World of Cultivation 修真世界 Chapter Eleven to Fifteen

These revised chapters have been brought to you by me, and WanderingGummiOfDoom.

Chapter 6 – 10 | Main Page | Table of Contents | Chapter 16 – 20

Chapter Eleven The Money Grubbing Zombie

Before dealing the two blows, Li Ying Feng still had reservations, but now her suspicions greatly lessened. She was sure he was at the top of the outer sect disciples with a cultivation of lianqi eighth level. This s.h.i.+di should be like the other s.h.i.+di and chosen to grow ling grains.

Zuo Mo nodded, “The vitality of this kind of weed is tremendous. If I’m correct, it isn’t wise to cut it. The wounds would provoke it to grow more. That is to say, cutting makes it grow faster.”

The female disciples started to chitter and chatter as they discussed.

Li Ying Feng suddenly understood, “So that’s why! No wonder it grew more and more vigorously. If it was uprooted, would that solve it?”

Zuo Mo mused, “If that was done at the beginning, there wouldn’t have been any problems. But right now, there probably are many seeds in the soil. It isn’t easy to uproot it now.”

“Does s.h.i.+di have any suggestions?”

“I need to go back and think,” Zuo Mo said.

Li Ying Feng took out a small pouch and handed it to Zuo Mo.

Zuo Mo received it with puzzlement. When he opened it for a look, he was dumbstruck. There were five pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+ inside the bag.

“Having offended s.h.i.+di today, I really am regretful. These pieces of jings.h.i.+ are to compensate for s.h.i.+di’s shock. s.h.i.+di, don’t blame it for being just this much,” Li Ying Feng said as she stared at Zuo Mo.

Zuo Mo was wildly happy inside but his mouth went, “s.h.i.+jie is really too polite.” The motion of the hand shoving the bag into his bosom, however, appeared extremely natural.

Xiao Guo jerked her mouth, staring in shock at Zuo Mo. The other female disciples had looks of disdain — this guy was too greedy!

A rock landed in Li Ying Feng’s heart. She didn’t want to end up at odds with such a s.h.i.+di of great potential due to today’s misunderstanding. Five pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+ wasn’t a small sum, but to her whose family was wealthy, it wasn’t too much. To use such a price to solve a misunderstanding, from her perspective, it was a great bargain.

“s.h.i.+jie, don’t worry too much. The matter of the weeds can be put on s.h.i.+di.” It might have been the reason of the five pieces of jings.h.i.+ but the female disciples all felt that this horrid zombie male in front of them instantly had a fighting spirit.

Li Ying Feng raised her hands together, smiling and accepting, “Then I’ll trouble s.h.i.+di.”

She didn’t have high hopes, because if Zuo Mo really had a solution then he wouldn’t say something like he had to go back to think.

Zuo Mo had never expected that he would pay attention to a minor matter today and receive five pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+ for free. On one hand, he was moved at how good Li Ying Feng was at building relations.h.i.+ps. On the other, he was moved at the extravagance of her spending. Most of the jings.h.i.+ on his hands had been spent. He didn’t have many left. Just as his funds were becoming tight, wealth came flying. The unexpected surprise had him floating on air.

As to the disdainful stares of the female disciples, he disregarded it as air.

Humming a small tune and carrying a few stalks of weeds, he cheerfully left the Eastern Peak.

“This guy’s skin is so thick. My eyes are sore from glaring but he didn’t even turn red!”

“Look at his move when he took s.h.i.+jie’s pouch, the vulgarity!”

“Really makes one disgusted… …”

Xiao Guo pouted and muttered, “s.h.i.+xiong is a very good person……” As she spoke, she felt that it wasn’t reliable either and her voice became lower, instantly drowning in the ruckus of discussion.

“Alright!” Li Ying Feng frowned and hollered. The surrounding voices instantly stopped.

She looked at the thin figure that disappeared on the mountain path who she didn’t know what he was thinking. She didn’t reveal Zuo Mo’s real cultivation to these gossiping women. If the other was purposefully concealing it, and she revealed it, she would offend a strong enemy. That wasn’t an intelligent move.

Zuo Mo hurried back to the small yard. After a long time, the plant essence bead would lose effectiveness.

Solemnly standing in the ling fields in his yard, a green bead floated in front of him, adorably rolling. His two hands held together in front, the ten fingers rapidly moving. The ling power ripples once again spreading out in the air.

The plant essence bead gradually dissolved, forming a pooled of green liquid. As Zuo Mo’s ten fingers moved in quick fluid motions, and as the speed increased, the tips of his fingers started to glow. Each time he quickly made a stroke, a glowing stroke would add onto a profound and cryptic design. The green water became thousands of green strands that waved in the air.

“Go!” Zuo Mo gently ordered.

The green strands dissolved into the ling fields like a nymph spreading flowers.

Zuo Mo released a breath and let go of the ling power at his fingertips.

Based on the difficulty of the art, the [Art of Flora] was the most difficult among his five elemental arts. It was not just that the finger motions were extremely intricate, the movements of the ling power had to be much more accurate than the other four elemental arts.

He set aside four hours each day to practice finger motions. It was extremely dull to only practise finger motions. Other than not making any mistakes, the flow and rhythm were the most important.

His skeleton-like fingers had practised to the point they would break, to the point that he wanted to throw up.

However, he still persisted. The first level of the [Art of Flora] wasn’t difficult for him. As to the second level, he had no hopes in the near future.

Cultivating the scripture, practicing the finger motions, caring for the ling and medicine fields. His life was extremely busy. And now he had to add on examining how to get rid of weeds.

Li Ying Feng didn’t have any hopes but Zuo Mo wasn’t only paying lip service. He decided to find the solution to the problem.

It really was a troublesome problem. In the beginning, he had concerned himself with another’s business because he was moved by Xiao Guo’s helpless cry of “mama”. The change came with Li Ying Feng’s five pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+.

Zuo Mo had lots of faults but there was one good quality, that was, if he decided on something, he would put his all in. As to whether it was because of that “mama” or the five pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+ from Li Ying Feng, that wasn’t important, was what he thought.

In reality, he only had just two years of experience in growing crops. His knowledge of ling gra.s.ses and grains was pitiful.

He knew it wouldn’t be easy but he wasn’t afraid.

At the Eastern Peak, Li Ying Feng was listening to a female disciple’s report.

“We went to check at Dong Fu. Recently, the price of the ling gra.s.ses have been continually rising. Like Green Sword gra.s.s. A while ago, it was five pieces of first-grade jings.h.i.+ a picul, now it’s risen to eight pieces. The prices of the other ling gra.s.ses have increased even more. They are saying that the conflict at b.l.o.o.d.y Sky Metropolis Jie has escalated so the prices are increasing everywhere.”

