by Fang Xiang
[tl: [20] = 师兄(shixiong): senior male fellow student or apprentice. ]
Other people had no interest in a yard without any sense of beauty, appeal, and incomplete seal formations, but Zuo Mo liked it.
He didn’t raise anything in the fish pond. Just using the pond to bathe in the summer was a refreshing luxury. Ling fields were good. Zuo Mo had calculated well. If you rented ling fields from the sect, you had to pay rent. Zuo Mo didn’t have to pay rent on the ling fields in this yard. There was also a cold spring in the yard.
There were considerations in building a residence. Normally, it was best to build on top of a ling vein. Living constantly in places thick with ling energy would increase the speed of cultivation. That was the reason Secret Paradises with ling veins were so expensive. There weren’t many places with ling veins at all, so how would it be given to the outer sect disciples like him?
But who could have thought that under this neglected yard, there was a ling vein!
When he had moved in, Zuo Mo had searched everywhere for a place to meditate. He found a secluded room. When he pushed open the door, a rotten smell had rushed at him. There were many meditation mats lying on the ground which all had decayed and rotted. There was only one mat that had kept its shape.
After Zuo Mo put in tremendous effort into cleaning up the seclusion room, only the one mat had been left.
When Zuo Mo sat on the mat for the first time, he froze in shock.
In the location of the mat, the ling energy was much thicker than anywhere else!
Zuo Mo, whose heart had been beating frantically, had first thought it was due to the mat. Quickly after, he found the real reason – under the mat there was a small side branch of ling vein! This section of ling veins was extremely small. It couldn’t be detected even one step away from the mat.
At this time, he finally understood why that nameless shixiong had built such a large yard. It was most likely to disguise this little section of ling vein.
This nameless shixiong quickly became Zuo Mo’s idol.
To be able to find this little section of ling vein on the gigantic western peak and to clear an area for ling fields by himself. With such ability, this shixiong didn’t seem like an outer sect disciple.
After finding the secret of the ling vein, Zuo Mo became even more low-key. He knew the logic of not showing off one’s wealth. If this bit of ling vein was found out by anyone else, there would be plots against him. At bes, it would be taken away by the sect.
Zuo Mo prepared and placed thirty something mats on the floor of the seclusion room. In addition, there were seventy or so mats piled in the corners. The colors of the mats varied, and the shapes were all different. All of them were woven by him. This strange habit of Little Zombie Mo, weaving mats, was known throughout the outer sect. Some people, when they wanted to find him to ask for help, they would go out and buy some exquisite mats as gifts. This caused the number of mats to increase and fill the entire seclusion room.
But normally, Zuo Mo persisted in meditating on the old mat that had been preserved. To not rot after such a long period of time, this mat might have a special attribute. Thoughts of that unfathomable nameless shixiong, lead him to be careful with anything that had been preserved in the room. He wouldn’t dare to underestimate anything.
The only thing that Zuo Mo was somewhat regretful about was the ling fields had been fallow for too long. The grade of the field had dropped, and had become first-grade ling fields. It had taken countless efforts from Zuo Mo for the vitality to revive. But to once again reach second-grade, it needed time.
All five mu of the ling fields were planted with ling grains. The ling grains were waist-high, the leaf edges saw-toothed and very sharp. If not careful, it was easy to be cut. The ling grains had been seeded out at the same time so the height was extremely regular. It was a patch of green, extremely delightful.
At night, it seemed very gloomy.
To prevent from thievery, Zuo Mo put down jinzhi all around the yard. These low level jinzhi didn’t have any attack power but if they were set off, they made a loud fuss.
The entire yard was worn down and rotten. Spider webs were everywhere. All the furniture was broken and rotting. The seal arrangements inside the rooms didn’t work due to years of neglect. No one competed for the yard with him.
None of this affected Zuo Mo. He liked sleeping on the roof at night. He meditated in the seclusion room. All the other rooms were kept empty or as storage holding some normal food. For formations, he had someone carve a light seal formation for illumination during the nights. He was too thrifty to spend money on anything else.
