Eternal Sacred King Chapter 81 to 85

 Chapter 81: I’m Innocent

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

At a towering ancient tree nearby, a burly man with a bare upper body stood hidden within the leaves, listening clearly to everything that Zhou Wei and the others said.

A cold glint flickered through the burly man’s eyes.

A gust of wind blew by, rustling the wind as the burly man leapt off from the tree swiftly and landed silently. Laying low to the ground, he trawled through the grass on both hands and legs, heading in the direction of Zhou Wei and the rest.

He was perfectly hidden within the grass which was around half the height of an average man.

If one were to look down, they would merely feel like the grass was moving in a straight line due to the wind – no one would be able to tell that it was a person!

“Senior Brother Zhou, should we split up and search?”

“Sounds like a plan. That Su Zimo’s only at Level 5 Qi Condensation. Any of us is enough to capture him.”

Zhou Wei nodded. “We’ll do that then. Everyone, split up and look!”

“What are you guys looking for?”

The moment Zhou Wei said that, a hoarse and chilling voice rang out behind him.

When Qi Refinement Warriors travel on their flying swords, they would not be too high up from the ground at around 3 meters max unless necessary.

That was because the higher they were, the more spirit qi they would expend.

Right then, a burly man with a bare upper body stood up behind Zhou Wei. He was a full two meters tall with rock-like muscles on his body, looking as though they could explode at any moment. He was just like a god that had suddenly descended with a ferocious expression!

Instantly, Zhou Wei was so scared he could feel his blood curdle.

He did not manage to sense someone approaching so closely to him!

Suddenly, the burly man reached out and pulled Zhou Wei by the feet, yanking him down and smashing him into the ground right in front of the other four Spirit Peak disciples!

Bam!

There was a deafening sound.

A human shaped pit appeared in the ground.

In the hands of this burly man, a Level 9 Qi Condensation cultivator like Zhou Wei was rendered helpless like a baby!

Zhou Wei laid helplessly in the pit, foaming blood from his mouth with his eyes rolled back. Most of his bones were broken and his organs crushed as he fainted right then. His body was the only thing moving as it convulsed subconsciously.

After smashing Zhou Wei, the burly man moved and his gaze shifted to two Level 8 Qi Refinement Warriors.

The two of them felt the blood drain from their face and without hesitation, tried to soar into the skies.

However, the burly man was faster than them and with a lightning leap, he yanked the both of them down from midair!

Bang! Bang!

It was the exact same situation.

Both of the Spirit Peak disciples fainted on the spot after being smashed by the burly man.

“Yikes!”

The remaining two Spirit Peak disciples were pale as a sheet as they summoned a flying sword before pointing their fingers at the burly man. Instantly, the flying swords turned into streams of light that shot out.

One of them was aimed at the burly man’s glabella while the other targeted his chest – those were both fatal areas!

Giving off a malicious grin, the burly man did not try to dodge as he dashed towards them.

When the two Spirit Peak disciples saw that, they heaved a sigh of relief.

That mysterious man was an idiot with brute strength after all. This was someone that did not know how strong cultivators were such that he didn’t even know to dodge against flying swords.

Clang! Clang!

A clanging sound rang off when they met with the burly man’s glabella and chest!

The flying swords were sent flying instead!

Without the slightest bit of damage, the burly man continued rushing towards the two men.

“M-Monster!”

One of the Spirit Peak disciples yelled out in a quivering tone. His face was totally pale – he was so scared he forgot he had to run away anymore.

The other disciple controlled the flying sword beneath his feet and ran as far as he could.

With a casual punch, the burly man knocked the frozen disciple away. He then continued running on all fours, leaving nothing but shadows as he chased after the escaped disciple.

With a rapid leap, he hopped around a couple of towering ancient trees to close the height distance.

“Come on down!”

Laughing, the burly man gripped the disciple’s calf and yanked him down from midair.

Snap!

That single grip by the burly man snapped the disciple’s calf on the spot.

“Ah!” Ah! “Ah!”

Sweating pouring down his forehead, the disciple howled in pain.

Whisking that disciple, the burly man returned to their original place and grabbed the other four who had passed out. Carrying three on one hand and two on the other, he sped outside in huge steps.

“W-Who are you?”

“We are disciples of Ethereal Sect! How dare you attack us! Our sect will definitely not let you off if they know about it!”

Guo Chong, who was the only disciple awake, yelled at the burly man.

The burly man remained silent as he dashed through the forest.

Guo Chong found himself getting more fearful by the moment as he said in trembles, “W-Where are you taking us to?”

