Chapter 243 – Did You Have Fun? (3)
Ning Xuemo couldn't refrain from sighing when she looked at its face.
What that little qilin wanted most was parental love…
She taught him some principles, so she no longer spoke. Besides, her stomach was making a rumbling noise which was heard by the little qilin. It promptly asked, "Master, are you hungry? Why don't we eat some demon beast meat? Let's go capture one to eat. It could also help you vent out!"
It turned around to go find the magic beast that fell earlier. As it passed by a boulder, it suddenly exclaimed, "Hah? Whwhat is going on?!"
Hearing the exclamation of alarm from her pet, Ning Xuemo's figure flashed. As she arrived next to the corpse of the ferocious beast earlier, what she discovered startled her.
In only a short period of time, the majestic and formidable magic beast's flesh had completely vanished without a trace. What remained was only skin and bones!
"Little Apple, are you certain that you only absorbed its soul and not its flesh?"
"Impossible! I only consumed the beast soul! Its flesh and skin should have been intact!" The little qilin began to circle around the skeleton, wanting to find the cause of this strange phenomena.
However, Ning Xuemo's expression slightly changed. Although she didn't understand what happened, her keen intuition alarmed her of great danger!
"No need to care about it! Let's go quickly!" She pulled the little qilin's horn, gesturing it to quickly leave this place.
The little qilin was somewhat unwilling. It still wanted to figure out the cause. "That thing is trying to take advantage of me?!"
"Quickly go!" Ning Xuemo's voice became severe. She first jumped on a boulder and was about to continue forward. Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound could be heard from below, as if an earthquake was about to begin. Countless large stones started to shake and roll!
In the blink of an eye, the ground crumbled, revealing an enormous pitch-black hole. The little qilin was standing right above the hole. It was completely unprepared and screeched as it fell!
"Little Apple!" The boulder where Ning Xuemo stood on already fell into the hole. Fortunately, her reaction was quick enough and she timely jumped away from the boulder.
Everything occurred in an instant, leaving Ning Xuemo without any time to help the little qilin. She looked helplessly as it fell into the dark hole.
The earthquake didn't stop as stones and boulders continued to roll into that black hole…
"Master… Master…" From inside the black hole, the faint cry of the little qilin could be heard. It sounded just like a frightened child, helpless and miserable. "Don't leave me…"
Something exploded inside Ning Xuemo's mind as the memory of Number Two's face flashed.
There was no way she would let the same tragedy repeat itself. She won't let another comrade died in front of her, even if the other party is only a little qilin!
On the spur-of-the-moment, she jumped into the giant hole!
The hole was completely different from what she expected. Its depth measured roughly 20-30 meters. Her landing was smooth with the support of the heavenly wild silk coiled around her. When her feet touched the ground, the danger of the falling rocks were far from over. The noise from the rocks could frighten anyone.
With that kind of situation, it was naturally impossible for anyone to try to jump out of the hole. Ning Xuemo was forced to go to the side to evade the rocks, while shouting for the little qilin's name.
"Master!" The little qilin rushed to her. Its head smashed a boulder falling toward her.
It grabbed her by its mouth and dragged her into a corner.
"Are you hurt?" Ning Xuemo examined the little qilin.
Ever since her inner force grew, her eyesight improved a lot. Despite the darkness inside the hole, she was still able to make out the clear outline of the little qilin.
"Master, I thought you abandoned me…" The little qilin sobbed. "I thought I would be stuck inside the darkness for many years again…" It was clearly frightened. Its body slightly trembled as it stuck close to Ning Xuemo.
Chapter 244 – Did You Have Fun? (4)
"I will not! I will not abandon you." Ning Xuemo sighed and promised him. "That's right. Don't you have a technique to help you fly out of here? Why didn't you jump up earlier?"
"This… this place is weird. I can't use my psychokinesis in here." The little qilin's tone was laced with fear.
Ning Xuemo's heart jumped. As she began to circulate the small amount of psychokinesis she had within her body, she confirmed that her body was void of psychokinesis; not even a sliver of psychokinesis could be felt…
Then, she tried to circulate her inner force instead. Fortunately, her inner force wasn't affected and could still be manipulated according to her will.
All around the area within the hole, there was a vast network of tunnels. Ning Xuemo and the little qilin were hiding inside one of the tunnels in order to avoid the falling rocks and boulders.
At this moment, the opening of the big hole was quickly sealed off by the rocks and boulders. It was now impossible for them to return to the surface using the same entrance. They had no other alternative but to find another exit.
"Let's go find another exit." Ning Xuemo sighed as she walked further inside the tunnel they were hiding in.
Ever since she entered Tianshu Mountain, she felt like she had a strange fate with all kinds of big holes and caves. After getting out from one, she was welcomed into a second one.
Before in that big cave, which was the bowels of the stone essence spirit, she was together with Jiu Zun. Although, he was small in size, he was surprisingly powerful. At that time she was nervous but never afraid.
Right now, however, she was only accompanied by a little qilin, who liked to snivel for nothing. It made her future appear quite uncertain.
There must be a reason for the ground to crack and form such a huge hole. Perhaps, there was a connection between this hole and the unknown creature that sucked all the flesh out of the magic beast.
