Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Eight The Hundred Treasure Flying Pavilion
For Zuo Mo, the question in front of him was an extremely serious one ––– to spend this enormous amount of jingshi.
In his perspective, it was not outrageous to label it a serious problem. If he hadn’t spent all of the jingshi before Pu Yao woke up, then he definitely wouldn’t get a single piece. His original intentions when he had bet the original amount was because he didn’t want the three hundred pieces of third-grade jingshi to land in Pu Yao’s hand. This was great now. The situation hadn’t changed and he needed to find a way to spend even more jingshi.
He definitely had to spend it! Before Pu Yao woke up!
If such a large sum of jingshi ended up in Pu Yao’s hands, Zuo Mo felt that he would go crazy. To avoid the worst case scenario, Zuo Mo decided to act immediately.
However, before he could leave the mountain gates, he was called by the sect leader to Wu Kong Hall.
Recently, he had been too flashy. It was better to be a bit more careful. Zuo Mo decided to be more low-key. If he angered the sect leader and the others, he wouldn’t have easy days.
“Xiao Mo.” The sect leader raised a tea cup and took a sip, saying slowly, “I heard you do not want to attend the next fight?”
“Sect Leader, it’s not that this disciple doesn’t want to, but is unable to. See, this disciple’s wounds have not healed. Even though the next opponent is unknown but it will definitely be a ningmai expert, and the match will be unwinnable. My wounds would be aggrieved, and leave behind hidden weaknesses for future cultivation. This disciple feels that the Sword Test Conference is just to gain some experience. This disciple has learned a lot this time. If this disciple gets hurt in order to win, and damages the base, wouldn’t that be doing more harm than good?” Zuo Mo said with a thick face.
The sect leader had a smiling expression as he looked at Zuo Mo. Zuo Mo instantly had a bad feeling.
“You have thought about the situation. Not bad, not bad. However, things have changed. One competitor had left due to an emergency so there will be one person who will draw a bye. Elder Tian Song Zi admired your performance last time very much and has decided to give the bye to you. You have to perform well to not fail the hopes of Elder Tian Song Zi. As to the wounds you have, don’t worry, your master wouldn’t bear for you to fight with wounds.”
Zuo Mo instantly froze. He still needed to attend the competition?
Wasn’t it already known to be a loss?
Other people only saw his dazzle and success in his match with Chao An. What they didn’t know was how much he had prepared for that. Even his luck had been extremely good in order for him to achieve victory. Through the information that Fu Jin had found on Chao An before the match, he had found Chao An’s weakness. He also fully used the wagering to place enormous pressure on Chao An. He had used everything he could think about, he had really put all his effort into scheming, just so he could barely make the victory.
The gap between zhuji and ningmai was still gigantic. If it was any other competitor, he would have lost. Other than the killing moves like the yin fire bead which was not suited to being used in public, he had done everything that he could.
The sect leader wanted him to keep attending the competition? What did he have left to use to compete?
He felt his mind was a bit stuck. Did the sect leader really think that he could defeat ningmai like he was cutting vegetables? He shouldn’t! Zuo Mo raised his head slightly to glance at the sect leader and instantly shook his head inside. Not in any way did the sect leader seem like such an idiot.
Just as he was thinking, he heard the sect leader say with a smile, “Go prepare well.”
Zuo Mo dejectedly left Wu Kong Hall. For a long while, he couldn’t focus. A bye? This kind of thing happened?
Just as he was dazing away on Silly Bird’s back, he suddenly heard Pu Yao’s voice, “Give me five yin beads.”
This was definitely the voice that Zuo Mo didn’t want to hear the most. Consequently, his body suddenly froze when he heard it. When did this guy wake up?
However, he quickly responded. Pu Yao’s voice was very rushed. He clearly was in desperate need of the yin beads. Without a second word, he took out five yin beads to shove to Pu Yao. Pu Yao, having obtained the yin beads, instantly disappeared.
