by Tinalynge
Most humans were unaware that some beasts were capable of taking human shape. The most trusted source of information said that beasts need to be Saint ranked expert to transform; however, Hui Yue knew from his time in Shenyuan that this was not true. It was true that to control and change one’s appearance one needed to be a Saint, but every beast had the ability to transform into a human. This would change their features in a variety of ways. They would gain different colored hair, different eyes, and even skin of various colors among other things. In general, they would stand out in the crowd.
Many of the citizens the general population considered as mixed blooded were in fact fully fledged beasts, though no one said anything about it. This was a secret the beasts would take with them to the grave.
It had only been three months since Hui Yue had walked out of the castle, but by this time every house within Muchuan City had been filled to the brim with excited cultivators ready to take their share of the treasure. Any house or mansion which had been up for sale was sold, and all rooms had been rented out. The inns were completely filled with no free rooms. Soon even the cities surrounding Muchuan had become as filled as the capital itself.
Another two months went by before a sudden, joyful outburst was heard. Hui Yue was standing on the same plot of land he used to perfect the Sacred Solarflare yet, this time, no crater was present. What was there was now thousands of sharp spikes jutting up from the ground. Some were no more than one meter tall while others were up to three meters tall. No matter which one of the sharp spikes one looked at, all they could see was a tip so sharp that it could easily impale anyone. If one did not have the proper defenses, then they would definitely meet a bad ending. Even a Saint would not feel safe unless he had Wu Wei protecting him.
‘It took me three months to master the first level of Earth Tremor,’ Hui Yue mused to himself. ‘Then it took two months to perfect the second level. Should I try and see if I can improve my use of the third level this month?’ He questioned himself as a smile playing on his lips while he was looking around. “Even if I don’t succeed, I should, without a doubt, try!” He said determinedly as he straightened his back and sat down in meditation. At first, he closed his eyes and emptied his head of any thoughts which appeared. He was completely empty, like an abandoned shell while he was searching through his memories.
It did not take him long to locate the process to use the Hand of the Earth within his mind and as his eyes were closed he looked at the intricate pattern he needed to push his spiritual energy through. This usage of the skill was many times harder than the two he had previously succeeded in, yet he was not the kind of person to easily give up. A sinister smile spread on his face as he continued to memorize the pathway within his mind before he started actually putting theory into practice. He had long since understood the importance of taking his time when he was learning the pathways his spiritual energy had to flow. If he made a mistake, it was obvious that he would suffer. This was something he could not afford now that he was so close to the raid on the grave. Every time he thought about it, an uncontrollable excitement grew within his heart.
This was the first time that Hui Yue would go treasure hunting, and considering that even Lan Feng found it interesting, it would for sure be a good opportunity to test his skills and gain valuable cultivating treasures. This was something he wouldn’t miss for the world. Grinning, Hui Yue focused once more fully on the ability in his mind, and after two hours passed he stood up. He was ready to try out the skill Earth Tremor, Hand of the Earth for the first time.
Chapter 340 - Pest Control
* * *
Chapter 340: Pest Control
The training of the third level of Earth Tremor went far smoother than the other levels. Although the skill was incredibly difficult, it was as though Hui Yue had managed to gain a basic understanding of the skill by perfecting the two previous levels of Earth Tremor.
With a week left before everyone was to head to the grave, Hui Yue now had a seventy percent chance of summoning a two-meter tall hand, despite not completely perfecting the third ability. If he were to summon a smaller one, then his rate of success would be much higher.
Being satisfied, Hui Yue decided that he needed to use this last week on preparing. He was current standing in the middle of the park scratching his chin. Going to the mansion, he started thinking about whether or not he should invite anyone to come with him.
‘The only one you should invite should be Cai Jie or perhaps Deng Wu,’ A voice suddenly sounded in his head. Grumbling for a moment, Hui Yue nodded his head as what was said made sense. They were both incredibly strong, even Xu Piao who had been a King ranked expert for far longer than Deng Wu, was not his match anymore. This was mainly due to the break in cultivation he had taken. Back then he had never known about the ability to bring a dead soul back to life when one reaches the rank of God.
‘To be honest,’ Hui Yue started. ‘I don’t think that we should invite anyone to join us. Although it would be beneficial to have friends with us, it could also be an Achilles’ heel. I don’t want to have to look after others, and even though they are strong enough to look after themselves, I’d still worry. If I truly want to get rid of the third prince, then I need to focus fully on that one task. Going alone, with your assistance, will make it easier for the two of us,’ He argued, and Lan Feng seemingly agreed.
“Maybe Cai Jie,” He muttered to himself. That man was seemingly even stronger than Hui Yue, so he should be capable of looking after himself. That man should be able to find treasures on his own. Deciding that he would invite Cai Jie, Hui Yue went straight to the room belonging to his newfound and mysterious friend.