Sitting on the prayer mat, the thick ling energy in the surroundings made him so comfortable he almost groaned. Controlled his emotions he refocused and circulated the ling power in his body.
The core scripture he used in his cultivation was [Ten Principle Scripture]. It was a widely circulated second-grade scripture. Its attribute was steadiness and mildness. Basically, there was no worry of accidentally cultivating incorrectly and becoming insane. The majority of the outer sect disciples of Wu Kong Sword Sect picked it as their main scripture to cultivate. If they wanted to reach zhuji, then the chances of success were very low. Disciples who had greater ambitions needed to use more contribution points of the sect to exchange for higher level scriptures.
It was as though Zuo Mo entered a void. The ling power slowly moved through fixed paths. After one complete round, the body felt a fraction lighter.
With his cultivation of lianqi seventh level, he could persist in three circuits each time. He could feel as he inhaled and exhaled, that a portion of the ling energy inhaled would merge into the ling power that was moving inside the body. The thicker the ling energy in the surroundings, the more he could inhale each time. In these two years, this section of ling vein was of crucial importance for him going from the third level of lianqi to level seven.
After making three complete circuits, his mind retreated from the void.
His entire body felt rejuvenated. The exhaustion of before was all gone.
He casually ate something to fill his stomach. Before entering zhuji, xuizhe still needed normal food. Normal food couldn’t contribute ling power but it was still essential to xuizhe who were still in the stage of lianqi. Thankfully, the price of normal food was cheap and no one needed to worry about starvation.
He took out the jade stick he had brought yesterday. The jade stick was made from good jade, verdant and glistening. Holding it in his grasp, the material felt cold and heavy.
Floating in his head were mountains of ling grains and him laying contentedly on top of it all.
––Such a desirable life!
In this gloomy room, a thin male with a wooden zombie face gave out a stream of snickers that would raise the hair of anyone present.
After finishing dreaming, Zuo Mo focused attentively on examining the jade stick in his hand.
Channeling in ling power to the jade stick, many words instantly floated into his mind.
The jade stick had five kinds of spells, [Little Art of Cloud and Rain], [Art of Earth Energy], [Art of Aged Gold], [Art of Flora], [Art of Crimson Flame]. Other than [Little Art of Cloud and Rain], Zuo Mo had never learned any of the other four.
Being able to learn new spells, Zuo Mo was extremely happy. He couldn’t help taking a deep breath.
He could guess that from now on he needed to focus most of his attention on the remaining four spells.
The first one he tried was [Art of Aged Gold]. In the five elements, the primary use of the gold element was destruction and killing. Most of the spells related to the gold energy were related to killing. Ling grains had many natural enemies that were extremely troublesome, such as many kinds of aphids. They would burrow into the stalks of ling grains, even hollowing out the stalk. Average planters had no way of dealing with them.
The [Art of Aged Gold] was a sufficient method to deal with these pests. It would let the power of gold
element permeate inside the ling plants and kill the pests inside the ling plant stalks. This was the spell that Zuo Mo needed the most presently. Other than the contracts he had signed with the other disciples, he himself had rented fifty mu of ling fields.
The harvest from these fifty mu of ling fields made up a significant amount of his income each year.
He read through [Art of Aged Gold] word by word, not daring to miss a word. The number of spells he had learned were pitifully few. Learning a completely new spell, he instantly felt it was a challenge.
After two hours, he made no progress. No matter how he tried, he could not form the aged gold energy that was mentioned in [Art of Aged Gold].
All the spells in [Art of Aged Gold] were made using the aged gold energy. Being unable to form the aged gold energy, he couldn’t learn any of the spells in [Art of Aged Gold].
The zombie face was wooden but that pair of spirited eyes showed a few hints of fierceness.
Chapter 4: Absurdity
The light of the sunrise cut through the darkness, the red sun was slowly rising. As the light streamed into the seclusion room through the windows, his thin fingers suddenly emitted a gold colour!
Zuo Mo brought his index finger in front of his reddened eyes.