“Sir, please let us go.”

“Sir, I know I’m in the wrong now.”

Suddenly, the burly man halted in his tracks and looked down at Guo Chong icily, asking coolly, “What did you do wrong?”

“I-I... I...!”

Guo Chong was stumped by the question.

He had only mentioned it out of nervousness previously but he did not know what he had done wrong!

Guo Chong cursed internally as he did not know where this burly man had spouted out from! Without saying anything, the latter started striking at them and this person was unreasonably strong!

None of their cultivation methods had worked on this burly man at all!

After the burly man stopped in his tracks, he tossed all five of them on the ground and turned to leave without saying anything more.

A look of disbelief spread past Guo Chong’s face.

They were alive?

The burly man did not kill them!

Guo Chong looked around. They were outside the Great Rock Forest right now and he did not know why the burly man had brought them out and left them here before leaving himself.

“Sir, may I know your name and the sect you’re from?” Guo Chong shouted out indignantly.

Suddenly, the burly man stopped in his tracks and turned around before walking towards him once more.

Guo Chong broke into a shudder, wishing that he could slap himself on the mouth as he hurriedly said, “Sir! I really know where I’ve gone wrong this time round! I should not have asked for your name...!”

Arriving before the five of them, the burly man grabbed their storage bags and took away all their spirit stones and elixirs before keeping them in his own storage bag.

Looking at his robbed empty storage bag, Guo Chong wanted to break out in tears.

Snickering, the burly man turned towards Great Rock Forest and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Guo Chong opened his storage bag with shaking hands and dug out a paper crane, writing on it with spirit qi. “We’ve been attacked at Great Rock Forest. The opponent is unknown and extremely strong. Please send reinforcements from the sect!”

Injecting spirit qi to it, the spirit crane spread its wings and transformed into a beam of light, disappearing into the skies.

Guo Chong was injured as well and was unable to carry the other four back, merely able to wait there for the sect’s reinforcements.

Looking at his fellow fainted disciples, he felt despair swallowing him from within.

The thought of his savings for the past few years being robbed completely by some unknown mysterious burly man had him howling out in sadness, “I’m innocent!”

Chapter 82: Pure Gold Crystal

The mysterious burly man was of course Su Zimo.

Upon returning to Great Rock Forest, he reverted to his appearance and wore his green robes, looking like a scholar once more as he sped towards the core region.

The decision to change his appearance was one Su Zimo made after a lengthy consideration.

Even though it was true that Zhou Wei’s gang was there to cause trouble for him, something like that was difficult to explain to the sect. If all five of them were to deny it, he could do nothing about it too.

Instead, he might even be the one punished for injuring them so badly.

At the same time, Su Zimo’s ace in the bag was his strength at melee combat and he did not wish to have it revealed so early.

Furthermore, all he had to do was change his appearance and identity and that would be reason enough for him to loot their spirit stones and elixirs entirely.

While they might feel wronged about it, they would have nowhere to complain.

After all, the mysterious burly man did not exist in this world.

As he approached the core of the forest, Su Zimo kept his flying sword and landed on the ground.

Danger lurked all around within the forest and Su Zimo was much more agile on the ground than the flying sword. If he met with any danger, he would be able to dodge it at the first instance.

Along the way, he could sense the auras of spirit beasts.

However, Su Zimo did not engage in battle and instead chose to avoid them, sprinting towards the core region of Great Rock Forest.

There was a forest of ores not too far away.

There, pure gold laid abundantly on the ground and shimmered brightly as Su Zimo tread over carefully.

He could sense a hint of danger within the forest.

There was definitely some extremely strong spirit beast or demon reigning over the area!

Within the middle of the forest beside a large pure gold ore, a spirit beast with a thick armor sprawled on the ground. Its armor shone with a luscious shade of gold, covering its neck and limbs while its tail was filled with spikes.

Goldeater Beast!

Surviving by devouring all sorts of spirit materials and ores, it possessed a cruel nature and an immense strength. Invulnerable to weapons, there was almost no weakness to it.

It was clear that the Goldeater before them was almost at the realm of a spirit demon!

This was troubling.

Su Zimo frowned.

If it was any other spirit beast, he had the confidence of killing it there and then. However, he had no way of dealing with this Goldeater at all.

Suddenly, the Goldeater which was initially fast asleep opened its eyes and glared at Su Zimo sharply with an immense killing intent!

“Roar!”

Rising in the blink of an eye, it hollered in the direction of Su Zimo and sprinted over.

