Chapter Four Hundred and Ninety Eight – Golden Crow Sacrifice
The red eyes of the golden crows were like two burning balls of fire. Their inky black wings had criss-crossing golden scripts that appeared blinding and grand. They stood high up on the rock pillars and looked down at the people, their fire-red eyes filled with the indifference and disdain like that of deities.
They seemed to have just woken up from a deep sleep as they lazily flapped their wings as though no one was around.
The spectators had started to rumble. Golden crows, wondrous beasts from the ancient times, were alive right in front of them!
In the ancient era, the golden crow was a beast that represented the sun. The flames it produced were as fiery as the sun and could dissolve the hardest metals. They were so strong that people feared them!
But like the other famed beasts of the ancient era, they disappeared in the long river of time and disappeared from people's views.
At this time, there were ten golden crows appearing in front of them. The blow and shock that they gave the spectators was peerless! Even the yuanying, Elder Shen, couldn't help but gape with his eyes tightly locked onto the ten golden crows.
"Golden crow ... ... there really are golden crows!" Elder Shen murmured.
Li Shu was so shocked that he was unable to speak. No matter how much importance the sect placed on him, he was just a third-generation disciple. When had he ever seen such a spectacle?
"That's not right!" Elder Shen's eyes suddenly narrowed and he recovered his calmness. "These are not the true bodies of the golden crows!"
Hearing this, Li Shu instantly froze. "Not the true bodies? Then what is it?"
"It should be the souls of the golden crows!" Elder Shen sighed emotionally. "To be able to seal the souls of golden crows to guard the shen temple, such skill is divine!"
Li Shu realized it. He carefully inspected the ten golden crows. As he expected, he found that the borders of their bodies were slightly blurry but from this distance it was hard to detect if one did not look closely.
"But do not underestimate the souls of golden crows. Their power is not any less than seventh-grade ling beasts. There is also ten of them. If based on brute force, we are not enough even if we have ten lives," Elder Shen gazed at the golden crows and said to himself.
"Elder, why are the beast soul guardians of the temple suddenly coming out?" Li Shu asked, puzzled. "Has someone moved? Provoked them? But they haven't attacked ... ..."
As he spoke, Li Shu felt something was increasingly wrong and his expression changed dramatically.
Elder Shen's face also changed.
Lu Zhen was confused and did not understand. But looking at the faces of the two daren, he also knew that something had gone wrong.
At this time, the golden crows that had been perched on the golden pillars suddenly looked at the red sun in the sky. Ten red lines of fire sprouted from the open mouths of the ten golden crows and wrapped around the red sun!
The little sun exploded in brightness and burned fiercely. The air in the surroundings increased in temperature again.
At the same time, the curtains of light between the ten stone pillars of the Sun Shen Temple became bright and the curtains of light covered the entire Sun Shen Temple.
"Haha, I hadn't thought that we would trip up in such an easy place, someone else has managed to trick us!" Elder Shen's face was black as he gritted out, "I want to see who has the guts to dare play tricks under this old man's eyes!"
Li Shu's expression was also terrible.
The fact that the temple guardian souls had appeared but did not attack anyone meant that it wasn't caused by someone intruding on the defenses of the shen temple. Then there was only one possibility left, someone was controlling the defenses of the shen temple and activated the temple guardian souls!
"Didn't the Sun Tribe die out?" Li Shu refocused and asked.
Sect Leader's divination would not be incorrect. Both he and Elder Shen believed deeply in this. The change in this matter definitely had occurred in these last two days!
What Li Shu voiced was what he was most puzzled by. The Sun Tribe had died out long ago, the sect had been sure of this a long time ago. This was the result of having repeated divinations done. This was also why the sect had targeted the Sun Shen Temple.
The clanspeople of the Sun Shen Tribe had died out and meant that the possibility of having something unexpected happen was not high. Normal people would not be accepted by temples like this.
Yet what they had not expected was that an accident had occurred at the very place they felt the safest.
Elder Shen was experienced and knowledgeable. He calmed down and said coldly, "Don't pay attention to that. We must enter the shen temple immediately before the other completely grasps the shen temple. This is the only chance. These beast spirits will not attack us, they are making a sacrificial ceremony!
