“Young Miss, how dare she doubt your teacher. Shall we kill her?”
Ma Qianzu gritted his teeth like a loyal dog.
“Shut up.”
Li Ziqi reproached.
Ma Qianzu immediately stopped talking and just quietly squatted at the side.
“Are you trying to get a free massage?”
Sun Mo asked.
“Die!”
Gu Xiuxun rolled her eyes and did a pose as if she wanted to draw her sword and slash Sun Mo. However, this wasn’t a bad idea. Not only could she enjoy it, but she could also discern if he was real.
(No, I mustn’t let my future husband down. I mustn’t show my body to Sun Mo anymore.)
“This is a very sharp question!”
Sun Mo sank into deep thought. It was true that he had no way to prove himself. “How do you think this copy is produced?”
“It must be because of a powerful secret treasure of darkness.”
Gu Xiuxun wasn’t surprised at all because in the Darkness Continent, except for reviving the dead, anything else was possible.
“Since these copies are so convincing, then do you think they’ll have our memories and skills? If yes, how do they do that?”
Sun Mo brought this up for discussion.
“Teacher Sun, the matters in the Darkness Continent can’t be assessed with common knowledge from Middle-Earth’s Nine Provinces.”
Gu Xiuxun’s lips twitched.
“Take the first level for example. They have strange and unfathomable spirit qi tides. The spirit qi here is very dense, and some places are vacuum of spirit qi.
“Have you seen them before? Once cultivators go to those places, the spirit qi inside and outside their bodies would be in a state of imbalance. The cultivators would then swell up like a ball and explode.”
Sun Mo thought of that scene and couldn’t help but shudder.
This way of dying was definitely very painful.
“Not only does the second level of the Darkness Continent have the constantly changing spirit qi tides like that on the first level, but the most terrifying thing is that once a person enters the second level, they’ll experience all sorts of auditory and visionary hallucinations. The longer they stay, the more serious the symptoms would be, until they go crazy eventually.
“Therefore, if one can’t reach the spirit-refinement realm, they are not allowed to enter the second level. Even one at the blood-ignition realm isn’t allowed to stay over one week there.”
Gu Xiuxun explained. As a top student from the Myriad Daos Academy, when she first reached the blood-ignition realm, she was lucky enough to follow the school’s great teacher circle to the second level of the Darkness Continent.
How should she put it? It was a feeling that she’d definitely not want to undergo a second time. It was because once someone went there, they’d feel depressed for no reason.
“I know this!”
Sun Mo searched through his memories.
No one knew how the Darkness Continent was distributed. Due to the existence of spatial regulations, it was impossible to build a teleportation gate. Therefore, if one wished to enter the second level, they could only go up through a few passageways on the first level.
It was said that the higher one went up, the stranger the regulations. The fifth level was even called a forbidden area for life. If one wasn’t at the legendary realm, it’d be courting death to go there.
“I really believe that you’re real now!”
Gu Xiuxun suddenly smiled and said.
“Why?”
Sun Mo was surprised.
“It’s a secret!”
Gu Xiuxun pursed her lips and smiled. She realized that when she was talking to Sun Mo, she felt very comfortable and at ease. There was an indescribable sense of tacit understanding.
It was like the two of them were born to be bosom friends.
“Hehe!”
Sun Mo looked toward Tantai Yutang. “Are you alright?”
“I feel that I’d be able to kill a cow!”
The sickly guy clenched his fingers joints then felt puzzled. “Teacher, since Teacher Gu has a copy, then the others should have one too. How are you certain if I’m real?”
“I feel that a copy wouldn’t be able to learn your bad taste!”
Sun Mo teased.
“Hmm?”
Tantai Yutang didn’t expect to get such a reply. After being stunned for a moment, he couldn’t restrain his smile. “Can I take this as a compliment?”
“Tantai, how do you ascertain that Teacher and I are real?”
Li Ziqi felt curious. Given her understanding of Tantai Yutang, this guy definitely had a way to discern things.
“I’m not certain!”
The sickly guy disputed.
Pa!
The little sunny egg gave the sickly guy a light punch. “Say it quickly!”
“I scattered a type of powder on you guys before the competition. Only I can smell it.”
Tantai Yutang touched his nose.
This was something basic for a herbalist. Although those copies had similar appearances and expressions, they hadn’t come into contact with Tantai Yutang before after all. Therefore, they wouldn’t have traces of powder on them.
“Then why didn’t you say it earlier?”
Gu Xiuxun complained.
“The atmosphere is so good now, and I feel that you guys will be heading to a hotel next. I’d feel bad for interrupting.”
Tantai Yutang felt very aggrieved.
“What rubbish are you talking about?”
Gu Xiuxun reproached, her face turning red. (Oh my, even a student can tell that I’m on a closer term with Sun Mo? This can’t do. I mustn’t let my future husband down.)
However, after ascertaining Sun Mo’s identity, Gu Xiuxun’s heart was filled with admiration.
He really had an outstanding performance!
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Gu Xiuxun +500. Reverence (4,500/10,000).
“Teacher, you have quite a lot of bugs around you. You summoned them with spiritual control technique, right? And this soul, are you guys using it to probe the way?”
Tantai Yutang assessed Ma Qianzu.
“What are you looking at? I’ll bite you to death!”
Ma Qianzu bared his teeth.
“I know a few medicinal herbs that have corrosive effects on souls after they have been squashed into juice. Do you want to give it a try?”
The sickly guy beamed, but when Ma Qianzu saw it, he felt as if Tantai Yutang was like a devil who had crawled out from hell.
“Oh my, there are movements over there! I’ll go take a look!”
Ma Qianzu immediately floated away.
“Not bad!”