Narrowing his gaze coldly, Su Zimo pushed his feet and activated the Plow Heaven Stride. Instantly, two deep ravines appeared beneath his feet on the ground as the mud flipped over.

Against the pounce of the Goldeater, Su Zimo held his ground firmly as his aura began to rise. Right after Plow Heaven Stride, he leaned forward with Mountain Reliance!

Bang!

The man and beast had collided into one another!

Su Zimo was knocked half a step back while the Goldeater was sent flying away, only stopping after crushing through a number of gold ores.

“Haha!”

Su Zimo burst out in laughter.

It was at that moment that he realized his physique had evolved to a terrifying degree after he tempered it using spirit qi with the foundation of The Mystic Classic of the Twelve Demon Kings of the Great Wilderness.

Even the Goldeater’s strength was not enough to withstand an impact against him!

A trace of fear flickered through the Goldeater’s eyes.

Activating Divine Steed Fleeting, Su Zimo appeared before the Goldeater in the blink of an eye as he retrieved the Cold Moon Saber from his storage bag and slashed towards its head.

Clang!

Sparks flew everywhere.

The Cold Moon Saber rebounded and the Goldeater was totally unharmed.

At the same time, it shook its spiked tail and swept through the air, landing squarely on Su Zimo’s chest.

With lightning speed, Su Zimo mentally cultivated his Body Petrification, causing his flesh to expand and his muscles to harden.

Bang!

Su Zimo fell over, slamming onto the biggest pure gold ore in the middle of the forest, causing cracks to form densely on it.

The Goldeater glared at the ore behind Su Zimo and looked a little unnerved.

Rubbing his chest, Su Zimo kept his Cold Moon Saber.

The Cold Moon Saber was no longer useful – Su Zimo could only use his own strength to fight against the Goldeater!

Once more, the man and beast fought to a corner.

Opening its mouth, the Goldeater chomped at Su Zimo, aiming for his neck.

Without fear, Su Zimo suddenly reached out with both hands and grabbed the upper and lower jaws of the Goldeater, yanking it with ferocious force!

Psst!

Heaving a deep breath of air, mighty as the Anaconda Eclipse, his chest puffed up robustly as he spun around mightily. It was a frightening sight as green veins popped up all over his arms like snakes coiling around it.

“Open up!”

With a holler, Su Zimo continued to tear.

Shing!

Blood filled the entire place as organs fell to the ground, creating a foul stench all around.

The Goldeater was torn into half by Su Zimo!

Breathing heavily, he tossed the corpse of the Goldeater away casually and began collecting the gold ores around.

“Mmm?”

Su Zimo’s eyes lit up.

Within a shattered pile of gold ores stood a large Pure Gold Crystal; it illuminated with a mysterious gleam and was almost transparent.

“Pure Gold Crystal!”

Su Zimo exclaimed.

A Pure Gold Crystal was an extremely rare item amongst gold ores and was hard to produce. At the same time, it was a crucial material for the refinement of middle or even superior-grade spirit weapons.

“I’m going to be rich!”

His head went into a frenzied excitement as he kept the Pure Gold Crystal that was around the height of an average man in his storage bag.

Su Zimo then shattered all the other gold ores around but he found no more Pure Gold Crystals.

Even then, his reward for this trip was far more than he had imagined.

After collecting all the gold ores around, he turned around to leave.

Before long, a green robed scholar carried a spirit tiger on his left arm and a spirit leopard on his right, walking out of the forest.

...

At the same time, the spirit crane that Guo Chong sent back to Spirit Peak caused quite a stir.

An elder of Spirit Peak headed towards Great Rock Forest personally with a group of disciples.

Weapon Peak.

Out of extreme boredom, the disheveled old man was out roaming around the top of the peak. Arriving at the mission stele, he raised his head and remarked in soft surprise, “The mission for Great Rock Forest’s given out? Do we have such promising disciples that would head there?”

Elder Liu beside the mission stele opened his eyes lazily and harrumphed, “Some brazen lad at Level 5 Qi Condensation went there alone. I had to give him a spirit crane in case he gets into trouble.”

“Level 5 Qi Condensation?”

The disheveled old man frowned. As though he recalled something, he suddenly yanked Elder Liu’s wrist. “What’s the name of that lad?”

“Su Zimo or something.”

Piak!

The disheveled old man slapped on the desk heavily, scaring Elder Liu so badly that he woke up right away.

“Are you crazy?! What’s with that?!” Elder Liu glared and scolded.

“You’re the crazy one!”

The disheveled old man yelled back, “That lad’s the only one in Weapon Peak that can cultivate a Level 3 Spirit Fire but you bloody let him go to Great Rock Forest alone?! I’ll kill you!”

