Chapter 51
Three people exited a black vortex, and perhaps they were no longer human.
One of them had sunken eyes, purple lips split outward, revealing two sharp, prominent teeth. The middle one was thin with a pitch-black face, and most peculiar was the long tail behind them with a sharp tip. The last was pitch-black from head-to-toe and had two sharps horns on the head.
Looking at the golden light, the man in the middle’s eyes brightened. He jumped with the ease of a cat, and his body hovered in mid-air. With his mouth wide opened, the violent spirit energy calmed and poured into his mouth.
After he swallowed the energy, he licked his lips and swept his eyes over the crowd one by one. With a tone full of surprise, he said. “There are so many delicious snacks here.”
The man on the far left touched his sharp tusks and pulled his tail. “Our purpose this time is to catch them alive, not for food.”
The long-tailed man groaned then grinned, and said weakly, “Boring.” As if thinking of something, he suddenly smiled. “Let’s quickly take these snacks away. I can’t wait to see their ugly faces.”
As he said that, his tail grew longer, and he waved it toward the nearest cultivators. The man standing beside him pulled out a black cloth bag and opened it. The bag sucked in the cultivators that were tugged aside by the long-tailed man. Looking at the frightened expressions of the crowd, the long-tailed man laughed but didn’t stop. It didn’t take long for the surrounding cultivators to be packed into their bag.
His eyes shifted to the small group in the middle.
The two men from the boundary of the forbidden mountain looked at each other, and they knew they were no match against the three men. They turned and wanted to flee quickly.
“He he!” The long-tailed man laughed and flicked his tail. The two men who had been arrogant couldn’t resist at all, and they were easily thrown into the bag by the long tail.
After doing this, his tail swayed slightly as his gaze fell on Qin Mo. That long tail flicked again and harvested the remaining people into the bag.
Qin Mo’s pupils shrank and tightened the hold of the light sword in his hand. He moved thinking of confronting him.
The little fox’s voice rang in Qin Mo’s ear. “It is useless, you are no match for him.” He felt the spirit animal bag at his waist tremble, and the little fox appeared.
The long tail waved out, but instead of catching the prey, it was smacked back by something. It surprised the long-tailed man, and he looked forward with some curiosity. He saw an enormous white fox appear and blocked his attack.
“Ah? A fox demon.” Seeing the little fox, a hint of surprise flashed in the long-tailed man’s eyes. He then said, “It’s just a young one.”
He opened his mouth and let out a deep roar as he rushed toward the little fox. The fox had a glimmer in its eyes, disdained to say anything, and fought directly with him.
Black and white mixed, rolling in mid-air, the few people around could only see a glittering light. The other two men squinted. Although they were amazed at the fox’s bravery in fighting with the long-tailed man, their faces remained unchanged because they believed that the man would win.
A moment later, the long-tailed man separated from the little fox, and as soon as he landed, he took a few steps back. Right hand over his chest and eyes were wide open, he glared at the little fox and said incredulously, “Impossible.” The expression of the two men also changed. They originally thought the long-tailed man would win quickly but was injured instead. While the little fox stood in its original spot was unscathed.
The two looked at each other and attacked the fox together.
Faced with the two fierce men, the little fox flanked Qin Mo behind him and a trace of hesitation in its eyes. Then it fixed its eyes and emitted a long whistle, the spirit energy around it suddenly boiled and hovered around its large tail. In a flash, the single tail split into two.
Witnessing the two tails, the long-tailed man shrilled in disbelief. “Spirit fox clan?” Even the two men attacking the little fox stopped.
The man with fangs swallowed his spit, and his eyes flashed with a tinge of fear, but after a moment, his gaze became firm again. He looked at the two people standing beside him and shouted, “Why are you all being stunned for? This fox is still a youngling and seems to be seriously injured. Although it has two tails, its strength isn’t very high. We can take advantage of it now and catch it.”
After such a roar, the eyes of the other two brightened. Their faces showed a sign of approval, and they attacked the little fox. Their expressions were no longer as casual as before, now very solemn.
A cold light flashed in the little fox’s eyes, and a low voice sounded like thunder in their ears, “A group of inferior demons dares to be bold in front of this fox lord.”
As soon as it finished, its two large tails slammed fiercely on the ground and shook the ground violently. Its original pure white fur emitted a faint silvery light, and as it grew more and more abundant until eventually, it was so bright people couldn’t open their eyes. Illuminated by this silvery light, the three demons paused, and their movements slowed.
The little fox raised both tails and prepared to smack in the three men’s direction.
Just then, the bright sky suddenly dimmed, and a pair of slender hands slowly tore open the sky like a curtain. A cold voice seemed to fill the entire world. “Here it is.”
Before the few people on the ground could react, a huge black cage descended from the sky, covering the little fox within it. As the cage shrank, the shape of the little fox shrank with it. Only when the little fox changed back to a palm-size did the cage stop shrinking.
Trapped in the cage, the little fox struggles nonstop, but it couldn’t get rid of its shackles. Qin Mo tightened his lips when he saw this, he turned his wrists and slashed his sword against the cage.
“Bang!” The sword light flashed across, but the strange cage wasn’t damaged at all. Qin Mo stepped back under the impact.
After the blow, the cage suddenly turned and flew quickly into the slender hand.
Looking up along the hand, the little fox’s eyes suddenly became sluggish. The man with the cage was wearing a white robe with a white fluffy fur around the collar and the cuffs of the robe.
As if feeling the little fox’s gaze, the white-robed man’s mouth was slightly upward, but his eyes were ice cold.
Before he could say anything, a purple light whizzed from the side like a long dragon and rushed straight at him.
Qin Mo’s voice followed. “Release it!”
Feeling the strong power in the light, the man’s face remained unchanged. His right hand lifted slightly, and a colorful band of light appeared all over his body. The band of light directly met the purple light, and with a clash, the violent purple light turned into fragments while the colorful band survived. The remaining energies of the color band rushed rapidly toward Qin Mo.
Looking at the colorful light band coming quickly, Qin Mo’s face changed slightly and retreated with matching speed. But the speed of the band was faster; Even if it was a casual wave from the man, the energy was amazing.
Just when Qin Mo thought the attack would land on him, a red light flashed in front of him, followed by a fire dragon summoned by it that crashed into the colorful light band. Both the fire dragon and the light band disappeared.
The man’s eyebrows rose slightly upward, and a trace of displeasure flashed in his eyes. He slowly said, “Lin Zizheng, what are you doing?”
Upon hearing this name, Qin Mo’s body jerked stiffly. His hands under the cloak were firmly grasped into fists. He looked upward and saw a familiar figure.
Lin Zizheng, who was no longer the young man that always stood behind him smiling, was dressed in red. Even if he stood in front of this powerful and mysterious man, he wasn’t timid at all. He raised his eyebrows bravely and said in a cold voice, “He is mine.”
The man in the white robe looked unhappy. He clenched onto the cage in his hand and sneered, “I am merely doing this for his face, nothing else.” He flings his sleeves, and his whole person disappeared here.
Seeing the white-robed man exiting with the little fox, Qin Mo shifted but eventually stood quietly in the same spot. His thoughts kept turning over the two words the little fox had said before he left – demon world.
The long-tailed man on the side turned his head and swept his gaze over Lin Zizheng standing in front of Qin Mo. He unconcernedly walked towards Ling Yun behind Qin Mo and with a flick of his tail, tossed Ling Yun into the bag.
Qin Mo’s face changed slightly, with his sword across his chest, he quickly formed a seal on his left hand as he said in a low voice, “Shattered Sky Sword.” As he used his sword ability, he also divided his focus on Lin Zizheng, who he didn’t trust.
Even if the long-tailed man was strong and powerful, when faced with this ability, his eyes widened slightly, and his mouth opened wide. A black cloud emerged from his mouth, forming a large centipede and collided with the sword light.
The sword light against the centipede and their power were similar. The two attacks were rigid for a moment, then both turned into light and disappeared into the air.
The long-tailed man’s expression was ugly as he bent his hands into a claw, and all ten nails grew rapidly. A strange blue and black color covered the tip of his nails. Then he bent forward and flew out of the ground to violently swing a claw at Qin Mo.
But before he came to Qin Mo’s face, a sharp, strong wind blew in from the side, and the long red sleeves were flung heavily at his face. His body became numb and fell to the ground.
“Young master, are you protecting him? Protecting a righteous cultivator.” Feeling the pain in his body, the man looked at Lin Zizheng with red eyes filled with incredulousness.
“Scram!” Lin Zizheng’s eyes were pitch-black and fixed on the long- tailed man, which made the man’s heart tremble violently. The man bit his teeth and nodded to the two men standing next to him. The three figures flashed into a light spot and left here.
“Wait.” When Qin Mo moved, he was about to chase after the three men. But a hand suddenly stretched out in an oblique direction and pulled his arm. Holding Qin Mo’s arm, Lin Zizheng’s mouth tilted upward. A light smile on his face as he called out softly, and the sun shone upon him, making him appear as warm as yesterday. “Da Shixiong.”
Qin Mo stood in the same spot and slowly turned his head. He looked at Lin Zizheng with no emotion and said plainly, “Who are you?”
Translator(s): Teo Editor(s): Dark, Bet
Chapter 52
Lin Zizheng’s face twisted as if black air had risen behind him. Then he smiled. “Da Shixiong, please stop joking.”
He reached out to grab Qin Mo.
Qin Mo’s gaze was cold, and he quickly retreated. Thunderbolt, in his hand, shifted and swiped toward Lin Zizheng. The moment the sword moved, his killing intent spiked.
A helpless smile graced Lin Zizheng’s face, and he extended his hand. A red light flashed, and a glove wrapped over his palm.
The glove glowed dark red under the sunlight.
When he moved this hand, Lin Zizheng grabbed Qin Mo’s incoming sword in his palm. He smiled a little as, with the slightest force of his hand, shattered the glint on Thunderbolt’s edge with a crisp snap.
Qin Mo paled. He didn’t expect Lin Zizheng to have increased in strength so much in so little time. To break his attack with so little effort, he had to be at Core Formation, at least.
Since Qin Mo wasn’t willing to give up, Lin Zizheng’s brow furrowed, and he swept forward, flashing behind Qin Mo. He caught Qin Mo around the waist and held him tight.
Embraced like this, Qin Mo noticed Lin Zizheng was now as tall as he. His face shifted. A chill scattered over his body, and a sick feeling swelled in his heart. As if sensing the resistance in his heart, Lin Zizheng’s hand waved in front of Qin Mo’s face. A strange black gas emerged from his palm and filled Qin Mo’s mouth and nose. Darkness pooled in his eyes, and he lost consciousness. He sighed a little as he closed his eyes. Worthy of the protagonist’s title.
A satisfied smile appeared on Lin Zizheng’s face as he held Qin Mo. He reached out, intending to remove the cloak. But, as if he thought of something, he straightened the cloak from the disarray of fighting and wrapped him up in it even more tightly.
Hundreds of millions of ages ago, there was a great war between righteous and demonic cultivators. The war lasted for several years, and countless righteous and demonic cultivators died before the end. The demonic cultivators were defeated by the righteous and driven out to a boundary. The boundary was barren and full of mostly devils. This boundary was filled with devils and demonic cultivators alike, and eventually called the demon’s boundary.
