo Mo. With each step, his presence rose and became stronger like a fire!

Zuo Mo did not have the time to get rid of this strange black energy as Elder Ye was walking towards him with a snarl.

He did not panic. A cold smirk appeared on his face as he spat out, "Idiot!"

With a wave of his hand, a strange talisman appeared, it was the Little Mo Treasure Cup.

This was the only top talisman Zuo Mo had. The seven turtle-patterned treasure coins spun rapidly on the surface of the water and sparked occasionally.

The Little Mo Treasure Cup was slightly less powerful compared to the [Angel Device Raiment] but that was only a difference in how they were forged. The quality of Little Mo Treasure Cup's materials were actually better.

The Little Mo Treasure Cup's materials could rival the Anti Dragon Claw and the Three Thousand Threads of Worry now.

When the Little Mo Treasure Cup appeared in Zuo Mo's hand, Elder Ye suddenly felt a great sense of danger. His expression changed, and he shot backwards. At the same time, he pointed with his fingers which lit up with a bright light.

He rapidly drew out a triangle in the air, shen technique!

At this time, a lightning-like light suddenly flew out of Zuo Mo's hands.

The Little Mo Treasure Cup that had consumed an astonishing amount of lightning and now contained that terrifying lightning. With Zuo Mo using its full power and not keeping anything back, all of the lightning and thunder that the Little Mo Treasure Cup had absorbed on the day of its creation blasted out with his shen power!

The treasure coin that was covered with lightning and shen power could not endure such terrifying power and was reduced into a liquid ball of metal.

The silver energy was bright and burning as it charged straight into Elder Ye's triangle.

Boom!

The silver light was so blinding that no one could keep their eyes open.

Shen power turbulence were like little razors that scattered about. Everyone was shocked and threw up their defenses. However, any mo skill or yao art was unimaginably fragile in front of this shock wave, they all shattered.

In that moment, almost every person had small wounds on their body.

Many people changed expression immediately. When was the last time they had been wounded? Many people couldn't even remember. There was nothing better than this experience to let them understand the greatness of shen power!

Shen power era!

A person that did not cultivate shen power would be abandoned by this era. Even if they once stood at the top, it was the same for them.

Zuo Mo and Elder Ye would not have thought that the fight between them would strengthen the determination of all those present to find shen power. The pride of the experts at the peak of this era did not allow them to tolerate being killed in the future and be left unable to fight back like insects.

The light dissipated and the two figures once again appeared.

Elder Ye's left arm was limply hanging, a burnt black hole penetrating his right arm. Zuo Mo was not much better. The Little Mo Treasure Cup in his hand was completely dim, covered in cracks, and his expression was slightly pale.

In order to use the strongest attack, Zuo Mo had furiously channeled shen power into the Little Mo Treasure Cup. This attack was powerful, but Little Mo Treasure Cup had been overloaded with shen power and damaged irreparably.

Most importantly, Zuo Mo had used a great amount of shen power.

Elder Ye gazed at Zuo Mo poisonously as though he wanted to consume the other alive. He was filled with fury. His shen power was stronger than Xiao Mo Ge's, but he had been suppressed by Xiao Mo Ge. The other's moves were endless and hard to predict. The more he fought, the worse he felt.

Ming Yue Ye's face was ashen. She looked in shock at Xiao Mo Ge.

All of the Yao Council elders looked at Xiao Mo Ge as though they were looking at a ghost.

Elder Ye was one of the Ten Yao of the Council of Elders!

Unlike what normal people understood, the Yao Council of Elders was an extremely large organization with all elders each having their own roles. But the Ten Yao were the special existence in the council because they were the strongest ten yao of the council! They were given prestigious positions, yet they did not have to work. However, all the elders were in awe of and respected them. The power of the ten elders determined the status of the ten yao. Even someone with power in the council like Ming Yue Ye was respectful to them.

Elder Ye was the tenth yao of the Council of Elders!

How could someone like this be wounded?

"Haha, come ! Let's see what else you have!" Elder Ye roared with laughter.

Before he finished, a suddenly presence suddenly exploded nearby.

"No!" A wild howl carried out with the burst of air.

Elder Yao's smile suddenly froze. Zuo Mo's eyes flashed coldly. They turned their face and their eyes widened.

A strange and borderless field of power was released within a figure covered in white flames at the center.

Feng Xin Zi!

———

Feng Xin Zi felt the restrictions on him were much weaker. The Black Blunting Smoke was like a great toxin that infected all of the mo matrices and seal scripts. The rainbow mist around him were dyed black.

Feng Xin Zi felt joy. This was the best chance to break free!

If he could break free ... ...

He raised his head and accidentally saw Ming Yue Ye's pale face and that flash of fear in her eyes. In that moment, he seemed to be struck by lightning, his mind completely blank.

She had always been so calm and at ease, she had always been determined, she had always been so proud ... ...

Recovering from his daze, Feng Xin Zi felt as though his heart was being cut by a knife. There seemed to be a knife stabbing again and again at his heart as it bled.

Feng Xin Zi bit down on his lips. The crimson blood dripped off the corner of his mouth yet he did not feel it.

That ashen and scared face entered his vision, and stabbed his eyes to the point he couldn't keep them open. That helpless and frightened figure was the person he had sworn to protect!

Feng Xin ZI's handsome and sunny face twisted suddenly. He lowered his eyes filled with pain and deep self-blame.

He really was useless ... ...

Useless!

He was filled with fury, fury at his own uselessness. His halo as a genius was completely torn off. The tendons in his face bulged, his body uncontrollably trembling due to fury.

He had never hated himself so much, never!

Suddenly, something seemed to be ignited inside his body. Boom, a strong burning feeling filled his body, his blood seemed to be boiling, he felt as though he was burning!

Before his consciousness blanked out, he instinctively shouted out, "No ... ..."

The white and tender hyacinths that surrounded him were swallowed by the white flames that erupted.

Translator Ramblings: All for love.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Forty Three – Strategy

Feng Xin Zi's explosion was unexpected to all.

His shen power that had shot up several levels immediately caused his presence to be filled with an intimidating danger. Terrifying shen pressure caused the suffocating black clouds to once again press on everyone's minds.

A hint of joy flashed across Ming Yue Ye's eyes. She had seen Feng Xin Zi's potential. In the Council of Elders that was full of experts, other than potential and youth, Feng Xin Zi did not have any advantages. Even so, she hadn't expected Feng Xin Zi would give her a surprise.

Zuo Mo also was slightly surprised. The shen power that Feng Xin Zi just displayed was not strong, but it was the most detailed of everyone he had seen.

The records had mentioned this kind of situation before. It was rare, like an epiphany. However, the difference was one was when a person was in an excited state, and the other in a calm state.

However ... ...

He turned his gaze back to Elder Ye in front of him.

The old man was more of a threat than Feng Xin Zi. As to Feng Xin Zi, there would be people to deal with him. As he expected, he saw Ceng Lian'er appear like a ghost near Feng Xin Zi.

Listening to the hateful old man howling about killing him, Zuo Mo's murderousness rose.

You want to kill ge on ge's territory?

You're tired of living!

Little Mo Ge had disliked the overbearing Yao Council of Elders for a long time, they were endlessly arrogant. The small-minded Little Mo Ge could not tolerate someone more arrogant than he was in front of him.

You think that if there isn't the King's Forbidden City, ge can't do anything to you? Zuo Mo smirked darkly inside. He put away the dim Little Mo Treasure Cup, and then put out something black. It was the happily sleeping Black Gold Seal Soldier.

"Glutton! Come out!"

Bam bam bam bam bam!

Zuo Mo kicked repeatedly, the sound of his foot hitting metal hard causing people's hearts to feel cold. The Black Gold Seal Soldier opened his eyes in bewilderment and seemed to sleep-talk. "Big Bro, is it meal time?"

"Meal time?" Zuo Mo smiled temptingly. "Yes, we are preparing to eat! But this old man has come to interrupt and won't let us leave!"

"He's interrupting our meal time?" The Black Gold Seal Soldier's eyes turned red, his expression murderous and snarling. He suddenly turned around and his howl echoed in people's ears as though he had seen his archenemy. "He! Dares! To! Interrupt! Mealtime!"

The Black Gold Seal Soldier murderously climbed up, his four limbs on the ground, his body slightly crouched like a panther as he shot out!

Little Mo Ge showed a smile at his plan's success. Pia, he snapped his fingers and shouted smugly at A Gui. "A Gui, let's go!"

A Gui's figure suddenly disappeared.

At the same time, Zuo Mo shot at the shocked Elder Ye!

"Big Brother, he really is the peerlessly heroic Xiao Mo Ge that you spoke of?" Shuang Yu had to turn his face to not look and weakly asked Gu Liang Dao.

Three against one, so shameless, so devious, so low ... ...

This completely upended Shuang Yu's innocent view of the world. Wasn't this things that bad people would do?

Even more shameless because Xiao Mo Ge was actually of the same strength as Elder Ye, yet he still ganged up ... ...

Shuang Yu suddenly felt that yao elder was pitiful ... ... really pitiful ... ...

Gu Liang Dao also couldn't bear to look. He was a heroic person and never did something like bully the old and the young. He coughed to disguise the awkwardness on his face as he thought furiously. "Ah ah ah, this really is a kind of strategy, more fighting less, this is a law of battle. Right right right, it definitely is like that ... ... look, the yao have more people, in terms of total number, Xiao Mo Ge is the less fighting the more. He is attacking the crowd alone, such outstanding combat instincts ... ..."

"But ... ... but ... ..." Shuang Yu felt that Big Brother was right but also felt that it wasn't right somewhere.

"No matter the time, do not miss the importance of strategy!" Gu Liang Dao sternly warned Shuang Yu.

"Oh." Shuang Yu said in semi-understanding.

The other yao elders, upon finding that Elder Ye was about to be attack by multiple people, could not suppress themselves also acted in hopes of helping Elder Ye.

Gu Liang Dao was relieved of a great burden. He said, "Look, fighting with few against many!"

Shuang Yu's eyes suddenly lit up. "Should we help him?"

Gu Liang Dao coughed. "Do not underestimate Xiao Mo Ge. With my understanding of him, he definitely has other tricks."

Shuang Yu nodded, and looked with anticipation at the intense battle on the field, excitement on his face.

Gu Liang Dao wiped away the sweat on his forehead with lingering trepidation.

Of course Zuo Mo noticed the yao elders that wanted to attack. A cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. You underestimate gei's King's Forbidden City!

The seal scripts and mo matrices's effects were greatly influenced by the Black Blunting Smoke.

But that was the [King's Forbidden Firmament]. This green city possessed its power. While it was not complete, and its power was limited, it still could not be looked down upon.

There at least wasn't a problem in getting a chance for him to surround and attack!

His hands moving, the shaking of the King's Forbidden City suddenly stopped. All the yao elders suddenly felt the scenery change, their surroundings turning misty. All of the sounds and people disappeared.

They seemed to be standing on an endless wilderness, light mist floating ethereally.

Illusory formation?

The two words jumped into everyone's minds.

Yes, it was an illusory formation!

Many of the yao elders showed expressions of disdain. For people of their level, illusory formations were not an acceptable tactic.

But unexpectedly, they used all they knew but the scene in front of them still didn't change.

Why was it like this?

Was this not an illusory formation? The elders stared at each other.

Zuo Mo naturally would not miss on such a good chance. The two people and the seal soldier shot at Elder Ye. The illusions of the city had many jinzhi methods that he had found from his memories, the ones his father had left behind. These illusory spells were not the same as other illusory spells. He believed there would be people here that could resolve them but they would require some time.

This was a chance.

Elder Ye was disheveled as he was attacked by three people. Xiao Mo Ge's power had shocked him, and he hadn't expected the female dressed in grey armor to be so terrifying and powerful. Adding on a seal soldier that was fearless and seemed mad, he immediately ended up in great danger.

Elder Ye's heart continued to sink.

Damn it!

Was he going to die today?

The Black Gold Seal Soldier's eyes were wide as he spread his arms and ran towards Elder Ye. This unconventional action caused Elder Ye's heart to shake. His left hand struck towards the Black Gold Seal Soldier. But before he finished, the presence of a shen technique on Zuo Mo's hand caused him unable to spare any attention for anything else. He put the fingers on his right hand together, his shen technique waiting to be released, shen technique against shen technique!

Yet Xiao Mo Ge suddenly showed the smile of one whose plan had succeeded. Elder Ye's expression changed and he thought that it was not good. Before he could react, there was a heavy blow to his neck. He immediately lost consciousness.

"Idiot!" Zuo Mo smugly raised his hand that had been faking presence, the light of the shen technique fading.

Boom boom boom!

Among a string of packed explosion, the yao elders showed their disheveled figures yet the scene in front of them caused everyone to turn into the stone.

Zuo Mo had a foot stepping on the unconscious Elder Ye. He smugly grinned and showed his white teeth.

"I think we need to have a talk!"

Bie Han came back.

After coming back, Bie Han and Gongsun Cha exchanged a look but didn't exchange a word.

Many people speculated secretly about the return of Sin Battalion. But Little Miss and Bie Han did not mention a word about what Sin Battalion had gone to do.

The two biggest heads were silent, and the other people naturally did not dare to pick this topic.

But the return of Sin Battalion meant that their power grew. Everyone was excited. Up until now, all of the battle plans had proceeded smoothly. However, everyone also knew that this was just the beginning. What was next was the true test because what was next were the resources jies.

Resource jies were referring to those jie with great amounts of resources. They were the best part of all of Xuan Kong Temple. Due to this, there were countless eyes staring at them.

There were no tricks to taking down these resource jie. The only way was to steal from the mouth of the tiger. The upcoming battles would be hard and intense. The number of battalions they had encountered in the last few days had increased greatly.

But no one was afraid. All of them were rubbing their hands and yearning to go.

The present Mo Cloud Sea was not famous but had many commanders. Other than the two top battle generals Gongsun Cha and Bie Han, Miao Jun, Shu Long, Wei Ran, A Zha GE, Tang Fei and the others were all battle generals that could control one area.

It was these people that had continued to advance that gave Gongsun Cha the confidence to plan this astounding campaign.

Behind them, Gongsun Cha's seal formation forts were being built day and night. They were mostly finished. This meant that they did not have to worry about the supply lines at the rear.

The conference this time was the last collective conference.

Gongsun Cha did not say much. Up until now, they had not encountered true trouble in the plans they had made before. In the following battle, most of the forces were about to be split up, and the battalions would advance on their own.

The time to test these people have arrived. Gongsun Cha had an imperceptible smile.

When he had designed this plan, he had thoughts of giving these people the chance to be independent. If they were always under his shadow, they would not be able to truly grow. For the mission this time, he had even called Ma Fan over.

The best training ground for a battle general was the battlefield. While this campaign was crucial for Mo Cloud Sea, it did not mean that they couldn't afford to lose even one battle. Gongsun Cha also knew that this campaign would become a crucial campaign that would affect the Four Realms and even the world.

After dividing up Xuan Kong Temple, Kun Lu and Tian Huan would be unprecedentedly large. There would be a period of peace in the middle because Kun Lun and Tian Huan needed time to digest the fruits of victory. Once the two titans finished digesting, the days of the other factions would become hard.

Due to this, their only chance of survival was to strengthen themselves before that. Also, having this batch of battle generals truly grow up was the crux to having Mo Cloud Sea grow strong. The present situation was not so dangerous. With him and Bie Han, they could afford to lose. When it finally came to that time when they faced the two titans, they could not afford to lose.

He only hoped that Shixiong would return soon.

Gongsun Cha gathered his thoughts and threw out coolly.

"Everyone, fight!"

The commanders roared a response.

Translator Ramblings:WanderingGummiOfDoom is away for this chapter so I only did a quick edit for spelling.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Forty Four – The Identity of the Old Man

Seeing Ming Yue Ye and the yao elders leave with their tails between their legs, Zuo Mo was lost in thought and did not seem to notice them. The mo in the surroundings looked at him with awe and respect. Any person that managed to extort a top treasure, the [Death Thought Bead, from the yao elders were worthy of respect.

Ming Yue Ye had been decisive. It was worth it to trade the [Death Thought Bead] for Elder Ye, one of the Ten Yao. Elder Ye now owed her a favor, this was a good thing. Also, she had obtained a much stronger Feng Xin Zi.

As to the [Death Thought Bead, that was the public property of the Council of Elders and she did not care as it was not her personal loss. While her mission had failed this time, her individual strength had grown greatly. The most valuable gain from this trip was their experience in fighting with shen power which would be of great help in helping them perfect shen power.

Both Elder Ye and Feng Xin Zi were the ones that had benefited directly and the most. They had a deeper comprehension of shen power.

Ming Yue Ye knew that these two people were crucial and they were in her camp, and would greatly increase her status in the Council of Elders. If she could advance the yao shen power system, no one would be able to shake her position, and she was likely to ascend to the position of chief elder.

No one knew Ming Yue Ye's thoughts. All of the yao elders had dispirited expressions. Everything they had endured today in their view was a humiliation.

A grudge had undoubtedly been created between Zuo Mo and the Yao Council of Elders. However, both Ming Yue Ye and Zuo Mo did not care too much about this.

For Ming Yue Ye, her goal was the seat of chief elder. Before she took power, she did not have any direct conflict with Xiao Mo Ge. It was the opposite. After seeing Xiao Mo Ge's great strength, she had even thought of allying with Xiao Mo Ge.

If she had such a strong helper outside the Council of Elders, it would be beneficial for her faction. There were many rules the Council of Elders had to abide by, she was restrained. Her influence outside the Council of Elders would not be affected and there would be many convenient uses for such an ally.

Ming Yue Ye had smiled as though there had been no conflict at all as she briskly agreed to Zuo Mo's request. Even Zuo Mo had been surprised.

However, this increased Zuo Mo's wariness of her.

This woman was very strong!

Little Mo Ge felt that he definitely could not be like her, going from fighting in a life and death battle in one moment to chatting with a smile the next. She was also decisive and did not hesitate once she made a decision.

While he did not like this type of person, Zuo Mo had to admire Ming Yue Ye's strength. He also had a feeling. This woman would definitely have great power and influence in the future!

Shaking his head, Zuo Mo turned his head and laughed at himself. That had nothing to do with him.

Zuo Mo decided to ignore Ming Yue Ye's hidden intention to establish a good relationship at the end. You had to guard against an ally like this, someone who might stab you in the back at any time.

"We also have to go." Gu Liang Dao came over and had a hug with Zuo Mo.

Zuo Mo noticed the gazes that had gathered on them. He couldn't help but ask, "Do you want us to accompany you?"

Gu Liang Dao laughed brightly. "Haha, no need, there's Xiao Yu, and now there is the birdman suit, it will crush anyone that comes!"

Birdman suit ... ...

Zuo Mo's temple throbbed.

"I will protect Big Brother!" Shuang Yu weakly guarantee from the side.

"Alright, be careful during your travel!" Zuo Mo could only say.

'"Don't worry! Work hard! Us brothers will meet again in the future!" Gu Liang Dao took a wineskin from his waist and, after taking a great swallow, handed it to Zuo Mo.

Zuo Mo took the wineskin and also took a deep gulp. He felt as though there was a fire burning in his chest. "Yes! Us brothers will meet in the future!"

"Haha! Xiao Yu, let's go!" Gu Liang Dao laughed and walked out with his head up high. Shuang Yu waved at Zuo Mo and then followed closely.

The two flew out of the King's Forbidden City. A troop flew out of the crowd and formed a protective perimeter with them in the middle. It was Gu Liang Dao's personal guard!

Zuo Mo's worries were finally put to rest and then he laughed. Gu Liang Dao looked simple-minded but he was a daring and detail-minded person. How could he not have any plans?

"Everyone, the spectacle is over, you may do as you please."

Zuo Mo glanced over the other people and then ignored them. He was preparing to go back to Cloud Sea Jie, oh, it was now called Mo Cloud Sea. He needed a safe place to have A Gui use the [Five Element Soul Dan] and the [Death Thought Bead]. The mo territories were clearly not a good place. He also needed time to go through his memories in detail. He hoped he would get back to Mo Cloud Sea in time for the fighting and see if there were any places he could help.

But before leaving, he still had some problems to resolve.

He turned to walk towards the old man in the corner. The old man did not seem to be surprised to see him coming.

"Who are you? Why did I not find you in my memories." Zuo Mo asked directly.

The old man grinned but his gaze was cold. "Of course, how can the Zuo Family's young master's memories have an impression of a little person like me?"

Zuo Mo frowned. The old man's tone showed his friendlessness.

"There is enmity between us?"

"Not really, but your grandmother exiled me," the old man said coolly.

Zuo Mo was shocked. "Exiled?"

The old man narrowed his eyes and said humorously, "In the Zuo Family, practicing shen power is restricted. However, I had the duty of guarding the shen device, and I managed to get a few hints. A secret will never remain hidden forever. Your grandmother discovered I had learned it. I hadn't expected the old woman's shen power to be greater than mine. There was no way about it. But the old woman still thought of my past service, and only excited me to a desolate jie."

Zuo Mo felt his mind was a mess. There was too much information contained in the old man's words.

"This old man's entire life could be said to be in the old woman's hands. She probably knew that she didn't have much time left back then, so she brought her to you and nurtured her to be your person. This way, this old man could not stand by and ignore what happened afterwards. She really was cunning!" the old man said coldly.

"You are A Gui's ... ..." Zuo Mo's eyes widened and he threw all his other questions to the back of his head.

"A Gui ... ..." The old man stilled and his eyes suddenly narrowed and flashed coldly. "She's your ghost?"

Some memory fragments flashed across Zuo Mo's mind. He nodded. "En."

"The old woman really schemed well. Even in death, she does not let others rest!" The old man turned to look at A Gui with pity and guilt. His tone was filled with unfriendliness. "No wonder she is loyal to you, and turned herself into this ghastly state. My pitiful granddaughter."

Zuo Mo's body shook. The old man was A Gui's grandfather!

The old man suddenly lost interest. "Let's go and talk more on the road."

When Zuo Mo's group finished packing up and left Bu Zhou City, a figure carrying a sword covered in dust appeared on the horizon nearby.

Zuo Mo was overjoyed.

Eldest Shixiong!

Wei Sheng smiled as he carried his sword.

———

Liang Wei's face was dark.

In front of him was an order telling him to stop working and reflect on his actions. The cause of this was very simple. He had captured a Kun Lun scout and managed to extract an extremely valuable piece of information. Kun Lun was busy swallowing Xuan Kong Temple, and most of the battalions on that region's defense line had been moved towards Xuan Kong Realm except for a few.

He thought this was a rare chance and reported the situation.

Yet his report seemed to have dissolved in the ocean. Nothing came back. This was not unexpected. As the battle on the front lines was in a stalemate, he had been reassigned and was now under the banner of An Shi Corps. Corps Commander An Shi was old and experienced with a great reputation among the yao that normal corp commanders could not rival.

Theoretically, this was not a disservice to him. However Corp Commander An Shi favoured defensive tactics over offensive ones and seemed overly conservative to Liang Wei. No matter what kind of battle plan he suggested, they were never accepted.

Without fighting, Liang Wei's days passed as though they were years. Corp Commander An Shi was dissatisfied with his restlessness, and moved him to a position of no real power. If he hadn't had an accomplished record of service, he would probably have been kicked out already.

Unwilling to waste his days, Liang Wei lead a few guards and sneaked into the front lines alone to act as scouts. The secret was hard to keep, especially after Liang Wei had suggested attacking to Corp Commander An Shi based on the gathered intel. The anger of Corp Commander An Shi could be imagined.

So the order to be relieved of his duties and reflect appeared in front of him.

Feeling depressed, Liang Wei rang into the Ten Finger Prison and wanted to vent himself through war chess. With his skill level, he naturally won in war chess.

He quickly found himself bored.

Coming out of war chess, he dazedly roamed about. He suddenly saw someone familiar and he became alert. "A Xiao!"

The person who had a hurried expression immediately stopped. When he saw Liang Wei, a smile bloomed on his face. "Wei Wei! Long time no see. Hm, aren't you at the front lines, how come you have the time to come to the Ten Finger Prison?"

Hearing the slightly feminine name "Wei Wei," Liang Wei felt slightly helpless but also warm. A Xiao was a good friend of his from the yao art house but unlike him who entered the military, A Xiao's marks were not good enough to enter the military.

"Don't mention it. I did something wrong. I've been relieved of my duties and ordered to reflect," Liang Wei said, pretending to be unconcerned.

A Xiao's expression was surprised. Liang Wei had been outstanding in the yao art house and been tasked with great responsibility after entering the military corps. His achievements from last time had been broadcast far and wide and he had been called the next upcoming star of the yao.

Why was he relieved of his duties and ordered to reflect?

But A Xiao perceptively did not press. He smiled and said, "Haha, then relax. Come with me to a place."

Liang Wei who had nothing to do naturally agreed.

The two quickly came to a place with a sign "Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals."

"What place is this? A battle general club?" Liang Wei looked around curiously.

"You'll know when you go in." A Xiao kept it a secret.

They saw several people along the way, but there wasn't even one silver battle general. Liang Wei felt dismissive of this establishment. This was probably another place for low level battle generals to boast.

"Do you want to become a top battle general? Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals will give you the wings to fly!"

"There will be a famed teacher every week, simulations every day. As long as you persist, you can become a battle general!"

Liang Wei's disdain grew with the ads. This was the advertising of those training courses that were used to defraud people of money. A Xiao would actually believe something like this.

He was just about to speak when he suddenly saw a phrase out of the corner of his eye. He stopped walking, and lightning seemed to explode in his mind.

"Battle is changing, have you detected it?"

Translator Ramblings: And we're reaching the end of an arc. Once again, Fang Xiang leaves certain things to the imagination.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Forty Five – New Era!

In this turbulent era, the changes of the world were so rapid they dazzled the eyes. In the span of a night, the world had completely changed.

In this period of time, some major events had occurred.

What was most attention-catching was the division of Xuan Kong Temple's territory. Countless factions leapt towards them like hungry wolves. The ones that benefited the most were Kun Lun and Tian Huan. The two's power grew enormously and they became two titans that were so large it was frightening.

The mo territories filled with its heroes entered an era of consolidation. In the Hundred Savage Realm, the Mo Shen Temple was the strongest, then it was the Mo Marshal Alliance led by Marshal Di, and the Heroes Alliance led by Marshal Hao.

In the distant and remote Nether Realm, the first king of the Nether Realm came to power– the Nether King, this shook all of the mo territories! The birth of the Nether King attracted the eyes of the entire world. This meant that the mo now had a faction that could rival Kun Lun, Tian Huan, and the yao.

Compared to the xiuzhe world and the mo territories, the yao were much quieter. Ming Yue Ye entered the highest power ranks of the Council of Elders, becoming the Thirteen Seat Inner Council, and became the youngest inner council elder in history. Already famous, Ming Yue Ye's prestige reached a whole new level.

Other than this, Gu Liang Dao's strength grew enormously after he obtained the [Angel Device Raiment]. His strongest expert, Shuang Yu, became famous after killing three mo marshals in a single battle. Many of the people under Gu Liang Dao's command were unknown before, but the other factions now lusted for them.

Under the talented Xiao who started as an accountant, the development of Gu Liang Dao's territory was fierce.

Gu Liang Dao, Shuang Yu, Xiao, these three disciples came from Xi Xuan. Their light was enough to make all of Xi Xuan seem dim in comparison. They had the name of the Xi Xuan's Talented Trio. Of course, Xi Xuan would never admit to this.

Other than this, there was one other faction that attracted attention from different powers: Mo Cloud Sea.

Mo Cloud Sea's growth had also been fueled by Xuan Kong Temple's downfall.

In a military blitz, Mo Cloud Sea had quickly taken fifty six jie in just six months. In the six months, they had defeated and forced back dozens of surrounding powers, defeating hundreds of battalions, including two from Kun Lun and Tian Huan.

Such a domineering and fierce power immediately caused the neighboring powers to fear it.

Just as everyone thought that another great power would take form, unexpected, after swallowing the fifty six jie, Mo Cloud Sea stopped expanding without any warning.

At this time, no one had the time to think about this.

The collapse of Xuan Kong Temple was an unparalleled feast. Its enormous size and richness of resources was definitely among the top of the factions who had collapsed in the last few thousand years. The fifty six jie was just a small piece of this great and grand banquet.

The eyes of the factions were on the territories that had not yet been divided.

The one that fought the hardest was Kun Lun, Tian Huan, and the last remaining nine great dhyana sects of the ten great dhyana sects. The powerful Kun Lun and Tian Huan took about one-fifth of Xuan Kong Temple each, the nine great dhyana sects took two-fifths of Xuan Kong Temple, and the last fifth had been split by the other powers.

The great Xuan Kong Temple that had once been one of the four great sects crushed and existed only in the records.

When this banquet gradually came to an end and people started to calculate their spoils, they found to their shock that the fifty six jie that Mo Cloud Sea took over made up some of the best parts of Xuan Kong Temple's territories.

Numerous factions wanted to move against Mo Cloud Sea. The factions that had been defeated did not dare, but other factions that thought they were strong enough were deeply tempted by the fifty six resource jies.

But when the battalions reached the fifty six jie they found, to their shock, that densely arrayed jinzhi forts had been built up at some unknown time. The layers of densely arranged jinzhi gave off blinding light that caused those to look to feel their scalp prickle and to inhale sharply.

Everyone was shocked by Mo Cloud Sea's wealth, manpower, and resources. They could not understand how they were able to set up such perfect jinzhi forts in such a short amount of time. They scouted around to probe, and could not find a weak point.

There were more experienced battle generals that spent a lot of time to investigate all the jinzhi on the borders. When they mapped out the positions of the forts, they found that these jinzhi forts connected together in a strong defensive formation.

The jinzhi forts were not simply to designed to guard the jie rivers. They connected to each other and were placed in a carefully planned and orderly fashion. The complexity almost surpassed a person's imagination. The forts formed layers of defenses that were so exquisitely planned that any factions that attacked it would become off bloody. Mo Cloud sea only needed to use a small number of battalions and the defense line would be stable.

If the enemy wanted to attack, there was no other methods than attacking the forts one by one.

The other's expansion plan had been planned in great detail! Those that paid attention read a strong desire to expand into the surrounding territories using this defense line.

However, what truly caused people to pay attention to Mo Cloud Sea was the return of Gongye Xiao Rong. When Gongye Xiao Rong returned to Tian Huan with the remnants of his battalion, with not even nine hundred people left, all of Tian Huan was overjoyed.

People quickly learned that Gongye Xiao Rong had been defeated by Gongsun Cha. Gongsun Cha's reputation moved up a level.

As people paid attention, the secret that the master of Mo Cloud Sea, Zuo Mo, was Xiao Mo Ge also floated up. The other top level battle general, Bie Han, also started appearing.

Thinking about the two top battle generals holding the forts, no one dared to target them.

Even Kun Lun and Tian Hun didn't dare to move rashly, much less the other factions.

The battle to divide Xuan Kong Temple raged for two years before finally ending. There were many riddles in this time. The biggest riddle was the disappearance of Xuan Kong Temple's Sutra Library and the Dhyana Treasure Pavilion.

When the invading factions, with Kun Lun in the lead, hurriedly got to the main peak of Xuan Kong Temple, they found that someone else had gotten their first. Xuan Kong Temple's main peak was a sea of flames, the Sutra Library and the Dhyana Treasure Pavilion completely cleaned out.

The news shocked the world.

The Sutra Library collected all of the spells of Xuan Kong Temple. The Dhyana Treasure Pavilion contained all the treasures that a thousand generations had gathered. If Xuan Kong Temple was a feast, then the Sutra Library and the Dhynana Treasure Pavilion was the main course.

All of the factions that participated in the invasion were enraged. But even after many years, they hadn't found any clues.

The thieves seemed to have disappeared and not left behind one clue. Many masters skilled in divination tried to search but there was nothing obtained. The thieves had been skilled and used a special method to disguise everyone.

The xiuzhe world, the mo territories, and the yao, the entire world entered a temporary period of fragile peace.

———

The world situation was maintained for five years.

For Mo Cloud Sea, these five years were crucial, especially for development of shen methodologies.

Five years ago, shen power was a mysterious and distant thing for the average person, a field that only the top factions could touch. But right now, after five years of development, all kinds of shen power appeared like bamboo after a rain.

The most famous were the Kun Lun's Shen Power, the Tian Huan's Shen Glyphs. Xi Xuan had the Five Element Shen power, but the consensus was that the purer five element shen power was the reverse five element shen power created by Shuang Yu under Gu Liang Dao. This reinforced the belief that Xi Xuan's power and influence was in decline.

The nine great dhyana sects had many dhyana heart shen power, and dhyana thought shen power. There were many kinds, but not having inherited Xuan Kong Temple's scripture as well as the shen power they had created, these nine factions had not developed a shen method that could rank at the top shen powers.

Among the top shen powers in the xiuzhe world, Mo Cloud Sea's Mo Cloud shen power was the most attention-catching.

