World of Cultivation - Volume 04 - Zuo Mo’s Counterattack

by Fang Xiang

  Chapter 248: The Problem of Settlement

  When Lei Peng and the others returned, Zuo Mo was discussing the construction plans of the city with the three people. Never having participated in building a city before, Zuo Mo was extremely interested. Also, the newly built city was of extremely important in his plan.

  To the three people, a strong village that could defend against a jindan was something they had never done before. They were extremely interested. As to the feasibility of the plans due to the high difficulty? That was Boss’ problem. They were only in charge of designing it.

  “What is the use of this beacon tower?” Zuo Mo pointed at the plans and asked.

  “It is primarily to give warning to allies. Other than that, it can contain twenty xiuzhe. Its ling shield can protect xiuzhe. Xiuzhe standing on the top do not have to worry about the attacks of the enemy.”

  “But don’t you think it is too small?”

  “It can hold twenty people, it is not small.”

  “Small, it’s too small. At the very least, it needs to be able to hold fifty xiuzhe. That way, it has offensive power. Also, we don’t need that fire altar. We only have one city, we don’t need to give anyone warnings.”

  “Without the fire altar, is it still a beacon tower?”

  “We can give it another name. What about Sword Pavilion, how do you guys feel about it?” Zuo Mo asked with interest.

  The three were wordless.

  Zuo Mo clearly had not finished speaking his thoughts. “Your plans are pretty good, but it is too conservative. Pure defense cannot stop the attacks of the enemy. Jindan recover ling power faster than us. If he can’t defeat us the first day, he’ll come back the second day. If he continues to attack for a dozen days or a month, do you feel we can stop him?”

  The three were speechless again.

  One person argued, “If a jindan attacks a city, there’s no city in Little Mountain Jie that can stop him.”

  “There wasn’t one before, but there will be one soon.” Zuo Mo looked at the other, and then added, “If there isn’t one when it’s time, we will all die.”

  The three instantly started to sweat, feeling hopelessness. Heavens, who had Boss offended? Wait! Jindan! A person flashed across their minds, Clear Sky Old Forefather! There was only one jindan xiuzhe in Little Mountain Jie.

  “Clear Sky Old Forefather?” a person asked in a trembling voice.

  Zuo Mo smiled and said, “Your guess is so accurate.”

  The three’s faces turned ashy. Zuo Mo’s smile was so evil in their eyes, more evil than a demon. They were extremely regretful. Before, their lives were poor, but at least they wouldn’t be at risk for losing their little lifes.

  “Okay, everyone,” Zuo Mo clapped his hands, “cheer up. I know you are the same as me, you don’t want to die. So cheer up. Use your strongest imagination and give the most plausible plan.”

  One person looked soulless, but he managed to keep his composure. “Boss, you can’t defend against a jindan.”

  “Then what do we do?” Zuo Mo spread his hands and asked.

  This person bit out, “If we can’t defend, maybe we can try to kill him!”

  “You’re crazy!” The other two people yelled.

  “Continue.” Zuo Mo was shocked inside, and gave a surprised expression.

  This person’s face was white, but this eyes flashed with an insane light. “Jindan might be strong, but they do have weaknesses. They are too proud, they believe too much in their own strength. They would not care about things that look very dangerous to us. We can make a trap using the city as bait. He may fall for it.”

  “It’s not possible. He will see through our disguise.”

  “You cannot kill a jindan!”

  The other two muttered as though they were dreaming.

  Zuo Mo scanned this person and asked, “What’s your name?”

  “Yuan Jiang, Boss,” the person answered respectfully.

  “From today on, you are the leader of the three of you,” Zuo Mo then said to the other two, “you two will be his assistants. If someone doesn’t listen, hmph hmph. You won’t live if you rebel against a jindan, but if you rebel against me, you won’t have a life now.”

  The two people’s faces instantly whitened again, and fell silent.

