Chapter 293: There’s a Thief
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Wen Shulin tore off a streak of cloth from his clothes and tied up his hair. It was so dirty that it had already clumped up to the back of his head. He was about to explain the event that took place back in the days when he suddenly recalled something else. He looked towards Wen Leyang anxiously, “How long… since the G.o.ddess Peak until now, how long has it been?”
Wen Leyang had the best understanding of this issue. He was trapped almost as long as this old man,.”A little over four years, less than five years.”
Wen Shulin exhaled a long breath in apparent relief. He muttered softly, “It has only been four years…” Following that he continued, “When the Black and White Island appeared next to G.o.ddess Peak, I was looking at the form of the mountain range, and it became clear to me all at once. The big flat cake, broken gong, dog, the riddle that I spent a lifetime to calculate. The answer… was possibly on this island!”
Wen Shulin’s words startled Zhui Zi, “So you ran into the Black and White Island yourself?”
Wen Shulin nodded strenuously. He used calculation as his cultivation path. His infatuation towards the Art of Calculation went beyond Wei Mo’s, especially in this riddle of ‘the big, flat cake, broken gong, and dog’ that troubled him through his entire lifetime.
Chang Li coerced him into recalculating the locations of the nine heaven’s cone nails because it was difficult for him to bear any results. That was why he was reluctant. Yet once he discovered a brand new clue, he was feeling eager to the greatest extent in his heart. The Black and White Island that was located in the depth of the East China Sea, was guarded by incisive prohibition spells on usual days. Just by depending on Wei Mo’s abilities, even if a thousand of him were to be tied into a bunch still he could not enter the place. Yet he would only need to make a jump to enter the Black and White Island on that day.
Afterwards, the G.o.ddess Peak turned into a chaotic mess. No one paid attention to him anymore. Wen Shulin seized the opportunity to sneak into the Black and White Island during the chaos.
Zhui Zi shook her head, “You know very well about the danger of the Black and White Island. If you were trying to calculate something, why did you not tell us about it?”
Wen Shulin appeared awkward. He rubbed the potato subconsciously on his pants. He answered shyly, “I… was only thinking about calculating. I did not wish to partake in the enmity between all of you.” As he was saying that, the old man began to speak then hesitated, he was suppressing what he wanted to say forcefully.
Zhui Zi raised a finger towards him with a pleading gaze, “Tell us, do not be afraid.”
Wen Shulin s.h.i.+vered and clenched his teeth. He made up his mind and spoke, “All of you cannot even deal with the true soul. How are you worthy of becoming Xiang Liu’s opponent? I dare not come in between and help all of you to deal with Xiang Liu even more now!”
When he was still on Mount Hua, Xiang Liu’s true soul guided the Distant Talisman to escape. Wen Shulin also knew that the Black and White Island’s monster was being suppressed by the heaven’s cone nails. He watched the riddle’s clue helplessly before his eyes. He was not thinking clearly at the time and decided to run to the Black and White Island. He only needed to memorize the crucial numbers before he escaped. If he were to leave before Xiang Liu, from then on he did not need to interfere with the Wen family’s demon immortals. He could also hide from the evil creature from primitive ages.
Yet Wen Shulin could not control the timing well. By the time he managed to record a few numerical data in a haste, he was about to escape when he discovered that the Black and White Island had returned to the great sea…
Zhui Zi finally revealed a joyous smile. Wen Shulin felt indignant but did not dare to speak.
Tian Yin’s true soul returned to the Black and White Island. Even though Wen Shulin’s had disguised himself, Tian Yin still recognized him at first glance. The true soul’s appearance at the time was akin to seeing a ghost. It was not expected that Wen Shulin would appear on the Black and White Island.
Tian Yin’s true soul acted much more generously to Wen Shulin as compared to how he treated Chang Li and the rest. He allowed Wen Shulin to travel everywhere on the island to calculate and measure. He even sent the Wood Mountain Demon that was condensed from the wood element snake’s head to take care of him. Wen Shulin had never expected that one day he would become the second owner of the Black and White Island…
About two months after that, the true soul left the Black and White Island again. Before he departed he was afraid that master cultivators would enter the island and capture Wen Shulin, so he dissolved away the limited life vitality in him. He hid him in the water element snake’s head, while at the same time, he instructed the Wood Mountain Demons to send meals to Wen Shulin.
Under Wen Shulin’s plea, the true soul was especially merciful to him. He allowed the Wood Mountain Demons to lift Wen Shulin out for a stroll around the island once a month to sunbathe.
Tian Yin had never returned from then on.
