Volume 3, Chapter 2 - The Legend of the Mysterious LandsLuo Zhan quietly jumped up and ran straight to where the footsteps came from. When he saw who it was his heart relaxed a little, he went over to the person and ordered her to stop, "Little Jie, don"t go over there, 12th is cultivating."
Luo Wei Jie was surprised and said, “Uncle Luo, 12th is cultivating? Oh, 12th has moved into the Ravine Lodge, Hehe, ok, I"ll stay here, I won"t go over.” She knew that it was not a good idea to disturb someone when they were cultivating. The truth was that she really enjoyed being around 12th, she especially liked to tease him, she thought the child was very interesting.
12th was performing all the movements of the 9 basic sets unconsciously, his speed was not fast, but he was extremely accurate. At the moment when 12th completed the movements, his soul began to expand very fast and started to rumble, as if thunderbolts were exploding in his ears, his soul power was increasing. Afterwards an invisible force exploded outwards causing all the bamboo to crash against each other, the sound of the bamboos rustling against each other is the only thing that can be heard.
12th slowly sat down and began chanting unconsciously. The 167 word inscription has already been engraved deeply within his soul, although 12th was in an dazed state, he could still correctly chant the inscriptions.
Every word of the inscription was having an impact on his soul, every word was causing 12th to feel happier, the feeling was similar to when he first started cultivating FuZhou power. 12th felt very comfortable and happy when he chanted, as if he had the ability to fly.
12th"s soul has went through a rite of pa.s.sage, it has become stronger once again.
To 12th, it felt like his soul has been reborned, he felt it has become twice as strong as before. And to 12th"s surprise his soul was emitting a feeling of boundless confidence and power, it was the first time he has ever felt it.
12th did not dare continue cultivating FuZhou power, he sat down and began whispering the Soul Inscriptions, it was causing his soul to feel refreshed, it was a truly pleasurable feeling which was difficult for him to stop.
12th stopped chanting after two hours. He inspected himself and was shocked to find that his FuZhou power has increased 4 times, his cultivation speed was truly monstrous.
When 12th got up and noticed that his hearing and vision has improved, he was able to hear sounds from faraway, he heard someone say, "How can he cultivate for such a long time? I think we should go check if there is anything wrong." 12th could not help but shiver, he knew that it was Luo Wei Jie.
“Don"t go over there, 12th will come out when he is done, you will only disturb him if you go.”
Luo Zhan was doing his job and stopped her.
12th placed a finger in front of his mouth and hinted the Fu Warriors around him to not to say anything. He sneaked around the pond to avoid the road and quickly ran back home, he did not want to encounter the crazy girl because he was busy and did not have time to quarrel with her.
Luo Wei Jie was still disputing with Luo Zhan and a while after 12th left, the three Fu Warriors came out. Seeing them, Luo Zhan asks, “Is 12th done cultivating?"
Zhang Da Kui smiled and said, “12th is done, Haha, he left already.”
Luo Wei Jie was angry, she stomped her feet and said, “Uncle Luo! This is all your fault……”
Luo Zhan smiled, “No, it"s not my fault, Little Jie, It"s 12th who does not want to see you. Haha, we have to go. Little Jie, 12th is probably in the Fu Making Hall, you won"t be able to see him even if you come over.” The Fu Making Hall was locked by default, n.o.body would be able to enter without the consent of the owner. This was a policy from the FuZhou Knights and Fu Knights.
Luo Wei Jie turned around and angrily left while saying, “Ok then, we live so close to each other, I don"t believe you will hide forever.”
Luo Zhan shook his head, he did not understand why Luo Wei Jie was causing trouble for 12th. Although he could tell that she was not malicious, 12th was only a 9 years old child and has never offended her, he did not understand why she was always teasing him. “Little Jie, stop teasing 12th, he might yield to friendly persuasion but not by force.”
Luo Wei Jie slowed down a little and then quickly walked away.
Zhang Da Kui whispered, “Do Little Jie have feelings for 12th?”
Luo Zhan shouted with a smile, “Nonsense, 12th is only 9 years old! Hmm, I"m guessing Little Jie is jusy being playful….. Ah, poor 12th, forget about it, it"s none of our business, let"s go back to dinner.” Luo Zhan did not care about their relationship, as long as 12th was safe he did not need to worry about any other issues.