Unlike the other shen powers, Mo Cloud shen power was unique in cultivating with the three powers as the fundamentals. Of course, the reason for this was the master of Mo Cloud Sea, Zuo Mo.

The rumors among the common people was that Lin Qian had comprehended Kun Lun shen power after a fight against Zuo Mo.

Due to this, the other factions put a great focus on spying on Mo Cloud Sea and investigating their shen power. Many factions that had mastered shen power hoped to use their findings to breakthrough. Even though Zuo Mo and the others had thought of many ways to stop the shen methodology from being leaked, but the most fundamental shen methodology was still inevitably leaked in the end. With such large-scale practice, it was difficult to prevent the spread of the basic shen methodology.

But the people who got the Mo Cloud shen power method quickly found that, compared to the other powers, Mo Cloud shen power was the hardest to cultivate. It required cultivating all three powers and meant that the amount of time one had to spend was at least three times.

People quickly lost interest in Mo Cloud shen power. They turned their attention to the shen powers that had originated from ling power. They were more familiar with ling power and the shen power used ling power as the base was more fitting to their needs. No matter how good the Mo Cloud shen power was, they could only use it as an example.

The fundament shen methodology of Kun Lun and Tian Huan spread. These basic methods were not enough for people to actually reach shen power but it was of great inspiration to other sects. It allowed them to understand which direction they should develop in. The path that Kun Lun and Tian Huan tread on was what they needed.

Reality proved that not all genius were in the major sects.

All the talents of the major sects secluded themselves to create their own sect's shen power.

In this period of time, all kinds of shen power had been created. The great majority of them couldn't even reach the third rank, but there were shen powers that were unique among them.

For everyone, shen power was no longer going to be a term that was mysterious, unknown and distant.

As shen power continued to develop, the difference between the major sects quickly grew smaller. The xiuzhe world seemed to recover to a new equilibrium. However, some sects continued to struggle and many sects managed to capitalize on this opportunity.

There would be a new shen power being created every day. The shen power system of the xiuzhe world was being enriched and perfected. It was an exciting and vibrant era filled with life.

People enthusiastically created, cultivated shen power. Everyone was filled with curiosity and anticipation towards this completely new power.

This was a blooming era, this was an energetic era, this was an era where a hundred flowers bloomed, this was an era where opportunity and danger coexisted, this was an era of geniuses.

This was a completely new era.

The era of shen power.

Translator Ramblings: This would be the montage scene in a movie.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Forty Six – Shen Device

In this five year period, Mo Cloud Sea did not expand.

The jinzhi defense line completely separated Mo Cloud Sea from the outside world. This isolationist stance caused Mo Cloud Sea to seem even more mysterious in the eyes of other factions.

There were only a rare few that knew how much Mo Cloud Sea had developed.

The fighting to divide Xuan Kong Temple had continued for two years, but for Mo Cloud Sea, it had only been six months. Adding on the five years period of peace, the Mo Cloud Sea had was six years and six months of peace, one year and six months more than the other powers.

In this six years and six months of time, Mo Cloud Sea developed at an astounding rate each day.

From a long time ago, Zuo Mo had given the shen methodology to the core members of Mo Cloud Sea. Mo Cloud Sea had started developing in this area many years earlier than everyone else.

According to the knowledge that Zuo Mo supplied, the Mo Cloud Shen Methodology that all of Mo Cloud Sea helped developed was already very mature. Mo Cloud Sea drew inspiration from Zuo Mo's sun shen methodology, the Greenvine shen methodology, the Mist shen methodology, and the Undying shen methodology that came from the Undying Shen Punishment.

While one still needed to cultivate the three powers, but Mo Cloud Sea which possessed the Pu Wei Library quickly found suitable methods from the yao and mo powers.

Unlike big sects like Kun Lun and Tian Huan, Mo Cloud Sea didn't have any fanxu. This past weakness now became a great advantage.

Other than this, the seal inscriptions of Golden Crow Camp developed far beyond what the outer world imagined. Other than the inscription of shen glyphs which was still immature, they had developed the inscription of mo matrices, yao cores, and seal scripts. They even created a completely new cultivation method that merged inscribing and Mo Cloud Sea's shen methodology.

They even used this to create two new terrifying battalions, the new Guard Camp and Sin Battalion.

However, the accomplishments of Golden Crow Camp were not limited to just this. Even Zuo Mo, the person who had founded Golden Crow Camp, had never thought that Golden Crow Camp would develop to such a level.

The present Golden Crow Cloud Island was heavily guarded. Large and vicious cloud steeds flew through the clouds and continued to land on the cloud island.

Having obtained all kinds of secret husbandry methods from the three races, Chun Yu Cheng continued to breed, research, nurture, and spend. He finally bred a completely new powerful species that was unlike mo steeds, ling beasts, or yao beasts. In the end, he named them cloud steeds.

The cloud steeds had something very unique, they had three beast cores inside their bodies and they possessed the three powers. However, because the numbers were limited, only the core members of Mo Cloud Sea possessed them. In Mo Cloud Sea, cloud steeds were a symbol of status.

It was rare for so many important people to appear at the same time at Golden Crow Cloud island. The disciples on the island were restless but no one dared to ask questions. On Golden Crow Cloud Island, there were too many things to keep secret.

All the upper levels of Mo Cloud Sea, without exception, had come.

Under the guidance of the two masters, they disappeared into the jinzhi.

———

Inside the jinzhi, everyone's gazes were attracted by two suits of armor. The two sets of armor silently floated in front of them, one as bright as fire, the other silver white like frost.

The two masters wore an expression of pride. Master Sun Boa's tone was cool but filled with strong confidence. "These are two sets of shen device raiments."

Shen device raiments!

Boom!

The crowd exploded. No one had thought that Golden Crow Camp were already able to forge shen device raiments!

It had been seven whole years since Zuo Mo had forged the [Angel Device Raiment]. In these seven years, so much had changed. This included shen devices. One year ago, Kun Lun was the first to announce the creation of the first shen device, [Capable Person]. In the next month, Tian Huan also announced Tian Huan's first shen device called the [Weaving Girl's Shuttle]. Then Xi Xuan announced the existence of [Floating Li Fire].

However, almost all of the shen devices used Zuo Mo's naming pattern, raiment. And almost all of the shen devices had been formed into armor. Even Kun Lun who was famous for its swords were not an exception. This was became they found that this structure, which covered the entire body, could use shen power to its greatest effect and was helpful in controlling shen power.

Everyone had been waiting for Zuo Mo to forge a new shen device. No one had expected Golden Crow Camp to be the first to forge them.

"Actually, we had considered forging shen devices a long time ago because we have the most complete information on the method. We had initial thoughts but we quickly faced a problem, what kind of shen device to forge. Then we asked Daren for his opinion, and Daren suggested for us to forge battle general shen device raiments!"

"Battle general shen device raiments ... ..."

This answer had been unexpected by all. Gongsun Cha and Bie Han's eyes suddenly lit up.

Zuo Mo spoke at this time, "Yes, there is one important reason that we have been able to get to where we are, it is because we possess two top battle generals. So we first forged battle general shen devices. Shen power is continuing to level up. From the beginning where only a few cultivated it to now where everyone is cultivating it. Future battalions will be comprised of soldiers that cultivate shen power and what will change is the method of battle. We will only truly be ahead of the others if we are the most advanced in this area."

Everyone had thoughtful expression. Many people nodded inwardly, especially the battle generals. They felt this even more directly and deeper.

"The silver one is Gongsun Daren's raiment, it is called [City Destroyer]." [1]

Gongsun Cha's smile froze on his face. The other people covered their mouths, their facial muscles furiously trembling as they forced themselves to not laugh out loud.

Afraid of being blamed, Master Sun Bao hurriedly added, "Daren personally named it."

Zuo Mo's smile froze. He swore at Sun Bao inside, piling a smile on his face. "Shidi, this is a good omen. One smile to destroy cities, in the span of one smile, take down a city, how great is that! Actually ... ... if it wasn't ... ... I feel that one smile to destroy a jie is even better. In one smile, destroy a jie ... ... hahaha ... ..."

When he got to the end, Zuo Mo pretended to be cheerful and laughed. The expressions of the other people became even more pained, Their faces under their hands became even more twisted. If they offended Lil' Miss Daren, then their future days would be dark!

Gongsun Cha smiled slightly and said unaffectedly, "This name is good!"

It was over, he had offended Gongsun Shidi ... ...

Zuo Mo wiped away the sweat on his brow.

Master Ji Wei quickly changed the topic, "Bie Han Daren's set is called [Arsonist]."

Bie Han expressionlessly glanced at Zuo Mo. Zuo Mo's hair stood up.

Bie Han gritted his teeth inside. Of course he knew the Daren meant. It referred to the fire that he had set on Xuan Kong Temple's main peak. Thinking about how he had been kidnapped, sold himself to Daren, and how he had once said to Daren that he was going to set a fire to burn down Xuan Kong Temple, Bie Han felt the past him was so stupid.

Other than Zuo Mo and Gongsun Cha, no one else knew that Bie Han had set a fire to burn down Xuan Kong Temple's main peak.

The other people praised the name [Arsonist]. While Bie Han was cold and reclusive, his fighting style was as a raging fire as he destroyed all those in his way. The name Arsonist matched that.

"The name isn't bad." Bie Han was expressionless and his tone was icy.

The two masters wiped away cold sweat. They had wondered for a long time about the two names. If Daren hadn't personally named them, they definitely would not have agreed.

"Cough!" Zuo Mo pretended to be composed and concluded, "I hope everyone will cooperate with Gongsun Cha Daren and Bie Han Daren to find a new battle method and master it."

Gongsun Cha had a small smile. Bie Han was expressionless.

The battle generals felt their scalps prickle. Many people had expressions of wanting to cry. Why was it that Daren was the one that made trouble, but they were the ones to pay for it ... ... why ... ...

After saying this, Zuo Mo raced off.

———

Deep in the night, the stars filled the sky.

Zuo Mo was reclining on the rooftop with a bottle of wine beside him. He was leaning on his arm as he stared out in a daze at the stars. A Gui was silently sitting next to him and didn't look any different from seven years ago.

Zuo Mo knew how great the changes of the seven years had been. The entire world was completely different.

The two shen devices today had stirred some of his memories. It was a very rare that anyone knew that the first true shen device after the end of the ancient era was not Kun Lun's [Capable Person] but an unknown [Ghost].

That had been forged by his deceased father.

This shen device was also one of the fuses that led to the destruction of the Zuo family.

The four sects that had come divided up [Ghost]. This became one of their important articles of study. They determinedly believed that they could find the crux of shen power from it, because before Father had forged [Ghost, no one in the Zuo Family had cultivated shen power.

There was a lot of information in Zuo Mo's memory fragments that had been obtained from his father's secret rooms. For example, he knew that his mother had once been Father's ghost, and this was one of the reasons that Grandmother had not liked Mother.

The death of his parents was a riddle. Even his grandmother had never mentioned it.

He only knew that [Ghost] had always been kept at home even though he had never seen it. The old man who had been guarding it comprehended shen power and been exiled to a desolate ejie. In reality, other than the old man, there had been another person who had also comprehended shen power from it, his grandmother.

While Grandmother had been alive, no one dared to come and make trouble. The only one able to exile a shen power expert could only be another shen power expert.

The matters of his father and mother were very distant, so distant that he could only find some sparse words from those shattered memories. But he knew that Father had forged [Ghost] for Mother.

It was probably because Father understood that one needed power to protect the people and things he held precious.

In these years, Zuo Mo had not stopped cultivating. He knew that he would only be able to protect everything he treasured if he became more powerful.

He looked warmly at A Gui.

There was the entire Mo Cloud Sea, and everyone that needed his protection.

Maybe some people were filled with unrealistic illusions about the future but Zuo Mo knew when the peace ended, it meant an even more desperate era.

But he did not fear it.

[1] 倾城 literally means destroyer of cities but it is usually used as a descriptor of female beauty, as a beauty that can "destroy cities and countries."

Translator Ramblings: More of Zuo Mo's family history, why his family was targeted, and even more reason to destroy the four sects. Also, Zuo Mo's naming sense is lovely in these two cases.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Forty Seven – The Last Straw

The stairs stretched deep down as though there was no end into the darkness. The walls on all sides were engraved with all kinds of seal scripts. Some had already started to crumble. It was clear that they were ancient.

Flying down along the stone stairs, they had been moving for more than four hours but still could not see the end of the stairs.

"Sect Leader ... ..." the elder at the front murmured anxiously. It was unusually clear in the deathly silence and caused everyone else to jump in fright. Some of the less courageous elders changed expressions minutely and showed slight terror.

"What?" the sect leader did not stop. A hint of disdain floated at the corner of his lips. "You're afraid?"

The elders were silent. No one made a sound.

"There's no way around it even if you are afraid. Do you know what the outside says about us? Ha, us Xi Xuan are the second Xuan Kong Temple. The Xi Xuan Trio, tsk tsk, but none of them are in Xi Xuan. The outside says that I am useless, that is right. However, you all know the situation of the sect better than anyone. Who forced Gu Liang Dao into a corner? I said we needed to win over Shuang Yu. Hmph, the result? No one would bear to spit out some meat."

The sect leader's cold and sharp words echoed in the passageway. The elders faces turned black and white, no one made a sound.

"The battalions are in your hands. The battle generals are all your sons and nephews. Ha, that's nothing. I understand letting those close to you get the benefits. But please, pick ones with some talent. Tsk tsk, in one month three battalions were defeated. No wonder other people say we are the second Xuan Kong Temple!"

"We did not receive any information beforehand ... ..." an elder argued.

"So people have to first notify you before attacking you?" The sect leader smiled coldly. "Look at what factions have defeated us, small factions without any fame. You are all masters at inner conflict. Tsk tsk, if you had half that skill when fighting against the outside, our sect should have conquered the four realms a long time ago."

Embarrassment and anger mixed on the elder's faces.

Inside the passageway, they flew for three days and three nights. Tiredness came onto the faces of the sect leader and the elders.

At the end of the stone stairs was a copper door.

"Stand guard outside," the sect leader said coldly. All the other elders released a breath and nodded. Their expressions when they looked at the copper doors were filled with terror and respect.

The sect leader inhaled, pushed open the door and disappeared inside.

———

"Uncle Zhong, for my father's sake, please help this nephew this once." The sect leader's tone was low, his body bowed as he said sorrowfully, "We were defeated three times in a month, Xi Xuan's weakness has been exposed. The surrounding factions are looking to make a move. I have investigated our battalions, they are rotten to the core. In this enormous Xi Xuan, there is no battalion that can fight!"

The large man in front of him had an indifferent expression.

The large man sat on the chair. His body was brawny like a tower of metal. Just sitting there, he gave people a strong suffocating pressure. His short hair stood up straight like wires, but was almost completely white. Scars criss-crossed horrifically on his face. His grey pupils did not hold any emotion. Any exposed part of his body was covered in a dense mat of scars that were startling to see.

There were two males standing on either side of the large man. Both of these men were also covered in scars.

"I have already repaid your father's favor," the large man said coolly, "I need to guard the Fiend Abyss Jail, find someone else."

Bam.

The sect leader suddenly knelt on the ground and started to cry. "Uncle Zhong, Xi Xuan is in danger, please, save Xi Xuan! If you do not act, Xi Xuan will be destroyed! Uncle Zhong, if you are willing to come out, this nephew is willing to give up the position of sect leader."

The large male was indifferent and unaffected. "See the guests out."

The two men standing solemnly next to him suddenly released a sea of murderousness that hit the sect leader like a tsunami.

The sect leader's body shook. He resisted the bone-piercing murderousness, and suddenly stopped crying. He gritted his teeth and said, "If Uncle Zhong is willing to come out of the mountain, this nephew is willing to construct the Tomb of Yun Ji!"

Boom!

The sect leader felt as though he was hit with a great hammer, flying out into the air dozens of zhang.

The large man's grey eyes were bloodshot. For the first time, his face changed.

The sect leader ignored the blood dripping from his mouth and struggled to climb up. "Yun Ji's contribution to our Xi Xuan is great. When the Tomb of Yun Ji is finished, I will announce as the sect leader for the core disciples and all the elders to come and mourn!"

"Your father told you this story before he died." The large man became indifferent again.

The sect leader's face paled. He was shocked. He hadn't thought that Uncle Zhong had been able to guess this.

"So he knew before that Yun Ji was innocent," the large man said to himself. His voice was desolate. "I asked to guard the Fiend Abyss Jail. Fifty years, I hadn't thought that father and son have continued to scheme against me."

The sect leader's expression was ashen.

"Where are her bones?" the large man suddenly asked.

The sect leader felt that Uncle Zhong's gaze was like a pair of pincers that held him. He was almost unable to breathe and unconsciously said, "In ... ... a secret room. Father had made an altar to her."

The pressure on him eased. He collapsed on the ground and panted, looking in terror at Uncle Zhong. [1]

A moment later, the large man suddenly said, "I will agree."

The sect leader stilled and was overjoyed. "Many thanks, Uncle Zhong, many thanks, Uncle Zhong!"

"The Tomb of Yun Ji must be built within two years."

The large man suddenly looked sardonically at the sect leader. The scar-covered face became unspeakably strange and terrifying. "No matter how much your father schemed, he could not have expected that I only have three years left to live."

The sect leader was stunned.

———

Zuo Mo was extremely busy. He increasingly felt that he needed a skilled manager. Right now, the main steward of Mo Cloud Sea was A Ming, a local of Cloud Sea Jie that Bao Yi had recommended. Bao Yi had been a small time blackmarket dealer from Little Mountain Jie. He had felt the great pressure once Mo Cloud Sea expanded, his hair almost turning white. He coincidentally found that A Ming had good talent and promoted him. Later, A Ming had became the main steward.

Bao Yi went back to guarding the resource stores, and his days were easy now.

Cloud Sea Jie was organized under A Ming's management yet the present Mo Cloud Sea was multiple times larger than back then. A Ming was struggling.

The present Mo Cloud Sea was sixty nine jie in size, including the three jie under the rule of Rare Artifact Hall.,

This included a great number of resource jie. The complex flow of materials, battalion supplies, and searches for talent were complex.

After Zuo Mo had returned, A Ming immediately sighed in relief. There were some decisions he did not dare make on his own.

For example, the problem of production. Golden Crow Camp possessed a great ability to produce and was the greatest source of income for Mo Cloud Sea. What to produce was undoubtedly the greatest question, especially in this era of turbulence and rapid change. Other than Zuo Mo, no one dared to make the decision.

Problems like this were all left to Zuo Mo. Zuo Mo had a hard time.

He desperately desired an outstanding manager. At this time, he realized that an outstanding manager's value was no less than a top battle general. He was jealous of Gu Liang Dao. While Xiao had no offensive abilities, but he was talented at management. Gu Liang Dao did not have to worry about any of this and could focus on training his troops and fighting.

A Ming was talented, but lacking greatly compared to Xiao.

"Management talent?" Pu Yao also frowned. "This kind of skill is not easy to find and recruit."

"Think of a way! By any means necessary! At any price!" Zuo Mo bared his teeth.

"En, I will pay attention." Pu Yao nodded.

Zuo Mo suddenly thought of something and asked curiously, "How about your Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals? How is that going?"

Pu Yao's expression was smug. "There are some good seeds."

Zuo Mo was even more interested. Those that Pu Yao said were good probably had great talent. He immediately had a drooling expression. "How about it? Can you pull them over? I can make a few battalions for them to play with!"

With Mo Cloud Sea's present wealth, Zuo Mo had enough assets to say something like this.

"I have other arrangements." Pu Yao unhesitatingly refused Zuo Mo's suggestion.

"You are not good like this ... ..." Zuo Mo pressed.

Pu Yao glanced at him. "I heard that there a few good ones from the battle general school. One should not bite off more than they can swallow. Good battle generals do not come from being taught, but through fighting."

Zuo Mo smiled weakly. He knew that Pu Yao was right. His greed had just came up. Fortunately, his face was thick, and this was just a usual matter.

"Lend Nan Yue and the others for me to use for a time," Pu Yao said.

Zuo Mo modded. "Alright."

If Pu Yao spoke so formally, then it meant it was a serious matter. If it was something devious, this guy wouldn't make a sound.

Looking at Wei who was in a meditative state, Zuo Mo asked Pu Yao, "When will Wei wake up?"

"I don't know." Pu Yao shook his head. "He needs time to adjust to the changes in your shen power. You really are a freak, your shen power has advanced too quickly!"

Pu Yao was shocked by Zuo Mo's improvement rate. In seven years, Zuo Mo had always maintained an astounding rate of progress which had not shown any signs of slowing down.

Zuo Mo nodded. "Have you seen those people from Kun Lun? If I'm any slower, I will just be able to eat the ashes when it is over."

Pu Yao was silent.

While he had fought countless times against Kun Lun in the thousand year war, yet Kun Lun, after such a long time of peace, was still working to advance. Even an enemy like Pu Yao had to admire the present Kun Lun.

In these seven years, the ones that were fighting on the front lines were all elders.

In these seven years, the number of Kun Lun elders that died surpassed the last three hundred years added together. Of the Kun Lun elders, there were less than one third left.

The sacrifices of their fathers, masters, and elders moved the genius youth of Kun Lun. They didn't need supervision or additional motivation. They furiously and silently cultivated day and night, without rest and regard for their lives.

The sacrifice of two thirds of the elders over seven years finally showed their astounding power.

A large group of young yet powerful youths started to appear out of Kun Lun. These youths that grew up in the time that the elders traded their blood for were filled with a sense of responsibility. They were unprecedented in their unity. They possessed astounding self-control. They were like their elders, not afraid of sacrifice.

This kind of Kun Lun made people feel terror, made the entire world feel terror.

Even Zuo Mo felt the pressure from Kun Lun.

Suddenly, a paper crane flew over.

Zuo Mo's expression turned serious. He opened the paper crane.

"Xi Xuan's famous general Zhong De has come back out. He led the Abyss Jail Battalion and blood washed the Central Plains. Thirteen Xi Xuan elders were executed, their bodies left exposed to the elements for ten days. He killed more than seven thousand people, the blood flowing in rivers!"

Editor Note [1: Refers to the buddhist practice of keeping a small family altar to make offerings to deceased family members. Sometimes referred to as a hall of ancestors in other novels. Here, even though it is suggested Yun Ji was betrayed and publicly humiliated by her uncle and cousin after her death, the sect leader and his father still have a secret altar to give Yun Ji offerings in the afterlife.

Translator Ramblings: Running a humongous business needs people with special skills and is a full time job. Zuo Mo's levelled up from his little business to a international one.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Forty Eight – The Beginning of Expansion

The re-appearance of Zhong De was akin to an earthquake for all of the Four Realms.

To the young people, this name was unfamiliar. But for those older, they all changed expression when they spoke of him. When people found the life history of this old general from the records, their hearts shook, they stopped breathing, and their lips tasted the thick tang of blood. The heart-shaking battle campaigns, even after fifty years of dust, still caused people's hearts to beat frantically.

The first thing that Zhong De did after returning was to make a great cleansing of Xi Xuan. He killed so many of the upper ranks that it had never happened before in the history of the Four Realms.

Xi Xuan was dyed in blood, and the central region of Xi Xuan, the Central Plains, was soaked in blood.

Countless Xi Xuan battle generals heard of this, and hurriedly fled in the night.

The outside world learned later that in the span of a short moth, the commanders of thirty nine battalions had disappeared. And in the unprecedented cleansing process, the true number of people from Xi Xuan that were executed was thirty thousand, and not seven thousand as previously believed.

Under Zhong De's iron fist, not even one rebellion occurred.

Soon, Zhong De whose hands were covered in blood once again showed the world his cruel and vicious style. He did not wait for the sect to finish reorganizing, did not care about the instability of the sect. He suddenly led the Abyss Prison Battalion to appear on the borders of Xi Xuan.

In a lightning fast campaign, he destroyed three factions.

This was a retaliation. The three factions destroyed were the three factions that had recently defeated Xi Xuan's battalions.

This seemingly normal retaliatory action shocked the world again-

-because the cities were massacred!

Even though fighting had occurred for so many years, massacring everyone was rare, even in battles between the xiuzhe and yaomo.

The seventeen cities of the three jie became a desolate land.

Such cruel actions caused condemnation from the rest of the Four Realms. Crowds of people were furious. They called him cruel, blood-thirsty, savage, and emotionless, butcher and all sorts of other words to describe the old general. But no matter how they criticized, no battalion dared to advance on Xi Xuan. The people were filled with deep terror and fear of this inhuman battle general.

When enough blood had been split, there naturally would be peace.

These became famed words spoken by Zhong De.

All of Xi Xuan trembled. The factions surrounding Xi Xuan trembled.

No one dared to say that Xi Xuan was the second Xuan Kong Temple. Even people who hated Xi Xuan had to admit that Xi Xuan's rise could not be stopped. Even if its rise was by struggling up from the mud and mired in blood.

Sweeping away its decline, Xi Xuan was at peace again.

However, after five years at rest, the major sects that had focused on their own development had now finished their preparations to fight again.

This time, Kun Lun moved first.

———

Kun Lun had begun to move.

Zuo Mo's expression was grave. In front of him, everyone else was grave as well. They knew that one day, Kun Lun would become an enemy they had to face. The indescribable pressure of Kun Lun always was a stone weighing on their minds.

"Our present holdings are sixty nine jie," Gongsun Cha said calmly. "After digesting Xuan Kong Temple, Kun Lun's dominion is about one thousand and three hundred jie; Tian Huan holds one thousand and one hundred jie; Xi Xuan has not developed much and holds about eight hundred jie; the nine great dhynana sects hold about six hundred jie; Gu Liang Dao's faction controls one hundred and forty two jie. These are the public numbers and the numbers of those jie controlled secretly are hard to calculate. Also, each faction have always been working to take the surround factions to strengthen themselves. If we face them now, we have no chance of victory. What is fortunate is that between us and Kun Kun there are the Nine Great Dhyana Sects, Tian Huan, and Xi Xuan. While Mo Cloud Sea is slightly remote, there are no strong enemies around, this is our advantage.

The jie map on the wall clearly showed Mo Cloud Sea's boundaries. Of the entire Four realms, it was a tiny piece.

While everyone was familiar with these numbers, they still inhaled sharply. The enormity of Kun Lun and Tian Huan was suffocating.

He Ming stood up and then said, "In the past few years, our strength has grown quickly. Abundant resources in addition to our great production abilities, as well as our mature trade channels. Our wealth accumulation has been good. The front line battalions have all completely been refitted with the new [Mo Cloud System] shen equipment. It is one of the top battalion shen raiments on the market and the inventory we have is satisfactory."

When he spoke of this, the battle generals present nodded and were full of confidence.

This was true. While Mo Cloud Sea was not large at present, but its equipment was among the best of the world. As shen power developed, talismans had gradually left the world's stage to be replaced by shen equipment.

Shen equipment was the lesser version of shen devices. It was not as powerful as shen device raiments but it did not strain the user as much as shen device raiments did. Most importantly, it was not as expensive to create as shen device raiments.

Mo Cloud Sea's [Mo Cloud System] shen equipment had always been one of the outstanding shen equipment on the market. Together with [Kun Lun System] and [Tian Huan System] it was ranked as the top tier and collectively were called the three great shen equipment. Even Xi Xuan's [Xi Xuan System] and the nine great dhyana sect's [Dhyana System] were on a lower level.

The level of the shen equipment required understanding of shen power, skill in forging, and rich resources.

In the short term, no one would be able to shake the status of the three great systems.

In reality, while Mo Cloud Sea's territory was not large, there were rarely people who would think of them as a small local power. They produced top level shen equipment, had two top battle generals, they did not have a large territory but had abundant resources. No one dared to look down at them. Inside Mo Cloud Sea were strong beings that were full of confidence and didn't know what fear was.

Everyone turned to look at Zuo Mo. No matter if it was Gongsun Cha's analysis or He Ming's words, the one who would make the final decision would be Zuo Mo.

"We need to expand."

When Zuo Mo spoke, everyone became energized, especially the battle generals. They had fought in the past with Lil' Miss, and felt rusty after being inactive for so many years.

In truth, everyone knew that in the present situation, expansion was their own option.

While Mo Cloud Sea looked as steady as a rock, that was because there was the Nine Great Dhyana Sects in the between them and their enemies. If they waited for Kun Lun and Tian Huan to grow bigger, when the time arrived, they wouldn't even be able to protect themselves. While the jinzhi defense line was strong, but if Kun Lun and Tian Huan disregarded the loss of life, it would not be difficult to overcome.

Mo Cloud Sea could rival them in elite battalions, but was lacking greatly in normal battalions. Just a battle of numbers was enough to destroy Mo Cloud Sea several times over.

Only by expanding Mo Cloud Sea and strengthening itself, could they possess the power to fight back.

Maybe other people were willing to submit to the other powers, but for the core members of Mo Cloud Sea, this was definitely impossible. The first to disagree would be Zuo Mo. He had great grudges to settle with Kun Lun, Tian Huan, and Xi Xuan. He was fated to only have the path of fighting to the end.

The reason they hadn't chosen to expand before was that their foundation was shallow. It was easy to conquer territories, but they didn't have the ability to digest it. Blind expansion would cause internal problems and weaken their defense against other factions. However, after the past several years of development, the present Mo Cloud Sea had the ability to expand now.

"The present question is, which direction do we expand in."

Zuo Mo threw out the problem, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became fiery.

"Nine Great Dhyana Sects! They look like they have a lot of people, but they definitely cannot fight. Other than Yang Yuan Hao, they don't have anyone else."

"Yes, the Nine Great Dhyana Sects. I heard that they were fighting among themselves, this is a good chance ... ..."

The Nine Great Dhyana Sects were the fourth greatest power in the xiuzhe world but their inner conflicts were fierce. Their system was similar to the Yao Council of Elders. The nine sect leaders formed a sect leader council to govern the entire region together.

Since the Nine Great Dhyana Sects were about the same in power, internal conflict had never stopped since the day they formed. It was only a loose alliance that was not united enough.

What was most fatal was that they lacked top battle generals.

The Nine Great Dhyana Sects only had one top battle general, Yang Yuan Hao. This was not equal to their status as one of the four great xiuzhe powers. In comparison, Mo Cloud Sea possessed two top battle generals. No one dared to underestimate them.

If Xi Xuan hadn't been extremely weak before Zhong De had come back, the Nine Great Dhyana Sects would be the faction that people had the worst outlook on.

Listening to the people chat, Zuo Mo thought inside. He had been pondering this question a long time ago. This kind of strategic decision would directly affect their future development.

"No, we will not fight against the Nine Great Dhyana Sects."

Zuo Mo spoke. Everyone immediately closed their mouths to listen carefully.

"The Nine Great Dhyana Sects are like a shield, as long as this shield is not damaged, we do not need to directly face the superpowers like Kun Lun. We should not attack them, rather, we should support them so they do not have to worry about their rear. The best scenario would be for them to fight against Kun Lun and Tian Huan. That is most beneficial for us."

Gongsun Cha and Bie Han nodded. Zuo Mo's analysis was reasonable.

"Hadn't they always wanted to purchase our [Mo Cloud System] shen equipment? Sell to them! We need to support them as much as we can so they will fight with Kun Lun and Tian Huan. Yang Yuan Hao is very strong, and they will likely be fighting a defensive war on home territory, they the advantage. It will not be easy for Kun Lun and the others to win."

Many people nodded inwardly.

"Then where do we expand?" Someone asked in puzzlement.

Other than the Nine Great Dhyana Sects, the others were all small factions. While it was not costly to fight, the benefits were also small.

After taking down fifty six jie in one go, they did not care about these little pieces. These little factions were small in land and scarce in resources.

"We will expand towards the mo territories." Zuo Mo's answer was unexpected.

Everyone stilled but many people's expressions started to turn existed. The mo territories had vast lands, rich resources. People like A Zha Ge, Shi Dong, and Yi An had desired to expand into the mo territories.

Yet Zuo Mo had always seemed uninterested in the mo territories which had disappointed them.

"Who do we attack first?" Lei Peng's eyes were bright.

"The Mo Marshal Alliance!" Zuo Mo said unhesitatingly.

Gongsun Cha and Bie Han were slightly surprised. In the Hundred Savage Realm, the Mo Shen Temple was the strongest, followed by the Mo Marshal Alliance led by Marshal Di, then the Heroes Alliance at third. Everyone thought that Zuo Mo would first start with the weakest, the Heroes Alliance, but Zuo Mo unexpectedly targeted the Mo Marshal Alliance.

"Our goal is Hundred Energy Jie." Zuo Mo's heated gave was full of desire.

Translator Ramblings: Mo Cloud Sea is a tiny little thing. Bigger than before but still very small in comparison to the major powers.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Forty Nine – Starting From the Beginning

Zuo Mo had desired Hundred Energy Jie since discovering the shen crystals.

