Stepping into the Mo Palace, they were confronted with an atmosphere of wasteful extravagance. The tall domed ceiling was carved with exquisite and intricate patterns, the twisting dragon columns of black and gold were made out of expensive Sunlight Stone. The ground was covered with thick mountain goat rugs, all dyed dark red. Countless beautiful handmaidens stood in the hall, some holding wine or serving tea, others dancing, all very beautiful.
A completely black lion was lying on the ground, it was Lord Shi Di’s Spiritual Beast, Hei Yanshi. The lion’s body was ten zhang long, its limbs were robust and its expression cruel. Next to it was a gorgeous throne.
Lord Shi Di was tall, with a powerful build. He was dressed in skin-tight dark clothes, with big random openings on the shoulders joined together with gold and silver armour. A bare arm, corded with muscle, reached out for the wine cup in the handmaiden’s hands and he guzzled it down in one gulp.
Mo Tianliao had covered himself with a hooded cloak, hiding his appearance. While Shi Di observed him, he was also looking at Shi Di. Three hundred years had passed, yet the idiot had not changed at all. He still liked to put on airs and pretend to have class; he obviously liked to drink from large bowls, yet he was determined to always use delicate jade cups, but when he drank from them, he didn’t feel satisfied. So all his wine cups ended up turning into huge soup bowls…
“Were you looking for me?” Lord Shi Di stretched out his hand to let the maid pour him more wine and looked at the little cultivator nonchalantly.
“Junior has met Lord Shi Di.” Mo Tianliao raised his hands and made a perfunctory salute.
Lord Shi Di was a bit irritated; this junior did not bow down when he met him. The lion next to him sensed his master’s mood and lifted his head to bare his teeth at Mo Tianliao.
“It was really presumptuous of me to ask to meet Milord, but only Milord can fulfil my father’s wishes,” Mo Tianliao said in a young and ringing voice.
“Who was your father?” Shi Di felt a little impatient, he had met many such people. In order to fulfil this ancestral legacy, he should hand over this treasure; so as to fulfil that mother’s dying wish, he must let this random person depend on him; he should let that other random person devote themselves to him for the sake of their family’s honour. Who did they think he was?!
Mo Tianliao smiled slightly, he lifted his hood with one hand, revealing an unusually handsome face. His eyebrows neat as if cut with an axe, the hair on his temples perfect as if cut with a sword, the straight, slanting eyebrows over his radiant eyes gave him a striking disposition.
The huge bowl in his hand fell to the ground, the spiritual wine splashing on the lion’s head and wetting his mighty black mane. The lion jumped and bared his teeth at his master disgruntledly.
“Duantian!” Shi Di jumped up from the throne and shouted deafeningly.
The handmaidens in the hall were shocked by his vigorous voice, overwhelming with spiritual force, some of them couldn’t bear it and knelt on the ground.
Mo Tianliao had taken precautions and covered his body in a defensive barrier beforehand, firmly blocking Shi Di’s unholy ululations. He unhurriedly said, “May junior speak alone with Milord?”
Lord Shi Di came back to his senses when he heard this. This kid claimed he wanted to fulfil his father’s last wish, Duantian had been dead for 300 years, even if he had been possessing someone, he should not have been only at Foundation Establishment. Therefore, this person was not Duantian, but given his appearance, he was definitely related to Duantian. He waved repeatedly and ordered, “Out out out, everybody out!”
The servants filed out of the hall and soon there were only two people and two animals left.
Hei Yanshi approached curiously, circled around Mo Tianliao, bared his teeth menacingly at him and leaned in to sniff him. A white fluffy head emerged from Mo Tianliao’s clothes. The kitten opened its small pink mouth and yawned.
“Whimper…” When the lion saw the little furball, the mane on his neck immediately stood up and he lowered his ears as if he were afraid.
Stupid lion. The kitten glanced at the ten-zhang-long lion. It had not seen him for 300 years, but it was still so stupid.
The lion stepped back a few steps, then stepped back a few more steps, then turned around and scurried away. Thump-thump, he ran behind Shi Di to hide, but his body was way too big, so he could only hide his head behind his master’s ass and pretend he was invisible.
“That cat…” Shi Di stared, his eyes huge. Many Demonic Lords had Spiritual Beasts, of course, each fiercer than the other, but Duantian spent every day with a kitten who hadn’t yet outgrown its milk teeth. For this reason, he was often mocked by various Demonic Lords, but Duantian still did whatever he wanted and did not sign a blood pact with the kitten.
“It’s my father’s cat. My father told me right before dying that I must take good care of him.” Mo Tianliao lowered his eyes, looked tenderly at the kitten in his arms, then lifted his hand and pet the kitten’s head.
Seeing this action, Shi Di was convinced that the man was not Duantian, because every time Duantian was near his cat, he would immediately and disgracefully stick his face close to it, kiss the cat from head to foot, then be scratched.
“I don’t recall hearing that Duantian had any sons.” Shi Di had calmed down, he looked at the young man who seemed to be less than 20 years old. Duantian had been dead for 300 years, if he had possessed someone at the moment of his death and was still alive, his son could have been born in those 300 years. There had been many people who had wanted to climb into Duantian’s bed, but that wasteful idiot had always used beauties as forge workers. It was hard to imagine someone giving birth to his son. Moreover, how could this 300-year-old son have only reached Foundation Establishment?
