Chapter Three Hundred and Sixty Four – Reunion
Standing in the middle of the five element sword formation, sweat was flowing down Zuo Mo’s back.
A glowing and transparent water-shaped flame jumped silently in the air above the formation. Two opposite presences of icy cold and explosively hot formed an exquisite balance. It was the first time that many people saw Zuo Mo’s Li Water Sword essence and they had curious expressions.
In their impression, Zuo Mo during battle was like an ancient wasteland beast, especially his brutal and physical attacks that gave people great shocks. They knew that Zuo Mo had once been a sword xiu but they rarely saw Zuo Mo using a flying sword.
It was true that Zuo Mo had decreased his use of a flying sword, especially after cultivating the Great Day mo physique. All six changes of the Great Day mo physique were extremely powerful, both speed and power were so strong it was almost absurd. The other important reason was that his improvement on sword essence was not very large. He didn’t know why. If he cultivated mo skills and yao arts, he advanced a thousand li a day, but when he cultivated sword scriptures, he was just slightly better than the average xiuzhe. He gradually found that the power of the [Li Water Sword Scripture] could not satisfy his demands.
He had even gave the five element sword formation to Vermillion Bird Camp to use to comprehend sword essence.
When he discovered the sword xiu in the fiendish mist was very likely to be Eldest Shixiong Wei Sheng, he instantly started to hurry. What was most important now was to get in contact with Eldest Shixiong. Otherwise, if the two of them moved past each other, it would not be easy to find each other again in this fiendish mist.
The worldly apparition just now should be Eldest Shixiong making a break through.
As expected of Eldest Shixiong, Wei Sheng’s talent in the sword wasn’t just a bit stronger than his.
The Void sword essence that Eldest Shixiong had released during his breakthrough had given him inspiration. If Eldest Shixiong could detect his sword essence, couldn’t he get into contact with Eldest Shixiong? Eldest Shixiong had just made a break through, his energy and mind should be in his best condition, and it would be easier for him to detect the sword essence that was released.
In order to release the strongest sword essence, Zuo Mo even took out his five element sword formation that he had not used for a long time. In the five element sword formation, the water element formation was his Li Water sword essence, and it was perfect for this purpose.
The Li Water Sword Scripture that he had not used for a long time seemed multiple times more difficult to control at the beginning, but he gradually found the feeling.
In the cold and silent water flame sword essence, the explosive power was like the undercurrents beneath the surface of the water. Zuo Mo channeled ling power in and the five flying swords lit up. The sword essence also grew explosively. Zuo Mo’s sword essence had not improved, but his ling power and skill in formations were much stronger than before. When he used all his power, the sword essence instantly became large.
Ling power was being used up with astounding speed. Zuo Mo gradually had an expression of effort on his face.
The other people looked on curiously as Zuo Mo set up a formation and casted his sword scripture. They did not understand Zuo Mo’s intentions.
After a while, a thin thread-like howl sounded from deep within the fiendish mist as though it came from the horizon. This howl was very weak, but everyone present had pretty good strength and could detect it clearly. All of them were alarmed and readied their guard.
The howl became louder and started to hum. Two breaths later, the sound changed and became thunderous as it neared with terrifying speed!
Xie Shan and Ma Fan paled. Before they could react, a sword xiu on a flying sword appeared out of the air in front of everyone.
The sword xiu stared hard at Zuo Mo inside the sword formation.
Booooooooooooom!
The fiendish mist behind him exploded towards the two sides without any warning. With explosive sounds, a ruler straight and wide passage appeared behind him as though it was opening a road in the fiendish mist.
The air gust and blew, but the figure of the sword xiu did not move at all.
A breath later.
Whoosh!
Like an avalanche, the fiendish mist followed the long path behind the sword xiu.
The tailwind was so strong!
Everyone’s desire to fight almost instantly collapsed. No matter if it was Xie Shan in jindan, or Ma Fan that had his sword essence manifestation, or Shu Long that had formed his weapon, their rock-hard mentality cracked a sliver.
