Chapter 57: Into the Mountain
Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy
The eighth layer of the Non-Phase Sword Bone was truly wonderful beyond words. Early the next morning, all of Wang Lu’s injuries had been completely healed. Furthermore, with an expression of both shock and helplessness, the Lady Boss watched Wang Lu finish up three days worth of food from her inn in one go, causing her heavy losses.
Of course, how could this be compared with the average daily turnover of over ten thousand tael of silver? Thus, except for swallowing the loss, the Lady Boss could do nothing about it.
The amount of meal that he ate was enough to shame even Wen Bao! After eating, Wang Lu patted his still flat stomach and stretched out his muscles and bones without any obstruction. He faintly felt that although the recovery capability of the eighth layer of Non-Phase Sword Bone was on another level, it had the side effect of being expensive...
As he had healed from the injury, there was no need to change the original plan.
At the Clear Sky Peak on the Spirit Sword Mountain, Wang Lu looked at his two other teammates before asking, “Um, our team is complete, do we still need to introduce ourselves?”
The Lady Boss didn’t want to spend time on this. “We’re just three people, who doesn’t know who here? Are you sick?”
Wang Lu laughed. “Well, we actually have a problem regarding this.”
With that, he pulled out a golden document from his bosom. “This is the permit to enter the mountain from the Heavenly Policy Hall. You also know that this Clear Sky Peak is the sect’s important resources location. Even I, as a Successor Disciple, can’t freely come and go here, not to mention outsiders. So, several days ago, I specifically asked this permit document for you. However, this document requires the user to write their name on it…”
Having said to this point, Wang Lu shut his mouth. After all, after knowing her for two years and three months, he didn’t even know her full name!
However, the fault was not on Wang Lu; the identity of the Lady Boss was countless Spirit Sword Sect’s people’s closely guarded secret. Moreover, Wang Lu also didn’t bother to inquire about it. When they met, it was usually in just two or three people’s setting, so there was no need to directly call her by name. What he called her were mostly: The Lady Boss; proprietress; waiter; beauty; f*ck, you dare to hit me, you wild monkey!
What he truly knew about her came from his Master, who called her little Ling’er. Thus, he knew that her name has the “Ling” character, but he didn’t know her last name… He couldn’t just give his surname of Wang to her just because they were close, right? Like Wang Ling’Er? Damn, where did this blatant crap come from?
Therefore, Wang Lu wanted to use this rare opportunity to get her real name.
“So, beauty, the problem here is this. This permit requires the real name of the user for it to take effect. This document is made from sincerity paper, so…”
Wang Lu tried to be subtle here. He thought that with the Lady Boss’s IQ level and maturity, this would be undetectable.
However, the Lady Boss took one look at that golden document and then carelessly shrugged. “Just write the character of ‘Ling’ on it.”
Wang Lu frowned. “Just ‘Ling’ character? Last name?”
The Lady Boss sneered. “No last name. Awesome, right?”
“... Yes, it’s awesome. But, are you sure this is your real name? If I wrongly wrote in this document, I won’t have the time to find the second document.”
“Rest assured, I am not a liar like your Master.”
Without any other way, Wang Lu had to trust her and write the “Ling” character. No matter how he looked, he still felt awkward about it. A person without a surname seemed like an uncivilized person; like a pet name Big Huang or Little Mao. Would there be a problem if he wrote according to what the Lady Boss told him? He really couldn’t afford another sincerity paper at this time!
With a hint of uncertainty, Wang Lu filled the sincerity paper, and then handed it over to the Lady Boss. He thought that this was like giving a tag to a dog. Then, without giving another look to that ‘“dog tag” or sincerity paper, the Lady Boss took it, put it into her bosom, and then strode forward.
Outside the Clear Sky Peak, the Heavenly Sword Hall Elders have teamed up to lay out a barrier, so that in the absence of specified instruments, it was impassable. This applied even to the Elders—otherwise, the Fifth Elder wouldn’t need to go through a lot of trouble just to plunder the peak.
From behind, Wang Lu saw the Lady Boss casually cross the Clear Sky Peak’s barrier; he couldn’t help but become amazed. “I’ll be damned! Lady Boss, you really are a person with a single character name! Considering your peerless master status, you really don’t deserve this pet name; might as well use my surname, so your name should be Wang Ling’Er!”
However, when he crossed the barrier after the Lady Boss, Wang Lu vaguely felt something strange.
“Is it just a misperception or is someone watching us?” he mused.
After he successfully entered the Qi Cultivating Stage, the excellent property of his spirit root made him extremely sensitive to the change in the surrounding spiritual energy. He could not help but look up. However, what he saw was just a clear and boundless sky; where would he find the hole that someone had used to peep on them?
