Chapter Five Hundred and Thirty – Ink Jade Bones
In the deathly silence, there was only the rustling as the mist person moved.
"Hey hey hey, let's talk peacefully, let's talk peacefully." Zuo Mo's heart was shaking but he still pushed a smile on his face. The other's power was unfathomable to him. Of course, it was possible that this patch of ice mist had unusual qualities.
"Give it!" Like her appearance, her voice was unusually icy.
"Give what?" Zuo Mo's face was bewildered, "Give what?"
"I smell the scent of my clansmen on you." The mist person's crystal-like eyes stared at Zuo Mo. Her voice was glacial and emotionless.
"The smell of your clansmen?" Zuo Mo was confused. There was a scent of mist people on his body?
However, out of the corner of his eyes he saw a flash of purple energy in A Gui's eyes. A Gui's body had been gradually recovering, the purple energy that had almost disappeared from her body had seemed to recover some vitality.
Also, the mist person seemed to feel that A Gui was not very strong and the ice mist flows that restrained her were the weakest.
Ever since A Gui had begun somewhat recovering, she had never used her strange power again. But when he saw the purple energy in A Gui's eyes, a thread of hope suddenly rose!
His mind spun furiously as he hurriedly said, "Ah ah ah, is it that I am a mist person? I'm really sorry, my memory has been erased. Ah, am I really a mist person?"
His intention had been to distract and buy time, but when he finished speaking, even he felt it was possible that he really was a mist person. His birth had always been a mystery, so ... ...
A rare thread of excitement rose in his mind.
"You are not," the mist person coldly replied.
The thread of excitement calmed. What rose was a thread of disappointment.
"Then I do not know."
A thread of puzzlement flashed through the mist person's sapphire eyes. Her head bowed, she sank into thought.
Suddenly, an unique vibration came from his ring. Zuo Mo couldn't help but make a sound of surprise.
The mist person was attracted by Zuo Mo's exclamation and raised her head.
At this time, the ice mist chains on the silent A Gui, suddenly shattered without warning! Pia, the ice mist flows shattered into a light blue icy mist!
A Gui's right hand was slightly raised as her body twisted strangely on the spot. She was like a puppet that was pulled into a strange position as the purple light in her eyes brightened!
There was no sound, no light. The mist person in front of Zuo Mo seemed to be robbed of strength, her body softening as she fainted on the ground.
The ice mist flows around Zuo Mo, Wei Sheng and Zong Ru instantly dissipated.
Wei Sheng and Zong Ru seemed to be relieved of a great burden. Their eyes were shocked as they stared at A Gui. A Gui did not detect their stares as though she had not done a thing and stood quietly next to Zuo Mo.
Wei Sheng asked Zuo Mo, "Has A Gui recovered?"
"I don't know." Zuo Mo spread his hand with a grimace.
The shock he was feeling far surpassed Wei Sheng and Zong Ru. It was like a tsunami occurring in his mind. He almost didn't dare to believe his eyes! This was not the first time he saw A Gui fight but before this, Zuo Mo had been like other people, and did not know the method A Gui fought with.
But this time, he recognized it!
Shen power!
What A Gui was using was shen power!
A kind of shen power that was completely different from his sun shen power but it was undoubtedly shen power!
In the past, Zuo Mo had cultivated the three powers but knew nothing about shen power so he hadn't recognized that what A Gui used was shen power. Now that what he was cultivating was shen power, he could immediately see that A Gui was using shen power.
There were no words that could describe the shock Zuo Mo was feeling at this moment. A Gui actually cultivated shen power! At this time, countless questions flooded his mind.
All the clues pointed to the fact that he and A Gui had an unknown connection. It was very probable that she knew of his past. Even the five element glass bead inside his body seemed to have a certain connection to A Gui.
He could cultivate ling power, he was able to cultivate mo physique, he was even able to enter the Ten Finger Prison. These clues that had been ignored in the past suddenly became so clear!
Then there was the Soul Setting Divine Light, and the sun shen power that were also of the same mold!
His birth definitely had a close connection to shen power!
But ... ...
Zuo Mo bit down on his lips, his expression changing.
