by Fang Xiang
Zuo Mo seemed to know what Master wanted to say, but for some unknown reason, he was very calm.
“Our sect has expanded too quickly. Even though it is out of helplessness, but there are many weaknesses. The sect is not as harmonious as it was before.” Speaking of that, she couldn’t help but sigh. “You have to work hard, and enter ningmai as early as possible!”
“This disciple understands.” Zuo Mo knew that Master was looking out for him.
Shi Feng Rong said a few more things before leaving.
———
The sky was dark. Zuo Mo sat on the rooftop, a sound tablet by his side. The noise of the sound tablet was the same. Silly Bird was at the side. She seemed to feel Zuo Mo’s mood and didn’t make noise.
After entering meditation from before, Pu Yao still hadn’t moved.
Luckily, there was no change in the sea of flames, no change in the gravestone, and no change in Pu Yao sitting on the gravestone.
Pu Yao was meditating, Eldest Shixiong, Luo Li Shixiong, Xiao Guo, and the others were not here.
Sitting on the rooftop, he looked at the sky. The light of flying swords were multiple times more frequent than before, extremely busy. Yet all this prosperity made Zuo Mo feel this place was now very unfamiliar and very cold.
Suddenly, something pulled the corner of his clothing. Turning around, he found it was Silly Bird.
“What? Silly Bird!”
Silly Bird flapped down the roof. Hm, Zuo Mo’s eyes landed where Silly Bird was standing.
Wasn’t that the entrance to the rock room?
Zuo Mo had always carefully concealed the entrance to the rock room. He had especially set up illusory formations around it. No one had found it. Zuo Mo suddenly felt interested and burrowed into the room.
Entering, a damp and cold air rushed out.
Sweeping the stone room, Zuo Mo suddenly had a joyful expression.
Hm!
Black gold worm!
The black gold wom also found Zuo Mo, turning into a streak of black light to land on Zuo Mo’s shoulder. Seeing this little guy, Zuo Mo’s mood lifted as though he was meeting an old friend. He finally remembered that the black gold worm liked to stay on the ling vein inside the stone room. He had long forgotten about it.
Putting the black gold worm on his palm and inspecting it, Zuo Mo felt even happier. Compared to before, the black gold worm was of a higher grade and more intelligent.
What had this guy eaten?
When his eyes landed on the pock-marked ling vein, he understood. It was as he had expected. When he approached the ling vein, he found he could not detect any ling energy. There was a small yet extremely deep hole in the ground. When Zuo Mo tested with his consciousness, he found it was at least several dozen zhang deep. It definitely was due to the black gold worm. The dan that had been nurturing by the ling spring probably also landed in this little guy’s stomach.
“I really didn’t see that you really have some skill!” Zuo Mo smiled at the black gold worm.
Taking the black gold worm out of the stone room, Zuo Mo’s mood was much better.
———
Wu Kong Hall
Pei Yuan Ran and Shi Feng Rong were discussing matters.
Pei Yuan Ran smiled and said, “I just received a flying sword message from Third Shidi. Good news, Heart Lake Sword Sect has agreed to give the Desolate Wood Reef to us.”
Shi Feng Rong also showed a sliver of joy. “If that’s the case, that’s great! The Desolate Wood Reef is right beside the jie river to Little Mountain Jie. We now have another escape route, but what did Heart Lake Sword Sect want in return?”
“They wanted Kui City. I agreed. Kui City isn’t of much use to us. To exchange for Desolate Wood Reef, it’s profitable.” Pei Yuan Ran said decisively.
Shi Feng Rong nodded in agreement.
“I’m planning to let Zuo Mo go to the Desolate Wood Reef,” Pei Yuan Ran suddenly said.
“Why?” Shi Feng Rong suddenly stood up, her face angry. “Zuo Mo just came out of the formation, and you are sending him to such wilderness. I understand clearly just how barren the Desolate Wood Reef is. We’ve been there before, and I know it. I don’t agree!”
