by Fang Xiang
Not good!
There was a trap!
The three elder's expression changed dramatically. The lights layered together and almost took up all of their vision. Seal formations! Even if they did not look down, the three could judge from the light that the other had used seal formations. A seal formation of such scale that it would rival the protective shield of a small lsect.
Xiao Mo Ge was skilled in seal formations!
This discovery caused the three to shudder in fear. It was not a secret that Xiao Mo Ge was skilled in the skills of yao, mo, and xiu. However, the three were still shocked that he was this skilled in seal formations. The field of seal formations was profound and complex. It was such an enormous field that even dedicated seal xiu had a hard time cultivating it. How could it be something that yaomo could learn?
But the skill in formations that Xiao Mo Ge showed was not something to be underestimated.
If Xiao Mo Ge had already secretly set up the trap ahead of time and waited for them to run into the net, then their fates were not looking good!
If Xiao Mo Ge had just set it up now, then Xiao Mo Ge's skill in seal formations was even more terrifying!
No matter which case it was, it did not bode well for them.
But there was no time to ponder this now. It was most important to escape the trap first.
The figures of the three elders exploded with light. Sutra characters lit up on the body of one of the elders. The sutra characters turned into a wheel of light in the air to pressed towards the seal formation!
The golden lotus lit up under the feet of another elder. In a blink, countless golden lotuses emerged out of the ground. They spread outwards at an astounding place. When the golden lotuses touched the seal formation's light shield, the golden lotuses started to grow and creep along the shell of light.
The third elder tossed out a string of amber colored Buddhist beads. When the Buddhist beads landed on the ground, it turned into eight buddhas that were twenty five meters tall. Their expressions were different as they shielded him at the center. Three of the buddhas charged forward.
In a blink, the three elders used all they could in hope they could break out of the seal formation as fast as possible.
Zuo Mo knew that the seal formation would not manage to withstand their barrage.
These seal formations were formation disks that he had forged using the materials he had on hand in the last few days. The grade of the materials he had used were high so the formation disks were powerful. But in front of full-powered attacks from three yuanying Xuan Kong Temple elders, they were nothing.
However, Zuo Mo had not hoped that these roughly made formation disks could trap three yuanying elders. His aim was accomplished when they were delayed for a few moments.
Zuo Mo felt surprised when the three elders attacked the formation at the same time. He suddenly understood the three were extremely wary of them!
In front of the three elder's full-powered attacks, Zuo Mo's formation disks turned to dust like paper mache.
Boom!
The ground underneath the elder's feet exploded. The layers of light from the formation all disappeared.
Before the three elders could celebrate, two figures suddenly appeared in front of them.
A Gui and Ceng Lian'er!
Adding on Zuo Mo who was still behind the three, a triangle formed, surrounding them.
However, the three naturally were of extraordinary strength to have become elders.
The sutra characters around the elder at the front suddenly merged into his body. A layer of liquid gold seemed to have been painted onto his body as he rapidly grew larger, stopping only when he was ten meters tall.
[Skanda Golden Body]!
A golden staff appeared on his hand, and he was magnificent to look at.
A cold snort sounded like thunder. He raised the dhyana staff and smashed towards A Gui.
The copper rings on the tip of the staff were suddenly shrouded in fire. There seemed to be countless angry souls wailing inside this fire that caused people's minds to shake. This was the Avici Hell Fire!
A bamboo staff appeared on A Gui's hand. This was the Corpse Sea Bamboo. However, the corpse sea bamboo she held was slightly different than before. The Nether Ghost Core had been embedded on the third joint of the bamboo staff. It appeared like an eerie eye. This Nether Ghost Core came from the Nether Ghost Tribe. Zuo Mo did not know how to use it, and hadn't expected that it would be useful in A Gui's hands.
As shen power was channeled in, the Nether Ghost Core immediately lit up eerily. A Gui waved the bamboo staff.
A monster with a green face and fangs appeared in front of A Gui. It seemed to be a hybrid of ape and human, and had claws on its feet and hands. What was most eye catching was the line of hard spikes that jutted out from the back of its head all the way down to its tailbone. Its eyes gave off eerie purple energy.
When this great monster appeared, it immediately howled into the sky. A vast and vicious energy exploded outwards into the surroundings, like a volcano!
The flora on the ground under its feet withered into ashes at a visible rate.
The Avici Hell Fire that was crashing towards A Gui rippled. The monster reached out and grabbed the head of the staff.
It allowed the Avici Hell Fire to burn its hand and did not seem to feel the fire.
Purple light suddenly flashed in its eyes. The Avici Hell Fire at the head of the staff suddenly turned into a stream of fire and was absorbed into its palm! A red fire script appeared at its right arm at the same time.
The majestic elder changed expression!
Such a powerful being!
He had naturally recognized the Corpse Sea Bamboo that A Gui' had. The Corpse Sea Bamboo could nurture vicious beings but it could not create one so vicious. It definitely had to be the eye that was giving off the purple energy!
