Chapter Three Hundred and Two – A New Beginning
Booooooom!
More than ten Sonic Lightning Walnut exploded at the same time!
A blinding and scorching light passed through his back.
Zuo Mo felt his back was heavily struck. His throat turned sweet and then he spat out blood. Before he had the time to respond, like a meteorite falling from the sky, he and the female xiu smashed heavily into the dirt.
Ping!
The ground was really hard!
That was the last thought before Zuo Mo fainted.
———
Ma Fan looked at the half-collapsed city walls. Thinking about the scene from two days ago, he still felt fear. The big formation inside Golden Crow City had been completely damaged, and almost all of the formation battle watchtowers were ruined.
Most importantly, Boss had thrown out a huge number of Sonic Lightning Walnuts to save everybody.
The simultaneous explosion of the Sonic Lightning Walnuts had forcibly cleared out an empty area twenty mu in diameter.
The mountains around Golden Crow City did not have such good luck and had been bombarded and left half standing. Not one mountain peak remained whole. There was no untouched land near Golden Crow City. Everything was in disarray.
In the sky, it was possible to see xiuzhe from Vermillion Bird Camp patrolling everywhere. After the battle, some xiuzhe had nefarious aims, and wanted to get rich. They were completely annihilated by the members of Vermillion Bird Camp, who had a whole belly full of frustration. In the defense of the city, Vermillion Bird Camp’s utility had been pitifully small. This made them feel especially irritated.
They had almost all died, and were even unable to take Boss and escape. To the Vermillion Bird Camp that had been trained through many battle and successfully won, this undoubtedly was a great humiliation.
No one had expected that, in the end, Boss had saved everyone. Thinking about it now, it still seemed like a dream.
There was not much joy on Ma Fan’s face. Boss was still unconscious now. This caused a heavy cloud to settle on everyone’s hearts. In this present group, Boss was the true leader. No one could imagine what they would become if Boss wasn’t present.
Maybe this group that had been so difficult to gather together would face a fate of collapse.
Ma Fan chewed on a stalk of green grass as his feet unconsciously kicked pebbles.
“Old Fan, Old Fan!” His ears suddenly heard Xie Shan’s joyous voice.
“Oh.” He turned his face and dazedly responded.
Xie Shan said urgently, “Boss woke up!”
It was as though Ma Fan was struck by lightning. After a moment, he suddenly reacted, and asked hurriedly, “Boss woke up?”
“Hee hee, just woke up! It was just my turn to stand guard!” Xie Shan said with slight pride.
“That’s great!” Ma Fan muttered to himself.
“Isn’t it? This is great … …”
The news that Zuo Mo woke up quickly spread through Golden Crow City. Golden Crow City rejoiced, the gloom of the past days swept away.
———
Zuo Mo felt his body hurt all over as though it was being torn apart. He couldn’t help but give a deep groan. Looking at the familiar faces, joy at surviving the calamity washed over his heart. His expression suddenly changed and asked Gongsun Cha, “Where’s the female xiu?”
Gongsun Cha’s expression became strange.
“How is she?” Zuo Mo was very alarmed.
Even though he did not know the actual situation but there definitely was a great connection between him and the female xiu. The scene of the female xiu sacrificing herself to save him, and that pair of eyes filled with emotion flashed in front of his eyes.
Who are you … …
Zuo Mo could find the answer to many of the problems haunting him on her body.
She could not die!
Seeing Zuo Mo’s panic, Gongsun Cha did not joke and revealed, “Come and you’ll understand.”
When Zuo Mo saw the female xiu, he was dumbstruck.
The female xiu silently sat in the corner of the room, and didn’t seem to notice the existence of the two of them.
“Her, her cultivation … …” Zuo Mo asked in a trembling voice.
Gongsun Cha shook his head. “She woke up before you did, but for some reason, her cultivation disappeared.”
Zuo Mo’s heart suddenly sank. He silently walked in front of the female xiu. When he saw the female xiu’s empty eyes, his heart couldn’t help but shake, and his nose felt sore.
