Immortal Mortal
chapter-139

"Yes, he is Mo Wuji. He was the one who gave me this bracelet," Qu Wan’Er answered.

Hou Yucheng laughed and said, "Since that’s the case, junior Wan’Er can have this stalk of Lightning Splitting Grass then."

Seeing that both Mo Wuji and Hou Yucheng did not want this Lightning Splitting Grass, Qu Wan’Er decided to keep it.

"Pill Master Mo, how did you end up here?" Qu Wan’Er asked after keeping the Lightning Splitting Grass.

She originally wanted to ask Mo Wuji why was he here with his low cultivation level. And since he entered, why would he come so far?

Given Mo Wuji’s pace by foot, even if he did not stop to rest, he should not have reached here so quickly. What she did not know was that Mo Wuji had actually ran for a few days and nights just to get so far.

Mo Wuji said helplessly, "I don’t know. I just kept walking and when I finally stopped, I’ve arrived here."

Qu Wan’Er noticed Mo Wuji’s reluctance to speak the truth so she did not question him any further. Instead, Hou Yucheng took the initiative to ask, "Brother Mo, there is an icy mountain nearby and I’ve heard that it has two Flowers of the True Gods of the ice and water attribute. Do you want to follow us to check it out?"

Mo Wuji stared blankly for a moment. Dong Lun was out to kill Zheng Hefei because he was afraid that the secrets of the icy mountain might be revealed but everyone knows about it now?

Qu Wan’Er hurried to say, "Senior Hou, Pill Master Mo is only in Channel Opening Stage while everyone who will be heading to the icy mountain are experts. I don’t think it is suitable for Pill Master Mo to go."

Hou Yucheng laughed, "I feel that despite being only at Channel Opening Stage, brother Mo has sufficient confidence to enter the icy mountain."

"Senior Qu, how did you all find out about the icy mountain?" Mo Wuji was very curious about this.

Qu Wan’Er replied, "It is not just us, at least a hundred others know about the icy mountain in this area too. They are also aware of the existence of the Flower of the True Gods on the icy mountain. Have you been to the One Dao House’s auction sale? The map that they were auctioning depicts this area."

Back at the auction, he predicted that the secrets of the map would not be safe and he was right as the secrets were indeed revealed.

Mo Wuji was never interested in the Flower of the True Gods and since so many people found out about it, he dismissed the idea of heading towards the icy mountain. It would be a joke for someone like him to go and compete with these experts for the Flower of the True Gods.

"Oh yes, senior Qu, is it true that there is an Immeasurable Soul-forging Crystal in the Five Elements Desolate Domain?" Mo Wuji casually asked Qu Wan’Er before she left as he remembered that he still had no clue on where to find the Immeasurable Soul-forging Crystal.

Hou Yucheng, who was standing by the side, said, "It is natural for the Five Elements Desolate Domain to have it because the Immeasurable Soul-forging Crystal is a top grade treasure. It is worth even more than the Flower of the True Gods. I’ve heard that this item could only grow under icy conditions which is why there is a chance of an Immeasurable Soul-forging Crystal appearing at the place we’re heading towards."

After hearing this, Mo Wuji’s spirits were lifted and he said, "Senior Qu, brother Hou, I would like to rest for a while first. Would it be possible for me to follow you two join the crowd afterwards?"

Hou Yucheng smiled and said, "No problem at all. Please rest well brother Mo, we will leave two days later as we are a little tired too."

One had to admit that Hou Yucheng spoke with wonderful demeanor as he showed ample respect even to a Channel Opening Stage cultivator like Mo Wuji.

Since Hou Yucheng had already said it, Qu Wan’Er naturally did not refute. Moreover, she still owed Mo Wuji a favour.

The moment Hou Yucheng and Qu Wan’Er left, Mo Wuji immediately took out a Spirit Depositing Pill, clenched some Earth grade spirit stones and started to circulate his spiritual energy.

This was the first time he used a pill to cultivate and that was only because he was hurt quite badly by the lightning bolt earlier.

Most of the spiritual energy in the surrounding was completely absorbed by Mo Wuji, who was originally at the pinnacle of Channel Opening Stage Level 8. He then managed to advance past Channel Opening Stage Level 8 into Channel Opening Stage Level 9.

As the elementary energy around Mo Wuji started to circulate, the speed of his recovery increased tremendously.

After more than two hours, Mo Wuji let out a loud cry before standing up.

Channel Opening Stage Level 9. Additionally, his wounds were recovering a lot quicker due to his advancement in level. Advancing from Level 8 to Level 9 was as easy as a canal forming when the water comes. [1]

He cleaned himself up before changing to a fresh set of clothes. Even though he still looked battered, he definitely looked much better compared to when he first crawled out of the lightning lake.

As Mo Wuji walked out, he saw Hou Yucheng and Qu Wan’Er conversing from afar.

Seeing Mo Wuji walked out, the duo walked over.

As Hou Yucheng’s eyes fell on Mo Wuji’s body, his eyes lit up as he cupped his fist and said, "Congratulation Brother Mo on advancing once again."

Mo Wuji also cupped his fist as he replied, "Compared to Brother Hou, my cultivation level is really nothing much."

After hearing Mo Wuji’s cry just now, Qu Wan’Er knew that there was an increase in Mo Wuji’s strength yet again. She was very surprised because given his poor spiritual roots, he should at most be recovering from his wounds. Who knew that within just two hours, not only did Mo Wuji’s wounds almost fully recovered, he managed to advance to the next Channel Opening Stage Level too.

"Pill Master Mo, do you really have low grade spiritual roots?" Qu Wan’Er could not help but asked.

