This chapter has been brought to you by me, and WanderingGummiOfDoom.
Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty Two – Fire Sickle Rock
It wasn’t the first time Rong Wei came to Little Mountain Jie, but when she saw how damaged Little Mountain Jie was, she was still shocked. The house guards that came with her were also shocked.
“Clear Sky Sect isn’t really a good thing. Look at Little Mountain, what have they done to it?” someone muttered.
“Yes, they will be punished by the heavens!”
“Is the Marquis going to move against Clear Sky Sect?”
“Don’t guess randomly .. …”
Listening to the mutterings of her subordinates, Rong Wei did not speak. Her mind was slightly unfocused. After a moment, she refocused. She hadn’t seen Clear Sky Old Forefather. The Marquis’ token had been presented, and they were let into Little Mountain Jie.
She could clearly feel the nervous mood of Clear Sky Sect. She heard that someone had encountered something.
Had something happened again in Little Mountain Jie?
The incident of Stars in Daytime in Sky Moon Jie had disturbed many people at the time. She knew that the Marquis had paid special attention to the matter. Even though she had been brought up by the Marquis from childhood, she rarely saw the Marquis so concerned over a matter.
The origins of the Marquis were deep and mysterious. She had never seen him attend to the major matters that occurred in Sky Moon Jie, but for the first time, she had seen a grave expression on Marquis’ face concerning the Stars in Daytime.
This was the second time, and was also due to the Stars in Daytime.
There were many jade scrolls and old records in the Marquis’ compound. Growing up from childhood in the compound, Rong Wei’s knowledge was much wider than the great majority of xiuzhe. She knew a bit about what Stars in Daytime meant.
She felt slightly puzzled. The impression that Marquis usually gave her was that of an idle person. She couldn’t help but feel nervous that he was so concerned about such a matter.
She focused, and slowly said, “Let’s go.”
The compound guards instantly closed their mouths. Miss Rong was not of Marquis’s legitimate line, but in terms of favor, she was first in the compound. Also, Miss Rong had not failed the Marquis’ teachings, and was outstanding in all areas since childhood. It was just that she rarely left the compound, so her reputation was not known. The compound guards, regardless of their experience, were all respectful when they saw her, and didn’t dare to do any posturing.
Rong Wei’s head started to hurt. Where should she start investigating the Stars in Daytime?
———
Jiang Hao looked at the most wanted list and drooled, “Big Brother, we are going to get rich now!” The other people also showed undisguised greed.
Jiang Wei was also swallowing hard, but he was calmer than his younger brother. Whenever he thought of that strange and terrifying female xiu, he would sink into deep terror.
“Don’t forget about that female xiu.” His voice was hoarse.
The surroundings became deathly silent. Terror was imprinted on everyone’s eyes. After seeing that silent massacre, three among them had their cultivation collapse due to long-term terror. The wails before their death still seemed to echo in their ears.
The flames of greed in everyone’s eyes were doused by a bucket of cold water.
Jiang Hao shook. He force a smile and said, “The one that will go find them is the Outer Hall. No matter how powerful the female xiu is, she is just one person … …” His voice became increasingly light, and his face increasingly pale.
“No matter how many the benefits are, we will need to live to experience them.” Jiang Wei’s eyes were bloodshot, and he said gravely, “Since the Outer Hall is searching for them, they will be able to find them. The collision between the two sides is beneficial to us. Maybe we can even leave this damned place.”
“Brother, you think too highly of them,” Jiang Hao said with a forced smile.
“It’s not that I think highly of them, but I hope they can do it,” Jiang Wei sighed.
The other people were silent.
———
In Zuo Mo’s vast tunnels, the surroundings were filled with formations. His heart was excited. Finished! He finally finished!
To set up such a large formation just with his power, he had enough to be proud of!
Thinking it over, working day and night, only he knew how difficult it had been. Starting from when he began building Golden Crow City, he had never truly thought he could finish it. The increasingly tense situation was like an invisible whip continuously urging him to be faster!
When it truly was finished, Zuo Mo felt he was in a dream.
“Is this real?” he suddenly turned and asked the female xiu.
The female xiu didn’t seem to hear and didn’t respond.
Zuo Mo snickered and was not concerned. He muttered to himself. “Please don’t let this be a dream!”