Only now did Zuo Mo feel his heart pumping hard. Damn It, Pu Yao was going to wake soon!
No way! He needed to be quicker!
Zuo Mo felt as though there was a fire below his butt as he frantically urged Silly Bird to move. He could feel his heartbeat continuously increasing in speed, his mouth dry. One hundred and ninety pieces of fourth-grade jingshi! Before the competition, he had never even seen a fourth-grade jingshi before, much less one hundred and ninety pieces of fourth-grade jingshi. When he thought that this gigantic fortune might not belong to him, Zuo Mo felt terrible.
With a stronger desire to spend the jingshi, Zuo Mo came to Dong Fu again.
This time, he didn’t wander around on the ground. He headed straight for the finest floating market in Dong Fu, the Hundred Treasure Flying Pavilion.
The Hundred Treasures Island was the finest market in Dong Fu and what it sold was the most expensive and highest-quality items that could be bought in Dong Fu. Every talisman that was sold here was the finest of the finest. The raw materials that it sold were all rare items. The Hundred Treasure Flying Pavilion was forged from a small mountain peak. The reason that it could always float in the air and never needed to land was due to the jinzhi that were on it. There had never been anyone that made trouble at the Hundred Treasure Flying Pavilion, not even jindan experts.
This was the first time Zuo Mo came to the Hundred Treasure Flying Pavilion. If he didn’t have one hundred and ninety pieces of fourth-grade jingshi on him, he definitely wouldn’t have the bravery to come to such a high-end store.
The mountain was not big, only about seventy or so mu. It was extremely beautiful, all kinds of ling grasses and flowers planted, as the ling music flowed. Zuo Mo didn’t really know much about the ling music, but the ling grasses and flowers really frightened him, who was familiar with dan-making.
F***!
Any stalk of ling grass and flower in here was a rare specimen that Zuo Mo had only seen on the jade scrolls.
Fourth-grade Antennaria Reed, fourth-grade Nightmare Mushroom, fourth-grade Red Fire Lotus… …
They didn’t need to put on any airs. Those fourth and fifth-grade ling plants were just planted there. If the customers that came in did not have full purses, they would have to be careful when they lifted their feet in fears of stepping on a plant. They couldn’t afford to pay the price.
A place like the Hundred Treasure Flying Pavilion never had to worry it would be too crowded. When Zuo Mo arrived, there was only one guest inside.
The person that received Zuo Mo was a storekeeper wearing a gold-embroidered black robe. His eyes were very keen. When he saw Zuo Mo, he enthusiastically came over, “Hey, isn’t this Mister Zuo? Such an honor to have you as a customer! Mister Zuo, your match really helped us Dong Fu gain some honor! That was a good fight. Tsk tsk, three chain, I was really shocked when I saw it. Receiving you today, it is this one’s good fortune!”
The storekeeper’s voice was warm but not fawning. His words touched Zuo Mo’s pride but didn’t exaggerate. Even the volume was controlled at an appropriate level, and wouldn’t disturb the customer that was browsing through the talismans not far away. What shocked Zuo Mo even more was that this friendly-looking storekeeper was a ningmai!
At this time, Zuo Mo couldn’t help but look at the other shopkeeper. As expected, also in ningmai! There wasn’t just the two shopkeepers. There were two more shopkeepers waiting by the side, also ningmai cultivation.
Ningmai cultivators used as shopkeepers, this was enough to shock Zuo Mo!
He thought about the matches going on below, the ningmai xiuzhe fighting back and forth, extremely grand. Yet on the Hundred Treasure Flying Pavilion, the same ningmai level xiuzhe were only shopkeepers.
He wondered who was the owner of the Hundred Treasure Flying Pavilion. The other must have a very big background.
There was one benefit to Zuo Mo’s zombie face. No matter what he was thinking inside, it would never show on the surface.
