North Yan Chapter 47 What on Earth Is This?

Hearing the name "Five Treasures of Heavenly Stars," Mo Hao and Liu Yue both realized the gravity of the situation. Yet, when Liu Yue mentioned they were merely imitations, Mo Hao did not feel a shred of fear; instead, a surge of excitement took over, completely banishing Liu Yue's earlier urging to flee from his mind.

This battle was inevitable; there was no room for evasion. He recalled that his previous life-and-death struggles had been fought against his Senior Brother Feng and Zhang Kunyang. To Mo Hao, his adaptability could never match those cultivators who spent years lingering on the precipice of the Half-Step Foundation Establishment stage, simply because they had experienced an overwhelming number of life-or-death battles. He could not run from this fight. If he fled now, not only would he run away every time he encountered such opponents in the future, but he would also develop a deep-seated psychological terror even when facing adversaries of his own cultivation realm later on.

After all, these were not Foundation Establishment cultivators who surpassed him by a major realm; he believed he still possessed the strength to fight them within this Fluorescent Mist Secret Realm.

The two alien beings were not pondering so deeply. Their singular thought was to cut Mo Hao down and divide his treasures among themselves.

One of the aliens openly skirted around to the left flank, holding a gleaming sword enveloped in a faint aura of starlight.

"Boy, it is your fortune to die beneath our two treasures of the Heavenly Stars today! Do you have any last words before you die?"

Mo Hao ignored him, raising the Hantong Sword of his own accord.

"Qingyang Sword Technique!"

In the blink of an eye, Mo Hao projected a small sword shooting forward, while simultaneously drawing his bow and notching an arrow. This time, however, Mo Hao did not merely shoot an arrow formed of spiritual mana; he infused it with the blessing of the Five-Color Divine Light, fusing it with his own five-element spiritual mana.

This was a method Mo Hao had suddenly conceived. The Five-Color Divine Light could neither be imbued into magical artifacts nor directly onto pure mana, but his own mana was cultivated from the five-element spiritual veins, which also formed the foundation for practicing the Five-Color Divine Light. Thinking thus and acting immediately, Mo Hao took aim straight at the sword-wielding alien behind the flank and loosed an arrow that pierced through the void. After firing this shot, Mo Hao heaved heavy breaths. Although the arrow appeared utterly plain and unremarkable, it was imbued with multiple techniques and essentials, including the Five-Color Divine Light, five-element spiritual mana, and the Yanxin Sword Technique. It was clear that Mo Hao would be unable to use a second time in the short term.

The sword-wielding alien of the Heavenly Star race was unable to join forces with the other alien for defense. Yet, as if he had anticipated Mo Hao's arrow all along, this alien utilized a bizarre movement technique to dodge sideways, causing Mo Hao's arrow to graze the edge of his clothing as it sped past.

"Is that all the tricks you have?"

Mo Hao sneered, standing his ground as he used the Qingyuan Technique to recover his spiritual mana. As for the blade-wielding alien nearby, although he wielded the Mad Blade—one of the Five Treasures of the Heavenly Stars—the combination of the Qingyang Sword Technique and the Hantong Sword was no pushover, entangling him closely and preventing him from launching any attacks.

The sword-wielding alien, seeing Mo Hao sneer and ignore him, hurriedly looked back. He already regretted his arrogance; it seemed Mo Hao was also a peak Qi Condensation cultivator not to be trifled with. To his shock, the arrow that had grazed past him earlier was now turning back in the narrow space at an extremely bizarre angle. The sword-wielding alien cried out:

"Slash!"

Instantly, he swung his sword to strike down the incoming beam of arrow light. A resounding crash echoed as sparks flew in all directions. The magical sword—one of the Five Treasures of the Heavenly Stars—was actually pierced right through the center by the Five-Color Divine Light. With a crisp "clang," the magical sword snapped into two halves, one section tumbling down from mid-air. That was not all; an enormous hole was blasted right through the lower abdomen of the sword-wielding alien.