12th hid underground, he sat on the chair and was annoyed. If he was really a child, then there might be a chance to get closer to Luo Wei Jie, but he has the soul of an adult, he did not want to get tangled up with a twenty years old girl. It will only end up with both of them suffering, so his only option was to hide.
12th has completed the cultivation of all the basic movements and now he have to learn the higher level movements so he went over to his Teacher"s estate the next day.
Luo Jie was in a daze when he saw 12th, he did not expect 12th"s strength to substantially increase again. What is going on with 12th?
“12th, why is your strength increasing so fast?”
12th smiled, “Teacher, I"ve completed the 9 sets of basic movements for FuZhou cultivation yesterday. Haha, after the completion……I became like this, I don"t understand why my strength is increasing so fast either.”
Luo Jie was a little shocked and said, “Eh? You didn"t finish the basic movements when you advanced?"
12th said, “Yea, I"ve only cultivated up to the 8th set and did not complete the last set yet.”
Luo Jie was lost in thought. It was usually impossible to advance before cultivating all the basic FuZhou movements, but 12th somehow did it and his FuZhou level was even greater than others. As for the basic movements, a person"s strength will rise one level after completeing each set. The 3rd, 6th, and 9th set were the most critical, especially the 9th and upon completion one"s FuZhou power would reach a certain level where it was enough to advance to a FuZhou Knight.
Luo Jie was lost in thought. It was usually impossible to advance before cultivating all the basic FuZhou movements, but 12th somehow did it and his FuZhou level was even greater than others. As for the basic movements, a person"s strength will rise one level after completing each set. The 3rd, 6th, and 9th set were the most critical, especially the 9th set and upon completion, one"s FuZhou powers would reach a certain level where it was enough to advance to a FuZhou Knight.
12th felt a little uneasy seeing his Teacher silent, he asked carefully, “Teacher, are there any problems?”
Luo Jie said with a bitter smile, “There are no problems, but I don"t understand why your powers are increasing so fast, with your current speed you will soon reach the levels of a FuZhou Master and...I don"t know if that"s good or bad, however I will help you no matter what happens."
Luo Jie was a little worried because he has never seen a 9 years old FuZhou Knight before and the same 9 years old"s FuZhou powers were still rapidly increasing. Since there have never been instances of this happening before, Luo Jie was truly confused, he did not know if it was good or bad, it was inevitable for him to feel a little fear. Fortunately, Luo Jie"s cultivation was very powerful he believed that there would not be any problems as long as 12th was by his side.
12th also smiled bitterly and said, “It"s a pain when the cultivation is too slow, it"s a pain when the cultivation is too fast, Ai, life......is tough."
“Smack!”
Luo Jie roughly slapped 12th on his head and shouted, “Only a 9 years old little wimp, why are you complaining?”
12th did not feel any anger when his Teacher called him a little wimp, he was truly a little wimp. He shamelessly smiled and said, "Teacher, I"m only complaining a little, Ah, Teacher you can"t hit me on the head, I"ll become stupid!"
Luo Jie was dumbfounded, he said “Stop complaining! You have to slow down on your cultivation and focus more on Fu making and learning the ways of a FuZhou Knight, all the other things are not as important. You are lacking a lot of knowledge and will have to make it up as soon as possible. Go into my library and pick out a few books, I"ll make a special Fu Book for you to carry.”
“We"ll be departing in about 20 days, it"s going to be a long journey. Hmm, on the way you will need to use that time to read. As for Fu Control, I"ll help you get a few specialized Treasure Fu so you can practice, you"ll need to get familiarized with them."
12th understood that his Teacher was thinking about him, but he had other plans. He would not slow down his learning, Fu Control, and Fu Making. He would not slowdown his Fu cultivation either. He did not know if it was good or bad for his FuZhou powers to increase so fast, but the only thing he knew was that the faster he cultivated, the stronger he would be, which would mean the higher his chances of surviving outside would be. In this life, being able to survive is most important for 12th.
12th said, “Teacher, I want to learn how to make Hidden Fu.”
Luo Jie said, “Hidden Fu……We usually start learning about Hidden Fu making when we reach the levels of Fu Master or FuZhou Master, you, who recently advanced to a FuZhou Knight want learn such high-level Fu already?”
12th had no other choice, he could only rely on acting silly, since he was a child he could tease his Teacher into teaching him. 12th was using disgusting words, which gave himself gooseb.u.mps, he truly despised himself for acting like that.
