This chapter has been brought to you by me, and WanderingGummiOfDoom.
Chapter Seven Hundred and Seventy Seven – Mountain of Meat
They had really profited this time!
Looking at the two mountains of meat in front of him, Zuo Mo felt as though he was in dream. This gift from Kun Lun really was too valuable. Ancient beasts like this were rare and irreplaceable!
If the Kun Lun disciples hadn't used the Soul Luring Fragrance, Zuo Mo guessed that even all of them working together would not have been able to defeat this terrifying large thing. It would be a problem if they would be even able to escape alive.
He had really not expected this profit. Kun Lun were really good people!
Everyone moved around the two mountains of meat in curiosity. It was rare to see such a large ancient beast. They basically only existed in legends.
Because they were worried about encountering other strong beasts on the Black Sea Flight Line, the fleet did not dare to move around randomly on the route, but quickly flew towards their destination according to the steward's instructions.
Only Zuo Mo could butcher the monster. He was the only one here skilled in forging. Only he knew what was useful or not.
If the conditions allowed for it, Zuo Mo wanted to put the two mountains of meat into his ring and then take it back to Mo Cloud Sea. That would allow it to express its greatest value.
However, even though Zuo Mo's ring was top tier, it could not hold two such enormous mountains of meat.
Zuo Mo worked hard for three days.
The one responsible for guiding his hand was Wei. While it had been many many years since he had last dismembered an ancient beast, he was the only one that was familiar.
This octopus was treasure, profit, great profit … …
Zuo Mo hummed a tune, his movements happy and rapid. The octopus was made up of treasure. Zuo Mo carefully gathered its slime. This was a rare treasure that could absorb enemy shen attacks.
What was greatest about it was that it could absorb shen power attacks upto a certain degree. Zuo Mo tested it, and it was so. Only when the shen power reached a certain level of purity and the shen technique reached a certain level of skill would the effect be overcome.
In reality, it was the first time Zuo Mo had heard of a material with this property. Just this one trait determined its value. In the entire process, Zuo Mo was on high alert and fearful that he would miss a drop.
He decided when he would forged his new shen raiment, he would brush on this astounding shen liquid, one coat after another, one hundred times!
Kun Lun shen power? Tian Huan shen power? What of it? They wouldn't even create sparks when they hit his armor. The more he thought, the happier Zuo Mo felt.
Kun Lun was a good child, a good good child … …
Zuo Mo started to hum again.
Other than this, the octopus' eyes were dried and turned into two black beads [1]. However, these two beads were a bit large, about the same height as Zuo Mo. He didn't know the use of the black beads but he had tested it with shen power. Zuo Mo found that when shen power entered, it seemed to disappear.
It could absorb shen power!
This was the only attribute that Zuo Mo had discovered up until now. The time did not allow for him to slowly examine it. He could only throw it into his ring. He had a feeling that this definitely was something good.
The skin of the octopus was hard. Normal flying swords could only leave behind a faint mark. In the end, it had been Wei Sheng with his God-Killing Blood Sword that was able to cut it.
Undoubtedly, the grade of this octopus skin was astounding. Zuo Mo guessed that it should be top level. For the great majority of shen device raiments, high level hide was essential. A Gui's [Undying Ghost] was a rarity in its composition.
Most importantly, the surface area of this hide was almost unimaginable.
Even if it was not able to be all used in shen device raiments, if it was used to forge shen equipment, they would be higher in grade than normal. Thinking about if he gave every one of the core members a pseudo-shen device, and they were all outfitted, the offensive ability of Mo Cloud Sea would skyrocket!
The teeth and bones of the octopus were all of extraordinary quality and could be used to forge shen equipment.
What made Zuo Mo feel was unique was the dense suckers on the tentacles. The largest of these suckers were the size of a person, the smallest just the size of a thumb. There were twelve hundred thousand of them.
Zuo Mo was very interested in the suckers. They had an unique effect. Once they came into contact with something, they would instinctively absorb the power and life-force of the target.
It was very devious and terrifying.
The bigger the sucker, the stronger its absorption ability. Zuo Mo knew that the suckers only had a lingering effect because the octopus was dead. If the octopus was alive, this ability would be much stronger. He thought about the many suckers. Everywhere they passed, all life was stolen, all of the blood, flesh, and energy was suched into the octopus.
This octopus had lived for tens of thousands of years. He didn't know how many lives it had consumed.
So terrifying!
Zuo Mo rejoiced. If there wasn't Kun Lun's Soul Luring Fragrance, the possibility that the fleet would have survived would have been low.
There was a kind of pattern that Zuo Mo had never seen before on the suckers. Zuo Mo suspected that it was this pattern that allowed the suckers to have such an unique ability.