The alien shrieked in agony. Seeing the situation turn grim over there, the blade-wielding alien went into a frenzy, hacking wildly with the Mad Blade. Alas, the Hantong Sword seemed no inferior to the imitation Mad Blade of the Heavenly Star treasures, and even possessed the potential to surpass it. The blade-wielding alien continuously unleashed offensive spells through the Hantong Sword to strike at Mo Hao, but Mo Hao merely used the Tanyuan Dizun Technique to evade; he was certainly not foolish enough to take those spells head-on.

Seeing that the sword-wielding alien had temporarily lost his combat capability, Mo Hao sneered from the side and retrieved the Flying Snow Needle from his Qiankun pouch. By now, Mo Hao's spiritual mana had recovered seventy to eighty percent. He grasped a silver needle between three fingers and began circulating the Yanxin Sword Technique. A strange, ineffable black radiance began to emanate from the tiny silver needle. Once Mo Hao sensed the needle had reached its absolute limit, he uttered a single word:

"Break!"

A sonic boom swept through the cavern. Before the blade-wielding alien could see anything, he heard a cry of agony from his companion. When he looked over at the sword-wielding alien, he saw that the alien's physical frame and bones had been shattered. Mo Hao picked up the broken half of the Heavenly Star magical sword from the ground.

"Splat!"

With a swift upswing and downward slash of the hand, the head of the sword-wielding alien was cleanly severed. Mo Hao gasped for breath; if that physical frame had not been destroyed, this fellow could have grown his head back even if it were cut off, likely suffering only minor damage to his vital energy.

"Good lad, brilliantly done! I never expected you to actually slay an alien. Find the soul-fixing object on this alien and give it to me. As for the remaining alien, hehe, leave her to this young lady!"

Hearing Liu Yue say this, Mo Hao immediately began rummaging through the alien's remains. He searched the alien's Qiankun pouch from top to bottom without finding any trace of a soul-fixing object. Just as Mo Hao began to wonder if Liu Yue had been mistaken and no such soul-fixing object existed at all, he noticed a necklace hanging around the neck beneath the severed head. It appeared to be made of wood, shaped vaguely like scattered starlight. Mo Hao narrowed his eyes, walked over, snatched the item into his hand, and tossed it casually into his Qiankun pouch. After a moment of thought, he wrapped the severed head in a piece of cloth, threw it into the Qiankun pouch as well, and secured it.

Mo Hao turned his gaze toward the remaining alien. That alien's eyes were wide with disbelief that Mo Hao had actually broken through their Heavenly Star physical frames and slain his companion. One had to know that their physical bones were no less durable than the forging materials of some supreme-grade magical artifacts; yet, they had been breached by Mo Hao so easily, a fact he still found hard to accept. The blade-wielding alien rolled his eyes, realizing he should no longer linger in this battle. The two of them had come to slaughter Mo Hao, only to have one of their own counter-killed. Now that he was left entirely alone, how could he possibly continue to fight?

Struggling with all his might to break free from the harassment of the Hantong Sword, the blade-wielding alien turned and bolted toward the exit of the cavern. Seeing him fleeing in a panic, Mo Hao instinctively rose to give chase. However, at that moment, Liu Yue spoke up:

"No need to chase, he cannot escape. Once I refine this soul-fixing object, I will fall into a deep slumber. But during this interim, I still have a tiny window of time to wipe away this humiliation. How dare two Qi-Condensation aliens play me for a fool, me, who possess the dignified cultivation realm of a Nascent Soul expert? Hmph!"

Mo Hao had no choice but to put down the Hantong Sword and the massive bow in his hand. This battle had been quite draining of his energy. Since Liu Yue had stated as much, there was no reason to doubt the wrath of a Nascent Soul great demon's divine soul. He hurried to sit cross-legged in meditation to recover his spiritual mana and vigor.

After a short while, Liu Yue seemed to have finished refining the soul-fixing object. She retrieved the Dragon-Suppressing Halbed from Mo Hao's Qiankun pouch and, in her divine soul state, darted out after the fleeing enemy with a whoosh!

As expected, no sooner had Mo Hao finished recovering his spiritual mana than Liu Yue flew back, dragging the Dragon-Suppressing Halberd and wearing an exhausted expression.

