Chapter Three Hundred and Eighty Six – Cang Lin
“Daren, this is my cousin, Cang Lin. He has been to the third prison before. If Daren has any questions, you can ask him,” Cang Ze said respectfully. There was a male yao standing next to him with features similar to Cang Ze, but he looked slightly worn down. Cang Lin also followed with a bow to Zuo Mo. His eyes were filled with respect and awe. In the last few days, the brutish reputation of this mysterious daren had spread everywhere.
Zuo Mo looked at him and then suddenly made a sound of surprise. “You were wounded?”
“Yes, Daren,” Cang Lin said in a hoarse voice. His voice was drier than Cang Ze and his gaze dim. In the past, he had been the most talented of the younger generation of the sect. Young and he was able to enter the third prison. He got into a conflict with someone else in the third prison once and was wounded in combat that resulted long lasting damage to his consciousness. He had not expected the other’s imprint to be extremely malicious. The elders of the sect tried all they could but had no solutions.
Cang Ze had called him over this time because Zuo Mo had asked about the yao market bounties. Of the younger generation of the clan, only Cang Lin had gone to the third prison.
“Let’s heal you first and then talk.” Zuo Mo beckoned with his hand at Cang Lin. “Come over.”
Cang Lin stilled. Cang Ze reacted first, and said in a joyful and trembling voice, “Daren, can you heal this kind of wound?”
He could not be blamed for his loss of composure. The glory of the Grey Clan had long faded, and the Grey Clan was continuously declining. The greatest problem the Grey Clan faced was that they had no able successors. Cang Lin had once been the hope of the Grey Clan. In order to heal his wound, the clan had spent great sums. Cang Ze was the youth with the greatest talent next to Cang Lin but if it was not for the [Grey Scar Art], it probably would take him far more time to pass the first prison.
If Cang Lin’s wound could be healed, that meant the Grey Clan would have an able assistance! So when Cang Ze heard that Zuo Mo was able to heal Cang Lin’s wounds, his state could be described as overjoyed. Cang Lin was completely stunned, his mind blank.
He dumbly walked in front of Zuo Mo.
“Relax.”
Just like normal, Zuo Mo’s spiritual power was like nimble tentacles that connected to Cang Lin’s consciousness. The scenery in front of him changed. He seemed to be situated in a patch of grey and blue mist that moved relentlessly. It was possible to see dozens of mist streams that slowly flowed along specific paths.
Zuo Mo was shocked. The scene in front of him was so clear it was slightly outrageous.
His consciousness had improved again! Other than joy, Zuo Mo felt slightly puzzled. The improvement of his consciousness seemed too fast recently , it seemed to improve at a rate visible to the naked eye. He started to worry. Would this rate of increase have any problems?
He needed to find a time to ask Pu Yao.
Suppressing the worry and shock inside, Zuo Mo started to seriously inspect Cang Lin’s consciousness. He quickly found the cause of the problem. These blue streams were flowing slowly, too slowly.
He closed his eyes, and the scenery inside the blue mist continuously appeared in front of him.
The slender flows were like rivers and streams. Some were thick, and others extremely thin. They criss-crossed and did not interfere in certain places. Zuo Mo seemed to understand. These slender flows were like the ling channels inside people’s bodies and supported all of the consciousness.
At a place where the blue slender flows intersected was a blood-coloured vine covered in thorns.
This was it!
Zuo Mo narrowed his eyes. He was not skilled in healing and only understood a bit after repeatedly inspecting A Gui’s body. Vitality, this intangible and ethereal substance was something he could measure. From the beginning using the [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] to inspecting A Gui’s body, he had gained a direct impression. In the prison-breaking battle of Vast Water Clear Skies, facing the vast water breath filled with vitality, he had a new understanding of vitality.
Seeing Cang Lin today, he detected that Cang Lin’s vitality was not flowing smoothly so he had asked.
He examined it for a while longer and confirmed that the red thorny vine was the culprit that disrupted the flow of the blue streams. He did not hesitate and started to deconstruct it. In his eyes, the thorny vine was completely made from yao arts.
When he touched the red thorny vine, Zuo Mo couldn’t help but shiver.
An excited expression quickly came over. The construction of the red thorny vine was a new structure he had never seen before. It was also more complex than the yao arts which appeared in the Wasteland Beast Chessboard. From when they entered Vast Water Clear Skies, Pu Yao had continuously emphasized deconstruction to Zuo Mo.
How many yao arts had Zuo Mo deconstructed up until now?
He himself could not remember it but deconstructing yao arts almost had become a kind of instinct. When he saw a completely novel and complex yao art, he had a twinge of excitement like a gourmand that that saw delicious food!
Without hesitating, Zuo Mo started to deconstruct it.
Zuo Mo quickly encountered a blockage but this did not discourage him. It was the opposite and his fighting spirit was stimulated. He was like a battle seeking warrior who encountered an opponent of similar skill.
It had been so long since he had encountered such a powerful yao art!
Zuo Mo was excited!
This really was a complex yao art problem. Zuo Mo’s mind revolved quickly. His focus narrowed. The lights of all kinds of little yao arts continuously flashed on his hands. He was truly familiar with the set of little yao arts now and could confidently use them without any struggle. It was natural like eating and drinking. When an idea formed in his mind, the little yao art on his hand would have formed as well.
