Chapter One Hundred And Five – Mo Matrix And Yao Seed
Zuo Mo looked slightly scared at the variety of ling grasses and strange knick-knacks placed in front of him, like three sticks of incense made from the ashes of burnt Sky Net Yao hair, a small bottle of Bitter Dove Mo blood, a nauseatingly smelly Ferret Mo gallbladder… …
He had bought all those things according to Pu Yao’s orders. He ran all over Dong Fu, and made a trip to see He Rong before he managed to gather all of it. These weird things were all extremely expensive. He spent all of the thousand pieces of third-grade jingshi. Pu Yao was strangely generous this time, proactively taking out the jingshi.
These strange materials, there were all parts of some yaomo’s body. The corpses of yaomo killed in the Yao Hunt would be speedily be broken down by skilled professional butchers to useful parts. The bodies of yaomo were rich in ling energy, and had many wondrous effects so they were used in great amounts in dan-making and forging. The organs and flesh of yaomo can be added to dan, the hides of yaomo were usually abnormally strong and good materials to make ling armor. Their teeth and claws could be forged into high-grade flying swords and talismans.
In thousands of years, the practice of the Yao Hunt had never stopped. Other than revenge, it was mostly motivated by profit.
However, the dangers in the Yao Hunt were too high and the gains were not much. Therefore, raising ling beasts had become popular. The attributes of ling beasts could not compare to the yaomo, and the raw materials after killing the beasts were not as high-grade. It competed on the numbers and the low cost. Even a small sect like Wu Kong Sword Sect had its own specialized stables. It could be seen just how widespread raising ling beast livestock was.
Pu Yao had high demands for these materials. They had to come from yaomo and not ling beasts. This was also why it was so expensive. Any material relating to yaomo were not cheap.
But… …
Zuo Mo looked at the strange things on the table and his heart shook. He felt that it seemed like they were going to hold a dark ritual, and these strange fleshy organs were the tribute. He usually studied formations and scriptures, and it was not as terrifying as this.
“There’s nothing really good. We can only just compromise.” Pu Yao said, slightly helplessly. ”These things, they can just barely create the lowest kind of mo matrix.”
“Mo matrix? What is that?” Zuo Mo pushed down the terror in his heart to ask.
“This is very complicated to explain.” Pu Yao picked up the materials and inspected as he talked, “You can think of them as a kind of formation, a natural formation. It is a formation made out of blood, fur, feathers, and vitality. Hmph hmph, xiuzhe always want to decode the mystery of this, but the mechanisms in here, it’s not so easy to crack.”
“Then what are we doing now?”
“Don’t be dumb, do you have to ask me such a simple question?” Pu Yao looked at Zuo Mo like he was an idiot. “Of course it is to make you a mo matrix.”
“Make a matrix? Mo matrixes can be made? Didn’t you say no one has cracked it?” Zuo Mo was very shocked.
“They cannot, that does not mean that I cannot.” Pu Yao snorted, and said conceitedly, “Before… …” He suddenly seemed to have realized something and closed his mouth.
Pu Yao didn’t want to say it. Zuo Mo was curious but he didn’t ask. Pointing at another pile of ling grasses, he asked, “These ling grasses? Also for the mo matrix?” The materials on the table had been clearly divided into two piles, one of ling grasses, another of yaomo parts.
“That is to add something else to you.” Pu Yao snickered, “A very interesting thing.”
“Oh.” Zuo Mo nodded, not understanding. Suddenly, he felt his eyelids became heavy, he was so sleepy… …
“Don’t forget!”
“Even in death, you must not forget!”
He was having a dream again. Zuo Mo sighed. He was like an indifferent spectator watching his own dream. He knew that it was useless whatever he said, no one would reply to him, or rather, this dream just wanted to give him a question.
He was waiting to wake up.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Pu Yao’s handsome and enchanting face.
“Welcome back!” Pu Yao said smugly and with deep meaning.
Zuo Mo sat up and instantly felt pain. There seemed to be wounds over every part of his body. He could smell the thick scent of blood in the air.
“Was it successful?” Zuo Mo was frightened by his own voice. It was completely dry.
“Success? I’m ashamed to use such good words for this kind of trash. But there’s no way around it. You are too poor. What you used were my funds. You have to pay me back soon.” Pu Yao said, slightly disdainful.
Seeing Zuo Mo grit his teeth in pain, Pu Yao seemed very happy. “I added a very simple mo matrix to your body. Oh, this matrix, I found it on the body of a Copper rhino. It’s very primitive and simple. It can automatically absorb in the ling energies from the surroundings and strengthen your body. Your body will appear copper colored. Since you have been practicing [Vajra Profound Sutra], you can use it as a disguise and no one would be able to see it.”
Zuo Mo struggled up and instantly became alarmed. Two thick red lines went from the center of his palms, following his arms to his chest and intersecting there. From the chest, they separated again downwards, following his legs to the center of his feet. The intersection at his chest was like the two red lines had made a knot.
Seeing Zuo Mo’s wariness, Pu Yao said unconcernedly, “Don’t worry, after two days, these lines will merge into your flesh. Even if someone has something like Sky Eyes, they can’t see it.”
Zuo Mo couldn’t help but sigh. If he went about with such an alarming tattoos like this, he wouldn’t have good days to live.
