Chapter 913: Heaven Saint Palace
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
How fast were the movement techniques of the four people? Journeying all the way towards the southeast direction, in just a few days, they'd covered several thousand li of distance. In these few days, the four practically did not say anything to each other.
Cheng Yin Xiao and Qu Wu Hui were still more broad minded; however, Qiao Ying was filled with worries all the way as she thought about the War for Seizing the Heavens. She'd actually grown much more distraught looking over just this few days. With her cultivation, it should not have been easy for her to get to such a state. But the worries weighing down her heart were too difficult to dispel.
The four travelled a distance apart from each other, staying away from human civilization. The further they travelled, the more desolated the lands became. In that way, they travelled for another few days and climbed to the top of a tall mountain. Looking into the horizon, the sight before them was an endless ocean of mountains, seemingly stretching to the edge of the sky.
Looking back, the scenery was as beautiful as a piece of painting. Far away, it was still possible to make out the outlines of the nearest town. However, it was so far away that it was blurry and difficult to see.
"Jun Mo Xie, the name of this mountain is called 'Realm of Man'! Because the north face of the mountain is facing the human world, while to the south, it's nothing but a land of desolation!" Qiao Ying said as she looked at the last vestiges of human civilization far off to the north.
"Realm of Man? What an odd name," Jun Mo Xie replied. At the same time, he was thinking to himself deep in his heart. Qiao Ying had been ignoring the most of this journey; but now, she was taking the initiative to talk to him. Why was that?
"Do you see that? The further north one goes from this mountain, the denser the human population becomes. All the countless human legacies and tens of thousand of years of civilization development are gathered there, forming the flourishing age of humans we have today!"
Qiao Ying looked coldly at Jun Mo Xie. "And the only thing protecting this way of life is the War for Seizing the Heavens! Look over there; all the way south of here is the Pillar of Heavens Mountains! And the War for Seizing the Heavens will take place over there!"
Jun Mo Xie raised his eye and looked into the distance. Among the hazy mist far away, the outlines of a majestic and straight mountain could be seen, towering all the way into the sky. The main body of the mountain was completely covered by the voluminous clouds and it was impossible to see where its peak was, as if it stretched all the way to the edge of the sky!
"If the War for Seizing the Heavens ultimately fails, the strange races will invade the world of humans. And all that we have achieved in these tens of thousands of years would very possibly be destroyed in a single instant! The peaceful world right now would quickly turn into hell on earth! Furthermore, all humans would probably end up becoming slaves and food of the strange races!"
Qiao Ying stared coldly at him and asked heavily, "And just a few days ago, the 30 something people you killed were experts that were supposed to represent the human race to fight in the upcoming War for Seizing the Heavens! Do you know what the deaths of those people mean?"
"What does it mean?" Jun Mo Xie tilted his head and asked.
"It means that for the upcoming War for Seizing the Heavens, the Xuan Xuan Continent will be defeated for the first time! The invasion of the strange races is soon to become a guaranteed matter! The destruction of life on the continent, and the tears and hardships of the world is right before our eyes!" Qiao Ying's lips trembled with emotion, and her eyes blazed like two balls of flames. "And the reason for all their suffering was because of that one battle of yours! Jun Mo Xie, do you not feel any guilt in your conscience?"
"Guilt? Why should I have a guilty conscience?" Jun Mo Xie shrugged his shoulders lightly. "Those things you said… the suffering of the world, invasion of the strange races… what… the f*ck do they have to do with me?"
"You!" Qiao Ying had never expected that the young hero who wielded such great strength to utter such irresponsible words. Her face turned white from anger, and she couldn't say anything in that moment.
Jun Mo Xie completely did not place Qiao Ying's expectations and disappointment in his eyes at all. Turning his eyes away, he continued emotionlessly. "I've already grown sick of hearing about all that stuff about the safety of the people and the peace of the continent long ago! In the future, I don't wish to hear those irksome words ever again. Just mentioning it in front of this Young Master makes my balls ache! And don't try to link all these nonsense with this Young Master. This Young Master does not have anything to do with it at all!"
"You don't want to hear about it? But you're harming the interests of all the people in this continent!" Qiao Ying's voice turned shrill and sharp. "The War for Seizing the Heavens is going to fail because of you! Because of you, everyone's life will be plunged into suffering! You did not kill the common people, but the common people are going to die because of you! What qualifications do you have to say that you don't want to hear about it? How does it have nothing to do with you? Do you know how many people in this world will lose their lives and fall into misery because of you?"
"Bullsh*t! The people of the continent are dying because of me? Everything in this world has a cause, and there are no waves without wind. The reason I killed is because others want to kill me!"
Jun Mo Xie snorted with rage. "This daddy had never once gone to offend your three Holy Lands of my own initiative! This daddy had never even thought about bothering you all! But you guys f*cking came to look for me, behaving like thieves and harlots while pretending to be noble saints, finding trouble for me time and time again without rest! No matter what I tried, the bunch of you were like dogskin plaster, impossible to get rid of! Now, you actually have the face to question me? Even if all the people in the world died, it would be the responsibility of your dogh*t lands! What the f*ck does it have to do with this daddy!
"This daddy was originally living the life of a rich young master in Tian Xiang City, clad in riches and comforts, enjoying a life of luxury! But I was chased around and forced to a dead end because of you all, forced to abandon my home and move into Tian Fa Forest to live with millions of Xuan Beasts!
"This daddy had already taken so many steps back, but the lot of you were still unwilling to let it rest, going as far as to pressure my relatives and deal with my friends. As long as anyone had any sort of relationship with my Jun Family, you people would not let them off at all, even going as far as to run into Tian Fa Forest to assassinate me. If not for this daddy having some skills, and some hidden trump cards, I would have already been destroyed countless times by the sinister schemes of you bunch of bastards! How utterly despicable!
"Guardians of the continent? The three Holy Lands are simply a bunch of scoundrels—the three of you included! To think that you still have the face to talk to me about justice and the common people? Try asking yourselves; are you fit to do so?! After failing to kill me and instead ending up being killed by me, you all come to blame me for dooming the common people? Is there a greater joke in this world?
"Since you all want to kill me, and even tried to do so on many occasions, then I shall kill you all off in advance! The matter is just that simple. So what if you all are really doing everything for the sake of the world? Even if it's for the sake of the universe, and you are the only thing propping up the world, and killing you would result in the entire universe collapsing… as long as you want to kill me, I will still strike back without hesitation! At the most, both sides will be destroyed, and all of us will die together!"
Jun Mo Xie smiled cruely and continued. "Everyone only has a single life anyway. A person will create more damage as long as their alive! So what if the entire world is plunged into suffering? That kind of stuff is completely unimportant to this daddy. If you expect this daddy to be noble, that's impossible. This daddy has never thought of myself as some kind of noble hero or a charitable soul. You're gravely mistaken if you think that you can talk to this daddy about the common people! So what if this continent really turns chaotic? After another tens of thousand or hundreds of thousands of years, it would be a new world again! But please don't frame yourselves as saviours of the world. That is exceedingly disgusting!"
Young Master Jun snorted venomously and looked at Qiao Ying. "Have you heard of an idiom about a monkey wearing a hat? Can a monkey call itself a king just because it has a hat on? Tell me, is your three Holy Lands laughable or not? Comparatively speaking, you all are nothing but a bunch of monkeys acting imposingly; what rights do you have to represent the entire world? What rights do you have to proclaim yourselves saviours of the world? OK, even if you want to think yourselves as saviours of the world, it's fine. But don't use that as an excuse to pretend that you're infinitely better and more morally upright than others, and at the same time, use that self proclaimed nobleness to attack others! You all do not have those qualifications! And you're not worth that much!"
Jun Mo Xie spoke very swiftly, not even realizing that he'd used the english word 'OK'…
"Taking another 10,000 steps back, even if you truly want to prop yourselves up as gods and saviours because of some of the actions you did, that's still none of other people's business. Don't go around expecting the world to be grateful to you! Three advanced in years and highly experienced Seniors, I guess that you should know the difference between initiative and passivity? You all did those things out of your own volition; nobody ever put a knife against your necks and asked you to sacrifice, right?! You could have done nothing! This is not your responsibility… understand?! Let me tell you, this world will not change because it lacks somebody! Even if there's no three Holy Lands, the strange races might not necessarily be able to anything too. Understand?! How absolutely laughable!"
After scolding to his heart's content, Jun Mo Xie felt a satisfying feeling flowing through his entire body.
But after he finished with his whole tirade, the three people beside him actually did not say a single word. Instead, their faces were sullen in thought, as if they had much to mull over.
The group stood at the peak of this 'Realm of Man' in complete silence and after a long time, Qu Wu Hui sighed longly and said, "Let's go. There's still three days journey from here…"
Qiao Ying, who was furious earlier, now had a heavy expression as nodded. She did not continue to berate Jun Mo Xie, and the four ran along quietly, like four shooting stars streaking across the land…
The saying that 'horses run themselves to death whilst setting their sights on the mountain before them', was indeed true. From the peak of 'Realm of Man', they had clearly saw Pillar of Heavens Mountains. But despite the four top tier experts' frenzied speed, they still hadn't even reached the foot of the mountain despite rushing for two full days.