When the female disciple was saying this, she was on the verge of tears. The other female disciples’ faces were also bleak.

Li Ying Feng’s heart stuttered but her expression, she appeared to be calm. Eight first-grade jings.h.i.+ for a picul. The amount of ling gra.s.s that the stables needed every day was astonis.h.i.+ng. Even if her family was wealthy, she couldn’t endure such squandering.

These last few days, she had tried to uproot these weeds but the growth of the ling gra.s.ses didn’t seem to recover at all and were still withering. In the ling fields, the weeds appeared again with astounding speed. If the situation continued, they would quickly face a situation where they had no supply of ling gra.s.s.

“s.h.i.+jie, the money-grubber from last time has come again!” A female disciple said, full of disdain.

“He still has the face to come?”

“You forgot, when did he have something like face?”

“That’s so true!”

Xiao Guo pouted, her adorable apple face wrinkling into a ball as she stared in discontent at the s.h.i.+jie.

Li Ying Feng’s eyes lit up instead and she almost rushed away. Her experience surpa.s.sed all the other s.h.i.+mei greatly. If Zuo Mo didn’t have any news, it was normal. But coming to the Eastern Peak, it made Li Ying Feng think about the words that Zuo Mo had said before he left.

Was it……

When Li Ying Feng saw Zuo Mo, she was shocked.

Zuo Mo’s hair was a mess, his eyes filled with blood, his sockets deep in his face. A strange odor emanated from his body. He seemed like a beggar.

Other than Li Ying Feng and Xiao Guo, the other female disciples had a face full of disdain as they stood far away.

“I found a solution.” Zuo Mo’s simple words let Li Ying Feng and Xiao Guo enter into rapture.

Disregarding the disdainful and suspicious gazes of the other female disciples, Zuo Mo headed straight into the ling fields.

He didn’t waste any words. Reaching out with a pair of skeleton-like hands, he rapidly started a spell.

Li Ying Feng stared with large eyes, afraid to miss anything. The familiarity of Zuo Mo’s finger movements and the ease with which he controlled the ling power made her even more certain this s.h.i.+di hid away deeply.

The glowing fingertips drew an unnamed formation diagram.

“Go!”

A dry voice, harsh and dissonant.

The glowing formation entered the ling field soundlessly.

“That’s all? But nothing changed!” A female disciple shrieked.

That was like a fuse. Instantly, the other female disciples that disliked Zuo Mo found a target.

“Che, just drawing a few characters and want to fool us? Too naïve!”

“Please, be more professional when conning people!”

“All of you shut up!” Li Ying Feng roared angrily. All the voices choked off. They found that at some unknown time, s.h.i.+jie’s expression had become peerlessly ugly. Her face was icy. They instantly sank into cold terror.

“This kind of weed is yang-type. I researched it. Most of the ling gra.s.ses you plant belong to yin. You could use the [Art of Earth Energy] to concentrate the yin of the earth energy. It would nourish the ling gra.s.ses and can suppress the weeds. Half the work, twice the effect.”

Finis.h.i.+ng, Zuo Mo raised his folded hands towards Li Ying Feng and then left.

Returning to the yard, Zuo Mo dropped into slumber.

Thinking that he had finished what he had wanted to do, he was content. After not sleeping or resting for these days, he had already run out of energy.

When he woke up, it was the next day. The morning sunlight made his mood light. He idly ate a few things and just like normal, he started his cla.s.ses for the day.

The training of his finger motions were one of his prioritized studies at present. Before this, he rarely had practiced finger movements. The finger movements of [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] had been very simple.

He had suffered greatly at the [Art of Flora]’s complicated finger motions. Up until now, even though he persisted in practicing every day, he could only just manage to complete the spell. It was far from familiarity. He didn’t dare to relax on the practice of [Art of Aged Gold]. He had just gotten to the second level and needed time to consolidate and stabilize it.

Roughly calculating, he had learned all five kinds of arts at once and had his own conclusions.

The five kinds of arts had their own emphasis. The [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] emphasized the manipulation of ling power, the [Art of Flora] finger movements, the [Art of Aged Gold] used consciousness, the  [Art of Earth Energy] emphasized communication and interaction, and the [Art of Crimson Flame]’s crux was the calmness of mind and endurance.

At this time, Zuo Mo found a unique pattern. On the surface, it appeared as though the five kinds of arts were not related, but in reality they supported each other. His strongest spell was [Little Art of Cloud and Rain], which aided him greatly in learning the other four arts. And the complicated finger movements of the [Art of Flora] greatly increased the skill of his finger movements so he was even more skilled at doing the [Little Art of Cloud and Rain.]

After patrolling the ling fields under his name, he then made rain for the medicine fields in Cold Mist Valley. He didn’t have any news of Hao Min s.h.i.+jie, and didn’t know where the two people had gone to be free. But he didn’t have any grudges towards this unpaid job now. The only thing he hated was that there was a distance between Cold Mist Valley and his residence and he had to spend a significant amount of time on the road every day.

When he came back from Cold Mist Valley, he was shocked to find two people waiting outside the doorway to his little yard.

Chapter Twelve Art of Flora

Li Ying Feng took Xiao Guo along with her as she guarded Zuo Mo’s door.

Seeing Zuo Mo, Li Ying Feng visibly released a breath. Xiao Guo’s apple face revealed a bashful expression.

Zuo Mo was slightly surprised. Why did these two come? His mouth smiled and said, “s.h.i.+jie has the time to come to my humble abode today. Such a surprise! Please come in!”

Finis.h.i.+ng, he swung out his sleeve. Underneath, he sent out a spell and the door to the yard soundlessly opened.

Li Ying Feng didn’t decline, frankly responding, “Coming without an invitation, we’ve disturbed you!”

Xiao Guo tightly followed behind Li Ying Feng but her little face was still timid.

Zuo Mo muttered inside, ge doesn’t have much interest in silly little girls.

Entering the yard, Li Ying Feng saw the lush ling grains in the yard and her eyes lit up. She couldn’t help complimenting, “s.h.i.+xiong is really skilled at farming. This ling grains’ growth is the envy of others and a bountiful harvest is just around the corner!”

“s.h.i.+jie is too complimentary,” Zuo Mo casually responded. Inside, he started to ponder the reason that Li Ying Feng had come today. Towards this s.h.i.+jie that he hadn’t had many interactions in the past, he felt admiration. Regardless of anything else, just her cultivation of lianqi ninth level, it was enough to be top dog in the outer sect disciples. Her frank and honest conduct was very refres.h.i.+ng to Zuo Mo’s temper.

The three people sat down under a tree next to the pond. The water in the pond ripples. Occasionally, one could see a few fish darting by. When Zuo Mo first moved into the yard, the pond was dry. All the water presently in the pond had been slowly acc.u.mulated from him practicing the [Little Art of Cloud and Rain]. He remembered it very clearly because when the pond became full, his [Little Art of Cloud and Rain coincidentally had reached the third level.