In these past years, Zuo Mo had continued to send in spies to find the general location of the shen crystal mine. However, the shen crystal veins were hidden well and hard to quietly extract. Also, it was blocked off by a layer of fragmented star metal. This was also why the shen crystals hadn't been found and harvested by others after many years.

Hundred Energy Jie was under the rule of the Mo Marshal Alliance. If he wanted to extract these shen crystals, there was only one way, take Hundred Energy Jie.

The Mo Marshal Alliance had developed rapidly in the recent years. The mo marshals, led by Marshal Di, were wealthy to start with. Each person that could reach marshal level was a strong individual. Ever since they watched the battle between Zuo Mo and the yao elders, they had a new understanding of shen power.

Most of them chose to go into seclusion to cultivate and create a shen power that belonged to their clan.

The mo were varied with subtypes and each clan possessed their unique bloodline. Unlike the shen power of the Mo Shen Temple, the Mo Marshal Alliance focused on upgrading their bloodline, using the mo physique as a base to obtain shen power.

This shen power cultivation method quickly became the mainstream for the mo territories. Its greatest advantage was that it could express the power of the mo physique and one did not need to restart their cultivation from the beginning. The Heroes Alliance also chose to use this cultivation method.

Because of the differences in mo physique, the shen methodologies they each used were different. Each family knew that shen methodologies were crucially important to their clan's future, and gathered all of their strength to overcome this obstacle.

This kind of shen power was called mo shen power.

The Mo Shen Temple who was advanced in shen power actually became the exception. This, however, did not affect the status of the Mo Shen Temple. The three great mo gods were unstoppable in the recent years, their territory expanding rapidly to become the strongest faction in Hundred Savage Realm.

The strong Mo Marshal Alliance did not cause them to feel fear. Once Zuo Mo determined the target, the battle generals, led by Gongsun Cha and Bie Han, started to move.

A plan around the goal of taking over Hundred Energy Jie secretly took form.

———

Pu Pu's Home For Battle Generals had some fame among the yao battle generals. The students performed outstandingly in war chess, even defeating several of the military battle generals in succession which had caused its fame to rise.

However, not many people cared. Even the active battle generals that had been defeated did not think too much of the defeat. No matter how realistic war chess was, there were still great differences between war chess and true battle. It was not strange for a battle general strong in war chess to be terrible in real combat.

There were also many loose organizations like this among the yao. The members that Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals took in were those battle generals who were not very strong. These people had average marks in the yao art houses, some of them just barely managing to pass.

Students like this usually had a hard time entering a battalion. If one did not have a strong background, they would need great talent to enter a battalion.

Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals were relaxed in their management of their members. It was easy to enter, and effortless to leave. Naturally, no one would pay attention to an organization like this.

The most famous member of Pu Pu's Home For Battle Generals was Liang Wei.

But no battalion had thrown a olive branch out to this disgraced battle general. The one who had relieved him of command was Corp Command An Shi. Someone who had real power in the military and his experience among all of the yao was at the top. His background was strong, and no one was willing to risk offending Corp Commander An Shi to recruit Liang Wei into their command.

Liang Wei also liked to fight and had a wild personality. He looked like a troublemaker, and there were rarely people who wanted a troublemaker under their command.

Liang Wei had been idle at home for seven years, and no battalion had made any offer for him.

The laughter and taunts against Liang Wei grew in more unrestrained. The reputation that Pu Pu's Home For Battle Generals had among the battle general circle of being the "Failure Camp" grew and solidified.

The battle generals that thought themselves strong disdained this place. Ever since some active battle generals were defeated, no one liked to come here. There was nothing worthy of praise if they won, but if they lost, their comrades would laugh at them for a long time.

Affected, many irresolute students left. The students left were all those that were not affected by the rumors outside.

Compared to the mockery outside, the students inside Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals were unusually quiet.

These students, for the most part, had studied for more than three years at Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals.

The great majority of them had their own jobs, and would only have the time to come at night. If they could not enter a battalion, then it was not easy for battle general students to find work.

What interested them the most was the simulation match each week.

Even now, they did not know the identity of Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals' founder. However, they could clearly feel that the other was strong.

This kind of feeling was especially strong during the simulation match. When this time came, Pu Pu would personally come.

The simulation chess was even more realistic than war chess. Every student who attended the simulation chess match for the first time was astonished but they would be quickly sucked in.

The strange and variable tactical style and the unfathomable power of the person called Pu Pu made them feel hopeless each time. Every week, the hottest topic of discussion was how long someone could survive against Pu Pu's hand.

The record holder had always been Liang Wei.

Today was the same as usual. Liang Wei still struggled to endure under the other's barrage of attacks. Even though he was already used to the strength of the opponent, but every match, that unstoppable pressure made him feel suffocated.

The only thing comforting was that he had started to be able to tolerate this feeling of suffocation.

Complete defeat!

He panted furiously and was soaked in sweat. He looked at the time and was slightly happy. Compared to last time, he had survived a half hour longer than before.

He was preparing to leave the simulation chess like usual when Pu Pu, standing on the opposite side, suddenly spoke.

"The simulation chess is unable to help you improve any more."

Liang Wei stilled. He stopped walking. The thread of joy from his achievement immediately disappeared without a trace. He suddenly felt empty. In these years, coming to Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals every day had almost become a habit. His mind had only stopped being restless because he could feel he was continuously improving.

If Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals could not make him improve any further and he did not have to come here, then where should he go?

Other than fighting, he didn't know anything else. If he hadn't had accumulated savings in the early years, it would be a problem for him to even live.

When Pu Pu said this place could not improve here, in that moment, he felt clueless and bewildered.

But he was a battle general that had been tempered in blood and fire. His resolve was far stronger than normal people.

He focused and asked, "Then what can make me improve?"

"True battle."

Liang Wei dimmed. Gradually, his lips turned in a grimace. He knew that Pu Pu was right. While he had never seen Pu Pu's true appearance, he was still filled with respect towards Pu Pu. He was unlike the other students, he had seen the world and had fought against many strong people. Pu Pu was the strongest battle general he had ever seen!

He could not understand what such a great battle general was doing here within a small battle general school.

He concluded that Pu Pu might be in a situation similar to himself. Either he was disliked by his superior officer or he was being isolated by his peers, or there were other reasons that he started this battle general school to waste away time.

"Where is there true battle?" Liang Wei smiled in self-mockery.

"If you are willing, I can think of a way. However, the conditions will be harsh, you need to be mentally prepared," Pu Pu said.

Liang Wei was really stunned this time. A moment later, he asked suspiciously. "You really have a way?"

"You are very talented, but if you keep on being wasted, you will never have any hope of entering the ranks of the true top battle generals." Pu Pu's voice seemed to come from a far away but hit Liang Wei's fragile heart.

Liang Wei suddenly raised his head. "Who are you really?"

"Do you really care who I am? You only care if you can enter the battlefield again! You only care if you can get revenge! As long as I am not Kun Lun, will you care about anything else?" Pu Yao asked in response.

Liang Wei's body shook slightly. "You investigated me?"

"You? With your past is it even an investigation?" Pu Yao continued to ask in response.

Liang Wei was silent. While not everyone knew of his history, but there were innumerable people among the battle general circles that knew.

"What do you want me to do?" Liang Wei asked in a deep voice.

"Do what you are most skilled at," Pu Pu answered.

"Which battalion?" Liang Wei felt as though something was burning inside his body. The flames burned at his heart, and the temperature of his blood continued to rise.

"A group of rabble, they only have completed basic training." Pu Pu didn't change at all.

Liang Wei was slightly disappointed.

"Hrmph, did you really think that a trained battalion would be given to you? It seems that you do not have a deep enough understanding of your situation. If you want to return to the battlefield, you have to start over from the beginning." Pu Pu was not polite.

Liang Wei nodded. "You are right."

"Also, only a battalion that you built with your own hands will be a battalion that truly belongs to you. All of your ideas can be realized through them. You will be the leader of the battalion."

Liang Wei felt there was an indescribable temptation in Pu Pu's words. In a few short sentences, his heart was moved, and he felt that burning once again.

This guy was a true demon!

"Alright!" Liang Wei nodded and then asked, "You are sure we will fight against Kun Lun?"

"Do not worry about this, we are mortal enemies with Kun Lun." Pu's voice was also filled with pleasure.

"Starting from the beginning, I need some helpers." Liang Wei had already started to consider the practicalities.

"You can pick anyone from Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals. You should now their strength. Give a list to me, and I will persuade them," Pu Pu said.

Liang Wei's confidence increased. There were some outstanding students. More importantly, everyone was familiar with each other, they had built trust with each other and this would spare a lot of trouble in the future.

A battalion built with these people as the framework, it really made one anticipate!

"Alright, I need to go back and think. I will give the list to you tomorrow." Liang Wei felt as though he couldn't wait.

"No problem." Pu Pu's response was brisk.

When the other students found Liang Wei as he came out of the simulation chess, they were all shocked. The Liang Wei in front of them seemed to be a completely different person, giving off endless fighting spirit and sharp edges.

Translator Ramblings: Pu Yao, luring people with training and then making them work for him.

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Chapter Seven Fifty – [Black Fire]

"Boss, they've arrived," the subordinate respectfully reported. He licked his lips. His gaze when he looked towards the shadow was full of respect and awe.

"Has everything been arranged?" A deep voiced came from within the shadow.

"All arranged," the subordinate hurriedly responded.

"See them to the evening banquet hall."

The subordinate was slightly shocked. Boss almost never met other people and the number of people that saw Boss' true appearance could be counted on the fingers. He now found that he underestimated the importance Boss placed on these guests.

He hurriedly lowered his head and said, "I will go arrange it immediately."

"En, go." An indifferent voice came out of the shadow.

The subordinate turned and left.

A red-haired youth stepped out of the shadows. His long and narrow eyes were deep and dark. The blue crystal at his brow occasionally flashed with light. He seemed to be one with the shadow and darkness. He had a thoughtful expression on his face.

The present Youqin Lie was far too changed from that rebellious youth of the past. He was now a famed person in the underworld. He had countless able people under his command and he had amassed great power. Even the local factions had to give him some face. The name of [Black Fire] had some reputation in the underworld.

As his influence increased, Youqin Lie began to hide himself in the shadows and rarely made appearances.

So when Youqin Lie decided to hold a banquet for the guests, his subordinates were all astonished. However, these people were the most skilled at concealment and control. While they were extremely curious they maintained their professionalism and did not show it on their face.

In their eyes, Boss was unfathomable. This unfathomable was not referring to his individual fighting ability. Among [Black Fire, Youqin Lie rarely fought. No one knew how strong he truly was. However, every person was filled with respect and awe towards Boss.

In the underworld, things like betrayal, assassination, and conspiracy would never end. However, no matter how carefully planned or well hidden the other's plan was, Boss had never failed to counteract it. Even facing a terrifying existence like the Council of Elders, he was still able to organize a withdrawal with all of them remaining unharmed, and without leaving any trace.

Everyone in [Black Fire] was filled with respect and awe towards Boss. His unfathomable and skilled way of acting, his vicious and ruthless style, his fairness to his subordinates and the strictness of the organization. None of their missions had ever failed. Boss had a maturity and viciousness in his command that was beyond his years. In the eyes of the subordinates, Boss was born a king of the underworld.

———

In a hidden estate that was heavily guarded. All the important people in [Black Fire] arrived.

Chai Shan Qing was scholarly in appearance with a faint smile hanging on his face. He wore green robes as though he was a teacher in a yao art house. In actual truth, he taught music in a famed yao art house and was well respected by his students. Who would have those this elegant middle-aged person was the famed and vicious [Black Fire]'s third in command.

"It seems that Boss is going to show himself." Chai Shan Qing laughed lightly.

The male beside him was completely wrapped up in a black robe. Only a pair of grey eyes showed. If one didn't see him with their own eyes, normal people would definitely not detect a person was there.

The fourth in command of [Black Fire, Wu Ying. He was skilled in sneaking and assassination. As a testament to his skill, innumerable powerful people had died by his hand.

Wu Ying was silent as though he hadn't heard these words.

Chai Shan Qing was used to the other being so and said to himself with a laugh, "I'm very curious about Boss' origins."

Before he finished saying this, the feeling of cold metal rose against his throat. A sharp murderousness intent reached his neck like an extended dagger. He said with slight helplessness, "Hey hey hey, I'm just talking, aren't you also curious?"

The murderousness disappeared as though nothing had occurred.

Chai Shan Qing had an expression of helplessness. He knew that Wu Ying was faithfully loyal to Boss. Wu Ying would unhesitatingly kill anyone that would threaten Boss.

He couldn't help but mutter, "You are so ruthless to treat me so."

Wu Ying seemed to not hear it.

A wondrous voice came from behind them. "Stop fooling around, the guests are about to arrive."

Chai Shan Qing heard this voice and shuddered. Even Wu Ying's body imperceptibly tensed. An astoundingly beautiful woman walked over with a smile.

The tight black evening dress emphasized her hot body, her arms bare, and the snowy dip causing people's blood to burn. She had curly blond hair and a seductive presence.

Chai Shan Qing and Wu Xing feared her like she was a snake. She was the second in command of [Black Fire, Tao Wei.

Tao Wei threw a flirtatious look at the two before striding next to Youqin Lie and docilely standing to one side.

Youqin Lie's narrow eyes were deep and his emotions hidden. He seemed to be the same as usual but everyone present had a strong feeling that today was definitely an important day.

Soon, a group of people were lead over under the guidance of a subordinate.

Yet what shocked Tao Wei, Chai Qing Shan and the others was that Boss walked down from the stairs and moved to greet them.

Even though they had been prepared mentally, they were still stunned when they saw this.

"I am Youqin Lie," A cool voice that one could not hear any emotion from.

"I am Liang Wei." Liang Wei looked at the other warily. The other was not old, about the same age as him. The feeling of darkness on the other caused him to frown slightly.

As a battle general, Liang Wei lacked any good feelings about people that moved in the shadows.

"A banquet has been prepared, please come with me," Youqin Lie said coolly. Finishing, he turned and walked away.

Liang Wei hesitated slightly and then followed closely, saying "You are too polite!" The idleness of these past years had caused his interpersonal skills to improve.

Walking into the yard, what he saw was simple and not luxurious as he had imagined. This caused Liang Wei to hold a slightly better opinion of the other. In his impressions, those factions of the darkness usually were usually ostentatious and lived luxurious lives.

If the power he was serving was faction of the dark, Liang Wei would be slightly disappointed. He had always speculated which faction Pu Pu belonged to but had always thought of the major factions. In his view, a small faction could not possess or support such a strong battle general.

Everyone sat in their seats. The other people did not think as much as Liang Wei. Pu Pu had recruited and persuaded them with simple conditions, a generous salary and money to establish a home. For these people, they were satisfied with being able to do what they liked and receiving rich rewards.

Also, they had stayed for a long time at Pu Pu's Home for Battle Generals and trusted it's owner.

Liang Wei was observing Youqin Lie, while Youqin Lie and his group were also observing the guests. Especially, Chai Shan Qing. He was elegant, and his words made people feel comfortable. While Liang Wei was wary, the other people with him quickly spilled the beans.

Battle generals!

These people were all battle generals!

Chai Shan Qing and the others were greatly shocked. In the world of darkness, there was no place for battle generals to exist. The world of darkness was a word filled with deceit, conspiracy and assassination. The battles of the underworld was silent, and the people that lived in the same city as them would not detect anything.

The factions of the dark that possessed battalions died out the fastest. The darkness was their best protection. Enormous battalions would cause them to lose the protection of the darkness and move the organization towards death.

Only those truly public factions could possess battalions, would need battalions!

Boss did have a background!

At this time, the perceptive Chai Shan Qing immediately recalled where he had heard the name Liang Wei before. The dismissal in his eyes disappeared.

This young battle general that had been famed for a time had been recruited by the faction behind boss.

"The higher-ups have a few things they wanted me to tell you," Youqin Lie said coolly.

Liang Wei unconsciously sat up and said solemnly, "Please speak."

The other people stopped conversing and perked up their ears. Liang Wei's commanders showed intent expressions. This was related to their future.

"The base has been prepared. You will go and take the position of the highest commander of the battalion. All of the resources have been transported to the base. You need to finish selection and organization before the twelfth month of this year. In other words, you have six months to build the battalion. At the six month of next year, you need to finish basic training, and find the battle style suited to you. The higher-ups will forge shen equipment according to your selected battle style."

Liang Wei's heart shook slightly. The faction was able to forge shen equipment!

As expected, a big faction!

Those that could forge shen equipment right now were definitely big factions!

The other people present inhaled sharply, especially Youqin Lie's subordinates. They had guessed long ago that Boss had a background but they hadn't thought that it would be so great.

"The delivery of equipment is temporarily set at three months. They hope that you can become battle ready as soon as possible. When you are all outfitted, you may be sent out on campaigns."

Liang Wei frowned. "The time is too tight, a battalion is not so easy to build. The deaths will be great when a new battalions goes to fight."

Youqin Lie said coolly, "Then this is something you have to consider and prepare for."

Liang Wei calculated inside. He did not argue. He had been prepared mentally. If the faction did have power and still used him, then the missions he received would not be a normal or easy one.

He had prepared fully to the difficulties he was going to encounter. However, when he thought that this was the only way he could lead a battalion onto the battlefield again, he felt as though he was filled with endless energy.

"How long is the trip to the base?" he asked.

"Thirteen days."

"Time is tight, let's move now." Liang Wei pushed away from the table and stood. They had all heard what Youqin Lie had just said.

"Let's eat before leaving," Youqin Lie said.

"We can eat rations on the road," Liang Wei insisted.

"Alright." Youqin Lie did not try to keep them.

Quickly, under the ushering of the subordinates, Liang Wei's group hurriedly left.

Tao Wei and the others stared at each other. They hadn't expected Liang Wei and the others to leave so quickly.

Youqin Lie sat down again. The other people saw this and knew that Boss definitely had other things to say to them. They hurriedly sat down as well.

"Everyone, prepare, we are going to go to war against [Snapped Red Silk]"

Youqin Lie's words were like a huge bomb. Tao Wei and the others changed expression. [Snapped Red Silk] was not a small faction. [Black Fire] controlled only thirteen yao jies, and adding on the ones they had infiltrated, they only had twenty six. Yet [Snapped Red Silk] directly controlled over eighteen yao jies.

[Snapped Red Silk] was stronger than they were.

"Boss ... ..." Tao Wei couldn't help but say. She knew that this definitely was a mission that Boss' higher-ups had ordered them to carry out, but in her view, this kind of mission could not be completed.

"Do not worry, we are not fighting alone," Youqin Lie said coolly.

Everyone else couldn't help but shake.

Translator Ramblings: Pu Yao's students are finally meeting each other!

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Fifty One – Zong Ru Leaving Seclusion

"Shixiong! This is Cloud Sea Jie!" Yi Zheng said with a slight tone pride.

Shixiong heard the pride in Yi Zheng's tone and was slightly surprised. A faint smile appeared on his pale face. This showed that Shidi had been living well these past years.

Along the way, they encountered people who would stop and bow towards Yi Zheng. Each time, Yi Zheng would stop and seriously return the bow.

Shixiong could see that these people's respect of Yi Zheng came from their hearts. This made him even more happy and comforted. Thinking back to the past, the image of that mischievous and stubborn youth was still in front of him.

Ever since Master had passed away, he had brought up Shidi. After his cultivation had been destroyed, Shidi had seemed to become a completely different person who was hardworking. He had been happy at Shidi's change but felt guilt and self-blame. When Shidi had disappeared and his fate was unclear, the blame had chewed on his heart.

He could only used meditation everyday to comfort his mind. Even though his cultivation was gone, his Samadhi had grown.

When Shidi had suddenly reappeared in front of him, his dhyana heart had been lost.

"I had passed onto them some dhyana cultivation advice, their power at the time was terrible. At that time, I was an assistant to Master Zong. While I was busy, I was still very happy. Shixiong was on my mind all that time, but I didn't have a lot of money and I couldn't save to commission Shixiong's lingdan."

Yi Zheng was full of nostalgia and regret. He had gotten the lingdan and given it to Shixiong but there was no effect so they had come to Mo Cloud Sea. In reality, when he saw the state of Shixiong's old temple where it sat half collapsed, the fury and discomfort he felt almost caused himself to lose control.

Shixiong knew Yi Zheng well. Seeing the guilt on Yi Zheng's face, he knew, and changed the topic subtly. "Master Zhong? Is he also a dhyana xiu?"

When Master Zong was mentioned, Yi Zheng became alert. "Yes! Master Zong might be of an unorthodox background but no one in Great Buddha Temple can compare to him."

"Oh, so strong?" Shixiong said with a smile. He could see that Shidi was full of respect towards this Master Zong.

"Yes, Master Zong has reached wish power. There are not many in the temple that have achieved wish power." Yi Zhen looked around, and then said in a low voice, "It is even the Buddhahood Abandonment Death Wish."

Shixiong shook in shock. Buddhahood Abandonment Death Wish. These four words caused him to unconsciously stop breathing.

While ling power had transformed to shen power, with the changing times, the Buddhahood Abandonment Death Wish still caused people to change expression.

"Where is he now?" A hopeful light suddenly appeared in Shixiong's eyes. If he could obtain guidance from this kind of master, maybe his injury would have hope.

Yi Zheng was slightly dispirited. "Eight years ago, Master Zong went into death seclusion and hasn't come out."

"Death seclusion!" Shixiong's eyes were wide and his expression changed. The two phrases, Buddhahood Abandonment Death Wish and death seclusion caused him to imagine a fearless dhyana xiu, stubborn and not willing to give himself any other choices on his path for advancement.

"Yes, it would be good if Master Zong came out. Master Zong would definitely have a solution for Shixiong's injury. Fortunately, Master Zong's Buddha Lantern has not extinguished," Yi Zheng said with slight regret and joy.

Just as he finished speaking, a bright light appeared on the horizon.

Everyone in the sky stopped moving and looked with shock into the distance. The light was blinding but there wasn't any sound.

A vast presence suddenly exploded!

The cloud sea around the cloud island suddenly roiled and formed cloud waves of dozens of zhang each. The cloud sea roiled, the presence booming like thousands of snowy white monsters howling and snarling as they spread in all directions.

"Not good!" Yi Zhen's expression changed slightly. In a flash, the cloud wave was coming at them like a collapsing wall, giving off a crushing feeling of being unstoppable.

A light suddenly appeared on Yi Zheng's body.

Faint golden scaled armor rippled and covered his body. At some time, a Vajra scepter appeared on his hand. The golden mask on his face held imperceptible mirth like that of a Buddha.

Shen equipment!

Shixiong's pupils suddenly expanded. While the place he had been residing in had been isolated and closed off from the world, he had heard of shen equipment.

Yi Zheng lightly tapped the Vajra scepter towards his feet, his left hand held straight up as he chanted!

Faint golden light rippled from below his feet and began to slowly cover the two of them. In a flash, a golden shield took form. Countless sutra characters swam like tadpoles on the surface of the golden shield.

This was ... ...

Shixiong was filled with shock. Shidi's power was extremely strange. He could not name it, but he was certain that it definitely was not something from Great Buddha Temple.

Suddenly, two words flashed in his mind like lightning to illuminate his mind.

—Shen power!

He did not notice that shen equipment had also appeared on the bodies of the people around them because the astounding cloud wave was now right in front of them!

Boom!

The two were instantly drowned by the tall cloud wave.

The golden light shield trembled, the sutra characters swimming even faster. Yi Zheng's eyes were wide and he was clearly fighting back with all his power.

Shixiong's mind was roaming. He suddenly thought of how he had protected Shidi in the past. But now Shidi was able to protect him.

It was a short moment of reminiscing but time seemed to stretch as he watched Shidi.

Yi Zheng's lack of expression showed that he was fighting with all of his power. Shixiong quickly refocused and closed his eyes. He had had high in cultivation before, once being one of the geniuses of Great Buddha Temple's younger generation. While he had lost his cultivation, he had spent all of his time on his Samadhi, and his perception had become even more sensitive.

Once he focused, he was slightly shocked. Shidi's present strength was even stronger than he had been in the past.

This astonished him.

He knew Shidi's talent, he did not have great talent. He himself in the past had been one of the most talented in the temple. Even in the present Great Buddha Temple, there were not many young people that had reached his past skill level.

Shidi had grown to be so strong!

A strange yet powerful power. Suddenly, he was filled with curiosity about Mo Cloud Sea.

The cloud waves came endlessly. The two were like a wooden boat desperately swaying in the tsunami unable to stay still. After making it through several cloud waves, Yi Zheng's body started to tremble, dense sweat appearing on Yi Zheng's forehead.

Shixiong's expression became stern as he started to chant a sutra.

His chanting was not loud, but each word was clear among the roaring of the cloud waves. Shixiong's chanting seemed to have an unique power to calm people's minds. Yi Zheng felt his mind calm down, his body stopped trembling. Threads of power suddenly appeared from deep within his body, and he became re-energized.

At this time, a voice suddenly sounded in the sky.

The howling roaring immediately disappeared.

"Scatter!"

The white cloud sea in the surroundings seemed to collapse and disappear like snow. In a flash, a figure with their palms together appeared in the sky.

Behind him, there was the figure of a bald Buddha hundreds of zhang tall who also had their hands in a praying position with a solemn expression.

Seeing that familiar figure, Yi Zheng's body shook, uncontrollable joy appearing on his face, "Master Zong!"

Shixiong raised his face to look dazedly at the giant Buddha true form behind Zong Ru, his mind completely blank.

When his gaze met with the gaze of the Buddha's true form, his body couldn't help but tremble.

The pupils of the Buddha were grey!

Zong Ru had came out of seclusion, the cloud sea shook!

———

"It has been so long since we came back to the yao world, I really miss it," Cang Ze said wistfully. Most of the youthfulness on his face had disappeared, and he had become a much calmer person.

Ming Jue Zi shook his head. "I still feel that Cloud Sea Jie is better."

"I'm just remarking." Cang Ze laughed at himself. "Of course Cloud Sea Jie is better. I heard that the yao are in chaos right now, the infighting among the Council of Elders is great. While everyone is polite on the surface, it is a mess down in the lower ranks."

Nan Yue did not make a sound. Listening to the conversation of the pair, her thoughts wandered. Were her friends from the yao art house still alright?

However, her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the noise coming from behind her.

"I'm telling you all, this time, you cannot block this genius' road! Finally get a mission, whoahaha, it is time for this genius' light to shine on the bodies of minuscule beings like you!"

The orange-haired yao laughed heartlessly.

A Wen shot back with a cold expression, "Idiot!"

The black smoke yao perceptively took two steps back to get further from the two.

"Trash, who are you calling an idiot?" The orange-haired yao glared angrily at A Wen but then smiled smugly. "I know this is because you are jealous. You lost to me last time, whoahaha, your small and fragile heart received a destructive blow, I'm too strong!"

"You only caught up and evened the score." A Wen smiled coldly. "If you don't believe me, ask Old Smoke."

The orange-haired yao stilled and then turned to ask the black smoke yao. "Old Yao, did I only catch up?"

The black smoke yao gave a prepared answer. "En, before, he had won six hundred and twenty two times, you had won six hundred and twenty one times."

The orange-haired yao immediately howled, "Ahahah! How can it be so! How can it be so! Come, trash, let's fight now and see who is stronger!"

"Let's go! Who's afraid of who!" A Wen did not retreat and stared back angrily.

Nan Yue felt exasperated. How many times was it now on this trip alone?

She turned her head. "Boss said if you fight during the mission, you will be put under house arrest for three months."

The two froze.

The orange-haired yao muttered. "I'll let you off this time. If Boss didn't protect you, I would let you taste your six hundred and twenty third defeat!"

A Wen responded, "If Boss didn't protect you, I will take your small life as easily as reaching into my pocket!"

The orange-haired yao stilled. "Who did you learn that line from? It seems very strong!"

A Wen forced himself to not show his smugness but his tone still exposed it. "Old Smoke!"

The black smoke yao immediately knew it was not good. As expected, before he could react, the orange-haired yao shot in front of him like a gust of wind. "Old Yao, Old Yao, quick, think of a line better than that one ... ..."

Suddenly, the group stopped and stared warily at the group in front of them.

At the head was a youth that gave off a dark and cold presence. He stood silently.

"I have been eagerly waiting for your arrival, I am Youqin Lie."

Translator Ramblings: Fang Xiang did not forget about Yi Zheng's shixiong. For some reason, Yi Zheng's shixiong also remains nameless in this chapter.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Fifty Two – The Little Ones

Mo Cloud Sea started to secretly move.

This kind of movement was concealed from the outside world. Even in these years of peace, people had become used to the movements of battalions and the unusual focus on cultivation.

Silently, several battalions appeared at Black Wood Jie which was under the control of Rare Artifacts Hall.

Ever since Rare Artifacts Hall threw their lot in with Zuo Mo, they attracted the enmity of other mo factions. Out of consideration for safety, Mo Cloud Sea built large numbers of seal formation forts at their borders.

But Rare Artifacts Hall was founded in business, and the transportation of their inventory was not affected greatly. The events of Bu Zhou City had caused them to become famous. After that, with the support of Mo Cloud Sea, the quality of their wares increased greatly and their wares were welcomed on the market.

Even the Mo Marshal Alliance bought large amounts of mo weapons and supplies from Rare Artifacts Hall. Benefiting from this, their business avenues had always been smooth. Other than this, they continued to build blood pools to make the travel between the three jies of Rare Artifacts Hall and the other factions even more convenient.

Transporting through blood pools was expensive, especially with large volumes, but it could greatly shorten the time spent and was much safer. Adding on that Rare Artifacts Hall was wealthy, they did not care about the expense of building blood pools. In one go, they built dozens of blood pools connecting them to the outside world. This meant that the Mo Marshal Alliance was unable to cut off Rare Artifacts Hall from the outside, even if they wanted to.

Yi An, naturally, had to be present for such a great event, as the arrival of their battalions.

But when he saw Bie Han was in the lead, he was still shocked. He immediately understood the importance that the higher-ups placed on this battle campaign. Among Mo Cloud Sea's battle generals, Gongsun Cha and Bie Han were of the same in status. While Bie Han never managed any matters, his status was not something that other people could shake.

Bie Han was personally here, it definitely would not be a small fight.

"Daren!" Yi An immediately went forward to give a greeting. He was a core member but he could not compare in status to Bie Han.

On the newest battle general ranking from the xiuzhe world, Bie Han was ranked tenth, an undoubted top battle general of the xiuzhe world.

The descriptions on the battle general ranking were detailed. The evaluators thought that Bie Han's fighting abilities were astounding, his battle style dominant and fiery. He was strong offensively. The reason that he was ranked tenth was that his shortcomings in other areas were clear. For example, his soft skills were lacking and he did not take care or maintain relationships with his allies, or his reclusive personality.

In the conclusion, Bie Han was said to be a battle general with clear skills and shortcomings. He was strong offensively and weak defensively, and also, he was a battle general that needed strong support from the rear.

This was also the reason that many people thought that Gongsun Cha was better than Bie Han. Gongsun Cha's overall strength was more outstanding. He wasn't just strong at command, he was outstanding both offensively and defensively as well as having taught a group of talented battle generals. There was no argument about his position on the battle general ranking. Almost all of the people in the battle general circles found it reasonable.

But when the battle general ranking came out, the fact that Mo Cloud Sea possessed two top battle generals still caused a furor. However, when more of the details about Gongsun Cha and Bie Han's battles were made public, the voices of dissent gradually dissipated. On the newest battle general ranking, Zhong De from Xi Xuan who had come back out of nowhere had directly stepped into second place, just under Kun Lun's Xue Dong. The rankings which had not changed for a few years finally changed for the first time.

But even so, Bie Han still held on to the position of tenth.

Along with Bie Han's Sin Battalion came, Shi Dong and Ye Ling's Grey Camp, Ma Fan and his Green Dragon Camp, A Zha Ge Battalion, and Tangzi Battalion.

Shi Dong and Ye Ling had been partnered together for a long time and worked well together . Shi Dong who had once had a difficult time progressing in cultivation due to his birth had been selected by Gongsun Cha to the first group of battle generals to cultivate shen power. He had treasured this chance. The strength and diligence he had shown won admiration from all the people around him. He had also improved rapidly and shockingly had moved into the ranks of gold battle generals.

And a battle general like Ye Ling who was skilled in understanding the larger picture was a person that all the camps wanted.

There was nothing to be said of the trio of Ma Fan, Lei Peng, and Nian Lu. They were also people that Gongsun Cha had paid great attention to grooming. The three that had come from Vermillion Bird Camp did not fail Gongsun Cha's efforts. Ma Fan was skilled in directing battle and successively advanced to become a gold battle general. Lei Peng was strong, and was the one that lead troops from the front. Nian Lu was detail-oriented, and full of cunning. The three of them worked well together. Every time they fought in mock combat, they caused other people headaches.