Jun Mo Xie also felt it was somewhat odd. With a distance of thousands of li between them, how did he even manage to see Pillar of Heavens Mountains? Even if his eyesight was good, it shouldn't be to such an extent right? Afterall, the distance was really a bit too much…
As if he had seen through Jun Mo Xie's doubt, Qu Wu Hui smiled lightly and said, "You'll understand when you're there."
Strangely, the three's attitude towards him had improved greatly after he'd given them the grand scolding. This caused Jun Mo Xie to feel somewhat curious in his heart. Could it be that these three fellows were simply itching for a scolding? Or perhaps, they were those fabled masochists? The kind that simply liked being abused when they had nothing to do? Perhaps this Young Master should scold them every few days… after all, it's just working my mouth a bit, and it's not really anything strenuous!
Just as he was considering the feasibility of this thought, Qu Wu Hui and the others suddenly stopped. With a light step, he also stopped instantly. A heartfelt sigh of relief came out from Qiao Ying's mouth as she pointed. "That mountain in front is the Heaven Saint Palace…"
There was a simple happiness in her voice, of one returning home after a long time.
Jun Mo Xie raised his head and looked, only to see that tens of li away, there was a towering mountain that seemed to have risen out of the ground. At the peak of the mountain, the outlines of a few houses could be seen. As they moved closer, Jun Mo Xie suddenly realized that those were simply ordinary thatched cottages! A few lush boughs propped up the main frame of the cottages, and green shoots even grew from the sides. The roof of the cottages were made out of numerous vines overlapped with each other…
These were crude structures that could not be more crude!
"That's the legendary Heaven Saint Palace?" Jun Mo Xie widened his eyes and asked with disbelief. In his mind, the legendary Heaven Saint Palace was a resplendent palace filled with gold and jade. Who would have thought that it would be such a simple and desolated sight?
Qiao Ying smiled and nodded proudly. "Yes, this is our Heaven Saint Palace!"
"Impressive!" Jun Mo Xie praised from the bottom of his heart. For the strongest experts of the continent to be willing to stay in such a place, no matter for what reason, it was enough to cause others to feel admiration for them!
"Many thanks." Qiao Ying smiled lightly. She felt extremely satisfied with Jun Mo Xie's words.
She could tell that this praise from Jun Mo Xie had come from his heart, and her image of Jun Mo Xie could not help but to improve. Pointing, she said, "300 li east of Heaven Saint Palace is the mountains where the Elusive World of Immortals live. Another 1,000 something li away, you'll find the Supreme Golden City! Further west, about 2,000 li away, is the Illusory Blood Sea. The mountain that our Heaven Saint Palace is sitting on is called 'Mount Heaven Saint' by the three Holy Lands. Just a thousand south of Mount Heaven Saint is the place which the fate of the continent is decided—the Pillar of Heavens Mountains! There's a vast open area at the top of the Pillar of Heavens Mountains due to a collapse, and that is where the War for Seizing the Heavens take place!"
"So it's all the way out here… this place is truly difficult to find!" Jun Mo Xie's mouth trembled, and he asked, "Are those three places also the same as the Heaven Saint Palace?"
Qiao Ying's face turned somewhat awkward as she coughed. "Those three places… cough cough, are somewhat… more gorgeous than here…"
Jun Mo Xie made a long 'ohhhhh' sound and nodded. "Slightly more gorgeous is it? What kind of saying is that! To actually let their own old ancestors to stay in such a crude place; if they themselves were also living simply, that would be fine. But it's a pity that the facts might be quite different…"
"Humility and frugality has always been a tradition of our Heaven Saint Palace!" On the side, Cheng Yin Xiao mumbled blandly, as if rebutting unhappily.
"What a good tradition… it's really not easy that you haven't died of cold and hunger. Thankfully, you have great Xuan cultivation ah… Xuan Qi is truly some good stuff! At least, one wouldn't starve to death!" Young Master Jun sighed and said.
In an instant, the faces of the three turned black…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So this is what true frugality and humility is like ah!" Jun Mo Xie exclaimed with wonder the instant he climbed to the top of Mount Heaven Saint. "F*ck, even this daddy would dream to live in this kind of frugality! Can you people not be so f*cking pretentious! My goodness, even this can be called frugal and humble? Frugal your mom! I wish for your entire family riches!"
Now that Young Master Jun had finally seen these 'thatched cottages' up close, he could not help but to feel a ball of anger rise in his chest in an instant. F*ck, to think that this daddy was tricked into being so impressed with them; so this is what's going on.
The top of the mountain was completely flat, and the Spiritual Qi there was so dense that it'd almost turned material. Although it was still not as dense or pure as the Spiritual Qi in the Hongjun Pagoda, there was actually a vigorous essence Qi of plants intermixed in the air!
There were roughly over a hundred of these thatched cottages here, and each of them were actually living trees! Jun Mo Xie could recognize these trees: Xuan Spiritual Trees!
Xuan Spiritual Trees could grow to ages of over ten thousand years. By cutting these trees into pieces of wood and carrying it on the body, it would have an effect of calming the mind and concentrating one's spirit, not rotting even after a hundred years. Living Xuan Spiritual Trees were also equivalent to small Spiritual Qi gathering formations, able to continuously draw and retain Heaven Earth Spiritual Qi!
And each of these 'thatched cottages' were made up of at least six Xuan Spiritual Trees… If one cultivated in such an environment, they would never have to worry about heart demons and cultivation deviation!
Chapter 914: You, Just Who are You?!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
As for the walls of these thatched cottages, they were all made with stalks of Tranquil Bamboo, lined up neatly into walls. Tranquil Bamboos were not very rare materials, and there was not much use for them. However, as long as such things were around, no bugs would come near.
And there was another, more important benefit—it was warm in winter and cool in summer; this was a natural air conditioner! Furthermore, it would emanate a deep and calming smell, complementing perfectly with the Xuan Spiritual Trees. These simple thatched cottages were simply paradises for cultivation!
Those Tranquil Bamboo were even more f*cking useful than insect repellent coils!
Young Master Jun was feeling quite jealous in his heart in this instant. Naked jealousy!
When he looked again at the vines coiling around the rooftop and the Xuan Spiritual Trees, Young Master Jun's eyes instantly turned the same green color of a wolf's eyes! Phoenix Tail Vine, Pilgrim Vine, Purple Luo Vine, Fleece Flower Vine… Eight Jewel Branch, Longevity Creeper…
Young Master Jun's teeth ached from sucking in too much cold air… those were all rare heavenly treasures ah! F*ck, these guys are a little too frugal ah…
Although this daddy can be said to do quite well now, I still don't dare to be this indulgent ah… These sons of b*tches from the Heaven Saint Palace came to such a desolate place to live, and they still have the face to act humble and poor, saying words like "frugality and humility are the tradition of our Heaven Saint Palace". Frugal your sister! To think you had the face to even say those words; why don't you just go and die instead…
Those words were too lacking in conscience!
"What do you think? Young Master Jun, our life in the mountains is simple and crude; please do not mind the lack of hospitality." Qu Wu Hui said in a bland tone.
Jun Mo Xie coughed lightly and grabbed onto Qu Wu Hui's hand with a teary eyed expression. "Senior Qu, Senior Qu, humility and frugality are great virtues of life; I-I… I also f*cking wish to learn from you all and live in a simple and thrifty manner so as to better appreciate the good things in life… Let me take a few of these thatched cottages away… I don't need many, just five or six will do; give this junior a chance to emulate the frugal lifestyle of Seniors…"
"Scram! You're dreaming brat!" Qu Wu Hui scolded without hesitation. This fellow was simply too greedy! To actually ask for five or six the moment he opened his mouth… What did he take them for? Even Mo Wu Dao from the Elusive World of Immortals had only got a few stalks so far despite begging laboriously for hundreds of years… he probably didn't even have enough to build half a cottage until now…
"Qiao Ying… you've returned? Oh, and you brought an esteemed guest with you this time as well? Why not come in?" A warm and gentle voice rang out.
The three experts' faces instantly grew stern as they answered, "Yes!"
Thereafter, they stretched their hands out to show the way. "Young Master Jun, please!"
"This Young Master shall not be polite then." Jun Mo Xie smiled lightly and walked to the front. Looking at the numerous thatched cottages, he pointed and asked, "There's a total of 136 cottages here; I wonder if… all of them are occupied?"
"Occupied? How is that possible." Qu Wu Hui shook his head. "Nearly half are empty. For over 10,000 years, only people who managed to reach the realm of Saint Emperor have the qualifications to live here! Recently, quite a few people were killed in Tian Fa Forest, and one more had been killed by you this time as well! Right now, there's less than 60 people left here…"
"60?! 60 experts at the level of Saint Emperor or higher…" Jun Mo Xie sucked in a breath of cold air and he asked. "What are the positions of the two Seniors in this place?"
"Our titles as left and right Guardians are nothing more than just a false name; our actual strengths… are roughly around the top 20. It's not worth a mention!" Although Qu Wu Hui was saying 'not worth a mention', anyone could easily see the look of pride on his face.
"Impressive, impressive, you're truly my idol." Jun Mo Xie said with a look of admiration on his face. Truthfully, Qu Wu Hui was indeed the greatest idol of disgust for Jun Mo Xie. Whenever he thought of this old fellow's tears and snot stained face and the manner of him wailing bitterly, it would be difficult for him not to feel disgusted!