As to those fish, they were captured randomly when he pa.s.sed by some mountain streams.

Li Ying Feng took the initiative to speak of her purpose in coming, “Coming today, one is to thank s.h.i.+di. The method that s.h.i.+di suggested, we have used and to great effect. One really needs mastery in a field. Such a troublesome problem, it really needed someone like s.h.i.+di who specialized in farming to solve.”

“Yes, yes! It was really effective! Everyone is so happy!” Xiao Guo hurried to agree. But when she saw Zuo Mo’s face turn towards her, she instantly fell silent, her body retreating towards Li Ying Feng.

Zuo Mo took back his gaze and shook his head. “s.h.i.+jie is too polite. We are from the same sect. There’s no need to keep such a minor matter in mind.”

Li Ying Feng smiled and responded, “s.h.i.+di’s words are appreciated. In the future, if s.h.i.+di meets a hard problem, feel free to come find me. Wherever this s.h.i.+jie can help, I wouldn’t decline.”

“Many thanks, s.h.i.+jie,” Zuo Mo unconcernedly brushed it off. Past experiences had told him that normally, these kinds of words can’t be taken seriously.

Li Ying Feng gazed with burning eyes at Zuo Mo, continuing seriously, “Coming today, it’s to ask for s.h.i.+di’s help on another matter.”

The meat has finally come!

Zuo Mo said expressionlessly, “What matter?”

In reality, he couldn’t make expressions……

“s.h.i.+di’s methods were extremely effective.” Li Ying Feng gave a grimace, “But in our crowd of sisters, only one knows the [Art of Earth Energy]. s.h.i.+di, you might not know, because of the weeds previously, there was only a pitiful amount of ling gra.s.s that was produced. The amount of ling gra.s.s that the animals need is only increasing. Originally, I had planned to go to Dong Fu to buy some to fill the gap, but who knew that the price of ling gra.s.s and grains are flying up… …”

Hearing this, Zuo Mo’s mind jumped. Price increases in ling grains, for him, it was definitely good news.

Not taking into account the fifty mu of ling fields that he rented from the sect, just the five mu of ling grains in his yard, the harvest would be significant.

He really profited this year!

He gleefully calculated in his heart, completely not registering what Li Ying Feng was saying.

Li Ying Feng noticed Zuo Mo’s inattentiveness and couldn’t help thinking about the rumors she found out about Zuo Mo.

The shock to her that came from such a strong s.h.i.+di who appeared out of nowhere was enormous. After  Zuo Mo’s first visit, she went around for information. She discovered that Zuo Mo had a natural expressionless zombie-face, and achieved the third level of [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] etc, and she even managed to have a general understanding of his usual habits and conduct.

Deciding not to keep being polite, she threw out the bomb, “Coming today, it’s to ask s.h.i.+di to weed for us. This is ten pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+. It is the goodwill of all of us. s.h.i.+di, please take it.”

Once again, it was a small pouch that appeared on her hand.

As expected, Zuo Mo shook and instantly focused.

Ten pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+……

His saliva nearly slipped out. When he had sold three hundred catties of ling grains last time, he had just received thirty pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+.

Zuo Mo hesitated, stating, “I’m not skilled at [Art of Earth Energy], so I’m afraid I can’t help much.”

Li Ying Feng a.s.sumed that Zuo Mo was being polite. If he wasn’t an expert, why would he have thought of using [Art of Earth Energy] to get rid of the weeds?

This time, she had prepared well. She didn’t panic, smiled and said, ‘Other than these ten pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+, we have also prepared five pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+ for s.h.i.+di to recover ling energy in hopes that the supply of ling gra.s.s could recover in the fastest time.”

Zuo Mo’s brain exploded, completely dizzy due to being hit by Li Ying Feng’s jings.h.i.+.

Jings.h.i.+ was the most important resource in each sect. Other than being used to purchase things, its other important use was for recovering ling power. The density of ling energy in ling veins could not compare at all to what was in jings.h.i.+.

In some large sects, those core disciples were completely built up through jings.h.i.+. Their job each day was to absorb ling power out of jings.h.i.+ and increase their cultivation.

Zuo Mo had never tried to extract ling power from jings.h.i.+. He was poor. How could he bear it?

The enemy was too strong! He instantly surrendered, promising, “If s.h.i.+jie has an order, as a s.h.i.+di, I’ll naturally charge through fire and walk on fire, and will not decline!”

Li Ying Feng smiled. The tactic was successful. She put down the little pouch on the table, looking at Zuo Mo and asking, “When will s.h.i.+di go?”

Zuo Mo put the little cloth pouch into his bosom in a flash, his tone solemn as he responded, “The situation is so serious. Naturally, the earlier the better.”

Xiao Guo’s mouth twisted.

Following between the two people, Zuo Mo continued to recall the major points of [Art of Earth Energy]. In the last few days, most of his attention had been on [Art of Aged Gold] and [Art of Flora]. After roughly practicing [Art of Earth Energy], he hadn’t spent much time on it.

He could have never thought that this [Art of Earth Energy] would directly connect to fifteen pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+. Why did he practice spells, wasn’t it for jings.h.i.+? He was upset inside. If he knew earlier, he would have practiced more.

Very quickly, they reached the Eastern Peak. The female disciples all silently stood at the side, no one speaking.

Even though Zuo Mo didn’t care about them at all, but the completely different treatment he received this time around made him feel good inside.

“The ling fields infested with weeds are about four hundred and fifty ­mu. There’s about two hundred and fifty mu that are much more serious,” Li Ying Feng introduced.

Zuo Mo nearly tripped. Two hundred and fifty mu. This number scared him!

[Art of Earth Energy] was different than [Little Art of Cloud and Rain]. Its effective range was much smaller, about one mu or so. Also, he tried already. With his first level of [Art of Earth energy], he needed to repeat more than three times in order to effectively stop the growth of the d.a.m.ned weeds.

That was to say, at the least, he needed to perform the [Art of Earth Energy] seven hundred and fifty times.

The answer made his eyes flip and he nearly fainted. This number, it was enough to work him to death.

He had thought he got a cushy job. He didn’t think he agreed to such drudgery! Falling from heaven into h.e.l.l, the strong contrast nearly made Zuo Mo cry.

Zuo Mo looked at the ling fields under his feet filled with weeds and wanted to cry. There were almost only weeds left in these fields. It was hard to even find a trace of the ling gra.s.s. Such strong weeds, with his just introductory level of [Art of Earth Energy], he might have to do it seven or eight times to be effective.

At this time, his mind was clever and a spark flashed though. He suddenly thought of a beautiful idea.