The demon’s boundary is divided into upper, middle, and lower regions. In terms of strength, the upper region was strongest, and the lower region was weakest. Lin Zizheng took Qin Mo to the lower region. Many inferior demons and a few demonic cultivators with a useless cultivation base lived in this region. It divided the region into four imperial palaces north, south, east, and west. Each palace had an Imperial Lord at Soul Solitude.
Lin Zizheng had a special identity and had his residence here. Under his residence was a complex, underground palace.
Lin Zizheng embraced Qin Mo, ignoring all the curious gazes on him, and step-by-step walked into the deepest part of the underground palace to a huge, stone house.
He gently laid Qin Mo on the bed and unraveled the cloak on him with extreme disgust towards the object. He wore the most brilliant smile of all as he looked at this face that had filled his thoughts day and night. He stretched out his hand and carefully touched Qin Mo’s face, tracing from the eyebrows to the corner of his eyes to his chin. With only one spot left, he gently rubbed Qin Mo’s dry lips and whispered, “Da Shixiong…”
Those lips slowly reddened under his touch, and longing flashed in his eyes. He lowered his head and dropped a shallow kiss to Qin Mo’s mouth. His voice, intense and emotional, leaked from between their lips, “Da Shixiong, you’re mine.”
After a long time, he straightened again and sat quietly at Qin Mo’s bedside. Eyes fixed on Qin Mo, the corners of his mouth curled like that of a satisfied cheetah. But, then he thought of Qin Mo’s resistance to him, and his eyebrows furrowed. He turned to leave.
Qin Mo’s thick lashes trembled, and he opened his eyes. The first thing that came into sight was a large, black stone. It stunned him. He sat upright and checked his surroundings.
He was in a stone cave with only a stone bed and a pool of water. A blue lotus flower bloomed within the pool, and the single bed was where he laid.
He completed a circuit of the cave and Qin Mo found a stone gate with enchantments laid over it.
He sighed, not understanding Lin Zizheng’s thoughts. Why didn’t Lin Zizheng do anything other than put him here? His gaze cooled. He flung his sleeves aside and returned to the bed, not wanting to think any further.
He turned and spotted the fresh spirit flower at the bedside. He took the flower in hand. The petals were white like the moon with a crescent shape in the middle that emitted strong, constant energy.
Although Qin Mo’s refining always failed, he remembered the reconds on spirit grass and spirit glowers from Liu Zhongchi’s Qiankun bag. At a glance, he could tell this spirit moonflower was perfectly normal and hadn’t been altered. Confusion swelled in Qin Mo’s heart. What was Lin Zizheng’s motive? Not only did he not seal his power, but also left behind this spirit moonflower to help him cultivate. Was Lin Zizheng that overconfident in his strength?
His eyebrows knitted. He laid the flower back in its place. He adjusted his breathing and laid atop the bed, dividing his divine sense to keep an eye on his surroundings.
Qin Mo opened his eyes when he sensed inaudible footsteps outside. Lin Zizheng opened the enchanted gate and slowly entered. His red clothes were replaced with a common black robe, and he held a jade bowl in his hand.
“Da Shixiong.” A smile appeared on Lin Zizheng’s face when he saw Qin Mo had woken up. He dawdled to the bedside, handing over the jade bowl.
Qin Mo’s face was frosty, and he ignored Lin Zizheng’s intent. Secretly, he considered the probability of a sneak attack’s success but eventually gave up on the idea.
Straightening up, he looked at Lin Zizheng’s smiling face, and intense anger rose in his heart. He waved his long sleeve and knocked aside the jade bowl. “Scram!”
Lin Zizheng wasn’t upset. He picked up the bowl and placed it on the edge of the bed. He continued with good temper, “This vegetarian food is crude and simple. Da Shixiong isn’t satisfied with it. It’s understandable. I’ll fix something more instead.”
Lin Zizheng took the Qiankun bag from his waist. Qin Mo’s heart skipped a beat. This bag was familiar. It was the one he gave Lin Zizheng a long time ago. He noticed Lin Zizheng’s attire was styled very similar to the past.
Lin Zizheng’s expression brightened even more when he felt Qin Mo’s gaze. His fingers shifted, and red meat appeared in his hand. A flame appeared with a wave of his hand, and ignoring his surroundings, set it on the ground. He used his sword as a grill to roast the meat.
Qin Mo was so close to him but didn’t feel any discomfort. He didn’t feel the heat of the fire, nor did he smell pungent smoke. Only the aroma of roasted meat filled his nose.
“Da Shixiong, here you go.” He continued to smile as he handed the cooked meat to Qin Mo. His face was somewhat blurred by the fire’s haze.
Qin Mo took the meat in a trance but shook his head once he tasted it. Even if this was so similar to the original, this person was no longer that kindhearted, obedient brother. Now, he was a wolf cub, gentle-looking, but would bite him in the back.
“How is it?” Lin Zizheng looked at the meat in Qin Mo’s hand as he ate. “This is snake meat obtained from the boundary of the blue sky. How does it taste?”
Qin Mo continued to ignore his words, and Lin Zizheng stubbornly watched his every move. He noticed a stain at the corner of Qin Mo’s mouth and leaned forward to help him wipe it off.
Qin Mo stiffened and turned his head sideways, avoiding his hand. Lin Zizheng’s eyes dimmed. He remained frozen for a long time then smiled. “Da Shixiong, have a good rest.”
He reluctantly looked at Qin Mo and extinguished the fire. He turned and walked toward the door.
“Wait!” Once Lin Zizheng reached the gate, Qin Mo suddenly called from behind.
Joyfulness sprung alive in Lin Zizheng’s heart, but before he could relish in it for long, Qin Mo’s cold voice asked, “Where are Ling Yun and the others?” With his back to Qin Mo, Lin Zizheg’s expression grew fiercer and fiercer. Blood red filled his eyes, but it slowly dispersed. His voice was frigid, “Da Shixiong, you need not know about that.”
Translator(s): Teo Editor(s): Dark, Bet
Chapter 53
Qin Mo stayed in the cave for some time and Lin Zizheng would appear at fixed hours to deliver him his meals. He didn’t give up on repeatedly asking about Lin Yun and the other’s whereabouts, but Lin Zizheng gave no information. Not long, he stopped talking.
Although he didn’t understand Lin Zizheng’s thoughts, after observing him, he found that Lin Zizheng didn’t have any ideas of harming him at all. He was even trying to curry favor with him.
Qin Mo decided to eat the spirit moonflower after a few days. Now that the situation was unclear, it was better to improve his cultivation first. He didn’t worry about what Lin Zizheng would do to him as he cultivated. If Lin Zizheng wanted to hurt him, he would have already done so with his strength. Qin Mo’s strength was nothing to bat an eye at.
Before he began, Qin Mo ate a divine condensed pill to fill his body with spirit and attain the best state. Only then did he pick up the spirit moonflower. After being placed aside for so many days, the spirit moonflower was still fresh and delicate as if it had just been picked.
With a wave of his right hand, he swallowed the moonflower and sat silently with his eyes closed. The initially empty stone cave immediately quieted down.
The spirit power inside his body circulated rapidly, and his muscles and veins were visible in front of him. It surprised him; he had reached the realm of insight before entering Soul Solitude. No longer thinking, he looked inside his veins and found that there were many lavender spirit powers within them. Since he had consumed the purification spirit fruit, his body became a thunder spirit body, and the ordinary spirit power inside him started to slowly transform into it. At this moment, those thunder spirit powers exuded a dazzling light, constantly flowing into his meridians.
Simultaneously, a cluster of moon-white color light flew into his veins, flowed along until it finally moved directly into his Dantian.
This moon-white color was the gentle energy contained inside of the spirit moonflower. In an instant, the thunder spirit power inside his veins increased by a lot. After arriving at his Dantian, the spirit power slowly condensed.
Qin Mo was now at the complete phase of Foundation Building. The spirit power in his Dantian shaped into a gas-like form and scattered. If it weren’t for those spirit powers that emitted a lavender purple light, he wouldn’t have been able to tell the spirit powers apart.
Under the condensation of the spirit moon flower’s energy, the original spirit power gradually turned into a water-drop shape. The most peculiar thing was that the lightning fire that had been quietly sitting within his Dantian had also condensed into a small cluster. However, its color had grown deeper, and its power couldn’t be underestimated.
Qin Mo’s cultivation lasted for many days. During this time, Lin Zizheng came several times and saw that Qin Mo had entered a cultivation state and didn’t disturb him. It delighted Lin Zizheng because even though Da Shixiong had a cold expression, inside, he still trusted him.
On the first day of eating the spirit moonflower, Qin Mo didn’t completely sink into cultivation. He left a part of his attention toward his surroundings. When he saw that Lin Zizheng did nothing, he was at ease and entered cultivation.
A few days later, Qin Mo’s whole body glowed, and a slight energy fluctuation erupted around him. He only felt his body tighten and a comfortable feeling came out from his Dantian.
Qin Mo opened his eyes and felt immense strength in his body. His eyes held a glimmer of light as he smoothed out his ink-black hair behind him, the corner of his lips hooking slightly upward. Even if he hadn’t taken care of himself for many days, his body had no speck of dust, and his temperament became more out of this world.
When Lin Zizheng arrived, he saw this scene. His breathing stagnated, fascination slipping through his eyes.
Seeing Lin Zizheng, Qin Mo put away the smile on his face and restored his cold appearance. He fixed his eyes on him, “I want to go out.”
That stunned Lin Zizheng. Other than asking for Ling Yun’s whereabouts, Qin Mo never opened his mouth these days. Thinking of this, Lin Zizheng’s hidden hands gripped tightly behind him. As he saw Qin Mo about to lose his patience, he answered with a smile, “All right.”
It was immediately followed by, “But you have to wear this mask when you go out.” A silver mask appeared in his hands as soon as he finished speaking.
Qin Mo pursed his lips, and his heart was a little unhappy, but he could only nod at the thought of leaving this place.
Lin Zizheng smiled gently. He approached Qin Mo, bringing with him the mask. Qin Mo’s body slowly stiffened, where he sat quietly in place.
Lin Zizheng stood behind Qin Mo, and every breath he took had Qin Mo’s refreshing smell. He breathed in deeper, his eyes full of enjoyment. It’d been a long time since he last stood so close to Qin Mo. As he thought of this, his hand movements grew slower.
Sensing that the rope on the mask had been tied, Qin Mo rose quickly and left Lin Zizheng’s side. Lin Zizheng’s eyes darkened, and his heart sighed in pity. He rubbed his fingertips against each other for a moment, as if he could still feel the smoothness of Qin Mo’s long hair.
Qin Mo was still in white. Because he wore a silver mask, others could only see his bright eyes, reddish thin lips, and pale chin.
Glancing all over Qin Mo’s body with a cool breath, Lin Zizheng regretted his promise of agreeing to take his Da Shixiong out. Knowing that everyone could see his Da Shixiong like this made his face twitch slightly. But if he repented now, his Da Shixiong would hate him even more.
With that in mind, Lin Zizheng smiled at Qin Mo, who was a little unhappy, and said, “Da Shixiong, let’s go.”