Shen power had disappeared a long time ago!
Suddenly recalling that the Four Realms hunted the descendants of ancient tribes, Zuo Mo unconsciously shuddered!
Then thinking about how someone had changed his appearance and erased his mind, a dark and dangerous presence suddenly rose as though it was a figure barely discernable in the thick mist.
Was it ... ...
Zuo Mo's heart shook and he did not dare to keep thinking.
He remembered all of his questions. He definitely was going to get to the bottom of all of them! His gaze landed on A Gui standing quietly by him and his gaze softened.
The image of A Gui blocking attacks for him with her own body was still clear in his mind, as though it was yesterday.
No matter what, he had to find a water cloud embryo!
Resuming his normal composure, Zuo Mo's gaze became determine again. Wei Sheng and Zong Ru who had been paying attention to Zuo Mo all this time finally released a breath. Seeing the two's expressions, Zuo Mo did not want them to worry and smiled.
At this time, he suddenly recalled the strange vibration that had come from his ring.
He hurriedly started to rummage through his ring.
It was this!
Zuo Mo's pupils suddenly contracted!
At some unknown time, the pile of bones in the corner of the ring had become a bright red like burning hot metal!
Ink jade bones!
The strange vibration just now had come from the ink jade bones!
Shocked, Zuo Mo took out all the ink jade bones. As the dark red ink jade bones were taken out, the ice mist that flooded the surroundings suddenly rushed towards the ink jade bones like sharks scenting blood.
This pile of ink jade bones in front of Zuo Mo seemed to be a powerful whirlpool or a bottomless hole that kept on consuming ice mist.
Sss sss sss!
The ice mist that was being pulled in turned to slender flows that howled.
Zuo Mo and the others were amazed.
Wei Sheng and Zong Ru were alright. Even though they were astounded, they did not know about all the events of the Sun Shen Temple and just thought the ink jade bones were a treasure. Zuo Mo truly jumped in fright. No one knew better than him about the origins of the ink jade bones. That was something he had found in the Burning Shen Realm of the Sun Shen Temple. At that time, he had seen the ink jade bones were of a good color and special quality. He had thought it was a treasure since it was not rotted after tens of thousands of years so he kept them until now.
Thinking about the "presence of clansmen" that the mist person had just mentioned, and then looking at this spectacular scene, Zuo Mo instantly understood. The ink jade bones were most likely an ancestor of the mist person. Then they had been captured by the Sun Shen Temple and jailed in the Burning Shen Realm.
The mist person who had been unconscious suddenly woke up with a moan.
The trio's expressions suddenly changed and the realized that they had forgotten to check if the mist person was dead or alive! It might have been that A Gui had not completely recovered or that the mist person was too strong that this was the first time Zuo Mo had seen someone survive A Gui's attack!
A Gui's eyes were completely dim now and had reverted back to the usual woodenness. She did not react at all to the awakening mist person!
Damn it!
The three were just going to act, especially Zuo Mo. He was preparing to use shen power!
Yet the next scene stunned them!
They could see tears on the mist person's face, they were like the pearls dropping off a broken necklace and fell down. The faint blue teardrops became faint blue beads once they left her eyes. When they landed on the ground, they caused a clatter.
It was the first time Zuo Mo and the others had seen someone cry like this. All of them were stuck to their spot.
"Tears of a mist person! I don't know how a brat like you can have such good luck!" In the sea of consciousness, Pu Yao shook his head and sighed.
"Luck?" Zuo Mo didn't quite understand. Everything that was happening right now did not seem to have a connection with luck.
"The mist people have cold personalities and the majority of them would not cry once in their life. The beads formed from the tears of the mist people are called mist people tears, and was an ultimate water element treasure! Even more importantly, once a mist person cries in front of someone, the person will receive their friendship!"
Pu Yao had great knowledge and described the lore.
"Really?" Zuo Mo didn't quite believe it. If this woman suddenly went crazy, they wouldn't be able to deal with it.
"It is true," Wei said solemnly. His voice carried a strange emotion. He felt a mixture of feelings upon seeing the descendants of ancient tribes.
