Chapter 220: I Am a Hooligan
Translator: Tim Editor: Chrissy
Ye Mo hadn't expected Jing Xi to be so prepared. She had a burning basic ancient martial arts cultivation method and a filled wine cup beside a bottle. It seemed the nun had kept her promise and procured a cultivation method for him.
“Fuck,” Ye Mo muttered, a vein throbbing in his temple. To an outsider, it would look like he was her lover, who'd fallen off a cliff, prompting her tearful search. He kicked the items down the cliff, offering them as a sacrifice to Tian Po.
Without delay, Ye Mo followed Jing Xi, keeping a safe distance but maintaining visual contact thanks to the spirit mark. She traversed steep mountain paths; without his Wind Controlling Technique and the mark, he couldn't have kept pace. Nearly three hours passed, yet Jing Xi continued her relentless ascent. Ye Mo was speechless; Serenity's seclusion was profound.
Another hour later, they reached a cloud-shrouded cliff. Ye Mo wondered if she planned to commit suicide. He could jump with his Wind Controlling Technique, but even an Earth Level nun would perish from such a fall.
Before Ye Mo could guess further, Jing Xi sat down. Half an hour later, she jumped. Ye Mo was startled. Was this woman suicidal? Was this Serenity?
Waiting until he was sure he wouldn't be discovered, Ye Mo cautiously examined the cliff edge. He soon understood. Ten meters below, obscured by the clouds, were metal chains. As he watched, they vanished.
What was this? Using his spirit sense, he detected the chains again, their length far exceeding his perception's range.
The nun had traversed these chains. Ye Mo thought of Luo Susu. Did she use this perilous route every time she left? As a Yellow Level cultivator, it was extremely dangerous.
The chains' invisibility to the naked eye, detectable only through spirit sense, indicated a peculiar arrangement, possibly a formation that revealed them intermittently under the sun.
Jing Xi's half-hour wait, Ye Mo realized, was to time the chains' reappearance. Their visibility was brief; a misstep meant death.
Though he could see the chains with his spirit sense, Ye Mo wanted to confirm his theory. He sat for half an hour, but the chains remained hidden. The interval was clearly longer than half an hour.
Impatient, Ye Mo jumped, ignoring the chains' visibility. After descending over 100 meters, he landed on a small platform, a dead end.
Jing Xi had vanished from this platform? Impossible. Ye Mo searched, finding nothing suspicious, the base of the cliff unseen.
His spirit sense revealed an anomaly: a palm-sized indentation two meters above the platform. It looked odd.
Examining the indentation, Ye Mo found it smooth on the outside, uneven within. A faint aroma—Jing Xi's—filled the air. He'd held her that morning and recognized the scent instantly. The indentation was a trigger mechanism, its uneven interior resembling a keyhole. Jing Xi possessed a key. No wonder hidden sects were so elusive.
Normally, entry would be impossible without the key, but Ye Mo's abilities bypassed any formation. However, he wasn't certain a formation existed. Most formations required spirit stones, or, lacking those, jade stones, which only powered the lowest-level formations, insufficient for concealing a sect. Spirit stones didn't exist on Earth, at least not as far as Ye Mo knew.
Ye Mo sat, produced a piece of black metal—ordinary iron bought from Luo Cang—and melted it into a plate using fire magic. Within half an hour, he created a key. The person who designed this trap would be furious.
Inserting the plate, Ye Mo waited, then twisted it. Five meters below, a small tunnel materialized in the cliff face. He'd been an idiot; the key needed turning. He quickly retrieved the plate and entered the tunnel.
Fifty meters into the stone tunnel, the passage opened into a winding valley road, eventually leading to vegetation, even a few rabbits.
Ye Mo sighed. While not a small world as Daoist Xian described, it was incredibly well-hidden. Serenity's founder was a genius. He longed for such a sanctuary.
After about an hour, Ye Mo reached the foot of a mountain. The valley widened, revealing farmlands and buildings. A large gate bore the ancient characters, "Serenity."
Ye Mo stopped. This was Serenity. The environment felt paradisiacal. What next? Immediately seek Luo Susu, or plan strategically?
Any nun from Serenity, like Jing Xi, was an Earth Level master. Ye Mo wasn't invincible. If the elders were amenable, fine; otherwise, he might never return. Given Jing Xi's temperament, he doubted their amiability. He resolved to prevent Luo Susu from staying. He needed her agreement, but even if she refused, he couldn't force her. Their acquaintance was minimal.
He must go, but first, he needed protection. Facing Jing Xi unprepared could mean a quick trip back down the cliff. How could he defend himself?
He wasn't a match for Jing Xi at his current level. He'd need to reach the tertiary level of Stage 3, but he was only mid-level. His current techniques were insufficient. And Jing Xi might not even be the strongest.
His only asset was his techniques. Waiting to advance wasn't feasible; spirit chi was scarce here. The Thousand Year Snow Lotus Seed and cauldron weren't enough for quick pill concoction, and even then, digestion would take time.
His techniques were limited: a single fireball or wind blade was inadequate. The element of surprise worked only once.
What if he had many fireballs and wind blades? An idea struck him: a barrage of fireball and wind blade charms would act as a multitude of fighters. While the charms were weaker, quantity compensated. This hooligan tactic was his best bet.
The image of an Earth Level nun dodging countless fireballs made him chuckle. "I'm a hooligan. I'm not scared of a few nuns."