As they spoke, the four of them had already arrived at the largest thatched cottage in the center. This thatched cottage occupied an area of five, six zhang, and the Xuan Spiritual Tree, Tranquil Bamboo and all kinds of wondrous spirit herbs were far more resplendent than the other cottages. With a single look, it was obvious that this was the heart of the Heaven Saint Palace.
"Come on in." A soft voice rang out from within. As this voice rang out, the door swung open by itself… With Jun Mo Xie's cultivation, he actually did not detect even the slightest Xuan Qi ripple…
The three persons had not even moved, when a surprised sound came out from inside. "Eh?!" That sound was extremely low, and there was unmistakable shock in that voice.
Cheng Yin Xiao, Qu Wu Hui and Qiao Ying's face instantly changed!
That was the Palace Lord's voice!
It'd been over a thousand years, and the Palace Lord had never been this shocked by anything before. But today, this Palace Lord had actually made such a surprised sound!
Could it be that it had something to do with Jun Mo Xie?
A short period of silence ensued, and shadows flashed around inside. By the time they walked in, the three saw that there were 10 chairs set in the cottage, of which three were empty. The rest were already occupied by people.
At their current level of elevation, Jun Mo Xie estimated that they should at least be seven, eight thousand meters above sea level. However, there weren't any altitude conditions like lack of oxygen and such in here. The ice on the outside were frigid and thick, never melting since the ancient days. However, the inside of the cottage was actually as warm as summer!
The moment the four stepped into the room, eight pairs of eyes turned to look at them, focusing instantly on Jun Mo Xie as if there was a prior agreement.
The gazes were warm and tranquil, and it seemed as if searchlights had been turned on in his body. Jun Mo Xie felt as if he was completely naked and put on display for others to observe.
However, he was quite calm about the whole matter. In any case, all of us are men. Look if you want to; it's fine, this brother is confident enough to let you look. As long as you don't feel inferior after looking… Naturally, there's nothing I can do if you looked and then felt bad about yourself; who asked you to not have such good DNA…
Qiao Ying and the others had already sat down soundlessly, and the three chairs were obviously left for them. Jun Mo Xie noticed that Qiao Ying was sitting at the very center of the left side, while Cheng Yin Xiao and Qu Wu Hui sat at the last two chairs on both sides, one on each chair.
No wonder they are called Guardians. So this is how it is… they are just minions who sit closest to the doors as guards ah… So their positions are not even as high as a naive little girl…
Young Master Jun criticised internally with disdain. What he didn't know was that Qiao Ying's position was actually very special within the Heaven Saint Palace. Her rank was only slightly below the Heaven Saint Palace Palace Lord. As for Cheng Yin Xiao and Qu Wu Hui, although their status among this bunch of high rank people was not high, but in the outside world, even the palace lords of the three Holy Lands needed to be extremely respectful towards them!
Everyone in this room were dressed in robes as white as snow. They were all obviously old monsters who'd lived for hundreds of years; however, not a single one of them looked like white haired old men. At a glance, they all seemed like healthy and fit people. Their heads were filled with black hair, and their skins were like jade. All of them looked like perfect middle aged men…
Jun Mo Xie narrowed his brows and harrumphed internally with disdain. Perfect middle aged men my head! Just a bunch of undying old farts; are they trying to play with the mind of this Young Master?!
Jun Mo Xie had not forgotten that this bunch of 'middle aged men' were basically all at least 800 to a thousand years old. They were a legitimate group of old demons…
Numerous sharp gazes swept across Jun Mo Xie's body. However, nobody took the lead to speak. In that moment, the entire room was completely silent. Everyone's faces were growing more and more serious…
"What do you think of this child?" The same gentle voice rang out. The voice came directly from the top, and it was directed at the rest.
Jun Mo Xie's heart shook slightly with shock. A moment ago, although everyone's gazes were fixed on him, he only felt 16 eyes on him. Furthermore, he hadn't discovered anybody else.
When this voice rang out again, Young Master Jun realized on then that there was a person directly opposite him, smiling lightly at him. Although he'd already confirmed the presence of this person, there was an indistinct feeling to him.
This person was clearly right before his eyes, but Jun Mo Xie felt as if he was looking at an illusion, as if this was just an image projection of another person…
Jun Mo Xie had only felt this kind of feeling from the Nine Nether Fourteenth Young Master before! Without a doubt, this person's realm had already reached the miraculous level of shattering the void! Perhaps, he was only a single step away from the so-called 'transcending beyond the broken void'…
This person's cultivation was likely not below the Nine Nether Fourteenth Young Master. Even if there's a bit of difference in their strengths, it wouldn't be a large difference, and it was at most only a little worse!
Knowing this, Jun Mo Xie could not help to feel the pores on his skin standing up! He hadn't imagined that a super expert of that level actually existed on the side of the Holy Lands as well!
Since they had such an expert with them… why did they allow the Nine Nether Fourteenth Young Master to behave so arrogantly for this long? Perhaps they might not be a match for him one against one, but the two sides already had so much hatred between them; in a situation where their strengths were evenly matched, they just needed to add a bit more people, and it would be enough to claim his life. Even if the Nine Nether Fourteenth Young Master wanted to escape, the chances would be extremely slim!
Just as Jun Mo Xie was in the middle of his thoughts, the person seated at the first seat on the right side spoke in an elegant voice. "This child… is undoubtedly the most peerlessly rare talent that has ever been seen from the ancient days to now!"
The second person on the left sighed and nodded. "Indeed, if he continues developing like this, I trust that this child's accomplishments would not be inferior to the Nine Nether First Young Master from that era, or perhaps even greater!
The moment they opened their mouths, the two of them had given Jun Mo Xie their greatest approvals!
The rest also nodded heavily in agreement with the words of the two of them. The fourth person on the right who had faint patches of birthmarks on his face agreed. "According to this old man's repeated observations, this child's hair had not been transformed by any kind of Xuan techniques, and the skin texture of his face is completely natural, not having any signs of having his age reversed. The baby hair behind his ears still haven't faded as well… I can confirm that this child's real age is definitely not past 20!"
Everyone nodded in approval once again.
The first person on the right looked at Jun Mo Xie's eyes and examined it like a hawk; after some time, he finally nodded. "Apart from that, the most commendable thing is that… if any youths had such accomplishments at their age, no matter how steady their minds are, their temperaments would definitely be very different from normal youths! But that's not the case for this child! Although he looks happy and has a look of complacency on his face when he heard us praising him, it's in reality just a disguise!"
Snorting lightly, he continued. "Although there's a hint of a smile, self satisfaction and arrogance in his eyes, that is only on the surface. The true thoughts in his eyes are hidden very deeply… This child's steadiness and dignity is far above a regular Saint Emperor; even this old man's mental state was not comparable to him when I was at his age!"
"Indeed! This child's determination is extraordinary, and although his achievements are so stellar, he does not seem to be satisfied and is still full of ambition. While he has a light smile on his face, there's a slight downward curvature at the corner of lips. This was an intentional formation, not the original innate appearance. This shows that this child's temperament is very ruthless and cold, and he surely treats his enemies unscrupulously! Normal people would usually always have some pity in their hearts, with only a few being the exception. But this child actually has none of that at all! This is the heart of a powerful expert, ruthless and cruel to the extreme!" The second person on the right carefully observed, slowly giving his conclusion.
The third person sitting on the right side, his body straight like a javelin, nodded in agreement as he spoke. His voice was grating, like metals scraping against each other. "Exactly! Even now as he is standing here, letting us comment like this, the expression on the face remains the same; even the look in his eyes and his expression also has no fluctuations at all. His robes are still, and his eyes are as calm as a still lake; his hands and feet are not fidgety, and he looks to be completely at ease."
"Or perhaps, one should say that he has absolute confidence in escaping alive! This part is much harder to understand. Although this child's strength in relation to his age is completely unheard of and is extremely shocking among his peers, he's not a match for any of us. Where does that absolute confidence of his come from? Against the 11 of us, even the Nine Nether Fourteenth Young Master would not have any chance of survival! But surprisingly, he actually has such absolute faith; such unshakeable faith that comes from the depths of his soul!"
"This child is terrifying! Truly terrifying!" After everyone gave their evaluation, another voice chimed in, concluding the whole analysis!
Jun Mo Xie stood there calmly, smiling lightly as if he did not mind at all. However, his heart was filled with indescribable shock! These people's eyesights were truly incredible, to even be able to analyze the pores on his skin. As expected of the old demons of legends; their powers of observation were actually detailed to such a level!
It was a pity that although they'd managed to see through his confidence, they were unable to determine his true trump card, the source of his confidence! Perhaps apart from the Nine Nether First Young Master, nobody in this world would know what this trump card of his was!
"Everyone has forgotten a point; the most important point." At this time, the white robed man who was sitting at the highest point finally spoke. His voice was calm and cordial, akin to the clear springs in the mountains, refreshing the hearts of whoever heard him. "The 11 of us were observing this child together just now, and perhaps everyone might not have noticed; whether intentionally or otherwise, we will have released our own unique inner auras. Even if it was just a tiny bit from each person, but the sum total of our 11 auras is something that if his position was swapped with any of you, even you might not be able to endure and will have to use your own auras to resist to prevent a fault from appearing in your mental state!"