Zuo Mo finally calmed his racing heart. Pu Yao and Wei usually were at odds. If both sides agreed it was true, then it should be true.
He gave a look to Wei Sheng and Zong Ru to stop them from fighting. The two did not understand but refrained from taking action.
The mist person only cried for a while before stopping.
Standing to the side Zuo Mo didn't know how much ice mist the bones had absorbed. The color of the bones had gone from the burning red to a faint blue. The bones became a wondrous glowing blue, transparent like crystal.
Rustling suddenly sounded in the surroundings. The figures of numerous mist people flickered in and out of the ice mist.
Zuo Mo and the others changed expression!
The mist people came from all directions like the tide, surrounding Zuo Mo's group in the middle
Zuo Mo was furiously replaying that what Pu Yao said, "receiving the friendship of the mist person" and hoping it was true, otherwise ... ...
The dense crowd of mist people appearing caused Zuo Mo's scalp to prickle!
The next action of the mist people caused Zuo Mo to be shocked and also sigh in relief! The mist people orderly knelt down like the tide washing over the crowd. There was excitement on all of their faces.
Zuo Mo understood his own weight and knew that the mist people were not kneeling to him. As expected, what they were kneeling to was the pile of crystal bones!
He hurriedly pulled Wei Sheng and Zong Ru to hurry to the side. At this time, it was good to be perceptive.
Crack, crack!
As he moved away wave of strange sounds came from behind Zuo Mo. Turning around Zuo Mo, he was stunned as though he was struck by lightning.
The crystal bones were moving, all of them standing up. One bone flew on top of another bone, and a skeleton gradually formed. There seemed to be an invisible hand that was piecing the bones back together.
A hair-raising fear that was hard to describe rose in Zuo Mo's mind. His hair all stood on end!
Translator Ramblings: No plot progression what so ever as Fang Xiang builds up for this arc. Foundation work is important but it has been a few hundred chapters. I'm not ashamed to admit I got to around this place, and then skipped to the end before coming back to read the whole story.
Chapter Five Hundred and Thirty One – The Tribe of Mist People
Wei Sheng and Zong Ru were also shocked by the skeleton. Even Silly Bird that was usually proud was unusually obedient the moment—the skeleton was not weak! Of all of them, the only one that showed calm was A Gui.
A Gui silently stood next to Zuo Mo and ignored everything happening in front of her.
The crystal skeleton was transparent. Every piece of bone was like a piece of art. The entire crystal skeleton was exquisitely beautiful. When the last bone attached the skeleton, the entire skeleton suddenly lit up with a blinding blue light. The blue light spread in all directions in ripples. The mist people who were touched by the blinding light were extremely excited.
The ink jade bones that Zuo Mo had picked up from the Burning Shen Realm were not whole. There were three bones missing, the skull, a rib, and a fingerbone.
But there was no imbalance that could be seen from this incomplete crystal skeleton as though it even like this it was complete. Wei Sheng and Zong Ru had terrible expressions. They suddenly had felt that the ocean of ice mist suddenly seemed to come alive!
Zuo Mo also detected the transformation of the ice mist. He was astounded. Shen power!
This was shen power!
The shen power released by the crystal skeleton was unusually gentle, so soft that it was almost impossible to detect. If Zuo Mo was not cultivating shen power, and was far more sensitive to shen power than others, he definitely could not detect it!
Zuo Mo was not very shocked that the skeleton was releasing shen power. He had picked up the skeleton from the Sun Shen Tribe's Burning Shen Realm so the skeleton definitely came from the ancient era. It was normal for the skeleton to have a connection to shen power. What he was shocked at was that the skeleton also still contained a trace of life!
The shen power released by the skeleton was weak and gentle but Zuo Mo could feel the presence of life contained within it!
Even though this presence of life was very weak, but it was truly life force!
Zuo Mo looked uncertainly at the skeleton. Was this a joke? A skeleton tens of thousands of years old suddenly coming back to life ... ... this was ridiculous!
Fortunately, the skeleton did not change any further. Its light gradually dimmed.
The mist people that had been prostrated on the ground stood up. Several mist people that seemed to be of advanced age carefully went forward, picked up the skeleton, and disappeared into the ice mist.