“This mo matrix is relatively simple so don’t expect it to have many abilities.” Pu Yao said irresponsibly. “You are just too poor. Without jingshi, there naturally isn’t anything good.”
Zuo Mo felt the space between his brows hurt and couldn’t help but reach up. When his hand touched his forehead, his fingers seemed to have encountered something abnormal.
“What is that?” Zuo Mo suddenly remembered that Pu Yao said he was adding something else.
“Hee hee, a yao seed.” Pu Yao was extremely smug. “This thing cannot compare to a true yao seed but for you, it’s more than enough.”
Zuo Mo knew about yao seeds. Yao had yao seeds, mo had mo cores. This was the standard to judge the importance of yaomo. Xiuzhe would also form gold cores, but this gold core was made from ling energy and was not some tangible object. It would automatically dissipate after death. Yao seeds and mo cores, they were tangible objects that grew in the body and were an extremely important material. He had only heard of it before, but had never seen it.
“Yao seeds?” Zuo Mo asked in alarm. “What does it do?”
“Just try and see.” Pu Yao said.
Hearing this, Zuo Mo hurriedly started [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation].
As it started, he instantly detected the difference. The ling energy in the surroundings competed to rush into him. All the openings in his body naturally opened, the ling energy easily slipping into his body. His flesh was like a wondrous filter net, easily filtering out the impurities of the ling energy which turned to sparks of light that then entered his flesh and bones.
Zuo Mo was slightly dumbstruck. It really was as Pu Yao said—just as easy as breathing. There was none of the usual struggle. The ling energy seemed very close and intimate with him.
He was exhilarated!
With the mo matrix, the speed of his cultivation would multiply.
He thought about the yao seed that Pu Yao mentioned. Even though he did not know what a yao seed looked like, but it definitely was related to the consciousness. As expected, he quickly found the yao core on his forehead. It was a blood red crystal, a bit like the blood crystals on Pu Yao’s ears, but in terms of brightness and clarity, it was far worse.
What Zuo Mo found extremely wonderful was that, with a yao seed, the shape of his spirit had transformed.
His consciousness had been like a ball of mist before. Now, his consciousness was like a jellyfish, having lots of thin slender tentacles with the yao seed at the very center. These thin spiritual tentacles, with Zuo Mo as the center, floated in the surroundings. Everything in the surroundings was clearly mirrored in his mind. After he started cultivating his spirit, his sixth sense had become extremely sensitive. With the yao seed, this sensitivity had multiplied.
His mind moved and those spiritual tentacles nimbly danced around him according to his wishes.
Having been worried beforehand, Zuo Mo finally could not disguise the glee inside. To say of nothing else, just dan-making, his success rate would definitely improve dramatically.
The benefit from these two things, even if he had to pay a price, it was worth it!
With the mo matrix and the yao seed, the speed of his cultivation would increase multiple times.
Just as Zuo Mo was celebrating, Pu Yao broke in, “Don’t be happy too early. I’ve never done this mo matrix and yao seed to anyone before. If there’s any side effects, you just have to deal with it yourself. You need to study formations now. The speed of taking in ling energy is faster, but if you cannot store it, it’s all useless.”
Zuo Mo gradually calmed down from his joy.
Pu Yao was right. Right now, the rate of taking in ling energy was multiple times what it had been, but if he could not solve the problem of storing it, it truly was useless.
“Learn formations.” Pu Yao said with a rare seriousness. “Right now, you only need to study formations.”
“Only study formations?” Zuo Mo was slightly puzzled. He felt Pu Yao’s worlds were too definite.
“Yes.” Pu Yao explained. “No matter if it is dan-making, or sword scripture, they are formations in the end. You have to learn on your own. The formations of xiuzhe are too complex and broad, yet completely different from the understanding of us yao. We have a hard time understanding many things.”
“You cannot understand them?” Zuo Mo didn’t believe it. Even though he felt Pu Yao was just a dumb yao, but in the matters of cultivation, one Pu Yao was worth a hundred of him. Something that even Pu Yao could not understand, how could he understand it?”
Extremely rarely, Pu Yao had a grave expression. He said something that Zuo Mo did not understand, “It has nothing to do with methods, it has to do with belief.”
Even though he could not understand it, but Zuo Mo felt that Pu Yao was extremely serious when he said this. It should be the most serious thing that Pu Yao had said up until now. He silently memorized this sentence.
“Then dan-making? Sword scriptures?” Zuo Mo was still slightly hesitant.
Pu Yao had finally reached the end of his patience with Zuo Mo. “Idiot, they are also formations. Don’t be tricked by appearances. In any case, just concentrate on formations.”
“I don’t have jade scrolls… …” Zuo Mo weakly said.
Pu Yao irresponsibly spread out his hands. “I don’t have a way either.”
Suddenly, Pu Yao smiled darkly. Zuo Mo’s heart couldn’t help but have a bad feeling. As expected, he heard Pu Yao formally say, “Alright. I feel there is a need to discuss the matter of my payment.”
Translator Ramblings: Just to put in perspective, the xiuzhe are killing intelligent, self-aware beings for their body parts. Of course, this world is not our world so things are slightly different.
Pu is being a mad scientist! Zuo Mo gets tattooed up and a crystal in the middle of his forehead. Guess what’s the payment?
The cast list was updated slightly, but there isn’t really anything important on there at the moment.