That pair of clear and joyous eyes … …
She sat silently. When Zuo Mo walked in front of her, she did not seem to detect it. Zuo Mo reached out and waved a hand in front of her. She still did not respond.
“Inspect her body,” Pu Yao’s voice suddenly sounded. He was quite stern.
Zuo Mo tightly pressed together his lips, reached out a hand and placed it on her body.
She was motionless like a wooden puppet.
Zuo Mo’s expression changed.
The channels inside her body had all broke, the strange purple power had disappeared to leave behind an extremely minuscule thread of life as though it was a candle flickering in the wind, that could be extinguished at any time.
He couldn’t even feel her soul.
Why was it like this?
Zuo Mo’s mind rang and blanked.
After a long time, he refocused. Looking at the female xiu’s hideous and wooden face, especially when his gaze landed on the empty pupils, a certain chord in his heart was gently plucked.
The confused gaze suddenly became determined.
He entered the sea of consciousness and looked at Pu Yao. Pu Yao glanced at him and said, “I know what you want to ask. Truthfully, it’s very difficult.”
Pu Yao’s voice was deep and solemn without any of the mockery it usually held.
Zuo Mo’s expression was serious. “Tell me.”
Pu Yao did not raise any conditions. He looked at Zuo Mo, and threw a ball of light with formation scripts floating on the surface. He said, “This is [Adversity Overcoming Scripture] . I got it from a dhyana xiu. Maybe it can be of use.”
Zuo Mo’s mind jumped and he hurriedly took the light ball.
“Don’t be happy prematurely. This scripture can only support this thread of life remaining in her body.” Pu Yao said heavily, “If you want to save her, the best method is to get a Water Cloud Embryo.”
“Water Cloud Embryo?” Zuo Mo asked curiously. He hadn’t ever heard this name before.
“En, Water Cloud Embryo can nurture souls, and is the best for soul injuries.”
“Soul injuries?”
“En, her secret technique is very strange. It burns the soul to create great power.” Pu Yao’s expression was grave. “It is the first time I have seen such a strange secret skill. Her origins, I’m afraid, are not simple.”
When he finished, Pu Yao looked at Zuo Mo. He felt somewhat strange inside. Zuo Mo probably wasn’t simple himself since he had a connection with such a complex female xiu. However, he had never seen uncommon qualities in Zuo Mo.
Pu Yao gathered his thoughts and continued, “She should have definitely died this time, but fortunately, she had left a soul-thought inside your body … …”
Zuo Mo’s boy shock and he interrupted, “She has a soul-thought inside my body?”
“Her soul-thought is inside that five element glass bead in your body.” Pu Yao secretly celebrated that he had not crushed that bead [1]. Otherwise, it would be very troublesome now.
“Five element glass bead … …” Zuo Mo murmured to himself.
“When your cultivation reaches a certain level, you can see some of the mysteries inside,” Pu Yao said, “This five element glass bead is a very rare treasure.”
Zuo Mo’s hand unconsciously balled into a fist.
He was suddenly filled with motivation.
For a long time, he had lacked a clear goal, including his time at Wu Kong Mountain. Long days of low-level living had caused his expectations of life to be very low. When his most basic needs were fulfilled, he had been lost.
The unexpected encounter between him and the female xiu now seemed like fate.
He knew the female xiu definitely was very important to him!
How important would the connection be t that the other would place a soul-thought inside his body? He could not think of it, but he knew that no one other than the female xiu could do this.
Just this was enough!
Leaving the sea of consciousness, he looked at the female xiu. Her disfigured and wooden face could not cause any revulsion in him now. Suddenly, he thought of his past zombie-face, and laughed.
The fate of the zombie and female ghost?
“In the future, you will be A Gui.”
The female xiu was unmoved.
[Adversity Overcoming Scripture] was extremely cryptic and complex. The main reason was that Zuo Mo didn’t know much about many of the things of dhyana xiu. Pu Yao did not know much about dhyana xiu either. According to him, he had taken this from the body of a dhyana xiu he killed.
Luckily, Zuo Mo had Zong Ru who was a much more orthodox dhyana xiu to help him resolve many of the parts.