Since these ling fields were almost completely weeds, they could erase everything and plant ling gra.s.ses again.

The kind of domineering spell that [Art of Flora] was, wasn’t it just perfect for the situation? [Art of Flora], other than extracting the vitality and essence of the weeds, it wouldn’t even miss the seeds that were in the soil. What it extracted was the essence of plants, not ling energy, so it wouldn’t even harm the ling fields.

The more he thought, the more excited he became so he expressed his thoughts to Li Ying Feng. When Li Ying Feng found out that Zuo Mo also knew [Art of Flora], she was slightly shocked. Inside, she thought that this Zuo Mo s.h.i.+di wasn’t an ordinary person.

Increasingly feeling that Zuo Mo wasn’t ordinary, Li Ying Feng naturally didn’t have any objections. Inside, she felt that it was very likely to succeed this time.

This time, she was working against major pressure. Fifteen pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+ was almost all the jings.h.i.+ she had.

Quickly going through it again in his head and checking that no problems should occur, Zuo Mo decided to do it.

The two fists were slightly open, held in front of his chest. The fingertips glowed slightly. Taking a deep breath, the ten fingers moved!

The others only felt threads of light weaving between Zuo Mo’s ten fingers. It was like a drawing, dazzling everyone’s eyes. Only shock was left on everyone’s face.

Only now did they realize the uniqueness of this zombie-like s.h.i.+xiong!

It was a dance of light at the fingertips. That pair of dried up and thin hands, it seemed to have a strange power, and attracted everyone’s gaze.

The diagram that had been drawn was already extremely complicated but the dancing fingers didn’t stop!

Even Li Ying Feng’s face couldn’t help change!

Such complicated finger motions! What spell would require such complicated moves?

She didn’t know that it was due to the complicated nature of the finger movements that [Art of Flora] was the most difficult among the five element spells and the number of people who learned it numbered the fewest.

Countless green threads flew up from the ling fields and wriggled between Zuo Mo’s palms. Unlike the restraint that happened usually, Zuo Mo had no hesitations now. The fear and trepidation that was present completely disappeared. The ten fingers flipped and danced and he pushed forward with all his ling power.

Gradually, a very strange feeling birthed. It seemed that something was slightly throbbing at his heart.

Unconsciously, the movement of his ten fingers became faster. The throbbing at his heart became even stronger. Everything in the surroundings seemed to fall away. Empty and clear, like a void, he looked on silently. The subtle connections between the dancing ten fingers, the rhythm as the ling power changed, it went from barely perceptible to the surface.

It was as though a paper window had been poked open and his vision suddenly became clear.

The rawness of Zuo Mo’s finger motions instantly disappeared. The ten fingers were like they had been dipped in water, abnormally smooth, flowing like the water. Of all the female disciples, Li Ying Feng’s cultivation was the highest and her eyes the most experienced. She was the first to detect the peculiarity. If it was said that she had just been admiring the complicated nature of Zuo Mo’s finger movements, she felt completely different now. The finger movements were still beautiful, yet it didn’t have that feeling of profoundness, but a kind of strange cadence.

Xiao Guo’s eyes widened. On the little apple face, an intoxicated adorable expression appeared.

Threads of green energy floated up from the ling gra.s.ses and weeds in the field. The s.p.a.ce between Zuo Mo’s ten fingers was like the center of a whirlpool, energetically sucking in the green energy!

More and more of the green energy acc.u.mulated on Zuo Mo’s hands. Very quickly, a green and glistening plant essence bead appeared at his fingertip.

The ling fields were turned into a patch of dry yellow, not a hint of green could be found. As a gust of wind blew across, the plants fell down like dust.

In the blink of an eye, a vital and living ling field had become dead ground.

Everyone looked dumbstruck. Their gazes as they looked at Zuo Mo were like looking at a ghost.

Li Ying Feng was incomparably shocked inside. If it was said that the grandiose finger motions made her entranced, then the shocking result in front of her would only made her uncontrollably feel terror!

Was he really in lianqi?

She suddenly found it somewhat suspicious.

Chapter Thirteen Success

Leaving the trance state, Zuo Mo mused upon it for a long time. Had that been a moment of enlightenment? He thought with joy and some regret.

As expected, when he cast [Art of Flora] the following few times, the state of emptiness didn’t appear like they did the first time. His finger movements had clearly gone up a step and became much more fluid, especially the cooperation between the ling power and the finger movements. It was as though he found the trick to it. When his fingers moved, the ling power followed and changed, the two tightly connected.

The grandiose finger movements, the terrifying results, it made the female disciples that were still apprehensive docilely close their mouths.

Zuo hadn’t thought the effects would be this strong neither.

The dominance of [Art of Flora] surpa.s.sed his predictions. He couldn’t help but become alert inside. When he cast [Art of Flora] in the future, he needed to be careful.

The following matters were much easier. They only needed to plough the ling fields again before planning the ling gra.s.ses.

The method the female disciples used to plant ling gra.s.s broadened his vision. He saw a female disciple take out a bamboo container from her waist, pluck out the cork and a gold earthworm climbed out. She chanted a spell and the gold earthworm burrowed into the ling fields.

In a short while, the soil rolled and twisted. After twenty minutes when it stopped, the ling fields were completely overturned. What was most amazing was that not one bit of soil had splashed out of the ling fields.

Zuo Mo couldn’t help but be interested. “What’s this? It’s very convenient!”

Li Ying Feng was both educated and kind. She said knowingly, “We call them Mud Turning Earthworms. It’s isn’t anything high-grade, and is just used to plow the fields. But the results are pretty good. Afterwards, we’ll give some to s.h.i.+di. It would be of help in growing ling grains.”

Zuo Mo was overjoyed. “Many thanks s.h.i.+jie!”

In the newly turned ling fields, the female disciples spread out the ling gra.s.s seeds. Growing ling gra.s.ses didn’t have as many concerns as growing ling grains. They only had to spread it densely.

After finis.h.i.+ng seeding, Zuo Mo saw a female disciple preparing to cast [Little Art of Cloud and Rain], and volunteered, “Does it need rain, I’ll do it.”

He returned favors. It wasn’t good to take another person’s things for free.

Li Ying Feng was overjoyed. “I heard that s.h.i.+di’s [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] reached the third level. Today, I get to have a look!”

[Little Art of Cloud and Rain] was Zuo Mo’s most familiar spell. He almost didn’t need any preparation. Just started the spell and the cloud formed, appearing above the ling fields.

Silver threads gradually entered the ling fields, the air full of vitality. Everyone felt their minds become refreshed.

There were very big differences between the fourth level of the [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] and the third level. Just when the rain stopped, a rainbow appeared above the ling fields.

Just as everyone was complimenting, one female disciple shouted as she pointed at the ling fields, “Heavens! Look, it’s sprouted!”