Wen Shulin’s cultivation base was limited. He would still need to feed on food after a period of time, yet there was only the potato-like fruit available on the Black and White Island that was produced after the wood element mountain died.
Those Wood Mountain Demons were not intelligent. They crawled out of the mountain almost every day. They formed troops as they delivered meals to him. They did not bother to see if he was capable of finis.h.i.+ng all the food.
Wen Shulin pointed to the potato hill that stretched as far as the eyes could see behind himself, “This fruit here is tasteless. You will feel full from feeding on one or two every day. It will never rot no matter how long it is left here.”
At this point, Wen Shulin suddenly became high spirited. His face was filled with a mysterious expression as he approached Wen Leyang, “Before the true soul left, his expression was very weary-looking. According to my judgment, Tian Yin’s dharma body was in trouble!” As he was saying that, he sn.i.g.g.e.red a few times, “I wonder which unfortunate b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s body was seized by it.”
Wen Leyang knew he was the unfortunate b.a.s.t.a.r.d in his heart.
Zhui Zi was elated. She laughed for a while before she said to Wen Shulin, “The true soul is dissolved and refined, there is no need for you to worry anymore!”
With a thud, the half potato finally dropped to the ground.
Wen Shulin widened his mouth and his face was filled with disbelief. He was rather intelligent. He did not look at Zhui Zi, but he glared at Wen Leyang. “Is… is that true? How…”
The old man knew he understood better than anyone. His dealings with the true soul would only result in his death sooner or later. Now that he learned about the news that the true soul was dead, he was feeling surprised and joyous. Yet he dared not believe it regardless. There was still someone capable of killing the ancient, evildoer that wandered the world for thousands of years.
Wen Leyang chuckled, “It was refined by the grandmaster grandfather’s birth year’s strong poison.”
Wen Shulin suddenly let out a loud and clear laugh, “So it turns out that Tuo Xie is back! If there is anybody else in the world capable of killing the true soul, that person can only be him!
Zhui Zi grew tired from sitting. She dropped her shoulder and leaned on Wen Leyang’s arm. She waited till Wen Shulin was done laughing, then she asked, “You have been on the Black and White Island for the past few years… have you ever seen a toad?”
Wen Shulin’s face was filled with a baffling expression. He asked in reply, “What do you mean by a toad? How big is the toad?”
Zhui Zi laughed and shook her head. She diverted the topic of conversation. “It’s alright, leave it, if you have never seen it. How many heaven’s cone nails are left on the Black and White Island right now?”
Wen Shulin answered without hesitation, “I went out ten days ago… when I was sunbathing. There were still six heaven’s cone nails left!” As he was saying that, he pulled up his fingers as he counted one by one, “The metal element, earth element, star cone nail, moon cone nail, sun cone nail, and also one chaos cone nail!” As he was saying that, the old man paused for a moment. “The two heaven’s cone nails of sun and moon are rather dangerous. The fissures on these cone nails grew increasingly wider over the past few years. I am afraid that these cone nails will not last very long.”
As long as more than five out of nine heaven’s cone nails were left, the nine-headed monster could not budge anymore. This trip to the Black and White Island of theirs lost its danger. Even though he was still slightly suspicious towards Wen Shulin, deep down, Wen Leyang was still great.
Zhui Zi nodded towards Wen Leyang strenuously. “The embodiment of true water’s magic spell is useless in Xiang Liu’s body. If we were to have already revealed our tracks when we entered, if the monster could move, then it should have since turned wild.”
Wen Shulin knew that he was about to break free from the entrapment. He was so happy and high-spirited, he rubbed his palms as he hastily announced the good news to Wen Leyang. “After I had arrived on the Black and White Island, I continued to calculate and predict based on the heaven’s cone nails and monster’s body. Regarding the three clues of the big flat cake, broken gong and dog, I had seen through quite a lot too…”
Zhui Zi did not wait for him to finish his sentence. She pulled Wen Leyang lazily as they stood up, “Let us examine the rest of the few heaven’s cone nails, take a look at the situation of those cone nails. Then we shall leave. Anything else can be discussed once we have returned home.”
Wen Shulin cheered then immediately shut his mouth. He jumped up and stepped ferociously onto the half potato that had just rolled onto the ground. He jogged, following Wen Leyang outside.
The three of them walked towards the snake’s head together. Wen Shulin seemed to have remembered something very important. His dry fingers firmly grasped onto Wen Leyang’s arm. He reminded him cautiously, “The Wood Mountain Demons are very troublesome, especially since they come in great numbers. There are thousands of them…”
Wen Leyang did not pay attention to the small monsters initially. He was startled by Wen Shulin’s words, he could not help but ask, “So many of them?” He imagined the situation of himself being encircled and attacked by thousands of the ghost-faced monkeys all at once. His scalp felt numb from fear.