There seemed to be a golden layer around his index finger. The expressionless Zuo Mo’s eyes were filled with delight. As the beam of sunlight changed direction and left his finger, and revealed the original appearance. A layer of light gold energy was wrapped around Zuo Mo’s index finger.
It was the aged gold energy!
Just at this time, a melodious bell rang five times, clang clang clang clang clang. The sound echoed through the mountains.
The gold light on the finger shook and the aged gold energy suddenly collapsed.
With a dishevelled appearance, Zuo Mo jumped up from the ground. Damn it! It was already morning. Disregarding his hunger, he ran outside like the wind.
At this time, if one was observing Wu Kong Mountain, then they would see hundreds of figures running out of their yards and heading to the same location.
Zuo Mo once again cursed the rule that outer sect members were not allowed to fly inside the mountain boundaries, his feet moved frantically as he sprinted.
———–
The Hall of Hearing Principles was located at the Cow Horn Peak of Wu Kong Mountain. This mountain peak was named due to its shape.
When Zuo Mo ran into the Hall of Hearing Principles, there were already many people sitting down. He randomly found a mat to sit and gasped for air.
At the front, a young man was sitting. He was about twenty years old, his face was like jade, and his eyes like stars. He was in a dark blue plain robe. Among the dozens of people in the room, he appeared as a crane among chickens.
It was Xu Yi, the third ranked disciple among the inner sect. Usually, he was responsible for teaching the outer sect disciple. He was the disciple of Xin Yan Shishu. He was the most talented at forging among the inner sect disciples. In addition, he had a vast knowledge regarding a variety of miscellaneous topics.
Ding!
On the table, a bell made from jade rang, the sound rose and spreading out. Zuo Mo felt his mind jump and become refreshed, the tiredness from staying up all night was disappearing.
Xu Yi Shixiong’s Green Water Jade Bell Set was one of the talismans that Zuo Mo coveted the most. The rack was made of red copper, and seven green bells were arranged in order of largest to smallest. Carved on each bell were countless miniscule seal characters. They glowed with a green light and it was lovely.
Each bell had a different effect. The effect of bell that had just been struck was [Great Clear Sound Incantation]
Zuo M could only just be envious. This set of green jade bells had taken Xu Yi Shixiong a tremendous amount of time and energy to forge. Even the other shixiong didn’t have a set.
Xu Yue Shixiong was well loved by the outer sect disciples. Would any other shixiong use [Great Clear Sound Incantation] to help disciples clear their minds?
Xu Yi swept his sleeves out and the doors of the Hall of Hearing Principles were loudly closed.
Zuo Mo’s attention was on the desk in front of Shixiong. Other than that set of green jade bells, there were also a variety of knick-knacks.
Forging? Zuo Mo instantly rejoiced inside. He had entered Wu Kong Sword Sect for two years but never heard Third Shixiong talk about forging.
Every so often, Third Shixiong would teach some of the methods of cultivation. It was one of the benefits for outer sect disciples. Many people entered the sect just in order to learn these cultivation methods so when they left the Wu Kong Sword Sect, they could find a good job.
Others, unlike Zuo Mo, couldn’t find many jobs. Zuo Mo only had a cultivation of seventh level lianqi, but with his third level of [Little Art of Cloud and Rain], he could find a decent job in a farm or medicine garden. Sky Moon Jie didn’t have many exports but due to the good climate and abundant ling energy, there were many farms and medicine gardens.
Scriptures increase ling power and cultivation. What was needed was the resources and accumulation. Ling veins, ling medicine, jingshi, they could all increase cultivation. If they were not available, then you could only slowly cultivate over time.
Spells were the usage of ling power. What was needed to learn spells were lessons and personal comprehension. There were geniuses who could comprehend the spell arts on their own, but for normal people receiving lessons was more effective.
In some large sects, before disciples achieved zhuji, they were restricted from learning spell arts. That was because they believed cultivation was fundamental.