The figure appeared first before the sound came. Such speed was shocking to even hear about!
“Is it Shidi?”
“Eldest Shixiong!”
Two voices were filled with joy and emotion as they sounded at the same time.
Wei Sheng jumped down from the flying sword in front of Zuo Mo. After examining him for a moment, he smiled brightly and said, “This appearance is much more pleasing to the eye than before.” Lin Qian had a jade scroll that had Zuo Mo’s new appearance mirage. This was the first time he had seen Shidi’s new face in person. The face in front of his eyes was very unfamiliar but Wei Sheng could still feel the familiar presence. This caused him to smile.
Zuo Mo felt something in his throat, and his nose went sour.
Wei Sheng patted Zuo Mo’s shoulder and smiled. He said, “It is a happy occasion for us brothers to gather together. Don’t be like a woman.”
“Eldest Shixiong should not underestimate me.” Infected by Wei Sheng’ smile, Zuo Mo puffed out his chest and pretended to be a manly man.
The two looked at each other. Finding the joy in each other’s eyes, they laughed together.
None of them had thought that they would encounter each other in this place. The joy at reuniting overcame everything else. The dangerous fiendish mist seemed so adorable right now. The two of them did not worry at all.
———
The situation at the front line was stabilizing. Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie was already completely possessed by yaomo. Previously the jie was like the xiuzhe’s backyard, where they hunted yaomo and was now split between the yao and the mo.
Mu Xi looked at the completely transformed Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie. She was filled with confidence that the yaomo would achieve the final victory of this war. Wherever she looked, countless war yao trees formed a forest. The air was filled with the poison released by highland hell’s bells. Even jindan xiuzhe, if they were careless and their ling power touched the poison, they would be in extreme danger.
Large amounts of dangerous plants almost covered all of the empty ground. For xiuzhe, this was a definitely a swamp. If they entered, they would not come out. But for yao, in this place, their advantages could increase their combat abilities multiple times.
Supposedly, the Council of Elders was inviting some Sky Yao Daren to add another layer of defenses to the Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie. By that time, the Blood Sky Metropolis Jie would be impenetrable.
In the region that the mo had occupied, they were changing it to grow mo seed sea.
Once the mo seed sea was constructed, it would become a natural barrier that was almost impossible to cross.
In Mu Xi’s view, if the yaomo could construct the defensive line of Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie, the yaomo would be in an undefeatable position and have the initiative.
From the start of the war until now, the strategic goals of the Council of Elders had been fulfilled remarkably well, and the results were outstanding. The reason that it had proceeded so smoothly was due to the element of surprise. The long peace had numbed the high levels of the large xiuzhe sects, so in this stage of battle, the responses of the xiuzhe were very slow, and they continuously lost.
What would happen next was that the war would enter a state of attrition. This was a cruel and tragic phase. Mu Xi did not dare to underestimate the xiuzhe. On the surface, the yao were dominating, but she knew what they had encountered up until now were the fringe sects of the xiuzhe. She suddenly thought of the youth called Lin Qian and the elite xiuzhe under his command.
Lin Qian had the great mannerisms of a general, and had pointed out her origins from a single sentence. What shocked her was that he was a battle general with abilities comparable to her.
How many battle generals did the xiuzhe have that were like Lin Qian?
She did not know.
In the higher levels of the yao realm, no one assumed that they would easily obtain victory. The xiuzhe had won the thousand year war. They had captured a countless amount of resources. Adding on the development of a thousand years, no one knew how rich they were.
So before starting the war, everyone had prepared for hard battle. However, the victories came easier than expected. She was worried that the string of victories make some of the elders overconfident.
In these few days in Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie, she occasionally would hear young combat yao in groups that demanded to continue their advance. This place had an over-zealous mood, and showed signs of losing control. In the following battles, if they relied on the defensive line of Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie, and turned this place into a meat grinder that would greatly reduce the strength of xiuzhe, and when the final battle came, the yao would have a great advantage.
If they attacked first and lost the strategic advantage of Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie’s natural barrier, they would end up in an extremely reactive position.