Luo Jie really liked his little disciple, seeing 12th try so hard to win his favor with sweet words which ended up being nonsense, Luo Jie couldn"t decide to either cry nor laugh. He knew that 12th really wanted to learn Hidden Fu and said, “Ok, ok, I"ll teach you. Ah, why did I receive such a mischievous disciple at this old age?” Even though he was complaining, he was not using a complaining tone, his words were full of fondness.
12th enjoyed being spoiled, otherwise he would not act so silly. He decided to do this kind of thing as little as possible since he felt a little embarra.s.sed and a little ashamed. Fortunately, his Teacher agreed, otherwise he really did not know when to stop acting so silly. He broke out in a cold sweat thinking about it.
“Thank you Teacher, Teacher is the best!”
12th despised himself again, but in order to learn about Hidden Fu, he did not care.
Luo Jie was truly a FuZhou Great Master, he gave 12th a book that was focused on the creation method of Hidden Fu, he also told 12th to ask Uncle Hu to go to the material storage room to get the required materials. He reminded 12th, “The materials for making Hidden Fu are valuable, try not to waste them during the process. Try using the specified amounts of materials when making Hidden Fu as much as you can. Once the Innate Fu is set, you can plan the layout of the Innate Fu Book, Hidden Fu is an important part of an Innate Fu Book.
12th was very interested and asked, “Hidden Fu is part of the Innate Fu Book? Teacher, an Innate Fu Book is the proof of a Master level individual, but what is it?”
Luo Jie said, “The proof of advancement for a FuZhou Master is the successful formation of their Innate Fu, that is the most crucial step. The first Innate Fu will become the core of their Innate Fu Book, it"s not used for attacks, but will become the foundation for one"s future cultivation, it"s a very crucial Fu. After the successful formation of one"s first Innate Fu, only then can they try to form their second Innate Fu, which will be the Hidden Fu, which relies on the first Innate Fu.
“That is to say, the successful formation of a Hidden Fu will become an addition to your Innate Fu. After successfully forming the Hidden Fu, one can then put Fu in it, Treasure Fu, any other Fu and even one-time use Fu, but noone usually puts those in a Hidden Fu because it"s a waste. When the Hidden Fu is full, one can then form another one. Haha, you will become a Great Master when you have formed your 10th Hidden Fu."
“One Innate Fu plus 9 Hidden Fu, these 10 Fu will form into an Innate Fu Volume or Innate Fu Book which is the proof of a Great Master. It"s like a gate, if one can successfully pa.s.s through that gate then they will reach the levels of a Great Master, Haha, but unfortunately……not many people could pa.s.s through the gate, it"s truly difficult.”
At that point, 12th understood the meaning of someone with an Innate Fu Book. It is like they have become a large stronghold, a mobile fortress, a walking artillery base.
Each Hidden Fu could hold 10 Treasure Fu and the Innate Fu Book could hold 100 Hidden Fu, if only half of the Hidden Fu were used to hold Treasure Fu, there would be a total of 500 Treasure Fu. If each Treasure Fu could be activated twice, then there would be 1000 attacks. It"s no wonder why FuZhou Great Masters are so powerful.
12th suddenly thought of something and asks, “Teacher, what is Magic Fu?”
Luo Jie’s face twitched a bit before saying,, “Magic Fu, Magic Fu……Ah, Magic Fu are really good, but regarding the creation method for Magic Fu……there are not many left, it will soon become lost. Simply put, Magic Fu is better than Treasure Fu, Magic Fu will naturally replenish it"s own powers after a certain number of activations. When added to one"s Innate Fu, their power will greatly increase.
12th said, “There are such treasures? Teacher, do you have any?”
Luo Jie scolded with a smile, “You little brat, you dare ask that question? From now on you"ll need to become more cautious, if you get your hands on Magic Fu, the less people who knows will be better. Those stuff will make people jealous, Master level individuals will try to steal it from you. And of course I have Magic Fu, without mentioning Magic Fu I even have Ancient Fu......your Teacher have 2!"
12th became extremely curious and asked, “Bone Fu? Isn’t Bone Fu common?”
[t/n] Ancient Fu and Bone Fu are both Gu Fu, they sound the same, but have different characters.
Luo Jie knew that 12th have misunderstood him and said, “I"m talking about Ancient Fu. It"s said that these types of Fu have been pa.s.sed down since ancient times, they are very rare. All Ancient Fu are considered priceless, they are the best with one"s Innate Fu, but the creation methods has already been completely lost.