Pei Yuan Ran rubbed his brow in helplessness, his other hand motioning to Shi Feng Rong. “Don’t be so impatient. Wait for me to finish.”
Shi Feng Rong snorted coldly, not speaking.
Pei Yuan Ran really had no methods of dealing with his shimei. “Desolate Wood Reef might be very poor, but Shimei also knows how important it is to us. Otherwise, why would we have needed Third Shidi to personally go to Heart Lake Sword Sect? This kind of important location, I wouldn’t feel safe if it wasn’t on our people’s hands. Wei Sheng and the others have their duties. Tell me, who can I send?”
Pei Yuan Ran spread his hands, and asked Shi Feng Rong.
Shi Feng Rong sneered. “Don’t use these righteous excuses. Isn’t it just that you saw that Zuo Mo isn’t in ningmai and his sword essence hasn’t reached Heart Turn Sword Essence? This matter, I definitely won’t agree!”
Pei Yuan Ran grimaced. “Ah, what do you want me to say? Keeping Zuo Mo in the sect, would that be good for him? You also know what the situation is like inside the sect! Do we have the time to protect him? Do you have it? No! I don’t either! Wei Sheng and the others are not here, no one can help him, is that really so good for him?”
Seeing Shi Feng Rong’s face relax, he continued patiently, “Desolate Wood Reef might be out of the way and poor, but it is very safe. It is behind us, therefore it will be on our path for retreat. Zuo Mo going there, he might suffer, but his life will not be in danger. If the situation is really bad and we need to retreat, we will definitely go through Desolate Wood Reef. With our current circumstances, other than ensuring his survival, what more do you want?”
Shi Feng Rong didn’t say anything. She knew that Sect Leader Shixiong was right.
After struggling for a while, she raised her head, and gritted her teeth, “On the matter of resources, we can’t short-change him.”
“Alright.” Pei Yuan Ran answered easily.
Chapter 168: Desolate Wood Reef
“Shixiong, Desolate Wood Reef is just up ahead,” A shidi said excitedly as he pointed forwards.
Zuo Mo nodded. He gazed into the distance and a lonely island had appeared in the distance.
Everyone was slightly excited. After flying continuously for two months, everyone sighed a breath of relief as they quickly neared their destination.
Seeing the Desolate Wood Reef, Zuo Mo finally understood why the sect had been so interested in such an out-of-the-way place. Desolate Wood Reef was positioned in a deep expanse of water, the edge of the jie river. If one wanted to pass into Little Mountain Jie, they had to pass through this location. The Endless Ocean was borderless and required long flights. Flying to this place was the limit of endurance for most. Because of this, the Desolate Wood Reef’s location was strategically important. It was necessary to rest at this area and regain strength in preparation for passing through the jie river.
If it wasn’t for the fact that Heart Lake Sword Sect was at the opposite end of Sky Moon Jie and their sect had several jie rivers, they never would have let go of such an important location as the Desolate Wood Reef. Even so, the sect had paid a great price.
But this place really was desolate.
As they flew closer and the island came into view, Zuo Mo couldn’t help but sigh.
He didn’t have any anger towards the sect for sending him to the Desolate Wood Reef; he was actually very happy. The state of the sect was not harmonious, and all the disciples that he was familiar with were no longer present. Such timing had made it wiser to leave. Desolate Wood Reef was far away from the sect so any conflict inside the sect wouldn’t reach this place. He was happy to be so free.
Just at this time, several xiuzhe flew up out of the island.
“Are you the shixiong from Wu Kong Sword Sect?” shouted one of them.
“Yes!” Zuo Mo bowed. He was preparing to take out the sect token, when the other person smiled and waved his hand. “Zuo Shixiong coming personally, I don’t need to see the token.”
“Shixiong knows me?” Zuo Mo was slightly surprised.
The other smiled. The person said, “The recording jade scrolls of the battle between Brother Zuo and Chao An may be rare, but this one is lucky enough to possess one of them. I recognized Brother Zuo from the recording.”
Zuo Mo finally understood, He humbly bowed with folded hands, “Shixiong is too kind.”