His guess was right. If the Old Bamboo Staff Man was here, he would definitely not recognize his Corpse Sea Bamboo. The Nether Ghost Core came from the Nether Ghost Tribe and it was a perfect pairing with the Corpse Sea Bamboo. Under the power of A Gui's Undying shen power, there were new changes.
This monster did not look much different than in the past, but its power had multiplied!
Ceng Lian'er was evenly matched against the other elder. Her movements were hard to predict, and the moon shen power's transformations were profound. The other's dhyana skills were strong, and his talismans extraordinary. At this time, no one was able to defeat the other.
Zuo Mo was also fighting against the enemy.
He did not use the Little Mo Treasure Cup. Such a good chance to fight was something that could not be requested.
For him, victory alone had no meaning. The mountainous obstacle in front of him was not something that even a fanxu could move aside.
Resolving the Undying Shen Punishment, this goal was enough to make other people feel hopeless.
Zuo Mo did not stray in his thoughts. He was extremely focused and threw himself into the fight.
All Shen power was one kind of power in the end.
Only fighting would allow him to detect every change in shen power.
He did not use shen techniques, the Little Mo Treasure Cup, mo skills, yao arts, or spells. He just used pure shen power to face the Xuan Kong Temple elder in front of him.
In front of these buddhas twenty five meters tall, Zuo Mo was minuscule.
His figure seemed as though it could be drowned by these enormous figures at any moment.
What he used was the simplest method of attack. His shen power channeled into his fist and he punched.
Every punch that connected with the buddhas, those enormous figures would shake.
This was the power of shen power!
It was the first time that Zuo Mo used shen power like this.
An unprecedented expression flowed across his mind.
The three powers inside his body were like three flexible but separate chains of power. Wit
h every one of his blows, the three chains would twist together and form a thicker and more powerful chain!
Comprehension flowed across his mind.
———
"Master!" Lin Qian respectfully bowed.
Kun Lun Sect Leader's snowy white brows were down. He appeared to be resting with his eyes closed but then said, "I heard that you seem to be focused on the matter with Wei Sheng?"
Lin Qian's heart shook slightly. He bowed his head and said, "Yes. Wei Sheng is of determined personality and is devoted to the sword. He will become a great enemy of our Kun Lun in the future."
"Hmph!"
The sect leader's displeased cold snort was like a heavy hammer that smashed against Lin Qian's mind.
Lin Qian's head went even lower.
"You have your priorities in the wrong order!" The sect leader slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were like a vast ocean filled with sword essence. He said indifferently, "You are the eldest disciple of Kun Lun, yet you panic over a little sect disciple from an unknown sect. You have to remember you are the future sect leader. You are Kun Lun. You are a mountain that they will never be able to ascend, and will always look up to!"
"Yes!" Lin Qian responded in a low voice.
The sect leader's tone eased. "I know that you are taking care of most of the matters of the sect. It has been hard for you."
Lin Qian shook his head. "This is this disciple's duty."
"This is what I want to tell you. We are Kun Lun, sword xiu. The sect leaders must always be the strongest members of the sect! Put everything else aside and focus on your cultivation. You are wary of Wei Sheng because you do not have enough confidence in your own strength. If you are strong enough, wouldn't Wei Sheng be an ant in your eyes?"
The sect leader looked at Lin Qian and said, emphasizing each word, "Remember, this world is ruled by the sword!"
Lin Qian's body shook. "This disciple will remember!"
"Go to the Sword Pavilion to find your Wei Shishu. Starting from today you will train under him. You will only leave the Sword Pavilion when your shen power enters earth level."
Lin Qian suddenly raised his head, his face filled with disbelief. "Shen power? Is it … …"
The sect leader glanced at Lin Qian and said coolly, "Yes, our sect's shen methodology has taken shape. While some details still need to be perfected, it can be practiced. You were the one that contributed the most in this matter, so you are the first to cultivate it. Other than you, all of the elders will start to practice it in order to perfect this shen methodology together. When it is completely perfected, the other core disciples will cultivate it."
Lin Qian was so shocked by the new the he was left speechless.
The sect leader saw Lin Qian's dazed expression and showed a small smile. He liked this disciple very much and couldn't resist reminding, "Do not spread news of this matter but work hard."
His voice suddenly became ethereal as though it was coming from very far away.
"After this, it will be the era of shen power."
Translator Ramblings: Lin Qian has a good teacher.
Chapter 685: Becoming Better
Tian Huan.
Countless lights suddenly appeared inside a deep cave behind the mountains. The lights contained great power. The moment that they formed, all of Tian Huan was disturbed.
An old and slightly mad voice echoed out of the cave.
"Haha! Shen glyph! This old man finally succeeded! This old man finally succeeded! Ancient shen glyph. Haha, no, in the future, it will be called the Tian Huan shen glyph!"
The mad laughter of the person that was speaking to himself caused the Tian Huan elders that had flew over to be stunned where they stood.
But in the next moment, ecstasy rose onto their faces.
Shen glyph!
Every disciple of Tian Huan, who had started by using seal formations, knew the meaning of these two words!
———
Shen power flowed through his entire body. Zuo Mo's gaze was pure and clear.