Truth be told, Hui Yue had no idea what he had been doing the last six months as he had been too focused on training. Aside from spending some time with Lao in the mornings and Gao Yan in the evenings, all his time was spent cultivating, training, and improving his mastery over Earth Tremor.
As he reached the room belonging to Cai Jie his nose wrinkled slightly as his enhanced sense of smell noticed a slight trace of blood. He could only detect this because his senses had been enhanced after he first turned into a complete wolf, and these senses now told him that something was not right.
Opening the door, he soon found that Cai Jie was not in the front room which contained his bed, a desk, and some shelving. Looking around, Hui Yue saw nothing out of the ordinary. Everything was in the right spot, but he could hear some hissing sounds from the bathroom. Without waiting even a moment, he rushed to the bathroom.
Looking inside, he was met by a remarkable sight. Cai Jie was sitting in a bathtub, and the water which should have been milky white with various of oils and soaps was murky red. A metallic scent drifted outwards, a smell Hui Yue knew all too well.
Leaning against the door to the bathroom, Hui Yue stared at the bleeding young friend of his. A long gash was visible just above the water and blood continued to pour out of it. The previously fair skinned young man had turned ashen gray.
“You are aware that the water will just make you keep bleeding? Water slows the time it takes for the blood to coagulate,” He said. His voice caused the golden man to jolt upwards followed by a shrill shriek. Swearing like a dockworker, Cai Jie tried to leave the water, but he was incapable of doing so. Sighing Hui Yue went to lend him a hand, and together they moved towards the bed where he placed him on the soft mattress.
Finding multiple towels in the bathroom, he returned to the bed where he gently wiped all the blood away before he pressed a towel hard against the wound trying to use pressure to stop the bleeding.
“Stop it! It hurts, I don’t want to do this!”
“Don’t be such a baby, it will feel much better soon, just lay still!”
Outside the room, various servants had gathered from the time they heard the shriek, and now they were all red faced as they listened to the conversation inside.
“I swear you enjoy seeing me in pain,” Cai Jie’s voice sound
ed strained and quite painful, and Hui Yue muttered quietly. “Who told you to take a shower, and almost bled to death!”
“I had to wash it,” He mumbled dejectedly. “It would have been worse if I did not clean it but who would have thought that I lost all my power when I entered the water.”
Cai Jie was a proud person, and he had never been treated this way before, but deep within the bickering triggered memories of his earlier life. Memories which no longer felt so distant and soon he settled with just grimacing from the pain of having a towel pressed against his wound.
“Attend me!” Hui Yue yelled out with his voice empowered with Qi, and it raced through the entire mansion. Moments after the door opened and around twenty maids looked into the room eager to see what exactly had happened. When they saw the gray face of Cai Jie alongside the blood splattered over the floor, all of them gulped. It seemed like misfortune had befallen him.
“Send the swiftest riders to summon Wang Ju Long. Tell her it is an emergency and she needs to hurry.” He ordered and moments after a horse and a guard rushed out from within the mansion to the infirmary where Wang Ju Long was currently working.
Hui Yue could see that the wound was deep and large. Removing the towel almost made him dizzy. It was no wonder that the prideful Cai Jie had acted the way he had. Anyone else, even Hui Yue, would have died from this wound. Knowing this, Hui Yue dared not wait another moment as he closed his eyes and deep within looked at his dantian caves. Two of these were already changed into the red beast core and the blue mist, but the green pearl was standing there, glistening with healing abilities. It was something Hui Yue could not control at all, yet the current situation deemed it necessary to at least try.
“I can control the other phenomena don’t tell me I can’t control this one,” He ground his teeth as he reached into the dantian cave where the green pearl was located. Looking at it a tug of war started. Hui Yue could feel that it was possible for him to drag the power from the pearl, but the pearl did everything in its ability to avoid being sucked out. Soon both fought to a standstill, and neither gave the other an inch in fear that they would lose their footing.
This deadlock lasted for a short while before Hui Yue finally had the upper hand, and with each passing moment he started gaining more ground. During this time any energy he could wrest from the pearl he started to pour the green energy from the pearl into his dantian. Merging it with spiritual energy, the usually silver-colored drops of energy slowly changed color to a faint green.
Hui Yue had never healed anyone before, and he did not know what he needed to do. Fortunately for him, this green pearl was not just any pearl of the Wood element, but one with extraordinary healing properties. As soon as the green energy from within combined with the spiritual energy from Hui Yue, this mixed energy left his hands and entered the body beneath him. The energy then started healing on its own. All the wounds quickly closed, however, this caused the green pearl to steadily reduce in size. Soon all the energy had been used, and the previously large, green pearl was now tiny. It was now as small as a speck of sand.
Entering his consciousness Hui Yue stood in front of the cave belonging to the green pearl and bowed deeply with clasped hands. “I am aware I force you to help, but I thank you for your involvement in saving my friend,” He said, and an unnoticeable ripple ran through the green pearl. It was, however, so small that no one could see it.