Qin Mo followed Lin Zizheng, and after a series of turns, they walked out of the underground. It was already dark outside, but Qin Mo took a deep breath of satisfaction. His nose was filled with the smell of freedom.
As soon as the two men came out, a Qi Refining servant came forward and bowed his head, respectfully speaking to Lin Zizheng, “Young master Lin, the palace master has been waiting for you in the hall.”
No longer in front of Qin Mo’s gentle appearance, Lin Zizheng’s face was cold, and he nodded. Under the servant’s lead, he walked towards the hall with Qin Mo.
On the way, Qin Mo saw a lot of weird humanoid figures. These demons have yet to completely cultivate a human shape. The highest one was in Core Formation which belonged to the lowest level of the demon tribe.
As they approached the hall, Qin Mo could hear loud noises of singing and dancing from inside and stepped into it. He felt his vision flash for a moment. The hall was full of cultivators and all kinds of demons. They sat or stood with smiles on their faces, watching the group of women in very revealing clothes in the middle of the hall without turning their eyes. When Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng entered, the atmosphere of the scene changed. Everyone’s eyes fluttered towards their direction, and when they saw Qin Mo, who looked incompatible with the surrounding environment, a stunning expression showed on many people’s faces.
Lin Zizheng’s eyebrows wrinkled tightly, and his face was black. It was disgusting for these people to look at his Da Shixiong and he wanted to tear their eyes out.
Demonic cultivators were a group of reckless people. They liked acting headstrong and wild.
Just then, a man in a purple outfit came up to Qin Mo, both eyes fixed on him as he said with a strong voice, “How about coming with me? I’ll be gentle with you.” He could see that Qin Mo was only at Soul Solitude in one glance. His heart was extremely disdainful, and he extended his right hand toward Qin Mo’s chin.
Qin Mo’s face was cold. He could feel the other person exerting pressure on him. At a minimum, this person’s cultivation base was at Core Formation, which he could not deal with. Besides, he was among a group of demonic cultivators; it was inappropriate for him to act rashly.
Before he could do anything, Lin Zizheng gave a cold snort and fiercely slammed his palm against the man’s body. With a flash of black light, the man in purple flew away after being smacked. Under the power of just one palm, the man’s figure continued to fly backwards until he hit straight at the huge pillar in the hall. His head was directly embedded into the stone pillar, turning into a piece of meat mud.
Retracting his palm, Lin Zizheng glanced over the audience darkly. With a thick and gloomy aura all over him, he said word for word, “Whoever dares to touch what’s mine can try.”
Qin Mo’s eyebrows were furrowed, but he didn’t say much.
Suddenly everything went quiet, and even the women dancing in the center of the hall halted their movements. Although they had seen much more bloody things in the demon’s boundary, this was the north palace, and the palace lord was still sitting above watching. Lin Zizheng dared to act so arrogantly as if he didn’t place the palace lord in his eyes.
Even if Lin Zizheng had a Core Formation cultivation base, he couldn’t match the Nascent Soul level of the palace lord. At this moment, everyone’s eyes were concentrated on the north palace master.
The man in everyone’s sight was dressed in a black robe, leaning freely on the wide chair as he allowed a few beautiful women to massage his shoulders.
His eyes narrowed, but there was no sign of anger on his face. Instead, he smiled softly and exclaimed, “Sure enough, a teenager is the hero. I didn’t expect little friend Lin’s cultivation base to be so refined when he’s so young.”
Hearing what he said, Lin Zizheng put aside his fierce expression and laughed slowly, “Palace Lord overpraised.” Then, ignoring Qin Mo’s resistance, took his hands forcefully and walked straight towards the position below the north palace master and sat down.
The north palace lord looked curiously at Qin Mo beside Lin Zizheng but didn’t ask much about it. He knew Lin Zizheng’s identity and his fierce means. He would seriously treat Qin Mo and say nothing more.
He laughed casually two times and clapped once, “Continue.”
The scene became lively and heated once more.
Most of the cultivators in the demon’s boundary were unrestrained and didn’t play cards according to common sense. They were even more chaotic in the lower demon region which was full of inferior demons and demonic cultivators. It was no wonder that Lin Zizheng had behaved like this, so they no longer paid much attention to it. Unlike the righteous cultivators, they didn’t care about self-cultivation at all but paid more attention to their enjoyment. After the north palace lord’s order, some people picked up the wine jug on the table and drank wine. Some of them directly picked up a female cultivator and kissed them indiscriminately.
Looking at the chaotic scene in front of him, discomfort flashed in Qin Mo’s eyes. Lin Zizheng sharply captured this feeling. He took up the jade pot on the other side and poured a glass of wine for Qin Mo. He whispered, “Da Shixiong, the spirit wine here isn’t bad. Why don’t you try some?”
Translator(s): Teo Editor(s): Dark, Sarah, Bet
We have new editors and proofers now! You can thank Sarah for today’s update being so spectacular and on time! (❁´◡`❁)
Chapter 54
Qin Mo didn’t want to pay attention to Lin Zizheng but saw the implicit expectation in his eyes. Eventually, he took the jade cup in his hand and sipped it lightly.
Even if they were surrounded by noise, as long as he looked at the person in front of him, Lin Zizheng’s heart was calm. The usual dark and blood seemed to disappear in an instant, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised. A satisfied smile bloomed on his face while he picked the food for Qin Mo.
Looking at this attentive Lin Zizheng, Qin Mo paused and slowly lowered his eyes to hide the complex feelings in them. Lin Zizheng…
“Pa-pa!” A crisp clap sound suddenly rang out, and the originally noisy hall quieted down. Everyone looked in its direction.
They found a smile on the north palace lord’s face as he sat in the same place. He casually said, “Everyone knows that we caught a few cultivators from the boundary of the forbidden mountain a few days ago.”
Qin Mo tightly clutched the jade cup and glanced coldly at the palace lord.
Feeling the curious eyes of everyone, the north palace lord’s brow raised as he continued, “In fact, the middle demon region ordered this mission.”
When everyone heard these words, the quiet hall became heated once more. To the demonic cultivators and inferior demons of the lower region, the middle region was a very special place. They yearned for and feared it at the same time.
“But when the north palace received the news late, we captured less righteous cultivators than others. Who allowed us, the north palace and one of the four imperial palaces, to be the weakest among them?” The palace master’s expression darkened, his eyes containing a glimmer of light.
The atmosphere immediately grew heavy, and the once playful and rowdy demonic cultivators had ugly expressions on their faces.
After a while, a strong man sitting opposite Qin Mo spat fiercely and, with disgust on his face, said, “Those fuckers, we will surpass them one day.”
When the man finished, people started echoing, “That’s right, what good are they!” Seeing their indignation, the corner of the north palace lord’s lips raised. The once gloomy complexion disappeared as if it never happened.
“Palace Lord, why don’t we look at those people. We also want to see what this famous sect is like.”
The palace lord was full of smiles, and he glanced from the corner of his eye at Lin Zizheng, seeing that he was still concentrating on the dishes for Qin Mo. Unconsciously, his expression stagnated, then he smiled once again and nodded.
The women in the center slowly retreated, and a group of people soon entered the hall. The ones leading the group were the three demons Qin Mo saw from the Hidden Moon Domain. Many people staggered behind them, including Ling Yun and Wu Suo.
Qin Mo’s eyes slowly swept over Ling Yun and Wu Suo, relieved to see that they had not suffered any major injuries.
Acutely aware of Qin Mo’s gaze, Ling Yun and Wu Suo turned their heads to him. Although Wu Suo felt that Qin Mo was somewhat different than the rest, he didn’t realize it was him. Since he was in the demon’s boundary and his safety was unknown, he didn’t think much about. However, Ling Yun’s eyes flashed, recognizing Qin Mo instantly.
Lin Zizheng was focused on Qin Mo and noticed right away the communication between Qin Mo and Ling Yun through their eyes. The darkness in his pupils deepened a bit as the cup in his hand instantly crumbled into flying ashes. He looked at Ling Yun casually with unclear eyes.
“We are people from the boundary of the forbidden mountain. What are you going to do to us?” A shrill cry rang out in the hall. The sound came from a cultivator who wore yellow clothes, pretending to be calm but he stared nervously at the north palace lord before him.
Since they captured him, he’d been in a panic. When he saw so many cultivators in Soul Solitude and Core Formation stages, he had a bit of conviction in his heart. Their cultivation wasn’t high, and this wasn’t an upper boundary plane either. As a lower boundary, using the boundary of the forbidden mountain still had a great deterrent force.
“Boundary of the forbidden mountain?” The palace master chewed on these words carefully. A smile suddenly appeared on his face. With a flick of his fingertip, a black ball flew out and directly shot at the man’s face.
When it hit him, the man’s cheeks swelled up in an instant and several bloody teeth came out of his mouth. He tightly covered his mouth and revealed a fearful expression. After stealing a glance at the palace lord, he shrank bank and stopped talking.
The surrounding crowd seemed to have heard a hilarious joke and laughed. A strange-looking demon stood up and circled the group. He sighed, chirping, “Is this really the righteous and famous sect? They have worse strength than Laozi. I really want to eat them.”
“Can’t eat them. These are middle demon region’s people.” As soon as the voice fell, the person next to him retorted. “You think Laozi is stupid? Laozi just wants to scare and frighten them.” The man sneered and gave a kick towards them.
Nobody noticed that Lin Zizheng’s fingertip had moved, and the kick that was supposed to hit the man in yellow landed on Ling Yun standing next to him instead. They had sealed Ling Yun’s spiritual powers upon capture, so when he was kicked hard, he instantly fell to the ground.
“Haha, interesting.” The demonic cultivators laughed again. Pleased with himself, the perpetrator raised his foot to kick again.
Just then, a pleasing laugh came from outside the hall, and a girl wearing black slowly walked in. With a smile on her delicate face, she didn’t look ancient and ugly, especially with that enticing figure. The moment she appeared, she attracted the attention of everyone in the room.
She went straight to the palace lord’s side and placed her arms around him while smiling, “Daddy, why is it so lively in here?”
When he saw the girl, the smile on the north palace lord’s face became more genuine. He patted the girl’s head and gently answered, “Qing Hua, you came.” Then he pointed at Ling Yun and the others in the middle of the hall, “Everyone’s taking a look at the righteous cultivators that we caught a few days ago.”
The girl named Qing Hua turned her head and saw Lin Zizheng, who was sitting next to the palace lord. A hint of surprise appeared on her face. Listening to her father, she gave them a glance and noticed their messy clothes, full of dirt. She frowned in disgust, “What’s so interesting about a group of smelly men? Take them below.”
The palace lord had always favored Qing Hua, so very few people could refute her words. It wasn’t long before those people were taken away from here.
Seeing those people disappear before her eyes, Qing Hua smirked. She went straight to Lin Zizheng and cheerfully shouted, “Zizheng Gege.” Upon hearing this title, Qin Mo’s movements went stiff. The jade cup in his hand trembled, and he choked slightly. He slowly swallowed the spirit wine in his mouth and restored his usual cold demeanor. He only swept his eyes briefly on Lin Zizheng and Qing Hua.