Cang Lin’s expression continuously changed. Sometimes pained and sometimes relaxed. Cang Ze did not dare to relax and silently informed the elders of the clan. To the grey Clan, this was really an important matter.
A moment later, six wizened looking Grey Clan elders appeared next to Cang Ze.
“How is the situation?” the Chief Elder asked in a deep voice. His gaze landed on Cang Lin and did not shift away. From the lights that were flashing on Cang Lin’s body, it was clear the other was undergoing healing.
“It’s been going for two hours,” Cang Ze hurriedly replied.
The elders instantly had serious expression. They had all tried to heal Cang Lin before but in the end, they were ineffective. The yao art imprint inside Cang Lin was not strong, but was extremely hardy. No matter which method they used, they could not destroy it.
Without needing to ask, the elders encircled Zuo Mo and Cang Lin and shielded in the middle, preventing others from disturbing them and affecting the healing.
Looking at Cang Lin’s pale and weary face, Chief Elder’s heart couldn’t help but hurt. He and the other elders worked to support the Grey Clan but they were already in the last stages of their life. But watching as they aged day by day, and there was no successor from the descendants of the Clan, the urgency they felt could be imagined.
The Grey Clan had declined but they possessed the Golden Tree so they had barely managed to survive until now. The reason the Grey Clan could protect the Golden Tree was that the elders were strong. Each of them was not individually strong but they were united. Others did not dare to easily provoke them. But if they were no longer there, the Golden Tree would end up being fatal to the Grey Clan.
The appearance of the [Grey Scar Art] undoubtedly filled the elders with hope of the future again.
If Cang Lin could recover, then their last worry would disappear. With Cang Lin’s talent, his cultivation would definitely skyrocket if he cultivated [Grey Scar Art].
The lights on Cang Lin’s body suddenly flashed rapidly. This change caused the expressions of the elders to deepen. They knew this was the most crucial moment!
Pia!
An abnormally crisp sound suddenly came out of Cang Lin’s body.
Chief Elder stilled and then his eyes lit up. He could not control himself from showing an overjoyed expression. The other elders quickly reacted, all of them with joy on their face.
Cang Lin opened his eyes. There was another light in that pair of dim eyes.
Zuo Mo did not move. He was like a statue of wood.
Seeing the situation, the other elders did not dare to slack off. They persisted in shielding Zuo Mo.
A long while later, Zuo Mo slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath. “Such a strange yao art!”
Seeing Zuo Mo open his eyes, Cang Lin forcibly suppressed the excitement inside and made a deep bow towards Zuo Mo. “Cang Lin cannot repay Daren’s great boon of rebirth. But whatever Daren orders, Cang Lin will do his best to accomplish!”
The Chief Elder just wanted to stop him, and hadn’t expected that he would be too late. He couldn’t help but sigh inside. As expected of a young person! With these words, it was akin to putting the future of the Grey Clan into the hands of Xiao Mo Ge. Of the young people of the clan, the most promising successor to the position of clan leader were Cang Ze and Cang Lin. But he could see the attitudes of these two towards Xiao Mo Ge.
But Chief Elder altered his way of thinking. This was not a terrible thing. If the Grey Clan had the aid of such a powerful expert in the future, at least, they did not have to worry about others targeting the Golden Tree.
Thinking about this, he stepped forward and bowed to Zuo Mo. “This old man is the Chief Elder of the Grey Clan. Greetings to the honored Xiao Mo Ge! The boon that Sir has given us is something all of the Grey Clan is grateful for. This is just a small token. Sire, please accept it.”
The other elders saw the two Golden Souls in the Chief Elder’s hand and couldn’t not stop their disbelieving expression. The production of Golden Souls was very low. Last time to exchange for the [Grey Scar Art], they had paid ten Golden Souls. What was left in the clan could be counted on the fingers. They had not expected the Chief Elder to give out two Golden Souls in their first meeting!
However, they all know that the Chief Elder usually had deep insight and carefully considered his actions. They were puzzled but no one spoke in opposition. They simultaneously bowed towards Zuo Mo. “Please accept it!”
Zuo Mo was not courteous and took the Golden Souls. He said that he wanted to ponder what he had learned today. The elders were all very intelligent and hurriedly bid farewell.
A cold light flashed past Zuo Mo’s eyes. He sat down cross-legged on the ground to recover his spiritual power.
Moments later, a figure appeared in the distance.
Zuo Mo detected it. He opened his eyes and stood up. Just now when he had succeeded in deconstructing the yao art imprint inside Cang Lin’s body, at the moment the blood colored thorny vine turned to dust, he received a challenge.
The yao that had left the yao art imprint in Cang Lin had challenged him.
This was a letter delivered in an arrogant tone and filled with unconcealed threats. The other had detected that Zuo Mo was deconstructing his yao art imprint. He could not bear it and wanted to see who was stronger with Zuo Mo.
If this was a usual time, Zuo Mo would definitely ignore the challenge, but today, he had a different idea.
This kind of complex and weird yao art had many unique places. Zuo Mo might have deconstructed the yao art imprint on Cang Lin, but there were still many places he did not understand. The other’s challenge was like a fat sheep that was being delivered to his mouth. A starving Zuo Mo unhesitatingly accepted it.
The blood colored thorny vine’s yao art … … was very interesting!
Zuo Mo was thoughtful.
Translator Ramblings: A relaxed chapter after all that excitement. If the tension is always so high, people get tired.