"Little Apple, in here, you must listen to my every commands. If I don't let you touch something, you absolutely cannot tamper with it!" Ning Xuemo strictly instructed the little qilin besides her.
"Yes." The little qilin also knew that this time he jeopardized his master. Guilt was gnawing inside his heart, so he didn't dare raise his head.
"If you don't want to implicate your friends, you should become stronger! Work hard to became a true divine beast…" Ning Xuemo's voice sounded indifferent. The little qilin's expression was like an open book, thus his face clearly revealed the thoughts in his mind and what he felt in his heart. Ning Xuemo knew what was on his mind with only a bit of observation.
The little qilin raised its head, and its claws grasped the ground.
'I want to become stronger!' It etched this thought deep inside its heart. It wanted to become a divine beast that can protect its master when the time comes instead of its master protecting it…
It hastened its steps and quickly went in front of Ning Xuemo. "Master, I will scout in front of you. My nose is very sensitive." Its sense of smell was the best. If there was something dangerous ahead, it would be able to perceive it beforehand.
"Good. I'll let you handle the scouting." Ning Xuemo was straightforward when she agreed to it. She took it upon herself to temper the little qilin's character.
At this moment, the little qilin seemed to have matured a bit. However, the truth is that it still felt afraid inside its heart, but being fearful won't help solve anything. So, it had to control its fear!
This tunnel was a meandering and zigzagging path, constantly changing without any clear pattern, making their journey quite difficult. At least so far, they didn't encounter any other dangers.
During their journey, they didn't get attacked. It was a peaceful walk until they reached a dead end.
At the end of the tunnel, there stood a tall jade door.
The jade was in fact white onyx with a complicated design carved onto it. The material itself faintly radiated a light.
'Don't tell me this place is the tomb of some great and eminent personage?'
Ning Xuemo pondered as she observed the big door. She constantly felt that this door resembled those mausoleum entrances.
She tried to recall the information she had on the 8th mountain. Since she arrived on the 8th Mountain not long ago, she didn't have the time to observe nor understand the environment inside the 8th Mountain. Her intuition faintly told her that this place was like the den of a sleeping dragon and was absolutely not a good place to stay.
Moreover, the 8th Mountain was known as a danger zone; discovering a tomb in this place is a certainly not a simple matter!
To be able to reach the 8th Mountain, the sculptor who engraved the tomb must have reached a profound level of his psychokinesis skills…
After further reflection, the probability that this place was actually a tomb was not very high. 'Then, what is that door here for?'
"Master, do we knock on this stone door?"
Chapter 245 – Blackwave Zither (1)
Sponsored chapter by Julianri and Cia
Release earlier as a reward for shanagi's best April's Fools comment
Ning Xuemo nodded. "Of course we're entering! However, we cannot knock on the door. It's very likely that it is contains a trap. You wait here. I'm going to examine it first." They currently had no other way out, so they could only try to open this white onyx door first.
There was indeed a mechanism installed on the door. Fortunately, Ning Xuemo was an expert at dismantling traps. She carefully touched here and there while knocking at other places. From time to time, she would also use her fingers to push on the door.
After a while, a rumble resounded as the jade door parted on both sides, opening widely by itself. In a moment, the dark tunnel was flooded by the light of a candle.
The instant the jade door opened, Ning Xuemo pulled the little qilin and dodged to the side. It was easier to guard against any surprise attacks that could come from behind the door by using the terrain to their advantage.
The moment she saw the candle light, she was slightly shocked. 'How could there be candle light in such a place?'
She held her breath and waited for a short moment. The warm light of the candle made it easier for her to see. There wasn't anything terrifying emerging out of the door.
She coordinated with the little qilin to probe out what's behind the door. However, after she saw everything inside, she blanked out.
The first thing she saw was a hall. Oil candle holders filled with black oil were embedded on both sides of the hall. Only a small part of the wick could be seen emerging out of the oil, faintly emitting a yellow flame. As soon as she saw the oil, Ning Xuemo knew this was the legendary mermaid oil lamp[1] that won't extinguish even after a thousand years.
The arrangement of the hall was incredibly simple, devoid of tables and chairs, with only a bed placed in the middle of the room. On the bed laid a transparent coffin…
When she saw the coffin, she couldn't help letting out a sigh.
'In the end, this place was a tomb!'
However, the structure of the tomb was extremely simple. For a distinguished and eminent person's tomb, this was rather unusual, unlike the usual complicated layout.
When her sight landed on coffin, her heart slightly trembled.
'A crystal coffin!'
In such a simple and crude tomb, the only priceless object she saw was this crystal coffin!
A complicated and difficult to understand design was etched on the crystal coffin. Part of the design was somewhat odd, looking like fish intertwined together in a yin-yang pattern. It was the first time she saw such a design. She indistinctly felt that the design exuded some type of ancient and mysterious aura.
Finger-thick chains wrapped the corners of the coffin and, in middle of the each sides, the chains extended to the ceiling. The chains appeared to also be carved out from crystal, clear and sparkling with luster, displaying the same design as on the coffin. The whole design made it seem like multiple repeating patterns were progressing toward the ceiling of the hall.
