by Fang Xiang
Treasure … … oh, this word make one so excited!"
Lao De Guang had a solemn expression. "A completely preserved ancient shen device nucleus!"
Zuo Mo's eyes suddenly lit up, the smile on his face completely disappearing. He asked in a deep voice, "What did you say?"
Lao De Guang's face turned ashen pale. He finally knew why this person made him feel an indescribable danger. This person's power was greater than he had imagined. He was like a deep and unfathomable lake!
The strong pressure and feeling of suffocation rushed at him like a ferocious lion that touched his face. He could even see the threads of blood lingering on the fangs and claws.
"It is a completely preserved ancient shen device nucleus." Lao De Guang's voice trembled. "While I don't know how it was preserved, this is certain."
He instinctively swallowed and forced out, "Each token can only take five people inside. Other than the Nine Great Dhyana Sects who each have a token, four of the tokens have disappeared. They most likely are in the hands of the Nine Great Dhyana Sect. One more token means they can take in five more people. The hopes of getting the treasure is greater."
"Why can only five people be taken in?' Zuo Mo asked in a cold voice.
"I don't know. Supposedly, it is an ancient jinzhi. Everyone is saying this." Lao De Guang shook his head. He was afraid of angering Zuo Mo and hurriedly said, "But this is likely reliable. Otherwise, those large sects would not be so desperately searching for extra tokens. Thunder Sound Temple took this token from someone else, it has passed through the hands of seven owners, they are all dead … …"
He suddenly realized what he was saying, his face turning a few shades whiter. He hurriedly elaborated, "I'm not talking about you … …"
Zuo Mo did not care. From the words that Lao De Guang said, he knew that the other was not speaking lies. Originally, he did not intend to interfere in this matter. Others might be curious in ancient ruins but Zuo Mo had experienced many already.
However, a completely preserved ancient shen device nucleus caused his little heart to jump.
Shen device raiment, the top and best of the world right now!
[City Destroyer] and [Arsonist] had almost bankrupted Mo Cloud Sea, especially when those top ranked materials were all used up. These materials could not be bought with jingshi. Even if Mo Cloud Sea was rich right now, they did not have other avenues to get so many top materials.
Also, most of the top materials were used to forge shen device nuclei. The shen device nuclei made using the Weapon Layering Craftsmanship could be called shen device nuclei but they was still a impassable chasm between those and the true shen device nuclei.
Due to this, no matter how many creative and novel ideas Zuo Mo and the Golden Crow Camp had, they could not forge new shen device raiments. Zuo Mo, the leader of Mo Cloud Sea, didn't even have a shen device raiment. Little Mo Ge was displeased by this.
Searching for top materials almost became a long-term mission of Mo Cloud Sea. The rewards were high, but the progress at present was still far from the goal.
Little Mo Ge's shen device raiment naturally was also far away.
Hearing that there was a complete shen device raiment in the ruin, Zuo Mo's mind immediately became lively. This shen device raiment was a fatal temptation for Zuo Mo.
Even more advantageous was that one token could only take along five people. This meant that those that were able to enter the ruin must be the high level personnel of every faction.
In terms of high level power, Little Mo Ge was full of confidence when he looked at the people around him!
Zuo Mo turned to look at the other people. Everyone had excited expressions. It was clear that everyone knew the value of the shen device nucleus. Just this shen device nucleus would mean that they had not made a wasted trip.
"Where is the ruin?" Zuo Mo asked.
"Territory controlled by the Lotus Sutra Temple, it is called Calm Brightness Jie," Lao De Guang said obediently.
Zuo Mo turned around. The steward understood and hurriedly said, "The Lotus Sutra Temple does have a Calm brightness Jie. If we go there, we need to hurry. If Thunder Sound Temple closes the transportation information, it will be troublesome."
"Close the transportation formation?" Zuo Mo frowned.
The steward explained, "If we go to Lotus Sutra Temple now, we have to pass through a transportation formation. If that transportation formation is closed, we can get there through other paths but it will take far longer than a month, unless … …"
Zuo Mo directly asked, "Unless what?"