Lin Zizheng’s eyebrows wrinkled. Ignoring Qing Hua beside him, he told Qin Mo in a soft tone, “Da Shixiong, be more careful.”
Clear dissatisfaction showed on her face when she was blatantly ignored by Lin Zizheng. She scrutinized Qin Mo up and down, and her uneasiness grew worse. What gave this person the right to be treated so gently by Lin Zizheng? With a hint of anger, she asked, “Zizheng Gege, is this your Da Shixiong?”
Lin Zizheng continued to ignore her, and Qin Mo paid even less attention to her. In his mind, she had been marked as “Lin Zizheng’s woman.”
Qing Hua’s face blackened. She bit her lower lip, and a glimmer of tears appeared in her eyes, displaying a “please pity me” feeling.
As they watched this scene, many people felt a sense of intolerance and their eyes stared at Lin Zizheng fiercely. This kid didn’t know what was good or bad for him. The little princess of the north palace was trying to be kind, but he kept dismissing her.
The north palace lord, who had always been protective, remained unchanged. He still had a smile on his face as if he weren’t angry at all. It was because he had his own plans in mind. Qing Hua liked Lin Zizheng, and he would be happy if the relationship succeeded, not only for the happiness of his daughter but also for the power behind Lin Zizheng.
As the princess of the north palace, Qing Hua was not a simple person. She breathed out lightly, and a smile once again hung on her face. Even her dissatisfaction with Qin Mo disappeared.
“Zizheng Gege, why haven’t I seen you these past few days?” Despite them ignoring her, she went on talking. But the more she spoke, the more her face stiffened. She was a gorgeous beauty standing before him, but from beginning to end, Lin Zizheng didn’t look at her all. Instead, his entire attention was focused on that ice-cold Da Shixiong.
She gritted her teeth secretly. What kind of care did this big man need? Even if he looked good, what use was there? His strength was only at Soul Solitude.
With a change in her eyes, she picked up a jade cup on the table and poured a glass of wine. Her slender fingers lined up against the jade cup, and it emitted an unspeakable aesthetic feeling. Unfortunately, Lin Zizheng didn’t notice her movements.
Her fingertips rubbed on the mouth of the cup before she smiled and handed it to Lin Zizheng. She said softly, “Zizheng Gege, drink a glass of wine.”
Lin Zizheng’s eyebrows furrowed, and he glanced at the north palace lord beside him. Then he took the cup in her hand with displeasure.
Seeing that Lin Zizheng took the jade cup, she was delighted and poured out another glass of wine for Qin Mo. She laughed, “Da Shixiong, I’ll also give you a toast.”
Lin Zizheng snorted, and a cold light glimmered in his eye, “What gave you the right to call him that?”
Qing Hue’s expression froze, her hands awkwardly raised in mid-air with her face turning green then white.
Qin Mo sighed lowly and took the jade cup in her hand, only to place it aside without meaning to drink it. Lin Zizheng naturally wouldn’t drink this glass of wine and placed the cup on the table, ignoring her once more.
Seeing them like this, she lowered her head, and everyone thought Lin Zizheng’s attitude had saddened her. But they didn’t know that her mouth had been slightly raised. After staying here for a long time, Qin Mo grew impatient. He coldly said to Lin Zizheng, “Let’s go back.”
Lin Zizheng naturally wouldn’t object to Qin Mo’s words. He nodded to the palace lord and left with Qin Mo.
As she watched Lin Zizheng’s back, Qing Hua looked a bit anxious. Then she thought about the medicine she’d wiped on the cup would take a while to play its role and slowly felt reassured. Now, she would go back and change her clothes, then visit Lin Zizheng’s room to find him. Thinking of this, the smile on her face became more and more brilliant.
Translator(s): Teo Editor(s): Dark Proofer(s): Sarah
Chapter 55
As Lin Zizheng listened to Da Shixiong’s gentle breathing and sniffed the fresh smell emanating from him, he suddenly felt a little hot while they strolled in the narrow path together.
Qin Mo looked at Lin Zizheng beside him with some doubts. Is his breathing getting heavier?
Before he could think more about it, the two men returned to the cave where he’d been staying.
Seeing the familiar surroundings, he cast his previous thoughts aside. He went straight to the stone bed and took off the silver mask on his face. Glancing at Lin Zizheng beside him who didn’t seem to be leaving, Qin Mo’s brows slightly furrowed, and he said somewhat coldly, “Why aren’t you leaving?”
Lin Zizheng looked at Qin Mo’s distant face with a stagnant expression and felt somewhat angry in his heart. For the first time, his expression turned frosty in front of Qin Mo as he replied strongly, “This is my place. I will stay here today.”
This stunned Qin Mo. Lin Zizheng had always been very careful with him. It was the first time he’d witnessed a disdainful expression on his face. However, when he thought about what Lin Zizheng did in the boundary of the blue sky, he felt that such an attitude was normal, but within his heart, he felt a little lost. He glanced at Lin Zizheng then directly sat down on the stone bed. Closing his eyes, he whispered, “Do whatever you want.” He stopped talking and let Lin Zizheng stand alone.
Lin Zizheng regretted what he said afterward. He didn’t know what to do but look at Qin Mo, staring at his delicate facial features without speaking.
An inexplicable flame slowly ignited in his heart. So white… really want to take a bite.
Qing Hua wore a long red dress and gently knocked on Lin Zizheng’s door, a charming smile on her face. She went straight into the room and closed the door behind her. Leaning against the wall, she struck an enchanting pose as she whispered in a sweet voice, “Zizheng Gege.”
The night couldn’t stop her burning eyes, and there was a triumphant smile on her face. She believed that with her beauty and the medicine she used on Lin Zizheng, she would surely achieve her wish tonight.
However, after a long time, the surroundings were still silent, and not even the faint sound of breathing was heard. Only then did she realize something was wrong. Her eyes widened to see the room clearly and realized that there was no one inside.
She held the wooden door beside her until it broke into splinters. She released her hand, feeling unwilling and released her divine sense to scan the surroundings, which told her that there wasn’t a trace of Lin Zizheng here. A fierce expression appeared on her face, and she ground her teeth, “I don’t know which small evil spirit I unmerited advantage to. Such a pity, dewdrops fragrant was rare too.”
Inside the underground cave, Qin Mo sat on the stone bed and heard Lin Zizheng’s breathing grow heavier, sounding like he gasps. Qin Mo suddenly opened his eyes and found Lin Zizheng’s reddened eyes fixed on him. His body had moved closer, almost touching him.
Qin Mo’s eyebrows wrinkled, and he asked with a dissatisfied tone,
“What’s wrong?” “Da Shixiong.” Lin Zizheng stared at Qin Mo, his voice hoarse and full of different meanings.
Qin Mo’s body stiffened, and his heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, he had a bad feeling, and he moved his body off the stone bed.
When Qin Mo took action, Lin Zizheng also moved. With his gaze fixed on the other man, he rushed straight towards him, and before they knew it, Lin Zizheng had Qin Mo forced into a corner.
Looking at Lin Zizheng standing in front of him, Qin Mo’s expression turned stony, and his right hand became a fist. He struck towards Lin Zizheng with full force.
Faced with a heavy blow, Lin Zizheng didn’t dodge. Instead, he raised his right hand upward and directly caught the attack. Then he leaned forward and put his whole weight on Qin Mo’s body, preventing him from moving.
Lin Zizheng’s mind was hazy but far from unconscious. His strength had reached Core Formation, so his will was firm. The dewdrops fragrant could only cause a small amount of influence on him.
Looking at Qin Mo under him, Lin Zizheng’s eyes darkened, and the hands suppressing him tightened. He just wanted to give himself an excuse for doing this.
As he thought, Lin Zizheng slowly turned his head towards Qin Mo.
Seeing the other man drawing closer and closer, Qin Mo could feel his hot breath on him. Although he didn’t know what Lin Zizheng wanted to do, Qin Mo’s heart instinctively panicked.
He reached out with the hand that wasn’t restrained to gently touch Lin Zizheng’s head. Withdrawing his unfriendly expression, he raised a corner of his lips and whispered in a softened tone, “Zizheng.” Lin Zizheng paused, and a flash of disbelief swept across his face. This was the first time his Da Shixiong had ever called him by his name.
Qin Mo noticed that Lin Zizheng’s hand had loosened, and his body was exerting less pressure than before. Qin Mo felt joy in his heart, and light glinted through his eyes. Then he fiercely pushed Lin Zizheng’s chest, flew out under his body, and ran toward the stone gate.
Lin Zizheng had been stiff in place until a sharp pain erupted on his chest. He slowly turned around while holding a hand over it. Watching the shadow of Qin Mo leaving, his gaze glimmered with blood, and he murmured, “Da Shixiong, you tricked me.”
As soon as the last word ended, a black smoke burst out behind Lin Zizheng, wrapping him heavily within it. The black smoke flashed and led Lin Zizheng straight in Qin Mo’s direction.
Qin Mo felt cold air behind him and saw that a black mist was about to catch up with him. His expression grew solemn, and he paused. His right foot stretched toward the pool next to him, and he strode across the water with great force, stirring up a large amount of spray. Under this action, the sprays landed towards Lin Zizheng’s black fog. He quickly formed hand seals and the droplets floating in the air instantly turned into sharp water arrows.
With those arrows aimed at him, the black smoke around Lin Zizheng spread out a little and revealed the body within. At this moment, his eyes were wide open, and the ink hair behind him was swaying with no breeze, seemingly strange.
With a move of his finger, the black fog gathered around him again. Lin Zizheng showed a meaningful smile to Qin Mo, an inevitable look in his eyes as a violent wave rushed forth from his right hand.
The black smoke quickly encircled Qin Mo, and it instantly formed into four long rope-like strips which tied Qin Mo’s limbs directly to the wall above the smooth pool. Lin Zizheng licked his lips, staring at Qin Mo’s bound form with all his limbs spread out and unable to move at all. A tinge of excitement swept through him. Da Shixiong…
Watching Lin Zizheng slowly approaching him, Qin Mo felt an even worse premonition in his heart. But no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t get out of the dark fog.
Anxiety filled his heart, and a few purple flames suddenly emerged from his body, burning up the black rope.
“Ah! Ah! Ah!” The black fog was formed by some unknown source, and when it was burned by the lightning fire, it made loud and high-pitched screams. In just a few seconds, it had burnt away the black fog restraining Qin Mo.
Lin Zizheng made a light “huh” sound, not expecting Qin Mo to break away from his shackles so quickly. But his face remained unchanged as he strolled closer to Qin Mo.
After stretching out his stiff limbs, Qin Mo watched Lin Zizheng with vigilance and slowly backed away. The clear water below him reflected his appearance perfectly. His face was calm, but his usually clean and tidy appearance in was a little messy.
Suddenly a circle of ripples erupted on the water surface, which grew larger and larger until it spread throughout the whole body of water.
Qin Mo felt a tremendous suction coming from his feet, immobilizing his body completely, and he was directly sucked into the pool. Before he disappeared, he saw Lin Zizheng’s astonishment.
Seeing Qin Mo being dragged into the pool, Lin Zizheng’s expression transformed. This underground cave was discovered by him unintentionally. He hadn’t studied the pool carefully and didn’t know that something like this would have happened.