At some time, a patch of thin and light green sprouts appeared in the ling fields.

Zuo Mo took out the plant essence bead and cast [Art of Flora] again. It instantly dissolved into countless bunches of green thread and merged into the ling fields.

The light green sprouts in the ling fields instantly became darker, their growth delightful.

“s.h.i.+di is just as rumored!” Li Ying Feng complimented sincerely. This unknown s.h.i.+di seemed to have endless methods, and always could bring her unexpected surprises. She found that no matter which technique that Zuo Mo used, there were major differences with what she had heard.

What was he concealing? Li Ying Feng thought of this question again.

[Art of Flora] combined with [Little Art of Cloud and Rain], the effect was outstanding, the effectiveness increasing. Li Ying Feng didn’t care what methods Zuo Mo used, she only hoped to produce ling gra.s.ses quickly.

To increase speed, for a continuous length of time, other than going to Cold Mist Valley to make rain once a day, Zuo Mo spent all his time at the Eastern Peak. This was the first time he received the luxurious treatment of using jings.h.i.+ to recover ling power.

The body was like a vessel. To contain more ling power, it needed continually increasingly large containers. The simplest way to increase the size of the container was the change the body. Continuously using ling power, the ling power would continuously strength the channels and so more ling power could be stored.

The next few days, Zuo Mo continuously repeated [Art of Flora] and [Little Art of Cloud and Rain]. All of that was required for more than four hundred mu of ling fields were finished by him alone.

The female disciples finally saw his mania and absorbed nature when he was at work.

Casting a spell, holding a jings.h.i.+ in meditation, then standing to cast a spell until all of his ling power was used, then began meditation… …

Even as they looked on from the side, they felt exhausted. But Zuo Mo repeated the cycle and didn’t feel any dullness.

Of course Zuo Mo wouldn’t find it dull!

Such luxurious treatment that he had never thought of it even in his dreams. Such a good opportunity, if he didn’t use it, was he stupid?

He didn’t spare any of his ling power. Each time, he would wring the ling power out of his body completely! Then he would take the jings.h.i.+ and absorb the ling power fanatically.

In these few days, he had gained much. Even if there wasn’t those ten pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+, he definitely would have agreed. His channels, which had never extracted ling power in such a manner, was like the parched ground receiving a surge of rain. In these short few days, the amount of ling power in his body increased by almost one-tenth, his channels had become stronger as well.

Other than that, as he repeated used the [Art of Flora] over and over, his degree of proficiency increased. There were signs he was nearing the second level.

Looking at the green ling fields, all the fields had been replanted with ling gra.s.ses. That also meant the job was finished. His heart was full of reluctance.

“At what time would he meet such a good thing like this!”

He sighed deeply in his heart.

In five days, he used up five pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+. No wonder Zuo Mo was still wis.h.i.+ng to continue.

But luckily, ten pieces of second-grade jings.h.i.+ was enough to satisfy the yearning in his heart.

The stone in Li Ying Feng’s heart landed. Even though the price was high, she had managed to solve a troublesome problem. And she had met a strong s.h.i.+di. She was very satisfied.

Work and relax, that was the right way.

Returning to the yard, Zuo Mo’s wallet was bulging and his mood relaxed.

But his studies each day, he never stopped. Even though the efficiency of meditation was far from being able to compare with using jings.h.i.+, but Zuo Mo still persisted. The ling power in the jings.h.i.+ might be pure and easy to absorb but it was slightly strong. It was slower to meditate and absorb ling energy but it was very gentle.

In the long run, it was easy to encounter hidden dangers by relying too much on jings.h.i.+. Those sects with strong bases and foundations had many methods to resolve the dangers, but to Zuo Mo, those methods were far out of reach.

Of course, the most important thing was Zuo Mo didn’t have that many jings.h.i.+ to squander.

Other than that, right now, he was focusing on the [Art of Aged Gold] and the [Art of Flora]. The [Art of Aged Gold] was at the second level, and it wasn’t far before the [Art of Flora] would also break through to the next level. If both of these could reach the third level, and adding in the fourth level of the [Little Art of Cloud and Rain], it was enough for him to qualify as a ling plant farmer.

Ha, by that time, the jings.h.i.+ will roll in ……

Over the next few days, his mood was great.

Each day, he light-heartedly ran over to Cold Mist Valley each day to make rain. The ling herbs in the medicine fields were growing well, the effect of the fourth level of the [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] was clear. The ling herbs seemed to have more vitality than before. Each time when he stated to make rain, the ling herbs in the fields would neatly follow and sway as though they were rejoicing. Zuo Mo’s mood became cheerful whenever he saw these ling herbs’ “dancing.” To this job that was forced upon him, his unwillingness had decreased.

The medicine fields in Cold Mist Valley were third-grade ling fields. The intelligence in these ling herbs greatly surpa.s.sed normal plants.

The misfortunes of the past swept away. His life became bright once again.

Just as usual, he made a round of inspections before leaving. After making sure that nothing happened, he then left Cold Mist Valley.

Not long after he left Cold Mist Valley, he suddenly heard the sound of people talking in the front.

“Old Black is pretty unfortunate. The ling grains are infected with this strange disease. He probably won’t harvest even one grain this year. Next year, he might not even get to plant the ling grains. He has a family of old and young, his days will become hard.”

“Oh, it’s fate! I’m just worried if this strange disease will spread. If we get infected, that would be terrible!”

“So true! Heavens protect us! I’m still depending on this year’s harvest to exchange for a sword scripture!”

“Me too!”

Strange disease? Zuo Mo’s heart jumped.

What people who planted ling grains were most afraid of were those unnameable strange diseases. Once it occurred, it basically was a loss for the entire year. These two years, Zuo Mo had personally seen several s.h.i.+xiong, due to bad luck, become unable to even pay the rent for the ling fields to the sect and were thrown out of the sect.

A while ago when he made rain for Old Black, his ling grains were growing well, so why did they suddenly become infected with a strange disease? Zuo Mo felt it a bit strange.

If one had to say who had it the hardest in the sect, it was probably Old Black. He had a family. His son supposedly had some innate talent and had been admitted into a small sword sect. The tribute he needed to give each year to the sect wasn’t a small amount. Adding on the different materials and jings.h.i.+ needed for cultivation, the cost was enormous.

Old Black had a cultivation of lianqi fifth level. He rented two hundred mu of ling fields. All his time was spent on growing ling grains. In these decades, his cultivation hadn’t increased one bit. But even so, the jings.h.i.+ he earned was just barely enough.

This year, Old Black was especially hard-working. It was rumoured that his son was at the gate of lianqi seventh level. For his son to push through the big jump of the seventh level, he needed a lot of jings.h.i.+.

He needed to offer jings.h.i.+ to the sect so that the sect elders would give extra tutelage to his son. This was an unwritten rule.