12th asked, “Where did Teacher’s Ancient Fu come from?”
Luo Jie said, “I got it from the Mysterious Lands, numerous FuZhou Knights have journeyed into the Mysterious Lands since long ago. There are Ancient Fu with the ancient people who have died there, but it is very difficult trying to find their remains and even if you are lucky enough to find one you are not guaranteed that an Ancient Fu is there. And if there was an Ancient Fu, it might not even be complete, Ancient Fu are very rare.
[t/n] I think each Sect have their own Mysterious Zones, the North Fu Sect calls theirs the Mysterious Lands, while the West Fu Sect/Beast Fu Sect calls it the Mysterious Region of Wild Beasts.
12th was stunned again, he never could have imagined that there existed such treasures. He said,"Teacher, What is the Mysterious Lands?" 12th seems to have vaguely heard about it before, but didn"t pay attention to it at that time. Now, after learning about Ancient Fu he has become interested in the Mysterious Lands.
Luo Jie said, “On this continent, there are many Mysterious Lands" entrances, but not many of them are known and most Mysterious Lands are small. It"s said that FuZhou was obtained and inherited from the Mysterious Lands, it"s like another world, very different from this continent.”
12th still did not fully understand what the Mysterious Lands were. This was because of his teachings from his previous life, this did not mean that 12th did not believed that such things existed. After his successful reincarnations he was convinced of the existences of the soul and spirit. And after coming to this FuZhou world, he was able to be fully convinced that the Mysterious Lands existed, but he was confused over the concept of the whole thing. 12th then asks, "How do you get into the Mysterious Lands?"
“There are two methods to go into the Mysterious Lands, the known and unknown methods. The known method is to basically wait at the known locations of the entrance and wait at a specific time for it to open. The unknown method......will depend on one"s luck, one might encounter the entrance at a valley or maybe even see the entrance through a streak of light, the Mysterious Lands are truly strange and diverse, each one is different."
Luo Jie continued, “It"s said that some Mysterious Lands will even lead one to another continent, but that is only a legend, it has never been confirmed. Maybe someone went to a different continent, but never came back. Haha, we have been going crazy trying to find entrances for the Mysterious Lands since we were young. I"ve found two Ancient Fu from a very small Mysterious Land, but unfortunately I was only able to stay for 7 days before getting forced out."
“The Mysterious Lands are very dangerous, there are many dangerous beasts and strange traps inside. People who go inside usually fight against each other, n.o.body can be trusted even if they are from the same Sect. Only your friends and teammates can protect you, everyone else cannot be trusted.
12th said thoughtfully, “Hmm, I understand, with all the the precious materials and Ancient Fu, when there is something rare enough it will cause others to be greedy, which makes them dangerous. I"m guessing a lot of people dies inside the Mysterious Lands.”
Luo Jie said, “Yes there are many who have died inside, many were just people who have just advanced from the disciple level, they were very eager to go inside the Mysterious Lands, but ended up dying because they did not have enough strength. So, before you reach the levels of a FuZhou Master, you have to hold your urges of going inside the Mysterious Lands, but it should not be a problem if you enter the known entrances when it is organized by the Sect. It will still be very dangerous, but it has almost been completely explored.
12th nodded, he did not want to die inside the Mysterious Lands. Even if there were numerous treasures inside, it would all be useless if he lost his life.
The truth was that 12th did not realize that there are many things that were out of his control in this world, even when he has lived through 3 lives, nothing has changed.
“Teacher, how long will it take us......to arrive at the Beast Fu Sect?”
Luo Jie said, “The West Fu Sect is very faraway, if a small group was traveling, for example, a combat squad, they might only need half a year, but for a whole troop of people, Haha they will need about a year......it"s a rare opportunity so many people are interested in going.
12th was surprised and said, “That far?”
Luo Jie said, “It"s not that far, we will be going along a few paths with boats, if we travel the whole way by walking then it will not strange if it takes us 2 years to arrive. In addition, it will be more dangerous to travel the whole way by walking, not only will there be attacks from savages and beast, there will also be attacks from bandits who are trying to steal. Those who are powerful enough to walk the whole way are all Masters of a Sect or a strong caravan group."
12th asked, “Teacher, how many people will be going with us this time to the Beast Fu Sect?”