“He’s the one that cultivated the Level 3 Spirit Fire?” Elder Liu was stumped too.

With a grim expression, the disheveled old man exclaimed, “Sleep, sleep and sleep! That’s the only thing you know to do day and night! That lad’s our only hope for Weapon Peak! If anything happens to you, I’ll never let you off!”

Stunned for a moment, Elder Liu leapt to his feet and urged, “L-Let’s not waste anymore time! Hurry to Great Rock Forest and save the lad!”

Chapter 83: The Mind of a Spirit Tiger

In order to avoid Zhou Wei’s gang, Su Zimo made a detour intentionally and he somehow ended up avoiding the elder of Spirit Peak as well as the disheveled old man too.

When he returned to Weapon Peak and wanted to hand in the mission, he realized that Elder Liu had disappeared.

“Where’s Elder Liu?” Su Zimo asked some of the Weapon Peak disciples passing by.

“I’m not sure either but I saw him quarreling with master before the both of them left in a hurry. I’ve got no idea where they went,” The disciple shook his head.

Su Zimo did not think too much about it and returned to his cave abode with the spirit tiger and leopard.

Both beasts had already attained spirit intellect and had wisdom equivalent to that of a grown man. Their eyes revealed a deep fear as they were brought back to Su Zimo’s cave abode.

The beasts knew that even for human cultivators, their bodies were weak.

Yet, this man before them was different!

His body was even stronger than theirs!

Neither the spirit tiger or leopard knew why this man wanted to take them back to his cave abode.

“Kill us? Eat us? Force us to a blood oath to enslave us?”

“Or...”

The spirit tiger shrugged its head as though it thought of something. When it saw the strange look in Su Zimo’s eyes, shivers broke down its spine. “Could this man have some sort of special fetish?”

“It’s over, it’s over! I’ve kept my chastity for so many years! Am I going to lose it to a human...”

Suddenly, the spirit tiger was terrified after being convinced that it knew what Su Zimo was up to.

Indignant, the spirit tiger looked at Su Zimo with a sad and begrudging gaze containing complex emotions.

That gaze sent goosebumps across Su Zimo’s back as well as he slapped casually. “What’s wrong with you.”

That slap merely made the spirit tiger feel even more aggrieved.

“It’s really over! Not only does this man want to do ‘that’ to me, he’s spanking me...”

An influx of emotions gushed into the spirit tiger’s heart as two hot streams of tears almost filled its face.

At the side, the spirit leopard stayed silently without budging. However, its eyes would flicker with a ferocious look every now and then.

Su Zimo came before the two spirit beasts and said gruffly, “Both of you, cry out.”

Spirit tiger: “...”

Spirit leopard: “...”

The spirit tiger lamented in his heart. “This man’s fetish is really kinky. He wants us to cry out before doing ‘that’ to us!”

The spirit leopard did not dare to wait as it cried out softly.

It was a sound as soft as a mosquito, unlike the earthshaking howls often made by spirit beasts in the forests.

The reason why Su Zimo had brought the spirit tiger and leopard back was because he wanted to unravel the secret behind their noises as required by the Marrow Cleansing section.

However, the spirit leopard was already terrified after being beaten up by Su Zimo. How would it dare to roar in his face? Wouldn’t that be courting death?

Su Zimo was stunned for a moment as he looked at the spirit tiger subconsciously.

It broke into a shudder and sighed internally. “Sigh, look how imposing he is. This is where my reputation ends. From now on, I’m his.”

Sprawled on the ground, the spirit tiger leaned towards Su Zimo and winked its eyes. With slight embarrassment and shyness, it cried out.

“Meow!”

After crying out, it even looked at the spirit leopard with glee as though it was implying. “See that? That’s the way you cry out!”

For some reason, Su Zimo felt all his goosebumps rising with that cry as he kicked out instinctively!

Bang!

Before the glee disappeared from the spirit tiger’s eyes, it was sent flying by Su Zimo’s kick.

The spirit leopard’s mouth opened widely as it nearly burst out into laughter.

Leaping up, the spirit tiger was enraged and hollered internally. “Bloody hell! I’m not giving in anymore!”

However, when it met with Su Zimo’s cold gaze, the spirit tiger’s courage disappeared as it sprawled on the ground and purred out coyly once more.

At this point, it had none of the ferociousness and might a king of the forest should have. If he hadn’t seen and heard it himself, Su Zimo might have thought that he had captured a large kitten instead of a tiger.