For many xiuzhe, the great pat of enlightenment was just a dream. Ling veins, ling medicine, and jingshi, none of these were things they could even wish for. So, in comparison, learning spells was more realistic. One could find a good job and receive a decent income with spells. Other than guaranteeing a livelihood, they could provide for their descendants so that they wouldn’t find it as difficult to cultivate.
“You have all spent a period of time at this sect. I know how much effort and hardship you have all endured, but you have to keep cultivating and not neglect it. It will help make it easier to find a living in the future. Your efforts will not be wasted. Cultivate through scriptures, so I won’t speak too much on this. There isn’t anything more to say about it. If your scores at the sect assessment are excellent this year, I naturally will pass on high-level scriptures to you.
Today, I am going to be speaking of is how to forge two talismans. The first is Ling Fragmenting Hoe, the second is Needle and Thread Sucking pouch.
The Ling Fragmenting Hoe is an essential talisman for you in the take care of the ling fields. It can excite the ling energy inside the ling fields and help the ling plants absorb ling energy. The Needle and Thread Sucking pouch is used to take in the sap of the ling plants. Remember, you must quickly hand over the sap of the ling plants that are sucked out, otherwise when the ling energy in the sap will dissipate. This will not earn a single contribution point.
Pay close attention. I’ll only say these things once ……”
Xu Yi Shixiong spoke plainly, the vigor in his words that made people trust his lecture.
Zuo Mo listened extremely carefully. This was the first time he touched the topic of forging. He was afraid to miss a single word.
When Xu Yi Shixiong finished his lecture, six hours had passed. Zuo Mo hadn’t ate all night and concentrated for six hours. Zuo Mo’s front chest was touching his back. Quickly returning to his yard, he searched for something to fill his stomach.
Before he could wipe his mouth, a sword light suddenly came from the sky, landing in the yard. The jinzhi around the yard didn’t have any strength to resist before exploding.
A man with an icy expression appeared in front of Zuo Mo.
Zuo Mo swallowed the words that had reached his mouth back into his stomach. His heart beat wildly. Why had this death god come?
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Before he could make a bow, he heard the other snort, “You are Zuo Mo?”
“Zuo Mo greets Luo Li Shixiong!” Zuo Mo’s voice was respectful as he made a deep bow. Luo Li Shixiong might be ranked fourth among the inner sect disciples but he had the deepest cultivation among this generation of disciples. His personality was cold and he was fanatical about cultivation. His innate talents were outstanding and among the second generation, he was the only disciple that managed to achieve [Empty Sword]. He was widely acknowledged as the person most likely, in the past two hundred years, to achieve the sect’s lost technique, [Void Sword]. [Void Sword] was the sect’s greatest sword art.
Luo Li was famous equally for his innate talents and his moody temper. He was responsible for supervising a mine for the sect. According to rumors, if the xiu slaves who mined there were even the least bit noncompliant, he would kill them with one stroke.
Luo Li was too lazy to talk to Zuo Mo and he appeared suddenly behind Zuo Mo, and flew off, holding Zuo Mo by his collar.
Zuo Mo might have called himself the first one among the outer sect disciples to have a mount, but it was the first time he experienced such flying speed. He only felt the sky and earth were rotating, the oncoming wind made his face hurt and he couldn’t even open his eyes.
When his feet touched the ground, Zuo Mo almost collapsed.
“So it really is a zombie face.”
Zuo Mo, who had just recovered from dizziness, heard this and instantly formed a negative opinion of the speaker.
A young female dressed in green, examined Zuo Mo with interest. Her chin was pointed and her cheekbones slightly high. There was a smile on her face but her eyes lacked warmth.
Her gaze made Zuo Mo very uncomfortable, but he didn’t dare to show any discontent. He respectfully gave a bow, “Greetings to Hao Shijie!” [21]
[tl: [21] = 师姐(shijie): senior female student. ]
Hao Min Shijie and Luo Li Shixiong were the disciples of Yan Le Shishu. [22] Supposedly, Luo Li Shixiong was infatuated with her. That rumor seem to be true.