“I came to see if there was something suited for me.” Due to the other’s cultivation, Zuo Mo was also very polite.
“Oh, then look around. If you see something you like, this one can explain more.” The shopkeeper smiled as he said. He was not too warm but not cold.
With just a look, Zuo Mo’s eyes blurred.
Right now, he did own many good things, but other than the jade scroll at his waist that could barely be put in the Hundred Treasure Flying Pavilion, none of the other things were comparable. These were all good things! Good things! Zuo Mo swallowed continuously, his eyes lit up, wanting to sweep all the talismans on the shelves into his purse. However, when he saw the prices marked on the items, it was like a bucket of cold water was poured over his head.
“This flying sword uses the Deep Ocean Water Soul Crystals from ten thousand miles under the surface. Each Water Soul Crystal is above fourth-grade and was made by a famous master. This flying sword is made from seven swords and can be arranged in many ways. The [Big Dipper] on the body of the swords can easily set the swords to become the Big Dipper Sword Formation. If it is in the hands of those who are skilled in formations such as you, Mister Zuo, it would become even more powerful!”
Zuo Mo looked at the price, Six hundred pieces of fourth-grade jingshi. His little heart trembled and he hurriedly looked at another item.
“This is a Sky Cotton Woven Robe. It is woven out of sixteen thousand strands of complete Ice Sky Silk. The Ice Sky Silk is extremely strong and hard to break with a flying sword, and it can automatically absorb ling energy from the surroundings. There are seven formations on there, each with different effects, all of them useful. Also, this Sky Cotton Woven Robe is extremely strong in defense. We have done specialized testing… …”
Price, five hundred pieces of fourth-grade jingshi! Zuo Mo left without raising his head.
Zuo Mo walked around the different shelves as he scanned through superficially. Each talisman was so good, but the price of each talisman made him feel hopeless. By the end, he was completely numb, and just looked at the price first.
The shopkeeper did not hurry him and was not impatient. He showed extreme professionalism.
Zuo Mo suddenly saw an item priced at one hundred pieces of fourth-grade jingshi. He couldn’t help but stop in his stride.
A ring that was like a circle of metal laid there silently.
Noticing Zuo Mo’s gaze, the shopkeeper introduced dutifully, “This dimensional ring is half a failure. The forger had originally wanted to forge a fourth-grade dimensional ring but failed in the end. This dimensional ring is slightly bigger than normal third-grade dimensional rings, but it is smaller than fourth-grade dimensional rings. Because the owner is familiar with the forger, this dimensional ring was placed to sell here.”
Dimensional ring!
Glee rushed out of Zuo Mo’s heart! He hadn’t thought that the Hundred Treasures Flying Pavilion would sell dimensional rings!
The so-called dimensional rings were storage talismans. The hundred treasure pouch at his waist was a similar talisman that could store and transport items. However, the dimensional ring was a higher level storage talisman than the hundred treasure pouch. It wasn’t just that it could contain more items, but the items stored would not increase the weight. That was where it was much better than a hundred treasure pouch. However, it was much harder to make a dimensional ring than a hundred treasure pouch. It was hard to find one on the market and the price never dropped. If it wasn’t for his unexpected windfall, Zuo Mo didn’t know how long it would take before he could afford a dimensional ring.
The dimensional ring was an extremely useful talisman. Zuo Mo almost didn’t need to think and took out the jingshi, “I’ll buy it!”
Translator Ramblings: Isn’t Zuo Mo lucky? Well, he doesn’t think so. His plans of bankrupting himself was ruined and he’s being thrown off the deep end.
One of the staples of a Chinese fantasy novel shows up, the dimensional ring! Zuo Mo is relatively rich but not rich enough to sweep the high-end shops.
Thanks for all your comments!
As accurate as I can remember, the conversion for jingshi is:
1o first-grade = 1 second-grade
100 second-grade = 1 third-grade
500 third grade = 1 fourth-grade