Opening his eyes, Hui Yue saw that Cai Jie was far stronger looking than he had been before. He had regained control over his body, but his face was still fairly pale. “I fixed what I could,” Hui Yue said. “You are not finished being healed so let Wang Ju Long have a look at you when she arrives. It is also impossible for me to do anything about your blood loss. Hopefully, she knows what to do,” He sighed.
For his first attempt, the healing had gone well. “What managed to injure you so badly?” Hui Yue asked curiously as he looked at the young man who slowly became more and more like he used to be.
Sending a wry smile to Hui Yue he only answered with two words, and these two words instantly made Hui Yue understand just what he had been doing. “Pest Control.”
There was one person in this world which Cai Jie hated, and that was An He. Much like Hui Yue, he had sworn to kill this strong opponent but right now he was far too weak to even think about attacking this enemy; instead, he was capable of removing one after another of the followers of An He. As to who alive knew about An He, Hui Yue and Cai Jie really had no idea, but the Crusaders were easy targets. They were everywhere within the city, and they were unquestionably connected to the secretive An He.
Hearing the words Hui Yue snorted at his friend as though he was dumb. “Killing the Crusaders is not a bad thing, but make sure you don’t die in the process. When it comes down to it, your life should not be traded for mere followers when you still have An He as your goal.”
There was a slight scolding in his voice, and it caused Cai Jie to grimace at his white-haired friend. “I should have been fine, but there turned out to be far more crusaders than I first expected and the fourth got me.”
Hui Yue frowned. “Fourth?” I remember you killing even more than that back in the Siban Empire,” He said slightly confused, and his words caused a pained grin to appear on Cai Jie’s face. “I cannot do that more than a few times. It is a power which does not belong to a king ranked body such as mine,” He complained but before Hui Yue had the chance to ask any more questions the door burst open and in came Wang Ju Long. Her eyes were focused and even though Hui Yue was there, someone she had tried to avoid ever since he had returned from Siban, she paid him no attention as she went to look at Cai Jie. Green spiritual energy illuminated everything around them as the gentle light slowly entered the body of the young man.
Not until then did she heave a heavy sigh of relief before she picked up a blood red pill. “The healing was done very well, but you lack blood. Eat this pill and you will recover much quicker.” After saying that she glanced at Hui Yue, and once again her face flushed red. As an awkward silence prevailed, she once more stood up and mumbled her goodbye before rushing away.
“You really have no luck in love,” His friend commented dryly.
Chapter 341 - Return of the Jing Family
* * *
Chapter 341: Return of the Jing Family
Sending a wry smile to his injured friend, Hui Yue could not help but comment. “You really have no clue how right you are.” He said while shaking his head. “I’ll be going away for some time.” He said while effortlessly changing the subject. Hui Yue got to the main reason for why he had gone looking for his friend in the first place.
“I am going to follow the third prince into the Grave of the Unknown. One of us will not return alive. If I die everything I have been working for will have become pointless so there is no way I can lose this fight.” He said as his face was dark and his voice carried deep emotions. Seeing this, Cai Jie nodded his head. Hui Yue could definitely not die here.
“I originally wanted to invite you to come with me, but it seems you already have your own agenda,” He smiled. “Not to mention you have been quite sick. Since you aren’t at your peak right now it won’t be that beneficial for either of us.”
“Hey, I’ll be ready before the raid starts, but I have no intention of joining you. With most of the nobility away, it will be much easier to slay Crusaders. It’s like the heavens themselves are helping me out.” He grinned, and Hui Yue just shrugged his shoulders. He was not hoping for too much when he asked Cai Jie to join him.
“Well, in that case, I need to go and prepare for the trip. Stay in bed and heal up before you go cleaning the streets once again,” Hui Yue said as he waved goodbye towards the bedridden friend and left the room with a smile on his lips.
Leaving the mansion Hui Yue went towards the marketplaces. He needed to buy medicinal pills and herbs which would help him while the green pearl was restoring itself to its previous condition, or if it suddenly turned st
ubborn. He also needed pills which recovered internal energy. Medicine which restored Qi was cheap, pills which restored spiritual energy were decently priced, but the ones which recovered Wu Wei were incredibly expensive. Hui Yue knew that he would need them if he was to survive within this tomb.
Spending a whopping three hundred spirit coins, Hui Yue now had memory stones filled to the brim with medicinal pills for his trip. Just as he was about to look and see if he could find any other beneficial things, Hui Yue stopped in his tracks and a sinister smile formed on his lips. Right in front of him was the young master of the Jing family.
The young master had not noticed Hui Yue yet, but this time, he was protected by an entourage of an astonishing ten King ranked experts. These Kings all wore the same set of armor with a lily engraved in the metal.