Even though the spirit tiger was indignant, Su Zimo was even more troubled.

He wanted to unravel the secrets of the Marrow Cleansing section through these two beasts but yet, he had caught two unusual beasts.

The spirit leopard was slightly more normal albeit cowardly.

But, the spirit tiger was just in heat right now...!

And the weirdest thing was that this spirit tiger was a male!

Looking at the two spirit beasts moodily, Su Zimo wondered if he should slay them for food instead.

The two spirit beasts had sharp senses. As though they could sense Su Zimo’s killing intent, both sprawled onto the ground and cried pitifully in horror.

Sighing internally, Su Zimo knocked that thought out of his head for now.

...

Great Rock Forest.

Elder Pei Fu of Spirit Peak arrived at Great Rock Forest with 12 inner sect disciples and saw Zhou Wei’s gang.

By now, all of them had already woken up. However, because they were injured severely, none of them could move and were moaning on the spot fraily.

After arriving, Pei Fu swept his gaze across them. He only relaxed after ascertaining that they were not in mortal danger as he asked grimly, “What happened? Who did this?”

“I don’t know!”

Guo Chong was on the brink of tears as he cried indignantly, “The five of us merely came by Great Rock Forest’s area for a stroll. However, a burly man with a bare upper body appeared out of nowhere and without saying anything, beat the five of us up!”

“What’s his name?”

“I don’t know!”

“Which sect is he from?”

“I don’t know!”

Pei Fu barked, “What do you know then?!”

“I only know he’s a burly man...”

Pei Fu went silent for a moment before asking again, “What’s the cultivation of the other party?”

“Perfected Qi Condensation,” Guo Chong replied instantly.

In reality, the five of them knew that the other party was only at Level 5 Qi Condensation. However, if word were to spread within the sect that five disciples of Spirit Peak were beaten up by a burly man of Level 5 Qi Condensation, they would turn into a laughing stock!

That was why the five of them had already decided beforehand that they would insist the other party was a Perfected Qi Condensation.

Frowning, Pei Fu asked, “But your injuries don’t seem like they were inflicted by a cultivator?”

“Elder, you don’t understand. That person must have cultivated some sort of body tempering technique such that he is extremely strong in melee combat! My flying sword couldn’t even scratch him!” Guo Chong explained hurriedly.

“Why aren’t you guys consuming any elixirs after being injured so badly then? You’re waiting for death?”

“The burly man robbed out storage bags clean and we’re only left with a couple of pseudo spirit weapons now...”

Sighing, Pei Fu gestured with his hand.

The inner sect disciples behind him rushed up right away and took out their jade bottles, pouring some elixirs to feed the five of them.

Right then, two figures appeared through the air and arrived before them with lightning speed.

They were Weapon Peak’s master, the disheveled old man and Elder Liu.

The disheveled old man furrowed his brows. “Why are you guys here?”

Pei Fu sighed, “Our disciples met with an attack and we’re here for reinforcements. Why are you guys here? Don’t tell me a disciple of Weapon Peak met with danger too?”

The disheveled old man and Elder Liu exchanged glances as they cast a worried look at Guo Chong’s gang before asking darkly, “Have you guys seen our trial disciple, Su Zimo?”

“Y-Yes!”

Slightly guilty, Guo Chong pointed towards Great Rock Forest. “I saw him entering Great Rock Forest and he hasn’t come out yet.”

“It’s over!”

Both the disheveled old man and Elder Liu felt their hearts sinking.

Chapter 84: A Lump of...

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

When Pei Fu saw how terrible the disheveled old man and Elder Liu was, he could not help but ask, “Why? That trial disciple of yours...”

“He’s the only one in Weapon Peak that can cultivate a Level 3 Spirit Fire,” The disheveled old man’s tone was grim.

“Level 3 Spirit Fire!”

Pei Fu exclaimed, “I’ve also heard the news that a weapon refinement prodigy appeared in Weapon Peak. So, that’s Su Zimo.”

Elder Liu replied darkly, “We’re headed into Great Rock Forest. I won’t believe it unless I see the lad’s corpse for myself.”

Pei Fu replied, “Let’s go. I’ll accompany you guys.”

He had the inner sect disciples behind him escort Zhou Wei’s gang back before heading into Great Rock Forest together with the disheveled old man and Elder Liu.

The three of them split up and looked around for an entire day to no avail. Finally, they arrived at the core region of Great Rock Forest to find the two halves of the Goldeater’s corpse.

“This Goldeater’s almost reaching a spirit demon realm, but it was killed here.”