A middle-aged mist person walked in front of Zuo Mo and made a strange bow to Zuo Mo's group. "Respected Guests, all future generations of Mist People will remember what you have done for the Mist People Tribe! No matter when, you are our friends!"
Even though Zuo Mo felt slight pain that the ink jade bones had been carried away by the mist people, this also resolved a possible calamity. He hurriedly said, "You are too polite! This was just a coincidence!"
"Speech is unable to express the gratefulness of our clan. Everyone, please, no matter what, come to be guests at our tribe for a few days so that we can act as hosts!" the middle-aged mist person said sincerely.
Zuo Mo was slightly conflicted, "Apologies, we need to search for a water cloud embryo ... ..."
The middle-aged mist person looked at A Gui and understood. He then showed a smile and said, "Sire, do not worry. We know many places where water cloud embryos grow." Finishing, he spoke in a low tone to a mist person beside him. The language they spoke was strange and Zuo Mo's group could not understand.
The mist person nodded as he listened and after he bowed respectfully to Zuo Mo's group, he turned and disappeared into the ice mist.
"I have ordered him to harvest water cloud embryos. Water cloud embryos are not rare in this area of the Cloud Sea, but there needs to be great care taken with the method of harvesting that few know off. Although the effects of the water cloud embryo are best when they are just harvested, our clan has some special methods that can maintain its efficacy after being harvested," the middle-aged mist person said to Zuo Mo.
Zuo Mo instantly had a joyful expression on his face as he thanked the other person, "Many thanks! Many thanks!" Wei Sheng and Zong Ru also had happy expressions. They had travelled for so long and expended such effort, but obtaining their target did not take any effort!
The middle-aged mist person waved his hand and said, "Compared to the boon that Sir has given our clan, this minor matter is nothing."
He ushered Zuo Mo to the side, "Guests, please!"
Zuo Mo's expression suddenly became slightly strange. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "That ... ..."
The middle-aged mist person had a puzzled expression. "Sir, please voice any matters you have!"
Zuo Mo's old face was slightly red as he pointed at the mist person tears on the ground. "That ... ... can I first pick those up?"
———
Zuo Mo did not notice that when he said this, the female mist person who had cried suddenly had a slight blush.
The middle-aged person roared with laughter. His hand moved, and those mist person tears flew into his hand. He handed them to Zuo Mo.
Zuo Mo carefully took them with a wide smile. These mist person tears were good treasures! Things that could receive a judgment of "good treasure" from Pu Yao were definitely unordinary treasures.
Following behind the middle-aged mist person, the bone-achingly cold ice mist seemed to recognize them. It became a serene coolness that was comfortable.
The middle-aged mist person was extremely amiable and conversed while he continuously introduced the mist tribe to their guests. It was fine for Zuo Mo who already knew the history of the mist people, but Wei Sheng and Zong Ru gaped as they listened. The descendants of an ancient tribe that were isolated from the world?
"Then the skeleton is ... ..." Zuo Mo asked carefully and curiously. He was slightly worried that this would be a forbidden topic but he could not resist his curiosity.
"It is the totem of our tribe, called Lan!" The middle-aged mist person's eyes flashed with excitement and happiness. He then sighed, "Ever since our clan has moved to this jie tens of thousands of years ago, the totem of our tribe had vanished suddenly soon after. We lost all sense of where it was. Ever since then, the shen power of the mist people weakened gradually so we are only able to live in the depths of the Cloud Sea isolated from the world."
"Totem!" Zuo Mo finally realized. He had many guesses about the skeleton but he had not imagined it was a totem of a tribe.
When the mist people lost their connection to Lan was definitely when the Sun Shen Temple had imprisoned Lan in the Burning Shen Realm.
The Sun Shen Tribe had declined and its last shen temple turned to dust. Yet Lan who they had captured managed to barely survive.
When Zuo Mo spoke of this, everyone couldn't help but sigh.
The middle-aged mist person nodded. "So it was the Sun Shen Tribe, no wonder! Even though we are isolated from the world, there are always one or two of our number that are sent into the ice mist to collect information. I heard that the bloodlines of the ancients have all died out on the outside?"