"Unless we go the Black Sea Flight Route!" When he said this, the steward had a terrified expression.
Zuo Mo stilled. He noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Lao De Guang also had a similar expression of terror.
"Is there something dangerous about that place?" Zuo Mo asked curiously.
The steward unconsciously showed his terror on his face as though he thought of some scary memory. He said in almost a dream-like fashion, "About a decade ago, I went through the Black Sea Flight Route. At that time, Thunder Sound Temple was in conflict with other sects and closed the transportation formation. Our ship had the Hundred Leaf Heart Cloud that we needed to deliver within a month. No matter what, it only blooms for a month. On the thirty first day, it will wither and have no value at all. In order to buy this Hundred Leaf Heart Cloud, the group had spent almost half of our assets. Our journey had to succeed. Seeing the transportation formation closed, we could only choose the Black Sea Flight Route."
"And then?" Ceng Lian'Er asked curiously.
The steward smiled tragically, "At the start, the fleet had more than two hundred people. There were only nineteen alive at the end."
Everyone was astounded. No one had expected that less than a tenth had survived.
"We knew that the Black Sea Flight Route is too dangerous but that business was a matter of life and death for the group. Boss spent a great amount to invite a fanxu experts to guard us."
The steward's flat narration caused everyone's heart to beat rapidly.
"Were even fanxu experts unable to protect you?" Ceng Lian'Er could not resist speaking again. Fanxu was akin to the marshal level of the mo. With a marshal's protection, the fatality rate was still so astounding, the dangers could be imagined.
"That fanxu expert did not come out alive," the steward gritted his teeth. His face twisted. The terrifying memories came at him again. His face was ashen pale and his body trembled.
Now, no one was able to maintain their calm, their expressions changing.
A place that could kill fanxu experts was also a great threat to them as well.
Zuo Mo's eyes lit up. "Speed up! Reach the transportation formation at top speed!"
No one dared to slack off and sped up. The entire group accelerated.
After flying for multiple days, when they reached the transportation formation, the formation was being guarded by battalions. The formation was also dark. It was clearly closed.
Thunder Sound Temple had predicted that they would go on this path and had prepared.
Everyone's face became ugly!
Damn it!
Translator Ramblings: Zuo Mo is poor, he needs more money.
Chapter 769: Test
Everyone's eyes gathered on Zuo Mo.
"How about we move a battalion and destroy them?" Eldest Shixiong's tone suddenly became domineering.
Lao De Guang shuddered. It really was intimidating to hear these words! That was Thunder Sound Temple, the first of the Nine Great Dhyana Sects!
Where were these people from?
Lao De Guang felt more and more anxious.
Zuo Mo thought and then said, "It is not difficult to defeat Thunder Sound Temple, and only that Yang Yuan Hao will be slightly troublesome. But it will not be easy for us after doing that."
Eldest Shixiong was just casually mentioning it. He usually did not participate in Mo Cloud Sea's strategy meetings. He was not inter
ested in these matters, and was obsessed with his sword path. Also, he trusted Zuo Mo's abilities in this area, not to mention that Zuo Mo also had a freak like Lil' Miss.
The reason that he had even spoken up was out of worry for Zuo Mo's safety.
He naturally did not think much of the Black Sea Flight Route. He believed that as long as he had his sword nothing could impede him. But Zuo Mo was not the same as him. While he knew that Zuo Mo was not weaker than himself, and was even stronger in shen power, he still did not want to see Shidi be placed in danger.
Zuo Mo's gaze swept across the Thunder Sound Battalions around the transportation formations. Just like Eldest Shixiong had said, other than getting a battalion to come, there really was no good solution. It was not difficult to publicly break through the battalion, but opening a closed transportation formation was a difficult matter.
There were only some things that could only be carried out in secret. They could not be seen breaking their ties in public.