  “Make a new plan,” Zuo Mo said to Yuan Jiang.

  “Yes, Boss!” Yuan Jiang said respectfully. He knew that if he was able to grasp this chance, his future prospects were limitless.

  ———

  Gongsun Cha listened to the people report. Xie Shan stood at the side with an ashamed expression. He knew that he had gone overboard this time. He had exposed himself too early in front of the public. It was not a good thing for them.

  “Oh, so it’s like that.” Gongsun Cha raised his head, and gave a shy smile. He said warmly, “No problem.”

  Xie Shan’s heart loosened slightly.

  “However”

  Xie Shan’s heart suddenly rose again.

  “Since you guys caused this problem, then you need to wipe your own butts.” Gongsun Cha then seemed to say to himself, “Oh, this is a pretty good chance, can’t waste it.”

  No one understood what Lil’ Miss meant in his words to himself.

  “Right now, Clear Sky Sect is definitely searching for you. Even though you have covered your tracks very well, but they probably will not have to try so hard to find this place. Your present mission is to stop and disrupt their pursuit.”

  Everyone instantly had an excited expression. Wasn’t this another chance to fight?

  The corner of Gongsun Cha’s mouth rose in an imperceptible curve. “All of you will led a platoon in this disruption mission.”

  “Ah! We also need to take those new people?”

  The people who had just been so excited instantly withered. They finally reacted. What disruption mission? It was a babysitting mission. Thinking about taking along a large group of newbies that didn’t know a thing, everyone, including Zong Ru, had a grimace on their face.

  They were very willing to kill. But not one of them was willing to be a babysitter.

  “What, you aren’t willing?” Gongsun Cha smiled, showing his teeth.

  Everyone’s hearts suddenly froze. They simultaneously shook their heads.

  ‘Willing, how can we not be willing?! Leading a group of people, it will be very imposing, ha ha!” Lei Peng’s laughter was like sobbing.

  “Very willing, very willing!” Nian Lu hurried to agree, afraid if he wasn’t careful, Lil’ Miss would fix onto him. Then it really would be getting a strip torn off his hide.

  Ma Fan saw Lil’ Miss’ eyes float towards him and hurriedly jumped out. “This subordinate is willing to be the first to fight.”

  The other people instantly were upset. How come they hadn’t been the first to declare themselves? Ma Fan’s mind was getting better and better. He hadn’t been the core for nothing!

  Instantly, everyone asked to fight.

  Gongsun Cha gave a shy and bashful smile, and said softly, “You have to be careful.”

  Hearing this, it was as though everyone had been pardoned, and they scattered, rushing to go pick people.

  ———

  Zuo Mo suddenly felt he was much busier. All the xiuzhe that had been brought over had at least one skill. He had to personally make arrangements for many people. However, before this, the first person he had to meet was the one who had planned all this, Bao Yi.

  “Boss!” Bao Yi respectfully bowed.

  When he first saw Zuo Mo, he was extremely shocked. From any angle, this boss looked like a youth that did not seem to have even entered his twenties. The more amazed he was, the less he dared to slight Boss. To be able to gather together such a large group of people at such an age, his abilities were definitely not something that a little businessman like him could underestimate.

  After he took a tour around the camp, the amazement in his heart increased. Maybe this camp was extremely crude in other peopl
e’s eyes, but in the eyes of someone as experienced as Bao Yi, there were too many places here that were not normal.

  That date seed ship was a rare jingshi talisman. The female xiu beside Boss and the three metal guards enveloped in golden armor were unable to be quantified.

  The first mission he received was to organize the stores.

  He was very attentive to this mission. The stores could, to a certain degree, reflect the wealth of Boss.

  The storeroom was a mountain cave. It was heavily guarded with two whole platoons of xiuzhe. When he entered the deep cavern, and saw the mountainous pile of talismans, he was dumbstruck. In an instant, he felt all the blood in his body suddenly flood into his head.