Lin Zizheng jumped into the pool without hesitation. As soon as he entered, he felt a sharp chill from the surrounding water. He refused to take any defensive measures and began to look for Qin Mo’s shadow.
Qin Mo’s position was striking. He was fighting against a long bamboo pole-shaped object in front of him with his long sword. A dazzling purple circle covered his entire body.
Lin Zizheng’s heart was happy, and he swam towards him. As he approached, he could see the specific features of the object that Qin Mo was engaging. It was a stream of green-colored lotus roots, densely covered with long-sharp thorns. It was currently bent into a strange arc, like a long snake wrapped around Qin Mo, trying to trap him within.
Because he was underwater, Qin Mo’s long sword couldn’t exert its full strength. Although it was difficult to deal with this huge root, his swordsmanship was superb, coupled with the mysterious purple light around him. He slowly gained the upper hand in battle.
Lin Zizheng’s mouth raised slightly as he watched. He was worthy to be called his Da Shixiong. But then his expression stiffened when he noticed a root larger than the lotus root, bursting out behind Qin Mo and heading straight towards him. If the attack landed, Qin Mo would surely suffer serious injuries.
He gripped his right hand, and the surrounding water rippled slightly. A silver lance suddenly appeared in Lin Zizheng’s grip. He held the lance with a cold glint in his eyes and attacked the dark green root behind Qin Mo.
The long sword was deeply embedded into the roots, and Qin Mo was relieved to see the roots slowly melt into a puddle. He breathed a sigh of relief. He needed to leave here soon because even as a cultivator, he couldn’t stay in the water for long.
As he prepared to retreat, he felt a tremor ahead, and a violent wave came from the surrounding water. He raised his head and looked at Lin Zizheng who was aiming straight at him with his long spear. Qin Mo’s pupils shrank sharply. He tightened his grasp on the long sword and waved a sword light towards Lin Zizheng’s chest.
Translator(s): Teo Editor(s): Dark Proofer(s): Sarah
Chapter 56
Qin Mo drew a dazzling arc with his long sword. A cold light flashed from it, and the sword tip directly stabbed into Lin Zizheng’s chest. Bright red blood flowed down the smooth blade and slowly spread into the water, dyeing it red.
Lin Zizheng’s spear came near Qin Mo, but the silvertip passed above Qin Mo’s head, stabbing behind him.
Blood sprayed out, and a chill swept down Qin Mo’s spine as the hand holding the sword trembled slightly.
Slowly turning around, he saw that Lin Zizheng’s spear was inserted into a large lotus stem that was slowly turning into a pool of green blood.
Qin Mo spun back around and looked at Lin Zizheng. He pulled out his sword from his chest.
Fresh blood gushed out of the wound, and the two men stared at each other, separated by the blood. The whole space was silent.
The corner of Lin Zizheng’s lips raised slightly, trying to smile at Qin Mo, but there was a burst of pain from his body. Qin Mo hadn’t had the slightest intention to hold back his attack.
He moved his lips, wanting to say something, but there was a tightness in his chest. His expression changed as he realized he had stayed too long in the water and couldn’t hold on much longer. He had to leave quickly. Qin Mo pursed his lips, thinking the same. He quickly grasped onto Lin Zizheng’s hand, pausing for a moment when he felt blood, but he held it even tighter to leave quickly. They could talk later.
Looking at their conjoined hands between them, the smile on Lin Zizheng’s face grew wider as if Qin Mo hadn’t just stabbed him, and the surrounding blood wasn’t his.
Even if he was injured, Lin Zizheng hooked both of his hands and easily wrapped the unsuspecting Qin Mo into his arms.
He brought out a crystal-clear ball within his clothes. This was one of the water repel beads he had accidentally gotten, and he planned to place it on Qin Mo’s hand. But as if he thought of something, Lin Zizheng’s eyebrows rose slightly, and with a twist of his wrist, he popped the bead into his mouth and bowed his head towards Qin Mo.
When Qin Mo felt a cold pair of lips touch his, he froze in place.
While Qin Mo was stunned, Lin Zizheng’s wet tongue pried his lips open, and the cool round bead slid into his mouth along with the tip of Lin Zizheng’s tongue. As soon as the bead entered his mouth, Qin Mo could breathe easily again, and the surrounding water no longer affected him.
Qin Mo failed to react until now. Lin Zizheng’s lips were still against his, tightly stuck together. Planning to push Lin Zizheng away, he reached his hand out and touched the sticky blood on the other man’s chest, a result of his attack earlier.
When Lin Zizheng noticed Qin Mo’s movement, he straightened himself and separated his lips from Qin Mo. Looking at the somewhat dazed expression on Qin Mo’s face, he suddenly laughed out loud, “Da Shixiong, this is a water repel bead…” Before he could finish, a mouthful of blood emerged from his throat.
A complex emotion flashed through Qin Mo’s eyes. No longer thinking, Qin Mo clung to Lin Zizheng’s hand and headed upward. Behind them, the green blood which had almost mixed into the water rolled violently and turned into a slender long whip-like object that came straight towards their back.
Qin Mo was in a complicated mood while Lin Zizheng was injured and concentrated only on Qin Mo. Neither of them felt the attack coming from behind. Taking advantage of their momentary distraction, it tied them up in the blink of an eye and dragged them underwater.
The pool didn’t look so large from the outside, but entering it would find it to actually be very deep.
Dragged by the vine down into the watery depths, even though Qin Mo could breathe normally, he gradually felt a strong discomfort. The pressure on his body sharply increased, and the temperature in the water became lower and lower to the point of almost freezing people into ice.
Qin Mo found that Lin Zizheng’s face had grown much paler, and fresh blood flowed faster from his chest wound. He could no longer hesitate. He clasped onto Lin Zizheng with a death grip, twisted his sword in his right hand, and a cluster of lightning fire ignited from it. The lightning fire was miraculous, and it burned vigorously even underwater.
The sword slashed against the green whip. When it made contact with the lightning fire, the whip made a burning sound, and the place where it was touched immediately blackened. However, no matter how much Qin Mo tried, the vine didn’t let go of them. Instead, it sped up, and stubbornly went down faster.
Witnessing Qin Mo’s struggle, Lin Zizheng slowly stopped his hand movements. That’s it, even if he died, at least he was with his Da Shixiong. He held Qin Mo’s hand tighter.
“Dong… Dong… Dong…” Suddenly there was a muffled sound under the dark water. Even though the lightning fire burned the green vine, it didn’t release the two men trapped tightly within it. “Dong… Dong… Dong…” The sound amplified, and the surrounding water quickly boiled, visible to the naked eye. The originally cold temperature rose rapidly.
“Zizizi…” As if affected by a great stimulation, the vine trembled, and the original green color gradually became transparent. Suddenly, the whip waved once and tossed out the two men.
Qin Mo’s face was pale. He still hadn’t figured out what had just happened when he was thrown out. In a hurry, he only had the time to hug Lin Zizheng tightly. Not able to use much force in the water, the both of them could only slide down under the current
“Dong… Dong… Dong…” The sound continued to ring slowly, as if it were right next to their ears.
The figure of two men kept descending, and a bronze door suddenly appeared behind them. On this door was a painting of a strange-giant bird. The bird’s body shone faintly, which was very out of place in this gloomy underwater.
The two men slammed into the bronze door, and when it was touched by them, the strange bird’s eyes opened. The tightly closed door opened instantly, and since they couldn’t struggle anymore, it sucked them in.
After the two figures disappeared, the bronze door closed immediately, and the strange bird’s eyes slowly closed. The whole space was quiet once more. Only the “Dong… Dong… Dong…” sound continued spreading throughout the water.
Inside the bronze door was a vast area of water. But unlike the outside, the color here was pitch-black, and hot waves rolled within. Strings of black gas filled the air, and huge barren hills surrounded the pool. There was a dark cave, and the two looked at each other from far away, separated by water before heading inside.
Qin Mo glanced at the surrounding environment and helped place Lin Zizheng on a clean flat ground. He watched the figure before him with a complicated look, then took out a medicine pill and put it into Lin Zizheng’s mouth. He bent over to squat in front of him and tore the clothes on Li Zizheng’s chest with both hands.
Lin Zizheng’s skin was very white. Now there was a very noticeable wound on it which was very long, running through almost his entire chest. It was shocking. The skin and flesh carried some blackened color, and a faint lavender light could be seen from it.
Injured by Qin Mo’s Thunderbolt, it stained the wound with violent thunder elements. Without Qin Mo’s help, it would have been very difficult to heal.
Qin Mo slowed his movements. He stretched out his hand and gently brushed through the wound. The elements slowly returned to his body.
Lin Zizheng’s eyes hung low as he watched Qin Mo closely. After a series of previous events, the trance caused by the dewdrops fragrant had disappeared. Thinking of his actions in the cave, Lin Zizheng’s eyes grew dark and heavy. He wondered if he felt more regret or sadness.
“Da Shixiong.” Lin Zizheng’s hoarse voice echoed in the space, breaking the silent atmosphere. “I’m sorry. Before, someone drugged me to do such a thing…”
Suddenly, Qin Mo’s hand pressed directly onto the wound, and the bright-red blood flowed out from it again, painting his chest red. Lin Zizheng’s face went pale, and he was in so much pain that he couldn’t speak anymore.
Qin Mo’s hand continued to move without hesitation until the purple light on the wound disappeared, and he slowly retracted his hands.
“Done.” After crushing the red medicine pill into a powder and sprinkled it on Lin Zizheng’s wound, he took a clean cloth out from his Qiankun bag. He tore the cloth into strips and used them as bandages. Once done, he stood up straight. After a glance at Lin Zizheng, whose complexion had improved a lot, he trained his eyes on the surface of the dark water before him. He faintly said, “The things that happened before and afterward…” Qin Mo’s voice was almost inaudible.
Looking at Qin Mo’s back shadow, Lin Zizheng gradually lowered his head, his expression invisible. He vaguely heard himself whisper, “Just let them go?”
Just then, a gust of wind blew by, and a cry came from deep within the mountains.
Both of their faces became solemn. They immediately held their breaths and stared ahead.
Translator(s): Teo Editor(s): Dark Proofer(s): Sarah
Chapter 57
The surface of the dark water kept rolling and a black thing climbed out from its depths. Looking at these densely packed entities, Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng’s expression changed slightly. These black entities were a large group of black scorpions, centipedes and toads and they emitted a faint and strange light.
As soon as the bugs went ashore, they went straight for the two. Qin Mo waved Thunderbolt and released a large sword light. The venomous bugs turned into powder one after another.
Lin Zizheng also quickly stepped out from behind Qin Mo. With his hand gestures, the venomous insects around him also died one by one. Soon, the corpses of these bugs were all around the two.
The venomous insects were only at the strength of Qi Refining but they were superior in number. As soon as Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng had eliminated a batch, they were surrounded by the next batch.
“This will not work.” Cutting off another group of venomous bugs, Qin Mo’s expression grew serious. His eyes fell on the black water in front of them and said to Lin Zizheng behind him, “Let me have a look.”
Without waiting for Lin Zizheng’s reply, Qin Mo jumped directly into the black water.