The chains looked as if they were there to keep the coffin lid sealed. 'What could such thin chains seal?'
Ning Xuemo believed that, even with her strength, she could use two fingers to break the chains. 'Are these chains meant to be ornamental to decorate the crystal coffin?'
Her gaze fixed on top of the coffin.
Through the translucent crystal coffin, she could see the body of person inside, black haired and clothed in red. The light emitting from the oil candles reflected on the crystal coffin from all directions, causing the illumination to be warped in multiple colors, rendering one's vision to be unclear.
Ever since the little qilin got into trouble, it had become more cautious. It slowly moved to the coffin and examined the person inside. It exclaimed in surprise, "How could someone who was alive be sealed inside?"
The sealed person had both arms raised with the hands pressed on the coffin lid as if the person was attempting to push off the lid but to no avail. The movement was eternally frozen for who knew how long…
Ever since she entered the tunnel, she could constantly feel an indescribable fiendish aura, but now that she was inside the hall, the aura could no longer be felt.
[1] In Chinese legends, the fat of mermaid / merman have the properties of keeping the flame burn for thousand of years without extinguishing when turned into fuel for oil lamp or oil candle.
Chapter 246 – Blackwave Zither (2)
This was obviously a cold underground tomb, but she unexpectedly felt warmth.
She slowly stepped forward. As she examined the person lying inside, her heart trembled!
This time she could clearly see the appearance of the person inside.
It was a man! A man with an elegant countenance.
His skin was like jade, with long eyebrows that looked as if they were painted, temples slanted and raised. His soft eyes were closed; he had upright eyelashes, a tall nose bridge, and light red thin lips which were slightly stretched.
His posture looked peaceful as if he was only sleeping and not dead. It almost seemed like he could sit up and chat at any moment if anyone were to lightly knock on the coffin.
Next to his body, there was a zither, as blue as the ocean.
The body of the zither seemed to be made out of precious stones. Under the candlelight, it appeared to emit a glint similar to a water wave. As it reflected on the body next to it, it felt like the man was submerged in deep water.
The little qilin's eyes shined. "Blackwave Zither! It's the Blackwave Zither!"
Ning Xuemo's heart jumped when she heard the name "Blackwave Zither".
In her world, there was a legend about eight great divine tools[1].
However, this zither was one of the ancient and mythical ten great divine tools of this world.
The effect of the zither was a bit similar to Fu Xi's zither[2]. Both were musical instruments that could help cultivate the heart and nurture the character, as well as kill.
If it was played normally, the notes would sound like nature itself, causing birds and animals to dance along with the music. In the case the zither was played with a special skill, each note sent out would be like a hidden weapon that could take lives. The power would be enough to level a whole mountain.
According to rumors, if any musician were to play that zither, their skills would reach the peak, enabling them to summon the water from the Yellow Springs with a pull of the string, obliterating all living things and turning the whole world into a vast expanse of water.
It was said that this Blackwave Zither was once the Immortals realm's most valuable treasure. Later, it fell into the hand of a powerful devil ancestor and became a weapon of mass destruction.
There were numerous legends about it, but all had the same ending; evil couldn't overcome goodness. The devil ancestor who desired the destruction of the world was eliminated by the joint force of many immortals and the Blackwave Zither was thus destroyed without a trace.
Of course, all of what she knew were fragments of records that came from old books she had read. All the legends were like discount sales, with most parts being exaggerated and most facts being overstated.
Therefore, Ning Xuemo always took these kinds of legends with a grain of salt and considered them as entertaining old story written by who knew which old ancient to dupe the later generation.
What's more, the characters in these legends were quite similar to those from ancient China's myths. Who would believe that these characters actually existed?
The only thing out of her expectation was the existence of that legendary zither inside the coffin.
She examined the zither, to be precise, the guqin. 'Playing that thing can actually summon the water of the Yellow Springs[3]? How ridiculous!'
That guqin must contain some psychokinesis, so it would be regarded as a weapon that used soundwave to kill which caused people to mistake it as something miraculous…
However, since the legend turned this zither into such an OP item, it must definitively be a good treasure. Besides, she just happened to love playing the guqin. If she took this thing back home, this trip to the mountains could be considered not wasted.
Ever since she entered Tianshu Mountains, she brushed with death numerous times and still survived for this long without experiencing any worse mishaps, how lucky!
The little qilin was also very happy. It regretted implicating its mistress and wanted her to leave this place. However, when it saw the treasure, it became immediately happy and urged her, "Mistress, you should think of a way to bring back this zither. It could become your personal magic weapon. It could help promote you to another level… entering a mountain of treasures, one cannot leave empty handed…"
"Yeah, I know." Ning Xuemo interrupted it.
[1] The eight great divine tools, that we loosely translated, is also called the “Covert Eight Immortals”. It's eight different type of tools containing supernatural effects and made for the use of the Eight Immortals. For more informations, click here.
[2] Fu Xi was said to be the first mortal emperor and Nüwa's husband. Legends said that he was the inventor of guqin, a type of zither.[3] The Yellow Springs referred to the Underworld.
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