If they really broke ties publicly with Thunder Sound Temple, then Zuo Mo's strategy of the relying on the Nine Great Dhyana Sect resisting Tian Huan and Kun Lun would be over. While a shen device raiment was something rare, but Mo Cloud Sea already possessed three shen device raiments, and having one more did not affect Mo Cloud Sea's development and strategy. Thunder Sound Temple was the head of the Nine Great Dhyana Sect and had great influence amongst them. It could sway the decisions of the Nine Great Dhyana Sects.
In a few moments, Zuo Mo made a decision.
The group was quickly noticed by the disciples of Thunder Sound Temple. They had received orders to close the transportation formation and search for suspicious people. This group in front of them was suspicious!
Zuo Mo saw the others about to surround them. He did not want to strain relations with the Thunder Sound Temple and said in a low voice, "Head for the Black Sea Flight Route!"
The steward's face paled but he did not make a sound. He gritted his teeth and flew in the direction of the Black Sea Flight Route. Lao De Guang's face was completely void of color as he said in a trembling voice, "We … … we really have to go the Black Sea Flight Route? Please no, that is a path to death, that … …"
Lao De Guang's voice trailed off in a sob.
Everyone ignored him. Wei Sheng smiled and said, "After your warning, I'm more interested in this Black Sea Flight Route."
Wei Sheng had been worried about any threat to Zuo Mo's life, but since Zuo Mo had decided, he stopped all other thoughts. He only decided that all he had to do was protect Shidi.
Everyone else had anticipatory expressions. For elites like them that had slaughtered their way out of mountains of corpses, not even the most dangerous path could cause their minds to waver. It aroused their fighting spirit.
"Fanxu! Even fanxu will die!" Lao De Guang wailed.
Fanxu!
Everyone exchanged looks and smiled. Even a person as calm and silent as Zong Ru couldn't help but grin.
"What are you crying about!" Ceng Lian'er gave the other a kic, "You are a man, have some courage!"
The competition among the mo was fierce and mo females mostly liked masculine and dominant men. So when Ceng Lian'er saw Lao De Guang act like this, she immediately felt displeased.
Seeing the people around him, Zuo Mo felt some spirit rise. Some of his worry disappeared. He said with a smile, "We will explore this Black Sea Flight Route that is said to be peerlessly dangerous, and see just how dangerous it is!"
The disciples of Thunder Sound Temple gaped.
This troop actually … … flew in the direction of the Black Sea Flight Route … …
———
East Spring Jie was lost, all of Quan Pei's troops were lost!
These two events shook the Mo Marshal Alliance. If people had just felt threatened before, then the two successive defeats caused them to feel as though there was a blade pointing at their hearts. Bone-aching coldness caused them to have goosebumps.
Hai Jin Yun finally saw Shang Yu sheng arrive. This news caused the higher ups in the Mo Marshal Alliance to feel uplifted.
The meet up of the two great battle generals was like an anchor. It caused them to be filled with hope about the victory of the fight.
This war had come so suddenly without any warning. Even the Mo Marshal Alliance did not know even now why Mo Cloud Sea had started this war.
Theoretically, the two sides did not have any conflicts. In truth, before the war started, the two had many business ties.
Why had Mo Cloud Sea started this fight? What was their goal?
These riddles caused them to become the reactive party during decision-making. Bie Han was also cunning and he did not expose their goal.
They could only constantly send more battalions to the front lines. What was fortunate was that Mo Cloud Sea had not started an all-out war. Many battalions had come, but for the Mo Marshal Alliance, the only advantage they were sure of was the number of battalions.
Also, when they studied carefully, they quickly found that Bie Han did have weaknesses.
The battalions under his command had been sent to different places. Other than the Tangzi Battalion which had been sent to take Eastern Spring Jie, the goals of the others were unknown. However, everyone in the Mo Marshal Alliance believed that the other battalions were not as strong as Sin Battalion.
Without realizing it, Bie Han was now alone.
No matter how strong he was, he was alone.
If a lone army like this was surrounded, it was a death sentence. Without the ability to move, without reinforcement, the lone army was like a fish on the chopping block.
The Mo Marshal Alliance had many battalions. Just with sheer numbers, they could grind Bie Han to death.