A Zha Ge had been a gold battle general to start with, and he was experienced in leading troops. As his clan set down roots in Mo Cloud Sea, and their lives continued to change, he could finally throw himself completely into matters of war. The style that A Zha Ge showed was frequently praised by Lil' Miss.

The main commander of Tangzi Battalion was Tang Fei with Miao Jun as the vice commander. Tang Fei was talented and Miao Jun taught her all he knew. Adding on Gongsun Cha's occasional guidance, she grew up extremely quickly as she fought against other battle generals to become a gold battle general herself. While she was female, her fighting style was strong and tenacious. Influenced by her the battle style of Tangzi Battalion was also very steadfast, and they never feared going toe-to-toe with the enemy.

After the nurturing and training of these years, all of the battalions with names in Mo Cloud Sea had good strength.

Bie Han was not skilled in being the commander-in-chief but his insight into strategy and his perception when fighting was unrivalled by all in Mo Cloud Sea, except by Gongsun Cha. He had thought deeply about the battalions he had picked to come with him this time.

Grey Camp, A Zha Ge Battalion, and Tangzi Battalion were all battalions who had originated from the mo territories. This was advantageous for their optics if they had them to attack the mo territories.

Green Dragon Camp was skilled in defense. They were selected in preparation for after taking down Hundred Energy Jie and having to turn to defense.

Such a large number of battalions entering Black Wood Jie could not be disguised from people. All kinds of news quickly spread. Many factions were like alarmed birds. They shut their blood pools that were connected with Black Wood Jie. Rare Artifact Hall's business was greatly affected.

All the major factions of the mo territories went on their guard.

Yet what they hadn't expected was that Bie Han was faster than they had imagined.

Before the news even reached the Mo Marshal Alliance, Bie Han's group of battalions had already stepped onto the border of the Mo Marshal Alliance.

———

The heavy iron door was pushed open a crack. Lil' Pagoda leaned against the door and panted heavily. It was clearly exhausted. Lil' Fire flew around its head as though it was trying to motivate the other. Lil' Black stood up on its hind legs, its antenna waving furiously as it tried to cheer on Lil' Pagod. However, Lil' Black clearly was staying back. As it waved its antennae, it turned around to look. If something happened, it would immediately flee.

Lil' Pagoda rested for a moment and recovered. It climbed up and sneakily looked inside. Seeing that no one was inside, it immediately became happy, its eaves opening and closing like an umbrella. Then it sucked in its belly and tried to squeeze through the crack.

Lil' Pagoda's body was even rounder than before. Its body which had been five colored before was now black and white. Adding on its round and soft body, it appeared very much like a panda crouching there.

This change had occurred the first time that Zuo Mo's shen power had made a great advancement.

Yet Zuo Mo found to his chagrin that this guy became even fatter and more gluttonous after that. The things it liked to eat were far beyond the scope of the five elements. It ate everything and liked things that were rare and strange.

Zuo Mo found, after inspection, that Lil' Pagoda's attributes had shifted from the five elements to the dual attribute of yin and yang. The scope covered by yinyang was much greater than the five elements. This was an unique progression.

Pew!

Lil' Pagoda was like a rubber ball that squeezed through the crack in the door. The moment it did so, its soft and bouncy body bounced through the air. It flipped over a few times in the air before it managed to steady itself.

Lil' Fire happily flew a few circles in celebration before it followed. It turned into a thread of flame and then turned back to its round figure after burrowing through the crack.

Lil' Black also sneaked in.

The three Lil' Ones formed a triangle as they tiptoed like thieves.

Suddenly, the light of a jinzhi appeared under the feet of the trio.

The three little bodies immediately froze.

A figure walked out of the jinzhi's light. It was Zuo Mo.

"I finally caught you in the act!" Zuo Mo had a vicious expression. These three little guys liked to eat the most and would never learn! Thinking about the jingshi he had lost, Zuo Mo felt great pain.

"Arrrrow!" Lil' Pagoda raised its chubby eaves to cover its face.

Lil' Fire shook. It turned and wanted to feel but was caught by Zuo Mo. Then Zuo Mo started to squeeze it. It could only spit out threads of fire in humiliation and grievous anger according to Zuo Mo's rhythm.

With one hand gripping Lil' Fire, a snarling Zuo Mo was like a demon king in the eyes of Lil' Black.

Its antennae trembled. Pia, it fell back on the ground and pretended to be dead.

Having caught the three little ones at the scene of the act, Zuo Mo was smug. He took the three little ones over to Chun Yu Cheng's place.

"Chun Shidi, here, help me take a look and see if there are any ways to help them get stronger."

Chun Yu Cheng's eyes were bright and he was interested by the idea. The three little ones all had different abilities and were much more interesting than his cloud steeds.

Under Chun Yu Cheng's strange gaze, the three little ones had ashen expressions. The least courageous one, Lil' Black trembled as though it was about to face torture.

"Let's go in and see," Chun Yu Chen said briskly.

Chun Yu Cheng's place to study husbandry was astounding in scale now. He took over a large sized cloud island. Other than him, there were also his assistants that were also interested in husbandry. Some of them were xiuzhe and some were yaomo.

They quickly came to a twin pool.

The two pools were set up together and connected in the middle. The liquid in one pool was white and the other black. Mist floated off the white pool and turned into a cloud that supported a little white person. It was Sunshine. There was a black lotus growing out of the black pool. On the inky black lotus. Tenth Grade dressed in black robes was sitting with his legs in lotus position, his little face solemn.

They went deeper and flew to the entrance of a volcano.

Inside the volcano, a large bird was completely immersed in the lava within. Silly Bird seemed to detect people coming in and opened her eyelids. Seeing Zuo Mo, she closed her eyes with a safe and relaxed expression.

Silly Bird!

"She was originally a Grey Beak Goose and then evolved into a Blue Beaked Snow Goose. Theoretically, the probability of her evolution is not high but I found there is an unique power inside her. This power had been continuously strengthening her body. She is already completely different from normal Blue Beak Snow Geese. She is fierce, and much more savage in personality than before. This allowed her to have more room to improve.

When speaking of his field, Chun Yu Cheng immediately became energized and would endlessly talk.

"The quality of the earth fire here isn't bad, but it wasn't enough. I asked the people from Golden Crow Camp to come and remake the fire formation. The earth fire here is over eighth grade and contains shen power. If it could finish its nirvana regeneration, uh, while that is only for phoenixes, but I don't feel that only phoenixes can regenerate, you know that all birds ... ..."

Seeing Chun Yu Cheng wasn't going to stop, Zuo Mo's head swelled. He handed the three little ones to Shidi. "Here, they are in your care."

"No problem!" Chun Yu Chen's eyes lit up.

Translator Ramblings: We see the little ones, finally. Just as gluttonous as always.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Fifty Three – Commander-in-chief Bie Han

The first battle occurred suddenly.

The Mo Marshal Alliance had just been notified of Bie Han's arrival and the order to be on guard had not reached the front line yet when the first fight between the two sides had finished. Bie Han's full speed attack had caught the enemy off guard.

The battalion to make the sudden attack was Grey Camp. Shi Dong's style was sharp and swift to being with, and after the improvement of these past years, Grey Camp under his command was like a sharp and thin knife that sliced through the not-so-tight defense of the other.

This place was the border, but there were no importance resources nor transportation routes so the battalions stationed here were not strong.

Facing Grey Camp that was outfitted with shen equipment and well trained, the defences were quickly torn down after fighting for a few more moments.

The battalions behind Grey Camp did not hesitate and moved at full speed according to the battle plan. Grey Camp who had defeated the enemy battalion divided into many smaller groups that started to sweep the area at the opening they had created and kill the scattered soldiers to guarantee the safety of their rear.

When the battalions belonging to Rare Artifacts Hall arrived, they switched. Shi Dong took Grey Camp and hurriedly marched to catch up to the main army.

At this time, the resistance that Bie Han encountered suddenly increased.

One reason was because the Mo Marshal Alliance now caught up and started to set down defenses. The other was related to the location of Hundred Energy Jie. There was a jie one had to pass through to get to Hundred Energy Jie, Bright Mountain Jie.

Unlike the barrenness of Hundred Energy Jie, Bright Mountain Jie was a prosperous intermediate jie. It was the place where many jie rivers passed through. It had a large population, and was rich in resources. Due to its unique location, the Mo Marshal Alliance had stations large numbers of battalions there to guarantee its safety.

If one wanted to take Hundred Energy Jie, Bright Mountain Jie was unavoidable.

Therefore, the Mo Marshal Alliance set up a complete defense line around Bright Mountain Jie.

A little Bright Mountain Jie possessed two mo marshals. The power it had could be imagined.

Among the mo, a battle general's strength was directly connected to their individual strength. Mo marshals were almost always both battle generals and individual experts. This was related to their method of fighting. Mo marshals cultivated shen power, and were limited in their accomplishments just like the fanxu of the xiuzhe and the sky yao of the yao.

As young people talented in shen power continuously appeared among the yao and the xiuzhe, the mo's upper levels were still held by the mo marshals. Because they could not progress greatly cultivating shen power, their individual power continued to slip among the rankings of the three races. However, their command skill was not affected. Actually, while the effects of their shen power on individual strength was limited, it was of significant help to one's ability direct in battle.

As more and more mo cultivated shen power, the construction of battalions silently changed.

Of the two mo marshal battalions that guarded Bright Mountain Jie, almost half of their members were strong in mo shen power.

In the mo territories, these two battalions were considered strong ones.

Bright Mountain Jie was a hard bone to chew.

The news the front lines had been defeated were passed back to Bright Mountain Jie and all of Bright Mountain Jie went on their guard.

When the identity of the commander-in-chief of this enormous Mo Cloud Sea battalion group was revealed, all of the Mo Marshal Alliance inhaled in shock! Bie Han. The tenth ranked battle general, a battle general the mo were familiar with.

They were unfamiliar with the majority of commanders under Bie Han's command but just the name Bie Han was enough for them to feel strong danger.

Sin Battalion Bie Han!

The two mo marshals of Bright Mountain Jie seemed to be facing a great enemy and did not dare to attack first.

A person's name, a tree's shadow, the infamy of Bie Han was something that people did not dare dismiss. The two mo marshals thought highly of themselves, but facing Bie Han, they still lacked confidence.

Fortunately, Bright Mountain Jie's defenses were outstanding, and they had both soldiers and supplies. If they persisted in not going out, the other would not have any other choice other than to attack.

The two planned. They carefully set up defenses to increase morale as they asked for help from the rear.

Bie Han who was leading multiple battalions had more than just Sin Battalion. If he did not care about the price and attacked, the two did not have the confidence to know how long they would last.

Fortunately, Bright Mountain Jie was very important to the alliance and they believed the higher-ups would not ignore this attack.

———

In the conference room.

Shi Dong's battalion had caught up and he arrived just in time for the strategy meeting.

The conference room was unusually silent. No one made a sound. Everyone had been used to Lil' Miss being at the front to lead the discussion. Now that it was Bie Han, people were slightly used to it. Also, Bie Han usually did not talk at all during discussions, like air, he didn't seem to exist at all.

There was also another layer of thinking that everyone had.

It had to be said that Lil' Miss had been the one to teach and train them. Many of them didn't have any fame before this. Usually, Lil' Miss had been in command at the center, and their trust of Lil' Miss was unconditional.

Bie Han was a reclusive person, and usually did not converse with them. He never said anything during a meeting. While they knew that Bie Han was strong, but was he as strong as Lil' Miss? Many people did not accept this.

However, under Lil' Miss' command, what was most important was following regulations. Bie Han had been personally appointed by Zuo Mo. While they had opinions, no one dared speak them.

They did not speak, and the discussion room was silent.

Who among them didn't have a bit of a temper?

Some people thought inside, if this was Lil' Miss, the atmosphere would be heated ... ...

At this time, Bie Han spoke, his voice just as icy as usual!

"A Zha Ge."

A Zha Ge whose thoughts had been wandering hurriedly stood up and said gravely, "This subordinate is here!"

"Your battalion will go to the area of East Nation Jie, Bright Home Jie, and West Mountain Jie. If you encounter battalions, you can either chose to fight or not."

"This subordinate's goal is?" A Zha Ge was confused. Before the campaign, he had familiarized himself with the jie map of this area. He knew where the three jie were but he didn't understand Bie Han Daren's intentions at all. That area was far from Hundred Energy Jie with many jie between them.

"Let them feel pressure." Bie Han treasured his words like gold.

"Yes!" While he did not understand, A Zha Ge still took his orders.

"Tang Fei." Bie Han turned around.

"Here!" Tang Fei stood up. Her expression was solemn. She had seen Bie Han fight before and was probably the one that trusted Bie Han's abilities the most.

"The goal of your battalion is East Spring Jie!"

The commanders present all had surprised expressions.

East Springs Jie was far from Hundred Energy Jie and they didn't seem to be related at all from the jie map. However, the people present were not normal people. They all frowned and thought hard to find Bie Han's intentions.

Bie Han did not seem to see the puzzlement on the commander's' faces. He had no intentions of explaining and continued to give out orders.

"Shi Dong."

Shi Dong hurriedly stood up. "Here!"

"Hide in the area of Puluo Jie and Mighty Moon Jie. Do not let anyone detect you, and wait for orders."

As the orders were given out, the commanders stared at the jie map trying to find clues and were frowning in thought.

Bie Han ignored them. He said, "Ma Fan Battalion will move with me. End of meeting, every battalion will move according to their orders."

They refocused and stood to acknowledge. "Yes!"

Finished, Bie Han walked out of the conference room first.

Once Bie Han walked out, the conference room immediately became noisy.

"Who sees something? Make speak up!"

"I can't' see it, this setup is very strange!"

"Yes! It isn't reasonable at all!"

Tang Fei did not make a sound. She suddenly lowered her head to ask Miao Jun. "Teacher, have you seen something?"

"I see a bit, but I cannot guess many of the steps." Miao Jun's expression was shocked as he said in a low voice. "As expected of a top battle general. Bie Han Daren doesn't usually show himself but when he does, it isn't ordinary! The Mo Marshal Alliance is going to have a huge defeat this time. Even we who know the goal cannot see through this plan, ha!"

The commanders here were not stupid and could find some hints. But even so, they found it bewildering. They could not determine what Bie Han Daren was going to do next.

This discovery caused everyone to become silent.

Bie Han Daren who was usually reclusive and did not have anything worthy of people to remark upon except his fierce offensive intimidated them with one move.

They finally understood that the difference in skill between them and top battle generals was bigger than they imagined!

———

Mo Cloud Sea was moving and Zuo Mo was not idle.

Someone had come from Xi Xuan!

In truth, Zuo Mo had not expected Xi Xuan to send an envoy. He was Gu Liang Dao's most faithful ally. What was Xi Xuan sending people here for?

To cause a discord between himself and Gu Liang Dao?

Zuo Mo did not understand but he still decided to meet the other.

The leader of the envoy was a middle-aged person called Jian Jun. He was of average power, but he was elegant and had presence.

"Mister Zuo is really accomplished at a young age. Having conquered so much at such a young age, it makes those like me sweat!" Jian Jun praised.

"Mister Jian is too complimentary. What have you come for?" Zuo Mo did not want to waste words and said directly."

Jian Jun stilled at Zuo Mo's directness but he was a person who could adapt. Seeing this, he said directly, "We have come to visit Mister Zuo this time for two matters."

Seeing Zuo Mo show a listening expression, he said, "The first is that we hope to order some shen equipment from you."

"Order shen equipment?" Zuo Mo stilled for a moment. He hadn't thought that Xi Xuan would order shen equipment from them.

"Yes. The Mo Cloud System shen equipment is stronger than any other," Jian Jun said with a friendly smile, "It will be best if you can design new shen equipment around our shen power. We are willing to pay the corresponding expenses."

"Design shen equipment?" Zuo Mo was seven more stunned. He looked suspiciously at the other. "Tailored shen equipment, you will need to provide your shen power cultivation method ... ..."

"This is not a problem." Jian Jun's expression was normal as though he was talking about a simple matter. "Other than the day of completion, everything else can be negotiated."

Zuo Mo felt as though he didn't have enough brainpower to use. Xi Xuan had come to order shen equipment, and were willing to provide their shen power cultivation method? This was clearly the secret of each sect that should not be told to anyone else!

What was going on with Xi Xuan?

Translator Ramblings: Things are developing, Zuo Mo has to play with the big whales now.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Fifty Four – Alliance with Xi Xuan

Jian Jun seemed to be speaking of a common everyday matter, and smiled naturally. He said, "Before we left, Zhong Daren said that Xi Xuan is weak now. Kun Lun and Tian Huan are greedily watching from the sides. The nine great dhyana sects look numerous, but they are divided and their power is scattered, only appearing strong but will scatter when they face pressure. Only Mo Cloud Sea is a viable ally, while they do not have many soldiers they have strong commanders. They do not have a great amount of land, but they are wealthy, their potential can be anticipated and are a possible ally."

"Zhong Daren is too complimentary," Zuo Mo politely responded.

Jian Jun smiled slightly. "My Xi Xuan has been weak for a long time, our elite have left us. If there is no help from outside forces, then we will not be able to fight off Kun Lun and Tian Huan. Mo Cloud Sea is in a remote location. With the nine great dhyana sects as barrier, there are no worries in the short term. Yet once Kun Lun and Tian Huan swallow Xi Xuan, each will possess almost two realms of power and be unstoppable. Daren predicted that if it gets to that point, with the two sects sending soldiers, the nine great dhyana sects will collapse with little resistance. At that time, Mo Cloud Sea will have no place to retreat. The nine great dhyana sects can surrender, but Mo Cloud Sea cannot."

Zuo Mo changed expression. He had to admit that Zhong De's prediction was accurate. The nine great dhyana sects were a group of rabble if they could not unify under one banner. If Kun Lun and Tian Huan had just average abilities, they might try to fight back. If the two big sects really ate Xi Xuan, just their presence would be enough for the nine great dhyana sects to surrender without even fighting.

The hate between Mo Cloud Sea and Kun Lun had been spread far and wide a long time ago. Everyone knew of the great hate between Mo Cloud Sea and Kun Lun.

The crux to stopping Kun Lun and Tian Huan was not the nine great dhyana sects but Xi Xuan!

Zuo Mo had thought of this before, but that that time, there was no hope to be seen in Xi Xuan. The sudden appearance of Zhong De had given new blood to the rotting Xi Xuan.

Jian Jun continued to speak, "I heard some things about Mister Zuo's birth. Daren feels great sympathy and has executed everyone involved in that incident. Also, Daren has given me the duty of returning this item to Mister Zuo. This item that belongs to the Zuo Family is today returned to Mister Zuo, to its owner!"

As he spoke, he took out a strangely shaped item.

This item was extremely unique in shape. It was about the height of a person, and was like a tree branch cut off from a tree. The main trunk was curved and there were five forks that criss-crossed. The item was made completely from metal. Even after a few decades, it was still shiny like it was new.

"This is the part that we obtained in the past. The other three are in the hands of Kun Lun, Tian Huan, and Xuan Kong Temple. While returning this cannot undo the past, we have already taken care off the elders involved in the matter. However, we do not hope to receive your forgiveness with this, we only wish to sincerely express our apologies, and to show that Xi Xuan is willing to take responsibility for this matter."

Jian Jun's expression was stern and his tone solemn.

Zuo Mo looked at this shen device part and was in a daze. Xi Xuan had not faked this item. When Jian Jun had taken this out, Zuo Mo had felt the presence of a shen device.

In his few memories, this strangely shaped thing had appeared a few times.

"Thank Zhong De Daren for me!" Zuo Mo refocused, his expression normal. The scenes that had flashed through his mind caused his emotions to shift but he quickly calmed his mind. As the leader of the entire Mo Cloud Sea, every decision could influence the future development of Mo Cloud Sea.

"There are no problems about the alliance and ordering shen equipment. But both understanding your shen power and designing shen equipment will take time," Zuo Mo said.

A hint of joy flashed across Jian Jun's eyes. He unhesitatingly took out a jade scroll. "This is the shen power of our sect, I will give this to you now!"

Zuo Mo speedily read through it. After thinking for a moment, he had a general grasp of their method. "The work to design the shen equipment will take about two months. The price will only be known after the first ones are made."

Jian Jun then asked, "Is it possible to finish thirty thousand shen equipment before the eighth month of next year?"

Zuo Mo said after a moment of thought. "It is difficult to produce thirty thousand in one year, but there should be no problems for twenty thousand!"

Jian Jun said unhesitatingly, "Good! At least twenty thousand, no matter how many you will produce, we will take all of them!"

"No problem!" Zuo Mo said crisply.

This was a very profitable transaction. If they had twenty thousand shen equipment, Xi Xuan's power would increase greatly. Zuo Mo was happy to see this. Also, such a large order would cause Mo Cloud Sea's forging skills to go up another level.

This was killing multiple birds with one stone.

Jian Jun suddenly spoke, "There is one matter we will request of Mister Zuo."

"Please speak." Zuo Mo had to admit that while Jian Jun was not strong, but his style and his way of speech made people feel pleased.

"Ah." Jian Jun sighed lightly. "We want to ask Mister Zuo to pass on a message."

"A message?" Zuo Mo stilled and then understood. Gu Liang Dao!

"Yes, Mister Zuo, please give this letter to Gu Liang Dao. This letter was personally written by Zhong De Daren." Jian Jun passed over a jade scroll, but his expression was slightly awkward.

Zuo Mo seriously received the jade scroll. He said with a nod, "I will definitely give this to Brother Gu."

"Thank you, Mister Zuo." Jian Jun's smile was slightly forced. A talent of the sect had betrayed and left the sect due to being forced by the sect, this was not something to be proud of.

"Mister Jian is too polite," Zuo Mo said.

The two then discussed the problem of setting up transportation formations.

After setting up transportation formations, they would be able to travel freely. While it was expensive to move large volumes, it was the safest method at present.

Both of them knew this.

Once they opened the transportation formations, the wards of Mo Cloud Sea would flood into Xi Xuan. This would affect Xi Xuan greatly but the present Xi Xuan had no power to manage this. What was in front of them was an even more dangerous and cruel future. Organizing their combat forces was their most urgent need at this moment.

Before leaving Jian Jun said with a serious expression, "Mister Zuo, you need to pay attention to Kun Lun and Tian Huan. While Mo Cloud Sea is the best at forging, Kun Lun and Tian Huan are not lacking. Recently, Kun Lun and Tian Huan having been seeking ancient ruins and Kun Lun found the remnants of an ancient shen device. They have started to plan forging a new shen device."

This information immediately attracted Zuo Mo's attention. "Is there anything more specific?"

"No." Jian Jun shook his head. "We only know that for this device piece, three of Kun Lun's elders lost their lives and the sect leader was heavily wounded."

Zuo Mo was startled. This price was great even for Kun Lun.

"Shen devices have developed quickly. Maybe in a year or two, everyone will have distanced themselves again," Jian Jun said concernedly. "Taking from the past is better than closing the doors and creating from within. You will need to pay more attention. If we have information of ancient ruins, we will notify you."

''Alright!" Zuo Mo nodded. Jian Jun's words made him have nothing to say.

The beginning of a new era was usually when development occurred the fastest. Slacking off for a time meant that some people might be forever pulled down. Unlike the completeness and maturity of the ling power system, shen power had just been reborn. While the general picture could be seen, the details were still crude.

Kun Lun was willing to spend such an astounding price. This meant that what they obtained surpassed this price.

Zuo Mo felt strong danger.

———

Gu Liang Dao was silent after reading the letter.

"Big Brother, did that old man Zhong De say something ugly?" Shuang Yu couldn't resist asking.

Gu Liang Dao shook his head and handed the jade scroll to Shuang Yu. "Read."

Shuang Yu took the jade scroll. His expression was spectacular after he finished reading and then he handed the jade scroll to Xiao.

Gu Liang Dao laughed self-mocking. "He's inviting us back, he will give up his position, and will clean out all opposing factions."

"Is ... ... is this fake?" Shuang Yu hesitated to say. No matter what, the contents of the letter were not something he could believe.

"It's true." Gu Liang Dao's gaze was slightly dazed. The internal conflict and pain appeared in his eyes.

"Then should we return?" Shuang Yu asked excitedly. He believed that if Big Brother returned to Xi Xuan to take power, Xi Xuan will definitely come back from the dead!

"A Xiao, what do you think?" Gu Liang Dao suddenly asked.

Xiao was silent for a moment and then said, "It is hard to say. Zhong De says he only has three years left, it probably is not a lie. It is also not a lie that he will abdicate the power because only we can save Xi Xuan. So up until now, he killed so many people but didn't touch any of those close to us."

Gu Liang Dao continued to be silent.

"But after?" Xiao said calmly, "Once Zhong De is dead, Big Brother has the power, and then? The sect leader can tolerate Zhong De, but can he tolerate Big Brother?"

Shuang Yu's expression froze. He became silent.

"The sect leader is skilled in enduring. The elders have held power and controlled Xi Xuan for so many years yet the sect leader did not make a sound. Looking back now, the sect leader may have let them. The sect leader might have moved in the shadows for Big Brother to be forced out of the sect."

"No way?" Shuang Yu's eyes were wide, his expression disbelieving.

Xiao smiled coldly, "The sect leader was young when he took the position, and could not stand up to the elders. He was forced by the situation. Think of what the sect leader has done all these years, free and taking pleasure, not asking about the matters of the sect. Look at what the sect leader did this time. While he is not a murderous person, he is a cunning one. Zhong De was gone for more than fifty years, yet he was able to uproot the elders and their support in the span of one night. This cannot be accomplished by just killing people."

"You mean to say ... ..." Shuang Yu was not stupid and understood.

"Without someone familiar with the situation, he definitely could not have done it. The sect leader had probably started to investigate the elders from a long time ago. Supposedly, half of the sect leader's guards were killed. It is terrifying that he managed to endure for so long!"

Xiao's voice was cold and emotionless. "It would be fine if this letter came from the sect leader, but it came from Zhong De! Zhong De has great power, and the sect leader will go along with him. What about after Zhong De is dead, what do we have that will let us fight against the sect leader?"

"So what, we aren't afraid of him," Shuang Yu muttered.

Xiao smiled. "Why should we? Right now, our situation is not bad. Our land is not large but our foundation is not bad, why should we go back to endure?"

"Xiao is right!" The shadows in Gu Liang Dao's eyes were swept away. "We only knew freedom after coming out. I am not willing to turn back! How can we believe him? But our relatives are in Zhong De's hands, how can we get them back?"

When they had fled, the relatives of most of his subordinates had been arrested. Getting these relatives back was a great problem that was related to their foundation.

Xiao smiled confidently. "This matter is not difficult. Zhong De has not killed them so he will not make things difficult for us by using them as hostages. However, we need to ask Brother Zuo for help on this."

"Brother Zuo?" Gu Liang Dao's eyes lit up and then his praise left his mouth. "Yes!"

Translator Ramblings: More about Zuo Mo's past and more politics.

Now that we are starting on the home stretch, I'm losing motivation to translate. I wonder how weird I'll feel when I don't have to post everyday.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Fifty Five – Shen Device Part

Zuo Mo was surprised by the attitude that Xi Xuan showed but he quickly understood what Xi Xuan intended. Just like how Xi Xuan was the crux to restraining Kun Lun and Tian Huan for Mo Cloud Sea, Xi Xuan's only ally in the xiuzhe world was Mo Cloud Sea.

After reading through Xi Xuan's shen methodology, Zuo Mo understood why Xi Xuan hadn't kept it a secret. No wonder people said that the true ancestor of the five element shen power was the [Reverse Five Element Shen Methodology] that Shuang Yu had created. In Zuo Mo's view, Xi Xuan's [Five Element Shen Power] was middling, and lacked any exceptional qualities. If a normal sect had created this shen methodology, it naturally would be outstanding, but with Xi Xuan's status as one of the four great sects, it could be seen how sparse its talent was, to have created this mediocre shen methodology.

However, Zuo Mo did not help them advance the shen methodology. He did not dare to underestimate a foundation thousands of years old. Even a rotten boat had three tenths of its weight in nails. If they had the time, who knew if they could recover?

A powerful Xi Xuan definitely would not be willing to be Mo Cloud Sea's ally.

After thinking for a moment, he called the two masters and gave the jade scroll to them.

Disdainful expressions appeared on the two master's faces. They naturally looked down on a shen methodology of this level. There were not many that knew that Mo Cloud Sea had more than one shen methodology. Every person's cultivation base were different, because Zuo Mo's camp had a lot of xiuzhe, yao, and mo.

With Zuo Mo's [Mo Cloud Shen Methodology] as the basis, there were many methodologies that branched off. Zuo Mo himself encouraged the creation of these, and would even help them perfect these shen methodologies. He didn't hide a thing.

In this kind of an environment, the two masters were knowledgeable about shen power and looked down on normal shen methodologies.

"Xi Xuan has declined as expected. This shen methodology is just worth so much," Master Sun Bao said without any courtesy.

Ji Wei smacked his lips and said, "It would be good if we can get a hold of Kun Lun's and Tian Huan's shen methodologies, those two might have some good insights."

Hearing the two masters' tone as though they were looking down on the world, Zuo Mo couldn't help but smile. He then said, "Using Xi Xuan's shen power to design shen equipment, is two months enough?"

"Two months?" Sun Bao dismissively snorted. "Half a month, only half a month!"

"Half a month!" Zuo Mo had a doubtful expression.

Sun Bao met Zuo Mo's doubtful gaze and jumped as though he had been slighted. "Daren, if you don't believe me, Old Sun is willing to be punished according to military law!"

Ji Wei's face and neck was flushed as though he had been greatly humiliated.

Zuo Mo jumped in fright at the two's reactions. These people were so proud. However, his attention quickly was attracted by the promise of half a month. "If that's the case, how many sets can we make before the eighth month of next year?"

Sun Bao thought and said, "It depends on how we make them. If we use all of our power, fifty to sixty thousand will not be a problem. However, that is only if we give up on all other missions."

"Without affecting the other missions?" Zuo Mo continued to ask.

"Twenty to thirty thousand," Master Sun Bao sighed in relief. He didn't want to waste his time on forging these shen equipment. There were countless mysteries in the world of shen power waiting for him to explore.

"Is this a large order?" Ji Wei suddenly said.

"En, for the eighth month of next year, Xi Xuan will take as much as we make." Zuo Mo nodded.

Sun Bao immediately asked, "What's the price?"

Ji Wei's attention was also pulled over. The two's eyes flashed with light. While Gongsun Cha was the main economic force of Mo Cloud Sea, they also spent the most. Zuo Mo never spared what he invested into Golden Crow Camp. All kinds of high level materials, all kinds of trials, he allowed them to do what they wanted.

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It was only Zuo Mo's unlimited investment that caused Golden Crow Camp to become so powerful. This could be seen from the flames they used to forge. In the past, only core members would have fourth-grade Golden Crow Fire. Now, this had been spread to become the standard flame for the outer members of Golden Crow Camp.

If they were willing to enter the cadet organizations, they would be gifted Golden Crow Fire.

The Golden Crow Fire was harvested from the Golden Crow Macro Formation. While it was not as expensive as it was in the past, it still was significant. Distributing it so widely meant it cost a great amount but Zuo Mo never complained about this kind of investment.

This directly caused the forgers from many places to furiously flood Mo Cloud Sea.

Later, in order to stop this outflow of talents, Kun Lun and Tian Huan had to increase their benefits for production xiuzhe. However, Mo Cloud Sea had already gathered a great number of production xiuzhe. Fourth-grade Golden Crow Fire. So many people would save for their entire lives but not be able to buy it.

Golden Crow Camp was literally a monster that ate gold. The two masters were extremely sensitive to price and profit.

"The price will be dependent on your design, the profit margin will be initially set at two hundred percent." Once Zuo Mo opened his mouth, he was immediately exposed as an evil businessman.

Master Sun Bao was familiar with forging and said rapidly, "A set of shen equipment's basic cost is around fifty seventh-grade jingshi. Two hundred percent profit margin, that is one hundred and fifty seventh-grade jingshi. On, that's about right, the power of the shen equipment will reach about eighty percent of our Mo Cloud System.

Ji Wei's eyes were bright and his breathing slightly rushed. "Big business! If it is twenty thousand sets, that is two million seventh-grade jingshi. No, we have to make at least thirty thousand sets!"

"There are ways to increase production." Sun Bao thought as he spoke, "Right now, there are many low-level forgers with Golden Crow Fire. We can have them first forge the ingots for the shen equipment. That way, it will save us a lot of effort. Our shen fire pool is about to be completed. It will be able to be used to improve our efficiency. We can reduce production time. This way, we should be able to produce forty thousand sets!"

"Four million seventh-grade jinghsi!" Even Ji Wei who had seen great amounts before couldn't help but exclaim and inhale sharply.

That was a terrifying number!

If this spread, it would make all of the xiuzhe world boil.

Zuo Mo's face was flushed but he did not let the enormous number go to his head. He said with a snicker, "We will not take jingshi, we will take materials. Jingshi is being depreciated now, and the prices of materials is increasing. This way, we will get everything out of Xi Xuan."