“Look at the tragic state of its body. It’s almost as though it was torn apart entirely. What ferocious strength!”

“Mmm?”

Pei Fu murmured softly before saying apprehensively, “Could it be the burly man?”

“What burly man?” The disheveled old man asked.

Pei Fu related the assault of the five men before continuing grimly, “Based on what Guo Chong said, the burly man is extremely strong in melee combat with tremendous strength. Be it whether he’s of another sect or some practitioner of the dark path, this matter is not to be taken lightly.”

“It’s clear that the burly man did not intend to kill or Guo Chong and the others would not have stayed alive.”

Elder Liu analyzed, “Besides, the burly man brought the five of them out of Great Rock Forest before he left. It’s clear that he’s worried they might be injured by the spirit beasts within Great Rock Forest.”

“That man’s a mystery. We can’t tell if he’s a friend or foe just yet,” The disheveled old man nodded in agreement.

At the thought of Su Zimo’s current unknown status of life and death, Elder Liu could not help but feel guilt rise within him and sighed deeply.

“Forget it, let’s head back,” The disheveled old man gestured with his hand looking all worn out.

Even though neither of the three Perfected Golden Cores said anything, all of them had the same thoughts that Su Zimo must have perished so quickly within Great Rock Forest that he did not even have the time to send the spirit crane for reinforcements.

In truth, none of them had seen the way Su Zimo dueled with the crane on the cliff to join the sect.

If they had witnessed that, they would understand that Su Zimo wasn’t going to die that easily.

...

Su Zimo did not obtain any insights through the spirit tiger and leopard for two days. Feeling frustrated and remembering that he had yet to hand in his mission for the gold ores, he left his cave abode and headed for the mission stele on his flying sword.

There were quite a number of disciples from Weapon Peak gathered around the stele with Xue Yi being one of them.

Su Zimo walked over and asked, “Elder Liu’s not back yet?”

“Yes, he’s been away for two days now and hasn’t returned yet,” Xue Yi nodded.

“Then what are you guys looking at?” Su Zimo saw that there were many disciples gathered around the mission stele discussing amongst themselves.

Xue Yi pointed to the stele. “Take a look at that first mission.”

Su Zimo raised his head.

Five Peaks Mission: Search for the mysterious burly man.

Beside the mission was a drawing of the appearance Su Zimo had changed into previously.

“What’s this all about?” Su Zimo asked, pretending to be none the wiser.

Xue Yi whispered, “I heard that some disciples of Spirit Peak were attacked near Great Rock Forest by this mysterious burly man. He’s said to be extremely strong at a cultivation realm of Perfected Qi Condensation!”

Su Zimo snickered internally.

Even if they were to deploy the entire sect, they wouldn’t be able to find this mysterious burly man!

Swish!

Suddenly, the sound of robes slicing the air could be heard.

Everyone turned over to see the disheveled old man and Elder Liu speeding through the air and landing on the peak.

“Mmm?”

Both of them swept through everyone with a casual gaze before stopping at Su Zimo fixedly.

Their gaze seemed as though they wanted to eat him up!

“You came back from Great Rock Forest alive, lad?” The disheveled old man grit his teeth and asked, saying each word with a punch.

He was pissed! They had spent tireless nights searching for Su Zimo in Great Rock Forest, worried and upset. Yet, unknowingly, the lad had already returned unharmed!

Elder Liu was even more pissed.

Because of Su Zimo, he was not only scolded badly by the disheveled old man, he was feeling guilty for the past two days.

But who knew... the lad was well and alive here without the slightest bit of remorse!

Su Zimo felt goosebumps rising from their stares as he coughed gently and nodded. “Yeah, I returned after completing the mission.”

“Nonsense!”

The disheveled old man barked, “How did we not see you along the way to Great Rock Forest?”

“Ah?”

Pausing for a moment, Su Zimo replied, “I’m only at Level 5 Qi Condensation. In order to conserve spirit qi, I spent half of my journey running on the ground instead of traveling with my flying sword. You guys must have missed me?”

Unless there were obstructions, no one would pay attention to the people walking on the ground.

That made sense.

Both the disheveled old man and Elder Liu could not admit that they had spent all that time outside searching because they were worried for Su Zimo’s safety.

It would be embarrassing to admit it!

However, that was still a pent up feeling that they had nowhere to vent!

Both those sly old foxes exchanged glances and understood the other’s intent without saying anything.

“We’ve got to find an excuse to punish this stupid brat!”

Elder Liu’s eyes shone with craftiness as he put on a stern expression. “Lad, you haven’t completed the mission of Great Rock Forest, right? Do you know that there’s a punishment for not completing missions?”