A thud echoed in Mo Hao's ears as something landed on the ground. Looking down, Mo Hao saw a Qiankun pouch lying near his feet. Instead of picking it up directly, Mo Hao looked at Liu Yue.

"Liu Yue, how did you manage to slay him? Didn't you say he possessed a soul-fixing object?"

Liu Yue tossed the Dragon-Suppressing Halberd aside and said, "Didn't this young lady just finish refining a soul-fixing object herself moments ago? What is so strange about that? You cannot fathom the methods of a Nascent Soul cultivator, so stop racking your brains over it. Ah, I'm so sleepy! I can't keep going. Mo Hao, I am going to fall into a deep slumber to stabilize my divine soul. I'm afraid I won't be able to assist you with anything for a while. Take care of yourself!"

With those words, Liu Yue transformed into a wisp of white smoke and burrowed back into the Dragon-Suppressing Halberd. Mo Hao felt no surprise, as Liu Yue had already informed him before heading out that she would enter a deep slumber afterward. Gently retrieving the Dragon-Suppressing Halberd, Mo Hao placed it alone inside a separate Qiankun pouch, as if fearful of disturbing her slumber.

Suddenly, a large pale face appeared right before Mo Hao's eyes, startling him so badly that he shuddered and instinctively grabbed the Hantong Sword to defend himself. Retreating a few steps and looking closely, a surge of irritation welled up within him.

"Are you trying to scare me to death? What is the meaning of this? Can't you give a warning first?"

The pale face that had appeared was naturally Liu Yue. For reasons unknown, she had emerged from the Qiankun pouch once again, and this sudden appearance had given Mo Hao quite a fright.

Liu Yue covered her mouth with a gentle smile. Unable to hold it in any longer, she suddenly clutched her stomach and burst into loud laughter, as if witnessing Mo Hao's flustered state was her greatest source of joy.

"If you have something to say, just say it! Don't just pop up out of nowhere like that!"

"I merely remembered something just now. That blade-wielding alien naturally also possessed a soul-fixing object. Sit down and refine that soul-fixing object; it will prove beneficial for your upcoming journey through the Fluorescent Mist Secret Realm!"

"What kind of benefits? If I refine it, won't I end up falling into a deep slumber just like you?"

"Sleep, sleep, sleep, all you ever think about is sleeping! My divine soul was already approaching a state of weakness, so of course I needed to consolidate it after obtaining the soul-fixing object. Your divine soul cannot leave your body and hasn't suffered any damage; what are you sleeping for, my goodness! Never mind, do as you please, I'm going to sleep!"

Mo Hao scratched his head. So that was how it was. In that case, he certainly had to refine this soul-fixing object. Both his Pseudo-Divine Art and Nightmare Sound Bell had been useless against those two aliens, a fact that had left Mo Hao both envious and frustrated.

Taking the soul-fixing object out of the Qiankun pouch, he inspected it closely. This necklace was indeed different from the one given to Liu Yue; although the shape of this soul-fixing object was also a starlight motif, it bore an additional symbol upon its surface that was barely noticeable upon a casual glance.

As time ticked by moment by moment, Mo Hao finally opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath. He could not immediately discern any tangible difference after refining the soul-fixing object, but he had a faint premonition that he would no longer be easily harmed by the divine sense of Foundation Establishment cultivators. It was a feeling, yet also an intuition. It seemed he had finally completed the refinement of this soul-fixing object.

He pondered where he should head next. His previous agreement with Duan Xiangzi could hardly be honored now. If Liu Yue had not fallen asleep, it would have been fine, but with her slumbering, it would naturally be awkward to go report to Duan Xiangzi. In Mo Hao's view, the pact between them had been struck purely between Duan Xiangzi and Liu Yue; he had no obligation to care about such matters.

However, if he did not go take a look at that place, he had nowhere else to go right now anyway. Since he was now aided by the soul-fixing object, he should no longer fear the domain of those sharp-soul insects. A quiet trip over to take a look would do no harm.