Sun Bao and Ji Wei furiously nodded.

Ever since they entered the era of shen power, the use and value of jingshi continued to decrease. It was not something essential for people to cultivate. The biggest value of jingshi came from the ling power it contained. Yet in the era of shen power, the greatest pursuit was of shen power, not ling power.

Conversely, as a result of the fighting, the prices of materials had risen greatly.

Especially high grade materials. The prices grew so fast it seemed they had a new price everyday. If Zuo Mo and the others hadn't secretly moved everything out of Xuan Kong Temple's Dhyana Treasure Pavilion, and all of the high grade materials that Xuan Kong Temple had accumulated over thousands of years had ended up in his hands. He would not have been able to support Golden Crow Camp's terrifying expenses.

Most of the high level materials in Gongsun Cha's [City Destroyer] and Bie Han's [Arsonist] came from that.

The reason that Zuo Mo had not forged shen devices was not because he didn't have the ability, but he did not have the resources. Each shen device required a piled of high grade materials each that were worth cities.

After forging two shen device raiments, almost all of Mo Cloud Sea's high grade materials had been used up.

Even Kun Lun and Tian Huan did not dare to casually forge shen device raiments.

Shen device raiments were the ultimate weapon of this era. It represented the peak of forging for this era.

Zuo Mo had thought deeply about forging [City Destroyer] and [Arsonist]. A Gui already had a shen device raiment, that grey set of armor that Zuo Mo named the [Undying Ghost]. Zuo Mo also had the Anti Dragon Claw and the Three Thousand Thread of Worry. While the sum of them together could not equal a shen device raiment, they could compare to pseudo-shen weapons.

Also, Zuo Mo thought that [City Destroyer] and [Arsonist] were of greater use to Mo Cloud Sea.

However, four million seventh-grade jingshi was enough to forge a true shen device raiment!

The excitement the three felt when facing this number could be imagined.

"I will leave this matter to your care," Zuo Mo said.

Sun Bao jumped up and said excitedly, "Daren, do not worry, this subordinated definitely will not let even one of these four million pieces of jingshi walk away!"

Ji Wei nodded.

"En, en. I'm confident in your work. However, pay attention to keeping this a secret. Don't let people find out too early," Zuo Mo ordered.

The two hurriedly acknowledged this, and then impatiently bid farewell to leave.

It was impossible for others to be completely unalerted to a project of such scale. Mo Cloud Sea was filled with spies from all factions. While extermination was occurring constantly, these spies were like weeds that would never stop growing.

As long as this matter was not exposed too early, there was no great worry.

Watching the two leave, Zuo Mo's face unconsciously turned to that shen device part shaped like a tree branch.

His eyes flashed with emotion. As though she detected his emotions, A Gui silently appeared behind Zuo Mo.

The scars on A Gui's faces had disappeared. Her face was like the one that Zuo Mo had once seen in his memories. Her face was still expressionless and the mark on her brow was unusually clear.

Her undying shen power had become even more unfathomable.

"I'm fine." Zuo Mo turned to smile at A Gui and then rubbed her hair.

A Gui's empty eyes became gentler.

"Let's go to see." Zuo Mo pulled A Gui to walk towards the corner. The empty corner suddenly pit up and Zuo Mo and A Gui disappeared in the light.

Zuo Mo and A Gui appeared in a secret room.

There were many things stored in these secret room. Many of the items showed marks of being burned and damaged. They also looked old.

There was a helmet placed at the end of the room.

The helmet was dim. Dozens of thin and long bone spikes fanned out in rows behind the helmet. At the top of the helmet, there was a crescent thin blade coming out of the forehead that arched over top and wrapped around to the back of the helmet.

This was another part of the shen device raiment that his father had forged. It had been placed in Xuan Kong Temple's Dhyana Treasure Pavilion and then landed in Zuo Mo's hands. The things in this secret room were all things that Xuan Kong Temple had taken from his home in the past.

When Zuo Mo came near, the dim helmet suddenly lit up with a gentle light.

Zuo Mo stilled, and his mind moved. He took out that tree-shaped shen device part.

The helmet suddenly shook, the dozens of spikes trembling as it gave off a hotter light.

Zuo Mo suddenly felt pain on his hand and he instinctively let go.

The tree branch turned into a streak of light and flew to the bright helmet like a bird return to the nest.

Translator Ramblings: I know Fang Xiang skipped the ratios of upper grade jingshi but does someone want to estimate how many first grade jingshi Zuo Mo is making with this order?

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Fifty Six – The Uninhibited Chao Xin

Zuo Mo looked at the strange thing in front of him and was greatly interested.

The forked tree branch part of the devices was now pointed downwards and the main trunk was connected to the back of the helmet.

It looked ... ...

Zuo Mo examined it for a while and found it increasingly familiar. He thought hard before he finally recalled what this was like. If the helmet was a person's head, then the main branch that led down from the back of the head, wasn't it a person's spine? And the forked branches that split off, weren't they like the small blood vessels and channels?

The more Zuo Mo looked, the more he felt it was like that.

Suddenly, Zuo Mo was extremely curious about his father. This kind of design was definitely unique. Even in this era where shen devices were constantly appearing, it still was unique. He was even more curious what the other two parts looked like.

What would the complete shen weapon look like?

What kind of power would the complete shen weapon have?

Zuo Mo suddenly had a feeling that his father was a great person. This shen device was too unique. Even though Zuo Mo had forged the [Angle Device Raiment, a pseudo-shen device, he still felt stunned by the incomplete two-part product in front of him.

There were no indications of how it was forged on its body. There were no shen glyphs or seal scripts. The tree like structure seemed to have grown naturally. The helmet was tightly melded and didn't show any signs of being forged. Those long strange antennae-like things were something that Zuo Mo still didn't know the use of.

He tried to pick up the newly merged shen weapon. It was unexpectedly light as though there was nothing.

A ball of light suddenly lit up at the end of the antenna. The light flashed to a certain rhythm that was hard to understand. The level of this shen weapon far surpassed the level of the present shen weapons that had appeared.

To an innocent man, wealth is a crime!

How could the Zuo Family which possessed such a shen device not be targeted by other people?

Zuo Mo sighed. He focused on the half shen weapon in front of him. After the two parts merged together, they seemed to come alive, and occasionally released light.

Zuo Mo tried to channel in shen power.

Boom!

He felt the surrounding scenery change. Information flooded into his mind.

Off guard, Zuo Mo's body froze, his vision turning black. He only recovered after an unknown length of time.

Pew!

He tasted sweetness and then spat out a mouthful of blood before his chest felt less congested.

He couldn't help but show a shocked expression.

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In Zuo Mo's sea of consciousness, Wei would had been motionless all this time suddenly opened his eyes. Pu Yao also felt something and suddenly stood up.

"Don't try that again!"

Wei's words stopped Zuo Mo.

With the warning, Zuo Mo put the incomplete shen weapon down with lingering fear. He didn't dare to try again. With his previous attempt, he had been lightly wounded, and almost seven-tenths of his shen power had been used up. His scalp pricked at this result. He hadn't even detected the loss of his shen power at all, and it was seven-tenths.

There was too much information inside the shen device, so much that it surpassed his tolerance and injured him. But no matter how he thought back, he could not remember a word.

This thing ... ...

However, Zuo Mo quickly noticed that Wei had woken up. He entered the sea of consciousness with a grimace, "Wei, you finally woke up."

When Wei opened his mouth,and started nagging. "A Zuo, I said that you have to be careful, why don't you listen? You're a leader now, how can you be so rash? You have to know, if your shen power was just a little bit weaker, you would have been sucked dry, your life would be finished ... ..."

Listening to Wei's nattering, Zuo Mo felt warm and a smile came onto his face.

Pu Yao impatiently interrupted him. "Enough, how come I didn't feel that you were an old woman before? You are the great gravestone armor, you have dignity, show your presence, don't be like an old woman!"

Wei stilled and then instinctively nodded. "That seems right." But he quickly reacted, "What about an aura like yours that isn't male or female?"

Pu Yao was furious. "Who are you saying isn't male or female?"

Wei said deviously, "Not me."

"I'll kill you!" Pu Yao smiled in anger, the black flames on his body shooting into the air. The black flames in the sea of consciousness exploded as well, Pu Yao rampaging in the sky.

Wei didn't have any fear at all, his expression was sunny but his mouth poisonous. "If you can't kill me, you are a renyao."

Zuo Mo almost fell onto his face. He wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. As expected, Wei was the more devious one.

Two tigers fighting would affect the bystander!

Without a second word, Zuo Mo silently slipped away.

Not long after he came out of the sea of consciousness, Zuo Mo received Gu Liang Dao's letter. After reading it, he guessed what the issue was but it was not for him to express opinions on this matter. Also, the favor Gu Liang Dao requested of him was a simple matter for him.

Gu Liang Dao wasn't willing to return to Xi Xuan and this was most likely because he saw that Xi Xuan was in difficult straits, the situation was not something that one person could change.

He shook his head and his attention turned back to Mo Cloud Sea.

The present situation was also a great pressure on Mo Cloud Sea.

With Xi Xuan's massive order, Mo Cloud Sea could enter a time of fast development. As long as they overcame the obstacle of materials, the powerful production abilities of Mo Cloud Sea would be able to be expressed.

For the present Mo Cloud Sea, if they worked steadily, if they finished accumulating in this time, their power would change.

While Zuo Mo had a good plan, other people would likely hamper is efforts.

———

"Xi Xuan and Mo Cloud Sea have established an alliance."

The report of the subordinate caused Lin Qian to raise his head. His expression was normal. "Is the information true?"

"This is intelligence from the spy inside Xi Xuan," the subordinate said respectfully. "We cannot get close to Zhong De and does not have direct evidence of this, but Zhong De took out the Zuo Family shen device part from Xi Xuan's stores. We detected traces of its movement."

"They are willing to pay a great price." The one that spoke was an elegant youth with red lips, white teeth, and ethereal long robes. His voice when he spoke carried an unique slowness. He was called Chao Xin and one of the members of Lin Qian's inner Sword Pavilion.

In the Sword Pavilion that Lin Qian had built, every position was coveted. Countless elders used their connections in hopes that they could arrange for their disciples to enter. Everyone knew that the Sword Pavilion would become the true core of power in Kun Lun's future. If they could enter, they would undoubtedly enter the true core of Kun Lun.

Yet Lin Qian had resisted the suggestions of the masses and picked an unknown disciple, Chao Xin. Chao Xin was born into poverty. While his parents were Kun Lun disciples, they were outer disciples. He appeared very poor in the eyes of the public. Also, Chao Xin's individual cultivation was stunningly weak. He entered the Sword Pavilion with zhuji cultivation. This was the first in Kun Lun's history.

What was also unexpected was that Chao XIn's ranking was high. The first person that Lin Qian picked was Xue Dong, the second was Chao XIn.

This unknown outer sect disciple immediately multiplied in value and was watched by countless.

Rather than shining like people had expected, Chao Xin gradually faded out of view and didn't seem to have any existence to speak off. Only the true higher levels of Kun Lun knew the great power this youth controlled.

"Yes," the subordinate hurriedly said, "this time, the envoy was Jian Jun. This person is not strong but skilled in diplomacy. He was promoted by Zhong De. It was the people from Abyss Jail that protected him on his journey. We could not discover what they discussed."

Chao Xin said casually, "Pay attention to the movement of their resources. Zhong De is careful, but he just came out of seclusion, and the power he wields in the sect is limited. These tasks are ones that he has to rely on the people below to do."

"Yes!" the subordinate acknowledged and then left.

Lin Qian didn't feel any displeasure at Chao Xin giving orders. He frowned and said, "If Xi Xuan and Mo Cloud Sea have allied together, it will affect us greatly."

Chao Xin took a sip of wine, and savoured it for a moment before speaking. "The most correct move that Xi Xuan has made up until now was to get Zhong De to come out. However, one cannot stand alone. Zhong De is strong but he is just a battle general. Our entry point should be Xi Xuan's sect leader. I looked at the reports on him. He became sect leader at a young age, but Xi Xuan has been controlled by the elders. One can imagine just how discontent he felt. A person like this will desire power far more than other people. Look at this move, he almost cleaned out all of the elders."

Lin Qian listened carefully. As he listened, he poured wine for Chao Xin. His movements were practiced. This was clearly not the first time he was doing so.

Chao Xin sipped happily, his expression uninhibited as he drawled, "Right now, Xi Xuan's power is concentrated in Zhong De's hands. He can tolerate this because the situation is severe. Only Zhong De can control the situation. He needs this knife. This is the common speculation. However, I feel that it is not so simple. It is not possible that Zhong De would not have thought of this. I investigated this person especially."

"This person is very interesting. On one hand, he values promises and friendship, on the other, he can do anything, be cruel and kill easily. Fifty years ago, his woman was pulled into an incident and died. He lost his passion and asked to guard the Abyss Jail. He grew up in Xi Xuan from a young age and owed the past sect leader. However, the past sect leader of Xi Xuan did not help him with that case. Therefore, Zhong De's emotions about the sect leader are slightly complex. However, no matter what, the matter of his woman is still something he thinks about. This can be seen from him immediately building a tomb after coming out. He cannot be loyal to the present sect leader but he still decided to come out, still helped the Xi Xuan sect leader finish the purging, this caused me to come up with a new theory."

"What theory?" Lin Qian was interested.

"He knows what the present sect leader is like, yet he still helped the other complete the purge, still came out of isolation, still had himself become a blade for the other, and take full control without any qualms. There are two possibilities. One, he wants to kill the sect leader and become the ruler of Xi Xuan. Or, he knows that he will not be a threat to the sect leader even if he does this."

Chao Xin's eyes were bright, his tone slightly excited. "If he wants to kill the sect leader, the best time would have been when purging the upper ranks, with the loss of half of the sect leader's personal guard. The counterattack from the elders was enough for the sect leader, lacking protection, to die. And it would be something accepted and his reputation would not be stained. But he didn't do that. This is matching to his personality, while bloodthirsty, he has his bottom line. The other possibility is something worthy of discussing. He has such great power yet he is not a threat to the sect leader. That only occurs in one possibility, he knows he won't live long! A dead person will be of no threat to anyone."

Lin Qian changed expression.

Translator Ramblings: The Zuo Family, a simple case of having a powerful item and not being able to protect it.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Fifty Seven – Danger

Leaving in the night, they avoided the armies stationed along the way, making a long detour, the Tangzi Battalion appeared near Eastern Spring Jie like ghosts. Because Zuo Mo had to have Hundred Energy Jie, they had spent more effort gathering information on the surroundings here than in other places. This allowed Tang Fei to easily avoid the enemies troops stationed here.

The Mo Marshal Alliance would never think that Bie Han would target Eastern Spring Jie. Unlike the other jie that were heavily guarded near Hundred Energy Jie, Eastern Spring Jie was just as guarded as usual.

"How long until we arrive in Eastern Spring Jie?" Tang Fei asked gravely. The long hair of the female blew in the sharp cold air. Her stern face was filled with determination and her tone firm and strong.

"According to our present speed, we will arrive at the outer defense line of Eastern Spring Jie at approximately tomorrow afternoon," the subordinate calculated before answering.

Tang Fei looked around. Seeing that everyone's energy was good, she nodded inside. The rest last night had been important. The recovery of the battalion's energy was in preparation for the battle tomorrow. Every soldier had been outfitted with a high grade mo steed . The cloud steeds that Chun Yu Cheng had bred were better, but their production was limited and not available to be distributed to the mo soldiers. The wealthy Zuo Mo decided to give them high grade mo steeds.

All of them were seventh-grade Fire-Stepping Hell Horses. They were tall, their hides completely black and their eyes dark red. Their hooves were wrapped up bright red flames. The Fire-Stepping Hell Horses were outstanding for their endurance, suited for long journeys. They were vicious and not afraid of battle. They were a good fighting mo steed species.

"Increase the scouts by thirty teams, pay special care as to not alert the enemy." Tang Fei ordered.

The subordinate hurriedly passed on her orders.

Miao Jun looked on with a smile at his student. The past Tang Fei caused people's eyes to light up, but she had not been so methodical and calm like now. In these past years, he had spent almost all of his energy to teach Tang Fei. He was extremely satisfied with Tang Fei. Even in Mo Cloud Sea that had many geniuses, Tang Fei was still exceptional.

When he thought of this, he couldn't help but feel emotional. If he wasn't part of Mo Cloud Sea's inner core, he could not imagine the strength Mo Cloud Sea had in their battle generals. Any of them would be a person that could take control of a region if they were of another faction. What he felt even harder to believe that the great majority of these talented young battle generals had been unknown before joining Mo Cloud Sea, and many were not even battle generals before.

Tang Fei's strong voice interrupted his pondering.

"Eastern Spring Jie is not an important jie, and stationed there are four battalions lead by mo generals. It is not difficult to take it and then we can threaten the Sun Mountain and Eastern Might defense line. There are many important jie concentrated in the region, all of them resource jie for the Mo Marshal Alliance. They have stationed many soldiers there. We will encounter attacks from multiple fronts."

Miao Jun listened to Tang Fei's analysis.

"Bie Han Daren's goal is naturally not those places. The most likely reason he has us attacking Eastern Spring Jie is to diminish the other's ability to reinforce Bright Mountain Jie. A Zha Ge's task should be similar to us. From the position, it seems that A Zha Ge, us and BIe Han Daren form a triangle. Bie Han Daren is the corner at the front. Shi Dong's use is the hardest the guess. That place is a target that has no value!"

Tang Fei had a puzzled expression in her eyes. Seeing this, Miao Jun smiled and said, "Let's continue this talk after taking down Eastern Spring Jie."

Tang Fei still and said embarrassedly, "Teacher is right."

Her expression turned stern, coldness rising on her determined face. She silently raised her right hand.

The scouts had encountered enemy battalions!

The commanders around her immediately turned serious. Orders were quickly sent down. The team leaders became alert, shouting rising in waves. They urged on the mo steeds under them, moving into formation. The mo soldiers behind them quickly adjusted as well.

The troops which had been swiftly moving quickly changed. Within ten breaths, the shape of the troops turned from a marching formation to an offensive battle formation!

Tang Fei urged the cloud steed under her forward. Her cloud seed was a silver Thunder Cloud Steed. Compared to the large brawny and vicious Fire-Stepping Hell Horses, the Thunder Cloud Steed seemed much thinner. It moved elegantly at a measured pace, its entire body covered in dark blue cloud patterns.

Tang Fei appeared at the front of the entire battalion. After seven years, the Tangzi Battalion had expanded to three thousand people.

The crowd of dots in the horizon became clearer as the enemy approached closer at a rapid rate.

Tang Fei's face seemed to be made from granite and was unmoving. However, that pair of calm eyes burned with fighting spirit. She lightly tapped the Thunder Cloud Steed under her. The Thunder Cloud Steed knew its master's intention. It whinnied, lightning exploding off its body as it suddenly accelerated.

Without any hesitation, the entire battalion accelerated in unison!

The shen equipment on each mo soldier suddenly lit up. Mo Cloud shen power moved at the same time, gathering through the levels, from the mo soldiers to the mo captains, from the mo captains to the mo colonels. After being tempered, they gathered to Tang Fei.

The Tangzi Battalion seemed to be one being, a ball of furious shen power, like a great axe being swung in the hand of a giant!

And Tang Fei, shrouded in lightning at the front of the troops was the silver edge of the axe's bright blade!

The opposing mo general paled but the two sides were too close to order a change. There was no time for them to turn back. The mo general knew that this was not the time to hesitate. If he did, they would perish. Charging forward would be their only chance of living. He gritted his teeth and then suddenly shouted, "Kill!"

The power gathered on his body yet it could not give him the usual feeling of safety and confidence.

The two floods of bodies neared at an astounding speed.

The Tangzi Battalion was like a sharp and powerful axe that cut into the other's battalion!

The enemy's power was as fragile as paper in front of this heavy axe, not able to withstand even one attack. Everywhere it passed, blood and flesh flew. Anyone that was even touched would be torn apart!

In a blink, Tang Fei saw a sliver of light. She knew that she was about to penetrate through the other's battalion!

Without any hesitation, Tang Fei released her control of the power gathered on her.

The savage power suddenly exploded with the Tangzi Battalion as the center!

She had timed it perfectly. The power that suddenly lost its restraints was like a bomb exploding inside the enemy battalion's ranks. It threw up blood and limbs, and the other's ranks were completely thrown into chaos!

The disorganization of the troops meant that power could not be effectively gathered and controlled.

If its enemy still maintained their battle formation, then what waited for it was the fate of being slaughtered.

In comparison, Tang Fei was clearly more skilled. After finishing such a strong charge, her battalion ranks were not disordered in the slightest. She didn't need to reorganize her battle formation before she started a second charge!

This battle was determined already.

———

Lin Qian was stunned by Chao Xin's daring speculation. A long time later, he slowly spoke, "If this is true, then it is a piece of significant news!"

"Xi Xuan will not continue." Chao Xin's expression was relaxed. "No matter if Zhong De lives or dies. If he lives, a conflict will occur between the sect leader and his best battle general, Zhong De, who is not of one mind as him. If he's dead, without Zhong De, Xi Xuan will lose its greatest shield. How will the sect leader prop up Xi Xuan? I don't believe it. Unless Gu Liang Dao's trio is willing to return to Xi Xuan. However, I do not think that the Xi Xuan sect leader is willing to tolerate them. A person who has lost power for decades has a far greater possessiveness about power than normal people. Gu Liang Dao, he is a strong and proud person, is he willing to bow his head? These few years are the strongest years of Xi Xuan, the light of the sunset will always intoxicate people."

Lin Qian was thoughtful. He nodded. "Yes, Mo Cloud Sea is the one more worthy of wariness."

"Yes!" Chao Xin put away his frivolous expression and turned serious. "The one truly worthy of guarding against is Mo Cloud Sea. Mo Cloud Sea is filled with life and it is progressing. This is not something that Xi Xuan, a sinking ship, can compare to. If the two ally, the one that benefits the most is not Xi Xuan but Mo Cloud Sea."

"Mo Cloud Sea ... ..." Lin Qian murmured to himself and then smiled helplessly. He said, "I had not thought that Mo Cloud Sea would grow to something that we would have a headache about."

"Mo Cloud Sea does have weaknesses." Chao Xin's eyes flashed with light. He said with a cold smile, "From the surface, Mo Cloud Sea is small but strong. It possessed the two great battle generals ranking top four and top ten. It has strong battalions, many experts. It is strong in forging, and wealthy. Yet it has a great weakness, it lacks a person who can manage its internal affairs."

Lin Qian thought. He really could not find anyone in Mo Cloud Sea that was famous for managing affairs.

"This weakness will not be evident when their territory is small. But if their possessions expand ten times, no, only five more times, they will be a mess." Chao Xin was filled with great intelligence. "Sixty something jie and three hundred something jie has several levels of difference in the difficulty in management."

Lin Qian's eyes lit up. "Yes!"

Chao XIn had clearly worked hard. "This is a hidden weakness if they do not resolve it. Once they start to expand, this weakness will become fatal. We are expanding, if they do not follow, they will fall even further behind us. At that time, they wouldn't even have the chance to fight back. If we increase our expansion speed, they only have one choice, expand! Haha, a snake that gorged itself to death. They know they will die from overeating but have no other choice."

Lin Qian smiled. "It seems that we need to give them a bit of pressure.

"Also, they have another weakness." A cold light flashed through Chao Xin's eyes. "They rely too much on transportation formations!"

———

The Nine Great Dhyana Sects sent people to sneak to the transportation formations to take control. Fortunately, Eldest Shixiong Wei Sheng was nearby and quickly arrived. He killed more than a dozen dhyana xiu before they retreated.

The other's infiltration had been planned for a long time. Even the jinzhi around the transportation formations were unable to stop them. It could be seen how strong the enemy was.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, Zuo Mo who hurried here inhaled in shock.

Most of Mo Cloud Sea's connections to the outside world were through transportation formations. While they were expensive, they were convenient and fast to build. For the wealthy Mo Cloud Sea, this was not a great problem.

In the past, nothing had ever happened to the transportation spots. How come someone had sneaked through this time?

After walking around the transportation spot, Zuo Mo finally understood the reason. There was a complete set of jinzhi set up around each transportation formation. In the past, when everyone cultivated shen power, the jinzhi was enough to guarantee the safety of these transportation formations. After entering the era of shen power, everyone's power had grown tremendously, but the jinzhi had not changed much. This imbalance caused the previously safe transportation formations to become extremely dangerous.

Zuo Mo immediately recognized the severity of the problem.

Golden Crow Camp had focused almost all of its power into the shen devices and the shen equipment. He had not thought that there would be a weakness in the jinzhi. This had caused the development of jinzhi to fall behind. The only one that could be used was the [King's Forbidden Firmament]. However, this set of jinzhi was so expensive to set up, so difficult, that it was not realistic for the many transportation formations that Mo Cloud Sea had.

Zuo Mo's first thought was to close the transportation formations.

But he quickly rejected this idea. The transportation formations were Mo Cloud Sea's only connection to the outside world. If they closed the transportation formations, then all of Mo Cloud Sea's products would be unable to be transported out, and they would be isolated from the world.

That would be a fatal blow to Mo Cloud Sea.

Translator Ramblings: Trouble is coming ... ...

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Fifty Eight – Cutting One's Flesh, and Inspiration

Zuo Mo carefully inspected the corpses on the ground.

"They aren't bad." Wei Sheng's words rang an alarm for Zuo Mo. Those that could be called not bad by Wei Sheng Shixiong were definitely not weak.

"It is Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect," a guard carefully reported. Daren rarely had a dark expression like this.

"Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect?" Zuo Mo's eyes flashed with a cold light.

"Yes! These people are not wearing shen equipment but they cultivate heart leaf shen power. Daren, take a look." Finishing, the subordinate forced open the hand of a corpse. There was the mark of a tree branch with a leaf on the palm.

"Daren, this is the mark of heart leaf shen power. They have reached the level of one branch one leaf."

"One branch one leaf?" Zuo Mo asked.

"When heart leaf shen power reaches a new level, their mark will grow and add another leaf," the person said respectfully.

"You know a lot." Zuo Mo asked in surprise, "What's your name?"

"This subordinate is Jin De Wei," the guard was slightly embarrassed. "This one's duty is to inspect the merchant caravans that travel through here, and I have heard some things in the process."

"Oh, then speak, what other information is there on Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect?" Zuo Mo stood and asked interestedly.

Jin De Wei had a hesitant expression.

Zuo Mo smiled and said, "It's just chatter, and I'm just listening."

Jin De Wei finally spoke, "This subordinate coincidentally heard the manager of a merchant caravan mention that Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect secretly consorts with Tian Huan. This subordinate felt they were slightly suspicious and paid attention to them secretly. I heard this from their members."

"Why did you find them suspicious?" Zuo Mo seemed to be more interested in Jin De Wei.

"This subordinate found that they were going around and asking questions, especially about shen equipment and shen power. They also asked about the general location of Golden Crow Island. The range of items they brought was wide, they bought a few of everything but not many of any particular item, they did not seem like business people," Jin De Wei explained.

The admiration in Zuo Mo's eyes grew. This person did not have an attention-catching appearance, but he was perceptive and he was a careful person. This was a talent.

He then asked, "What do you think of this matter?"

Jin De Wei knew that Daren was testing him and immediately focused. After a moment of thought, he said gravely, "They are very familiar with the jinzhi and probably have come before to study them. There were not many people in this attack, just twenty, they did not have any reinforcements. It seems more like a probing mission."

After he said this, Jin De Wei's expression turned ashen. He was frightened by his own conclusion.

Zuo Mo's expression turned dark.

———

"There are about ninety eight transportation formations to the outside world, in twenty or so jie, these outer border jie have been labeled." There was a jie map in front of Gongsun Cha. Almost all of out the outermost jie were labeled in red.

Because Mo Cloud Sea's connection to the outside was almost completely reliant on the transportation formations. Ninety eight transportation formations, twenty two of the outermost jie, on average, each jie had more than four transportation formations connected to the outside.

"Of these ninety eight transportation formations that go to different jie, forty two of them are to xiuzhe jie that are not connected to Tian Huan and Kun Lun. These forty two jie are mostly from the Nine Great Dhyana Sects and some smaller powers. These factions are easy to infiltrate and the transportation formations have become a fatal weakness for us right now."

Gongsun Cha raised his head to look around. "The most secure method right now is to relocate the transportation formations. The best option is to gather the transportation formations, and designate specific business jie where we will station troops to guarantee their safety. However, there are also problems with this plan. The expenses in setting up new transportation formations will be huge, and this way, the cost of many of products will increase as well as reduce our offensive abilities."

Zuo Mo had a grimace. Gongsun Cha's method was possible, but just as he had said, the investment would be enormous.

Transportation formations that could move large volumes for long distances were expensive. Even with Zuo Mo's wealth, he had only accumulated these ninety eight transportation formations after seven years of development. If he had to rebuild so many transportation formations, the amount of money he had to spend was a great sum.

This was a relatively safe plan but it was too expensive.

"The price is too great!" Zuo Mo shook his head. "We do not have the capital."

Everyone nodded. This plan cost too much. In their view, even if they took over all these jie, they didn't need to spend so many jingshi.

Gongsun Cha also knew that this plan was not realistic and continued, "We do not need to guess what will happen next. Kun Lun and Tian Huan will use our weakness by infiltrating the other powers and harass our transportation formations, even destroying them to destroy our connections to the outside world."

Inhales sounded in the conference room. Those with the slightest bit of knowledge understood how great a blow it would be to Mo Cloud Sea if the situation came to that step!

"The problem is that even though we know what they will do next, we do not have many solutions."

Lil' Miss' expression was black. He had originally thought that they built Mo Cloud Sea to be impenetrable and hadn't expected that they had left such a fatal weakness.

At this time, a paper crane suddenly appeared in Zuo Mo's hand. After Zuo Mo unfolded it and read through, he said coolly, "Three transportation formations were attacked at once, and one was destroyed."

The conference room was deathly silent. Everyone had black expressions.

Zuo Mo knew that Mo Cloud Sea was in a dangerous situation. At this time, he had to make a decision.

"Other than the crucial transportation formations, close all others," Zuo Mo said deeply. Angry flames burned in his eyes.

His heart dripped blood. The closure of each transportation formation meant the loss of large amounts of jingshi.

Mo Cloud Sea's economy was about to receive a great blow. For Little Mo Ge whose wealth was his life, this was like cutting his flesh.

Breaking someone's path to riches was akin to killing one's parents.

Zuo Mo's face twisted in pain. He was completely infuriated by the enemy's actions.

"If we have to suffer losses, then everyone will suffer with us. How can we be the only to lose?" Zuo Mo gritted out. "Our transportation formation jinzhi have problems, their transportation formation jinzhi will also have similar problems. They can infiltrate and destroy, we can do the same."

When had Mo Cloud Sea ever been defeated like this? Hearing Zuo Mo's words, flames of anger rose in the eyes of the people who had been feeling frustrated.

Zuo Mo was unusually angry. His eyes flashed with burning light like a wolf in the darkness. "They will regret starting this."

"Yes!" Lil' Miss' black expression returned to normal and a smile like that of the neighbor's boy came back. "This kind of small scale infiltration is actually more advantageous for us. We have a smaller territory and is easier to defend. They are larger and there are openings everywhere. It will be difficult to prevent infiltration. Also, we do not need to limit ourselves to transportation formations. Attack any storage depots, any resource jie, if we get to their rear, we can cause pandemonium."

Lil' Miss' words immediately opened a door. All kinds of inspiration rose.

"Yes, we can assassinate important people."

"It is more profitable to assassinate those people who are not in high positions but are very important. For example, the masters in charge of managing production. Their guards will not be strong, the danger is low, and the benefit is high."

"Disrupt the peace ... ..."

"Ambush transportation boats ... ..."

"There's a place that you all forget, the place that teaches battle generals. If we get that, ha, that place is rich! Maybe we can end a future genius battle general, that would be profitable!"

"We need to plan for escape ... ..."

"We need to divide and conquer ... ..."

The conference room that had just been deathly silent was now in heated discussion.

As he listened, even Zuo Mo, the start of all this, felt a cold wave up his back. How could these people be so devious ... ...

———

Bie Han looked at the paper crane that came from the rear and then crushed it before throwing it to the side. "Have the jinzhi been built?"

"The construction has finished," Ma Fan responded. He was filled with puzzlement. Daren had acted the opposite of his usual strategy and built large amounts of jinzhi here as though he was building a great defense line.

"Report on the progress of the battalions." Bie Han's voice was icy.

Ma Fan shook and then hurried to report. "The Tangzi Battalion have already taken Eastern Spring Jie, finished reorganizing, and are waiting for next orders. A Zha Ge Battalion need three more days to reach their destination. However, they have already been detected by the scouts from the Mo Marshal Alliance. The Grey Camp have arrived at the ambush spot without attracting any attention."