Lin Zizheng raised his foot to chase after Qin Mo but the moment Qin Mo left, the venomous insects around Qin Mo suddenly lost their target so they surrounded Lin Zizheng instead. There were so many bugs that they gathered into a huge black wall, which blocked him from escaping.
Looking at these insects, Lin Zizheng snorted coldly. His eyes flashed red and a pure black gas floated out of the bugs. The gas appeared and was absorbed into his body, resulting in the immediate deaths of the venomous bugs.
As soon as Qin Mo entered the black water, he smelled a rotten smell and a bone-chilling cold came from around him.
Looking at the many venomous insects that rushed toward him in the black water, a flash of purple light surrounded him. The lightning fire in his Dantian appeared and wrapped him within it. Wherever the lightning fire burned, it burned the insects to ashes.
Without being bothered by these venomous bugs, he could feel a spiritual fluctuation coming from below, even if the surrounding area was dark. He didn’t hesitate to move straight in that direction.
When he approached, he saw a huge demonic beast standing at the center. It was pitch-black all over, covered with countless dense legs. A pair of big-crimson eyes were very vivid in the dark water.
His heart tightened. The demonic beast before him was a large centipede. Its strength had reached the complete phase of Spirit Solitude, but the power fluctuation around it was much stronger than that of previous demonic beasts in similar phases.
As the centipede sensed Qin Mo, it raised its torso and its dark-red eyes were full of blood lust. It swung its huge body, heading straight for him.
Qin Mo immediately retreated while the sword in his hand went straight toward the large centipede for an attack.
“Ding!” A crisp crash rang. Hit by Qin Mo’s long sword, the centipede didn’t suffer any injuries but it shook, its body slightly uncomfortable. Then it raised its head toward the heavens to release a shrill long whistle, spraying out a mouthful of black venom at Qin Mo.
His pupils shrank and he moved to dodge the attack. Unexpectedly, the speed was so fast that it landed on him as soon as it was shot. But before the attack could land on him, it turned into smoke from the lightning fire around him. Qin Mo breathed a sigh of relief. The lightning fire had supreme yang, the natural enemy of almost all toxics.
The centipede could not land a single hit and a hint of urgency flashed in its eyes. It sprayed out more venomous poison in his direction. For a time, only the sound of “zizizi” could be heard underwater.
Qin Mo hooked his finger upward and faced against this situation. He shot a cluster of purple flames at the centipede.
When it saw the small flames, the centipede didn’t take them seriously. In its eyes, Qin Mo was just a random small ant and he wasn’t afraid at all. The sharp tail flicked to extinguish the flames but upon touching it, the centipede’s shell on its tail was burnt and large bits of it were destroyed.
Wounded by the little ants before its eyes, a murderous intent burst out from its large eyes. Its body swayed rapidly as countless feet grew, its limbs becoming longer. They scattered densely in the water like tens of millions of ribbons floating around Qin Mo. As soon as it moved its body, those feet gathered around Qin Mo’s body.
The centipede’s shell was too hard, even the lightning fire couldn’t make an impact and it could only cause a small amount of damage.
Qin Mo kept blocking the centipede’s constant attacks by waving his sword. He felt the increasing pressure around him and he wrinkled his brows.
The lightning fire flickered on Qin Mo’s hands and he found that the color in the middle part of the fire was much richer than its surroundings. His eyes suddenly brightened. The lightning fire in his Dantian was stronger than before. Qin Mo controlled the spirit power in his hands, used it to form a small space around the lightning fire, and pressed down the flame in the middle.
Under the influence of the spirit power, the lightning fire shrunk quickly at a speed visible to the naked eye, until only a small cluster remained. But the color of this cluster of lightning fire was deep.
There had been many long limbs surrounding Qin Mo. As if he couldn’t feel the pain on his body, he bent forward and threw the processed lightning fire right into the centipede’s right eye.
Even though the centipede’s defense was astonishing, the eye was also a fragile part of its body. The powerful lightning fire hit it and the scarlet eyes instantly dimmed, eventually turning into a small hole.
However, the lightning fire didn’t extinguish, so along with the eye, the flame drilled inside of it and came into contact with the centipede’s black blood. The lightning fire became enormous and burned vigorously inside.
Surrounded by lightning fire, the centipede had no time to struggle and reluctantly turned into black ashes. Qin Mo breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the black water made the centipede powerful. If it hadn’t been for the power of lightning fire, he wouldn’t have been able to wipe out this centipede so easily today.
With the death of the centipede, all the venomous insects around Qin Mo also strangely lost their lives.
In the meantime, the whole black water seemed to have lost all of its vitality and quieted down instantly.
His heart jumped and he suddenly felt a bad premonition. He circulated his inner spirit power and emerged.
As he drilled out of the water, he felt a tremendous suction coming from the center as he left the black water in a hurry. He stood on land once more. When Qin Mo looked around, he found that all the venomous insects above were dead. The bugs’ corpses before Lin Zizheng were scarier as if they had buried Lin Zizheng in them.
Lin Zizheng came out of the venomous bug pile and was relieved to see that Qin Mo hadn’t suffered many injuries.
The black water behind them suddenly flowed violently and made a loud noise. When Qin Mo looked back, he saw a huge whirlpool in the middle, constantly spinning.
“The water is declining.” Lin Zizheng voiced from his side.
Qin Mo looked closely and saw that the black water was decreasing.
After about an hour, only a thin layer of black water remained. Standing on the edge of it, Qin Mo could see the black mud at the bottom.
The black water was still decreasing, and under their watchful eyes, it gradually condensed into two irregular black crystals.
Qin Mo held up his right hand. The two black crystals flew up into the air and landed on his hand instantly. He handed one of them to Lin Zizheng while Qin Mo himself studied the crystal in his hand.
Qin Mo looked carefully at it but he couldn’t feel the slightest strength within it or anything different. It was just a common stone but Qin Mo knew that the spar crystal formed by the black water must have something special.
His spirit power was circulating rapidly. Qin Mo separated several spirit powers and spread them into the spar crystal. As soon as it touched it, those spirit powers were blocked and returned. They couldn’t get close to the stone.
A trace of doubt flashed through his eyes. He circulated his spirit powers and tried again. At this moment, the ground suddenly shook violently and Qin Mo lost balance.
“Be careful.” Lin Zizheng, who stood beside him, immediately supported Qin Mo. He said respectfully, “Let’s quickly leave here. This place will collapse.”
Qin Mo looked up and saw that the whole space was shaking. There was only one big hole left in the once body of black water. The bottom of the big hole was sinking and the surrounding barren hills were shaking. The most terrifying thing was that the rocks on top of the hills were constantly falling. He knew that all the rocks would fall completely in a short amount of time and merge with the ground.
“Move!” Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng looked at each other seriously. Their bodies rapidly moved as they headed straight for the only hole before them.
The two shadows flashed by. They were quick and arrived inside the entrance of the hole in a moment.
“Boom!” With a loud noise, the space behind the two completely collapsed and it blocked even the hole they had just come out of.
Looking at the sealed hole entrance, a trace of joy glinted through Qin Mo’s eyes. But when he turned his head and looked forward, his expression suddenly changed. The surrounding area was chilling. This place turned out to be a huge ice cave.
Translator(s): Teo Editor(s): Dark Proofer(s): Sarah
Chapter 58
They were in a huge ice chamber, surrounded by transparent ice. Even the ground beneath them was a thick layer of ice, crystal clear but dangerous.
Qin Mo’s spiritual powers circulated faster, but the surrounding area grew colder. His brows furrowed as he carefully surveyed the place.
The ice chamber was empty except for the large ice sculpture in the center. The ice sculpture was a man with a stern face. He held a strange long stick in his left hand and an eagle with outstretched wings on his right.
Qin Mo walked directly to the ice sculpture’s side, and after observing for a while, he found that there was nothing special about it. When he wanted to leave this place, there was only an ice wall around him.
The more he looked, the tighter his eyebrows were. A layer of ice covered the room borders. The entire chamber had no exit except for the hole that was blocked.
Lin Zizheng also noticed the problem. He looked at the white smoke in the air caused by the cold temperature. His face suddenly became gloomy and his right hand clenched into a fist, slamming onto the ice sculpture in the center. Under Lin Zizheng’s attack, it didn’t show any damage. It seemed the ice sculpture was carved with some unknown materials.
Qin Mo lightly glanced at Lin Zizheng and continued to examine the enclosed area. Neither of them noticed that a pale blue gas, which was hard to detect with the naked eye, slowly dispersed from the bottom of the statue.
Two days later.
Qin Mo stood in front of the south wall with a pale face. This ice chamber wasn’t big enough to see the structure inside at a glance. However, Qin Mo didn’t give up looking for another exit and had been carefully studying the walls.
After two days of observation, he found that the wall before him was visibly different from others. It was the only one with smooth ice on the surface, along with some small patterns engraved on it. If not for his good attention to detail, it might have been overlooked.
He reached out and touched the patterns. A bitter chill came from his fingertips and his face grew paler. He immediately retracted his hand.
Beside him, Lin Zizheng revealed a tinge of tension. Although Qin Mo didn’t say it, Lin Zizheng, who always had his Da Shixiong in mind, had already discovered Qin Mo’s problem. Within the ice chamber, Qin Mo seemed uncomfortable.
After standing in place for a moment, Qin Mo slowly extended his right hand and tried touching the patterns on the ice wall again.
Lin Zizheng moved in a flash and grabbed his hand. He said in a somewhat anxious tone, “Da Shixiong, don’t get any closer.”
Qin Mo wrinkled his eyebrows, wanting to shake off Lin Zizheng’s hand, but he didn’t expect Lin Zizheng to hold his hand tighter.
Clasping Qin Mo’s wrist, Lin Zizheng’s face twisted slowly. Da Shixiong was poisoned.
A red light flashed through his eyes, and his line of sight slowly swept over Qin Mo’s whole body. Sure enough, a pale blue gas was continuously boring into Qin Mo’s body. He felt the pale blue gas also pooling into his body, but the moment the gas entered him, his blood immediately boiled a bit and directly eliminated the blue gas.
He curved his right hand slightly and the originally invisible blue gas gathered into a cluster of a ball onto his hand. He squinted and sensed the ball a little, realizing that the blue gas was a cold poison.
After a cultivator’s cultivation base reached a certain extent, they wouldn’t fear the cold or heat. But cold poison was an exception. It could drill directly into a cultivator’s body, slowly freezing their spiritual power until the cultivator died from the cold.
The wrist held by Lin Zizheng made Qin Mo very uncomfortable. He tried using all his strength to break away. Lin Zizheng snapped out of his thoughts with Qin Mo’s movement.
His sight fell on Qin Mo’s white lips, and he decided to act when he thought of the magical fruit he had taken by coincidence.
Seeing that Qin Mo wanted to dislodge his wrist from him, Lin Zizheng’s right hand raised and a black fog emerged from him. Qin Mo felt his whole body grow weak, and his inner spiritual power stopped circulating. He fell softly into Lin Zizheng’s arms.
Because his inner spiritual power stopped circulating, the cold poison around him flourished. Qin Mo could see the speed of frost with his naked eyes. Feeling the bitter cold around him, his body trembled slightly.