Other than that, Old Black had put hopes on another method.

The amount of ling energy in the air was extremely low in places without ling veins. If he relied on those ling energy to change into the ling power inside his body, it was extremely slow.

Xiuzhe who had wealth usually used two kinds of methods. One was using ling grains for a long period. There weren’t high levels of ling power in the ling grains but the effect was gentle and easily absorbed. The other method was directly extracting ling power from the jings.h.i.+. This was also the fastest method. Additionally, using jings.h.i.+ was especially effective at making breakthroughs.

Old Black thought to use this method for his son to break through the barrier to the seventh level.

Zuo Mo decided to take a look. If it really would spread, then his own fifty mu of ling fields would also be affected.

There were many people surrounding the ling fields at the base of the mountain. Zuo Mo found Old Black in the crowd with one glance. That black face was now so pale there wasn’t a hint of blood, the eyes empty and hopeless.

The ling fields that Zuo Mo recently made rain for was enough to scare him.

The green ling grains were now almost completely withered. The leaves and primary stem were full of a kind of black energy. Anyone who saw the situation would be certain that these ling grains would certainly die. Many s.h.i.+xiong were gathered at the edge of the ling field. They formed groups and discussed in low voices, all their voices full of worry.

“Guo s.h.i.+xiong’s here! Guo s.h.i.+xiong’s here!”

Someone cheered from the crowd. A light came into Old Black’s devastated eyes and he suddenly crawled up from the ground.

Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong was the person who had the deepest knowledge of [Art of Aged Gold]. A number of years ago, he had reached the second level. The recent news was that he was going to soon enter the third level. Usually, when some strange illness appeared in the ling grains, everyone would recommend Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong. And he didn’t disappoint. He had saved the ling grains that everyone thought would die multiple times.

Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong was barefoot and wearing shorts, his face full of wrinkles like an old farmer. When he saw the swaths of withered ling fields, his face couldn’t help but change before recovering.

The change was extremely subtle but Zuo Mo coincidentally caught it. When he had seen the withered ling fields, he had already had a bad feeling. When he saw the change in expression of Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong, the ominous feeling inside became even stronger. As he improved on the [Art of Aged Gold], he understood much more.

If it was normal pests, the withered leaves wouldn’t have been slightly black. This black was like dead ash, and made Zuo Mo’s heart beat frantically.

Old Black almost rushed in front of Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong and shouted heart-wrenchingly, “s.h.i.+xiong, save me!”

Seeing Old Black’s despairing expression, a flush came upon Guo Lu’s face and he gravely said, “As much as I’m capable!”

He walked into the ling fields.

Everyone’s eyes gathered on his body, not a sound of discussion made. Everyone stared fixedly at Guo s.h.i.+xiong that stepped into the ling fields.

Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong’s expression was grave. He walked in front of a withered ling grain stalk and squatted down, attentively examining every part of the ling grain. He also ripped down the withered and slightly black leaves, putting it to the nose for a smell. His inspection was extremely fine. He almost walked around the entire ling field and took more than an hour.

The puzzled expression on his face became even heavier, as though he had encountered something impossible.

He shook his head, his expression still perplexed and his hand landed on a withered ling grain.

Zuo Mo, who also knew [Art of Aged Gold], suddenly became alert. He knew the most crucial time had come.

Chapter Fourteen Strange Disease

Reaching out his hand and touching the ling grain, a hint of gold suddenly floated onto Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong’s face.

Just this was enough to make Zuo Mo feel admiration. Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong’s comprehension of the [Art of Aged Gold] was much deeper than his. Even though Zuo Mo’a the [Art of Aged Gold] was at the second level but his experience in usage and level of comprehension, he was much weaker than Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong.

Yet something unexpected happened!

Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong’s expression changed and he spat out a mouthful of blood, falling to the ground. The disciples spectating instantly paled and rushed forward heading for Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong.

They only saw that Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong’s face was as white as paper, he was barely breathing and had fallen unconscious.

Some of the s.h.i.+xiong who had good relations with Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong hurriedly held him up and ran up the mountain. Old Black stayed still in his original place and then started to wail, the sound so mournful listeners also became saddened.

The crowd gradually dissipated, each person’s face filled with worry.

Zuo Mo moved towards the ling fields. Nearing a stalk of ling grain, he closely examined it. He didn’t dare to touch it with his hand. The scene just now had made him extremely wary of these ling grains.

A fishy odor entered his nose. Zuo Mo couldn’t help but frown. In his two years of farming, he had never smelt something like this. Inside, he really was curious about what was inside these ling grains. He thought about the first time he encountered pests. That brutal and dangerous aura was still fresh on his mind. It was only when he had used the [Art of Aged Gold] on his five mu of ling grains that first time that he encountered a similar situation.

When Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong suddenly spat blood, the first thought in his head was: were there similar yet stronger presences inside these ling grains?

But after seeing the result of Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong’s attempt, he was not going to be rash and try.

Looking at Old Black, he sighed inside. A problem that even Guo s.h.i.+xiong was unable to solve, he had the desire to help but not the strength.

Even when he got back to his small yard, that scene was still replaying in his mind. The seriousness of the issue had increased dramatically due to Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong throwing up blood. It was certain that the sect would respond. However, the only one knowledgeable in the sect about farming, Fourth s.h.i.+gu s.h.i.+ Feng Rong had left to wander half a year ago and still hadn’t returned. Hao Min s.h.i.+jie who was responsible for the medicine fields had also left with Luo Li s.h.i.+xiong.

Hao Min s.h.i.+jie was going to be out of luck, but Zuo Mo didn’t have much joy.

He had a feeling that the strange disease would spread. When he entered the ling fields he had detected that the withering of the ling grains were clearly different. From that, it could be seen that there was a progress in which the ling grains in the field were infected.

The situation was exactly what he had predicted. In the following days, another two s.h.i.+xiong’s ling grains became infected with this kind of strange disease.

The higher ups of the sect still hadn’t set out any measures. Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong was still unconscious.

A layer of dark clouds covered Wu Kong Sword Sect.

There were still about two months before the time to harvest the ling grains. Everyone could only pray that the ling grains in their own fields would escape and endure to harvest.

However, prayers didn’t do anything. This year, the number of outer sect disciples who would be unable to harvest a single grain had quickly increased to ten people.

Zuo Mo’s luck seemed to have been used up. He became one of the ten people. The five mu in the yard was still good, but some withered ling grains started to appear in the fifty mu he rented from the sect.

His heart suddenly became nervous!

At no time had he ever thought he would be forced to leave the sect. Farming wasn’t an easy job but he still lived well. From when he first opened his eyes two years ago, he had lived at Wu Kong Mountain. This was like his home.

But if he couldn’t completely pay the rent for the ling fields this year, he would be exiled from the sect.