“I thought that you guys would arrive soon. We’ve already cleaned everything up. From today on, the Desolate Wood Reef will be under Brother Zuo’s care. This jade scroll contains some of what we have discovered about this island over the years. I hope it can help Brother Zuo. Goodbye.” The other bowed with folded hands in salute to Zuo Mo and then left. He didn’t seem to want to spend another moment on the island. The other people also bowed and then left.
The exchange had been so fast that it was surprising to Zuo Mo.
The people who had accompanied him here felt they had been given much face. Even the disciples of Heart Lake Sword Sect knew the name of Zuo Shixiong. They felt honored to be connected. The Wu Kong Sword Sect had just expanded, and compared to those older sects, there was still a gap in the attitudes of the disciples.
“Let’s head down.” Zuo Mo looked and urged Silly Bird to land.
The other people followed tightly after him.
The amount of investment that Heart Lake Sword Sect had put into the Desolate Wood Reef had been very limited. Other than a few stone buildings on the island, there was nothing. The shidi that came with Zuo Mo did not say anything, but their faces had become much dimmer. They found the place was much more isolated than they had originally imagined.
Zuo Mo did not care. Stepping on to the Desolate Wood Reef, he found the island was better than he had thought.
“We are going to make a home here.” Zuo Mo glanced at them and said calmly, “Everyone first rest for a few days before starting.”
After flying for more than two months, even Silly Bird was slightly less energetic. The steeds of the other shidi were even worse off. Zuo Mo took out a bottle of lingdan. This was the Energy Dan that he had prepared previously. The grade was not very high, just second-grade. But since it was easy to make and the cost was low, he had made an entire batch. Silly Bird liked to eat it and would often munch on them as if they were beans. They were pretty effective at recovering its energy.
As expected, after eating seven or eight, Silly Bird resumed her usual boastful and proud attitude. Her neck was arched high, her upper body unmoving, and her two long, dainty bird legs elegantly stepping out on the beach.
The shidi looked enviously looked at Silly Bird. Even someone blind could see handsomeness of Silly Bird.
They copied Zuo Mo, taking out Energy Dan to feed to their steeds. But they were still quite reluctant, the most they gave was two pills. Before departure, Zuo Mo had given each person a bottle with about ten pills in each.
In this time that the prices of materials were rising, the bottle of Energy Dan was not cheap. They found that following Zuo Shixiong didn’t seem to be so bad, at least it wouldn’t be unprofitable. Even more, Zuo Shixiong was a core disciple.
Those whom Zuo Mo had picked this time were all disciples from minor sects that hadn’t been in the sect for more than one month. They had just joined and had not been pulled into the factions within the sect. As those those disciples that had some fame, he didn’t take any of them.
Ningmai disciples, which ones would obey him?
The people he had picked were all in zhuji with foundations as production xiuzhe.
———
After resting for two days, everyone had basically recovered.
Zuo Mo called everyone over.
“Starting from today, for a very long period of time, we will be staying at this place where even the birds won’t shit.” Zuo Mo’s language was coarse, but everyone felt a deep empathy with his words.
“However, because this place is isolated, no one will disturb us here. It can be a place of peace. Right now, the sect is a mess, and even I find it troublesome. For you, it would be a dream to think you could have avoided it!”
“All of us here are production xiu, so think about the sect. Is there a place that will allow you to peacefully produce? This place might be isolated, but there is no conflict. To us, it is a very good place! Desolate? We can change it ourselves! I’ll state the rules first. On the Desolate Wood Reef, whoever creates ling fields will get to plant in them. Whoever plants will get what they planted. I won’t take a portion, the sect will not take anything! Also, the sect benefits that you are due will not change.”
“Really?” There was excitement on some people’s faces. Originally, they had felt this place was isolated and had been very unwilling. Hearing Zuo Mo say so, they became excited. They were all production xiu, and none among them were interested in fighting and killing. It might be hard to create ling fields, but if they made them, what they planted belonged to them! The sect would not take a portion.
