Chapter 120: The Scheme
When they finally heard the words of ‘pickle jar’, Wen Leyang felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his mind as he exhaled a long breath. He prepared to continue to inquire closely when he suddenly realized that the Little Chi Maojiu behind him was ghastly pale, his small body started trembling vigorously.
Wen Leyang was slightly astonished, he was afraid that Little Chi Maojiu might be under the enemy’s trick unsuspectingly. He immediately walked back to Little Chi Maojiu’s side, his hands firmly pressed onto Little Chi Maojiu’s shoulders. His body leaned forward slightly, he asked in a nervous and concerned tone softly, “What happened, are you hurt?”
Little Chi Maojiu shook his head with dazed eyes, “I-I-I’m alright. I’m not injured.”
Wen Leyang was relieved, “Don’t be so excited, the pickle jar is not necessarily our grand master you see.” He thought the little Chi Maojiu suddenly heard of the grand master Tuo Xie’s whereabouts, he was overly excited.
Wen Xiaoyi heard of Wen Leyang’s words, her huge eyes were filled with a trace of a smile, she repeated cunningly, “The pickle jar is not necessarily our grand master!” The three words of ‘The Pickle Jar’ were being p.r.o.nounced very coherently by her crisp voice, it sounded pleasant and cheerful.
Wen Leyang had only realized that he was disrespectful towards his grand master, he stuck out his tongue and gave a little laugh, his hand conveniently patted on the Little Chi Maojiu’s shoulder, who was standing next to him.
Unexpectedly Chi Maojiu shook his head, “It is not about the matter of our grand master, it is…is that other than the grand master, there is someone else in the world… Lue Luo, who is capable of refining such a powerful witchcraft spell!”
The witchcraft practice was the same as the Art of Poison and Corpse Controlling Art. Those were all considered as the unique skills amongst the common folks, those were utterly unorthodox practice within the eyes of a cultivator. However, the two layers of witchcraft prohibition spell within the stone forest were strong enough to render even a top cultivator useless, while the water element resurrection Ice Cone nail was even an exemplary miracle.
If these were all the acts of the grand master Tuo Xie, naturally little Chi Maojiu would not mind. However, listening to the words of Cone Nail, it was someone else who used witchcraft to cut the mountains, used witchcraft to grow ice, used witchcraft to cultivate body and it was that hunchback man known as Lue Luo.
He was the Big Dragon’s Root of Qing Miao clan. He had made exceptionally fast progress within his refinement of witchcraft within this few years, his natural endowments showed faintly that he was the First Man of the Qing Miao clan in two thousand years. Even though he still had the temperament of a child, he thought exceedingly highly of himself. However, his ability was weaker by a thousand miles as compared to the witchcraft spell that was left within the stone forest by Lue Luo. Little Chi Maojiu felt dejected in a short period of time that he suffered great frustration.
Wen Leyang understood Little Chi Maojiu’s thinking. He used his sleeves to wipe off the cold sweat on Little Maojiu’s little face, he consoled him with a gentle calming voice, “There are so many people in the world, it must be exhausting to be constantly comparing oneself to the others. Let alone us, based on my perception, all these Qilian Immortal Sect, the right path of cultivation Five Blessings, the rogue cultivators the Painting Town, if they were to compete against this strange person, they were all far weaker than him!”
Little Chi Maojiu remained unmoved by his consolation, he clenched his teeth in determination, “I don’t care about the others. In the witchcraft practice, other than the grand master…” As he was saying that, he could not help but to raise his head and peered towards Cone Nail who was nearby, he heaved another sigh. He realized that he was setting an unachievable goal for himself. He peered towards Wen Leyang once, “If a person can engage in the Art of Poison in such a way, I bet you will be reluctant to submit too and you will compare yourself to him too!”
Wen Leyang laughed earnestly this time, he laughed for all he could. He laughed in a virtuous and sincere manner, “I don’t compare, there is just too much to compare!” Upon saying that he walked in front of the maiden Cone Nail, “Cone Nail!”
“Here!” Cone Nail saw that Wen Leyang was here to talk to her once again, she puffed up her chest in elation, the green silk that hung on her body shook once too.
Wen Leyang was unsure where should he look at. He hastily took out a stick of carrot, “From the day you were rescued from the sea until right now, how much can you still remember?”