Mo Wuji laughed out loud, "I wish I did not have such poor spiritual roots too. The pity was that the few times I tested, they all proved that I only have low grade spiritual roots. Otherwise, I would not have been reduced to just a guest pill refiner at a sect. Fortunately, even though I have poor spiritual roots, my perceptions are still decent which is why I could still advance every now and then."

Hou Yucheng said with a serious tone, "Brother Mo has great perseverance and verve so I am sure your future achievements will definitely not be lesser than mine."

Qu Wan’Er knew that this was just Hou Yucheng’s kind words as Mo Wuji simply cannot be compared to a Heaven Demon Sect’s genius who was about to enter the Heaven Seeking Palace.

To prevent Qu Wan’Er from questioning any further about his spiritual roots, Mo Wuji took the initiative to ask Hou Yucheng, "Brother Hou, I’ve heard that the Heaven Demon Sect’s senior Yang Yingping is really decent. May I know if this is true?"

"Haha, Brother Mo is indeed a man of temperament. Junior apprentice Sister Yang Yingping is indeed my Heaven Demon Sect’s genius disciple. Other than her unparalleled looks, her cultivation level is definitely not lower than mine. If Brother Mo is interested in junior apprentice sister Yang Yingping, I could introduce you to her," Hou Yucheng laughed as he said without considering that Mo Wuji might not worthy of her.

Mo Wuji shook his hand hurriedly, "How can a person with such low cultivation level like me ever woo Senior Yang? I casually inquired about it because I’ve heard people talking about it."

Hou Yucheng said without putting his words to heart, "Brother Mo need not belittle yourself because given the quality of your spiritual roots, it is already very impressive to become a Tier 3 pill refiner. This is not something anybody could easily accomplish. I believe that Brother Mo will eventually make it into the Heaven Seeking Palace. After getting out of the Five Elements Desolate Domain, both junior apprentice Sister Yangping and I will be heading for the Heaven Seeking Palace. We will definitely have more opportunities to meet in the future."

"These are all things of the future. Senior Qu and Brother Hou, why don't we head over to the icy mountain now," Mo Wuji guessed that Hou Yucheng might still have his doubts over him after watching him got hurt in the lightning lake.

"All right…" Qu Wan’Er realised that Mo Wuji did not have his bracelet on his wrist after finishing her sentence, "Pill Master Mo, did you lose your bracelet?"

Mo Wuji answered awkwardly, "I probably lost it back at the lightning lake. Forget it, I will just follow behind Senior Qu and I'm sure I will remember the route back."

Mo Wuji did not lose his bracelet in the lightning lake but dropped it back at the cave. When he was frightened by the demonic beast, he did not even retrieve a single piece of clothing, let alone a bracelet.

He did saw a bracelet back on Zheng Hefei’s body. However, he did not dare to take Zheng Hefei’s bracelet because who knew if he marked his bracelet with any special notation?

"It is just a bracelet, it doesn't make too much of a difference. Just as Brother Mo mentioned, I don't think they will not let one person out just because he did not have his bracelet with him," Hou Yucheng laughed as he added.

The three of them changed direction before hurrying off.

Both Qu Wan’Er and Hou Yucheng did not move at their fastest speed to make sure that Mo Wuji could catch up with them. Hou Yucheng even explained to him about many people, objects and the origins of the different sects on their way. Even though they were rushing, Mo Wuji did not feel bored at all and he even learnt a lot from him.

Half a day later, the three of them started to feel the cold which reminded Mo Wuji of the Ice Burst Talisman. As they move forward, it felt as though they were moving closer to the heart of the Ice Burst Talisman.

After half an incense’s time, a continuous stretch of ice mountains appeared in Mo Wuji’s line of sight. This continuous stretch of ice mountains resembled a boundless stretch of hills, one after another without any end in sight.

Beyond the depths of the ice mountains, Mo Wuji saw a humongous icy mountain in which it’s peak was too high to be seen. This humongous icy mountain was located in between many shorter ice mountain similar to a crane in a flock of chickens.

The reflection of the sunlight by the icy mountain made Mo Wuji’s eyes a little uncomfortable.

Mo Wuji had forgotten about the coldness in front of such a splendid scenery of the icy mountains.

"That is the tallest icy mountain which many people had already explored. We should hurry too," Qu Wan’Er pointed to that humongous icy mountain as she spoke.

What she said was right, there was indeed a continuous stream of people travelling to and from it. It was very obvious as their shadows were reflected against the background.

The trio sped up as they hurried to the region holding the many smaller ice mountains.

After stepping into the region with the smaller icy mountains, Mo Wuji realised how difficult it was to run quickly in here. Everywhere was frozen and the icy road below their feet was so slippery they could easily slip and fall. If they were not careful, they could get hurt by falling onto a sharp piece of ice.

The humongous icy mountain looked near but it was actually very far away. The trio spent an entire hour to reach the foot of the icy mountain.

Over a hundred people gathered at the foot of the icy mountain and there was actually even more people running here.

Mo Wuji noticed that a few shadows were already scaling the icy mountain but it seemed very difficult to do so because of its slippery surface. To climb up, one had to continuously carve out a foothold. However, the frozen ice were extremely hard and it took one guy half a day to carve out just half a foothold.

"Let’s go check it out too," Qu Wan’Er turned and told Hou Yucheng the moment she saw that a few cultivators were already scaling the icy mountain.

As soon as Qu Wan’Er finished talking, a strong wind blew and a cultivator scaling the mountain was thrown off and disappeared. Additionally, the foothold that he carved out previously was smoothened out too.

[1]: It is an english translation for the idiom 水到渠成 which means that when conditions are right, success will follow naturally.