For both of them, the fact that Su Zimo could return alive from the forest was already a blessing – how could he possibly complete the mission?

Besides, both of them had been to Great Rock Forest before and knew that a Goldeater was guarding it. Also, the pure gold mine was already looted clean.

However, Su Zimo chuckled. “Out of sheer luck, I’ve managed to complete the mission and not let you guys down.”

“Ah?”

This time round, both of them were the stumped ones.

Before they even realized what was going on, Su Zimo had retrieved a lump of pure gold ores from his storage bag which was enough to form a small mountain slightly taller than a man.

The disheveled old man and Elder Liu were not the only stumped ones – all the disciples around froze as well.

One had to understand that a single small piece of pure gold ore was sufficient to complete the mission.

However, Su Zimo had brought back a huge lump of it. A huge lump...!

What everyone did not know was that the lump they were witnessing was merely a third of what was within Su Zimo’s storage bag.

Furthermore, he was hiding the precious Pure Gold Crystal as well!

“Err... ”

Somewhat stumped, both old men were speechless for a moment.

After awhile, Elder Liu gulped and coughed gently. “Lad, the mission is... erm... pretty well done. Cough, cough.”

Elder Liu wanted to nitpick at Su Zimo but he truly found himself incapable of doing so at the sight of the huge lump of gold ores.

The disheveled old man furrowed his brows and asked, “Lad, did you see the Goldeater beside the gold mine?”

“Yeah?”

Su Zimo nodded. “When I arrived there, I found the Goldeater killed already. Since there were still quite a number of gold ores left, I brought them all back.

“What the f*ck?”

Both old men rebutted internally, “That lad’s luck is way too bloody good, isn’t it...?!”

Chapter 85: Sound of Tigers and Leopards!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Su Zimo handed in the mission and received quite a number of contribution points for it. He then returned to his cave abode.

Watching Su Zimo leave, both old men could not help but lament in deep thoughts.

“There’s no wonder why he’s the man who could cultivate a Level 3 Spirit Fire. Even his luck is beyond others,” The disheveled old man pouted his lips.

“Yes.”

Elder Liu continued, “Those trial disciples of Spirit Peak that went to Great Rock Forest were not low in cultivation realms but yet they were injured badly. But this lad? Not only did he not bump into that mysterious burly man, he even managed to go through Great Rock Forest entirely while returning peacefully with all those pure gold ores with just a Level 5 Qi Condensation. What else do you call that if not luck?”

The disheveled old man remarked in pity, “Actually, given his gift for refining weapons, it’ll be best for him to join True Fire Sect. Our sect isn’t good at weapon and elixir refinement at all. I honestly feel a little bad that we may end up burdening his progress.”

“Let’s not think so much. He’s only just started on weapon refinement and can’t even create an inferior-grade spirit weapon. Even though our sect doesn’t specialize in weapon refinement, we have the foundation of it too. Let’s think about other stuff in the future,” Elder Liu consoled.

Nodding, the disheveled old man lowered his head in deep thoughts.

...

It was still early when Su Zimo returned to his cave abode.

According to his plan, he would spend all his efforts on immortality cultivation during the day be it for raising his cultivation or learning more about weapon refinement. Come nighttime, he would cultivate The Mystic Classic of the Twelve Demon Kings of the Great Wilderness.

Before attaining a core, be it Qi Refinement Warriors or Foundation Establishment Cultivators, they were no different from mere mortals and would still have to rest through sleeping.

The common ground between Qi Refinement Warriors, Foundation Establishment Cultivators and mere mortals was still their lifespans.

Qi Refinement Warriors and Foundation Establishment Cultivators merely had a slightly longer lifespan than mere mortals who could only live to a hundred plus at best without ailments or accidents.

However, demonic cultivation was different.

During daytime, most demons would be in hiding and would only roam and hunt for food at night when their energy peaked.

In fact, Su Zimo would also be resting come nightfall. However, through the two years of demonic cultivation, he already had the habit of maintaining The Mystic Classic of the Twelve Demon Kings of the Great Wilderness’s breathing and expiration method even in his sleep.

That way, Su Zimo’s demonic cultivation was rising equally without taking up any of his immortality cultivation time.

It was just that the lack of progress in the Marrow Cleansing section had caused a bottleneck for his demonic cultivation path.

For the next few days, Su Zimo continued forcing the two spirit beasts to cry out continuously.

After those few days, the two spirit beasts were so exhausted that their voices were hoarse. However, Su Zimo still had no clue on how to proceed with the Marrow Cleansing section.