Cone Nail tried hard to recall in a stern expression, as if she was a good little darling trying to please the adult with great efforts, “I floated in the sea for decades. I had been swallowed by fishes and buried underneath the sand. Until one day, a fellow suddenly surfed through the waves and scooped out handfuls upon handfuls of me from the seafloor. I was startled at first. I thought that must be some demon turtle. After I took a close look, I realized that it was a pickle jar… the good man pickle jar! My situation was far worse than Guo Huan back then.” As she was saying that, she pointed towards the chest pocket where Wen Leyang just kept the jade knife, “I did not even have the strength to speak, I could only sense the outside world with difficulty. After the good man pickle jar scooped me out, he burst out laughing in extreme delight, he said: I finally found you!”
While Cone Nail was speaking, she stretched out a finger, pointed towards the ground as she drew in the air. A few crooked and twisted line formed into a simple shape, “The good man Pickle Jar, he looks like this!”
She was proud of her drawing but when Wen Leyang lowered his head and took a look, he could recognize the person in the drawing was just his grand master Tuo Xie.
Wen Xiaoyi also laughed holding on to the big-muzzled weapon, Cone Nail’s drawing skill was almost the same as Chang Li’s.
“The good man pickle jar brought me along as he jumped onto a piece of reef in high spirits, following that he waved about his hands,” Cone Nail waved about her white lotus root-like arms, suddenly she gestured in a ghastly yet abrupt movement. It was slightly similar to the hand gesture to cast witchcraft spell of the Miao Bujiao clansmen, Little Chi Maojiu observed from the side, his eyes suddenly brightened, “The Fire of G.o.d’s Will!” He explained to Wen Leyang softly, “Those slightly powerful sorcerers can refine their own vital fire, that is hidden somewhere else on usual days but always available on summon; but the legend in the stockade village said that the grand master did not possess any vital fire. When he was casting and refining witchcraft spell, he could summon and guide fire from the heaven at any time!”
Cone Nail nodded her head to everyone’s surprise, “There was a storm on the sea back then, the little hill-like waves crashed to the reef continuously. The good man pickle jar cast spell alone, all the waves immediately turned into ranging and bouncing flames. On top of the sea surface, everywhere one’s eyes could see was burning with purple-colored flames that were dancing around enchantingly. Some were akin to fresh gra.s.s, while some were like the soaring lone peak. That scene was no less inferior than the northernmost aurora.”
Cone Nail’s voice was lowered all along as if she was afraid to startle or disturb others. The splendid scene of which Tuo Xie was guiding fire from the heaven while he cast witchcraft spell, within her whispered description, lost a portion of its thrilling fierceness, but gained some enchanting strangeness, “I am the body of true water, I have nothing but two types of magic art cultivation that is the Gentle Water and Rigid Ice. The way he launched the spell was too evil. I could not understand it. Until the storm finally ceased, only then he extinguished the roaring flames and brought me along as he traveled towards the east. After an unknown amount of time, I am finally on the sh.o.r.e.”
Wen Leyang peered once towards Little Chi Maojiu. The latter put up a long face and shook his head. The grand master cast witchcraft spell with the Fire of G.o.d’s Will. However, he did not know what was the purpose either.
However, Cone Nail soon gave out the answer, “Upon our arrival on the sh.o.r.e, there were already two people waiting for him, one of them was the hunchback good man Lue Luo. I understood that the good man Pickle Jar guided fire on the sea was to send a message to them. Lue Luo and the other person saw that we were ash.o.r.e, their expressions were not that surprised. On the contrary, it seemed that they were giving a faint forced smile, Lue Luo was the first to say: I can’t believe it, you really manage to find it!”
Wen Leyang was completely engrossed, he was afraid to miss out even by one word. Yet, unexpectedly, Cone Nail stopped, she looked towards him once in fear, as she asked cautiously, “Make a guess, the thing that Lue Luo claim ‘manage to find’, what did he manage to find?”
Wen Leyang stomped his foot in rage, he answered unamused, “You!”
Cone Nail immediately cheered once, she nodded her head strenuously, “That is correct, it was I who was found! After Lue Luo finished talking, the other man spoke in vigorous rage: Consider yourself lucky!”
Wen Leyang inquired closely, “What was the third person’s name, how did he look like?”