Wen Shulin put on a long face as he nodded, “Those that come and send meals to me daily, are less than fifty percent of their total number.”
Zhui Zi laughed with a crisp voice, “It is not a wonder if one of Xiang Liu’s dead head transforms into thousands of small spirit monsters. It is still considered too little.”
Not long after that the three persons arrived next to the snake’s mouth, there was only a stretch of heavy darkness as they looked towards the outside, there was no way they could see the scene clearly, and they could not even hear a sound.
Wen Leyang carried the old man on his back, while his other hand wrapped was around Zhui Zi, who could not use her life vitality in the snake’s body. He exerted the strength of his legs as he leaped up and jumped out of the monster’s mouth. Soon after the three of their expressions changed abruptly in unison. The situation outside was completely out of sorts!
The mountain and wilderness were filled with aggressive Wood Mountain Demons! Each Wood Mountain Demon’s expression was bitter and sad, their mouths gave out a forlorn squall as they dashed from the direction of the wood element snake’s body in rage. They pa.s.sed the water element snake’s head, and continued to dash forward!
Wen Leyang had only jumped out when he was immediately noticed by the spirit monsters that were marching and rus.h.i.+ng on their journey. The hundreds of Wood Mountain Demons that were closest to them suddenly changed their direction. They hissed and howled as they pounced towards Wen Leyang and the rest like a swarm of bees.
Wen Leyang’s Poison of Life and Death was surging wildly. Just as he was about to leap up and face the enemy, a refres.h.i.+ng gush of chills suddenly radiated from his body. Zhui Zi’s life vitality had recovered and once again, launched the formless true water’s magic spell to conceal their bodies.
The Wood Mountain Demons that were raiding had yet to approach them. The demons had lost its target, their hideous and tyrannical faces were accompanied by puzzlement. They inspected the surroundings vigilantly for a moment, then they converged back into the great army. They continued to run towards the front again.
The three of them dropped to the ground. They were amongst the thousands of Wood Mountain Demon’s great army that were running wildly. They were feeling a little stunned. In the beginning, Wen Leyang thought that these monsters were rus.h.i.+ng over madly because they realized that Wen Shulin had escaped, but he soon realized that something was wrong.
The Wood Mountain Demons’ aim was not at the water element snake’s mountain that had lost its evil soul. The demons were shuttling in troops after troops underneath the water element head’s great mountain, and ran towards the next mountain ridge…
Even though they did not discuss much in the snake’s mouth, they were held up for quite some time. By the time they came out, the sky had further darkened. There were no stars in the sky, but the bright moon was clean and full. It was blooming with a s.h.i.+mmery, silver brilliance that tainted the entire Black and White Island, giving it an even more sinister atmosphere.
The bright moon was like a wheel in the sky. On land, thousands of ghosts fled by night!
Zhui Zi squinted her eyes. She waved her hand towards Wen Leyang, “Something must have happened on the island, let us follow them and take a look!” Upon saying that her body floated. She joined Wen Leyang as they ran with the raging spirit monsters towards the depth of the great mountain.
Wen Shulin had since been petrified to the extent that he could not speak anymore. He lived on the island for the past four years, yet he had never witnessed such a situation before. Thousands of Wood Mountain Demons were das.h.i.+ng wildly within layers of their strange howls. Their imposing mannerism was no less inferior than an armored troop that was charging forward!
They ran for a while before approaching the sixth mountain. Zhui Zi stretched her hand out and pointed to the one heaven’s cone nail that could be seen faintly on the mountain ridge in front, “This mountain ridge is Xiang Liu’s moon genus head. That stick of nail is precisely the moon genus’ demon-suppressing heaven’s cone nail…” Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly gave out a ‘huh’, “Not them again!”
Wen Leyang focused his vision as he looked from afar. Beneath the moon cone nail, one fat and two skinny persons were surrounding it. The two skinny ones surrounded the moon cone nail, they were busy managing some unknown task. The fat one turned around and faced the Wood Mountain Demon’s great army that was roaring and approaching them. He shouted loudly to his companions, “Leave the Wood Mountain Demons to me, there is no need for the both of you to be distracted!” When he was speaking, his hands turned and he procured a smooth and round bronze mirror from his chest pocket. He shouted, “The moon protector, thirty!”