It had to be said that the portion the sect usually took in rent for ling fields was extremely high.
Zuo Mo shrugged his shoulders. “As long as I am here there will not be a problem. But if the sect switches people then I can’t do a thing.”
The people believed Zuo Mo even more when he said that. At least Zuo Shixiong was not overexaggerating. Poor land? It was only a matter of effort for xiuzhe. Production xiu were hardworking and hardy.
Seeing everyone was becoming motivated, Zuo Mo decided to keep eating while the fire was hot.
“Time is jingshi! Everyone, you don’t want to waste jingshi! I have a plan here … …”
Zuo Mo knew that time was short. There was not a lot of time left for him.
In the past, Desolate Wood Reef was neglected, but as the situation worsened, the position of the Desolate Wood Reef would quickly become essential. Relatively speaking, Little Mountain Jie was even more isolated. It only had two jie rivers, even less than Sky Moon Jie.
The situations was worsening and the amount of xiuzhe that would pass through Desolate Wood Reef would increase greatly.
Having personally made the trip, Zuo Mo felt that the position of the Desolate Wood Reef was even better geographically. Two months of travelling, it took almost one month of flying over the Endless Ocean. Supposedly, there were vicious and dangerous water beasts underwater so few people would chose to travel on the water.
Zuo Mo could not imagine just how idiotic the people of Heart Lake Sword Sect were. Heavens, possessing such a good place yet not using it!
In reality, his thinking had gone askew. Little Mountain Jie only had a jie river towards Sky Moon Jie and one towards Sky Water Jie. Sky Moon Jie was not as prosperous as Sky Water Jie so there was rarely any people that passed through to Little Mountain Jie. The Desolate Wood Reef was too far away from Heart Lake Sword Sect. It was only a stop, so naturally, they did not try to manage it with any significant effort.
Zuo Mo had his own thoughts. Even though Little Mountain Jie was more isolated, it was also further away from Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie. In other words, if the current situation really worsened retreating through Little Mountain Jie then onwards to Sky Water Jie was not a bad choice.
That was his plan.
He estimated that after some more time, there would continuously be people going through the jie river to Little Mountain Jie.
It wasn’t so easy to travel through a jie river. The shortest amount of time it would take was several months, longer trips could possibly take years. The Desolate Wood Reef was the only supply point before entering the jie river. That was an opportunity.
Want to resupply? Alright! Hee hee, passage fee … … accommodation fee … … resupplying fee … … birds will be plucked clean… …
He had decided. Even if it was a mosqu
ito passing by, he was going to squeeze out three drops of blood!
In any case, the sect in the short term definitely had no attention to spare on him. Looking objectively from outside, he finally understood. The sect might look strong now, but before the sect leader could assimilate the newly merged factions, the sect would only remain superficially strong . In reality, it was weak internally. The sect leader definitely could see it, but was yet to be seen if there was enough time for him to do anything about it.
That was up to the Heavens!
Zuo Mo shook his head and threw those nonsense thoughts to the back of his mind. A problem even the sect leader couldn’t solve, it wasn’t necessary for him to waste his thoughts on it. He decided to manage his own little domain.
The Desolate Wood Reef was a treasure. Thinking of being able to sit and receive jingshi was great, but this all required that he had enough strength to support it.
This was what he was directing everyone to do now.
Each person had been given a jade scroll from Zuo Shixiong with the jobs assigned to them.
There were a variety of jobs that were very weird. Ling plant farmers were requested to plant certain ling grasses and herbs at certain areas on the island. The animal keepers were to put some of the worms and beasts they raised in certain locations. Zuo Mo had even drawn out the areas they needed to raise them.
The most common task was to dig holes and canals. Almost everyone felt it hard to understand.
The humidity on the Desolate Wood Reef was very rich. The effect of water element spells like [Little Art Of Cloud And Rain] were magnified. They didn’t really need to dig any waterways. Also, the canals that Zuo Shixiong had requested them to dig crisscrossed the entire island, all of them connected to each other.