Cone Nail shook her head, “I don’t know what is his name. I only found out Lue Luo’s name when he arrived at the Qilian Mountain and was chatting to the Taoist priest. The third person was much more majestic looking than the hunchback and pickle jar. He had round eyes and dragon mustache. He was as strong as a bear in the hips and had a back s supple as a tiger’s. His arms were thicker than an ordinary person’s waist. He was the bronze tripod vessel-like stout and strong fellow.”
Wen Leyang nodded, he made the hand gesture signaling her to continue.
Whether it was the maiden Cone Nail’s expression, movements or voice, she had always been delicate and pitiful. Even though everyone knew that succeeding after Chang Li, she was the second most horrible personage…or demon, after getting along with her for some time, one would unknowingly place her on the weaker side.
“The good man pickle jar laughed in a rather virtuous and sincere manner, he was a little bit like you…”
Wen Leyang gave a ‘hah’. He hastily shook his head while he gave a forced smile, “This is not related to me, please hasten and continue the story!”
The maiden Cone Nail nodded strenuously, her face was filled with extreme fear and trepidation. It made Wen Leyang felt that he just became the worst person, “The good man pickle jar was not angry at all, he laughed as he said to Lue Luo and burly fellow. Since I have already found her, the rest of the matter is entrusted to the both of you! Upon saying that, he was preparing to convey his grat.i.tude by bowing towards them, Lue Luo and the burly fellow were akin to being stepped on their tails, they immediately each jumped to the left and right. After the burly fellow jumped away, he left behind a word: It is my misfortune for knowing you, you bowing to me in appreciation will only make me even less fortunate! Upon saying that, he walked away in great strides. While he was walking, he suddenly burst out laughing once again, as he turned around and waved his hand towards the Pickle Jar.”
After the burly fellow left, the hunchback Lue Luo did not hesitate, he took over the ice pearl which Cone Nail’s remnant soul was attached to from Tuo Xie’s hands. He nodded, “What I am about to do is the simplest task, is there anything I can do after I am done…”
Tuo Xie roared with laughter, he stretched out his hand and patted on Lue Luo’s shoulder, “Don’t worry…” Before his voice died away, he suddenly screamed out in surprise, “Old creature you cause me harm!” he suddenly retracted his arm vigorously, and repeatedly flung his arm. His five fingers surprisingly turned into curvy and twisty poisonous snakes hissing with their heads raised.
The hunchback on the other hand too cried out in alarm, “You are not such a good bird either!” He rapidly pounced on his shoulder, a tuff of pitch black-colored little gra.s.s pushed strenuously out of his shoulder. Soon after that it bloomed, bore fruit, the fruit dropped onto the hunchback’s shoulder once again and grew into a bigger tuff of black gra.s.s.
At this point, Cone Nail laughed for no reason, “These two fellows used their powerful methods, They were both shouting and jumping, after they cursed at one another in rage for a long while, they suddenly burst out laughing once again, and no longer cared about the peculiar spell cast on their bodies. The hunchback let the black gra.s.s grew denser and denser on its own, even his face was covered, while the good man pickle jar could not fling away his five fingers that had already turned into snakes, he watched helplessly as the snakes grew bigger and bigger, and coiled around his entire body, yet their laughter continued. After they laughed they cursed at one another in rage, accompanied by moans, it was obvious that these two people were in pain and itch. After a while, the spells that were cast on these two persons’ bodies disappeared simultaneously.”
Tuo Xie and Lue Luo stood up from the ground on their own. The hunchback Lue Luo regained his cool and desolated composure, he did not speak a word anymore, as he turned around and left.
Wen Leyang and the rest stood gazing at one another, judging by the hunchback’s exceedingly high witchcraft power, it was not that hard to estimate the burly fellow’s abilities. Based on Cone Nail’s words, the grand master and the both of them had a profound relations.h.i.+p. He came to them seeking for their help, the matter was most probably related to compensating for the great troubles caused by the grand master Chang Li.
Who were these two persons actually, the hunchback came to resurrect the Ice Cone nail, then what did the burly fellow and the grand master Tuo Xie do. Wen Leyang suddenly thought of a possibility. He opened his eyes wide as he stared towards Zhui Zi, “Could the grand…pickle jar went over to the Black and White Island and became the cone nail on behalf of you?”