"But he didn't! Completely didn't!" The person continued, his words causing the faces of the seven men to completely change!
Smiling lightly and lifting his head, the person looked at Jun Mo Xie for a swift moment. In the moment that their eyes met, Jun Mo Xie felt as if that pair of searing eyes had plunged deeply into his!
Jun Mo Xie could not help but to narrow his eyes, causing two rays of chilly light to surge out, meeting that pair of searing eyes!
This was the first time Young Master Jun had made an action of his own accord after entering this place!
That person's eyes were like the boundless ocean, deep and immeasurable. As for Jun Mo Xie's gaze, it was like the starry space, the infinite universe!
But no matter how deep and immeasurable the ocean was, or how mysterious and infinite the starry skies were, Jun Mo Xie's gaze were like two startling swords, straight and unyielding, following its own path without hesitation, no matter how many obstacles it had to pass through!
Everyone present instantly felt a shocking wave of killing intent in the air!
Although this killing intent was not considered too strong in the eyes of the people present, it was sharp to the extreme! This kind of sharp killing intent had a crazy kind of conviction that was intent on slaughtering even Gods and Buddhas if they stood in its path!
The other 10 were left in complete shock!
This was a different kind of battle that exceeded the normal contention methods!
The battle of spiritual sense!
However… the ten of them could no longer remember when was the last time that anyone in this world dared to contend with the boss! Not to mention vying against the thing that the boss was the most skilled in: spiritual sense. Even in other skills and areas, no many people dared to say that they could compete with him!
In this world, only three people had the qualifications to compete with the boss!
One was naturally the Nine Nether Fourteenth Young Master; the other was the old ancestor of the Misty Illusory Manor, Luo Fu Yun. As for the third one, it was the mysterious and inscrutable leader of the strange races, Chuangshang Bei Dao.
However, those disgusting strange races were all conjoined creatures, and they had two times the spiritual sense of normal people; they were exceptions since it's not considered as 'true strength'.
Who would have thought that another person would appear; such a lawless and talented youth!
The three instantly had a look of pity on their faces: to think that such a superbly talented genius would now suffer a spirit injury after being lost in the boss's 'Blurred Starry Sky', forever having his cultivation path halted! Such a result was simply too disappointing. However, the result was already determined…
There was only a short four, five zhang distance between the two.
In that moment, Jun Mo Xie's only feeling was that he'd trespassed onto someone else's domain!
It was as if that endless space was someone else's territory, and he was an invader!
No matter what kind of spiritual sense, there were always a certain limit! Take for example the drawing of an ocean. Although one could draw the ocean into its exact likeness, but it was in reality, just a piece of canvas! The limit of the size of the canvas was exactly like how each individual had a limit to their bodies!
That was all.
Therefore, Jun Mo Xie completely did not care, and he only continued to barge on recklessly! Even if there's nothing but the limitless sky in front, he would smash a hole through it!
Time passed by slowly, and it was nearing the amount of time for an incense stick to burn through.
The faces of the 10 people had already turned from pity to amazement!
They were simply struck dumb with amazement!
Could this youth be a monster? Under the spiritual sense attack of the boss, he could actually hold on and even counterattack, seemingly not being in a disadvantage! That was simply a completely inconceivable matter!
This battle result was truly unthinkable!
Jun Mo Xie's spiritual sense pierced through a piece of sky, an entire ocean, and cut through millions of high level Xuan Beasts, before barging through a sea of flames…
All these were naturally mental constructs of the opponent. Thus, Jun Mo Xie did not care at all as he tore and wreaked havoc without pause! My goal is the other shore, and I will not stop halfway through!
Slowly, Jun Mo Xie's face finally grew somewhat white. Sweat slowly formed on his brows, gathering into a large drop on his nose… finally, and silently… it dropped down!
The sweat dripped onto the ground, making a light splish sound!
Jun Mo Xie suddenly felt as if he'd come into contact against a solid wall-like surface. Just as he was mustering himself to barge through while disregarding everything, he felt the space in front suddenly turn empty, and his strength landed on nothing. It turned out that he'd already stepped out of the opponent's spiritual sense domain!
Opening his eyes abruptly, he saw the middle aged man smiling faintly at him, as if nothing had happened. It was as if everything had been nothing but a dream!
In front of him at the tip of his foot, there was a clear drop of sweat.
"Who are you?" The middle aged man suddenly asked with a light smile.
Although his words mellow and he was still carrying a gentle smile as usual; even the tone of his words were completely unchanged, the people in the room had all known this person for around a thousand years. How could they not tell that there was something different in the way he asked those words? In that moment, a look of fear flashed across everyone's eyes!
The hearts of the crowd shuddered!
Today was truly a special day, with surprises following one after the other!
"Me? I'm Jun Mo Xie!" Jun Mo Xie replied with a light smile.
"This old man naturally knows that you're Jun Mo Xie. The moment you stepped onto Mount Heaven Saint, I already knew that. But what I'm asking…" The expression on the middle aged man's face turned more serious as he uttered each word. "Is… just who are you exactly?!"
Clearly knowing that he was Jun Mo Xie, yet continuing to ask 'who are you exactly', might seem quite contradictory, but the other 10 people in the room all suddenly sat up straight as their expressions became much heavier!
"I'm not anyone." Jun Mo Xie replied with a light smile. "I understand what you're trying to ask… but I'm really just… Jun Mo Xie! Not anyone else!"
When he first said 'I'm Jun Mo Xie', five or six of the people below all furrowed their brows dramatically, somewhat disbelieving. They'd heard that the three Holy Lands had offended a particularly troublesome opponent called Jun Mo Xie. Only now did they understand just what kind of a weirdo this Jun Mo Xie was!
In that moment, they could not help but to curse the three Holy Lands in their hearts. Why did you all go and provoke this kind of perverse monster for no reason? Aren't you just looking for trouble for yourself? He apparently still has a mysterious master behind him also. The disciple is already so overpowered, so how scary is the master!
But when they heard the words 'I'm really just Jun Mo Xie, not anyone else', the ten experts instantly widened their eyes, and the fourth person on the left blurted out, "Impossible!"
Although the others did not say anything, their eyes clearly conveyed the same meaning, which was also the word 'Impossible'!
Chapter 915: Digging Old Wounds, Returning Favors, Or Another Purpose?
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
"Are you really not the reincarnated Spirit Seed of some Senior?" The person with the birthmark on his face asked as he stared sternly at Jun Mo Xie. "I trust that you should be very clear about this as well. You've reached the peak third level Saint Emperor realm even before the age of 20! If you're not a reincarnated Spirit Seed, there's no way you can cultivate at such an insane speed no matter what!"
Shaking his head with disbelief, he continued. "Even if the 11 of us poured efforts and groomed you from the day you were born, providing you with limitless heavenly treasures all the way, assuming that there aren't any hiccups in between, it would still not be possible to replicate this result before you reached the age of 20! How will you still deny now?"
"But I'm really not the reincarnation of a Spirit Seed! If Senior won't believe me, there's nothing I can do. Instead, I'd like to ask a question in return. Does the so-called 'Spirit Seed reincarnation' really allow a person to have the same speed of cultivation as me?" Jun Mo Xie shrugged his shoulders helplessly and said.
The birth marked guy fell silent immediately. Because even if a person was reincarnated from a Spirit Seed, it was impossible to attain the same success as Jun Mo Xie. Even a Spirit Seed had memories of its previous life, cultivation realm, and foundations… even if that person started cultivating inside their mother's womb, it would still be far from enough to reach Young Master Jun's current accomplishment.
It was indeed possible for a Spirit Seed reincarnation to be born in a place with the most ideal cultivation environment. However, there was still a limit to that. Jun Mo Xie's perverse achievements were indeed beyond the capabilities of human effort!
"The kid is indeed speaking the truth. He's not a Spirit Seed reincarnation!" The white robed person at the head announced the heaven shocking answer with an exhausted sigh. "When our spiritual sense clashed just now, I thoroughly checked. His spiritual sense is intricately linked to his body, without the slightest deviance! The soul and body are clearly one!"
The moment this word came out, everyone's face changed!
Spiritual sense and body are linked, without any deviance!
Everyone here clearly understood the meaning behind those words.
For a Spirit Seed to 'reincarnate', it must find a pregnant woman who was about to give birth, using her to be reborn and obtain a new life. But such a precondition meant that there was already a prenatal soul inside the infant's body!
In order to obtain the body of the infant, the Spirit Seed had to kill the original soul! That was the only way for the Spirit Seed to live on while relying on this new body. In that way, the Spirit Seed would receive a new life, and with the new body beginning cultivation while in a prenatal state, the path of cultivation would naturally be smooth. But where there were advantages, there was always another side to everything. There was also a huge drawback to reincarnation through the Spirit Seed: spiritual sense disharmony!
After all, the soul that the Spirit Seed had killed was the original prenatal soul! After killing the prenatal soul, the spiritual sense they gained would naturally not be their own, and they could only familiarize themselves with it bit by bit, evolving it! But no matter how much the spiritual sense was evolved to adapt, there would always be a disharmony!
Because of this, there was the most treacherous barrier that all the 'peak level' experts must face at the final realm: "Heart's Demon Hundred Refining Soul Reconstitution"!