Pu Yao’s judgment was correct. [Adversity Overcoming Scripture] was able to help A Gui’s stabilize the thread of life. Under the Buddha mantra, the deathly presence on A Gui’s body dissipated greatly.
Zuo Mo was very encouraged and worked even harder.
———
After a few days, Gongsun Cha led a female xiu to Zuo Mo.
Zuo Mo looked with puzzlement at Gongsun Cha. “Shidi, this is?”
“This is Miss Rong Wei.” Gongsun Cha first made introductions and then said, “She hopes to work with us.”
“With us?” Zuo Mo stilled.
Rong Wei bowed and said, “This one is from Sky Water Jie’s House of the Crow Marquis and has been ordered to come to Little Mountain Jie to investigate Stars in Daytime. This one asks Daren for your aid.” She then took out a few talismans. “A small token of our intentions, please accept them.”
“Stars in Daytime?”
Zuo Mo’s heart jumped. Damn it, Stars in Daytime, wasn’t that caused by him?
What were the origins of this Crow Marquis House, why were they investigating him? His heart instantly became wary.
He pretended to be confused and asked, “We did see the Stars in Daytime, but what does this apparition mean? Miss Rong Wei, please teach us.”
“This one does dare to teach.” Rong Wei bowed slightly. “The old records say that when Stars in Daytime appear, there are great yao and great mo healing.”
“Great yao and great mo?” Zuo Mo’s heart jumped again. He finally understood.
It seemed he needed to be careful in the future. If this appeared a few more times, he would be in danger.
“En, the Marquis believes great yao may have infiltrated Little Mountain Jie,” Rong Wei said. This was the most probable guess. A yao army had appeared in Little Mountain Jie, and now a great yao, that wasn’t too much of a surprise.
But what was there in Little Mountain Jie that made the yao put so much effort and even be injured?
Zuo Mo secretly released a breath inside. He hurriedly shook his head. “Miss Rong is joking. We aren’t enough if a yao army comes, much less a great yao. We plan on immediately leaving Little Mountain Jie to go to Sky Water Jie. Your House resides in Sky Water Jie, and we are unfamiliar with the area. At that time, please guide us.”
Rong Wei was slightly disappointed, but she had expected this. Unless there was a special order, no one was willing to stay for long in Little Mountain Jie. She had come this time with the intentions of making acquaintances.
The power of Golden Crow City, even if they entered Sky Water Jie, would definitely be a significant force.
There were no disadvantages to forming good relationship now.
Before, she had the idea of recruiting Gongsun Cha, but after personally seeing the battle that day, her thought had instantly disappeared.
This kind of person was not someone she could recruit.
Fortunately, the aim of her visit this time had been realized. She smiled slightly and took out a jade card to hand to Zuo Mo.
“This one still has duties, and cannot accompany everyone. It is very regretful. If you have any problem, you can take this card to travel to the House of the Crow Marquis. The Marquis would definitely welcome everyone.”
The two sides chatted a bit more before Rong Wei left.
“We are going to Sky Water Jie?” Gongsun Cha suddenly asked.
[1] Friendly reminder from WanderingGummiOfDoom: During the first few interactions between Pu and Zuo Mo, Zuo Mo angered Pu to the point Pu was going to kill him. The bead attempted to intervene and save Zuo Mo, Pu intended to destroy the bead, but the gravestone stopped him.
Translator ramblings: The battle is over! A bit of an anti-climax since it was so short in this chapter but since the guy made a suicide attack and got ripped apart by it as well, it might be strange if he died really slowly. Zuo Mo is still being haunted by the effects of Stars in Daytime. Remember, all of this started because he didn’t want his ling grains to die, which meant he couldn’t make jingshi and would get kicked from the sect.
Zuo Mo is going to have his own reflections on this fight and it will be in the upcoming chapters so I’ll save my ramblings for that until then.
Every so often, I get comments on the initial chapters of the novel which complain about Pu Yao and how they give up on reading because he’s terrible. I hope some of you came back after being deterred and have read up to here. Others said they miss the early interactions between Pu Yao and Zuo Mo so I think Fang Xiang has created a character that you can really hate but still like.