Cone Nail sn.i.g.g.e.red, “The pickle jar had rather great abilities but he could never become the Heaven’s Cone nail. Just like how the bronze tripod vessel that could make buffalo stew could never become a pot to boil medicinal herbs! The nine Heaven’s cone nails each had its unique disposition, not anyone could become one.”
Wen Leyang was still slightly worried, he was pondering in his heart that after he found Chang Li, he ought to find out the location of the Black and White Island, while simultaneously made the decision to find out information from Guo Huan about this matter. However, his demon cat ancestor must never find out about this. If she were to find out, most likely than not she was to go to the Black and White Island, she would pluck out the rest of the eight cone nails.
Everything else that happened afterwards, was almost the same as what was told by the dwarf Taoist priest of Qilian Immortal Sect. Lue Luo brought along the Ice’s soul and arrived at the Qilian Mountain. He used a shocking power of witchcraft to help the Qilian Immortal Sect and spent decades of effort, to draw out the water veins and dug circular ca.n.a.ls, sealed the Gold-consuming Nest’s sharp metal element and used the sharpness of the metal element as a nutrient for the Ice’s soul to grow.
While Cone Nail was speaking, a gust of grat.i.tude from the bottom of her heart floated onto her expression, “The method of the hunchback Lue Luo was very similar to the good man pickle jar’s method of guiding fire on the sea. However, his flame was beige in color, not an ounce of l.u.s.ter in it. It was so thick it induced nausea, and there were still countless odd and peculiar items with him, there were bones, and also jades, the silkworms with human face…”
Little Chi Maojiu gave a ‘wow’, his eyes were s.h.i.+mmering as he stared at Zhui Zi, “What color was the silkworm?”
“Emerald green ones. Their bodies were winded in red threads, the human faces were all smiling. They leaped into the yellow-colored fire in crackling sound, when they were burned to death, they even made the sound of a strange laugh.”
Wen Xiaoyi’s forehead erupted in gooseb.u.mps again. Little Chi Maojiu’s little face was filled with yearnings, he desperately suppressed his excitement, as he said to Wen Leyang, “That is the blissful worm, that is the blissful worm. It is the witchcraft spell worm left behind by the grand master grandfather but no one had ever successfully refined in it! There was a total of seven Big Dragon’s Root in the stockaded village that wanted to refine in the Blissful Worm spell, but because their witchcraft power was not strong enough, they were countercharged by the spell worms to death.”
The well-behaved child Luo w.a.n.ggen inquired closely at Chi Maojiu, “After the completion of refinement, what is the purpose to it?”
Little Chi Maojiu almost exhausted the strength of his entire body, as he spat out four words in a hoa.r.s.e and exhausted voice, “Exchanging life with life!”
Wen Leyang was startled initially. His first thought was that Lue Luo was entrusted by the grand master Tuo Xie to use his life in exchange for Cone Nail’s life, but soon after that he thought, that Cone Nail recently mentioned that the hunchback Lue Luo was entrusted with the easiest task that he still wanted to help Tuo Xie again after he was done casting his witchcraft, so he certainly would not just die then.
This hunchback and the grand master Tuo Xie were friends of the same generation. He certainly could not figure out the witchcraft that he was casting. Wen Leyang shook his head as he no longer pondered about this anymore, he shot his gaze towards Cone Nail once again.
Cone Nail was akin to a child that misbehaved, she explained with extreme caution, “I could not do anything back then. I could not even die, the good man hunchback cast a spell that I had never seen, or heard of. I fell asleep not long after. It was until I asked the pangolin earlier, only I knew that two thousand years had already pa.s.sed.” Wen Leyang heard of her mentioning the pangolin. His expression became obviously more interested, Cone Nail made a guarantee strenuously, “Don’t worry, it is unconscious now, and will only wake up after a while. I sealed it into the stone pillar.”
Wen Leyang nodded, “So when did you wake up?”
Cone Nail made a fearful expression, “Twenty years ago, I was awakened by the wild shrieks of ghosts and howls of wolves…”
Wen Leyang and Wen Xiaoyi gazed into the eyes of one another, “The first witchcraft singing.”