Looking at Qin Mo’s more chilling expression, the corner of Lin Zizheng’s lip rose up slightly. He sat on the ground with Qin Mo in his arms. With a flash of light from his hands, a dagger appeared. Gently smiling at Qin Mo, he took the dagger and cut his own wrist.
Watching the blood spray out from the wound, the smile on his face became more and more brilliant. He directed the wound to Qin Mo’s lips and briskly said, “Da Shixiong, drink while it’s hot.” Qin Mo could only stare at him coldly. Lin Zizheng slowly bent down. The distance between them lessened, and a faint warmth rose between their breaths.
With bright eyes, Lin Zizheng said as if he couldn’t feel the pain, “You are suffering from cold poison, and my blood can restrain it.”
The light in Qin Mo’s pupils flickered and a wave of anger rose quickly within his heart. He didn’t need Lin Zizheng to save him like this. He opened his mouth and his voice was hoarse. “You…”
As if sensing Qin Mo’s thoughts, Lin Zizheng immediately stopped Qin Mo from talking. He used his uninjured left hand to press down on the wound, which made the blood flow more freely.
Lin Zizheng was still smiling, but his expression at this moment seemed paranoid. “Da Shixiong, if you don’t drink, it’ll slowly run dry.”
Qin Mo’s expression was indifferent but his heart trembled. He felt the warm blood on his lips and he locked gazes with Lin Zizheng before he finally parted his lips. He let the sweet blood flow into his mouth.
Bright red blood fell onto his pure white clothes. At that moment, Qin Mo was a beauty stained with blood. Lin Zizheng looked at Qin Mo and couldn’t bear to move his eyes away.
The thought of his own blood slowly flowing into Qin Mo’s body and gradually merging with him sent Lin Zizheng’s heart surging up, a burst of heat streaming with no end.
He breathed slowly, reached out, and smoothed out Qin Mo’s slightly wrinkled eyebrows. His voice seemed to be full of infinite feelings. “Da Shixiong, you know, I like…”
Before he could finish, a strong light flashed across the ice wall next to them, interrupting his words. Lin Zizheng’s vision turned red. He moved his head sharply at the ice wall. Not all the blood flowed out was drunk by Qin Mo, and most of it dripped onto the ice below. Instead of being frozen into ice, it flowed along a tiny gulch towards the south ice wall.
Filled with blood, the fine lines on the ice wall became clear, and now it was emitting a dazzling light.
Qin Mo swallowed the blood on his lower lip and unconsciously licked Lin Zizheng’s wrist. When he realized what he just did, he stiffened in place and then spoke coldly, with just a little more anger in his tone, “Let me get up.”
When he felt the soft touch on his wrist, the hostile look on Lin Zizheng’s face immediately disappeared. A light glittered in his eyes and his palm brushed across Qin Mo’s face gently. He murmured an “En”.
The spiritual power in his body circulated smoothly once more. Qin Mo immediately rose from Lin Zizheng’s arms and looked at him on the ground with a pale complexion. He was silent for a moment. He lowered his sight and focused on the wound on Lin Zizheng’s wrist. Finally, he signed and helped Lin Zizheng from the ground.
From the Qiankun bag, he took out a medicine pill and placed it directly into Lin Zizheng’s mouth. Qin Mo quickly turned to look at the ice wall ahead.
When Lin Zizheng heard the two light “thank you” from the front, his eyes brightened where he stood behind Qin Mo, emitting a burning light that fell straight on Qin Mo’s back.
The light on the ice wall faded gradually, and an image appeared on the originally transparent icy surface.
A group of cultivators dressed in the same outfits appeared on the ice wall. They held sharp weapons, stepping over a huge monster who was rushing forward roaring. The most peculiar thing was that the weapons in their hands and the monster underneath them all showed a light transparent color. Even if he weren’t among them, Qin Mo could feel that they weren’t real.
Before them stood a man proudly holding a long stick in his left hand and an eagle on his right. Similarly, the giant stick and the eagle weren’t real. Qin Mo’s eyes narrowed. This man was carved into a statue at the center of this ice chamber.
“Kill!” The man shouted, and immediately a roar followed. Qin Mo found that a group of black-clad men stood opposite them.
The dazzling light flickered as the man jumped and waved the long stick in his hand. More than half of the black-clothed men fell. The eagle beside him also flapped its wings violently, and many people were slapped to death under its wings.
Qin Mo clenched his hands tightly. The lowest cultivation base in the black clothes group was Core Formation. This man defeated so many people with a single blow. He didn’t know how strong this man was.
“Kill!” Under the man’s leadership, everyone behind him was also heroic and extraordinary. It didn’t take long before they drove back the black-clad men.
Standing in front of the crowd, the man raised a smile on his face, which made him look energetic. Suddenly, he turned and looked straight in Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng’s direction.
Being looked at with those dark eyes, Qin Mo’s body went stiff even though he knew it was only an image. At that moment, a pair of cool hands grasped his hand, and Lin Zizheng’s low voice sounded near his ears, “Da Shixiong.”
Only then did Qin Mo regain his senses and looked again at the ice wall in front of him. This time, the image above had changed. The bloody battle scene had disappeared, only the image of the man remained. He was looking at the statue in the chamber and it puzzled Qin Mo. Then he turned around to gaze at the ice sculpture standing quietly in the center.
Translator(s): Teo Editor(s): Dark Proofer(s): Sarah
Chapter 59
The ice sculpture was still on the same spot but after scrutinizing it, Qin Mo found that its pupils were empty. Because the ice around the sculpture was transparent, he hadn’t noticed it before.
Qin Mo held the black spar crystal and moved to embed it into the sculpture’s left eye. The irregularly shaped crystal strangely turned into an oval bead when it came into contact with the sculpture and lodged itself into the middle of the hollow spot.
Without hesitation, Lin Zizheng placed the other crystal into the statue’s right eye.
The entire ice sculpture was transparent and only the pupils of both eyes were pitch black. Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng concentrated on the special eyes and the two eyes flashed, reflecting a strange black light.
Qin Mo’s expression changed as he pulled Lin Zizheng and immediately stepped back.
Just as they were retreating, inch by inch of the ice statue broke apart and burst out on all sides. The place where the ice sculpture stood started to emit a strong white glow.
As the light was about to cover them, Lin Zizheng turned around and protected Qin Mo, blocking the attack of the shattered ice.
When Qin Mo opened his eyes, a sense of soreness and pain came all over him. As he moved his hands, he found his right hand being held tightly. Following the source, he saw Lin Zizheng laying beside him unconscious, but his hand was holding Qin Mo’s hand.
Qin Mo’s brows wrinkled. He found that the spiritual power within his body couldn’t circulate, and the spirit energy in the air was so scarce that he could hardly feel it.
A light footstep sound came from the side and he looked up to see an old man walking over.
The old man was gray-haired and wearing an ordinary hemp garment. When he spotted Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng, his expression sharply changed. He looked around and felt relieved when he found no one else.
“Where is here?” It took a long time for Qin Mo to break away from Lin Zizheng’s hold. He stood up straight and supported Lin Zizheng on the ground.
The old man walked before Qin Mo and gazed at them with a somewhat complicated complexion. His eyes fell on the precious robes on Qin Mo. After a long time, he said hesitantly, “Were both of you just thrown here?”
Seeing Qin Mo’s confused gaze, the old man shifted his sight around and finally decided, “Take that kid and come with me.”
This shocked Qin Mo, but he glanced at the unfamiliar surroundings and hesitantly picked Lin Zizheng up from the ground. He followed closely behind the old man.
They ended up standing in front of a dilapidated house where the terrain was complex. If he hadn’t been following the old man at all times, he wouldn’t have found this place.
Watching him lay Lin Zizheng on the bed, the old man sighed softly and spoke with a little pity in his tone, “This is your younger brother, right? I didn’t expect you two to be thrown into this place together.” Qin Mo’s movement paused. He lowered his head faintly and asked,
“Where is this place?”
“You must have heard of it before. A place in the world called the Dark Tomb.” The old man said the name in a bitter tone, “Most of the people gathered here are those who cannot awaken their nascent spirits, and there is…”
The old man glanced at Qin Mo and saw no special reaction on his face before he continued, “There are some young children like you two who have been abandoned by a big family. But young people like you should be extra careful here. The Dark Tomb has always been ruled by the military government. As long as the young people are in the Dark Tomb, they must serve under the house of the military government. My son is… Oh dear! Both of you should stay here with this old man first.” Sighing, he watched Qin Mo shook his head and walked out.
“Da Shixiong, we have come to a terrible place.” Lin Zizheng’s voice sounded from behind Qin Mo. When Qin Mo turned his head, Lin Zizheng was leaning on the bedside and looked to be in a somewhat weakened state.
Qin Mo sized him up and down and saw him struggling to get up. Qin Mo thought of the scene where he had been desperate to save him, and his heart gradually softened. He stepped forward to support Lin Zizheng and whispered, “Be careful.”
This stunned Lin Zizheng, and he couldn’t hide his joyful expression. He held Qin Mo’s arm and saw that Qin Mo didn’t shake him away as before. He happily agreed, “Alright, I will listen to Da Shixiong.”
Touched by Lin Zizheng, Qin Mo’s body stiffened but eventually relaxed. He intoned, “There is no spirit energy in the air here, so we can’t use our cultivation base.”
Qin Mo smoothed out his lips and continued, “First, I will find something for you to eat.” “Ha ha ha…” Lin Zizheng looked at Qin Mo’s back and laughed out abruptly. His eyes narrowed with the corners of his lips raising upward as he murmured in a low voice, “Da Shixiong, good…”
When Qin Mo re-entered the house, he saw this scene. He stepped forward and handed a slightly damaged stone bowl in Lin Zizheng’s hands. “Although we are without spiritual energy, we still have to eat.”
“Thank you, Da Shixiong.” Lin Zizheng’s eyes smiled as he took the stone bowl from Qin Mo’s hand.
Looking at his happy appearance, the lights in Qin Mo’s eyes flickered. Since that incident, he hadn’t been in harmony with Lin Zizheng. He couldn’t see any dark appearance when he stared at Lin Zizheng. He unconsciously said, “You’re we–”
But before he could finish, he closed his mouth with a cold expression. Whatever the reason was, betrayal was a betrayal. Thinking of this, the warmth around Qin Mo disappeared again. He turned around and left without giving Lin Zizheng another look.
Lin Zizheng held the stone bowl as he looked at his own dark eyes reflected in the soup, his hands tightening around it.
When Qin Mo walked out of the house, he saw the old man handling the herbs. The herbs had no fluctuation of spiritual energy; they were just ordinary herbs. Looking at the old man, Qin Mo hesitated. “You…”
As if seeing Qin Mo’s embarrassment, the old man smiled gently, and his eyebrows no longer carried the deep expression from before. “You can just call me Old Man Wen.”
Seeing his smile, Qin Mo’s originally troubled thoughts gradually settled down. He walked to Old Man Wen’s side and gave a gentle “En”.
Qin Mo’s sight fell on the herbs and Old Man Wen smiled. He said proudly, “This old man has few skills. The only thing he can do best is refining medicine technique. I dare say that in the whole Dark Tomb, only a small number of techniques are above this old man’s.”