Li Shu froze. Making a sacrifice was a very unfamiliar term for any xiuzhe of the present. His eyes quickly did not show any more shock. Someone was sacrificing using ten golden crow souls!
He turned around his thinking, using ten golden crow souls as a sacrifice ... ... what did the other want to do?
Elder Shen's expression was dark and showed slight urgency. Before the two people could react, his sleeve twirled around them and the three people disappeared.
At the same time, several lights flashed across the sky at the same time all flying towards the stone pillar. Evidently, Elder Shen was not the only one to think of this.
The lights in the air flew at the curtain of light.
Woosh!
Several xiuzhe did not have the time to wail before they exploded into balls of fire. Several dots of light appeared on the light curtain and then disappeared in the blink of the eye.
Only when one flew near the curtain of light could they truly feel how high the temperature was!
Those that were slightly lacking in cultivation would be swallowed by flames if they just came into contact with the curtain of light. Some others saw the situation and started attacking the stone pillars in hopes that they could avoid the curtain of light. Yet what they had not expected was that the stone pillars were extremely hard and were undamaged no matter how they attacked.
But there were also people that charged into the curtain of light.
Elder Shen took the two people along and turned to a stream of fire that easily passed through the curtain of light.
There was a xiuzhe who wrapped his entire body in a layer of water and easily passed through the light.
Some xiuzhe had swords protecting their body as they passed.
All kinds of moves were used but there was one common quality. All those that could pass through the curtain of light were experts. Some of them were of mysterious origins but the great majority were experts that had been famous for a long time in Cloud Sea Jie.
There were people constantly turning to dust. The heated hearts of the spectators cooled greatly. The greed at one moment could daze their minds but no one would do something such as knowingly rush to their death.
Those that charged at the curtain of light were all people that had absolute confidence in themselves.
Among the crowd, exclamations occasionally occurred.
"It's Cao Bei, he also came!"
"Look look! That is Hai Wu Ya!"
Expert after expert appearing caused the mood to reach a small climax. Since they knew they could not enter the shen temple, many people gave up and decided to peacefully watch.
This place became the center of Cloud Sea Jie. More than half of the experts had come to attend this magnificent spectacle.
The golden crows continued to shoot flames at the little sun. The fire of the little sun grew, and the heated waves were hard to tolerate. The spectators continuously retreated.
Such presence caused everyone to pale.
Some of the people that felt they had the abilities to enter couldn't help but hesitate. The presence of the Sun Shen Temple was great, just like the sun, blinding and unable to be looked at. It probably was not so easy to enter.
Some that were more cautious even flew backwards far from the shen temple ruins.
If they lost their lives because of watching this, it was not worth it!
———
Zuo Mo was also alarmed by the change in front of him.
Truthfully, no matter if it was Qing Lin or the strange corpse, they were not too clear about the value of the Sun Crystal Seed to the Sun Tribe. The Sun Crystal Seed were forged by every totem warrior of the Sun Tribe and was the core inherited item of the Sun Tribe.
Not just this seven-star shen temple, Zuo Mo who possessed the Sun Crystal Seed could easily receive the recognition of even higher-ranked Sun Shen temple.
How could such an ignorant Zuo Mo truly understand the profoundness in this? He dazedly looked with a puzzled face at the shocking change of the sacrificial altar.
At this moment, something suddenly happened.
A golden pillar that seemed tangible came from the sky and covered Zuo Mo.
Zuo Mo felt as though he was soaking in a hot spring. His entire body was warm and comfortable.
Where did this golden light come from?
Zuo Mo didn't know. He did not have time to think. At this time, his mind was in a very special state. The Sun Crystal Seed in his body was unusually active. Threads of golden light and red energy swam from all directions towards the Sun Crystal Seed.
They smelled something familiar.
If Zuo Mo was clear-minded, he would find to his shock that this ray of light that was so solid it seemed tangible came from that little sun at the top of his head.
The Sun Crystal Seed was like a key that opened this sealed storehouse.
———
Elder Shen raised his head to look at the sky. His expression became even worse and his mood darker.
The little sun above his head had reached a peak in brightness, and was not lacking compared to the true sun in the sky. The figures of the ten golden crows were visibly fading.