“When I first woke up, my spirit and soul was already completed but I did not have a body yet. Back then, I was still attached to that piece of remnant Ice’s soul, that had already turned into a stretch of large ice forest. My primordial spirit was attached to one of the less eye-catching ice pillars. Afterwards, a dwarf Taoist priest came into the ice forest, my primordial spirit had just coagulated into form. Even though I could not even embody a strand of supernatural power, my primordial spirit was circulating around continuously. It was easy for cultivators to realize my presence. But on the ice pillar that I was attached to, there was a glacier Dharmachakra stamp coagulated on top of it. The stamp was not fully formed, so the water script characters on top of it were all blurred!”
Wen Leyang was stunned, “What do you mean?”
Cone Nail’s face, was filled with grat.i.tude and admiration towards the hunchback Lue Luo, “In the perception of the Qilian Immortal Sect, when the Exquisite Ice bore the Dharmachakra stamp, without a doubt, it must be an exquisite precious that was owned by the deities! While I was already the soul of the true water, my primordial spirit that was circulating was also the primordial water spirit. The dwarf Taoist priest believed in what he desired. He believed that the life vitality that was circulating on the ice pillar was the Dharmachakra stamp of glacier trying to converge the power of true water. Greed concealed his five senses, leaving only joy.”
As she was saying that Cone Nail laughed cheekily, “The dwarf Taoist priest saw the Dharmachakra stamp and was elated to the point of insanity. He came to take a look every few days. After I had awakened, I felt weak all the time. I could sense that in the midst of the ice forest, it was slowly flowing with the strange force akin to the force cast by the good man hunchback. Until a few months ago, wild shrieks of ghosts and howls of wolves echoed again.”
Wen Leyang nodded, he knew that this was the second witchcraft singing.
“I felt numb and pain. The ice pillar where I was in was rapidly melting. Every drop of water coagulated into my flesh and bone body! After a while, my human body was forged and the entire ice forest turned into a stone forest, the prohibition spell was initiated in the blink of an eye. That completely sealed me! That Dharmachakra stamp also disappeared. When my human body was initially formed, there was not an ounce of strength in me. Even a child holding a rock could kill me. The prohibition spell and my human body were formed together, just in time to protect me. After a few months of recuperation, I had almost regained all my previous powers!”
Wen Leyang’s brain was thinking swiftly. He connected all the words of the dwarf Taoist priest when he first entered the stone forest all the way until Cone Nail’s descriptions earlier.
Based on Cone Nail’s memories, Lue Luo divided the witchcraft process to resurrect her into two steps. The first step was to remold the primordial spirit, the second step was to remodel the human body.
After recuperating in the Gold-consuming Nest for two thousand years, in addition to Lue Luo’s unimaginable Art of Witchcraft, Cone Nail came into successful recuperation. She regained all her primordial spirit and formed into her human body after twenty years. Now, she had regained her strength.
It was estimated that because of some limitations, the almost unbreakable prohibition spell of the stone forest was only upon the revival of Cone Nail’s primordial spirit. Only then it started acc.u.mulating power slowly. It was only until she formed into her human body, it was simultaneously initiated to protect her when she was newly reborn but yet to regenerate power.
Two thousand years’ worth of time, two steps of powerful Art of Witchcraft to completely revive one of the nine Heaven’s cone nails on the Black and White Island, the Ice cone nail.
Lue Luo’s efforts, made Wen Leyang shudder. Lue Luo first flaunted the banner of Exquisite Ice. He deceived the entire Qilian Immortal Sect into cutting the mountains and diverting the streams, following that he willingly became the mountain-guarding obscure cultivator and protected the safety of the Gold-consuming Nest for two thousand years.
Together with Cone Nail’s rebirth, it carried along two extremely dangerous hurdles, the first was the first witchcraft singing was when her primordial spirit was completed, yet her human body had yet to be remodeled. The witchcraft singing would startle the Qilian master cultivators that were guarding on the outside, such that they realized that there was the circulation of primordial vitality within the ice forest. Lue Luo cast a witchcraft spell to create a glacier Dharmachakra stamp, so he could attract the attention of the dwarf Taoist priest right away, causing them to think that the precious grew out from the Exquisite Ice was on its way. The dwarf Taoist priest naturally thought that it was logical for the witchcraft singing to be the unusual sound of the ice stamp came into the world, that the water primordial that was circulating was actually the ice stamp absorbing essential vitality. He waited for that one day this exquisite precious would mature and be born into the world in great delights.