Luo Jie smiled and said, “It will mostly be those of the Inner Court, there will be 2 Great Masters, dozens of Zhou Masters, Fu Masters, and FuZhou Masters, each of them will probably bring along dozens of people, Hmm, and a large caravan group will be coming together with us. Since the group belongs to the North Fu Sect, I"m guessing that the total will be around 2 to 3 thousand people."
12th discovered that the people of this world really enjoyed going out in groups, especially large groups with thousands of people. When 2 to 3 thousand people travelled along with their carriages, horses, track hounds, and cargoes, it will be extremely big. 12th asked, “Teacher, what are we going to do in the Beast Fu Sect?”
Luo Jie said, “Communicate, compete, study, trades for items and materials, trades of unique FuZhou……these are the functions of the Four Alliance, but the truth was that everyone was only interested in trading items and materials. As for communication, learning, and FuZhou trades, they have long stopped.” He continued, “Ah, people still compete, a compet.i.tion against each other......Hmm, in the compet.i.tions last time, dozens of people died, it turned into a mutual slaughter.
12th was curious, “Do we have conflicts with the Beast Fu Sect?”
Luo Jie smiled, “All the Sects……have conflicts, we are only united on the surface. Be careful when you are outside and meet people from the other Sects, I cannot say that everyone from the other Sects are bad, but if you are not vigilant, then it will not strange to be killed by them."
12th nodded and said, “Hmm, I will take the initiative to fight when I meet people from other Sects……”
Luo Jie didn"t know whether to cry or laugh, he said, “What? Why do you want to take the initiative to fight? I"m just telling you to be careful, not to fight. There are people who you can get along with from the other Sects, you can still make a few good friends.”
12th said with a smile, “I understand, I"ll make friends with those who are pleasant and kill those who are unpleasant, Teacher, am I right?”
Luo Jie smiled bitterly, “Forget about it, it"s still too early to tell you about this, go back and prepare. And also go get some materials from Uncle Hu on your way home, Hmm, try to make a basic Hidden Fu for me to examine first.”
12th was suddenly very excited, “Ok, I will bring it to Teacher in 2 days.” 12th did not leave from the front door, he snuck out the back door.
Luo Jie was wondering why 12th was sneaking out through the back door, but at the same time he saw Luo Wei Jie running in from the front door while saying, “Eh? Where"s 12th?” He finally understood that 12th"s actions were caused by Luo Wei Jie"s arrival. He could not help but shout with a smile, “Little Jie, why are you always running around! 12th is already gone, what do you want with him?”
Luo Wei Jie said hesitantly, “Nothing, just something about cultivation……”
Luo Jie said angrily, “Something about cultivation? Ask me!”
Luo Wei Jie turned around and ran away, “Aiya, I"m leaving first, I still have some stuff to do!” She anxiously ran outside and mumbled, “Hmph, forgetting about your own granddaughter when you have a disciple……Crazy grandpa……12th, wait and see……Don"t let me catch you! Haha…… This little child is very interesting……”
Luo Jie was a little worried when he looked at Luo Wei Jie and sighed secretly in his mind. This little granddaughter have good potential, but she is not hard-working enough, she"s in her 20s, but is still as naughty as a child.
12th had very sensitive ears, he knew that Luo Wei Jie, the crazy girl was coming after hearing her footsteps. He was not afraid of her, but he did not want to waste time dealing with her, so he quickly went through the back door. After finding Uncle Hu, 12th received the materials and quietly ran back home, he did not want to waste any time because there was only 20 days left before departing.
12th went back home and saw Auntie Chen and Chen Hong sitting together in the living room.
Auntie Chen said with a smile, “12th, congratulations on your advancement to FuZhou Knight.”
12th saluted politely, “Grandma Chen, what are you doing here?” He glanced at Chen Hong and saw the little girl looking disturbed and was twisting her fingers. His heart could not help but drop a little, he knew that there will be trouble.
Auntie Chen asked, “12th, are you going to the West Fu Sect?”
12th nodded and said, “Yes, I"ll be going with my Teacher.”
Auntie Chen then asks, “What about Little Hong?”
12th said with a puzzled expression, “Of course we are going together, is that a problem?”
Auntie Chen sighed and said, “Yes, a big problem!”
Chen Hong felt uneasy and whispered, “Don"t say……” Her face was red and it looked like she did not know what to say.
12th wondered and said, “Don"t say what? Little Hong, just say whatever you want to say.”