Elder Shen knew what was going on.
Someone was manipulating the power of the Sun Shen Temple! No, more accurately, someone was absorbing the power of the Sun Shen Temple!
If he was not seeing it with his own eyes, he definitely would not believe it.
Only those who were descendants of the Sun Tribe could absorb the power of the Sun Shen Temples! No matter how certain he had been before that there were no survivors of the Sun Tribe, reality was in front of him. He had to accept that the sect leader had been wrong in his divination!
Once this conclusion came out, he could not stop the murderousness he felt!
The sect leader placed great importance on this ruin. He had found a clue by accident and after effort on multiple fronts, they had gradually locked onto the position of the ruins. During this time, the sect leader and the other major personages of the sect had expended great effort to divine to finally get this result.
This person who was able to escape so many divinations either had a great treasure or his power was astounding.
If he waited for the other to finish absorbing the power of the Sun Shen Temple, it would be too late!
Elder Shen took a deep breath. His gaze was serious. No matter what, he had to get the Sun Shen Temple!
"Stay carefully behind me," Elder Shen said in a deep voice. Without another word, he strode forward.
Li Shu's heart shook and tightly followed behind Elder Shen. Lu Zhen also did not dare to speak and hurriedly followed.
In front of them were endless sand dunes.
Translator Ramblings: Zuo Mo is a wrench in the plans of everything.
Chapter Four Hundred and Ninety Nine – Those Daring Die From Bursting
"This is the Overflowing Earth Secret Realm, be careful of what is under your feet." Elder Shen's tone was serious as he looked into the distance. It was vast there with endless dunes that stretched without end.
Nothing grew on the endless dunes and it was possible to see a pile of bones occasionally. The entire landscape was unspeakably desolate and lifeless. The air was abnormally hot that even jindan like Li Shu and Lu Zhen felt their mouths dry.
This caused the two to become alarmed. At their cultivation level, they were not affected by water nor fire. How could their mouths feel dry?
"The Overflowing Earth Secret Realm is an earth element secret realm," Elder Shen said slowly. "Rather than say it is an earth element secret realm, it is more accurate to say it is an earth element cage. The guardian of the realm must be someone skilled in earth element shen power."
However, a thread of a smile came onto his tightly tensed face. "Fortunately, Sect Leader had foresight."
As he finished, he took out a little tender and green tree sprout.
The little tree sprout was just a few cun tall, slender and soft. Each leave was just the size of a fingernail. When Elder Shen took out this tree sprout, a cool and clear essence swept Li Shu and Lu Zhen and took away the frantic heat.
Li Shu asked in shock, "Shishu, what is this? How is this so wondrous?"
"A Jade Hook Tree," Elder Shen replied without turning his head. He then bent down and put the Jade Hook Tree sprout in his hand into the sand dune.
As the tree sprout touched the surface of the sand, its roots rapidly burrowed into the sand down.
The green jade on the dry sand dune was abnormally eye-catching.
"Jade Hook Tree ... ..." Li Su murmured. Inside, he was extremely shocked. The Jade Hook Tree was one of the greatest treasures of the sect, and was usually protected in a restricted area of the sect. He hadn't thought that the sect leader had even let Elder Shen take the Jade Hook Tree for dealing with the ruins.
Jade Hook Tree, emerald green, a upper sixth-grade ling tree, could produce Jade Hook Beads, , and was one of the best wood element beads in the world. It could be used to forge all kinds of wood element talismans. The Jade Hook Tree itself was a very rare and hard-to-obtain forging material.
The most important attribute of the Jade Hook Tree was that it could absorb earth element power to strengthen itself.
As the Jade Hook Tree entered the sand dune, it started to grow furiously. The green spread at an astounding rate towards every corner of the Overflowing Earth Secret Realm.
The heat in the air instantly decreased greatly.
At this time, the sand dune under their feet had started to tremble violently. Countless sand dunes collapsed and the rumble sounded in the earth. In a blink, the patches of green were swallowing the collapsing sand dunes.
Li Shu and Lu Zhen were alarmed. They were almost unable maintain their upright posture. The sand dunes under their feet seemed to have woken up from its slumber.