——
On the sky above the Spirit Sword Mountain, three elderly cultivators stood on the clouds, looking towards the far east. From the east, a lump of green cloud swiftly approached them.
Looking at that cloud, the leader of that group of cultivators slowly nodded. “After three years of long journey, Seventh Martial Brother has gained a lot.”
The cultivator on the right also praised, “That’s right, just this simple Soaring Cloud Method already showed his mastery of the weather. I presume that he has already completed his colored Yuanying, and thus has reached the peak Yuanying Stage.”
The leader then said, “By the Seventh Martial Brother’s perception and talent, one hundred years ago, I am afraid no one would expect him to have this kind of achievements.”
The cultivator on the right said, “A hundred years ago? Ha! I still remember that some people said that even if someone transmit their power to him until he reach the Jindan Stage, with his talent, he would never reach the Yuanying Stage! But… Um, at that time, who could guess that the situation would turn out to be like this?”
The cultivator at the left laughed. “A hundred years ago, in addition to the Sect Leader Martial Brother, none of us are the favorites, it’s just…”
When they remembered about that past event, the three of them couldn’t help but sigh with sorrow. However, before long, that lump of green cloud has already closed to the Spirit Sword Mountain. When it touched the Great Cloud Protection Array, they immediately fused.
The green cloud dissipated, and a tall, burly hooded person in black robe appeared before the three people.
Although that person’s appearance was kind of mysterious, when he opened his mouth, what came out of it was a straightforward and heroic laughter. “Sect Leader Senior Brother, Senior Brother Liu Xian, Senior Brother Fang He… You three actually waited for me here, I really don’t deserve it.”
Seeing him, Liu Xian couldn’t help but smile. “If Fourth Junior Brother and Sixth Junior Brother don’t have something to do, they would’ve come with us. The Ninth Junior Sister is preparing a welcome feast for you at the sect… Rest assured, as per your request, we wouldn’t make it too grand. But us brothers and sisters always have to get together.”
The ever calm and upright Disciplinary Elder Fang He’s face couldn’t help but turn slightly brighter. “That’s right. Since Junior Brother has wandered out for three years, travelling to the distant West and Eastern border, there are many things that you have probably gained. Us brothers and sisters definitely want to hear about it!”
After they had greeted each other several more times, they didn’t immediately go back to the sect; instead, they just stood on the cloud there. It seemed like they wanted to talk about something that they didn’t want other people to hear.
The Sect Leader Daoist Master Feng Yin earnestly said, “Seventh Junior Brother, when you reached the West, did you find your family?”
The Seventh Elder shook his head. “There’s absolutely no clue about my family. But, I’ve mentally prepared for it long time ago, so I didn’t feel particularly sad for it. After all, a small clan like that usually can’t survive for more than fifty years, and when I left home, it was one hundred and fifty years ago. However, when I got back this time, I still saw a lot of people similar to me, they…”
The seventh Elder stopped at this point. After a while, with a mixture of regret and sadness, he said, “Their living conditions are very poor. No matter where I looked, it’s almost all the same: poverty, ignorance, fear… Although some exceptional individuals are bound to appear in this kind of tough condition, but without good fortune, even if someone is talented, they would never reach their full potential. Not everyone could meet a Master and have several Martial Brothers and Sisters like me… I tried to help them, but a person’s strength is insignificant. At best, I just helped them avoid some of the natural and manmade disasters, or grant them one or two years of abundant harvest to fill their bellies; it’s just some cheap tricks that didn’t solve the root of the problem. Even so, ever so often, people would still call me the Prophet, or the Savior… Oh, I really can’t afford to shoulder that burden.”
Hearing such a heavy topic, the other three brothers became somewhat sad; what could they do about it? Those were the things that were beyond their ability to help. Each time one of them descended the mountain, they would more or less always encounter such a heart-wrenching event. Even with their peak Yuanying Stage power, they were still far from omnipotent.
In such a depressing atmosphere, the Second Elder Liu Xian suddenly sighed, shook his head, pulled out a pot of miniaturized pine trine, and then said to the Seventh Elder, “Junior Brother, now that you’re here, I’ll return this Clear Sky Peak’s restriction key back to you.”
The Seventh Elder received the pot, put the sad emotion on the back of his head, smiled and said, “Thank you for helping me take care the Clear Sky Peak for three years, Senior Brother. When we get back, I must offer you a drink.”
Liu Xian ruefully said, “I am ashamed, Junior Brother. You have entrusted me your Clear Sky Peak, but I wasn’t able to take care of it. I don’t have the face to drink your cup.”
“Hahahaha, it’s the Fifth Senior Sister, right? It’s not a big deal. In any case, she just took something from the Small Clear Sky; no need to feel bad about it, Senior Brother!”