Looking at the middle-aged mist person's unresigned expression, Zuo Mo didn't know how to comfort him and could only nod.
The middle-aged mist person was silent. As this news was confirmed, the last bit of hope he had was extinguished. A moment later, he said in puzzlement, "Why have they died out?"
Zuo Mo shook his head. "I don't know, there are probably many reasons." For some reason, he did not want to tell the other about the thousands of years of pursuit and killing Four Realm Heavens did to the descendants of the ancients.
He saw the depressed expression on the face of the middle-aged mist person and comforted, "Now that Lan has been found, the Mist Clan can resume its previous strength, that is just a matter of time."
Hearing this, the middle-aged mist person finally showed a smile. "Yes! As long as Lan is present, our clan can continue!"
He was full of confidence in Lan!
They quickly approached the public gathering area of the mist tribe.
Along the way, an area appeared in front of Zuo Mo's group, it contained blue pools of various sizes. The sizes of these pools were all different and the water was deep blue. Looking around, it seemed like thousands of mirrors. There were blue balls of mist floating on top of some ponds. It was possible to faintly discern the figures of mist people within the mist.
"These are the mist pools of our clan." Seeing Zuo Mo's group show curiosity, the middle-aged mist person explained, "Lan disappeared, we lost our totem and our belief had no place to go, and we were unable to produce shen power. The ancestors spent great effort to create this Mist Pool body cultivation method to help our clan survive until now."
"Powerful!" Zuo Mo praised sincerely. No matter what, any person that could create their own method were very able.
Seeing Zuo Mo and the others, the mist people along the way bowed.
Walking out of the mist pool area, large sections of blue building appeared in everyone's view. These buildings were completely blue as though they were constructed from crystal and gave off the feeling of transparency. The walls flickered with light. It was this layer of light that blocked off the gazes of people outside and prevented them from seeing inside.
Each building was not large and could only be called a small house. Other than the material that were exquisite in feeling, the style of the buildings were simple and basic. Occasionally, they could see faint wall paintings sketched in faint grey strokes.
There were more mist people here than in the mist pools but Zuo Mo and the others found to their surprise that the strength of the mist people here seemed to be much weaker than the mist people they had originally met.
Zuo Mo suddenly saw an altar out of the corner of his eyes. The skeleton was on top of it.
The sacrificial altar was surrounded by mist people as they worshiped it devoutly.
Zuo Mo found to his shock that the shen power of the skeleton was stronger than just moments ago!
"It is a pity that we have lost Lan for too long. There is no priest in the clan. We can only worship daily and hope that Lan can recover as soon, and is able to protect the clan!" the middle-aged mist person said emotionally.
"It will be very fast." Zuo Mo strangely followed up.
The middle-aged mist person paused and then smiled.
When he finished saying this, Zuo Mo suddenly seemed to feel something. The skeleton on the sacrificial altar seemed to be looking at him! This discovery caused his heart to jump but when he looked closely, the feeling had disappeared.
Zuo Mo smiled. It seemed that he was really too nervous. Lan didn't even have a skull, and no eyes, how could Lan be looking at him?
Shaking his head and smiling, he followed the middle-aged mist person to walk towards the largest building.
"This is the conference room of the clan." The middle-aged mist person was apologetic. "We have been isolated from the outside word for too long and do not have any buildings to receive guests. Everyone, you will have to make do. Please forgive us for our shortcomings!"
Zuo Mo and the others hurriedly said that he was too courteous.
Walking into the conference hall, they found that the inside had clearly been just cleaned. There was a layer of pure white grass laid out on the ground. The table was piled up with all kinds of fruits and foods. Even though it was simple, it made people feel very comfortable.
Stepping on the white carpet, everyone felt a wave of coolness seep into the body and their minds clear up. Their nervousness instantly eased and their tiredness swept away. It was unspeakably comfortable.
A good thing!
Zuo Mo's eyes lit up.
Translator Ramblings: Lan means Mist. Creepy skeleton without a head, Zuo Mo is a magnet for Halloween costumes.