Elder Shen snorted coldly, his expression unchanging. "This Jade Hook Tree has grown in our sect for nine hundred years. Generations of our sect poured our hearts into caring for this. It can completely transform with just a bit more effort. This encounter is perfect for it."
Lu Zhen's face was confused. He did not understand.
Li Shu understood and he became alert. If the Jade Hook Tree was cared for correctly and nurtured constantly with earth element power, it had a chance to become a seventh-grade Celestial Green Jade Hook Tree.
Above seventh grade, it was the divine ranks!
The difference between sixth and seventh grade was the different between earth and sky. Sixth-grade was very rare on the market but it could still be brought. It was impossible to buy seventh-grade materials on the market. When a seventh-grade material came onto the market, it would disappear without a trace in the shortest time.
Materials seventh-grade and above would usually be labeled divine-grade.
Other than its rarity, it had completely different qualities from sixth-grade talismans. Each material seventh-grade and above was a natural talisman!
Talismans forged from seventh-grade materials were also called divine talismans, ultimate treasures every xiuzhe dreamed of.
If the Jade Hook Tree could rise another grade and become the Celestial Green Jade Hook Tree, then the sect would have another divine talisman!
Not just Li Shu, even Elder Shen couldn't help but show desire unconsciously when he said this.
Talismans were easy to obtain, divine talismans were hard to find!
Even if he had stepped into the stage of yuanying a long time ago, it was still the same.
As expected, no matter how loud the sand dunes howled, the green of the Jade Hook Tree was hardy and tensile. It burst out of the sand and quickly spread into the surroundings.
The weak trunk of the tree continuously trembled in the sand and wind, but never broke.
Woosh woosh woosh!
The sand seemed to flow and gather at a place that was rapidly shifting.
A sand puppet slowly rose from the sand dunes.
The sand flowed towards the sand puppet from all directions and wrapped around the sand puppet as though they were snakes. They quickly flowed along the body of the sand puppet.
The body of the sand puppet quickly expanded and in a blink, its body's size surpassed all the sand dunes yet it was still growing.
All of the sand in the secret realm was absorbed by it. The Jade Hook Tree that lost the support of the sand quickly withered. The endless green quickly disappeared like a retreating tide.
There was only one Jade Hook Tree left by Elder Shen's foot.
Looking at the Jade Hook Tree, it was greener than before, Elder Shen felt pity. Just a bit more, and this Jade Hook Tree would have finished its transformation. If he had a Celestial Green Jade Hook Tree, then leaving this secret realm was an easy task.
However, Elder Shen was not worried. The Overflowing Earth Secret Realm was the same as the divination results of the sect leaders and others. This caused him to be full of hope towards defeating the Overflowing Earth Secret Realm.
He had come prepared!
Zuo Mo was so comfortable he wanted to groan.
The warmth that came from his bones flowed slowly through his entire body. He did not feel his power increasing, but felt unspeakably comfortable.
Right, it was unspeakably comfortable.
The warmth slowly disappeared. He woke up from his intoxication and opened his eyes.
If someone was looking, he found find to his shock that Zuo Mo's gaze in the instant he opened his eyes looked very similar to the golden birds on top of the ten pillars.
Pubfuture Ads
Cold and empty, looking down at everything.
At the very center of his eyes, a dot of gold glinted and disappeared.
The air around him seemed to condense. Even the erupting flame had froze in place.
The pause was just maintained for the blink of an eye and everything returned to normal. Zuo Mo was still immersed in that unspeakably comfortable feeling and didn't detect anything.
He shook his head and regained his clarity of mind.
This wasn't a warm bed and room suitable for sleeping.
The light of the sacrificial altar dimmed. While the sun in the sky was still burning, Zuo Mo seemed to detect a feeling of exhaustion.
Was his feeling wrong?
He shook his head, turned his face, and looked at the red flame.
A feeling hard to verbalize formed inside. Almost unconsciously, he walked towards the flame at the center of the sacrificial altar. Zuo Mo didn't feel any heat from the burning flames but rather a closeness.
As though he was possessed, Zuo Mo put his hand into the flame.
Boom!