Sun Mo looked at this smart young man in admiration. “Do you have other ways of discerning?”
“No!”
The sickly guy shook his head.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Tantai Yutang +100, Friendly (950/1,000).
“Alright, if there aren’t any other problems, we’ll be setting off!”
A few bugs fell off from Sun Mo’s shoulder, giving him directions.
“Yes, we’ll need to hurry up!”
Gu Xiuxun’s countenance turned solemn as well. If a copy were to sneak attack the others, they would suffer.
After all, not everyone could be like Sun Mo and notice the copies’ flaws.
This time around, Ma Qianzu [1] really acted as his name suggested, providing his service to everyone. Once he noticed any abnormalities, he’d report immediately.
However, they were quite lucky and moved smoothly until they arrived at a black spire.
“This is that black building!”
The bugs reported.
This spire looked like it was over 100 meters tall. However, Sun Mo felt that it could be an illusion because they were underground. The height of the ceiling should only be ten meters or so.
“Go in and search!”
Sun Mo ordered.
The bugs swarmed in.
“Young Miss!”
Ma Qianzu pleaded with a crying expression, “I can feel a terrifying aura inside. I’ll definitely die if I go in.”
“Forget it, just stay by my side!”
Li Ziqi didn’t force Ma Qianzu.
“All of you, stay here. I’ll go in and take a look!”
Sun Mo looked at the spire.
Warning, unknown terrain. Extremely dangerous!
A red label immediately popped up.
“No!”
Both Gu Xiuxun and Li Ziqi refused in unison.
“It’s too dangerous inside. I’ll go with you. We’ll be able to help each other out.”
Gu Xiuxun suggested. Regardless if Sun Mo agreed to it or not, she was going.
“I…”
Li Ziqi wanted to go as well, but her rationality told her that if she were to go, she’d just be a burden. Therefore, her eyes turned red. She hated herself for being so weak.
“I understand your intention!”
Sun Mo patted the little sunny egg’s head. “Tantai, protect your elder martial sister.”
Ma Qianzu was familiar with the ways of people. He knew that once he was useless, he’d be abandoned. Therefore, he went up to the door of the spire and glanced in. He didn’t expect to make a great discovery.
“Young Miss, I smell it again! There’s the scent of living people inside!”
Ma Qianzu shouted!
“It’s been verified. This guy is a jinx!”
Sun Mo’s lips twitched. If he was someone who believed in Fengshui, he’d kill Ma Qianzu as a sacrifice.
“I saw it! There are people dressed in the same clothes as this guy!”
Ma Qianzu reported.
“What?”
Jia Wendong’s eyes lit up and he immediately darted into the spire. He then cried out, “Teacher Wei, Nangong! This is great! I’ve finally found you guys.”
Sun Mo and the other three exchanged a glance and entered.
“Wendong?”
Wei Xueli had just finished saying that when he grabbed onto his blade tightly, looking toward Sun Mo and Gu Xiuxun. “What’s going on?”
Jia Wendong felt very awkward. Both sides were rivals, but he only reached here after depending on their protection. This made him feel embarrassed.
However, he had to reply to his teacher’s question.
“I followed Sun… Teacher Sun here!”
Out of respect for Sun Mo, Jia Wendong didn’t call his name out directly.
When Wei Xueli saw Jia Wendong like this, he patted the latter’s shoulder and consoled him, “Don’t blame yourself. This place isn’t somewhere you can explore by yourself. Following them to protect yourself is a smart choice. Teacher won’t blame you for that.”
“Thank you, teacher!”
Jia Wendong heaved a sigh of relief.
“Take care of Nangong!”
After instructing him, Wei Xueli stood up and faced Sun Mo and Gu Xiuxun. “Since you’ve protected a student from Mingshao, I’ll let you guys off this time around. Let’s go!”
“What did you say?”
Gu Xiuxun broke out laughing from the fury. This guy was very arrogant, conducting himself from a superior stand.
“Huh?”
Hearing that, Jia Wendong got a big fright. He quickly looked at Sun Mo’s expression then covered his mouth with his hand. He persuaded Wei Xueli softly, “Teacher, there’s no way to win!”
“Of course! I’m at the fifth level of the blood-ignition realm! There’s no way that they’d be able to defeat me!”
Wei Xueli was very confident. Reaching the fifth level of the blood-ignition before 21 was quite a brilliant achievement.
“No… I’m saying…”
Jia Wendong was speechless and felt very anxious. He couldn’t possibly say, ‘I’m saying that you can’t win against him’, could he? Wei Xueli would bear a grudge against him for life.
“What do you want to say? Take care of Nangong!”
Wei Xueli was impatient, so he urged Sun Mo and the others, “What? You don’t want to leave? Then don’t blame me for not holding back!”
Jia Wendong recalled how Zhen Yuanxiong died. Out of consideration for Wei Xueli’s life, he no longer cared about anything else and immediately darted up in front of Wei Xueli.
“Teacher, Teacher Sun has beaten Teacher Zhen!”
Jia Wendong thought in his heart, (Teacher Wei, can’t you be more modest? I know that you’re strong, but there’s always someone stronger in this world.)
“Teacher Zhen? Which Teacher Zhen?”
Wei Xueli frowned, unable to react at the first instant. After all, Zhen Yuanxiong was a strong expert at the sixth level of the blood-ignition realm. Across the schools, he’d be able to rank amongst the top five.
“Teacher Zhen Yuanxiong!”
Jia Wendong repeated, his tone more serious this time around.
“Who?”
Wei Xueli’s face was in disbelief as he looked toward Sun Mo. “You’re saying that Teacher Zhen has been killed?”
[1] Referring to someone who goes around aimlessly, serving others.