"Is there any movement from the reinforcements at Bright Mountain Jie?"

"There are two mo marshal battalions, one of them is seven days away, the other further away, and will most likely arrive in twenty days," Ma Fan reported.

Ma Fan had fought alongside Lil' Miss since a long time ago, and always admired Lil' Miss' powerful calculation. This time, when he followed Bie Han, he found to his shock that Bie Han was also precise and accurate in this field.

"Tangzi Battalion will keep resting, A Zha Ge Battalion will follow the original plan." Bie Han's orders were clean and brisk.

"Yes!" Ma Fan hurriedly answered.

"You are stationed here. Your mission is to stop the enemy battalion from making any sudden attacks," Bie Han said.

"Yes!" Ma Fan crisply acknowledged. Then he carefully asked, "Daren, you ... ..."

"I will attack the reinforcements." Bie Han treasured words like gold.

Ma Fan's face turned white. "Bright Mountain Jie has two mo marshal battalions ... ..."

"Just guard the defense line." Bie Han was expressionless.

Ma Fan finally understood why Daren had built this defense line that seemed completely unnecessary. However, even with the defensive line, when Ma Fan thought of the two mo marshal battalions they were facing, he still felt a great pressure.

Even though Ma Fan's battalion was one of the best in defense from Mo Cloud Sea, he had never fought against a mo marshal battalion before. Any battalion led by a mo marshal was astoundingly powerful.

However, Bie Han clearly did not intend to explain more to him. He led Sin Battalion to disappear in the darkness.

Editor's note: And so, the terrorist organization known as ... was born.

Translator Ramblings: Zuo Mo needs to start his own spy network among the xiuzhe.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Fifty Nine – Wolf-Head Thousand Monster Camp

"I'm Fei Lei." Fei Lei was surprised by Liang Wei's youth but he quickly disguised the surprise in his eyes.

"I am Liang Wei." Liang Wei could see the other's surprise but he did not care. No matter who it was, they mostly reacted the same way when they saw his youthful face.

Fei Lei's weathered face was filled with an experienced and steady presence. This caused Liang Wei to be filled with anticipation towards his battalion.

Fei Lei did not like to waste his words. He said directly, "Please come with me."

The group entered a concealed mountain valley. Through the narrow mouth of the valley, the space suddenly broadened out. A wave of noise came, the shouts of youths, and Liang Wei's heart beat uncontrollably.

Entering his view were thousands of youths furiously cultivating. The white mist from the evaporation of sweat, dirt flying into the air, angry shouts and curses, constant explosions, the activity assaulted Liang Wei's senses.

Liang Wei entered a daze, and Fei Lei's voice sounded distant to his ear.

"They are all individually outstanding. At the beginning, they cultivated mo skills and then changed to shen power. Each of them has a unique bloodline, and they do not have any barriers in the area of cultivation. They have progressed quickly. Up until now, they are still in the stage of rapid advancement. The length of this stage will be based on their age and talent, from about three to ten years."

Fei Lei was completely familiar with these youths that he had travelled over mountains and oceans to find and teach.

"They are outstanding in power compared to those of their age cohort. They can even match the disciples of those large sects and the prestigious families. We have excavated the power they possess in their blood. This is also the help that I can give them. However, regretfully, they are very immature as a battalion, and can only create a basic formation."

Liang Wei refocused and was surprised. From his observation, these youths were as Fei Lei said, outstanding individually and a match for the elite battalions that he had seen before. So many good talents, how could their higher-ups missed them? He didn't know the power of his higher-ups but he knew that the mysterious faction would not lack for battle generals. At least Pu Pu himself was very powerful, and he would not be ignorant of the value of these strong outstanding youths.

It did not require a strong battle general to carry out normal battalion training.

However, his idleness in these years had sharpened his self-control. He asked without a change in expression, "Do they lack a battle general to guide them?"

A grimace flashed across Fei Lei's weathered features. He shook his head, "That's not so."

As expected, there was a problem! Liang Wei showed an intent expression.

Fei Lei said coolly, "Their bloodlines were activated which caused their individual power to skyrocket. Their shen power cultivation benefited even more. However, the activated bloodlines caused there hidden personalities to take over, and they are very strange now."

"Strange?" Liang Wei had a puzzled expression.

Fei Lei glanced at Liang Wei, a hint of sympathy flashing through the depths of his eyes. "Yes, very strange."

He pointed randomly to a youth sitting in meditation in the corner. "He is Ying Rong, he will meditate for fourteen hours each day without exception. Anyone that goes within ten zhang of him would receive his unconscious and indiscriminate attack."

"Unconscious and indiscriminate ... ..." Liang Wei gaped, his expression shocked.

"Yes." Fei Lei seemed to not see Liang Wei's expression and said, "That's his instinct. While he will sincerely apologize to you after the matter, you may not be able to hear it then."

"Why?" Liang Wei stilled.

"Because if you are not seriously injured and unconscious, you are likely dead," Fei Lei said expressionlessly. "Look."

As he spoke, he picked up a stone and threw at Ying Rong.

The rock drew out a crescent in the air and flew within ten zhang of Ying Rong.

Ying Rong who was in a meditative trance shook and then opened his eyes. Shockingly, his eyes were completely white with no pupils. He jumped up and gave a strange snarl. Midair, his body suddenly gave off countless blade-like red energies.

Hundreds of red energies headed like a storm towards the rock flying at him.

Poof!

The fist-sized rock was immediately turned into powder.

Ying Rong's body bounced and flew back to his original spot back in meditation.

The powder drifted down. Liang Wei's mouth was open, his expression dazed.

"Ying Rong's problem is not that bad because other than the fourteen hours in meditation, there is ten hours where he is in a normal state." Fei Lei pointed at a half-naked large man. "He is Guang Long, he has the rare dragon bloodline that causes him to enter a berserker state. Once his battlelust is stirred, he will tear apart everything around him. It is very dangerous to spar with him."

Guang Long's body was like a metal tower, his muscles bulging and giving off a great pressure. His blood red eyes moved around as though he was hunting for prey to fill his stomach.

After a moment, Liang Wei said in a rusty voice, "Is ... ... are all of them like this?"

Fei Lei nodded. "Give or take. They are born with the power of the bloodline, and the dangers come as well. However, there is one thing you can be certain of. They listen to orders. Of course, that's when they are normal."

The battle generals around Liang Wei that had accompanied him had ashen expressions. In their eyes, these youths were dangerous monsters that would consume them at any time.

We wanted to be battle generals, not beast trainers ... ...

They cried tears inside.

They greatly regretted agreeing to taking this job. Many people had the impulse to chop off their hands. Why hadn't they resisted the temptation of the rewards? They should have thought of this, anyone that pays a wage has a black heart ... ...

Liang Wei's expression gradually recovered from being pale. Then a vicious look flashed through his eyes.

The wolf battle general who had once gone alone into the enemy released that blood-stained killing intent and determined presence once he made his decision.

A look flashed through Fei Lei's eyes. He was shocked. It seemed this person that the higher ups sent this time was someone good.

The other battle generals were stimulated by that sharp and vicious killing intent. They finally remembered that Liang Wei was not the same as them, he was a battle general who had truly experienced the cruelest of fighting!

The youths that were training were all sensitive and immediately noticed the astounding killing intent. They stopped and looked over.

Who was this person ... ... he clearly looked so weak but he possessed such a murderous presence ... ...

Liang Wei smiled, and showed his wolf-like teeth that seemed to have blood on them.

"This battalion will be called the Wolf-head Thousand Monster Camp!"

———

"What's Bie Han's goal?" Quan Pei tried to make his voice sound normal but people familiar with him could still hear the anxiety contained within.

His second-in-command had been with him for many years and could hear this in his voice. He couldn't help but be shocked. This was the first time he had seen Daren so unconfident. Was Bie Han so strong?

He thought and then asked, "What is Daren worried about?"

Quan Pei was tall, and his hair was white in places. He was not young, but his presence was elegant and gave people an endearing feeling.

He was not young when he became a marshal, and didn't have the desire to compete with others. Due to this, he did not hesitate when he was invited to join the Mo Marshal Alliance. He was not outstanding among the mo marshals of the alliance but he was a steady person with a good and gentle nature. Due to his popularity, and his familiarity with the military, he was assigned to an important position.

Quan Pei knew his abilities. He knew that he wasn't some great general and so he did not compete. Even in these turbulent times, he hoped that he could peacefully live out his remaining days and benefit his descendants.

He had never thought that there would be a day that he would be forced to face a top battle general like Bie Han.

In these past years, the mo territories had completely changed. Many of the old great names continued to disappear and many unheard of names shone and ascended in this new era.

Quan Pei knew he was old in age, and could not keep up with this changing era.

Just as he knew that nothing good would come of this mission.

Bie Han was a person that was ranked as a top ten battle general in the xiuzhe world . This showed his power. This was a true top battle general. Battle generals of this level were not ones that he could win against. In the Mo Marshal Alliance, probably only the young battle generals of the new era, like Xi, Shang Yu Sheng, and Hai Jin Yun who would match him.

Quan Pei grimaced inside. Seven years, a change in era. Marshal Di and the others were still the leaders but they all knew that with each passing day, they got closer to the passing of the torch -the death of an era. Shen power was the root cause pushing all this.

It could be seen from the inner structure of the alliance. The higher-ups started to deliberately set up a path for the new generation that cultivated shen power. More and more young people started to take up important positions.

The Mo Marshal Alliance was not the only one, most of the mo powers were doing the same, the only exception was the Mo Shen Temple.

Shang Yu Sheng Battalion, and Hai Jin Yun Battalion were racing to reinforce this area. The alliance also knew that Quan Pei alone could not stop Bie Han.

"Nothing, I am worried about nothing. have everyone stay alert and be on their guard." Quan Pei exhaled deeply, his voice finally returning to normal. He was an experienced battle general. He knew how great the damage to the battalion's morale was if the main commander did not appear calm.

He only needed to delay Bie Han and fight for the time needed for the reinforcements to arrive.

When he thought of this, he felt slightly more confident. Shang Yu Sheng and Hai Jin Yun were the genius battle generals that had appeared in the Mo Marshal Alliance in these past years. They were young but possessed unparalleled talent. They had proven their strength in cruel battles. If it wasn't for them, the expansion of the Mo Shen Temple would be even more difficult to restrain.

The two of them were top battle generals as well!

If he could delay Bie Han ... ... two top battle generals were about to arrive. Bie Han definitely would not have it easy. Maybe, they could kill Bie Han! Quan Pei was filled with confidence in the two genius youths of the alliance.

Suddenly, Quan Pei who felt slightly more reassured looked into the distance and his pupils contracted!

An intimidating battalion had silently appeared on his right flank.

Bie Han!

Editor's note: Use it damn it.

https/wwyxhqc./%E4%BF%AE%E7%9C%9F%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C-world-of-cultivation/world-of-cultivation-cast/

Translator Ramblings: Two of the blood summons finally met up. Pu Yao really works people to the death. Also, the camp name is a terrible one. WanderingGummiOfDoom already mentioned it.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Sixty – Zong Ru and Yi Qing

Yi Zheng's expression was nervous and concerned. He didn't dare to look away from Zong Ru's face.

Zong Ru's appearance had changed greatly. While Zong Ru had been of average appearance before, he had a strong body like most dhyana xiu. Yet now Zong Ru's body was thin, his cheeks sunken. Only his eyes were bright as though he could see through everything. There was always a small warm and friendly smile on his face.

The red lotus on his forehead was like holy fire.

Zong Ru's withered fingers moved away from Yi Zheng's Shixiong's body.

"Master Zong, how is my shixiong? Are there any solutions?" Yi Zheng's heart was in his throat.

Yi Zheng's Shixiong also opened his eyes which flashed with shock. Actually, he had been greatly shocked when he saw Zong Ru. The other's thin body had clearly been caused by the constant corrosion of wish power, but that pair of shining eyes seemed to pierce straight into his heart.

It was the first time that he had the feeling that someone was unfathomable in power.

And when Zong Ru's two fingers touched his wrist, the gentle and pure shen power caused him to feel a rare comfort and made him relax.

"There are no big problems." Zong Ru smiled, his voice filled with a comforting power. Yi Zheng's heart immediately calmed.

Joy came onto Yi Zheng's face. "I just knew that Master Zong could heal Shixiong!"

Zong Ru smiled slightly. A jade scroll appeared on his hand that he handed to Yi Zheng's shixiong.

"This is a record of some of the things I learned during my seclusion and a method to cultivate shen power. As long as you cultivate according to this, in a short time, you will heal. Your skill in Samadhi is rare and will be beneficial to your cultivation."

Zong Ru then turned and said to Yi Zheng. "Cultivate together with your shixiong. If you have any questions, ask your shixiong."

"Many thanks, Master Zong!"

The two gratefully thanked him.

Zong Ru waved his hands. "There's no need to be so courteous, but you will not be able to tell others of this cultivation method."

The two gravely acknowledged with solemn expressions.

A moment later, Zong Ru suddenly raised his head and with a deep gaze said, "In a few months, your wounds will start to recover. There is something that I want to ask of you."

Yi Zheng hurriedly said, "Master Zong please speak of any matter!"

Yi Zheng's shixiong also said, "Master Zong, please tell us!"

"In our Mo Cloud Sea, the dhyana xiu branch is weak. Other than myself, there are no others with significant achievements," Zong Ru said with a smile. "My path as a dhyana xiu was rocky, and only received good fortune after meeting Daren. I only managed to develop this after seclusion. If I hide this method, it will be a great pity. Daren also wishes to increase the number of dhyana xiu in Mo Cloud Sea. However, I have no mind for this matter and so will ask the two of you to carry it out."

Yi Zheng scratched his head. "There are too few dhyana xiu in Mo Cloud Sea, and the ones here are not strong. Everyone isn't willing to be a dhyana xiu."

Yi Zheng was right. In Mo Cloud Sea, dhyana xiu was a rare occupation. This was related to the fact that Mo Cloud Sea lacked a top ranked dhyana xiu. In the past, the strongest had been Zong Ru. Even though he was powerful, he was still weak when compared to others in Mo Cloud Sea.

Most in Mo Cloud Sea cultivated the sword. Wei Sheng's terrifyingly unparalleled power was revered by countless followers. The famed Vermillion Bird Camp was also mostly comprised of sword xiu. Most importantly, Mo Cloud Sea had created an unique sword cultivation method, such as the sword essence comprehending formation.

Then it was the seal xiu. A seal xiu with a good foundation could find a relatively good job in Mo Cloud Sea. Also, Golden Crow Camp possessed a complete set of seal cultivation jade scrolls that could teach seal xiu to cultivate.

There were not many roaming xiu and dhyana xiu in Mo Cloud Sea.

Yet what people did not know was that Xuan Kong Temple's Sutra Pavilion had landed in Zuo Mo's hands. That was the biggest factor in Zong Ru being able to come out of seclusion. It was these profound dhyana xiu records and Zuo Mo's shen power jade scrolls that had formed the foundation for Zong Ru to comprehend another kind of shen power.

After stealing Xuan Kong Temple's succession, Zuo Mo felt it really was a waste to leave it lying unused.

Then there was the matter of Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect's attack. While Mo Cloud Sea had pressed the Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect, the other had presented documents and said that these people had been exiled from Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect half a year ago.

Angered, Zuo Mo started to think of other solutions.

The two biggest powers that held back Kun Lun and Tian Huan were Xi Xuan and the Nine Great Dhyana Sect. While the Nine Great Dhyana Sect also possessed a top battle general in Yang Yuan Hao, they had many inner conflicts to deal with.

Zuo Mo had originally thought of selling shen equipment to increase the power of the Nine Great Dhyana Sects to fight against Kun Lun and Tian Huan. The matter of Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect caused Zuo Mo to smell danger. Kun Lun's and Tian Huan's infiltration of the Nine Great Dhyana Sect had progressed far more than he had predicted. If a conflict did erupt, there probably would not be many sects that would really fight back.

Since Kun Lun and Tian Huan could infiltrate the Nine Great Dhyana Sects, why couldn't they do the same?

Zong Ru asked, "What do you think of the Nine Great Dhyana Sects?"

Yi Zheng was slightly puzzled. He didn't understand what Master Zong was talking about but Yi Zheng's shixiong did. After a moment of thought, he said, "Too many people, too many desires, a group of rabble."

"Would you be willing to go to the Nine Great Dhyana Sects?" Zong Ru asked.

Yi Zheng's shixiong suddenly understood, his eyes brightening. "Does Mo Cloud Sea plan to infiltrate the Nine Great Dhyana Sects?"

"Yes." Zong Ru did not refute it. It was better to speak of this matter clearly. He continued, "The present Nine Great Dhyana Sects cannot stop Kun Lun and Tian Huan. I do not know about the Great Buddha Temple, but sects like the Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect have been completely infiltrated."

Yi Zheng's shixiong was silent.

"If Kun Lun and Tian Huan take down the Nine Great Dhyana Sects, Mo Cloud Sea will not have a barrier any longer. This is why we came up with this idea," Zong Ru said.

"Mo Cloud Sea does not want to swallow the Nine Great Dhyana Sects?" Yi Zheng's shixiong suddenly asked.

"It is not that we do not want to, but we cannot," Zong Ru said honestly. "We need a barrier more than increasing our territory."

"You want to turn the Nine Great Dhyana Sects into a bog to delay Kun Lun and Tian Huan?" Yi Zheng's shixiong had a sharp gaze.

"You overestimate the Nine Great Dhyana Sects," Zong Ru said coolly.

Yi Zheng's shixiong was silent. Zong Ru was right. The Nine Great Dhyana Sects did not have this power unless someone could unite the Nine Great Dhyana Sects. However, this was impossible, even Xuan Kong Temple had not been able to do it.

"No matter if it is Kun Lun or Tian Huan, if they win, the dhyana xiu will become subordinates. If Mo Cloud Sea luckily wins, you will not have to worry about this. Please do not worry. No matter if you are willing to complete this task or not, I will not take away this jade scroll." Zong Ru looked at Yi Zheng's shixiong.

A moment later, Yi Zhengi's shixiong said, "What do I need to do?"

"First, you need to recover, cultivate shen power and increase your strength." Zong Ru's eyes flashed with intelligence. "Only when you are strong will you have the right to speak."

"Then, we will give you more support, including money and resources to help you obtain a higher status in the sect."

"You know the situation of Great Buddha Temple better than I do. Based on my knowledge, the Great Buddha Temple is not ranked high among the Nine Great Dhyana Sects. For you, this is a chance. If you can increase the influence of Great Buddha Temple, you will receive more support from inside the temple."

Yi Zheng twisted his mouth, his face unwilling. He was very displeased about returning to Great Buddha Temple. He had felt the cold-heartedness of the world there, and what had been left were not good memories.

His shixiong listened carefully.

"Our personnel support will be very limited, Mo Cloud Sea has too few dhyana xiu." Zong Ru was helpless but he quickly gave other suggestions. "However, we will help you investigate the other sects for disciples that are strong but overlooked. It will be up to you to recruit them."

Yi Zheng's shixiong nodded. "I understand. Yi Zheng's personality is not suited to this, I can go alone."

Yi Zheng was panicked upon hearing this and jumped up. "No! Shixiong ... ..."

Shixiong looked sternly at Yi Zheng. Yi Zheng respected his shixiong greatly and immediately quieted down.

"You have a straightforward personality and cannot disguise your emotions. You are not suited to doing this," Shixiong said in a gentle voice. "You are also at a good time for cultivating, do not waste that. Do not waste the good fortune of being with Master Zong."

"But ... ..." Yi Zheng started.

"Also, while there are many things wrong with the temple, I grew up in the temple since childhood, how can I watch as it declines? Great Buddha Temple's situation is already terrible." Shixiong had a nostalgic expression as he said emotionally.

Yi Zheng could not find anything to say.

"Both for the common good and for me personally, Yi Qing needs to thank Zong Ru and Zuo Mo Daren." Yi Qing bowed to Zong Ru. "If there is a day that the Nine Great Dhyana Sects are defeated, Yi Qin requests to enter Mo Cloud Sea for protection."

Zong Ru looked deeply at Yi Qing and thought inside, these large sects were full of geniuses. In his view, Yi Zheng was a good talent, and he hadn't expected the other's shixiong to be even better. The other had good vision, and if it wasn't for being hampered by his injury for a long time, he would not have declined to such a state.

After being reborn now, this person would soar in the sky.

"I can promise you this. Mo Cloud Sea will accept even the yao, how can we not accept the dhyana xiu?" Zong Ru said gravely.

"Yi Qing is willing to do this!" Yi Qing bowed the bow of a subordinate.

Zong Ru's expression was slightly happy. Yi Qing's bow expressed that he accepted his status with Mo Cloud Sea. He reached out and helped Yi Qing's up. "This matter is greatly dangerous, be careful. If it cannot be accomplished, prioritize your safety, you are more important than anything else."

Yi Qing's heart felt warmed. "Yi Qing understands."

Zong Ru said in a deep voice, "I have not named this shen power. Starting from today, you will be its creator." Seeing Yi Qing about to speak, Zong Ru waved his hand to stopped the other and said, "Reputation is meaningless to me. However, it can help up accumulate fame. Reputation is a kind of power. If you can use it appropriately, it can save you great effort in your mission."

Yi Qing was full of admiration. He had never heard of Zong Ru before yet the personality and strength that Master Zong displayed were all that of a great dhyana xiu.

"But I need to speak to you of the origins of this shen power," Zong Ru said gravely. "This shen power has been greatly influenced by Daren's [Mo Cloud Shen Power] but its origin is Xuan Kong Temple's secret [Empty Meditation]!"

Yi Qing and Yi Zheng seemed to be struck by lightning, motionless like statues, when they heard this.

Translator Ramblings: Yi Zheng's shixiong finally gets a name! And Zuo Mo is finally expanding towards the xiuzhe lands.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Sixty One – The Changes of the Little Ones

There were all kinds of strange scents floating off Chun Yu Cheng's cloud island. Zuo Mo was reminded about this each time he came, especially the small of fresh ling grasses mixed with all kinds of waste. It was torture.

Chun Yu Cheng's expression was intoxicated. "Such a fresh and healthy smell!"

Zuo Mo smiled helplessly. Chun Shidi was more and more enchanted with animal husbandry and his temper had become strange. The other was alright with him, but was not friendly to others, especially disliking people coming onto his cloud island.

There were many kinds of ling and mo grasses planted on the island to feed the cloud seeds. Zuo Mo had not seen many of these ling grasses before. They flashed with enchanting lights which meant that their grade was not low. In the present Mo Cloud Sea, Zuo Mo's half-assed ling plant farmer skill was laughable.

The ling plant farmers of Mo Cloud Sea were unlike the ling plant farmers anywhere else. They were skilled in using seal formations and their effectiveness was higher. This was an unique system that Mo Cloud Sea's strong forging abilities provided the support for.

Cloud Sea Jie did not have many ling fields and the ling plant farmers were mostly gathered in the jie with large tracts of ling fields. The ling grasses on Chun Shidi's island were relatively high grade, and the skill of the ling plant farmers were relatively high as well.

"How are they?" Zuo Mo asked in concern.

"You should have sent them a long time ago." Chun Yu Cheng's expression was pained as he chatted, "If you sent them in a bit later, they would have been wasted! Oh, it wouldn't have been useful if you sent them over earlier, I hadn't found out how to raise cloud steeds then, en en, you picked a good opportunity ... ..."

Zuo Mo felt tormented by Chun Shidi's excessive chatter. He tried to endure. People like Chun Shidi had unusual enthusiasm and obsession with their own field and didn't care about anything else. They did not understand how to interact with people, and rarely conversed with other people. Most of them had strange personalities. On the other hand, they had outstanding talent and they worked furiously, unaffected by anything else. They usually achieved more in their own field than other people.

Zuo Mo could understand them.

Chattering endlessly on the way, they finally came to the beast pool from last time.

Chun Yu Cheng became alert and didn't waste words. "Tenth Grade and Sunshine are good, especially Tenth Grade. His killing energy is thick and he is a rare vicious being. I used the [Hunt Blood Pool] to nurture his body. This will increasing his killing energy. He uses the sword and I asked Eldest Shixiong to find the most vicious sword scripture for him."

"Most vicious scripture ... ..." Zuo Mo felt a cold sweat. If it was the most vicious sword scripture that Chun shidi could find, he would just smile and dismiss it. But if it was Eldest Shixiong, then it definitely was the most vicious sword scripture.

Chun Yu Cheng had a smug expression. "I don't really understand sword scriptures, but since Eldest Shixiong said it was the most vicious, then it definitely is. [Hundred Sacrificed Souls Killing Sword]. How about it, just this name seems very powerful."

Zuo Mo's body couldn't help but shake. He knew this sword scripture. This had been from Pu's collection. Pu had said back then that the [Hundred Sacrificed Souls Killing Sword] was not the strongest sword scripture, but could be said to be one of the most vicious.

At this time, Zuo Mo had not been affected by Pu Yao's emotional opinion. He didn't have much interest in cultivating sword scriptures.

Zuo Mo thought of another problem and couldn't help but ask, "Can Tenth Grade cultivate?"

Tenth Grade was not like Eldest Shixiong. He originated from a ling beast and was not like a xiuzhe. He had never heard of a ling beast cultivating a sword scripture.

"I had worried about this before, but I found later on that Tenth Grade is very intelligent and matched well with this sword scripture. There isn't a problem at all." Chun Yu Cheng's expression of pride grew as he seemed to ask for praise. "Shixiong, when the time comes, you will have a super sidekick! Tenth Grade's name was really chosen with great foresight. Shixiong, did you predict a long time ago that he could reach tenth grade?"

Zuo Mo's expression was righteous. "Of course! Otherwise, how can I be your shixiong?"

"That's true!" Chun Yu Cheng nodded seriously. "As expected, those that are shixiong are all strong. Shixiong, you are strong, Gongsun Shixiong is also strong, but Eldest Shixiong is the strongest."

"Why?" Zuo Mo thought, had Chun Shidi grown powerful enough that he could see people's power?

"Because he's Gongsun Shixiong's shixiong's shixiong." Chun Yu Cheng's expression was matter-of-fact. "Of course he is the strongest!"

Zuo Mo was speechless. He quickly changed the topic. "Sunshine?"

Chun Yu Cheng fell for it as expected. "Sunshine's attributes are the opposite of Tenth Grade. His specialities are healing, protection, and assistance. If Tenth Grade is yin, then Sunshine is yang. Therefore, the beast pool that I picked is the [Water Flesh Wood Bone Pool]. For Sunshine I did not choose spells, but yao arts."

Looking at the excitement on Chun Yu Cheng's face, Zuo Mo perceptively asked, "Oh, what great yao art is it?"

"Haha! Shixiong, you understand me the best!" Chun Yu Cheng laughed proudly. Increasing his volume, he said joyfully, "It is the [Universal Life] that has been said to be the essential art for super-nannies. Oh, the yao like to call the people who cultivate this yao art nannies. I feel it is very accurate. Other than this, he also cultivates [Ward Breaking Art]. Shixiong, don't worry. Under my great care, Sunshine can definitely move into the ranks of the top nannies! Such an adorable nanny!"

Looking at the snowy white and handsome Sunshine, Zuo Mo seemed to see him wearing an apron and holding a bottle in his hand. He couldn't help but shudder.

He immediately felt sympathy for Sunshine, but when his words reached his mouth, it became, "Shidi's results are masterworks!"

Chun Yu Cheng became more excited upon receiving Zuo Mo's praise. He pulled Zuo Mo over and said excitedly, "As expected, Shixiong understands me best. Those people do not understand the greatness and holiness of husbandry. This is a kind of creation, a novel creation! I am fated to be the man that will create the strongest ling beasts!"

Zuo Mo wiped the cold sweat away from his face as he nodded. "Shidi is ambitious! I admire this!"

Chun Yu Cheng smiled and pulled Zuo Mo to a tall dan cauldron.

"I asked Golden Crow Camp to forge this dan cauldron. I also got Sun Bao and Ji Wei to operate it for a few days. It is a pity that I couldn't find them later on. The other people said that they went out." Chun Yu Cheng's tone was full of regret. "If they are here, this fire will definitely be stronger."

Zuo Mo who knew about the entire matter sighed again. He was filled with sympathy towards Sun Bao and Ji Wei. Chun Yu Cheng usually did not show himself in public but he was Zuo Mo's shidi. His status in Mo Cloud Sea was high. If his requests were not ridiculous, no one would dare refuse him. Due to this, when they received a request for help, Sun Bao and Ji Wei had hurried over despite their heavy workload.

But Chun Yu Cheng had the two of them act as cauldron workers. Heavens, the two masters of Golden Crow Camp, the two top people in charge of all the seal xiu in Mo Cloud Sea acting as manual laborers, and for three days!

When they reached three days, they did not relent to Chun Yu Cheng's invitation, and fled with their ash-covered faces.

"I couldn't find them no matter what I tried. I could only hire some of the experienced people from Golden Crow Camp. However, they are lacking compared to Sun Bao and Ji Wei, but still acceptable." Chun Yu Cheng was clearly slightly displeased.

"It's fine if it is about the same!" Zuo Mo hurriedly comforted.

"That's true." Chun Yu Cheng thought and said with a tilted head, "This dan cauldron is good and the people later on worked hard. The results aren't bad. Shixiong's shen fire was also crucial and beneficial to Lil' Fire's growth. However, Lil' Fire is slightly less intelligent compared to Tenth Grade and Sunshine. But it is an yao beast to begin with and has no trouble cultivating yao arts. I found a fire yao art in the Pu Wei Library called the [Fire Heart Bone Refining Art] for it."

Zuo Mo stilled and instinctively asked, "Lil' Fire has bones?"

Lil' Fire had ended up in Zuo Mo's demonic hands many times and he had squeezed the other countless times. In Zuo Mo's memories, Lil' Fire was like a rubber ball, and didn't have any bones.

"It does!" When it came to his profession, Chun Yu Cheng's expression immediately became serious. "There are many small bones inside its body similar to sea sponges. These bones are very small and flexible. Their structure is very flexible and resilient so Lil' Fire appears as though it is boneless."

"Oh, so this cultivation will thicken its bones and have it become more powerful?" Zuo Mo asked with anticipation.

"Powerful?" Chun Yu Cheng shook his head with bewilderment. "I don't know that. I only felt that these kind of bones were rare and wanted to try cultivating it."

Zuo Mo's face was black as a pot. "Even you don't know the result?"

"No, this is normal. It is hard to predict the results of many husbandry trials." Chun Yu Cheng said with a righteous tone.

But when Chun Yu Cheng turned and saw Zuo Mo's black face, he knew it was not good. He was so friendly this time because he had a goal. If he ruined the matter, it would be terrible.

He hurriedly pulled Zuo Mo to another place.

Unlike the other beast pools, there was a kind of vine growing here that Zuo Mo had never seen. It grew over multiple mu of fields and under the thick vines, there was a transparent bubble that hung below.

Lil' Black seemed to see Zuo Mo from within the bubble. It furiously moved its legs, but no matter how it moved, it only spun around in the water bubble.

"Shixiong, look, this is the Water Bubble Vine," Chun Yu Cheng hurriedly introduced. "It can grow this a special kind of water bubble, and is a natural beast pool. Also, Shixiong, take a look."

As he spoke, he pulled away the thick leaves covering the ground and showed a beast pool. Zuo Mo found that the roots of the water bubble vine grew into the beast pool.

"The medicine in the beast pool is absorbed by the root system and then gathers in the water bubbles. This process is even more wondrous than the seal formations we engrave. All kinds of medicines can merge together in the water bubble and form a natural beast pool."

Zuo Mo was also attracted by such a wondrous beast pool.

Chun Yu Cheng saw the interest on Zuo Mo's face and continued, "The medicine absorbed will change slightly through the vine's roots and leaves. This is also the source of its great ability. However, because the water bubbles are not very big, it can only be used on those relatively small beasts. I saw Lil' Black and immediately thought of the water bubble vine."

"What is its use to Lil' Black?" Zuo Mo went directly for the core of the matter.

"Hee hee, Shixiong, don't be shocked when you hear this!" Chun Yu Cheng was both smug and mysterious.

Translator Ramblings: I just realized that the Rainbow Mark Butterfly was the only pet of Zuo Mo's to die, and it was the only pet he didn't give a name to. That should have made its fate obvious.

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This chapter has been brought to you by me, and WanderingGummiOfDoom.

Chapter Seven Hundred and Sixty Two – The Bird with the Domineering Presence

"Speak!" Zuo Mo glared at Chun Yu Cheng.

The smugness on Chun Yu Cheng's face did not decrease. He lowered his voice and spoke softly as if revealing the greatest secret, "Lil' Black is sensitive to ling energy. This is why it can find treasures. However, I discovered after studying that its ability lies with its pair of antennae. Also, it isn't just able to detect to ling energy, it is able to detect to many things such as killing energy, warmth, and presence. However, in reality, what it is sensitive to is vibration."