  Heavens! It was the first time he had seen talismans piled up in heaps like they were trash.

  No one to care and repair them, Bao Yi’s first thought was, wastrel, they were wastrels!

  After that, he started to organize through day and night. He organized and sorted the talismans according to type and grade. When Zuo Mo entered the store and saw the reborn storeroom, he was very satisfied.

  “You must have worked very hard,” Zuo Mo said.

  “This is this subordinate’s duty,” Bao Yi hurriedly said.

  This guy really had abilities, Zuo Mo thought inside. Even though he was full of interest towards business, but it was clear that he definitely would not have the time in the future.

  “You are going to be in charge of the store and be the quartermaster for the troop.” Zuo Mo reassured him. As the number of people increased, Zuo Mo felt it was increasingly difficult to manage them all. The training and combat of the xiuzhe in the camp belonged to Gongsun Shidi, but there was a lot of work in supplying resources. It had been a headache for him and Gongsun Shidi . As to Chun Shidi, that maniac could not be relied on.

  Bao Yi was overjoyed. “Thank you Boss!”

  Quartermaster and in charge of the stores, that was a rich job. What he thought more of was the importance of this job. After this, he did not need to worry about his status in this group.

  “Work hard.” Zuo Mo encouraged and quickly left the storeroom.

  ———

  Bao Yi’s job was very easy to arrange because no one other than him could do the job. However, Zuo Mo felt it was very difficult to arrange the other people.

  They were skilled in a variety of areas, some of which were very obscure. Zuo Mo still had no idea what to do with them.

  The only person he could ask for help was Pu Yao.

  “This problem.” Pu Yao thought, and then said, “Maybe you can borrow some methods from our Yao Art Houses.”

  “What methods?” Zuo Mo’s mind became alert.

  “In the bigger yao art houses, they would take out a portion of resources and monies each year to support those yao with unique ideas to study new yao arts.” Pu Yao said, “Of course, you cannot avoid the necessary examinations and assessments.”

  Zuo Mo’s eyes lit up. That was a good idea.

  If he didn’t know how to organize these people, it was better to let them work it out, and he could save effort. As to resources, it would be within the limits of their abilities.

  What Zuo Mo needed the most at the moment was the least effort-consuming method. If it continued like this, he felt that definitely would have no time to cultivate.

  These days, it wasn’t easy being the boss!

  * * *

  Translator Ramblings: The crazier the person, the more they get promoted in Zuo Mo’s camp, and the higher the status. The best example is, of course, Gongsun Cha. Gongsun Cha making an army is a long term process he is going through that is showing preliminary results. Chun Yu Cheng is also doing the same thing. He’s had preliminary results, and now he just needs more time. If he was useless, Fang Xiang wouldn’t have wrote him in and kept mentioning him in all these chapters.

  Some of you have really good theories for what is going on with the mystery female.

  Chapter 249: A New Plan

  He Xiang’s face was black. The battle that had occurred at Nan Sheng Village was nothing less than a slap to his face. Also, this incident had coincided with the most crucial moment in negotiations. Looking at the slightly mocking expressions on the faces of the group of leaders, he understood that he would not be able to negotiate for the price he wanted.

  He needed to prove Clear Sky Sect’s dominance of Little Mountain Jie. He needed to tell everyone what would happen if they went against Clear Sky Sect and him!

  He Xiang’s expression was twisted viciously like a wild beast wanting to bite someone. There was none of the slight smile that had been on his face during the day.

  All of you, just wait!

  ———

  Zuo Mo read through Yuan Jiang’s new plan. At first glance, he liked this plan, a plan that was completely different than before.

  Yuan Jiang was introducing the details, “This is an extreme plan. All of the construction is about one goal, our imaginary enemy, the Clear Sky Old Forefather.”

  When he spoke of Clear Sky Old Forefather, Yuan Jiang’s voice was excited.

