Chapter Four Hundred and Ninety – Apparition
For the remote Cloud Sea Jie, an assassin ranked seventh on the Four Realm Heaven jindan ranking was a great personage among personages. The Four Realm Heaven was truly too enormous, so enormous that no one would pay any attention to the rankings at a usual time. When a truly famous expert suddenly appeared in Cloud Sea Jie, the shock that was produced could be imagined.
It was not outrageous to use truly famous to describe this person. Even though the great majority had never heard the name of the Masked Assassin before, that did not hinder them from understanding the significance of the seventh-ranking jindan assassin in all of Four Realm Heaven.
Even those yuanying xiuzhe, showed shocked expressions that had not appeared for decades when they heard this name.
Since the yuanying were like this, then nothing had to be said more for jindan xiuzhe.
Due to this, the news that the Turtle Island Master managed to stop the ambush of the Masked Assassin quickly spread through all of Cloud Sea Jie. Adding on that it was the first time the Masked Assassin had failed, this added a mysterious halo onto Zuo Mo’s body.
It was worth pondering why the Masked Assassin appeared at this time. Had he also come for the Sun Shen Temple ruins?
This caused everyone to increase their attention on the Sun Shen Temple. A ruin that could attract the seventh-ranking jindan assassin, how could it be simple?
Normal people just watched the spectacle and wanted the situation to become as large as possible. Those people that were preparing to enter and explore the ruins were extremely dispirited. The bigger the ruckus about the ruins, the more competitors they had. Thinking about the possibility of encountering the Masked Assassin, many people had thoughts of retreat.
The appearance of the Masked Assassin caused the situation to have a slight change. Even the yuanying xiuzhe that had thought they would have almost certain success couldn’t help but feel slightly unconfident. The Masked Assassin was a dangerous person that could kill a yuanying!
The other effect of this matter was related to Zuo Mo. On the expert ranking of Cloud Sea Jie, the ranking of Turtle Island Master rocketed up and charged into the top ten to rank at number five. Wei Sheng also entered the top ten. His astounding sword strike that had reversed day and night caused him to enter the top ten to rank at number nine.
There were no people or animals within a hundred li of Turtle Island.
No one dared to target Turtle Island anymore. Even the three yuanying ordered their subordinates to not provoke Turtle Island. If the battle with the Tian Family could be said to have caused Turtle Island to enter everyone’s eyes, then the fight this time caused Turtle Island to jump to becoming one of the most powerful factions in Cloud Sea Jie.
Turtle Island also became the only factions that had two people in the top ten expert ranking.
Right now, Turtle Island’s only worry was if the Masked Assassin would return. If the Masked Assassin did not return, there would not be problem, but if the Masked Assassin did not plan to let the matter go, could the Turtle Island Master escape the calamity?
Many people were curious, how did the Turtle Island Master provoke the Masked Assassin?
One was an unknown local faction, the other was a top expert that was famous in Four Realm Heaven. The two did not seem to have a connection at all.
Zuo Mo also could not understand. He almost wrung out his mind but still did not learn anything.
He wasn’t happy at all at the increase in his ranking. If it was possible, he would give up his rank if he could not be enemies with the Masked Assassin.
The other’s strength far surpassed theirs.
This was the first time Zuo Mo had such a deep understanding of the difference in power with the other. Even when he faced Clear Sky Old Forefather, he had never felt so helpless.
The assassin xiuzhe that walked in the shadows were the enemies that were the hardest to deal with and the most bothersome. They would always strike a fatal blow when you were at your most careless and numb. You had to pay attention at every second to guard against their ambush that could occur at any moment.
“There is no good solution, so you cannot leave the island during this time.” Gongsun Cha looked at Zuo Mo.
Facing such an enemy, Lil’ Miss also did not have a solution. His methods were not effective.
Zuo Mo grimaced. “We can only do this.”
The only thing he rejoiced about was that the Meridoinal Azure Aether Formation that he had spent so much effort to set up seemed worth the effort now. It became the barrier that Zuo Mo trusted the most. Even if it was the Masked Assassin, unless he had some special talisman, he could not sneak into Turtle Island.
The Meridional Azure Aether Formation was much more secure than Zuo Mo had imagined.
Hidden on Turtle Island, he was safe, but for Zuo Mo, this feeling was terrible and suffocating! Even if the other was the seventh-ranked jindan assassin!
Strongly motivated, Zuo Mo started to fanatically cultivate.
Zuo Mo was not the only one. Wei Sheng and the others started to madly cultivate as well. In these past few years, they had dominated in all their fights. Even though they had not been unstoppable, when had they been suppressed to the point it was so suffocating?
The heated cultivation atmosphere spread on Turtle Island.
———
At a place about five hundred li from Xu Ling City, the cloud sea started to violently stir. A golden light passed through the cloud sea and pointed at the sky!
The parts of the cloud sea near the pillar of light seemed to boil and stir restlessly.
The golden coloured light grew thicker, and the light even more blinding.
On Turtle Island, everyone was attracted by such a strange scene. An enormous golden pillar of light stood between the sky and the cloud sea as though it was holding up the sky.
Was it going to start?
Zuo Mo gazed at the light pillar and balled his hands.
———
Cloud Sea Jie exploded!