According to legends, once cultivators crossed through this barrier, they would be able to shatter the void as they wish, opening the doors of heaven and transcending to different realms as they pleased. But if they couldn't get past the barrier of their heart's demon, the result was a complete annihilation of the soul! Their past life and present life would all be reduced to nothing!
The difficulty of passing through this stage was immensely high, even more dangerous than enduring a Heavenly Tribulation!
From ancient times till now, no one had managed to break through that barrier before!
Shattering the void, opening heaven's door and transcending with ease…
In the ten thousand years history of Xuan Xuan Continent, only the Nine Nether First Young Master had done it! Not only did he do it, he'd even brought along his over 100 wives and transcended together!
This so-called legendary level was exactly the words the Nine Nether First Young Master had left behind!
It was also the final hurdle of the Xuan cultivation legacy that he'd passed down!
But nobody knew that the reason the Nine Nether First Young Master had been able to achieve this was because he was originally never a Spirit Seed reincarnation; the same went for his wives, so they completely did not have to worry about the danger of this Heart's Demon Hundred Refining Soul Reconstitution.
As for the people of the later generation reaching the peak of cultivation without restarting as a Spirit Seed…
In this 10,000 years, not a single person had done it!
The middle aged man at the head was exactly a Spirit Seed reincarnation of the last generation's Guardian of the Heaven Saint Palace. Like him, the five others under him were also of the same situation! And these six people were the ones with the highest cultivation in the Heaven Saint Palace!
Although the others here were also ranked similarly, their cultivations were far from being comparable to the six of them!
But today, such a terrifying freak had turned up; not reincarnated from a Spirit Seed, but managed to reach the peak third level of the Saint Emperor realm before the age of 20! This was simply a miracle that nobody could even dream of.
One had to understand that the Spirit Seed reincarnation was the only slightly more plausible explanation for Young Master Jun's stellar cultivation speed. But right now, the only possible answer had been directly shattered!
But what they didn't know was that although Jun Mo Xie was not a so-called Spirit Seed reincarnator, he was also not actually a real native of this place. His soul was similarly different from the original body's, and he'd even hijacked the body halfway through. Furthermore, he did not begin his cultivation with a 'prenatal' body… However, he had the Hongjun Pagoda with him, which completely smoothed out any issues with spiritual sense disharmony long ago! What ever heart's demon, heavenly tribulation and whatnot, were completely non-existent to him!
"Although you are not a Spirit Seed reincarnator, there are huge amounts of medicinal energy in your body! Or should I say, it's that which gave you your present strength!"
The middle aged man smiled lightly, but there was a sincere warning in his voice. "There are advantages and disadvantages to everything; you must take note that this is similarly not a good thing for you. Although advancing quickly in a short period can result in obtaining great strength, but in the long term, it could lead to long lasting problems. When you want to breakthrough again the next time, you should calm your heart down and try to digest all the remnant energy in your body first before you attempt it. Otherwise, if you rushed all the way to the final stage in one breath… the dangers you will face might not necessarily be lesser than ours, perhaps… even more precarious!"
Jun Mo Xie looked deeply at him in the eye and nodded. "Many thanks!"
Jun Mo Xie could tell that those words were purely meant to instruct him, and it was completely sincere. Although he did not have to fear that 'final stage' because he had the Hongjun Pagoda, he still appreciated this bit of kindness.
Hearing that all this was attributed to 'large amounts of spirit herbs', the others felt their faces relax slightly. Although it was still incredible, this kind of explanation was much easier for them to accept. After all, there were too many unknown things and heaven defying treasures in the world. If Jun Mo Xie's body just so happened to be compatible with the heavenly treasures and with the right amount of fortuitous encounters, it was possible for a legend like this to appear.
Otherwise, if it was all due to talent… these old monsters who'd lived for thousands of years might as well directly kill themselves if they compared themselves to him. That would be too painful for their pride…
"Jun Mo Xie, although your current position is in opposition to the Holy Lands, this old man does not wish to make things difficult for you. Since you came with Guardian Qu and the rest, my guess is that there must be some matter?" The middle aged man smiled, his tone once again turning calm, returning to the odd, ethereal state again.
Hearing the boss speak like this, everyone sighed lightly.
For Jun Mo Xie to reach such a high cultivation at his young age was undoubtedly a huge miracle of this world! So the instant the boss saw him, he'd immediately summoned all of them, with the thought: With such a speed, this kid might be able to rush to the peak in a short time, perhaps even exceeding it!
If he could transcend the Heart's Demon Hundred Refining Soul Reconstitution in front of everyone, it would be a point of great reference for everyone, and the benefits it would bring them would be incomparably huge!
However, the boss seemed to have given up on this tempting idea now.
But what they didn't know was that this Heaven Saint Palace boss had not only not given up on the idea after his interaction with Jun Mo Xie, the desire had instead grown more fervent! Only, he was a great judge of character. The moment he started interacting with Jun Mo Xie, he realized that this fellow was the kind of person with the smelly and stubborn temper of a donkey; the kind that would not move when it was pulled and would go backwards when whipped!
Directly commanding this kind of person and getting him to agree that way would be harder than ascending to the heavens! And with their status, it was too much for them to put down their face and plead with the latter!
Fortunately, there was still a weakness to this kind of people; they hated owing others a favor! So right now, they could only do their best to treat him well, giving him whatever help he needed, and then adapting to the situation as it came. Moreover, when he'd also felt how powerful Jun Mo Xie's spirit was. When they'd contended against each other, it seemed to him that Jun Mo Xie had not used his full strength yet! If the latter really used his full strength, it was questionable whether or not he could even handle it!
This matter had caused him to be incredibly amazed!
But what he didn't know was that Jun Mo Xie had actually exerted his full strength already!
As for that strange hidden power he'd sensed, it was actually the Hongjun Pagoda's power. He was not wrong about that part at all. If he was wrong, it was only that he'd underestimated the Hongjun Pagoda's power by quite a bit. If Jun Mo Xie used his full strength and combined it with the Hongjun Pagoda, just a simple spiritual sense attack… would be something that even all the people in this room combined could not receive! How could the power of the Hongjun Pagoda be something that normal people could resist?!
Seeing that the topic had gotten back on track, Qu Wu Hui hurriedly stood up and recounted the entire event of the bet in detail.
Upon hearing that 30 plus high level experts had been killed, including Saint Emperor Zhan Mu Bai, the people in the room actually did not reveal much emotion, only sighing lightly…
"So you're here for the Exquisite Lotus…" The middle aged man nodded lightly. "No problem! One should be prepared to lose if they are willing to bet. I will give it to you later!"
Everyone looked at each other with shock as the words rang out.
"Many thanks! Finally, there's a trustworthy person within the Holy Lands!" Jun Mo Xie smiled lightly and said with slightly raised brows. "Dare I ask for honored Senior's name?"
Although these words sounded respectful, it carried a faint bit of disrespect within them. The positions of both sides were clear to see, and although Jun Mo Xie stood there with his cultivation being much lower than everyone in the room, his attitude and demeanor were as if he was on equal terms with their own boss!
The middle aged man seemed to have been waiting for Jun Mo Xie to say those words. Hearing this, he opened his eyes and smiled as he wondered. "This old man's name huh… I truly seemed to have almost forgotten it… Right now, my name should be… Gu Han? 3,000 years ago, I was surnamed Wu. My name at that time was Wu Shan Yun…"
Jun Mo Xie's question seemed to have triggered some memory of his. A trace of sorrow fleeted across his ethereal eyes as he sighed lightly… This sigh of his seemed to contain 3,000 years of the lamentations and joys of partings and meetings, the separations of life and death…
3,000 years ago…
Jun Mo Xie was truly somewhat shocked this time!
This black haired handsome middle aged man was actually an over 3,000 years old human! But from his words, Jun Mo Xie also understood one thing. From the looks of it, this fellow was a whatever Spirit Seed reincarnation!
To tell him his name from both his lives, the hidden meaning was quite obvious.
"Then, should I call you Gu Han or Wu Shan Yun?" Jun Mo Xie smiled.
"A name is just a symbol. It doesn't matter what you call me. Even if you called me 'undying old fart' in accordance with your heart… that's no matter as well." The middle aged man said with a light smile.
"Haha…" The other side had been very frank and had treated him quite well, not making things difficult for him. Thus, Jun Mo Xie decided to reciprocate this time as well. Because this was undoubtedly a huge favor, and the thing that Jun Mo Xie hated owing the most was favors! Especially… a favor from the Holy Lands' side!
Looking at this 'Wu Shan Yun' or 'Gu Han', he smiled and nodded. "3,000 years ah… Gu Han, how many wives had you taken in these 3,000 years? Judging by your good looks, they should all be supreme beauties as well? So… where are they now?"
The moment these words came out, of the 11 people present, 10 were immediately enraged!
Although a long life was something that all of them sought after, there were still many unforgettable things in their long lives that had pained them to part with! Every time they thought of those matters, their hearts would be wreaked with pain!
"Young Master Jun, you've gone overboard with those words!" Cheng Yin Xiao snorted heavily.
As for Wu Shan Yun at the top, his face was suddenly covered in a layer of veil, causing one to be unable to see his face clearly… there was only a suffocative pressure in the room, causing others to be unable to breathe properly.