"Vibration?" Zuo Mo's expression was shocked. This answer was unexpected.

"Yes, vibration." Chun Yu Cheng's expression became grave. "This is the true reason it can find treasures. Ling veins and talismans have unique ling power vibrations and it would find these treasures through these vibrations. The usual husbandry method would strengthen its antennae to make it more sensitive, use ling medicine filled with ling power to stimulate its antennae, so it becomes familiar to the vibrations of ling power and become more sensitive to that energy. However, ling power is already being retired, and shen power is more powerful. But shen power has vibrations. At the core, there is no difference, they are all different kinds of power. I thought that if it could remember vibrations of shen power, couldn't it be able to find treasures with shen power?"

The more he spoke, the more excited Chun Yu Cheng got. "Therefore, I found all kinds of materials with shen power. However, these materials are really expensive and there are too few! Speaking of this, Bao Yi is a penny-pincher! Every time I go to get materials from him, that person looks like a miser, I get so angry!"

Chun Yu Cheng gritted his teeth when he spoke of Bao Yi but Zuo Mo did not care. Bao Yi's personality was so, and, as a result, he was the best choice of personnel to manage the stores. Otherwise, Zuo Mo's little bit of wealth would not be enough for these people to madly waste.

"Did it succeed?" Zuo Mo was more concerned with this.

Chun Yu Cheng was angry about Bao Yi but that was because of the conflict over the materials. The two didn't have any actual personal conflict and so Zuo Mo's question immediately shifted the topic of conversation away.

He hesitated, and then said haltingly, "Theoretically, it should be a success."

"In reality?" Zuo Mo immediately saw through his little trick.

"I don't know." Chun Yu Cheng might use some simple and clumsy moves, but he would not lie, especially when it came to his field. "The entire process was very smooth but I have no confidence in the result. No one has ever done this before, and I cannot find any examples. Therefore, I will only know what level it reached when it all pans out."

Chun Yu Cheng was afraid that Zuo Mo would have high hopes and be greatly disappointed so he poured cold water. "However, we cannot rush this. Even if it recognizes shen power vibrations, there is a problem of sensitivity. If it is not sensitive towards shen power, then there is no value. However, I am certain that this is definitely the direction that ling beasts, yao beasts and mo steeds will develop in, shen power is the best path!"

"You did good!" Zuo Mo was certain about Chen Shidi's results. He was not someone who did not have foresight. He knew that what looked like it to run a business, anything that was unable to produce value today could still be an important step.

"Will anything happen to Lil' Black?" Zuo Mo looked at Lil' Black who was spinning in the water bubble and couldn't help but ask.

"What do you mean?" Chun Yu Cheng stilled.

"Things like life-threatening danger," Zuo Mo explained. The little ones had followed him for many years, and Zuo Mo didn't really care if they were strong or not. However, he definitely would not like any accidents happening to them.

"Life-threatening danger?" Chun Yu Cheng's face flushed red, and so did his neck as though he was being humiliated greatly. He said loudly, "So in Shixiong's eyes, my skill is so low?"

Zuo Mo had not expected that his mindless words would cause such a great response from Cheng Shidi. He hurriedly bowed, apologized, and comforted with gentle words to pacify the fires of Cheng Shidi's anger.

Fortunately, Chun Yu Cheng's temper left as fast as it came. When the two reached Lil' Pagoda's beast pool, he had completely forgotten about the incident, and became excited again.

"Lil' Pagoda is actually different from the other little ones, he's a talisman, and also Shixiong's soulbond talisman. Theoretically, husbandry methods cannot be used on him, but he actually is the most intelligent of the little ones after Silly Bird. Its body forms a complete system, from the five element attribute to the dual attributes of yin and yang. I don't know anything about forging, but I understand ling beasts. Lil' Pagoda's highly intelligent and not very different from ling beasts. It knows best about what it needs."

Zuo Mo listened carefully. Of the little ones, he liked the cute Lil' Pagoda the most.

"It can consume all kinds of materials and then deconstruct them into pure yin and yang base essence. Its body is filled with the base essence of yin and yang, however, these two base essence powers are clearly divided and repel each other. This situation has occurred in many ling beasts that have dual attributes, such as fire and water. If they come into conflict, the ling beast will feel great pain and the power of the ling beast will be greatly reduced. The crux to solving this problem is to merge these two completely opposite powers so they will subdue and augment each other like the [Fire Lotus In Water] that is frequently seen. Yin and yang is even easier to balance, they have a perfect merging method, the yinyang fish."

Once in his zone, Chun Yu Cheng seemed to be a completely different person. His body gave off a presence of great self-confidence. He waved his arms, his voice strong, "The most important requirement to forming the yinyang fish is that yin and yang have to reach an absolute equilibrium. When the two reach a true equilibrium, the yinyang fish will naturally form. Therefore, I continued to feed yin and yang materials to it to adjust the strength of the yin and yang powers. Hee hee, just as I expected, Shixiong look ... ...'

Before Chun Yu Cheng finished, Li' Pagoda in the medicine pool had detected Zuo Mo's arrival and happily dove into Zuo Mo's arm.s

Zuo Mo picked it up by the tip of the power and held it in front of him.

Lil' Pagoda happily waved its black eaves.

This guy was even fatter!

Zuo Mo thought hatefully. No matter if it was the top of the tower, the body, or the eaves, they were even rounder than before. What had changed the most was the level just underneath the tip of the tower. There were two little yinyang fish that looked like two eyes. What made Zuo Mo speechless was that Lil' Pagoda could use its fat body to squeeze the yinyang fish. It appeared as though its eyes were blinking.

"This guy's truly intelligent!"

Zuo Mo muttered in joy. Feeling Zuo Mo's happiness, Lil' Pagoda used its round body to snuggle in Zuo Mo's hand.

"Don't snuggle, you idiot, you swallowed so much materials, you'll have to sell yourself to pay back!" Zuo Mo said harshly. But his hand was gentle as he put this growing glutton onto his shoulder.

Lil' Pagoda's little eave hands flapped even more happily. It jumped from Zuo Mo's right shoulder to his left and back again as it played happily.

"It really is intelligent!" Chun Yu Cheng couldn't help but say. "It is the first time I have seen such an intelligent talisman."

"How about Silly Bird?" Zuo Mo asked.

"Ha, that's another one." Chun Yu Cheng's expression became even more spectacular. He then said, "Shixiong, come with me, and see."

Coming to the lava pool from last time, Silly Bird still had an expression of idle enjoyment.

"This bird is no ordinary bird!" Chun Yu Cheng couldn't help but say. "Its intelligence is fantastical. Look at its feathers."

Following Chun Yu Cheng's finger, Zuo Mo looked and immediately found that Silly Bird's feathers were bright red and unusually grand. What was the most difficult to comprehend was that the feathers would give off threads of flame.

Zuo Mo's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Phoenix feathers!"

"You recognized it!" Chun Yu Cheng sounded as though he was sleep-talking, even though he had seen this numerous times before. "The legends say the feathers of the phoenix are as red as blood and can give off unique flames. With one flap of their wing can create a sea of fire. Phoenixes regenerate, are born accompanied by fire, and will die accompanied by fire."

Zuo Mo was dumbstruck.

"It doesn't have any bloodline of a phoenix, I hadn't expected that it could become a phoenix. Truthfully, I'm not sure if a phoenix is something like this. I've never seen one before. But even if Silly Bird isn't a phoenix, it is not much lesser in comparison. Also, this isn't its strongest trait."

Refocusing, Zuo Mo blurted out, "Then what?"

"Her physical body!" Chun Yu Cheng's expression was grave. "Her body is astounding powerful and resilient, stronger than those mo physiques. I threw many yao arts and spells at her and she ignored them all. I found a mo skill to throw at her. She took a glance but then threw it away. I finally understood that she desired to cultivate mo skills."

"She wanted to cultivate mo skills?" Zuo Mo stammered out a question. This matter clearly was beyond the limits of his imagination.

"Yes!" Chun Yu Cheng nodded seriously and then said, "So I started to search for mo skills that were suitable. I hadn't thought that she would be extremely picky. I found more than a dozen mo skills but she wasn't satisfied. You know that I'm very busy and I don't have the time to search through them. I threw all the high level mo skills we had at her for her to choose."

Chun Yu Cheng had a conflicted expression. "I hadn't expected for this one to actually chose one."

Zuo Mo's expression also became strange. "Which one did she chose?"

"Solitary Dance of the Great Dark Wheel Phoenix!" Chun Yu Cheng said. "Only after that did I think, is she actually a phoenix. However, I've never heard of a mortal bird ascending to become a phoenix! It is not rational! It is not rational at all!"

Chun Yu Cheng shook his head furiously as though he wanted to throw this thought out of his head.

"[Solitary Dance of the Great Dark Wheel Phoenix] ... ..." Zuo Mo was so shocked he was speechless.

If his memory was correct, this mo skill was one that Pu Yao said could not be successfully cultivated!

This bird ... ...

Did she really get possessed by a phoenix!

Zuo Mo dazedly looked at Silly Bird who was soaking in the lava with an expression of enjoyment.

As he looked, Zuo Mo suddenly felt that Silly Bird's half-lidded eyes and expression of enjoyment did have a certain style. After thinking for a moment, he recalled the phrase ... ...

–A domineering presence!

Translator Ramblings: Lil' Pagoda is turning into a sphere.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Sixty Three – Chao Xin's Plan

"What what does the report from Thunder Sound Temple say?" Lin Qian asked.

Chao Xin shook his head. "Nothing, they have been very low-key recently. Yang Yuan Hao is training his battalion, his Thunder Sound Battalion has been expand three-fold. It probably will take some time to finish training."

The name Yang Yuan Hao caused Lin Qian's gaze to unnoticeably focus. He asked, "Have we found Yang Yuan Hao's origins?"

"Yes. He is originally the disciple of the second elder of Thunder Sound Temple but he was not thought of highly before. When the Thunder Sound Shen Methodology appeared, he was spectacular and rose up to quickly become the best battle general of Thunder Sound Temple, and the best of the Nine Great Dhyana Sect. However, this is already related to his master. The second elder is the younger brother of the sect leader."

Chao Xin was unbridled in nature but he was careful and attentive when doing his work and was deeply relied upon by Lin Qian.

"Other than Thunder Sound Temple, is our progress in the other temples going well?" Lin Qian asked.

"Thunder Sound Temple, Splendid Buddha Temple, Venerable Lotus Temple, Laughing Maitreya Temple, it has not been smooth in these four temples. Heart Leaf Temple has been heavily infiltrated by Tian Huan. The one that we have made the most progress is Skanda Sect. We are fighting with Tian Huan for the others: Great Buddha Sect, Karma Temple, Surangama Heart Sect." Chao Xin knew all this like the back of his hand.

"It is not easy to infiltrate the great temples!" Lin Qian smiled helplessly.

"Of course." Chao Xin took a sip of wine and said unconcernedly. "We first aim for the borders, it is easy at first and then becomes difficult later, this is the right way. However, Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect's attack on Mo Cloud Sea's seal formations is detrimental to our actions."

"Yes, it inadvertently alerted them." Lin Qian frowned. "They are a group of idiots!"

"Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect wants to show fealty towards Tian Huan and were impatient. I don't know who it was that found this weakness, but the skill of the mission was really terrible. No wonder Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect is ranked last among the Nine Great Dhyana Sects." Chao Xin shook his head and then said, "But for Mo Cloud Sea, not being able to use the transportation formations is a noose around their throat. We also need to guard against this movement as we also have the same weakness of the transportation formations."

Lin Qian nodded. "Go do this."

Chao Xin acknowledged. "Alright."

However, none of them thought much of this as a great matter. The transportation formations were a weakness, but unlike Mo Cloud Sea who were overly reliant on the formations, Kun Lun's transportation were mostly by jie rivers. While they had to spend more time travelling, it was much cheaper. If Kun Lun used transportation formations over all of its vast realm, then the expenses in this area would be enough to kill Kun Lun.

Due to this, most of Kun Lun's transportation formations were set up in important places and these places almost all had battalions stationed there to guarantee safety. They only needed to increase the security level of the battalions stationed there.

"After Xue Shidi's battalion has finished expanding, why don't we use the Nine Great Dhyana Sects as an opening?" Lin Qian asked Chao Xin.

Chao Xin said unrestrainedly, "That is not good!"

Lin Qian smiled, and poured another cup of wine for Chao Xin. He asked sincerely for guidance, "Then what should be done?"

"The Nine Great Dhyana Sects have many people with different intentions. If they feel an outside threat, they would abandon their own aims, unite, and face the invaders. Thunder Sound Temple is the strongest, and once they unite, with a top battle general like Yang Yuan Hao, they would be a hard bone to swallow."

Lin Qian was thoughtful. Chao Xin raised his wine cup and threw his head back to drink. He was full of enthusiasm. "But if we treat them peacefully, without threatening their existence, the inner conflicts will gradually become evident. We can scheme and recruit a portion of them, moving in the shadows. The Nine Great Dhyana Sects will be defeated without any attack over time, this is the best plan!"

"You are right!" Lin Qian was full of admiration and then turned to another problem. "Then in which direction should we expand?"

"Hundred Savage Realm!" Chao Xin's voice was loud, a blush on his face. "The Nether Realms produced a king, and is an enemy on the same level as us. We should not really fight them. Also, we know little about the nether realms, and it is not wise to enter. But Hundred Savage Realm is full of warlords, and the best place to begin."

As his interests were stirred, Chao Xin became half-dressed as he drank multiple cups. His gaze was intoxicated as he said slowly, "Looking at the world right now, Tian Huan, the Nether King and the yao are enemies of the same level as us, they all possess one realm of land, have any experts and generals. But if one looks closely, there are differences. Kun Lun, Tian Huan, and the Nether Realm were integrally united. The Yao Elder Council constantly fights internally for power. The new generation as led by Ming Yue Ye and the older generation led by the Chief Elder are fighting in secret. This is an opportunity for our Kun Lun."

Lin Qian's eyes lit up. "We will secretly support Ming Yue Ye?"

Chao Xin smiled and then shook his head. "No! Ming Yue Ye's wings are not grown yet. Our benefit from supporting her will be limited, and once she is in power, the first thing that she will do is to reorganize the Council of Elders in order to get them to be of one mind, and then bite us."

"Then we will suppress Ming Yue Ye?" Lin Qian asked in response.

"We will support a third faction." Chao Xin was bright with light. "Three factions fighting is a state of equilibrium, and the one able to cause sustained infighting. Also, both the Chief Elder and Ming Yue Ye will need to fight to gain support of the new faction. Most importantly, the third faction would be the weakest faction, and cannot break free of our control."

"Great plan!" Lin Qian sighed.

Chao Xin's excitement settled slightly and he said with a light laugh, "We cannot rush this, and need to plan this slowly. It will probably take five to ten years for it to be effective."

Lin Qian laughed out loud. "I am still young. Ten years, I can even wait even if it is twenty years!"

Chao Xin nodded. "It is not easy for Daren to have such a state of mind."

"Mo Cloud Sea has challenged the Mo Marshal Alliance, Mister, what do you feel they desire?' Lin Qian mentioned another topic.

For some reason, he felt danger from Mo Cloud Sea. He always had a feeling that this little power that was just a few dozen jie would one day become his archenemy. This indescribable feeling of danger always made him extremely wary of Mo Cloud Sea's every move.

It was unexpected to many that Mo Cloud Sea had suddenly started to attack Mo Marshal Alliance.

Chao Xin's brow also furrowed. "It is slightly puzzling. This time, the main commander is Bie Han. This shows how much importance they place on this campaign, it means that it is a big one. Also, it is Bie Han and not Gongsun Chao. This also implies that their aim in the campaign this time is not to attack cities and take over territory, but more akin to rapidly destroying or capturing something. Bie Han's battalions are also puzzling in their movements. Bie Han is definitely disguising their intentions. We most likely will know the aim of a battle general of Bie Han's level only when the battle is finished.

Lin Qian was silent.

———

"Intentions! We need to find their intentions!

Inside the conference hall, Hai Jin Yun's voice echoed. His figure was tall yet thin, his complexion faintly gold, his eyes narrow and long. His cheeks were sunken inwards, his gaze as sharp as a sword and seemed able to penetrate people.

His voice was thin and high pitched, giving people a feeling of metal grinding. At this time, it was filled with great fury.

Hao Jin Yun's temper was easy to set off and he quickly became violent. The subordinates trembled, and the conference room was deathly silent.

Hai Jin Yun forced down the fury inside. He rubbed his forehead. His anger was not directed against his subordinates. He knew their skill level. He was angry at himself as he could not identify Bie Han's intentions.

When he learned that the enemy this time was Bie Han, an unprecedented pressure filled him. However, this had not caused him to collapse but rather stimulated his strong fighting spirit. He felt his blood boil at the thought of fighting against such a top level battle general.

Yet as time went on, the movements of Bie Han's campaigns became even harder to understand.

If they could not find Bie Han's true intentions, he would end up the reactive party. Facing a battle general of Bie Han's level, it was enormously dangerous to be the reactive party.

Several hours passed, and he received an insect message from an old general, Quan Pei. They had encountered Bie Han!

This was not of great surprise to him. He would not be surprised at any action that a battle general like Bie Han would do. Also, from the location of the encounter, Bie Han seemed to just be attacking the reinforcements.

Was Bie Han's goal really Bright Mountain Jie?

He didn't believe it!

But what reassured him slightly was that old general Quan Pei said in the insect message that they were delaying the other by using guerilla tactics against them in order to drag on the battle for them to arrive.

General Quan Pei's seemingly conservative strategy was actually the best in his view. They were fighting on home territory. If they could take up enough time, their advantage would increase like a snowball rolling off the mountain.

Yet eight hours passed, and Hai Jin Yun did not receive any more insect letters from old general Quan Pei.

This unusual situation caused Hai Jin Yun to have a bad feeling. If the situation was normal, Quan Pei's second in command would send an insect message every four hours to report on the state of the battle. There were only two possibilities when there were no messages after eight hours. One was that the battle was so intense that they didn't even have the time to send insect letters. The other possibility was that they had been completely eradicated.

Based on convention, the first possibility was most likely.

Quan Pei was skilled in battle formations. If he decided to enter a battle of attrition by relying on guerilla fighting, he definitely would not be destroyed so easily. It was extremely difficult to exterminate a battalion that had decided to fight in a guerilla fashion, much less finish it in eight hours.

However, as time advanced, Hai Jin Yun's bad feeling increased.

His emotions started to become restless. He tried to put his attention on searching for Bie Han's target. So many dazzling and spectacular actions proved that Bie Han had a clear goal in mind. He was only disguising it.

"Where is Shang Daren?" He suddenly stopped walking and asked.

"Shang Daren has already reached Bright Home Jie, and is about three days away from us," the subordinate hurriedly said.

Hai Jin Yun suddenly stopped walking. There wasn't any restlessness to be seen in his eyes. He said in a deep voice, "Set up base here, and wait for Shang Daren!"

Ten hours had already passed ... ...

Hai Jun Yun knew that the situation he had thought most unlikely probably already became reality.

Translator Ramblings: Politics and more politics.

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This chapter has been brought to you by me, and WanderingGummiOfDoom.

Chapter Seven Hundred and Sixty Four – Nine Great Dhyana Sects

"Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect!" Zuo Mo's expression was full of unfriendliness. He didn't have any good feelings about this sect who had suddenly attacked them and was said to be completely infiltrated by Tian Huan.

While Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect had taken out a great amount of evidence to prove that the dozen people who had attacked had been expelled from the sect long ago, anyone with eyes could see that this was just an excuse.

"Our goal his time is Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect! It is mission is to settle the accounts from last time. No matter the time, Mo Cloud Sea is not one that would swallow and remain silent when someone bullies us."

Zuo Mo's words immediately aroused similar feelings in the group.

"Motherf*er! A little Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect dare to target us? They don't want to live!"

"We will beat them up! Beat the up completely! Beat them until they kneel and beg for mercy!"

The large hall was immediately full of fury. People from Mo Cloud Sea never feared anything. They had fought against Kun Lun and Tian Huan. They were proud and found it hard to tolerate a little faction like Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect attacking them.

"However, since they dare scheme against us, then we will play with them. Everyone, prepare, we will depart tomorrow. We will make them understand why we dare to challenge Kun Lun and Tian Huan while they can only play with mud in the corner!'

Zuo Mo's domineering announcement caused everyone's blood to boil.

Soon, Zuo Mo started to pick people. The ones chosen were happy and the ones that weren't had displeased expressions. Soon, Zuo Mo picked out an elite team of about fifty people.

It was not an exaggeration to say they were elite. Just looking at the membership of the team, it was possible to see how grand the composition was.

Zuo Mo, A Gui, Wei Sheng, Zong Ru, Luo Li, Ceng Lian'er ... ...

He had picked almost all of the top experts of Mo Cloud Sea. The other people were also ones that had followed Zuo Mo for many years. They were loyal to the point they could use their bodies to block a blow for Zuo Mo. Other than this, Zuo Mo also took along the Lil' Ones that had just finished levelling up.

Zuo Mo did not worry about the safety of Mo Cloud Sea at all. Lil' Miss was in charge of Cloud Sea Jie, and the great majority of the transportation formations were closed. While it had affected their business activities, it also caused Mo Cloud Sea's security to reach an unprecedented level. Right now, Mo Cloud Sea was truly a turtle hiding in its hard shell.

The ambush from Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect caused Zuo Mo to be full of anger.

On the surface, Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect's attitude was very friendly. They apologized and also agreed to recompense them. If he led battalions to attack Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect when they had this kind of attitude, it was easy to cause all of the Nine Great Dhyana Sects to start fighting with Mo Cloud Sea.

Zuo Mo was still hoping that the Nine Great Dhyana Sect would be Mo Clous Sea's shield. It was not profitable to start fighting due to one Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect. Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect was fearless because they knew this. There was nothing to criticize on the surface.

Little Mo Ge was never one that was generous. His style was to always retaliate for any slights.

Since they could not fight in the open, they would fight in the shadows.

For the leaders of the other factions, they could not avoid feeling slightly repulsed by these types of schemes. But for Zuo Mo, this was what he was truly skilled in.

Purely based on power, Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect was not a match for Zuo Mo, but this time, they were playing in the dark. Wei Sheng, Zong Ru, Luo Li, they were all astoundingly powerful, and each of them could do things like kill people and defeat cities, but it was difficult for them to scheme.

The one that was most skilled in scheming was undoubtedly Zuo Mo. Without his direction, this would not succeed.

The Nine Great Dhyana Sect had always had a close relationship to Mo Cloud Sea and the two sides had active business activity. The Nine Great Dhyana Sects had vast territories, and were abundant in resources. Mo Cloud Sea's shen equipment was something that the Nine Great Dhyana Sects needed.

The transportation formations between Mo Cloud Sea and the Nine Great Dhyana Sect were one of the few transportation formations that were still in use.

The inspection at the transportation formation was strict, but for Zuo Mo and the others, people that could see through their disguises would definitely not appear at the transportation formation.

Without needing any great effort, they successfully entered the Nine Great Dhyana Sects.

When they entered the land of the Nine Great Dhyana Sects, the scenery was completely different than that of Mo Cloud Sea. Both the buildings and the people around gave them a different feeling.

Dhyana xiu revered secret paradises and little islands could be seen floating everywhere. They were also some Dhyana xiu that built the temples on top of lucky clouds. There were many temples, and the sound of bells and chanting were everywhere. In the streets, what was most common were the Dhyana xiu dressed in robes of all colors, walking about barefoot and bald. They held staffs, wooden fishes, had peaceful expressions. Some were half-naked, their bodies like metal. These people usually had stern expressions, and their steps were powerful.

Dhyana xiu were rare in Mo Cloud Sea. It was the first time that everyone had seen so many Dhyana xiu and all of them found it interesting.

The group disguised themselves as a merchant group. In order to not attract any attention, the manager and attendants were all real and experienced ones. They frequently entered the Nine Great Dhyana Sect and were experienced.

"When Xuan Kong Temple had been here, this place was even more prosperous." The steward next to Zuo Mo said emotionally, "In that period of time when Xuan Kong Temple fell, all of Xuan Kong Realm was quiet. They have just recovered some vitality after development in these years. This place only became prosperous again because it has a transportation formation that is connected to Mo Cloud Sea."

"Which sect does this place belong to?" Zuo Mo asked curiously.

"Thunder Sound Temple," The steward hurriedly responded. He knew that Zuo Mo did not know much about the Nine Great Dhyana Sects and introduced in detail, "The Thunder Sound Sect is first among the Nine Great Dhyana Sects. The best battle general of the Nine Great Dhyana Sects is Yang Yuan Hao, also of Thunder Sound Sect. The development in its territory is the best, and it is the safest."

"Yang Yuan Hao!" Zuo Mo couldn't help but still when he heard this name. Yang Yuan Hao was the strongest battle general that the Nine Great Dhyana Sect created in recent years, and was the true pillar holding up the Nine Great Dhyana Sects.

The reason that Zuo Mo thought that the Nine Great Dhyana Sect qualified to be the barrier that could stop Kun Lun was the existence of Yang Yuan Hao. The Nine Great Dhyana Sects that had Yang Yuan Hao was not at the same level as a Nine Great Dhyana Sects that did not have a Yang Yuan Hao. If they did not have Yang Yuan Hao, Zuo Mo would be the first to attack the Nine Great Dhyana Sects and swallow it before Kun Lun and Tian Huan.

Zuo Mo suddenly had a thought. If there was a chance, he wanted to meet this person that was one of the most important pillars of the Nine Great Dhyana Sects.

He did not worry about Yang Yuan Hao's enmity and wariness of Mo Cloud Sea. That could not be avoided. Yet Zuo Mo believed that Yang Yuan Hao could see the dilemma that the Nine Great Dhyana Sects were under. Compared to Kun Lun and Tian Huan, Mo Cloud Sea was undoubtedly a better ally.

The Nine Great Dhyana Sect did not have many choices.

"Where is Yang Yuan Hao now?" Zuo Mo asked.

The steward had a strained expression. "This one does not know. We do not dare to search for information like this."

Zuo Mo smiled. The steward was right. He had assumed too much. He changed the topic. "How much longer until we can reach Heat Leaf Dhyana Sect's territories?"

The steward said respectfully, "If we use transportation formations, it will be about twenty or more days."

Zuo Mo couldn't help but gape. More than twenty days even with transportation formations, that was really far. Zuo Mo decided that before they got to Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect, they would not make any trouble.

But after flying for two days, Zuo Mo and the others detected people keeping watch over them.

The observers were well concealed, and they had switched people in the process. If it wasn't that the people present were all experts, it most likely would be difficult to detect it.

Zuo Mo did not attack. He pointed at the secret observers and asked the steward, "Do you know where they are from?"

The steward made a careful examination. His expression changed slightly and he said in a low voice, "They are from Thunder Sound Sect!"

"Thunder Sound Sect!" Zuo Mo was slightly surprised. Had they exposed themselves somewhere? Otherwise, Thunder Sound Sect would not have found them no matter how strong they were. Zuo Mo was very confident in his disguises.

"Definitely! Daren, notice the thunder scripts at their wrists, that is a trait unique to Thunder Sound Sects. Only those that cultivate the Thunder Sound Shen Methodology will have this kind of thunder script." The steward introduced in a low voice, and then asked, "Daren, what do you want to do?"

Zuo Mo thought and then said, "Pretend not to have found them, we will continue to do what we do."

"Yes!" The steward responded. Then a hint of worry rose in his eyes. He had travelled this path countless times and it was the first time he encountered a situation like this.

The observers changed shifts several times. Zuo Mo and the others pretended to be ignorant, and travelled as usual.

Only five days later, when Zuo Mo and the others were about to leave the territories of Thunder Sound Temple were they stopped. They were not the only ones. Many ships had been stopped at the border.

"Disciples of Thunder Sound Temple are here on orders to do an inspection. Many thanks for your cooperation."

The voice of a Thunder Sound disciples spread.

Dozens of Thunder Sound disciples danced in the air. They wore shen equipment and seemed as though they were facing a great enemy. Some of the disciples had staffs that flashed with light and could attack at any moment.

"Big Brother, what has happened here, this has never occurred before!" The steward was smart and immediately went over to inquire.

"Who knows! It started a few days ago, I heard that thing was lost. That person's really daring to dare to steal from Thunder Sound Temple." The one that spoke was a middle-aged person who had a weathered face.

"Yeah, but we are the ones that lose out, this delays us," another person said.

The middle-aged person shook his head and said, "Just cooperate and it will be fine. The disciples of Thunder Sound Sect are slightly domineering but they are disciplined. They won't take anything or delay us unnecessarily. If this is on Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect's territory, don't think about getting out unless you bleed a bit."

"Oh, the disciples of Thunder Sound Temple are this disciplined?" Zuo Mo inserted.

"The bigger sects like Thunder Sound Sect, Lotus Sutra Temple, they are all disciplined. Those little sects are not," the middle-aged person explained.

At this time, the Thunder Sound Temple disciple that stared at Zuo Mo flew towards another disciple in the air and whispered.

That disciple immediately turned to look at Zuo Mo's group. He beckoned to a few others that landed around Zuo Mo, and surrounded his group.

The surrounding people immediately ran away in fear.

Zuo Mo hadn't thought that the other was truly coming for him. Their luck was really bad to encounter such a thing.

"This one is Thunder Sound Temple disciple Liao Yu, greetings." The leading Thunder Sound Temple disciple bowed with a solemn expression. "Our sect is conducting a routine inspection. Please cooperate and forgive us for our disturbance."

The surroundings immediately became quiet. The eyes of everyone in the group turned towards Zuo Mo.

Translator Ramblings: Jump jump jump. Fang Xiang has too many things going on. They are all important but I would almost want switches in point of view within chapters than between chapters.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Sixty Five – Lil' Black 's Achievement

"Let them inspect." Zuo Mo said baldly.

For one, he was curious about the goal of these Thunder Sound Temple disciples. They had been targeted from the start, and it did not appear to be a coincidence. Secondly, Zuo Mo also wanted to see if their disguise could pass the test. If they could not even work on some Thunder Sound Temple disciples, it would be embarrassing if they went to Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect and were discovered.

Little Mo Ge wanted face. Since he decided to go the devious way, they naturally could not show any slip-ups.

Tian Huan had heavily infiltrated Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect and there definitely were experts that Tian Huan had sent hiding among them. Zuo Mo had made a decision to declaw Heart Leaf Dhyana Set. These Tian Huan xiuzhe in hiding were on Zuo Mo's black list.

It had to be said that the disguises of Zuo Mo's group were very good.

They were dressed plainly without any decoration. Other than Zuo Mo who was dressed slightly better due to acting as the boss of the merchant group, the other people were attired normally. Their shen equipment and other things were stored in their rings, and their rings were also disguised to appear like normal rings.

The ling steeds that they rode were also appropriate to their identity, all of them ling horned horses. They were cheap, had high endurance, and were easy to feed. Any inn could supply the appropriate ling grasses to feed them. For merchant groups who cared about overhead costs, they liked the ling horned horses.

Several Thunder Sound Temple disciples immediately encircled them, and there were some other disciples that were warily staring at them.

Zuo Mo and the others were experienced fighters and unaffected by these Thunder Sound Temple disciples.

The Thunder Sound Temple disciple who had gone in to inspect quickly came out and shook his head.

The disciple leader hadn't expected that they wouldn't find anything at all. He hesitated and then said as though nothing has happened, "Great apologies for the disturbance, you may go."

Just as the steward was about to say thanks and leave, Zuo Mo suddenly spoke, "Are you looking for something?"

The leading disciple stilled. He clearly had not been prepared for Zuo Mo's question. He probably had not thought that someone would ask in a situation like this. However, the other's expression was normal and there was nothing fishy.

He hesitated before nodding and saying, "Yes! A treasure of our sect was stolen, and we are looking for it." Thinking about how the mission was incomplete, his mood immediately became terrible. He waved his hand impatiently. "You may go!"

The other merchant groups immediately started as though they had been pardoned.

Seeing the merchant groups hurriedly leaving, the leading disciple had a thoughtful expression. He quickly realized what had been wrong. The other had been too calm, and didn't show any reverence because of his identity.

"That group is suspicious." A tall disciple came over and said in a low voice, "Lao Jiu said that he felt unusual vibrations coming from them."

"Unusual vibrations?" The leading disciple frowned.

"Yes, it was short, but Lao Jiu said that it definitely isn't an illusion."

"Unusual vibrations does not mean they are hiding the thing." The leading disciple shook his head.

"But it is very likely. You know that Lao Jiu's sense is unusual."

"Then what do you think we should do?" The leading disciple was persuaded.

"Looking at their direction, it seems that they are heading towards Lotus Sutra Temple. Let's first close the transportation formation towards Lotus Sutra Temple," the tall disciple said coldly, "then they will only have one path."

The leading disciple's expression changed slightly. "Black Sea Flying Route!"