In this period of time, his consciousness had improved greatly, his skill with fire deepening with every day so that the later portion of his work had been completed quickly. With his previous skill level, it wouldn’t have been possible to complete such a vast project without using the better half of a year.
Pu Yao hadn’t lied to him this time. He had improved greatly through the entire process of building the city, so much that even he was shocked. The Jade Metal Head had entered third maturation. What excited him the most was that his consciousness had grown more than three times. Right now, he felt as though he was a basin of water, with so much water that it was almost overflowing. His consciousness probably wasn’t far from a breakthrough. He also had a feeling that if his breakthrough could succeed this time, the degree of improvement would be very large.
Looking at the surroundings, Zuo Mo was suddenly filled with confidence!
Even if what he was facing was a jindan!
Right now, there was only one thing left to do.
———
Zuo Mo didn’t tell anyone the work had been completed, but the first person who felt the effects was Bao Yi. The supply of Black Processing Meditation mats couldn’t keep up with demand. Bao Yi felt proud, but also frantic.
Yet suddenly the production of Black Processing Meditation mat increased dramatically. He perceptively realized what had happened.
Only if Boss did not require any supplies on his side, then the people of the forging division would be able to put all their effort into making Black Processing Meditation mats. Of the two most famous products of Golden Crow city, one was Golden Crow Fire, the other was Black Processing Meditation mat. Other than the batch that Bao Yi deliberately held back, the remaining Golden Crow Fire had all been sold. Only Boss could make Golden Crow Fire. Now that no one could find Boss through the day, who had the time to hope he could produce Golden Crow Fire?
Golden Crow City only sold one product now, Black Processing Meditation mats.
The wondrous ability of the Black Processing Meditation mat spread throughout Little Mountain Jie like it had wings. Countless xiuzhe flooded from all areas towards Golden Crow City.
———
In a dusky mine shaft, Lil’ Pagoda floated in the air like a dutiful supervisor as it directed those puppets to continuously work. The abnormal change had frightened the timid Lil’ Pagoda half to death. Even though Zuo Mo had not scolded it, it still expressed an attitude of fulfilling its duties well.
This caused the production of jingshi and ore recently to grow dramatically. The cheer on Bao Yi’s face had grown even more.
Suddenly, a copper puppet stopped what it was going, looking dazedly at the strange item in front of it.
Lil’ Pagoda instantly detected the abnormality, and hurriedly flew over.
It was a bright red rock that exuded a strange presence. Lil’ Pagoda tilted its head and looked with puzzlement at this piece of red rock.
Zuo Mo instantly received the information Lil’ Pagoda passed over and rushed over, since Lil’ Pagoda was connected to Zuo Mo.
“Hm, this rock is strange.” Zuo Mo went over and tapped it.
The red rock was the size of a table and appeared like a piece of red jade, spreading threads of warmth. However, what was most unique was that it contained strong vitality. If one came close, they could make out the sound of a heartbeat.
Was this something alive? Zuo Mo felt it was so fantastical. After circling the rock and thinking hard, he couldn’t think of what this red rock really was.
“Pu Yao, what is this?” Zuo Mo ran over to ask Pu Yao.
Pu Yao sat in front of the gravestone and resting, acting as if he was ignoring Zuo Mo.
Seeing Pu Yao’s state. Zuo Mo understood that this guy was in a mood. However, he had long forgotten what he had done.
A real man could bow and scrape, ge will endure.
Zuo Mo piled on the smiles, “Pu Yao, you are a honored Sky Yao, what are you doing holding a grudge against a little character like me? Ge … … oh no, if this little brother has done something wrong, please have tolerance.”
Pu Yao’s eyes were still closed, and there was no movement, but Zuo Mo noticed that Pu Yao’s spine had straightened slightly.
It worked!
“Pu Yao, you are a millennia old Sky yao! The breadth of your mind, the composure, it is as wide as the sky, as deep as the ocean, your knowledge, your … …”
“Okay okay! Stop with the flattery!” Pu Yao’s expression was impatient, but the smile at the corner of his mouth revealed his pleased mood.
Zuo Mo mocked him inside. As expected of a thousand year antique. He bent under just this little bit of flattery. He piled on a fawning smile, “Some guidance?”