"Was that overboard? Well then… let me ask in another way." Jun Mo Xie smiled lightly. "You've experienced two lifetimes in 3,000 years… that's not really a lot! But… the parents of both of your life should have been very protective of you? So… where are those elders now?"
"Jun Mo Xie! You're being impudent!" Qu Wu Hui stood up with anger, his entire body trembling from rage as he roared.
"Impudent… looks like that's still not right… let me rephrase again." Jun Mo Xie stroked his chin and continued. "In 3,000 years, you had parents and lovers, as well as relatives… then, you must have had children as well! So… where are those children who still live in this world?"
Jun Mo Xie looked around and said, "I ask everyone here this same question as well. All of you seemed to have lived for a few thousand years now… are your parents, lovers, family, and children… still around?"
This question was simply too hurtful. Apart from the few of them peak level cultivators, who else was capable of living for one thousand or even several thousand years?! Jun Mo Xie's words were simply digging at their old wounds!
Bang! Ten people stood up together, each of their faces filled with rage! Ten extraordinarily powerful spiritual sense instantly locked onto him. The originally immaterial auras were almost congealed into form, nearly blasting this little thatched cottage into the sky! From the looks of it, all of them were about to strike at Jun Mo Xie, this disrespectful brat!
"What are all of you doing? Sit down!" Wu Shan Yun suddenly roared as he continued in an enraged voice. "Do you all know what Jun Mo Xie meant by those few words? Did you think he's an idiot, trying to rile the 11 of us up and turn us hostile?! Why would he make such a suicidal move? Can't you all think about it reasonably? All of you have lived for thousands of years; yet you still can't control your temper?!"
Under his stern gaze, the crowd all sat down one by one. However, their eyes were still filled with unkindness when they stared at Jun Mo Xie! If Jun Mo Xie could not give them a suitable explanation, they would definitely not let him walk out of this door!
Jun Mo Xie sighed and retracted his teasing attitude as he said seriously. "All the Seniors here are clearly not emotionless people. This can be seen from the way everyone was so agitated by my words just now. No matter how profound one's cultivation is, whether you're a Spirit Xuan or a Saint Emperor; even if your cultivation is as high as the Nine Nether Fourteenth Young Master… we're still just humans at the end of the day! We're humans with blood and flesh! And the thing that we humans most loathe to part with is forever our ties of blood and flesh! I trust that no matter how many lives we go through, as long as those memories exists, the pain of the separation of life and death will always remain the deepest scars in our hearts!"
"Against our enemies, it wouldn't make a difference whether a thousand or ten thousand of them died. But… for our loved ones, just a single one dying would cause us to grief for a long time. As for those parents who raised us painstakingly from our youth… by the time we've all grown up, they've already become old… when we've learned to be mature and sensible… they'd already passed away… The tree craves stillness, but the winds will not abate. The child wants to serve his parents in their old age, but they are no more! This is no doubt a scar that will never be able to recover!
Jun Mo Xie said with a heavy sigh. His tone was light and slow, and it carried a mystical charm. A faint sense of sorrow spreaded through the air.
All the peak experts present could not help but to think of their own parents and family as they listened to him… It was as if they could once again see that strong and charming smile of their fathers beaming up at them as he lifted them above their heads. As the years passed, the strength of their father waned, and grey hair lined their heads until finally, they laid down, unable to get up anymore, their eyes still filled with worry and attachment for their children…
Then, they thought of the gentle warmth of their mother's embrace, her calm smile and tender scoldings… In the end, there was only the endless, self-sacrificial love and willingness to do anything for their children, lasting for eternity…
These memories had already passed for too long, but when they recalled it again now, the warmth was still there, and the grief and sorrow was still as painful…
Especially for those experts who had been reincarnated through their Spirit Seed; when they were young, they might have been unused to the attention by their parents, even being very resistant to having a new family. But they were the only ones who could truly remember each and every moment of their childhood with absolute clarity. From resistance to acceptance, even enjoyment… From the first time they made a cute face on purpose to gain the laughter of their parents, they'd already completely accepted their new family…
Who did not have such a period in their long lives? Such ordinary, happy, and peaceful days? When the night was still and their hearts were weary… who had not went to their rooftops and sighed longingly at the sky? All the countless vicissitudes of life, all turned into nothing but endless sighings…
"And that beautiful and sweet girl of your youth; from an innocent young girl to a partner who accompanied you through tens of years… bearing children for you, washing and cooking, swearing to grow old with you… But ultimately, you watched as she aged day by day… finally fading away from this life…
"Who has ever forgotten their vows of unchanging fidelity in oaths high as the mountains and deep as the ocean? Who can really forget the lovesickness of the past? Who can really forget the gentle lingering… those bashful smiles, that contented heart and that blissful feeling… the red light of the nuptial chamber on your first night together… One may perhaps be able to forget their names, but the experiences of a lifetime… can they really be forgotten? In the stillness of night, have you sighed deeply while lost in thoughts? Have you ever felt regret for the past…?
"Ten years, dead and living dim and draw apart; should the dead be forgot
and to mind never brought? A thousand li away you lie lonelily in grave… To whom can I my grief convey? Even if we met, you wouldn't recognize me. My face is worn with care, and frosted is my hair… At night in a dream I am suddenly home again: you were sitting at your dressing table, combing your hair… We gazed at each other hushed, but tears from our eyes gushed. Year after year will it break my heart? The moonlit grave, the stubby pines…" 1
Jun Mo Xie's eyes grew somewhat misted as he continued. "It was just 10 years for others… but it's already so unbearable for them. But for you guys, it's actually thousands of years or even longer! Everyone, do you still remember your own lonely grave a thousand li away where you buried your beloved? Do you still remember that moonlit grave and those stubby pines? When you hear this now, do you feel… a great pain in your hearts? Do you still feel longing in your hearts?"
There was no need to ask anymore. Right now, this bunch of peak level experts no longer had that steadfast gaze in their eyes and that sharp killing intent. Only endless pain and memories remained…
Those vows of old, swearing to live and die together even as the ocean dried up and mountains crumbled, accompanying and relying on each other in this life and all lives… In the end, they could only watch helplessly as their beloved wife died… that lovely face sweeter than apples, that tender care in which she smoothed out their clothes every morning before they went out, that look of worry on her face as she waited by the door every night when they returned late…
My beloved wife ah… though I go though the wheels of samsara… as long as I still have those memories, how can I ever forget you? Do you know that every night that I lay awake unable to sleep, the softest and most painful part of my heart… is filled with your face…
In a short time, these peak experts of the world that could command even the winds and rains, fell into sorrow…
Jun Mo Xie's calm voice was intermixed with a strange magic as it continued to worm into their hearts. "There's also the children whom you've hugged in your embrace countless times; the little bundles of joy that on the day they were born, causing you to smile so widely that you were unable to close your mouth. From the time they first learned to speak, to their first steps, finally growing into promising youths… they who were the creation of your own blood and flesh… but ultimately… they could not endure the trials of time as well, falling into eternal rest… That kind of sorrow of a parent burying their own children… who can forget such a thing?"
"The heart wrenching memories of the past… who can truly forget it?!!" Jun Mo Xie had practically yelled those last words out with a martial technique similar to the "Lion's Roar"!
It was like the evening drum and morning bell in a monastery, or a clap of thunder in everyone's ears!
Chapter 916: You… Return my Innocence!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In an instant, everyone suddenly woke up from their memories, discovering that many of their faces had already been stained with tears!
The people in this room all had extremely profound cultivations, and their ages were incredibly great. These people had long ago forgotten the feeling of crying; but as they felt the tears running down their cheeks, they realized that actually, they had never truly forgotten how to cry!
The eyes of the crowd was complicated and the way they looked at Jun Mo Xie was somewhat strange.
"Everyone, the path of the Martial Dao has always been a difficult and long one, and it's undoubtedly a battle with oneself. It's a battle with one's innate laziness, a battle with one's own personality, and most importantly… it's a battle with one's own feelings!"
Jun Mo Xie smiled charmingly and continued. "Sentiments are hard to break, and it has historically been one of the greatest heart's demons of cultivation and the most powerful shackles! Countless heroes have all fallen to this barrier of emotions since times past.
"It's not to say that because a person had experienced the love between a man and a woman, that they would have seen through the barrier of emotions, severing the thread of carnal love with the sword of wisdom. As long as love existed before, it will never be seen through or be severed! Every single one of you has lived for thousands of years, and you think yourselves to have seen through the weight of your emotions… However, there would inevitably be moments when you could not help but to recall! The longer you suppress your emotions, the more unbearable it will be when you think of it! And because of that, the more difficult it would be to get through the heart's demon in your cultivation! This is especially so for your breakthroughs… Perhaps the lightning tribulation alone would be sufficient to claim your lives!"
Even as tears stained their faces, everyone began to ponder over his words seriously.
"Of your cultivation right now… a portion of that is the heart's demon that you've cultivated! The greater your strength, the stronger it grows! At this rate, it will sooner or later be impossible to ever free yourself of the heart's demon's grasp. One day, the backlash from the heart's demon will claim your souls, utterly destroying you!" Jun Mo Xie explained slowly.
"Then… how do we break the shackles of the heart's demon?" The first person on the right asked. His eyes were filled with tears as he raised his head. "This barrier of emotions… how do we transcend it?"