The second hurdle was the second witchcraft singing when Cone Nail’s human body was completed. It will still take a few months before she could regenerate her power. There was no way for her to hide her human body anymore. Should the Taoist priest saw that the Dharmachakra stamp in the Exquisite Ice forest disappeared, yet in addition there was a naked person running about. He would close his eyes and fight desperately. So, the ice forest was sealed off by the prohibition spell. At the same time, it turned into a stone forest, a place that could not be entered by an ordinary person.
Wen Leyang was also while pondering on this matter. He told about the original thoughts of his from the beginning to the end. The well-behaved child Luo w.a.n.ggen stared in bewilderment as he listened to Wen Leyang’s explanation. Doubtful, he frowned and asked, “Fortunately, the giant pangolin and the person from Panting Town came late!”
Cone Nail nodded hastily, but soon after that, she continued to laugh, “No one here is a deity, we can’t always predict everything in this world, the good man hunchback had already made such arrangements. If I truly could not be resurrected, then it can only be considered as the G.o.d’s will!”
Luo w.a.n.ggen nodded with lingering fear as if the person who was resurrected by chance was not Cone Nail but him, “Fortunately the Taoist priest was greedy, the moment he saw the glacier Dharmachakra stamp, he…”
Cone Nail was laughing without an ounce of strength, it made one could not help but to hastily receive her laugh, unwilling to see her suffer anymore, “You don’t know the basis of the Dharmachakra stamp that bore out of the Exquisite Ice. If it was true, the Qilian Immortal Sect could depend on this Dharmachakra stamp to become the first greatest sect in the cultivation world. Even if the real immortal was here, he would still need to execute the glacier Dharmachakra stamp. To be honest, I felt that the dwarf Taoist priest could have figured out the real scheme behind the good man hunchback’s painstaking arrangement, but he refused. He pledged for this only precious here.
The well-behaved child Luo w.a.n.ggen nodded once, but soon after he shook his head, the zombie corpse beside him too followed along to shake its head in all apparent seriousness. His expression was in denial, “Then I do not understand, if the hunchback Lue Luo’s prohibition spell was so incisive, he should have just initiated the prohibition spell the moment your primordial spirit was formed, solving all the problems by sealing…”
Little Chi Maojiu laughed with a helpless expression. He had never realized that Luo w.a.n.ggen had such a strong thirst for knowledge before, “Any Power of Witchcraft had no way to last for two thousand years. Back then, what the senior Lue Luo left behind in the stone forest, was Art, not Power. Even though I am uncertain which type of witchcraft was it, I could roughly figure out that the initiation of the prohibition spell required the use of Cone Nail’s human body that had taken form as bait.”
Little Chi Maojiu spoke for a long while, he felt that there was no way for him to clarify this. So, he finally said in a straightforward manner, “Casting the witchcraft spell was akin to playing the Tetris block, you can’t just place it however you want. There is an exhaustion to the human’s power, one can only make use of every type of limitations of conditions, in hope for the greatest balance, in hope for the best outcome!”
Luo w.a.n.ggen gave an ‘oh’, he stared with wide eyes in a ghastly manner, “Since when did you play the Tetris block before?”
The Miao stockade village had never come into contact with the outside world, they did not even have electric wires, let alone blocks. Little Chi Maojiu’s little face blushed scarlet, “I played it for a while in the Wen family village.” Everyone from the Wen family was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with radiance all of a sudden.
Luo w.a.n.ggen muttered to himself conveniently, “There is still someone playing the Tetris block now?” He immediately got back on track on his thinking process, he looked towards Cone Nail and asked, “So why are you still…”
Wen Leyang suddenly stretched his body comfortably, and interrupted his question, “Why do you ask so many questions, talk about it later!” Soon after that, he smiled towards Cone Nail.
On the other hand, Cone Nail c.o.c.ked her head to the side, with the seduction that belonged to only her. She smiled gently as she looked towards Wen Leyang and said without reason, “You don’t believe me.”
Before Wen Leyang could speak, a gloomy sigh, echoed from nearby, from a spot rather far away behind them. The air suddenly jolted, the dwarf Taoist priest appeared staggering out in the stone forest, his face was ghastly pale and gloomy but his gaze towards them was filled with an enmity that was heartfelt.