“Hm.” Pu Yao gave a light cough before slowly drawling, “It’s not embarrassing that you haven’t seen this before. There aren’t many xiuzhe that have seen it. This is Fire Sickle Rock. After absorbing the essence of moon and sun for a long time, it has born an intelligence. If nothing had changed in Little Mountain Jie, this piece of Fire Sickle Rock would just be an earthly treasure about fifth-grade.”
“Then now?” Zuo Mo perceptively asked.
“Presently, the ling energy of Little Mountain Jie has withered, and the power of the chaos has risen. But since this piece of Fire Sickle Rock has an intelligence, it couldn’t absorb ling power so it absorbed the power of chaos instead.”
Zuo Mo didn’t understand. “Power of chaos?”
“Chaos is the originator of all power. No matter if it is xiuzhe, yao or mo, power comes from chaos. But because everyone walks a different path, the result is completely different. What yaomo do is to go with the flow, while xiuzhe chose to resist. The ling power of the xiuzhe is a natural enemy to the power of chaos. “
“You mean he became a yaomo?” Zuo Mo pointed at the rock and asked with shock.
“Become yao.” Pu Yao was clearly smug. “There is a fire yao being nurtured here, but before it comes out, I don’t know what kind of fire yao. The intelligent souls of flora will become yao, the intelligent souls of wild beasts will become mo. If you throw ling beasts into a place like Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie, and after corrosion by the power of chaos, it will become mo.”
Zuo Mo was slightly disappointed. “So it’s just a yao, then shouldn’t I kill the yaomo?”
Pu Yao’s face instantly became black, “Who are you killing?”
Zuo Mo shook. He remembered the guy in front of him was a Sky Yao. He smiled, “Joke, joke!” He then said, “I’m just too disappointed. I thought I dug up a treasure, and didn’t expect it was something useless.”
“Who says it is useless?” Pu Yao was clearly slightly excited. “You just don’t know it! Treasure, hmph, even if it was put in front of you, you won’t recognize it.”
“Then what is the use?” Zuo Mo hurriedly asked.
Pu Yao closed his mouth and made a proud posture.
Zuo Mo wasn’t tricked. He took out a flying sword from the ring, and moved it to the Fire Sickle Rock. “If I can’t use it, I can’t let other people have it. So let’s kill it.”
Seeing the situation, Pu Yao said, “Fire yao isn’t too different than your ling beasts. You can use some of its abilities.”
“Oh, so that’s it, but I don’t know how.”
“Just drip blood.” Once Pu Yao finished, he knew he was tricked.
As expected, Zuo Mo cheerfully turned the flying sword and swiped across his finger. He squeezed out a drop of blood onto the Fire Sickle Rock.
Translator Ramblings: Zuo Mo has learned. Threats and flattery used together. Pu Yao lost this round.
WanderingGummmiOfDoom pointed out that what the yao did in corrupting the ling veins creates more yao. It’s not a bad strategy if you think about it. It’s essentially colonizing the place but I’m not sure that there are that many potential fifth-grade materials lying about.
Poor Jiang Wei, he has to root for the person who defeated him. I think Fang Xiang is using him as the voice of the other xiuzhe. If Jiang Wei who fought Zuo Mo before is (reluctantly) rooting for Zuo Mo, there is definitely other people out there doing the same.
sup guys
Dang i was late
Thank you so much!! 😘😘😘
Thanks for the chapter 😀
Thanks for the chapter
Pu Yao getting old.
Much thanks.
If business is so good, I’m surprised no one has sold them out to Clear Sky yet.
I wonder if Zuo Mo will make more GCF or if he’ll focus on his cultivation or something else instead.
I’m a bit surprised that no one has asked to be his disciple yet. Maybe they’re too afraid to ask?
Also, whatever happened to his pen pal? Or is she the girl at the beginning of the chapter? I honestly can’t remember what clues we’ve been given about her identity.
“The collusion between the two sides ” collusion -> collision
Forgot to mention it before.
They probably haven’t seen any of the people that are on the wanted list and they are profiting from the mats which is a long term profit for them but also agantonized clear sky as they wanted to controle them with ling grains. So they probably choose not to. They are all in Ningmai and forged through battles. They are not that stupid anymore xD
And his pen pal was a young girl that got respect even from his jindan masters/teachers and her identity was never really disclosed, only that she knew from the beginning how strong Wu Kong Mountain is with its Jindan and that she seems to be from an unbelievble high background as her power is probably at jindan while she seemed to be only a young girl.