The bronze mirror suddenly resolved into a gush of dazzling radiance. Thirty silver-armored warriors with very different outlooks and physiques suddenly appeared quietly. Some were as tall as a tower, some were less than two feet tall. Some were strong as a mountain, while some were skinny and feeble as a reed.
The fat cultivator’s expression was relaxed. He waved his hands and legs as he knocked at the bronze mirror in his hands. Within the ghastly rhythm he shouted once again, “The moon revolves like a wheel, burn through the six harmonies!”
Under the Taoism code, the thirty silver-armored warriors with different shapes suddenly moved. Each of them walked at a peculiar pace, they surrounded the moon cone nail and the three cultivators as they spun around in a seemingly messy and uneven manner. The silver-colored radiance rippling from their bodies grew stronger and thicker. A moment later, they were so bright they could not be looked at directly!
As soon as the Wood Mountain Demons approached the moon wheel’s silver brilliance, spun by the silver-armored warriors, the demons would explode into a puff of black smoke with piercing shrieks. Soon after they turned into charred corpses.
The spirit monsters were already in a rage. They utterly could not care about the tragic deaths of their companions. They surged forward and took up the positions of the fallen. Like a tempestuous storm, they charged at the silver-armored warriors’ defense over and over again, without a moment’s pause!
Wen Leyang was feeling relieved in his heart. There were outsiders on the island. The Wood Mountain Demons that were entrusted by the true soul to guard the Black and White Island had discovered that. Only then they lured in the thousands of ghosts’ fled by night.
After he stared at the three cultivators for a moment, Wen Leyang finally remembered who they were. He turned around and looked towards Zhui Zi, “They are… the descendants of the moon cone nail?!” Before he left the family, he had just learned of Zhui Zi’s encounter in collecting the Centipede Gra.s.s.
Zhui Zi nodded, “The fat one is Full Moon, the two skinny ones are the First Quarter Moon and the Last Quarter Moon.”
Wen Leyang immediately turned his head. He gazed to the left and right with Zhui Zi. He inspected his surroundings vigilantly. if the descendants of the moon cone nails had arrived on the Black and White Island… then would the rest of the descendants of the heaven’s cone nails like Grandmother Shudou and Sir Rust be here as well?”
Even though she had a stomach full of uncertainties, Zhui Zi was still amused by the appearance of Wen Leyang’s serious expression and glancing. “The descendants of the heaven’s cone nails are here on the Black and White Island, mostly because they wanted to reform the demon-suppressing great formation. That can be a good thing actually.” As she was saying that, Zhui Zi’s small face grew a little more solemn again. If she were to join hands with Wen Leyang, they would not be afraid even if all the descendants of the heaven’s cone nail were to appear now. What worried her the most was that perhaps Kong Nuer was there too. The matter of reforming the demon-suppressing great formation could not be completed by just depending on the effort of the few descendants of the heaven’s cone nail.
Wen Leyang had the same thinking. He had the intention to use his telegnosis ability to widen his search area, yet he was afraid that he would break Zhui Zi’s Art of True Water, which would result in them being discovered by the enemies. Wen Leyang could not find the rest of the enemies. He pulled along Zhui Zi as they separated themselves from the Wood Mountain Demons’ great army. They rapidly climbed up a nearby small hill and spied on the situation from above.
The Wood Mountain Demons and the thirty silver-armored warriors were fighting like a raging fire. From a bird’s eye view, the spirit monsters were like a stretch of rolling dark clouds that came from all directions like a swarm of bees. The silver-armored warriors were spinning continuously. They outlined the full moon-like silver wheel. The silver brilliance continuously washed away the layers of dark clouds that were planning to swallow the silver moon.
Wen Leyang placed the old man by his side. He laid on the small hill, then he shot his gaze back to the three moon cone nail’s disciples once again. He watched for a while. He felt more and more out of sorts with time. He could not refrain himself from pulling Zhui Zi’s finger, “What… are they doing?”
The two skinny persons, First Quarter Moon and Last Quarter Moon, circled the moon cone nail. They did not launch their supernatural powers nor used their magic spells. They depended on their ten fingers. They were digging continuously along the area where the moon cone nail sank into the mountain rock. No matter how Wen Leyang looked, they seemed to be attempting to dig out that moon genus demon-suppressing heaven’s cone nail, from Xiang Liu’s head!
Zhui Zi had yet to speak. The fat man, Full Moon seemed to have lost his temper. His round plate-like huge face was filled with ferocious excitement. He raised his right fist high up in the air, his gaze was arrogant as he surveyed the Wood Mountain Demons that were charging at them continuously. He gave out a series of m.u.f.fled-thunder like, loud laughter. “Useless demons, such little skill is all they have huh?” Before his voice died away, his raised fist suddenly dropped downwards rapidly with a m.u.f.fled sound of a bang – he punched and crushed his bronze mirror!