  “To be able to maximize offensive and defensive capabilities, we rejected the plan to build a large city in this new plan. We will build a small city, a very small city, one that can only contain ten thousand people. Over here.”

  He pointed at the highest peak.

  “As the new city will be small, it will greatly reduce the area we have to defend, and gather our strength. Inside the new city, other than the basic necessities, all other constructions not related to combat have been abolished. The new city will be a big formation. This way, we can dramatically increase the defensive capabilities of the new city.

  “We will hollow out the other six mountain peaks, and connect them to the new city underground. This way, we can form a gigantic Seven Star Formation. We’ve never planned such a large formation before, and do not know if it can stop a jindan, but this is the limits of what we can do. Boss needs to find experts in formations to complete this plan.”

  Zuo Mo stared at the new blueprints without a word.

  Yuan Jiang was slightly uncertain. He didn’t want to ruin his first job.

  What he didn’t know was that his plan had given Zuo Mo endless inspiration, especially the idea of digging out the six mountain peaks and forming a Seven Star Formation underground. That idea was too crazy, too creative!

  Zuo Mo was thinking, if it was like that, the Sky Star Lake could also be included in the big formation.

  Using the mountains and lakes to set up a formation, Yuan Jiang’s plans had opened a new window for Zuo Mo.

  Zuo Mo had never tried such a terrifying and large formation. However, he knew that if this big formation could be formed, its power would be greater than any formation he had ever set up before.

  The entire area around Sky Star Mountain would become an area controlled by the new city. Also, it would be so well disguised. Who could think that anyone would set up such an insane formation?

  There were many places inside the city that could be improved, especially in the area of formations. It was clear that the three people were less skilled in the area of formations compared to Zuo Mo .

  Zuo Mo suddenly thought of a problem. Power. Such a large formations, how many jingshi would it take to activate?

  An even more insane idea jumped out of his head.

  Just at this time, he heard Yuan Jiang’s worried words, “Boss, the building materials for this city isn’t easy to find.”

  Zuo Mo silently remembered his thought and raised his head to smile smugly at Yuan Jiang. “We’ve already started to prepare the bricks.”

  Yuan Jiang stilled, and did not look very happy. He said, “Boss, for the new city to achieve the predicted effect, these bricks can’t be just anything. We need … …”

  “Follow me.” Zuo Mo did not waste words and turn to lead the front.

  When Yuan Jiang saw the mountains of blue gold stone bricks that had already been proces
sed, he was dumbstruck. The other two people also gaped, looking dazedly at the glittering blue gold bricks.

  After a beat, Yuan Jiang managed to react and leap forward.

  “Good good good! The quality is comparable to talismans. However, it is the first time I have seen such a hot presence.” Yuan Jiang’s expression was excited. Only now did he finally believe that Boss really wanted to build a city!

  “These bricks have been processed with Golden Crow Fire. The quality isn’t bad.” A rock in Zuo Mo’s heart landed. It looked like these bricks would satisfy Yuan Jiang’s demands.

  “Great!” Yuan Jiang was thrilled, “Now that the problem of the bricks has been resolved, the other problems are easy.”

  Zuo Mo did not speak. In his view, it was the exact opposite. The other problems were even harder.

  It really was a vast undertaking!

  ———

  Wei Cheng Bin’s recent days were not very good. Rationally, absorbing such a desired and fine fire seed as Golden Crow Fire should make a person happy. Even though there was none of the ling grains that had been predicted, but everyone had received a Black Meditation Mat. When Master Sun Bao had showed them how to use it, these Black Meditation Mats had become everyone’s most treasured possession. Many people were regretting that they hadn’t taken enough jingshi with them.

  No one had any objections about their wages turning from the ling grains to jingshi.

  What saddened him was the work that had followed.

  When he saw the bluestone bricks that were multiple times larger than he was, he instantly did not know what to do. After that, it had taken him great effort before managing to process one of them. Then he found that other people had finished three pieces.