While saying that, the Seventh Elder, who currently held the pot of miniaturized pine tree, was suddenly startled. “Hey, someone has broken through the Clear Sky Peak’s barrier?”
He then looked down, and the twelve peaks of the Spirit Sword Mountain suddenly came to his view. The three people on the Clear Sky Peak naturally couldn’t escape his vision.
Upon seeing the three people, the Seventh Elder was startled. “Little Ling’Er?”
“What? Little Ling’Er?” Now, even the Sect Leader couldn’t help but feel alarmed. He quickly moved his view downward and immediately frowned. “What is she doing there? What kind of nonsense is this!”
The Seventh Elder was stunned. “Senior Brother, why the anger? I’m just curious why would Little Ling’Er come to the mountain; moreover, she’s coming to my Clear Sky Peak? Doesn’t she have a job or something? She just broke the barrier, that’s all; I can fix it in an instant.”
Daoist Master Feng Yin shook his head. “If it’s just little Ling’Er, then it’s alright. But look who’s at her side! Humph, that smelly kid, Wang Lu, is so clever; he actually pulled little Ling’Er with him!”
The Seventh Elder was baffled. “Wang Lu? Isn’t he the peerless genius that you talked to me about? What’s wrong with him? Did he do something?”
“Your Clear Sky Peak was spoiled by him! Ha! You see, not only did he pick the Red Refined Fruit, he even took the Wailing Ghost Rattan! He’s simply a robber!”
The Seventh Elder glanced down at the mountain and found out that the trio was still walking without doing any of that. He then looked at his indignant Senior Brother before thinking, “Why didn’t I see any of that?”
Fang He explained to him, “Junior Brother, our Senior Brother has been practicing the Stars Diffraction Technique for many years, so his spiritual eyes are even more sophisticated; it’s just that… Before he fully masters this technique, there would be some inevitable side effects.”
The Seventh Elder wondered, “These side effects are…?”
Fang He pointed at the pair of glasses held by Feng Yin. “If Eldest Brother doesn’t put on the Kunlun Mirror, Eldest Brother’s eyes would be filled with all kinds of phantom possibilities. In other words, he won’t see just the present but also the future. However, these future has too many possibilities, so he won’t be able to determine the correct one, therefore…”
Liu Xian sighed. “To put it bluntly, in Senior Brother’s eyes, there is a row of you here! Moreover, you’re using all kinds of way to discuss all kinds of topics with him. So, despite little Ling’Er and the other two have just entered the mountain, Senior Brother may have seen what they would do in the future.”
“Um… Why would he train this kind of weird technique?”
“Weird? Oh, Junior Brother, think about it. Once Senior Brother completely masters this technique, he could accurately see the future; what would happen then? When he fight with others, before they even begin making their moves, he would already come up with countermeasures; how could he lose the fight? And, if he combined this with the Big Stars Diffraction Technique, the ability to predict the future would be even more terrifying! For example, if the other party cast a spell that no one has ever heard before, even if you know about it ahead of time, you won’t know how to deal with it. But if Senior Brother combined the Big Stars Diffraction Technique with his Spirit Eyes, he could calculate numerous schemes on how to deal with it, and then using this ability to predict, he could test those schemes one after the other and choose the most effective one.”
Upon hearing this, the Seventh Elder was shocked. “Wouldn’t he be invincible? Even if a legendary True Immortal descends to the world of mortal, wouldn’t that person be no match to the omniscient and omnipotent Senior Brother!?”
Feng Yin sighed. “Still, it’s not that easy to master this. I’ve been practicing this skill for over a decade, yet I am still far from completely mastering it. Without the talent for this technique, practicing it would take ‘twice the effort for half the result’. The reason why I practice this was, in fact, for Yao’Er. She has a second to none aptitude; a perfect material to practice this skill.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Xian could not help but laugh. “Senior Brother, you also know how to boast. Even though Yao’Er’s aptitude is wonderful. Compared to Brilliant Peak’s Little Liu Li, the difference is not that much. Let alone as long as the aptitude isn’t below third rate aptitude, the deciding factor is not the spirit root, but fate. Moreover, if we base it only on the spirit root alone, with Wang Lu’s Void Spirit Root, your Yao’Er may not necessarily be the first under heaven. Just now, I noticed that Wang Lu has successfully completed the Body Refining Stage and has now entered the Qi Cultivating Stage. Base on his Void Spirit Root’s qualification, his future is limitless.”
Feng Yin snorted. “With that kind of Master, I am afraid that even his lower limit is limitless… Holy sh*t! He actually broke through the barriers on the Big Clear Sky Peak!”
While Feng Yin was making a fuss about nothing, Wang Lu’s trio was still on the mountain road, slowly advancing forward.