(I guess she is jindan because she was able to attack Zuo Mo through a piece of paper she sent and how respectful his masters are to her and that she travels alone despite her status.)
I assumed that the attacking through letters thing was simply due to her having a deep knowledge of formations. Since she came from a large faction of some sort, its not strange for her to have studied formations long before reaching jindan.
Cultivators in general value independence, especially these survivors. They’ll get sold out sooner or later but Jiang Wei’s attitude shows how much most people hate Clear Sky Sect. The ones that would sell out first have already signed up and aren’t the wandering ones that happen upon GCC. And NOBODY is going to tell any Clear Sky sect people about the black processing mats.
Someone who believed that they could get enough benefits would. Those fleeing likely contain at least a few who aren’t willing to be on the lowest rung of an organization. With this information, they could practically guarantee a much higher status. Or just sell the info in exchange for a ticket out of the jie.
As far as selling them out goes, the way I see it, most of the people running into Golden Crow City have been either people fleeing the Clear Sky Sect, and who aren’t very inclined to risk going back to talk to them, are neutral people who don’t want to help, but also don’t want to increase Clear Sky Sect’s power, or are enemies, who are then quickly and completely wiped out by Zuo Mo’s forces with very few exceptions.
I don’t remember perfectly, but didn’t his “pen pal” (Read: Childish Tormentor) head back to her sect or clan or something? And I don’t think she is the girl from the start of the chapter because the pen pal was a fairly young, though powerful, girl.
Meatbun delivery~
Thank you for the chapter ( ●w●)
the student has finally become the master.. you learn well spiky grasshopper..
thanks for the chapter!
🙂
when I see how Zuo Mo treats Pu Yao now, this comes to my mind: “easier than taking candy from a baby”.
Thanks for the chapter!
Thanks for the chapter
“Zuo Mo shook. He remained the guy in front of him was a Sky Yao. ”
I guess you ment remembered instead of remained?
“The intelligent souls of flora will become yao”
Wouldn’t nature be a better word compared to flora since its a rock turning sentient and not a flower?
Got a normal question, what is yaomo? I know what yao is, I know what mo is but I don’t know what yaomo is.
Well, it is yao and mo put together. So referring to the two races as one.
Thanks for the chapter!
This also explains alot more on the reason Yaomo have a higher lack of Talismans(is what i’ve infered so far in the novel, hopefully i’m right), because any of the good materials will tend to become yao themselves. Also because no ling power(obviously).
Yes. Another way to put it is that the xiuzhe are using potential yao babies as materials for their weapons.
I keep having this feeling that, at some point in the story, the power level of a jindan xiuzhe has been retconned into something much more formidable than it originally was.
At the beginning, in Sky Moon Jie, it was like jindan were a dime a dozen. There were scores of sects, all of them had jindan, there were jindan that were not in any sect and just idled around, there were even traveling jindan from other jie… everywhere you looked, you’d find jindan. And they didn’t seem that terrible. Sure, we were told that they were a huge qualitative leap from ningmai, and that no ningmai could beat a jindan, but still, they were far from being really strong. They were just 4th stage in the xiuzhe hierarchy! About the same of a Yin Spirit Yao… and a far cry from guys who can chop mountains in two with a sword slash, like some sect founders we are told about who were fanxu or dasheng. Now *those* were real powerhouses!
In fact, that time in Dong Fu, when Pu Yao took control of Zuo Mo’s body, he fought FIVE JINDAN at the same time! The fight lasted about ten seconds, and the results were: one jindan dead, one jindan wounded and disabled, three jindan fleeing in terror. And Pu Yao at the time could use what, 1% of his Sky Yao power? Maybe less? Really, it was like the author, at that point in the story, didn’t think jindan should be such a big deal. There were freaks among them who had much more strength than normal, sure, like the elder with the Ice Dragon Sword technique (I forgot his name), but that was because they cultivated special ultra-rare super scriptures. The average jindan didn’t have such power at his disposal.