“Refine medicine?” Qin Mo picked up an herb beside him and his face showed some doubts.
“Refining medicine is a special treatment on these herbs. Refine them into liquid medicines which have special functions and are much better than those herbs.” Talking about his expertise, the old man inevitably started to glow with delight.
Qin Mo understood now. The liquid medicine’s function was probably similar to that of a medicine pill.
As the old man chatted with Qin Mo, he quickly sorted out many herbs in front of him. Then he fished out a flat iron sheet and placed it before him.
His expression became solemn. He picked out several herbs from the pile and placed them on the iron plate. He took out some gray stones and set them in the middle of several holes at the edge of the iron plate. Then his hands moved quickly.
Qin Mo’s casual glanced gradually grew serious. He looked at the constant rolling herbs on the iron plate and the gray substance flowing around the stones under the old man’s movements.
The herbs above the iron plate slowly turned into a green colored liquid.
The most peculiar thing was that it’s filled with granulated shape matters.
The old man brought out a jade bottle and carefully poured the liquid inside. When he put the bottle away, the old man breathed out deeply.
“The gray substance around you…” Qin Mo began suspiciously when he saw the old man had stopped his actions.
“You can see it?” Surprise appeared on the old man’s face. He scrutinized Qin Mo from top to bottom, “This is the power of nascent spirits.” Noticing Qin Mo’s puzzlement, he explained, “I awakened the power of nascent spirits. Originally I shouldn’t have been living within the Dark Tomb, but… she did not awaken hers. Unfortunately, she left very early.” When he finished, his face showed the bitterness again.
Looking at the depressed old man, Qin Mo also quieted down.
After a long time, the old man came out of his mind and laughed at himself. “This old man’s age is ancient. He likes to let his imagination run wild.” Suddenly, a sense of joy returned to his eyes. “Since you can see the power of nascent spirits, it means that you’re not incapable of awakening its power. Wait until tomorrow when I’ll refine some awakening liquid medicine to help test you.”
Feeling the old man’s goodwill, Qin Mo’s cold expression slowly eased, and the corner of his mouth raised in a small arc. “Thank you.”
It stunned the old man when he heard Qin Mo’s thanks. After his previous observation, he determined that Qin Mo was a cold person. He had some unexpected feelings when he heard the thanks. He moved his sight away and waved to Qin Mo. “If it wasn’t for you and my son’s likeness, I would have been too lazy to help you.”
Translator(s): Teo Editor(s): Dark Proofer(s): Sarah
Chapter 60
In the middle of the night with the noise of frogs outside, Lin Zizheng, who had been lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes.
Old Man Wen’s house was not big. There were only two rooms that could be slept in. One of which was Old Man Wen’s bedroom, while Lin Zizheng and Qin Mo used the other.
Qin Mo had been helpless, having no choice but to live in the same room and sleep in the same bed as Lin Zizheng.
The sound of breathing behind him was very shallow that he could hardly hear it. But Lin Zizheng knew that Da Shixiong was laying behind him. He understood that any movement would surely wake him up immediately.
He kept his position unchanged but his fingers slowly drew a circle in the air. A strange black air that couldn’t be seen by the naked eye suddenly enveloped Qin Mo. Qin Mo’s whole body stiffened slightly but stopped moving after a moment.
When there was complete silence from the other side, Lin Zizheng turned around and Qin Mo was lying supine. Even when sleeping, Qin Mo’s lips were tightly pursed, making him look cold under the moonlight.
Lin Zizheng moved forward. He covered Qin Mo’s body with his own as he swept his gaze over the other’s body. His right hand gently brushed his cheek and asked softly, “Da Shixiong, how would you ever forgive me?” Lin Zizheng’s eyes slowly turned red, and he clenched his hands into fists. A strong gloom rose slowly around him and he whispered with a grim face, “Da Shixiong, I want to lock you up in a place where only I can see.” As he said this, a bloody chain loomed behind him and a strong roar emitted from it like he could tie Qin Mo up at his command.
As if feeling the dangerous situation, the unconscious Qin Mo furrowed his brows.
Noticing Qin Mo’s reaction, Lin Zizheng’s ferocious expression suddenly relaxed and he reached out to smooth his brows. He mumbled, “But I cannot bear it.”
In the early morning, Qin Mo opened his eyes and looked at the empty spot beside him. A trace of doubt flashed through his mind. Why did he sleep so heavily yesterday?
With this in mind, he got up quickly, straightened out his messy robes, and slowly walked out of the room.
As he walked under the warm sunlight, his tight feeling gradually eased. He looked up and found Old Man Wen sorting out his precious herbs while Lin Zizheng was preparing the meals.
Seeing this harmonious scene, he narrowed his eyes slightly. A warm feeling of reality and stability raised strangely in his heart. But he inwardly sneered. How could it be?
He didn’t know how soft his current expression was.
“You’re awake.” Old Man Wen spotted Qin Mo first. He smiled and waved at him while speaking with urgency, “Come here and try the nascent spirit awakening medicine that I prepared.”
Qin Mo’s expression brightened. In this place, his inner spiritual power couldn’t circulate at all, just like any ordinary person. Now he had the chance to enhance his strength and he didn’t want to miss it. “Drink it.” Old Man Wen handed a bottle of transparent liquid to Qin Mo. He saw that Qin Mo’s gaze vaguely fell on Lin Zizheng, which touched his heart. He made a gesture to Lin Zizheng, “You should try it too.”
Watching both of them drink the nascent spirit awakening medicine, his eyes showed the light of hope. But after waiting for a long time, no change occurred on their bodies. He sighed disappointedly, “Oh well, it’s still impossible.”
Qin Mo’s eyes also show a trace of disappointment. Was it useless? Did that mean he didn’t have the slightest capability to defend himself? He clenched his hands tightly when he thought of this.
On the side, Lin Zizheng’s gaze darkened, and a trace of unwillingness flashed through his eyes. His thoughts were known to no one.
Suddenly, a faint and transparent band of light appeared beside the two. If Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng studied it carefully, they would find that the band was very similar to the transparent weapons they saw in the ice chamber.
“Oh? That’s wrong.” Feeling the slight fluctuation behind them, Old Man Wen immediately turned back. He glanced at them with joy and smiled, “Both of your bodies contain nascent spiritual power, but it’s very weak.”
Then Old Man Wen asked doubtfully, “The children of aristocratic families always carry nascent stones with them when they’re young. It’s so that when they awaken, they can directly possess great nascent spiritual power. How can both of your nascent spiritual powers be so weak?”
Both of them didn’t reply. These two days were enough for them to know that they had come to a very different place from the Cultivation World.
Old Man Wen saw that they wouldn’t answer. He didn’t take it seriously, influential family clans often quarreled internally. He took two black stones out and handed them to them, feeling a heartful distress. He said with physical sorrow, “These are medium-grade nascent stones, both of you use them to cultivate.”
After that, he turned around and picked up the meal Lin Zizheng cooked and ate it. His face showed a very painful expression. He waved Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng to leave, no longer paying attention to them.
Only Old Man Wen knew that his own hands were trembling with excitement. If both of them awakened their nascent spiritual power, then there was hope for that.
Qin Mo was staring blankly in the same place. Old Man Wen said a lot but he still didn’t know what a nascent spirit power was. It seemed that in this world, nascent spiritual power was as common as spiritual power. If he asked now, he would surely raise doubts in Old Man Wen’s head.
He held the nascent stone in his hand and went back into the house. He needed to explore the nascent spiritual power matter himself. Watching Qin Mo leave, Lin Zizheng immediately followed him into the house.
Qin Mo sat on the bed and observed the stone. The entire stone was black with a faint gray color flowing among it. Studying the irregular shape, Qin Mo felt it looked somewhat familiar.
Even though Qin Mo’s expression didn’t change, Lin Zizheng still spotted his distress. Lin Zizheng played with the stone in his hand and explained his thoughts, “I heard from Qing Yunzi that after one’s strength reaches Emerging Aperture, they will condense nascent spiri and the power used by the nascent spirit is nascent spiritual power. I wonder if what he said about nascent spirit power is related to the nascent spirit power here.”
There was a movement in Qin Mo’s heart. He knew Qing Yunzi; it was he who helped Lin Zizheng frame him in Huangtian’s secret territory. His tone hardened unconsciously, “Where is he?” Seeing the unexpected expression on Qin Mo’s face, Lin Zizheng had some regrets in his heart. He shouldn’t have mentioned Qing Yunzi just now. Da Shixiong must have remembered that event again, but the smile remained on his face. “Incidentally, I got a clay body pill a while back. Qing Yunzi went to condense a physical body so now he’s no longer in me.”
Lin Zizheng continued, “But I heard him say that a cultivator’s nascent spirit power and divine sense relate to each other.”
Qin Mo’s heart pounded. He nodded to Lin Zizheng and stopped talking. He placed the stone in his palm, slowly drew out a wisp of divine sense and inserted it into the stone.
Unlike its appearance, the interior of the nascent stone was a pure white color. When Qin Mo’s divine sense entered it, a sense of comfort spread out from within. His divine sense revolved inside the stone twice. When it returned to his body, he felt that his divine sense increased by a little. Joy filled his heart and he placed his divine sense into the stone once more.
Lin Zizheng smiled and sat beside Qin Mo. He also devoted himself to this novel cultivation.
Their cultivation lasted for a long time. When Qin Mo opened his eyes again, the sky was slightly dark. Old Man Wen was leaning on the front door and his expression wasn’t visible.
“Are both of you looking to die? You dare to cultivate for such a long time for the first time!” Old Man Wen’s gaze was heavy and contained extreme fury.
This distracted Qin Mo for a moment, and before he could speak, he saw Old Man Wen’s sight turned to Lin Zizheng, who was beside him. He said in a gritty tone, “When the boy wakes up, tell him if he wants to become an idiot, then continue to cultivate.”
After roaring this, Old Man Wen left with a cold snort. Being lectured by him, Qin Mo’s expression gradually softened. The old man cared about them. While his tone was so nasty, this was still… kinda cute.
Putting away the already darkened nascent stone in his hand, Qin Mo glanced at Lin Zizheng who was still cultivating. He hesitated for a moment but stayed in the house.
Neither Qin Mo nor Old Man Wen noticed a smear of golden light over the sky above their heads that slowly fell right at the cultivating Lin Zizheng.
On some mountain hill outside of the Dark Tomb, two people playing chess suddenly jumped up from their spots. They looked at the faint golden light in the distant sky and back at each other. With surprise in their gazes, one of them murmured, “It’s the golden light. He has returned.”
The excitement on the other’s face could not be contained.
After self-cultivating, Lin Zizheng never regained consciousness. Although Qin Mo kept telling himself that Lin Zizheng had nothing to do with him, he couldn’t stop worrying. In the next few days, besides cultivating, he always kept a close watch on Lin Zizheng’s situation.
Old Man Wen sighed. He didn’t know why Lin Zizheng hadn’t awakened. He regretted being so impatient and let them practice nascent spirit power. Only by feeling Lin Zizheng’s breathing was still like that of a living being could his worries be relieved somewhat.
Translator(s): Teo Editor(s): Dark Proofer(s): Sarah