The scenery around him changed. He was situated in a sea of fire with a sun hanging high above his head.
Beside him, flames of fire pulsed. These flames seemed to be reflecting something.
Zuo Mo was shocked but not panicked. When his attention turned to the flame, many scenes uncontrollably floated into his mind.
Falling stone bricks, spiderwebs everywhere, and it was possible to see some people looking around occasionally.
This was ... ...
He looked at another few wisps of flame. Several different scenes flowed across his mind. Zuo Mo's strange expression grew.
Zuo Mo hurriedly recalled the warnings that Big Brother Qing Lin had given him, and his strange expression grew even heavier.
The shen temple had recognized him as the master!
This ... ... this was too fantastical!
Zuo Mo's mind was dazed. He was completely stunned by this large pie that dropped from the sky! He was able to encounter such a fortuitous occurrence?
Haha, there's really nothing that could be done to people with good moral standing!
Zuo Mo roared with laughter and rejoiced!
Pubfuture Ads
If this was a descendant of the Sun Tribe, they would be extremely excited and their thoughts would be how to recover the glory of the once-strongest tribe. But the first thought of Zuo Mo that was recognized by the shen temple was...
Treasure!
Treasures of the shen temple!
All of them belong to ge!
Once this idea came out, it could not be suppressed. At the start, Zuo Mo only wanted to mix in with the crowd and get one or two items before running of. Yet now that he was recognized by the shen temple, his appetite had changed.
How could Little Mo Ge tolerate other people taking meat from his bowl?
The situation at all parts of the shen temple appeared before his mind. Recognized by the shen temple, Zuo Mo received the highest level of control of the shen temple. All kinds of shen techniques to control the shen temple was imprinted in his mind.
After browsing for a bit, Zuo Mo who was versed in formations gained a general understanding. Zuo Mo could see the beginning shapes of formations from the shen temple techniques but compared to the present formations, those shapes looked primitive and were almost entirely reliant on numerous sacrificial ceremonies, medical parasites, and beast souls. It was cryptic and hard to understand.
Zuo Mo didn't plan on studying these things at this time.
Their reasoning was cryptic but as long as he had the shen technique, he could eventually activate them.
Zuo Mo carefully counted the people in the shen temple. There were thirty four in total and they had been transported into different corners of the shen temple. At this time, all of them were carefully exploring their surroundings.
Among these people, Zuo Mo saw the Masked Assassin that almost killed him and several people from Xu Ling Sect ... ...
Each person's strength was above average, especially the three yuanying that were even more powerful than the rest. Zuo Mo's heart beat rapidly when he saw this and the pride inside was swept away.
He was walking on a tightrope!
If he was careless and got caught by these people, this group would not hesitate to tear him to pieces!
No! He could not let them know that he had sneaked into the shen temple! Otherwise, there would be endless calamities!
But Zuo Mo would not leave the shen temple at this time even for his life.
He entered the shen temple before the other people, had the aid of Big Brother Qing Lin, and also was recognized by the shen temple. He had a higher starting point than other people! If he missed such a rare chance, he definitely would not get another one!
No matter what, he had to try!
Zuo Mo emboldened his heart, do it!
He suddenly snickered darkly and looked maliciously at the people in the flames.
Stealing from ge? Come on, have a good taste of the warm welcome from the ancient era!
Following the shen techniques in his mind, he clumsily and crudely channeled shen power, his body twisting like a snake as he produced muffled sounds.
The Sun Shen Temple abruptly trembled fiercely. The shen scripts in the corners of the temple rippled like a wave and started to light up. The carvings all over the shen temple receded as though something was going to come out.
There seemed to be a string connecting sets of bones and armor scattered on the temple grounds. They slowly struggled to stand up.
The golden birds on the pillars whose shapes were now indistinct called out in unison, flapped their wings and burrowed into the little sun.
The shen temple instantly changed!
Translator Ramblings: I have progressed to sore throat, wet coughing, sniffles and muscle soreness. I hope this is one of those one week bugs, I really do. I haven't had the energy to translate for a few days and I fell asleep before posting my weekly chapter for my other series.
On another note, gluttony. Zuo Mo just wants it all.
Pubfuture Ads