Deciding to act, he turned and walked toward the cavern entrance. As he walked, Mo Hao suddenly tripped. Yes, he actually tripped and fell flat on his face. Getting back up, he stared in disbelief at the patch of ground where he had stumbled; a section had bulged upward without any prior warning.

"What on earth? I clearly remember there being no stone here just now?"

Mo Hao scratched his head in utter puzzlement. For a cultivator to be tripped by a stone—if any other cultivator had witnessed this, they would have laughed their teeth out.

Fuming with irritation, he kicked the stone. With a single kick, the stone did not budge an inch, but he clutched his foot in agonizing pain. Finding this bizarre—he hadn't suffered such a heavy grievance even when fighting those two aliens—he was determined to find out what this stone really was.

Retrieving the Mad Blade—one of the Five Treasures of the Heavenly Stars—from his Qiankun pouch, he began digging away the soil surrounding the stone block. Only then did he discover that what had tripped him was not a stone at all, but the ear of a small bronze tripod merely the size of two palms. It was only because just the tip had been exposed earlier that Mo Hao hadn't looked closely and mistaken it for a common rock.

After using the Mad Blade to clear away all the surrounding earth, Mo Hao gripped the tripod ear with one hand and tried to pull it out. With a slight exertion of force, the tripod did not move. Increasing his strength, the tripod still refused to budge. Hurrying to peer beneath the tripod, he checked to see if any other parts were connected and remained un-excavated, but after searching all around, he confirmed there were no other attachments. Taking a deep breath, Mo Hao assumed a semi-crouched stance, grabbed both tripod ears with both hands, and channeled the surging power of the Overturning Sea Art within his body.

"Heh!"

The veins on Mo Hao's forehead bulged. This time, he used every ounce of strength he could muster, including the energy he would have used to nurse a newborn, before finally managing to slowly yank the palm-sized little tripod out of the ground. Feeling as though his strength was nearly exhausted, Mo Hao hurriedly lowered the tripod gently and began to inspect its true appearance in detail.

Mo Hao discovered that it differed very little from an ordinary medicinal cauldron. If one had to force a distinction, it would be its astonishing weight and the presence of several unfamiliar characters inscribed upon the surface of the cauldron!

Adhering to the principle of never letting go of any treasure he encountered, he attempted to store the small tripod inside his Qiankun pouch. However, the Qiankun pouch seemed to have lost its efficacy; no matter how Mo Hao tried, he simply could not suck the little tripod inside. A gleam of realization lit up Mo Hao's eyes—anything that could not be stored in a Qiankun pouch must surely be an extraordinary treasure! After all, even the Dragon-Suppressing Halberd could be put into a Qiankun pouch, yet this little tripod defied it.

Yet this presented a new problem: he certainly couldn't carry this heavy cauldron around in his arms everywhere he went. Aside from the risk of someone seeing him holding a small cauldron so blatantly on the road and trying to rob him, the sheer weight was more than Mo Hao could comfortably bear. He couldn't estimate precisely how heavy the tripod was, but carrying it was definitely no easier than hauling a giant boulder.

Mo Hao thought about whether he should leave the tripod here first and retrieve it later, but he quickly dismissed the notion. What if something happened and he couldn't return, or what if he was suddenly teleported out of the Fluorescent Mist Secret Realm? That would be a devastating loss.

An idea struck him: he would refine the object on the spot. Pressing his palm against the small tripod, he poured a massive surge of spiritual mana into it. However, all that mana merely dissipated outside the tripod; not a single shred entered within.

Mo Hao frowned. What was he to do then? Was he just going to watch this precious treasure lie abandoned here?

Suddenly, the small tripod flashed with light. Mo Hao then noticed that a cut had somehow opened on his palm, and fresh blood was flowing onto the small tripod. With the speed of lightning, the little tripod directly burrowed into Mo Hao's Dantian. Yet Mo Hao felt absolutely nothing. Rushing to check his own condition, he discovered that a miniature cauldron, only the size of a single finger, had appeared within his Dantian, squeezing even his Hantong Sword aside to make room.

"What... what on earth is this thing?"