This was something he could not accept! Even more, if he left the yard, where would he go to find even the smallest section of ling vein?

Nothing was harder to accept than seeing the ling grains in the fields wither stalk by stalk. Being able to do nothing other than watching the disease spread made people feel despair. The harsh fishy odor wafted off the fields. The rich fields became a pit of mud.

The sect was swarming with victims. The number of outer sect disciples that was infected by the strange disease increased to twenty five people. The remainder was also in danger.

The ling grains had almost entirely dried and wilted. Only at base of the stalks could a hint of green be seen. If they couldn’t find a solution immediately, then the vitality of this ling grains were completely gone and it would be too late.

Just as Zuo Mo was at his wit’s end,  a pink Little Thousand Crane suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

“d.a.m.ned woman! Making a bother at this time!” Zuo Mo saw this paper crane and couldn’t help starting to swear.

He didn’t have any intentions of picking the crane, sneering and musing to himself, “Humph, ge won’t pay attention to you, go play by yourself.”

After the sound landed, the Little Thousand Crane suddenly opened on its own.

“Ye, where are you waiting for me?”

A sweet and adorable voice wormed into his ears. It was like licking a mouthful of honey, or gently tickled at the heart. A person who was less resolute would have softened to the bones.

Zuo Mo stared at this pink paper that opened up on its own in front of him with an open mouth. On it was written exactly what the voice said.

Automatically unfolding, automatically speaking, and automatically finding people ……

The tiny pink Little Thousand Crane showed so many wonders that let Zuo Mo’s weak soul received an unprecedented battering.

He suddenly had a premonition. He might have provoked big trouble.

“Fine, fine, it’s not good to argue with a woman. Ge won’t play with you!” He said to himself righteously.

“Wanting to use beauty to tempt me? Humph humph!” Zuo Mo sneered, “You’re still tender. Not just a magic voice, but even if it was a peerless naked woman, ge can still calmly, heart as fixed as pine.”

In the ling fields, there was only the sound of Zuo Mo’s duck like voice singing, “I was originally a mirror, yet dust fell upon me, ya yi ya……”

Before his voice stopped, another pink Little Thousand Crane flew in front of him from the sky.

The exquisite pink Little Thousand Crane moved like stripping off clothing, the motions elegant as it automatically unfolded.

“Haha, ye, if you don’t reply, the next Little Thousand Crane, I’ll draw a Flame Exploding Seal.”

“Am I afraid?” Zuo Mo wasn’t scared, “Am I one that will lower his head due to power……”

He suddenly posed, tilting his head and muttering to himself, “Flame Exploding Seal, where did I hear it……”

Before his voice landed, he saw a pink Little Thousand Crane flying over from the corner of his eyes.

He scratched his head. It came again? How did the other find him? This was the part that made him the most curious. He had never heard of a Thousand Paper Crane having such abilities. Unless it was those people that were really powerful. But the powerful people, who would use something as washed-out as Little Thousand Cranes?

Wait, she said she would draw a flame exploding seal this time……

Zuo Mo’s pupils widened and he unhesitatingly lifted his feet and started running.

Boom!

A sound of explosion came from behind him. A strong pressure wave forced Zuo Mo into a tumble, eating the dirt.

Zuo Mo dazed. As a beginner xiuzhe that was only knowledgeable at farming, things like explosions definitely shouldn’t appear in his life.

Struggling to sit up from the dirt, he looked at the large hole that had been exploded behind him, his expression dazed.

From the side, another pink Little Thousand Crane flew in front of him and was elegantly unfolded. But in Zuo Mo’s eyes there wasn’t any elegance, but only the grace that was filled with an empress’ favor.

The special quality of an empress’ favor was that it didn’t care whether you were willing or not.

“Ha ha, ye, in ten minutes, I want to draw a flaming explosion chain seal.”

Zuo Mo’s mind blanked and he jumped up from the ground like his a.s.s was on fire. He grabbed the pink paper floating in front of him and ran in the direction of his residence.

Ten minutes!

d.a.m.ned woman!

When the familiar yard appeared in his view, his lungs were burning, his throat smoking. Zuo Mo almost cried. Like the wind, he rushed into the yard. Like the wind, he rushed into the room. Like the wind, he found the cinnabar and weasel bristle brush.

“What do you really want?”

There wasn’t any of the ease and boldness of last time. It was so bitter like a weak woman that had a brute rush into her room in the middle of the night.

With the fastest speed, he folded the pink paper and with faster speed, he filled it with ling power and patted his chest in trepidation as he watched it disappear into the horizon.

Zuo Mo felt he was really unlucky. Why had he been so idle as to pick up the paper crane? Why did he reply?

Imagining that a flock of paper cranes flying down from the sky followed  by boom, boom, boom! With him as the center, within three miles, nothing would remain.

Zuo Mo’s mind felt numb.

A short while later, a pink Little Thousand Crane flew in from the window.

“Haha, I just want to chat with ye. Life and philosophy, how interesting!”

Zuo Mo crisply raised a white flag, “I surrender!”

The other disregarded it, “Haha, what’s ye’s dream?”

“Earn jings.h.i.+.” Zuo Mo helplessly wrote down, full of humiliation.

“Can jings.h.i.+ be earned?”

“In any case, I can’t s.h.i.+t it out.” Zuo Mo was just going to throw the broken pot.

Before Zuo Mo became numb, he finally understood. The other was only a woman that was raised in deep protection, extremely bored, lonely, unfulfilled, thought of lives as gra.s.s, and was abnormally powerful. It was this “abnormally powerful” that easily slayed any intentions of Zuo Mo to resist.

A matter worth celebrating was that this woman had the habit of eating. For the first time, Zuo Mo was grateful for this habit that was gradually disappearing from the world. It rescued this poor lamb that he was.

Temporarily dispatching the woman, Zuo Mo took a breath. From the high nervousness at the beginning to the complete numbness at the end, Zuo Mo managed to completely experience the process of a soul being wounded.

This event had made him feel no more terror towards the ling grains that had injured Guo s.h.i.+xiong. The experiences this afternoon made him believe, that in this world, there couldn’t be anything scarier than this terrifying woman.

He decided to try to rescue his fifty mu of ling grains.

He didn’t want to leave the sect.

Chapter Fifteen Little Yao

The night came and Wu Kong Mountain was tranquil.

Being far from Dong Fu, the mountain was spa.r.s.ely populated and mountain life was very dull. When night arrived, the outer sect disciples would usually gather together to chat and entertain themselves. The inner sect disciples would spend the majority of time cultivating. From another perspective, the pressure that inner sect disciples faced wasn’t any less than the outer sect disciples. They needed to keep cultivating so they could qualify to partic.i.p.ate in the Yao Hunt.