———

Zuo Mo was extremely bored. Everyone around him was a cultivation maniac. Other than the stewards that could chat with him, the other people either cultivated, or cultivated.

Wei Sheng's eyes were closed and he was in meditation, Zong Ru was in meditation, Luo Li was in meditation, even the ones he picked out were in meditation. A Gui's eyes were not closed, but Zuo Mo knew that she did not need to meditate. She could cultivate like this.

The boring long journey was just like normal.

The only one that did not cultivate was Ceng Lian'er but this horrid person made tea, and idly enjoyed the scenery. She didn't show any intentions of sharing a cup with Zuo Mo.

Who really was the boss!

Zuo Mo was furious but he had to admit that some people's presences could not be copied. Zuo Mo tried Ceng Lian'er's idle and serene style but it was not right when he did it.

The strength of the stewards could not compare to Zuo Mo. They were tired by the long travel and didn't have much energy to speak.

The Zuo Mo, bored, could only let the Little Ones out and started to play with them. Silly Bird naturally ignored him. She was usually proud, and now that her strength had grown immensely, she became even prouder. That imperious gaze was still so domineering.

Tenth Grade was a cultivation fanatic, Sunshine was slightly bashful, Lil' Pagoda, Lil' Fire, and Lil' Black were the best at flattering him. They flew in circles around Zuo Mo and fawned over him. Zuo Mo was very comforted.

Zuo Mo's hand felt a point of pain. He bent down and saw that it was Lil' Black on his hand using its short legs to pull Zuo Mo, its antennae furiously waving.

Seeing Lil' black like this, Zuo Mo's eyes suddenly lit up, the bored expression on his face sweeping away.

Lil' Black had been a good treasure-hunter in the past, and after spending some time on Cheng Shidi's hands, it should have improved. Thinking about the valuable materials and jingshi that Cheng Shidi had exploited out of him, Zuo Mo felt his heart ache.

"Lil' Black. Good Lil' Black, you have to make me proud. If you can find some great treasure trove for your old man, your old man will give you some meat to eat! What? You don't want meat? That's alright, your old man will eat meat, you can drink soup!"

Did the Heavens see the ge was in poverty now, and wanted to make it up to ge?

Zuo Mo put down Lil' Black from his hand with anticipation.

Lil' Black climbed off Zuo Mo's hand and flew towards the rear of the convoy. Zuo Mo's mind became alert and he followed closely.

Lil' Black landed on the last transport boat. Zuo Mo stilled and then had a suspicious expression. This transportation boat carried wares that were used as part of their identities. They were items from Mo Cloud Sea that were very welcome. If they were sold to Heart Leaf Dhyana Sect and the surroundings, they could make a significant profit. The journey was relatively hard but there were many people that this alone would arouse suspicion.

This ship had come with them from Mo Cloud Sea, there shouldn't be a problem!

Zuo Mo's pupil suddenly contracted.

Had someone sneaked onto the ship?

The guards on the ship saw Zuo Mo arrive and were startled awake. When they saw Zuo Mo's hand move to signal to be on their guard, their expressions changed. The other must be powerful to have managed to sneak onto the ship under such a heavy guard.

Noticing Zuo Mo's unusual actions, all of the merchant group were alerted.

They were all experienced and worked well together. They didn't make a sound at all. They soundlessly flowed and spread into a net that had no weakness.

Lil' Black stopped outside the storage deck, its antennae waving furiously. But in the next moment, its body suddenly streaked back rapidly, and hid behind Silly Bird's back.

When he got to hear, Zuo Mo finally discovered an almost imperceptible presence.

He was shocked, his body trembling. This presence was extremely weak. Even though he was so close, if it wasn't for Lil' Black's warning, he may have missed it.

Someone had really sneaked onto the ship!

Zuo Mo felt a chill but he was also angry. They had just entered the Nine Great Dhyana Sects and such a great oversight had been made. Zuo Mo felt he was embarrassed, especially when there were so many experts around.

"The friend inside, do not hide! Come out!" Zuo Mo's tone was icy, the shen technique on his hand ready to be cast.

The entire net gave off a suffocating presence.

There wasn't any movement inside. That almost intangible presence became even weaker as though it almost disappeared. Zuo Mo was shocked. The other seemed to disappear into thin air.

But he knew that the other had not truly disappeared but had just hid away all of their presence to become one with the surroundings. This caused the illusion that the other had disappeared.

An expert!

Zuo Mo quickly made his decision, his tone even icier. "If Sir does not come out by the count of three, then be crushed with this ship!"

"Three ... ... "

Just as Zuo Mo shouted this, a grey shadow suddenly charged in front of him.

Zuo Mo was astounded but he reacted quickly. The shen technique that he had prepared accurately hit the grey shadow. Zuo Mo did not keep anything back with this attack and the grey shadow crumpled!

At the same time, he heard Wei Sheng Shixiong shout, "Go back!"

A dazzling red sword light broke through the air.

A faint, almost intangible presence, twisted strangely in the air, and suddenly appeared in another corner.

"Return!" Ceng Lian'Er's expression turned dark. Her afternoon tea had been interrupted and she was not in a good mood. Dozens of moon crescents appeared around her, the sharp edges criss-crossing as though she wanted to dismember the shadow.

The almost intangible shadow took a turn again.

He charged directly towards A Gui.

Everyone else had expressions as they did not bear to look.

A Gui's figure flashed as though she disappeared in the air. The shadow felt the surrounding net open and was overjoyed. They gathered all the strength in their body in an attempt to charge through the opening.

Yet before he could act, he felt a grip around his neck. He lost control of his body, and the world around him spun.

Bam!

Holding his neck, A Gui swung her arm as though she was swinging a great hammer to hit the ship.

The strong force caused the boards on the ship that were as hard as rock and covered in seal scripts to crack. The fragments shot into the surroundings.

The shadow felt a great pain, and then fell unconscious.

Before he lost consciousness, he saw blurry faces. The expressions on the faces of these people were really strange... ...

It seems to be sympathy, or pity, or seemed to say: just as expected ... ...

Translator Ramblings: Someone sneaked onto a ship sneaking into a territory that had sneaked through transportation formations ... ... I'm not sure how to finish the sentence.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Sixty Six – [Bird] Mission

[Snapped Red Silk] had been uprooted!

This stunning news spread in the yao underground world like a plague.

The underground world was not as large as people imagined. While the influence of the underground had silently grown in recent years, every leader with a clear head knew that this golden age of prosperity was a temporary by-product of the inner conflict in the council of elders.

But the collapse of [Snapped Red Silk] still caused an earthquake in the underground world.

In truth, [Snapped Red Silk] did not have large territories, but their skilled management made the faction a firmly established one. Their feelers reached into every corner of their territory.

Unless it was a matter of life and death, there were not many factions that would touch them.

They were strong for their size, and one would have to pay a significant price to defeat them. Also, [Snapped Red Silk]'s base was like an impenetrable barrel of metal. Even if one won, it was a complex and troublesome matter to digest a territory.

[Snapped Red Silk] was strong because they were wealthy. The reason that they were wealthy was because they had a monopoly over the local low level materials business.

The profit in low material business was not high. But because the majority of powerful factions were not willing to waste manpower on controlling this business it was left to the underground factions. [Snapped Red Silk] was like all other underground powers. They usually were greatly connected to the lowest rungs of society. They had abundant manpower and no competition from large factions. [Snapped Red Silk] had quickly taken over almost seven tenths of the low level materials business in their territory.

Any business if it was a monopoly would gain great profits even if the profit margin was slim. Low level materials were not eye-catching but they were traded in great volume.

The [Snapped Red Silk] that had a monopoly over the market started to manipulate the market to obtain even more profit.

They were skilled and the prices they gave the large factions were far lower than market price. With this method, they hadn't affected the benefits of the major factions, and even built a terrifying web of connections.

Yet a faction like this had been exterminated.

The faction that had destroyed it was called [Black Fire]

[Black Fire] was a relatively unknown name in the underground world but this unknown little faction had defeated [Snapped Red Silk] that everyone had been unable to deal with. It really was fantastical.

The tentacles of the underground factions were like an invisible spider-web. Any gust of wind or movement would be felt. Soon, all kinds of intelligence about [Black Fire] ended up on the desks of leaders everywhere.

———

Youqin Lie's recent days were extremely comfortable, and there was a joyful expression on his dark face that could not be disguised.

He had a few more powerful fighters under his command. The struggles of [Snapped Red Silk] were like that of a wild beast at the end of its life. After their last struggle had been blocked, they completely fell apart.

Compared to the difficulty of the battles before, the battles after the added personnel were so easy it was like sightseeing.

However, eliminating the remaining of [Snapped Red Silk]'s power was slightly troublesome. While Youqin Lie was young, he was skilled and cunning. The secret pieces that he had set up before were now coming into use.

"Many thanks everyone." Youqin Lie expressionlessly stated his thanks. Next to him, Tao Wei and the others looked with complicated expressions as Nan Yue and the others.

The underground world did not lack for experts like Wu Ying who were strong. But the people in front of them were so strong they felt fear and awe. Experts of this level could only be supported by those large factions.

Boss' support was really unfathomable!

Tao Wei and the others could see that while Nan Yue's group was strong, they were definitely not people that worked in the shadows. They did not have any presence of darkness, and their personalities were honest and straightforward like their way of fighting.

"No problem." Wariness flashed across Nan Yue's eyes. She had an instinctive wariness of these people of the shadows. If she did not see it with her own eyes, she would not believe that Daren would have this kind of faction that worked in the shadows.

She asked directly, "What do we need to do next? If possible, we hope to finish as soon as possible."

The gazes of everyone behind her gathered on Youqin Lie. They were extremely wary of this young but extremely vicious and cunning youth. They had watched as Youqin Lie expressionlessly executed more than thirty people. This guy was a demon. They only hoped now to finish their mission as soon as possible and then leave this place.

They liked sunlight and not darkness.

Youqin Lie jerked the corners of his lips. It could have been in mirth or disdain.

But he turned and nodded at Tao Wei. Tao Wei understood and took out a jade scroll to hand to Nan Yue. Nan Yue took the jade scroll with some puzzlement and then started to read

"This person is one of Daren's targets."

Youqin Lie's voice carried a darkness that would make people feel cold.

Nan Yue finished reading and handed the jade scroll to others. She raised her head, "I cannot see what is special about this person.:

Tao Wei smiled slightly. Her lips moved and an enchanting voice spread. "Cang Ling Xue, female, twenty six, a member of the Grey Family."

"Grey Family?" Cang Ze couldn't help but say. He was curious at encountering someone with the same surname as him.

Tao Wei did not know why Cang Ze was shocked. She continued to give a detailed explanation, "The Cang Family of Nu Flat Jie. It is a local faction. Her parents passed away when she was eleven and she became the family head, the youngest family head in the history of the Grey Family."

Nan Yue immediately had a feeling of empathy. This was a situation similar to the one she experienced in the past. She knew just how difficult it was for a child of eleven to become the family head.

"Nu Flat Jie's other factions all assumed that the Grey Family's decline was certain, and this included factions that were enemies of the Grey Family. Therefore, three local factions allied together and attacked the Grey Family. Yet no one expected was that the Grey Family defeated the three families under the leadership of Cang Ling Xue. This battle made the Grey Family and Cang Ling Xue famous in the Nu Flat Jie."

Everyone listened, enchanted. Many people had astonished expressions. This would have been so difficult for an eleven year old girl.

"After that, the Grey Family quickly grew in power under the leadership of Cang Ling Xue. Three years later, the Grey Family became one of the five biggest factions in Nu Flat Jie. Under her initiative, the five strongest families of Nu Flat formed the Nu Flat Merchant Association. The chair was Cang Ling Xue. That year, she was fifteen."

Everone gaped as they heard this.

"The Nu Flat Merchant Association developed quickly and in the following years, their business expanded to more than thirty of the surrounding jie. Oh, I forgot to tell everyone, Cang Ling Xue is seventeen this year."

"So there are really geniuses in the world!" Nan Yue couldn't help but sigh in astonishment.

The orange haired yao crowded over and said shamelessly, "Is Sister Nan talking about me?"

A Wen coldly said, "Idiot!"

Nan Yue's eyebrow twitched. These two were starting again! She brought out her killing move. "Shut up! Don't forget what Boss said before you left."

The orange haired yao shrunk his head back, and said, "Good brothers are loyal, I am peerlessly loyal!"

A Wen was silent.

A look flashed through Tao Wei's eyes. She looked at Boss. Boss' eyes were closed.

"Please continue," Nan Yue said.

"Cang Ling Xue is skilled in management. Under her reins, the Cang Family is not just organized, it has quickly grown. Her talent and skill also aroused the attention of many factions. The Nu Flat Merchant Association has some power, but compared to the larger factions, it isn't worth a mention. I heard that even the Council of Elders is interested in her."

Tao Wei's eyes moved. "Do you know what is the best way to recruit a young female?"

Nan Yue said coolly, "Force a marriage!"

Tao Wei laughed lightly. "Miss Nan Yue is really smart. There are many ways of dealing with Cang Ling Xue. Cang Ling Xue does not have much to bargain with. The most effective method is a marriage proposal. Cang Ling Xue is beautiful, she is rich, and skilled in management. It will be greatly profitable if one could marry this kind of woman! Up until now, Cang Ling Xue has received over ten marriage proposals. None of these factions are ones that she, or the Nu Flat Merchant Association can afford to offend."

"These people should be killed!" A Wen who hated being forced to do anything said in fury.

The orange haired yao said righteously, "Only a genius can save a beautiful maiden ... ..."

Nan Yue ignored the two of them. "What does she have to do with us."

Youqin Lie who had been resting with his eyes closed suddenly opened his eyes. "This is one of the targets from the higher ups. Do not ask me the reason. You only need to know that she is your target and I will help you complete the mission."

"What do we have to do?" Ming Jue Zi asked. Of the group, he had the most ideas.

"I lean towards kidnapping her." Youqin Lie shrugged and seemed cunning like a fox. "However, this is your mission. You will decide how to carry out your mission. The higher-ups want to recruit a talent that is skilled at internal management. Of course, if you accidentally damage her, we have other targets."

Such a cold and emotionless person. Nan Yue's dislike increased. However, Ming Jue Zi answered before she did, "You mean that after completing this, we have other targets to reach?"

"Yes." Youqin Lie said coolly, "The preliminary list to investigate was one hundred and three people. After investigation and selection based on the higher up's criteria, there are sixteen in left."

"Sixteen people!"

Nan Yue and the others gaped. This number surprised their imagination.

"These sixteen are all talented, each of them is not from strong faction and are easy to get to." Youqin Lie looked at the group and jerked the corners of his mouth. "You should thank me, I helped you finish a ;large part of the work. There are eight that are already taken care of through terror, kidnapping and bribery, and another one we just got from [Snapped Red Silk]."

"You mean we have seven left?" Ming Jue Zi immediately caught the point.

"Yes," Youqin Lie said expressionlessly, "I suggest you first go after Cang Ling Xue. In the ranking from the higher-ups, she has the highest score. While the final result will only be known after they fight it out, I favor her. Also, the level of this mission is [Bird]. I believe that you know what this means."

Nan Yue and the others were shocked.

Translator Ramblings: Despite the same name, Cang Ling Xue is of no relationship to Ze.

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Chapter Seven Hundred and Sixty Seven – Bronze Hoop Remnant

[Bird] was the highest level of mission for Mo Cloud Sea.

Zuo Mo had set up Mo Cloud Sea's mission structure using the Lil' Ones rankings. From highest to lowest, it was [Bird, [Pagoda, [Butterfly, [Fire] and [Worm]. [Bird] level missions were the highest priority and most important missions of Mo Cloud Sea. It meant that this mission was a crucial mission that would determine life and death for Mo Cloud Sea.

[Bird] level missions were not easily announced but once they were, every person of Mo Cloud Sea had a duty and responsibility to serve for the [Bird] level mission. For any [Bird] level mission, if it was necessary, all the power of Mo Cloud Sea could be mobilized to complete it and they were obligated to do so.

There were not many that knew of this compulsory rule. Normal citizens would almost never encounter missions above [Fire] level. But Nan Yue and the others had followed Zuo Mo for many years and knew about the inner workings. So when Youqin Lie stated the mission ranking, they could not keep their composure.

"What do we need to do?" Nan Yue asked gravely. Her expression was stern and focused. Everyone else, even the orange haired yao, put away their cheer and became focused.

The temperature of the conference room suddenly dipped, the atmosphere becoming heavy and solemn.

Tao Wei and the others felt slightly uneasy. They felt surprised at this suddenly transformation, but more of what they felt was shock. They were experienced, and they could see the great importance that Nan Yue and the others placed on this mission. It came from their hearts. The level of the mission changed their attitude. A scene like this would only appear if the other had strict organization and they strongly identified with the organization.

This was a strict, regulated, and united organization.

They could not see the organization behind Boss but this was the tip of the iceberg and made them feel great awe and terror.

Youqin Lie seemed to not feel the suddenly murderous atmosphere. He was still expressionless. "This is a problem you will need to consider. From my position, using tactics like kidnapping and such is the most convenient. But considering that they will become your co-workers in the future, I suggest using gentler tactics."

"For example?" Nan Yue found that she could not treat this lord of the darkness using a normal view. The other was not as strong as them, but in terms of viciousness, and cunning, all of them added up were not a match for him.

"No matter how strong a seventeen year old female is, she is still seventeen." Youqin Lie glanced at Nan Yue. "There is a common saying. You give her what she needs."

Ming Jue Zi had a thoughtful expression.

Nan Yue was even more direct. "What does she need?"

While she had never seen Youqin Lie, and the aura of darkness on the other made her uncomfortable. But since the higher-ups had given the [Bird] level mission to him, it showed that this youth of the underground was trustworthy. Youqin Lie had clearly been investigating and working on this for a long time, and he definitely knew more than they did as well as being more experienced. In this kind of situation, it was more reliable to listen to the suggestions of a professional.

A look flashed across Youqin Lie's expressionless face but then it disappeared. He turned to Chai Shan Qing, "Speak."

Chai Shan Qing was not surprised. He elegantly nodded at each person. His voice was clear as though it contained a power that would make people unconsciously trust him. "First, we will analyze Cang Ling Xue's personality. She was able to save the Grey Family from a dangerous situation, and created the Nu Flat Business Association. Other than her outstanding abilities, she has unique personality traits. She is determined to the point of stubbornness, decisive, and filled with confidence and a strong sense of responsibility."

Everyone felt this was reasonable and nodded.

Chai Shan Qing smiled elegantly. At this time, he was like a wise and educated teacher without any aura of darkness.

"She is extremely confident. This kind of confidence has helped her overcome many obstacles. Due to this, even though she seems surrounded on all sides, her stubbornness and confidence keep her believing that she can find a way out. This will make her try all kinds of methods to resolve the danger present. Even though all the factions are pressuring her, she will not surrender immediately. She will struggle for a time."

"But let us first analyze her situation. We will find that the probability that she can break free of the situation is low. The enemies can obtain both the person and wealth, who would let her go? Those greedy people would not do so. According to our investigation, the ones behind those acting now are mighty. So mighty that even Ming Yue Ye is wary."

"Ming Yue Ye is Cang Ling Xue's best person to side with, but Ming Yue Ye is busy consolidating her power and obtaining the support of other elders. She would only interfere with the plans of other elders in one situation, when the benefits surpasses her losses. But it is clear that the current seventeen year old Cang Ling Xue and the Nu Flat Merchant Association do not possess such high value."

Nan Yue and the others unconsciously stopped breathing. They listened, entranced. In a few words, the complex situation became clear.

"Consequently, in my predictions, the possibility that Cang Ling Xue can break free is very low. What determines this is her other trait, her strong sense of responsibility. It is not good to act against Cang Ling Xue openly, but there are many ways to deal with the Grey Family and the Nu Flat Merchant Association. For the future of the Grey Family, I think the probability that Cang Ling Xue will make a compromise is high. Of course, I have to admit that Cang Ling Xue may be able to get out due to her great talents. Therefore, we need to work in the shadows to stop any chance that she can get out."

"Why?" Nan Yue frowned. She innately did not like these machinations in the shadows.

Chai Shan Qing smiled as though he was not discussing a conspiracy but a theoretical problem. "No matter how hardy, how determined she is, do not forget her age. A hopeless situation, the feeling of defeat and hopelessness created by failure of her struggles, that is enough to take her to her most fragile state. She will struggle in a darkness where she cannot see any hope. At this time, we only need to give her one thread of hope and we can recruit her. This is our only chance."

Nan Yue and the others shuddered, their bodies cold.

Cang Ze couldn't help saying, "Why don't we find her now? If we offer her enough, we may be able to persuade her."

Chai Shan Qing laughed lightly, "We will never be able to offer as much as the others. Once we appear, Cang Lin Xue will not give up on the chance to use us to strengthen her bargaining position. She will then sell us off to the highest bidder and together they will become enemy. Then they will use all kinds of schemes to push us out of the game. We can only hide in the darkness, but they can work in the light. This means that what we can give cannot be more than what they can. Do not ever underestimate the cunning and greed of these families. They are blood-suckers. What they are most skilled in is using their background and power to push others out of business."

He then smiled coldly and said, "Cang Ling Xue is still waiting for a better offer yet she does not understand these people well enough. They will not give her a chance. They are a like a pack of wolves, cunning and cooperative. They can compromise among themselves, but they cannot accept prey bargaining with them. This is an advantage that their power gives them. They have used this advantage for thousands of years. They are familiar with everything that can be used, and are used to using it to get the most benefits."

Everyone was silent.

Youqin Lie's cool voice interrupted their thoughts. "He is an expert in this field. If you are willing to listen to his opinion, he will become your helper."

A long time later, Nan Yue spoke, "Many thanks, Mister Chai!"

Chai Shan Qing elegantly bowed, "It is my honor to work for you."

———

Zuo Mo examined this guy who had been stripped until he only had one piece of cloth left and was locked up by numerous jinzhi. The people around him looked predatorily at this tender-looking person with unfriendliness. Someone had managed to get onto the ship without being detected, and this happened in front of Daren. All of them felt ashamed and were not in good moods.

The captive was short and the disguise on his face had been cleaned off to show an ordinary face. But there were many faint scripts carved on his body that seemed like the mo matrices that Mo Cloud Sea carved.

It was the first time Zuo Mo had seen similar things in other places. After inspecting them, Zuo Mo found that what was inscribed on the person were not mo matrices but a kind of unique seal script.

This kind of seal script already had some of the traits of shen glyphs. It was these seal scripts that were close shen glyphs which allowed his presence to be hidden to such an astounding degree that none of the numerous experts present detected him. The effects of these seal scripts broadened Zuo Mo's view.

After making a copy of all the seal scripts on this guy's body, Zuo Mo's attention moved onto another item.

A half section of a bronze hoop.

Zuo Mo knew with a glance that this bronze hoop was the remnant of an ancient shen device. The simple and almost crude patterns on the bronze hoop were the signature of that era. Also, there was a very faint yet unique shen power vibration from the bronze hoop.

This was probably what Thunder Sound Temple had been searching for. Zuo Mo played with it before handing it off to the others.

This thing probably wasn't simple as it appeared, being the remnant of a shen device and to cause Thunder Sound Temple to make such a great fuss over it. He motioned to the guard next to him. The guard kicked the unconscious captive.

The captive slowly woke up. When he opened his eyes, he looked dazedly at the unfamiliar faces. When his gaze encountered A Gui, he shook and immediately woke up. Some terrifying memories flashed through his mind, and his body unconsciously shook.

At this time, he heard someone speak.

"Speak, who are you?"

Translator Ramblings: The sneaker's identity reveal is delayed. Cliffhanger that lasts more than one chapter. Lil' Cliffy's evolving.

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This chapter has been brought to you by me, and WanderingGummiOfDoom.

Chapter Seven Hundred and Sixty Eight – A Fatal Temptation

The captive's mind was stunned but he quickly realized his situation. The people around him had unfriendly expressions and the murderous presences they gave off caused his heart to instinctively tremble. Relating them to the terrifying experts he had fought against before his unconsciousness, he knew that he had been caught this time.

"I am Lao De Guang."

Zuo Mo and the others exchanged a look. No one heard of this name before.

"Don't use this kind of name to fool people. How can someone with your skills be unknown?" Zuo Mo looked sardonically at Lao De Guang.

Lao De Guang knew that there was no chance today, and briskly confessed, "Other people call me the Shadowless Ghost Hand."

"Shadowless Ghost Hand!" The eyes of the steward next to Zuo Mo widened, his expression changing as he shouted. He saw Zuo Mo turn around and hurriedly explained, "The Shadowless Ghost Hand is a famous thief around the Nine Great Dhyana Sect territories. They say that he has never failed. The Nine Great Dhyana Sects has a great bounty but no one was able to catch him. We captured a big fish this time!"

Lao De Guang listened to the narration of the steward and a proud expression rose.

Zuo Mo saw the expression on his face and smiled. "Oh? I didn't see it, you are a famous character!"

Lao De Guang's expression stilled. Thinking about his captive situation, the pride on his face immediately disappeared.

"What is this?" Zuo Mo picked up the bronze hoop remnant that had been returned to him and waved it. "Do not try to fool us. The Thunder Sound Temple seems to be searching for this. If we give this thing and you to them, other than the bounty, we might get even more benefits from Thunder Sound Temple."

Lao De Guang's expression tensed. He thought about how his fate would be worse than death if he was handed to Thunder Sound Temple. The other's unfriendly gaze was vicious and experienced. He quickly stopped his other plans, and obediently answered, "Yes, Thunder Sound Temple is searching for this. This is a token for an ancient ruin."

"A token for an ancient ruin?" Zuo Mo narrowed his eyes. Everyone familiar with him knew that this expression was when he was interested.

Since he had confessed, Lao De Guang decided to do it to the end. "Yes! An ancient ruin was found in the Nine Great Dhyana Sects but the ruin is shrouded in a strange power field. It is impossible to enter without the token. There are thirteen tokens in total, all of them remnants of shen devices. Not long after the ruins were discovered, divination masters identified the time that the ruin will open, it is in one month."

"Thirteen tokens? How come there are so many tokens?" Zuo Mo smiled ambiguously at Lao De Guang.

For some unknown reason, Zuo Mo's smile caused Lao De Guang's bones to shiver. He forced himself to remain calm. "I do not know. These shen device remnants were found around the ruin, thirteen total. The Nine Great Dhyana Sects each have one, and the remaining four are in the hands of unknown people."

"A token for an ancient ruin is enough to make the Thunder Sound Temple so desperate? I don't believe it." Zuo Mo shook his head.

Lao De Guang immediately panicked. "Some of the information on the ancient ruin has been uncovered. It has other things but there is a treasure that no one is able to refuse. That is why the Thunder Sound Temple is so desperate."

"What treasure?" Zuo Mo smiled enchantingly.

Treasure ... ... oh, this word make one so excited!"

Lao De Guang had a solemn expression. "A completely preserved ancient shen device nucleus!"

Zuo Mo's eyes suddenly lit up, the smile on his face completely disappearing. He asked in a deep voice, "What did you say?"

Lao De Guang's face turned ashen pale. He finally knew why this person made him feel an indescribable danger. This person's power was greater than he had imagined. He was like a deep and unfathomable lake!

The strong pressure and feeling of suffocation rushed at him like a ferocious lion that touched his face. He could even see the threads of blood lingering on the fangs and claws.

"It is a completely preserved ancient shen device nucleus." Lao De Guang's voice trembled. "While I don't know how it was preserved, this is certain."

He instinctively swallowed and forced out, "Each token can only take five people inside. Other than the Nine Great Dhyana Sects who each have a token, four of the tokens have disappeared. They most likely are in the hands of the Nine Great Dhyana Sect. One more token means they can take in five more people. The hopes of getting the treasure is greater."

"Why can only five people be taken in?' Zuo Mo asked in a cold voice.

"I don't know. Supposedly, it is an ancient jinzhi. Everyone is saying this." Lao De Guang shook his head. He was afraid of angering Zuo Mo and hurriedly said, "But this is likely reliable. Otherwise, those large sects would not be so desperately searching for extra tokens. Thunder Sound Temple took this token from someone else, it has passed through the hands of seven owners, they are all dead ... ..."

He suddenly realized what he was saying, his face turning a few shades whiter. He hurriedly elaborated, "I'm not talking about you ... ..."

Zuo Mo did not care. From the words that Lao De Guang said, he knew that the other was not speaking lies. Originally, he did not intend to interfere in this matter. Others might be curious in ancient ruins but Zuo Mo had experienced many already.

However, a completely preserved ancient shen device nucleus caused his little heart to jump.

Shen device raiment, the top and best of the world right now!

[City Destroyer] and [Arsonist] had almost bankrupted Mo Cloud Sea, especially when those top ranked materials were all used up. These materials could not be bought with jingshi. Even if Mo Cloud Sea was rich right now, they did not have other avenues to get so many top materials.

Also, most of the top materials were used to forge shen device nuclei. The shen device nuclei made using the Weapon Layering Craftsmanship could be called shen device nuclei but they was still a impassable chasm between those and the true shen device nuclei.

Due to this, no matter how many creative and novel ideas Zuo Mo and the Golden Crow Camp had, they could not forge new shen device raiments. Zuo Mo, the leader of Mo Cloud Sea, didn't even have a shen device raiment. Little Mo Ge was displeased by this.

Searching for top materials almost became a long-term mission of Mo Cloud Sea. The rewards were high, but the progress at present was still far from the goal.

Little Mo Ge's shen device raiment naturally was also far away.

Hearing that there was a complete shen device raiment in the ruin, Zuo Mo's mind immediately became lively. This shen device raiment was a fatal temptation for Zuo Mo.

Even more advantageous was that one token could only take along five people. This meant that those that were able to enter the ruin must be the high level personnel of every faction.

In terms of high level power, Little Mo Ge was full of confidence when he looked at the people around him!

Zuo Mo turned to look at the other people. Everyone had excited expressions. It was clear that everyone knew the value of the shen device nucleus. Just this shen device nucleus would mean that they had not made a wasted trip.

"Where is the ruin?" Zuo Mo asked.

"Territory controlled by the Lotus Sutra Temple, it is called Calm Brightness Jie," Lao De Guang said obediently.

Zuo Mo turned around. The steward understood and hurriedly said, "The Lotus Sutra Temple does have a Calm brightness Jie. If we go there, we need to hurry. If Thunder Sound Temple closes the transportation information, it will be troublesome."

"Close the transportation formation?" Zuo Mo frowned.

The steward explained, "If we go to Lotus Sutra Temple now, we have to pass through a transportation formation. If that transportation formation is closed, we can get there through other paths but it will take far longer than a month, unless ... ..."

Zuo Mo directly asked, "Unless what?"

"Unless we go the Black Sea Flight Route!" When he said this, the steward had a terrified expression.

Zuo Mo stilled. He noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Lao De Guang also had a similar expression of terror.

"Is there something dangerous about that place?" Zuo Mo asked curiously.

The steward unconsciously showed his terror on his face as though he thought of some scary memory. He said in almost a dream-like fashion, "About a decade ago, I went through the Black Sea Flight Route. At that time, Thunder Sound Temple was in conflict with other sects and closed the transportation formation. Our ship had the Hundred Leaf Heart Cloud that we needed to deliver within a month. No matter what, it only blooms for a month. On the thirty first day, it will wither and have no value at all. In order to buy this Hundred Leaf Heart Cloud, the group had spent almost half of our assets. Our journey had to succeed. Seeing the transportation formation closed, we could only choose the Black Sea Flight Route."

"And then?" Ceng Lian'Er asked curiously.

The steward smiled tragically, "At the start, the fleet had more than two hundred people. There were only nineteen alive at the end."

Everyone was astounded. No one had expected that less than a tenth had survived.

"We knew that the Black Sea Flight Route is too dangerous but that business was a matter of life and death for the group. Boss spent a great amount to invite a fanxu experts to guard us."

The steward's flat narration caused everyone's heart to beat rapidly.

"Were even fanxu experts unable to protect you?" Ceng Lian'Er could not resist speaking again. Fanxu was akin to the marshal level of the mo. With a marshal's protection, the fatality rate was still so astounding, the dangers could be imagined.

"That fanxu expert did not come out alive," the steward gritted his teeth. His face twisted. The terrifying memories came at him again. His face was ashen pale and his body trembled.

Now, no one was able to maintain their calm, their expressions changing.

A place that could kill fanxu experts was also a great threat to them as well.

Zuo Mo's eyes lit up. "Speed up! Reach the transportation formation at top speed!"

No one dared to slack off and sped up. The entire group accelerated.

After flying for multiple days, when they reached the transportation formation, the formation was being guarded by battalions. The formation was also dark. It was clearly closed.

Thunder Sound Temple had predicted that they would go on this path and had prepared.

Everyone's face became ugly!

Damn it!

Translator Ramblings: Zuo Mo is poor, he needs more money.

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