In his sea of consciousness, Pu Yao paid close attention to every change of shen power inside Zuo Mo's body. All of these changes were recorded. Pu Yao's rich experience and vast knowledge would help prevent Zuo Mo from making many mistakes, but what was most important was that Pu Yao was a sky yao. His terrifying ability to create simulations from the torturous sea of yao spells meant that he could help Zuo Mo perfect his shen power cultivation quickly.
Shen power was much more complex than yao arts and the work to reconstruct the method was unprecedentedly vast and complex. Even Pu Yao did not have any spare time for other matters and was forced to leave all of those conspiracy matters to Wei.
Pu Yao and Wei were not in disagreement about this division of labour. Their opinions were unusually in agreement.
In their view, there had to be a pattern that connected the three powers to shen power, a pattern that could be used to evolve into shen power. That was because the development of the three powers had reached a peak a long time ago. No matter if one was yao, mo, or xiuzhe, their pursuit of power was not different; the final stages of each power were highly similar.
From the general trend, the arrival of the era of shen power was inevitable.
The shen power that would develop would be very different from the shen power of the ancient era. While the two had the same name, the shen power of the present would be reconstructed from the three powers.
Therefore, in Pu Yao's view, the one that managed to stay ahead of the others would have the greatest advantage in this era of shen power.
Zuo Mo's luck was unspeakably good. Even Pu Yao and Wei sighed about it.
But they could not just rest on their laurels. The inheritance of the Sun Tribe was able to dominate the ancient world but there were great differences between the ancient world and the present world. This inheritance was just a crude beginning, and there was still a great distance until it developed into a perfected cultivation method.
For Zuo Mo, the content that Pu Yao was considering was too far in the future.
Resolving the Undying Shen power was his only goal.
"Alright, finish the battle," Pu Yao said to Zuo Mo. There were numerous bright lines spinning furiously in the ball of light in front of him. If a normal person looked for a bit too long at the ball of light, they would feel dizzy.
Each moving light represented a recording of a certain trait of shen power.
Hearing this, Zuo Mo did not hesitate and immediately took out the Little Mo Treasure Cup.
Clink!
The treasure coin immediately penetrated through the chest of the Xuan Kong Temple elder and created a spurt of blood.
Zuo Mo's shen power was completely used up but, having experienced this before, he did not panic. He threw a sun seed into his mouth. When the sun seed entered his mouth, it turned into a warm flow and shen power filled his body again.
The Little Mo Treasure Cup was powerful, but it consumed a great amount of shen power. The Little Mo Treasure Cup surpassed the limits of normal talismans. It could only be activated by shen power. It probably could be said to be the first shen power talisman in the world.
The monster that A Gui had summon was extremely powerful. But what surprised Zuo Mo was by was that the shen power from this human-ape hybrid that wasn't weak at all!
The monster's body was as hard as steel and unable to be damaged by flying swords. The spells of dhyana xiu were not as effective as it should have been against monster. Theoretically, the spells of dhyana xiu were most effect against dark and evil monsters. Zuo Mo felt that shen power might be the reason that the spells were not effective.
The monster was unusually valiant, charging at the front, and A Gui's figure was unpredictable. The Undying shen power killed people silently. The enemy was dodging right and left. If A Gui quickly found a weakness and then she only needed one attack!
Of the three, the one having the hardest time was Ceng Lian'er.
She had the adva
ntage. However, the other's talismans were endless and their cultivation was higher. Her shen techniques were powerful but it took time to use them. She had destroyed a few of the enemy's talismans but hadn't wounded the other.
But she was smart. When she saw she could not do anything, she stopped using shen power. She managed to keep the enemy suppressed and didn't give them the chance to run away.
When this elder saw Zuo Mo and A Gui leap at him, a shocked expression came onto his face.
Pew.
The one who had delivered the killing blow was A Gui.
The Undying shen power had sealed A Gui's soul but her fighting instinct was the most terrifying in the trio.
The three did not linger. They cleaned the corpses of the valuables and turned to leave.
A while later, when the elder corpse of Xuan Kong Temple arrived, they saw the three stripped corpses on the ground and their expressions were extremely ugly.
———
"Here, here, here, here … …"
Pu Yao pointed out seven things in one go. In front of him, Zuo Mo's expression was focused and serious. The places that Pu Yao had pointed out where the areas that needed to be redeveloped and practiced again.
These seven places were the result of Pu Yao spending three days studying the battle and modeling shen power.
Even in Pu Yao's time, he was not the most powerful sky yao. However, with the name of [Encyclopedia of Yao Arts], no one could rival his ability to understand and analyse yao arts.
After working for three days, he showed signs of tiredness. However, the light in his eyes showed that he was extremely excited at this time.
Perfecting shen methodology was something extremely difficult that there were only a rare few in the world who could do it.
A new era was about to sprout from his hand. Oh oh oh, what was more exciting than this?
Such great work!
Maybe he could leave behind a great mark on history!
He thought about his teacher having told him go to the First Yao Art House to leave behind his name. Compared to what he was doing now, that wasn't worth a mention.
He started to dream what great nickname would appear in front of his name.
Oh, the father of new shen methodology. This nickname wasn't bad!