It was commonly known that if in any sword sect, there weren’t any members partic.i.p.ating in the Yao Hunt one every ten years, then this indicated the sect was in decline and would soon disappear.

This was a trait of sword sects. They would often rise very quickly, but at the same time, their fall would be even faster. The number of sword sects with long histories could be counted on two hands. All of them were enormous ent.i.ties.

These matters weren’t related to Zuo Mo. He had no connections to the Yao Hunt.

In the night, he walked along on the mountain path. After generations of care, the wild beasts on Wu Kong Mountains were extinct so Zuo Mo didn’t need to worry for his safety.

Reminiscing on his life from when he opened his eyes until now, the scenes of life flashed through his mind. His eyes became more resolute, his steps faster.

The sect didn’t treat him especially well. However, he was used to the life here. It was somewhat hard, but it was safe.

The only knot in his heart was regarding his origins. That dream that always appeared, the face that never had expression. It seemed to be telling him something. But until now, he didn’t have any clues.

Other than this knot, he was very satisfied with his present life. Yet, he was currently facing the possibility of exile from the sect.

Maybe one day, he would leave here. But not right now.

There was also one other reason that made him so determined. There was an impulse moving restlessly in his heart. He didn’t understand why but after his two previous encounters, the craving for battle seemed to have been activated in his bones.

Zuo Mo didn’t know if this would count as “battle”, but in his heart, this kind of confrontation didn’t make him scared but he actually desired it.

With his eighth level of lianqi, the night was just like day, and his vision wasn’t affected.

He quickly reached his fifty mu of ling fields.

The speed of withering was occurring extremely fast. It was more serious than when he had left this afternoon. Another large patch of ling grains was showing signs of withering.

Walking to the nearest stalk of ling grains and smelling the fishy odor, he suddenly thought about the scene of Guo Lu s.h.i.+xiong choking up blood and fainting. He hesitated. This hesitation lasted but a moment before fading from his eyes, replaced with a burning light!

An aged gold energy flashed a dazzling gold in the dark,like a ball of fairies.

Zuo Mo took a deep breath. His right hand holding the aged gold energy, he placed it on the stem of the ling grain in front of him.

Boom!

It was as though he was suddenly pulled into another world.

Countless black seeds, like dandelion seeds, floated in the void, forming a black sea. This black sea swayed gently. Each time it moved, it released a vast energy.

Each of the seeds was small and weak, but Zuo Mo could not muster the resolve to rebel against the energy that this piece of black sea exuded.

He blankly faced this large black sea, not knowing what to do. The aged gold energy that was usually roiling and violent retreated behind him for the first time.

At the same moment in Old Black’s ling fields, there stood three people.

Among the three, one had a square face and a long beard, his expression stern and authoritative. The other was an old man thin but solid like steel, ice in his eyes, his sword essence imposing. The last was a round person, a smile eternally on his face with great cheer.

If a disciple was here, they would jump in fright.

The authoritative one was the head of the sect, Pei Yuan Ran. The thin, steel-like one was Xin Yan s.h.i.+shu. The smiling fat one was Yan Le. Of the eldest generation of Wu Kong Sword Sect, three of the four were present. If this news spread, then a large commotion would occur in the sect.

“Does the two s.h.i.+di recognize what this is?” Pei Yuan Ran asked in a deep voice. This time, the strange disease came about so suspiciously without any forewarning and it was ferocious. In just a few days, almost half of the ling fields were damaged.

This meant that the ling grain harvest this year would be significantly damaged, the loss more than half. For a small sect like Wu Kong Sword Sect, this kind of loss was enough to affect their operations.

So when the news reached them, the leader of the sect and the other elders that had never concerned themselves with the ling fields quickly came to look.

The situation was even worse than they had imagined. All three of them were in a terrible mood.

Xin Yan shook his head, “Never seen it, but it can eat ling, so it should be yao. Kill!” The last word was full of murderous intent, bitingly cold!

“Second s.h.i.+xiong is right.” Even Yan Le, the one known to always be agreeable, had a dark expression, “But yao has never stepped onto Wu Kong Mountain before. How did this small yao come to our Wu Kong Mountain?”

“This matter is fishy.” Pei Yuan Ran mused, a hint of worry in his expression, “Since three thousand years ago, when the two races of yao and mo retreated, nothing has ever been heard about yaomo appearing in the present territory of the Sword Rivers. But yao has appeared here in our sect, it really is a puzzle.”

“s.h.i.+xiong shouldn’t worry, just kill it.” Xin Yan frigidly replied, “Not just a little yao that hasn’t matured. But even those big yao, humph, those that died under my sword, there were many!”

Yan Le gave a reminiscing expression, smiling and adding, “Thinking about that year when the three of us hunted yao. Second s.h.i.+xiong’s [Ice Dragon[i] Sword] intimidated all the yaomo, and made them quake!”

The other two also showed expressions of fond reminiscence.

“Let’s sort out this little yao first. Such a good moon, let’s go back and boil tea. It would be an experience,” Pei Yuan Ran smiled as he made his suggestion.

Yan Le smiled and clapped, “That’s good. Second s.h.i.+xiong, we’ll cover you.”

Xin Yan didn’t decline. The ice in his eyes flashed and he summoned his flying sword.

A snowy white crystal sword appeared in the sky. The clean clarity of the body made the moon seem dull. Soaring in the night sky, it intimated. This was Xin Yan’s famous [Ice Dragon Sword].

“Go!” A clear shout echoed in the surroundings.

The body of the Ice Dragon Sword trembled slightly and turned into a pure white icy dragon. The two eyes flashed viciously. Giving a low bellow, it changed into a flas.h.i.+ng light and raced for the ling fields!

When the light was just about to attack the ling fields, something unexpected happened.

A gust of black smoke came out of each stalk of withered ling grain. Those extremely thin black wisps of smoke grew in the wind. In a few blinks of the eye, the ling fields were covered in a layer of inky black smoke. Even the finger of a hand couldn’t be seen in front of the eyes.

The three of Pei Yuan Ran were covered in smoke but were not the least bit panicked.

But they didn’t know that not far away, there was an outer sect disciple that was also covered in the black smoke.

Zuo Mo was startled awake by Xin Yan’s shout. But at this time, he found that he couldn’t even remove his consciousness away from this world.

All he could see was still the countess black dandelion seeds flying everywhere!

The clear shout disturbed the peace of the sea. The black dandelion seeds started to surge like waves in a storm.

Fury, contempt, helplessness, and sorrow……

Many different emotions flowed into Zuo Mo’s heart. He was like a puppet, full of countless emotions that didn’t belong to him. These emotions were limitless and restless, raging through Zuo Mo’s consciousness.

But Zuo Mo’s own consciousness was clearer than ever.

What was more tragic than having even his consciousness being controlled?

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