There was a crisp sound of the bronze mirror shattering. Full Moon shouted in an awe-inspiring manner, “The heaven’s moon is full, the nine provinces are revealed. The ghosts, demons and monsters, cry out until their intestines break!”
Wen Shulin was extremely terrified yet he commented, “What kind of magic incantation is this, it sounded just like a jingle…”
The magic incantation sounded grotesque and inappropriate. The Black and White Island suddenly darkened. The full moon that was hanging in the sky suddenly constricted its brilliance. Wen Leyang felt his entire body going cold. The moonlight that was supposed to cover the island suddenly gathered together, and enshrouded around himself, Zhui Zi and Wen Shulin’s body!
At that moment, Zhui Zi and Wen Leyang realized that Full Moon had discovered their tracks.
Wen Leyang did not realize that they were not protecting the magic formation, they were actually destroying it. Now that Wen Leyang noticed the clue, Full Moon then launched his murderous force! Zhui Zi was protected by the form of true water. The moon cone nail’s disciples too had the true moon’s majestic Art of Heaven. Everybody was supposed to be the master cultivator from the same rank. By depending on Zhui Zi’s magic spell alone, she had failed to disguise her form at all.
When the moonlight gathered, Full Moon’s voice surged skywards once again. “The moon dims or s.h.i.+nes on the clue that cannot be seen. The moon’s incantation, execute the demon!”
Wen Leyang and Zhui Zi had resisted the enemies together on a few occasions. They experienced life and death situations together. They had since achieved tacit understanding between one another. Wen Leyang then shouted in rage. He pounced towards the enemies together with the dragon-shaped, bony Ning Jiao! Zhui Zi on the other hand flapped her arms. Streaks upon streaks of ice spikes appeared out of thin air and protected herself and Wen Shulin.
The crisp sound of crackling combined in the blink of an eye. The Moon incantation’s fatal spell that was launched by Full Moon, urged countless black-colored shadows to swoop towards Zhui Zi. They shattered on the crystal clear and dazzling ice spikes.
Wen Leyang exerted his divine power. He protected them with the bony Ning Jiao. A river of blood flowed out from the Wood Mountain Demons’ battle formation. He pounced towards the enemies at lightning speed.
First Quarter Moon and Last Quarter Moon cheered in unison, “It is done!” To everyone’s surprise, both of them had truly dug out that stick of demon-suppressing moon cone nail. They lifted it onto their shoulders as they spread their legs and ran! Thirty silver-armored warriors too changed their formation arrangement. They risked their lives to open up an escape route for their masters.
Full Moon did not even look at Wen Leyang who arrived at top speed. He followed his two companions, escaping together. At the same time he raised his head and gave out a stern howl to the far end, “First Brother, make a move!”
Wen Leyang had expected that they were reinforced by other companions. He was completely not affected. His attention was fixated at chasing after the three persons including Full Moon. Just as he was about to surge into the silver-armored warriors’ battle formation, a sound loud enough to rouse the heaven suddenly exploded through the sky. A puff of goldish, red radiance exploded ferociously from afar!
Zhui Zi who was against the other enemies widened her eyes in surprise. She squalled in exasperation, “Someone shattered the sun genus heaven’s cone nail. Leave the Black and White immediately!” She grabbed Wen Shulin from her side. She urged the life vitality at full force and swept towards Wen Leyang desperately.
Everything happened in a flash…
Full Moon launched a surprise attack at Wen Leyang and Zhui Zi.
Wen Leyang pounced back in countercharge. Zhui Zi guarded her own post.
First Quarter Moon and Last Quarter Moon dug away the moon cone nail; they escaped together with Full Moon.
The master cultivators that came to reinforce the descendants of the heaven’s cone nail received their companion’s signal. They made a move and crushed the sun genus demon-suppressing cone nail…
Out of the nine demon-suppressing heaven’s cone nails, four heaven’s cone nails of the water element, wood element, fire element, and sun element were broken. The moon genus heaven’s cone nail was stolen.
Five out of nine cone nails were lost. Other than the two heads with evil souls, the rest of the strange snake’s head that lost the suppression of its heaven’s cone nails were able to move now.
Suddenly, a chain of extremely oppressed howls that seemed to suck in heaven and earth rapidly, echoed from not too far away. The ghastly and strange sound of a loud cry lingered in their ears incessantly!