But now…
Looking at the preparations for the coming battle with Old Forefather, it seems like Zuo Mo and company are getting ready to fight Godzilla… (ಠ︵ಠ)
Aren’t they doing a bit too much? Jindan are tough, but shouldn’t be THAT tough!
I do think, somewhere along the way, the author felt the need to re-evaluate (*cough*retcon*cough*) the power of jindan, big time.
Mmmm .. Soon
There were a lot of Jindan in the region but all of them had their own Sects (or a small group of them ran a Sect. Jindan have always been seen as superhuman’s by everyone in the region for the entire novel.
Remember though – they are out in the boonies. There are actually 7 ranks of Xiuzhe not 4, so Jindan was never meant to be the be all and end all of cultivation, it just seemed like that to the yokels in this backwater because they have never even heard of anyone higher ranked. There hasn’t even been a single Yuanying cultivator in the entire story so far (that we are aware of).
The qualitative leap was always there too. Even right at the beginning when Zuo Mo wanted to learn the other 4 farming spells and he was talking about the wood spell, where he worked out the spell was good for training the finger movements required for spells – it was mentioned that Jindan didn’t need to make those movements as they had full control over the ling energy in their bodies. There have been other mentions of the leap in power their too – which I assume is a large factor in them being able to form their own Sects.
Pretty much every Jindan has sword intent, super-powered spiritual sense, instacast spells that use only willpower and ling energy to fire as well as the obligatory larger power reserves and base strength. Before Jindan spells are hard and time consuming to cast, only geniuses have sword intent, and their general power level is far lower.
So I don’t think there has been any change in the authors mind on their power level – it seems consistent with everything we have been told before this.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it appears to me you didn’t really read carefully the original post — either that, or you didn’t get any of the points Mjp makes.
He says that “from the beginning we were told that jindan were a huge qualitative leap from ningmai”. Then you reply that “the qualitative leap was always there too, even right at the beginning”. Gee, thanks for retorting with the exact same words of the OP.
He says “Jindan were just 4th stage in the xiuzhe hierarchy! A far cry from guys who can chop mountains in two, like fanxu or dasheng.” (Fanxu are 6th, dasheng are 7th.) Then you say “There are actually 7 ranks of Xiuzhe not 4, so Jindan was never meant to be the end all of cultivation” Again, thanks for agreeing with Mjp so readily, but there’s no need to post a message to repeat everything he says.
Your tirade is full of replies like that. Pay a little more attention to the OP next time.
Me, I mostly agree with Mjp. For most of the story, jindan weren’t pictured as such superpowerful opponents as to need the same countermeasures you’d need against Godzilla. Pu Yao said: 100 well-drilled ningmai, a competent general to lead them, and boom: the jindan is history. Zuo Mo’s preparations look like tremendous overkill.
Then again, there are differences between jindan. As the OP mentions, Pu Yao defeated 5 normal jindan easily, but he doesn’t dare fight Xin Yan. Of course, because Xin Yan almost killed him before, and with just one strike!
It could be that this Old Forefather could be a jindan of the same kind as Xin Yan, I mean not a normal jindan but a super jindan. Perhaps his Clear Sky sword skill is as strong as the Ice Dragon skill?
If you try to imagine the story with Xin Yan in the place of Old Forefather, then all the countermeasures Zuo Mo has prepared make sense. It’s one thing killing those five losers at the Dong Fu market, another thing fighting Xin Yan. If Old Forefather is a super jindan and his Clear Sky Sword is like a 6th-level scripture, then it makes sense.
But if that is the case, I would have liked the author to make it clear before!!! Tell us from the beginning that Old Forefather is a legend among jindan, not just some run-of-the-mill guy who can be killed by 100 ningmai well trained in tactics!
Or else, if it’s not like that, then the other possibility:
We’re simply supposed to accept as a fact, from now on, that any jindan is strong enough as to need the Golden Crow City firepower to be stopped.
Then yes, the established basics of the setting have been changed, and I cry retcon.
Ooh, I love your comment and the points you make. I don’t want to spoil anything but I’ll say that it is definitely not retcon that is going on. Keep in mind how inexperienced Zuo Mo is.
Pu is Sky Yao though, that is the 6th rank (?). 1% of his power could still be 1000 times the combined power of 5 jindan.