This person's relationship with his wife had been the deepest among all of them. When his beloved wife had died that year, he'd nearly given up on living… After so many years, everytime he thought of it, he would still brood endlessly in sorrow. Looking at Jun Mo Xie, he said with a sad voice, "If passing the barrier of emotions means to wipe her away from my heart… this old man… would rather have my soul destroyed!"
"Everyone has different methods to transcend the barrier of emotion. What is suitable for me might not be suitable for you." Jun Mo Xie smiled lightly and said. "However, this barrier of emotion is definitely not passed by suppressing or forgetting your emotions! Thus.. everyone should let nature take its course!"
"Let nature take its course…" A look of confusion appeared on everyone's face.
"There are some… who used tears to transcend the barrier of emotion…" Jun Mo Xie said in a solemn voice. "According to legends… his face was still flowing with tears of love for his wife even after he'd crossed through the lightning tribulation… The depth of this person's emotion… can be easily imagined!"
"Using tears to transcend the barrier of emotion?" This statement sounded somewhat ridiculous in the ears of the crowd. But when thought about it carefully, they feel that it was not completely illogical. But as for where the logic lay, no one could tell…
"Everyone, this junior shall gift a sentence to you today, as compensation for the favor you've shown me this time." Jun Mo Xie smiled lightly and said. "In a moment, I will still need to take something away from her; may Seniors not hold it against me."
"Don't worry, as long as it's something you like, apart from us only being able to give you one stalk of the Exquisite Lotus, you can take whatever else you want, as much as you need!"
Everyone practically promised at the same time as they thought to himself.What can this kid take away from here? We've already promised you the Exquisite Lotus. There's also nothing good here left for you to take away. As for those heavenly treasures, all of them are growing from the ground; even if you wanted to bring them away, you won't be able to… In that case, we might as well act in a more generous way…
"In that case, this junior thanks the many Seniors here." Jun Mo Xie laughed in a strange manner as he nodded. "The sentence I will gift Seniors is this: The barrier of emotions has always been treated as a fearsome tiger to overcome; but if you look at it from another angle… The heart's demon, might not necessarily be unable to instead become a form of help…"
This last sentence had been purposefully dragged out by Jun Mo Xie to convey its meaning. After he was done, everyone fell into deep thoughts.
"The heart's demon… might not necessarily be unable to instead become a form of help…" Everyone sucked in a breath of air and furrowed their brows, seemingly having comprehended something and seemingly not. In that moment, their hearts were unable to be at rest…
"Everyone's trial of the emotions is already right before you; this junior trusts that after Seniors pass through this trial, you will have your own comprehensions on the matter. This junior had been presumptuous earlier, using a secret hypnotive technique in my voice to stir up Seniors' emotions. If there was any impoliteness on this junior behalf, I seek Seniors' understanding." Jun Mo Xie smiled and said.
Jun Mo Xie's face was somewhat pale after hypnotizing so many peak level experts at once. Although the mental power he'd been using was supported by the Hongjun Pagoda, he himself had also been exhausted.
"There's no need to be so polite! Young friend Jun, your words have helped us unravel the mist in our minds, pointing out a path for us. For this, we're already so grateful to you; how would we still blame you? Besides, we'd also allowed ourselves to be led by your magic. Otherwise… hur hur… Today, our warm memories of thousands of years had been stirred up, bringing with it a myriad of emotions… From the looks of it, we'll need to go into secluded cultivation immediately for a period of time…"
The first person on the right answered. From his voice, he was very grateful towards Jun Mo Xie.
The others also expressed their agreement, and their eyes grew much warmer…
"Many thanks." Jun Mo Xie smiled and cupped his fists. "Since Seniors are going into secluded cultivation, this junior will be going ahead to claim the Exquisite Lotus first. After that, I may be staying for a few more days before going on my way."
"No worries, as long as you like it, you can stay even longer." Gu Han's voice had a faint hint of a smile as he continued. "Young friend Jun… there's another matter which I'd like to address."
"Senior please speak."
"Young friend Jun, the three Holy Lands and you are now sworn enemies. To this result, it was indeed something that they'd sought themselves, and nobody can be blamed. If you want to seek revenge, we will not shelter or stand on their side as well… We only ask that Young Master Jun can take into account that they've guarded the continent for 10,000 years… to show some mercy, and reconsider a little…" Gu Han's face turned heavy as he sighed.
"The grudge between the Holy Lands and I… keke, I was never a good person, and the debt of blood from before is definitely something that I still need to claim." Jun Mo Xie smiled and continued. "It doesn't matter who asks me; as long as it's someone that deserves to die, I've never been gone lightly against them. To this point, I hope that Senior can be understanding."
One of the strongest expert in this world was asking for mercy on someone else's behalf, but Jun Mo Xie actually would not relent a single step still!
Gu Han sighed deeply, and didn't bring up the matter anymore. He simply looked deeply at Jun Mo Xie and said, "Qiao Ying, bring young friend Jun Mo Xie to pluck a stalk of Exquisite Lotus. The few of us will not be accompanying you. Send my orders; as long as young friend Jun needs something on this mountain, he can take it away as he wishes. No one is allowed to stop him." After that, he nodded at Jun Mo Xie. "Young friend Jun, you can leave by yourself after you've obtained whatever you need. Us old men are anxious to go into secluded cultivation and will not be able to send you off."
"Senior need not be polite." Jun Mo Xie hurriedly said as he thought in his heart. Just hurry up and go into seclusion. As long as you undying old farts go into seclusion, I can take whatever I want from this place without any obstruction. Otherwise, this Young Master could have simply give you a word of enlightenment directly; why would I spend so much effort to hypnotize your emotions out?
Undoubtedly, this was the true motive behind Jun Mo Xie's great efforts!
Everything was for the precious heavenly treasures of this Mount Heaven Saint! Only this place had those precious spirit herbs that no other places had! One had to know, that some of the spirit herbs here were essentials for pill refining that Jun Mo Xie would need once he reached the Sixth or Seventh layer, yet having never come across them yet! From the looks of it, they were stuff that even the Nine Nether First Young Master hadn't managed to collect. This also proved one thing: even if one's personal strength was great enough to be unrivalled under the heavens, it was still not as useful as having the deep foundations of a powerful faction…
The green light shining in Jun Mo Xie's eyes nearly capped the entire mountain in green…
If such a large amount of good stuff with such good quality was free for you to pick, wouldn't you be anxious as well?!
Jun Mo Xie held back his impatience, bidding farewell to the old seniors warmly and respectfully. After a round of acting reluctant to part, and agreeing to some of their requests… he was finally… done.
Jun Mo Xie spat out a long breath of air and wiped away his sweat. Thereafter, he swayed his butt and swaggered off exaggeratedly, cursing to himself: "F*ck, those old fellows are truly exhausting, this Young Master nearly suffered an internal injury from exasperation ah…"
Behind him, Qiao Ying looked in shock as the previously elegant and graceful Young Master suddenly transformed into a foul mouthed hoodlum…
My goodness, to think this fellow actually had the face to call us two-faced and shameless. This brat is the true two faced hypocrite! The angel is him, and the devil is him as well!
"Where's your Exquisite Lotus?" Jun Mo Xie asked with some impatience.
"Follow me and you'll see it." Qiao Ying snorted unkindly as she turned around, not willing to look at this quick face changing bastard. Gritting her teeth and forcefully refraining herself from slapping him across the face, she stomped off.
Jun Mo Xie cackled sinisterly, quickly following behind her. He had to admit, that this exquisite beauty walking in front of him was truly a little too eye-catching. Her fragrant scent travelled down with the wind, floating directly into his nose, causing him to feel somewhat intoxicated…
In order to fully appreciate this scene, Young Master Jun quietly dropped back a few steps and looked forward with a smile. The more he looked, the more he felt that this beauty's backview was impeccable…
He could not help but sigh a few times in admiration. Such an exquisite and country toppling beauty was actually single year after year…
What a waste of heaven's treasure ah! Jun Mo Xie sighed to the sky. Is that All Seeing Eye… really so important? This silly lass had actually sacrificed like that stupidly for over a thousand years… Why couldn't she have thought for herself for just a moment? Before her, there weren't any people with the All Seeing Eye. Yet, didn't they still win the War for Seizing the Heavens?
Would the sun stop rising if this world lacked a certain person? How stupid…
Qiao Ying who was walking in front only heard Jun Mo Xie sighing over and over behind her. Not knowing what he was being so troubled about, she asked, "Young Master Jun is young and talented; why are you so melancholic?"
Jun Mo Xie looked at her willowy waist in an enchanted manner and could not help but sigh again in a heartfelt manner. "As long as the strange races are not destroyed, their ambition will never be extinguished. The War for Seizing the Heavens is right at our doorsteps; just thinking about how the common people will be trampled and defiled by the strange races, I… I truly find it such a waste ah…" The last sentence was truly said with his heart, and he sighed once more deeply. Such a beauty is actually… what a waste ah.. .
In that moment, Qiao Ying could not help but greatly change the way she looked at him. Thinking to herself that this Evil Monarch had actually been touched after coming to Mount Heaven Saint, her tone became much gentler. "Young Master Jun should not feel troubled; with the strength of Young Master Jun's forces, in addition to Tian Fa's might and the Holy Lands, if we went all out and fought to the death, there might still be a chance for the continent."