Zuo Mo decided to spend some time to study it. He put all the suckers away in the ring. They piled together into a little mountain. Zuo Mo knew that this was something good but he didn't have a complete idea on how to use it.
Everything that was useful was harvested and put away.
But there was still a mountain of meat left in front of them. This was truly a mountain of meat, all of it was left behind after cutting up the octopus. The blood of the octopus seemed to have been completely sucked dry by Wei Sheng's God-Killing Blood Sword. There wasn't even a drop of blood left, all of it was clean meat. Piled up there, it did not reek of blood.
What to do with the meat? Zuo Mo felt stuck. There was just too much!
"Eat it!" Wei suggested. "In the ancient era, if such a monster was killed, the entire tribe would divide it up and eat it. Each piece of flesh of such a monster that has lived for tens of thousands of years has been refined for countless years by shen power. They contain astounding power and will be of great help to you if you use it!"
"Really?" Zuo Mo had a suspicious expression.
"Won't you know after eating?" Wei was discontent.
Zuo Mo tried to use fire to roast a piece of meat. When he took a bite, his eyes widened. He felt an extremely faint thread of shen power spread into his body.
Good thing!
He pointed at the mountain and said through a full mouth, "Eat eat eat!"
The other people saw this and started to act. They used different methods but when the meat entered their mouth, they all became alert!
Shen power!
The meat actually contained shen power and they could absorb a portion of the shen power. This discovery caused everyone to turn crazy.
Right now, other than Zuo Mo, Wei Sheng, and A Gui who were special exceptions, the other people only had one path to increase shen power - cultivation!
This was the first time they encountered another way to increase shen power.
The meat mountain in front of them caused everyone to have a feeling they were smashed by happiness.
Without needing Zuo Mo to call them over, everyone started to eat furiously.
Yet they found quickly that while they ate at as fast as possible, it was nothing compared to the three hundred zhang mountain of meat in front of them.
They could not eat all of it!
The greatest tragedy in life was when you find that eating meat could increase shen power, and there was a lot of meat like this in front of you, but you could not finish it!
Most of the people with Zuo Mo had grassroot origins, of impoverished backgrounds, they had endured many great hardships and hated wasting anything. How could they allow such a tragedy to occur?
The group cursed the world. All of them had the same thought. No matter what, before they reached Lotus Sutra Temple, they had to finish consuming this meat mountain!
Therefore, they started to think of solutions.
In order to increase their appetite, they started to expend their shen power, fighting, furiously cultivating, practicing … …
They invented all kinds of methods. If other people saw this, they would feel as though "people's intelligence was limitless."
For example, Wei Sheng quickly created a highly efficient method. He used the God-Killing Blood Sword to absorb the shen power inside the meat, and then pass it into his body. The speed of absorption was high. However, the God-Killing Blood Sword was only interested in blood, and not at all in the meat. This caused Wei Sheng to have to search for beast to feed it blood and coerce its cooperation.
Zong Ru's method seemed much gentler. He summoned all kinds of buddhas to absorb shen power and then merged it in his body.
Zuo Mo was undoubtedly the brightest superstar of eating meat. All the little ones around him had extraordinary appetites, and there was still the glutton Black Gold Seal Soldier. Zuo Mo was inspired by the suckers and his rate increased greatly. When the meat entered his stomach, the energies and shen power would spread in threads into his body.
Yet even so, when they flew out of the Black Sea Flight Route, they just barely managed to consume this enormous mountain of meat.
All of them felt as though they had finished a difficult mission. Even composed people like Wei Sheng and Zong Ru smiled. More of them felt lingering trepidation.
In a very long time after, when any person mentioned the words "eat meat," they would be attacked unanimously by everyone around them.
It was like a war.
Even a glutton like the Black Gold Seal Solder felt fear at hearing "eating meat".
Yet everyone's strength had increased enormously.
The shen power contained in an octopus that had lived for tens of thousands of years was enormous and terrifying! While they could not absorb all of it, and it was divided among so many people, for these people that had just started cultivating shen power, this increase was still astounding.
Nothing excited people more than strength.
They were full of anticipation about the upcoming trip to the ruins. Even though they knew that they would likely face experts from Kun Lun and Tian Huan, they did not feel any fear.
As expected, they would have meat if they followed Boss!
They looked at Zuo Mo with admiration. Some of the more honest people looked around as they travelled, muttering, "Another one … … another one … …"
As the fleet came closer to the ruins, they could clearly feel the number of xiuzhe increasing in the surroundings, including experts.
Yet what no one know was that Zuo Mo who was hiding in the ship had made a new discovery.
[1] Previously stated as a one eyed octopus.
Translator Ramblings: Eat until you burst.