All of Cloud Sea Jie, in all the corners, people saw this scene. The pillar of light did not dim but grew brighter and thicker. In the span of a few short days, the area that the pillar of light covered reached a radius of one hundred and fifty li.
Everyone was deeply shocked by this colossal golden pillar of light.
Once they flew within a thousand li, they would increasing feel the enormity of this pillar of light. No matter how powerful the xiuzhe was, they would have a feeling that they were as insignificant as a flea when they flew close.
Countless people departed from all directions towards Xu Ling City like a flood.
The great majority of them had not intended to go into the ruins but to observe this spectacular marvel from the distance!
Yet this enormous golden pillar of light caused the hearts of many xiuzhe that had not planned to enter the ruins to move. All factions gathered their people to come to Xu Ling City.
The little Xu Ling City was filled with people.
The three yuanying became unusually low-key, and those arrogant and bold jindan put their tails between their legs.
There were too many people!
If they were careless and attracted the anger of the public, even the greatest power could not help them.
Many people tried to go closer to the light pillar but people quickly found that no matter how they tried, they could not get within twenty li of the light pillar. There was an invisible barrier that stopped them from going near.
Some daring people tried to attack it. But all the attacks seemed to dissipate like mud entering the ocean and did not create any disturbance.
———
“This is really a great party!” Li Shu gazed at the packed crowds, and the excitement on their faces as he sighed.
Lu Zhen was slightly worried and said with self-blame, “This subordinate did not accomplish the task, if the news had not been leaked … …”
“It would be the same if it had not leaked.” Li Shu comforted in a warm tone. “Look at this light pillar, it cannot be concealed. It is better like this, those that will go naturally will go, and those that won’t will not be moved.”
Lu Zhen hurriedly said, ”Daren is right.” He paused slightly and then said carefully, “Daren, should we ask for more people?”
Li Shu shook his head. “No need. The situation inside is complex, more people does not mean it is better. Do not worry, we have the elder. Even more, we have not prepared so many years for nothing.”
Seeing Li Shu’s confidence, Lu Zhen’s heart rested slightly. Upon further thought, he found it was true. With the great power of the sect, they had started t plan so many years ago, and definitely would have found many of the secrets. There were many elders skilled in divination within the sect yet they only send one elder and Li Shu Shixiong so they should be absolutely confidence.
For ruins like this, what was most important was not how powerful one was, but how much information one had.
“Let’s wait five more days.” Li Shu smiled slightly and with deep meaning.
———
Shu Long’s handsome face seemed slightly dark as he stared at the wall in front of him.
He had actually been unable to do anything last time when Daren had been ambushed, this caused him to feel unprecedented humiliation! In the past, he had focused more on urging others to cultivate and did not obsess over individual strength. In his view, Daren did not lack for experts at his side. No matter if it was Wei Sheng or Zong Ru, they were rare experts.
But last time, Daren had almost died, and he felt great self-recrimination!
In the end, it was just that he wasn’t strong enough!
Returning to the island, he burrowed into the cave and started to furiously cultivate. Even A Wen and the other xiuzhe were furiously cultivating, so much that they did not even go to look at the light pillar outside. They were only cultivating, continuously cultivating!
Yet what Shu Long had not expected was that his cultivation was interrupted.
“What is it?” he asked.
“We cannot dig any further,” a hardship guard stood out and said, “we do not know the reason. A few days ago, the granite suddenly became harder than usual and more difficult to dig. The deeper we dug, the harder it was to dig. Digging to here, we can’t advance at all.”
Shu Long walked in front of the stone wall.
They all lived inside the cave. The yin fiend presence inside the cave was extremely heavy and greatly beneficial for their cultivation. For all of Guard Camp, the previous cave had not been large enough so Shu Long had decided to dig deeper. He later found that the rock had been permeated by the yin friends and the process of digging was also a great help to their cultivation.
So digging holes became one of the daily cultivation tasks of Hardship Camp.
He hadn’t expected a problem to occur to their daily cultivation method.
Shu Long tapped the stone wall. He didn’t even leave behind a finger mark. He took out his mo weapon and struck hard!
Cling!
Sparks flew!
There wasn’t even a trace left on the stone wall.
Shu Long made a sound of surprise and reached out to touch the wall. It was unusually smooth.
He noticed at this moment the stone wall in front of him was unusually smooth and did not look as though it was naturally formed at all.
There was something strange!
Translator Ramblings: I mentioned Zuo Mo’s faults and mistakes a few days ago and there are some that really stand out and others that are acceptable. The main one near the beginning would probably be Zuo Mo’s rejection of the invitation to another sect. His emotions overruled his greed which is something to admire but at the same time, it seriously hampered his growth. Of course, we don’t know what might have happened and he might never have left Sky Moon Jie to become what he is now but the other sect might have offered more resources and definitely more support. On the other hand, Zuo Mo did get Wei Sheng out of Wu Kong Sword Sect so I guess it evens out?
The second flaw or what might be considered a weakness is that Zuo Mo doesn’t know how to play the political game. If he did, he might have been able to resolve the mess in Sky Water Jie which ended up with their entire group ending up in great danger. There are benefits out of this, since the author used it as plot development, but Zuo Mo definitely is a fan of strength above all. Zuo Mo’s alright when he is making business transactions but he’s not very good about looking at the whole picture and having a strategy because he isn’t thinking long-term. On the other hand, he has Pu Yao and Wei in the background who are very good at that.