Chapter 201, Death Zone and Everlasting Jade Lake

Translator: Tamon

Translation Checker: Silavin

 

In a tavern in Glorious Heaven City, Mo Wentian was slurping on a juice made of freshly squeezed Spiritual Energy-thick fruits, one leg dangling over the other, as he relished the feeling of the Spiritual Energy turning into pure power inside him.

 

He felt good. “This glass of juice is definitely worth the price of one top spirit stone, which is as potent as a pill. Once I finish this drink, reaching the 2nd layer of the Qi Refining Stage won’t be a dream anymore.

 

“When I return, I’ll be sure to bring some back for Ruhua so she can enjoy this expensive Spiritual Energy fruit juice.”

 

In his sixteen years of life, he had never set foot outside Dragonised City. Now that he came to Glorious Heaven City to take a Master, he was also looking to see what the world outside offered.

 

[A man should never be cooped up in one spot.]

 

Suddenly, Mo Wentian flinched and gulped down his drink in one go. He belched and turned angry. “God damn it, not even the secret puppet’s detonation could finish him off?

 

“Are Immortal Domain geniuses monsters or something?”

 

It was fortunate that Mo Wentian used a neat trick, sending the secret puppet to mess around with Fa Tian. If it were himself instead, he’d be long dead.

 

The trick, however, had another unfortunate side effect, earning Fa Tian’s seething hatred.

 

Mo Wentian was vexed, clutching his hair and mumbling. “Immortal Domain geniuses are insanely strong. They just won’t go down. How do I fix this? Should I bail out the disciple contest? With all those hidden treasures, I can return to Dragonised City, settle down with Ruhua, raise a healthy baby, and live carefree all our lives.”

 

But the next moment, Mo Wentian shook away the thought. The trip showed him the dangers of the outside world.

 

Demons ran amok, Spirits wrecked havoc, and then there was the occasional city slaughter by a crazed demonic cultivator, sometimes your own hometown.

 

[Now that I pissed off Fa Tian, once he showcases his talent at the contest and gets the Nine Province Cauldron to become the Heavenly Dao Protector, there’ll be no escape for me and my Darling Ruhua.]

 

[One night I might even wake up to find Ruhua in my arms without a head.]

 

The thoughts made Mo Wentian shiver. He fiddled with the ancient ring he got from that Immortal Slayer and his gaze steeled.

 

“No! I can’t go back. With all the treasures I got, I’ll use this chance to be that extreme expert’s disciple.

 

[The supreme expert was invincible. By being his disciple, I get someone watching my back, and no one’s gonna mess with me ever again.]

 

With his mind set, he left the tavern and the city, venturing into the Myriad Mountains that very night.

 

The disciple contest was days away. He needed to be in the best form when it started. [More importantly, I heard rumors the supreme expert’s abode is a holy land. Cultivating there is sure to advance my stage by leaps and bounds. With my outstanding talent, getting to the 2nd layer of Qi Refining Stage is a done deal!]

 

One worry did plague Mo Wentian, however, that he’d be bumping into that savage Immortal Domain genius Fa Tian on the way there.

 

…

 

The Everlasting Jade Lake was in Ghost Province’s death zone.

 

It was a place where danger lurked at every corner, with Demons and Spirits on the prowl. A cultivator would think twice before going in.

 

The dull and gray sky was bleak. The whole of Everlasting Jade Lake was eerily silent.

 

The lake was large, with no end in sight, and had water as black as night.

 

The mountain ranges around had no bushes or grass, only twisted ancient trees with grotesque shapes littering the barren landscape. Black was the dominant theme here.

 

And shades of black.

 

The stifling air, the deafening silence—it was as if Heaven and Earth were dead.

 

Flood Dragon Hei loomed on the horizon with Ah’Miao on his back.

 

He gave the endless lake a glance and spoke gravely, “Ah’Miao, we’re here. It truly is a death zone. I’m at the Spirit Severing Stage, yet I can still feel a sense of danger.”

 

“Right.” Ah’Miao was just as grave as she agreed.

 

Her short blond hair danced in the wind, her pretty eyes sparkling like golden jewels.

 

The last time she’d been here was centuries ago, but not one pebble felt out of place, still as eerie and creepy as before.

 

She was quick to find the tomb again.

 

Ah’Miao pointed and said, “See that stone peak? The tomb should be nearby. Let’s go over, Flood Dragon Hei.”

 

“Alright.” Hei swept the air and flew over to the stone peak.

 

The two-mile-high rock in the lake was as foreboding and desolate as the rest of the surroundings.

 

Ah’Miao jumped down. “This is the place.”

 

Flood Dragon Hei turned human and scanned the area for any dangers that might jump on them.

 

A sudden dark wind blew, and black mist gathered as skeletons crawled out of the ground. They were the poor cultivators and Demons having lost their lives in the Everlasting Jade Lake.

 

In this dark place, their bodies were everlasting, given a new purpose to protect the lake.

 

The skeletons hissed and struck the two, though their strength left much to be desired.

 

Hei and Ah’Miao had no trouble with them, cleaning up the stone peak.

 

The stronger skeletons among them left a black crystal behind, shaped like a rhombus. The death crystal. It was the only key to enter the tomb.

 

The real danger of the Everlasting Jade Lake wasn’t the surface, but the lake.

 

The death crystal would help mask their living aura, giving off the same air as this godforsaken place and keeping the lake’s creatures at bay.

 

Hei and Ah’Miao swallowed one each.

 

The life aura they gave off was hidden and by the same death energy as their once unfortunate users.

 

Ah’Miao smiled. “The death crystal should be enough to reach the tomb. Come on.”

 

She hopped into the lake with Hei following her.

 

The surface of the lake hid a different world, hell. The black water, filled with death, posed a unique opportunity for the rare and strange spiritual herbs to grow. More importantly, the Spiritual Energy here was also thick, with butterfly koi swimming around the spirit lotuses.

 

The endless death energy brought about a strange kind of vitality. Just to show that life always finds a way.

 

Except for the endless corpses floating about. In the murky water, their hair flowed like seaweed; they had pasty-white skin and holes for eyes.

 

After all these years floating in these death waters, they still hadn’t rotten over. This was the real meaning behind this death zone’s name, Everlasting Jade Lake.

 

Legends had it that one not only could grasp the mystery of immortality here but also gain the blessing of the Everlasting Jade Lake to have an undying body.

 

Throughout the ages, the promises of these legends and tales drew in curious and foolish cultivators alike.

 

But to this day, none succeeded, adding their lives instead to the Everlasting Jade Lake.

 

There were even some ancient and dead cultivators of old age who were buried here in the hopes that they might come back.

 

All of these made up the literal sea of floating corpses, each bearing a look that made your blood run cold.

 

This was the death zone, Everlasting Jade Lake!