However, she knew her words carried little weight, and could only keep her worries to herself.
It probably was that she was just worried for nothing, she mocked herself inside.
The middle-aged person did not think as deeply as Mu Xi. The busy scene in front of him caused all the blood in his body to boil, and filled with the desire to fight. However, he had been Mu Xi’s vice commander for a long time and was very familiar with Mu Xi. He asked in curiosity, “What is Daren thinking?”
“Nothing.” Mu Xi shook her head.
Noticing that Mu Xi’s mood was not good, the middle-aged person was slightly puzzled but he was wise and did not ask. He switched the top and said with a smile, “Does Daren know? Something big happened recently!”
“What big matter?” Mu Xi said disinterestedly.
“Vast Water Clear Skies was broken, the new prison is called Wasteland Beast Chessboard,” the middle-aged person said with a smile.
“Oh.” Mu Xi was slightly astonished. Of course she knew of Vast Water Clear Skies. Even though as a battle general, her proficiency with normal yao arts was very average, but she still knew Vast Water Clear Skies. How many years had it been since the last prison-breaking battle?
Seeing Mu Xie finally have an interested expression, the mood of the middle-aged person became slightly better. He narrated, “Supposedly, many people saw that prison-breaking battle. The entire battle was very fierce, but this mysterious youth in the end succeeded. However, the matter is just beginning. Rumors quickly spread that this youth was challenging the Genius Alliance.”
“Someone is causing trouble.” Mu Xi raised an eyebrow.
“This subordinate thinks the same.” The middle-aged person continued, “But this youth did not come out and refute it. Daren, you also know the personalities of the Genius Alliance.”
“Proud.” Mu Xi unhesitatingly blurted out. She suddenly thought of her younger brother that had the label of a genius. He also was a member of the Genius Alliance. The clan had great hopes for him.
“Daren’s evaluation is very accurate,” the middle-aged person said with a smile. “So how could the Genius Alliance let it rest? They gathered and decided to break the Wasteland Beast Chessboard.”
“The prison-breaking battle should not be activated so easily.”
“Of course, but Genius Alliance is really full of geniuses. One of their supervisors really activated the prison-breaking battle.”
“And then?” Mu Xi asked curiously. Her appetite had been whetted.
“In that prison-breaking battle, the prison battlefield demanded that this Genius Alliance supervisor to solve twelve yao art problems within a required time. At first, this supervisor had a smooth time, but he was left stuck on the sixth question, and in the end, did not complete the prison-breaking battle.”
“Such a pity.” Mu Xi smacked her lips, but her tone was not pitying at all.
“When this supervisor came out, he wrote down these six problems, and this caused a great ruckus.”
“What type of yao art problems are these six yao art problems?” Mu Xi was very sensitive.
The middle-aged person’s expression was slightly strange. “Little yao art problems.”
“Little yao art?” Mu Xi’s face was shocked. Her expression quickly became weird. She could imagine what expressions those geniuses had when they saw the six little yao art problems.
“These six problems are being called the Prison-Breaking Six Problems. Even though they are little yao art problems, but they are very difficult and of a new perspective. They clearly are of a new school of thought,” The middle-aged person said sternly.
Mu Xi nodded. She understood the difficulty involved.
“Unexpectedly, this matter had new developments yesterday.” The expression of the middle-aged person became strange again.
Translator Ramblings: There you go! Wei Sheng and Zuo Mo have met up in this strange new place.
Mu Xi learns of her old target now in a new form … … I don’t think she knows what Zuo Mo looks like now so she wouldn’t know he was a xiuzhe, and not a yao. The main reason that people assume that Zuo Mo is a yao and not a human is that it is the simplest and most reasonable assumption. He appears in the Ten Finger Prison like all other yao and he cultivates yao arts which are lost or highly skilled. What could he be if not a yao? If it wasn’t that Pu Yao was a sky yao, Zuo Mo wouldn’t have been able to enter the Ten Finger Prison. Most yao would never think there would be a powerful yao who is helping out the “enemy” enter their training grounds.