Jun Mo Xie mumbled in a listless manner. "Difficult ah… how can it be easy to swing the situation? A matter like cook the crane for meat and burn a stringed instrument for fuel truly makes my heart ache… unless…"
"Unless what?" Qiao Ying suddenly felt as if she was about to explode from happiness. For the sake of the War for Seizing the Heavens, she had been willing to maintain her purity for a thousand years in order to retain her All Seeing Eye to deal with the strange races's stealth techniques. To a girl, this kind of sacrifice could be said to be capable of touching the heavens and earth. She'd already made the War for Seizing the Heavens her only purpose in life long ago. Right now, judging by the strength of the mainland, their chances of victory was incredibly slim. Hearing that there was a chance that this Evil Monarch might relent, she was incredibly excited.
If Jun Mo Xie's faction could join in the War for Seizing the Heavens, their chances of winning this time would be quite high!
Her heart skipping with delight, she immediately stopped her steps and asked, "Young Master Jun has a condition?"
All of a sudden, she felt a weight behind her and an intense warmth. A bout of strong male scent was plastered behind her… As his mind drifted, Jun Mo Xie had been following behind her like an enchanted zombie. When she suddenly stopped walking, he'd been taken by surprise, bumping into her without noticing. In that moment, he only felt a wall of softness and sweet fragrance on his the front of his body…
An advantage delivered so freely to him; it would be a waste to not enjoy it…
"Ah…?" Qiao Ying exclaimed lightly with shock as her heart skipped like a deer. Her jade white face instantly turned red and hot. Because of her All Seeing Eye, she'd been brought to Mount Heaven Saint when she was just a little girl. She had never come into contact with a man before, so in that moment, her heart was skipping wildly.
"Ah…" Jun Mo Xie narrowed his eyes and exclaimed as he leaned against her, as though his body had no bones. "You… why did you stop?" As he said that, he even rubbed his face against her back, sighing lightly in his heart. How comfortable…
"You… hurry up and stand properly!" Qiao Ying felt her body growing soft, and she panicked.
"I… I can't get up… I don't know what's going on, but my entire skeleton seemed to have turned soft… Y-you… quickly push me away, how is this appropriate?" Jun Mo Xie mumbled accusingly as he shifted his sense of gravity further forward, practically "sticking" onto her body.
Qiao Ying was both embarrassed and angry. Somehow regaining her strength, she dashed out with a shu sound, stepping away from the awkward situation. When she turned, back, she saw that Jun Mo Xie's body was actually tilted forward by over 40, 50 degree; fixed at such an awkward angle and yet not falling down…
"You're… shamel-…" The words shameless hadn't even left her mouth when she saw Jun Mo Xie straightening himself swiftly. A look of lingering fear could be seen on his face as he mumbled to himself. "This Mount Heaven Saint is truly an amazing place, I've just stepped into this place and suddenly lost control over my body… nearly harming a lady's reputation. How truly shocking… truthfully, this place is really quite magical… my mental fortitude is considered pretty good, but I'd actually been confused and affected, nearly dropping my pants…"
"…" Qiao Ying felt her breath stagnating in her chest. She'd seen shamelessness before, but she'd never seen or even heard of anything so shameless before! This fellow before her was clearly an unprecedented existence and would be unsurpassable in shamelessness in the future!
To think that such shameless words were said right in front of a lady! Qiao Ying's shoulders trembled with rage, and she stamped her foot down. "Jun Mo Xie! You, you… how can you be like that?"
"Miss is right, I've done wrongly!" Jun Mo Xie said with a sincere voice like one admitting his wrongs. "No matter the reason, I should not have leaned against Miss's body. Although it was because you'd suddenly stop walking, and I couldn't notice because it was too sudden… But that's not an excuse! It's definitely not! No matter what, today I… like a hooligan… Ai, I… Such an innocent person like me, my precious purity… boo hoo…"
Qiao Ying very nearly fainted.
What nonsense is this fellow spouting? He started off fine, but towards the end, it'd actually became her who stained his purity?
A moment later, Jun Mo Xie's eyes became even wetter, and his voice sounded more and more wronged as he spat out in a nasally voice, "You! Return my innocence!"
Qiao Ying's body swayed a few times, and she felt a surge of blood gushing up her chest. Suddenly snapping back to her mind, she roared with rage. "Jun Mo Xie! How much longer are you going to mess around?!"
"Eh? Er, cough cough…" Young Master Jun coughed awkwardly a few times before smiling sheepishly. "Miss, we should be arriving soon right? I know that the Exquisite Lotus is a precious treasure of the Holy Lands, but you can't just lead me around in an endless loop…"
"Who is leading you around aimlessly?!" Qiao Ying's eyes were wide opened with rage. "It's just right in front! Are you blind?" As she said that, she pointed forward.
To actually dare to doubt this lady's trustworthiness, how hateful! Qiao Ying was boiling with rage, completely forgetting to pursue the matter of that fellow's nonsense of taking advantage of her yet blaming her for it…
"Ahhh~! So it's right in front…" Jun Mo Xie laughed aloud with joy and rushed up, exclaiming, "How beautiful!"
Just in front, hidden in a misty fog, there was a pool of only a few zhang wide. The water in the pool was clear enough to see through all the way to the bottom; looking with the naked eye, it was even shining with a faint light, as if the pool was enveloped in a holy radiance.
Walking up, he discovered that there were countless white objects in the water, covering the entire pond. Seven, eight pieces of leaves floated in the center of the pond. These leaves were actually all colorless. If one did not look carefully, it would be difficult to distinguish them.
Numerous stalks of transparent, vine-like objects supported the leaves below the water, and apart from that, there was nothing else here.
"Miss… please don't joke around with me… this… this is the Exquisite Lotus?" Jun Mo Xie pointed at the few pieces of leaves and asked with disbelief.
"Yes, those are the treasures of the Holy Lands." Qiao Ying had a solemn look on her face as she looked at the few pieces of leaves with tender protectiveness. "The Nine Segment Exquisite Lotus!"
"F*ck me!" Jun Mo Xie said with some exasperation. "There's just this many of these broken things? Even if it creates an Exquisite Lotus Root, how big would it be? Isn't this playing with the hearts of people? I have over 10 hungry people back home to feed ah…"
"Over 10 people?" Qiao Ying rolled her eyes as if she was about to faint. "Then you need to wait for a few thousand years more! The Nine Segment Exquisite Lotus only produces a fruit once every 500 years, and a single segment of Exquisite Lotus will only produce one Exquisite Lotus Root."
This time, it was Jun Mo Xie who rolled his eyes as if he was about to faint. At this moment, he was frustrated to the point of wanting to tear his hair out. Finally calming himself, he asked in a hopeful manner: "Then, how many people can each lotus root be split among?"
"Each root is only enough for one person to consume a single time." Qiao Ying smiled lightly, looking at Jun Mo Xie in a manner of watching a good show.
"That impossible?! This is a lotus root we're talking about right? Even if it's cut into pieces, there should at least be several pieces? It's only enough for a single person? Are you kidding me?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? How large of a lotus root are you imagining this finger sized lotus to produce?" Qiao Ying rolled her eyes and looked at Jun Mo Xie as though she was looking at an idiot. "Actually thinking of cutting it into pieces? It's only the size of a grain of rice… how will you cut it into pieces?"
"A grain of rice?!" Jun Mo Xie completely lost hope and he exclaimed with rage. "What's the use of a tiny thing like that no bigger than a mosquito's d*ck? To think that your Heaven Saint Palace actually treats it as a precious treasure; how embarrassing! I might as well just take everything away…"
"You dare!" Qiao Ying's eyes lit up with shock and her voice grew several pitch higher. "These are the precious treasures of our Heaven Saint Palace! It's as important as the life and death of the Heaven Saint Palace itself! If you dare to touch it lightly, I will make sure that the Jun Family inside Tian Fa Forest is completely annihilated!"
Jun Mo Xie had merely been joking before and hadn't truly intended to act on his words. However, Qiao Ying's words had completely touched on his reverse scale, igniting his greatest animosity. All of a sudden, he turned around and stared dangerously at Qiao Ying as his voice turned dark and cold. "Are you… threatening me?"
"I'm just speaking a fact…" Qiao Ying's heart jumped with fright. As those cold and sharp eyes locked onto her face, she felt her entire body growing cold, and her tone instantly softened. "The Nine Segment Exquisite Lotus is the absolute treasure of the Heaven Saint Palace. The entire Heaven Saint Palace can be lost, but we cannot lose the Exquisite Lotus! Young Master Jun, you should understand the importance of the Exquisite Lotus to us now that I put it this way right?"
"It's fine if you say it that way, but… please remember that regardless of the situation, it's best to not threaten me! Especially…" Jun Mo Xie's tone grew heavier as he continued in a dangerous tone: "using my family to threaten me. I will never accept any threats, because I will use all my abilities to utterly bury anyone who is a threat to me!
"Even a peerless beauty is not an exception! I… have never been a person who is soft hearted for women!" As he said those words, Jun Mo Xie stared ruthlessly into Qiao Ying's eyes.
An extremely dangerous feeling rose in Qiao Ying's heart. Standing before this junior whose cultivation was far below hers, she actually felt a mountain of pressure crushing down on her!
In that moment, she could not help but to take one step backwards in fear!