Plus it isn’t just the Old Sky Forefather that worries ZM, it is the thousands of disciples he has.They could technically just overwhelm him with numbers and take huge losses, but the plans and preparations are to ensure that ZM isn’t among the losses.
Haha, I love the way you say it, it makes Zuo Mo sound so evil. 😉 “Yeah, let’s do battle, and at the end there will be thousands dead on both sides, it’s ok as long as this little me survives!” That’s something he could be thinking all right. A righteous hero, our Zuo Mo he is not. 🙂
Your point about the superior numbers of the enemy is interesting. Perhaps that’s the reason of the tremendous preparations. But, then again, I’d have liked the author to make it more clear. Right now I have no clue which of the many measures prepared by Zuo Mo are to be used against Old Forefather and which are for mass killing small fry.
I’ll just say that everything that he is going to use has pretty much been shown or foreshadowed already.
I think the only thing strange/retconned is that there are so many ningmai that were left in Little Mountain Jie – and only a single jindan.
Ten thousands to one – the ratio is too excessive!
Did it say tens of thousands somewhere? It could be a pyramid but all the lianqi and normal people died so the ratio is askew.
I feel it’s the same. ZM’s original sect had four jindan who were low key but as soon as they revealed themselves the sect jumped all the way to the top of the jie. So jindan was always a big deal, especially in a small jie like Sky Moon. Little Mountain is even smaller then Sky Moon so a jindan being the mini-boss is okay.
I just remembered: when this arc started, Pu Yao said that a hundred ningmai working together with smart battle tactics could bring down a jindan.
That was when they started “recruiting” roaming xiuzhe and Gongsun Cha started drilling them. It seemed, at that point, that the plan was to gather 100 ningmai and train them into a jindan-killing tactic. Everyone, even the author, appeared to agree that such a method would be enough to defeat Old Forefather.
Things kind of escalated from that point on, dontcha think?
That was 100 well trained ningmai, other than the 800 in the Phoenix camp the rest are…. meh. Plus Old Sky Forefather isn’t alone, he has his entire sect as well.
Pu Yao was/is decimating Gongsun at war chess and he’s barely even trying. His definition of working together with smart battle tactics is still levels above what they currently have. I can’t remember clearly but when they first started “recruiting” xiuzhe and training them didn’t Pu Yao say that their basic formations still wouldn’t be enough and that’s why ZM got a headache because he was stressing over how he could recruit and place restrictions on a thousand xiuzhe to have a chance.
All this war setup is interesting and all but what happen to the important information? Likie shidi’s romantic success with that animal trainer they kidnapped? =P
I know right? @_@ I have been wondering this too… maybe FX will go…
“Shidi how goes the beast raising?”
“It is great! That helper you sent me is very good, and pretty. But ZM shixiong, I woudl like your bless for … you know *nudge nudge* *wink wink*, since there are so few…”
“Stop poking me and being weird, do what you want. Just make sure it doesn’t effect our profits”
Our renyao is unexpectedly weak to flattery. Pride that reach the clouds, a sky yao.
Oh, this is perfect!
Thanks!
Thanks for the chap.
Thanks for the chapter~
Seems like Zuo Mo is increasing his plethora of helpers with a new born Yao.
Thanks for the chapter,
So what is Zuo Mo in all these classifications? Frankenstein’s (Pu and tomb) monster or a new breed altogether
I’m going to say … … none of the above. He’s not a “new breed.”
Thanks for the chapter WYHCWE and WanderingGummiOfDoom!
thx for the chapter!
Thank you~
I don’t think this’ll go that smoothly.
Thank you for the chapter!
Thanks for the chapter!
My god, Zuo Mo was threatening a rock after flattering didn’t work! I wonder if it’ll turn into one of his companions, imagine if it is a female and lil’ pagoda falls in love!
Um … … Lil’ Pagoda will eat it for five element energy.
Honestly don’t know whats worse, the Xihuze that come and dominate a Jie and enslave its people for the rest of their generations while taking all the resources to go get more Jie, or the Yao who kill everyone off to create more Yao. ALSO this makes it make ALOT more sense why Yao are completly shit when it comes to Talismans ect, all their precious materials are turning into fucking Yao!!! XD
Yay a new beast companion, i hope its not trash like the shitty bird and that it is awesome like lil black.