Even if they were spirit demons, they would be worn out howling like idiots without sleep or food for a couple of days.

The spirit tiger and leopard looked absolutely lethargic as they sprawled on the ground sleepily.

“Sigh, I’ve never met a master so hard to please.”

The spirit tiger sighed. “If he wanted to kill or chop us up, at least that’d be a swift ending. But what’s the point of torturing us like this?!”

The few days of struggle had Su Zimo tuckered out as well.

He wasn’t idling while the two spirit beasts were howling – he listened intently with all his attention, afraid that he might miss the secret in a lapse.

However, the end result was merely complete exhaustion as his eyelids were so heavy that he wanted nothing more than to have a good sleep.

“Forget it, I’ll kill these two tomorrow for food.”

Lying down on his stone bed, that thought jolted through his mind as he fell into slumber.

He was simply way too tired.

The moment he closed his eyes, he entered dreamland and his breathing turned heavier, using the breathing and expiration method of the Body Tempering, Tendons Transformation and Body Tempering section subconsciously.

The two spirit beasts exchanged glances as though they were relieved of a burden.

“That human finally decided to stop!”

The spirit tiger was so touched that two warm streams of tears flowed down his cheeks as he almost howled out to the skies.

If they were to continue pushing on, he would have committed suicide by banging his head against the wall before Su Zimo even killed him!

Even though the spirit leopard was exhausted as well, a fierce look rose in its eyes at the sight of Su Zimo sleeping.

It was a good chance!

Even though both spirit beasts were mentally exhausted, they still had their physical strength. If they could bite through this human’s throat, they could escape from this place!

Looking at the spirit tiger, the spirit leopard growled softly.

The language between demons was naturally understood by the spirit tiger.

Even though the spirit leopard’s suggestion was rather tempting, the spirit tiger did not want to take the risk – who knew if this human was pretending to be asleep!

Furthermore, the only thought on the spirit tiger’s mind was to have a good night’s sleep.

Swaying its head, the spirit tiger sprawled on the ground and slept.

The spirit leopard looked apprehensive. After a moment, as though it had decided on something, its eyes gave off a feral look. Tiptoeing, it kept its killing intent and crept beside Su Zimo.

Looking at Su Zimo’s pale, succulent neck, the spirit leopard opened its mouth slowly.

It was certain that its bite would be able to crush even rocks!

All of a sudden!

As though it had realized something, the feral look in the spirit leopard’s eyes disappeared and was replaced with fear. Its opened jaws closed back slowly, as though it had just yawned instead.

Turning around, the spirit leopard’s eyes were filled with horror as it shivered terribly. Sprawling down on the ground, it turned to look at the sleeping Su Zimo quiveringly, not daring to attempt anything anymore.

‘He’s awake!’

Those were the two words in the spirit leopard’s mind.

As it was about to chomp down, it realized that unknowingly, the human’s breathing methods had changed.

That change caused the spirit leopard to break out in sweat.

It no longer dared to try anything funny as it laid there obediently, falling asleep after wild thoughts ran through its mind.

In truth, Su Zimo had woken up the moment the killing intent in the spirit leopard rose.

That was because Su Zimo’s spirit perception was way too frighteningly keen – the cicada senses autumn coming before the wind even starts to blow. Even back in the Cang Lang Mountain Range, the spirit monkey could barely sneak an attack in, let alone this spirit leopard.

Since he was going to kill the two spirit beasts the next day anyways, Su Zimo couldn’t be bothered to make a move and continued sleeping.

Come midnight, Su Zimo and the two spirit beasts were fast asleep.

As the spirit tiger slept, a weird noise came from its nose.

“Huff... huff... huff...”

After the spirit leopard fell asleep, a sound came from its nose as well, different from the spirit tiger’s.

“Mmm... mmm... mmm...”

Both sounds were unique and were neither loud nor soft. Superposing, they reverberated through the cave abode.

Right then, a mysterious change happened in Su Zimo’s body!

It was as though both sounds carried a strange energy that could penetrate through the flesh and tendons, permeating to the bones and moving the marrow within!

Gurgle, gurgle!

Through the vibrations of the two sounds, a rumble like the sound of running water rang out from his marrow, soothing to one’s ears.

Su Zimo who was in deep sleep felt as though he had just been in a dream as he witnessed the marrow liquid within his bones flowing and gushing squeezing through it, forming blood that seeped into his blood and veins.

“Mmm?”

He bolted wide awake in shock with widened eyes – the sound of tigers and leopards!