This suddenly discovery caused all of the higher ups in the Mo Marshal Alliance to become excited. Compared to killing a top battle general like Bie Han, losing Eastern Spring and the death of Quan Pei battalion was nothing.
Everyone believed that if Hai Jin Yun and Shang Yu Sheng managed to grapple with Bie Han, then what waited for Bie Han was death on the battlefield!
The disappearance of Bie Han after defeating Quan Pei did not caused them to be at a loss. Almost everyone thought that after Bie Han struck opening blow, he would have to attack them one by one. The merging of forces between the two battle generals allowed the Mo Marshal Alliance to gain the strategic initiative, they could force Bei Han to fight them together.
Right now, they only had to advance step by step. They could not give Bie Han the chance to make an ambush and they would not lose this initiative.
Hai Jin Yun and Shang Yu Sheng were also full of confidence.
Bie Han's disappearance in their view implied that Bie Han was not confident enough to fight them openly. He wanted to avoid their forces, and search for opportunities. They would immediately attack Ma Fan Battalion when Bie Han appeared somewhere else to completely cut off Bie Han's retreat.
If Bie Han's retreat was cut off, he would truly become a trapped beast. Any of his struggles would be futile. In front of an ocean of cannon fodder, the elite Sin Battalion would be like a lion tied up and would fall to a pack of wolves.
Yet Bie Han was more composed and patient than they imagined.
Up until now, they still hadn't found any races of Bie Han and Sin Battalion.
Hai Jin Yun had a fiery temper but he was not in a rush right now. Shang Yu Sheng was methodically eating the delicious food in front of him with a serious expression. Shang Yue Sheng had pale skin. Supposedly, he had always been laughed at by the mo battalions that admired strength for this trait. He had been called a boy-toy. He was also a slow speaker. This was because he had a stuttering ailment in childhood. He had also been laughed at due to this.
But no one dared to laugh at him now.
Unlike Hai Jin Yun's fiery temple, Shang Yu Sheng was slow and gentle in personality, methodical in everything he did, and appeared as though he would not care if the sky was falling.
The two had a good relationship. Unlike Gongzi Xi, they were not famous before shen power's appearance, and had not been content. Their similar backgrounds and their experiences caused them to be close friends.
"I don't believe that Bie Han cannot see his weakness," Hai Jin Yun said gravely. His faint gold face was slightly serious. "He definitely has other plans. He should not have made a mistake like this."
Even though they appeared to have the strategic initiative, they were not as excited as the higher ups. The other was not a normal battle general. They were the ones directly feeling the pressure of Bie Han, and they were more careful.
Shang Yu Sheng had finished eating this time. He used a cloth to wipe the corner of his mouth before speaking. "Of course he would not make a mistake like this."
"Then what are his intentions?" Hai Jin Yun asked in a deep voice.
"I don't know." Shang Yu Sheng was docile like a goldfish blowing bubbles. "Maybe he will head directly for the center, or he is trying to confuse us. Who knows?"
Hai Jin Yun immediately glared and increased his volume. "Can you not take this seriously?"
"I am taking this serious." Shang Yu Sheng spoke so slow that Hai Jin Yun almost went crazy. He was slow that every word was said by itself. "But there is no use in just taking it serious. He is Bie Han. If we try to guess his thoughts, we will lose."
Hai Jin Yun's furious expression quickly dissipated. The two were close and he immediately understood Shang Yu Sheng's meaning. "You mean that we will be unchanging to face all changes?"
"Yes." Shang Yu Sheng said. He paused. A cunning light flashed through his eyes before he said slowly. "However, we can test him."
"How?" Hai Jin Yun's eyes lit up. He felt as though he didn't have any place to expend his energy since he could not find Bie Hnan.
"Ma Fan Battalion." Shang Yu Sheng slowly said.
Hai Jin Yun immediately reacted, a smile on his face. "Yes! How can Bie Han not know the danger of his retreat being cut off? He will definitely have other intentions. Then we will go test him. There are two people who are idle. We can let them try."