“Would Milord like to hear a story?” Mo Tianliao smiled. Before Shi Di had finished nodding, he casually sat down on the carpet, took a deep breath and began to explain.
His story went that Lord Duantian felt himself approaching tribulation and felt that he could ascend any day, yet he could not find any successor for his legacy. He deemed that no prospective disciple was worthy, so he crafted a unique puppet using his own heart’s blood and several kinds of divine trees as materials.
The puppet transcended the usual kind, which could only obey orders. The divine trees combined with Duantian’s own heart’s blood, and some other special secret materials, ended up creating an immortal weapon, one able to think on its own just like an ordinary person. This immortal weapon looked exactly like Duantian and was treated as a son by him.
Lord Shi Di heard this and felt his chin was about to merge with the floor. Divine trees and heart’s blood? Puppet son? It was true that only a madman like Duantian could do such a crazy thing.
“It’s just that a puppet is a puppet after all, it’s not real flesh and blood, and so cultivating normally is difficult,” Mo Tianliao said, rolling up one sleeve and stretching out his arm. Slowly, the whole arm turned into blueish-green wood. “So, my father decided to craft a divine weapon for me.”
It was said that when the divine weapon was complete, it could transfigure inanimate objects around it. Therefore, even an immortal weapon puppet could reach enlightenment and become a true cultivator.
“As you can see, three hundred years later, I am still at Foundation Establishment because there is no divine weapon and no enlightenment,” Mo Tianliao said with a wry smile.
Shi Di squatted down in front of Mo Tianliao in disbelief, he stretched out his hand and touched the wooden arm. It was amazing that there was such an intricate puppet in the world, if he had known it was possible, he would have had Duantian make one for him, any price would have been worth it! Withdrawing his hand, Shi Di lowered his eyes and thought quickly.
This puppet son said that only when the divine weapon was completed, he could be enlightened, obtain a real body, and continue cultivating. Then, his purpose in coming to him was obvious— to ask him for help in obtaining the divine weapon!
Shi Di stood up slowly, his robes swaying, and smiled. “Duantian is dead, even if you obtain the divine weapon, there’s no one to help you reach enlightenment.”
“My father crafted me with his own heart’s blood and I inherited all from him. As long as my spiritual strength is sufficient, I can complete the divine weapon.” Mo Tianliao also stood up, his eyes full of confidence, he displayed an imposing manner, like that of a new-born calf unafraid of tigers. “Milord only needs to bring back the divine weapon and let me finish refining it. After reaching enlightenment, the divine weapon will belong to Milord, and I hope Milord will not refuse it.”
Shi Di’s eyes lit up. He won’t refuse it, there was no way he would refuse it! A completed divine weapon! The reason why Duantian was besieged and killed at the time was because the divine weapon was just too powerful, given the man’s mercurial temperament, wouldn’t he have ended up just killing whomever he wanted? If he could obtain it, never mind the couple of Demonic Lords on his level, he wouldn’t fear even the Supreme Demonic Lord. It would be only a matter of time before he could dominate the Taixuan continent!
He touched his face, wiping away some drool before it could drip down. Nonetheless, Shi Di pretended to be cautious and snorted coldly, “Ignorant child, why should this excellency believe this just on your say-so?”
Mo Tianliao smiled faintly. “Milord’s ultimate spiritual treasure, The Taiji Sky Splitting Axe, can only be used once a month.”
Lord Shi Di’s eyes suddenly flashed aggressively, he had two ultimate spiritual treasures, one of them, the Sky Splitting Axe, was very powerful, but it would crack after being used once and needed to be nurtured in his dantian for a month before it could be used again. It was his final life-saving card and this defect was only known to Duantian and himself.
It was said that when he wielded The Taiji Sky Splitting Axe he was completely unstoppable, but using it was not so easy. Everyone thought that Lord Shi Di preferred to rely on himself and disdained using powerful attacks on ordinary people, only he knew the depressing truth.
Who wouldn’t want to just let go and release a huge attack?! But this big move could only be used once, what if the other party could still fight, what would he do then?
“In fact, the axe body splits because of overheating,” Mo Tianliao slowly bowed his head and poked the kitten’s paws with his finger. “Therefore, after one mouthful of spiritual wine, it should be possible to use it again.”
“What?!” Shi Di immediately jumped. Just that? Why didn’t Duantian tell him?!
“My father felt that spitting wine on an axe was the behaviour of executioners, he could not bear for Milord to act so vulgarly so he did not have the heart to tell Milord.” Mo Tianliao smiled tenderly.
Shi Di was so angry that he turned around three times, cursing Duantian a hundred times in his heart, but he also finally believed that this puppet son had inherited everything. With a wave of his hand, Shi Di said, “Of course, the son of an old friend is also my son. You can rest assured that uncle will definitely bring back the divine weapon for you!”
Mo Tianliao scolded Shi Di for taking advantage of him on the inside while giving him a grateful salute with his hands.
Lord Shi Di immediately sent someone to inquire about the whereabouts of the divine weapon but stopped to ask a maid to wait on Mo Tianliao. When Mo Tianliao stepped out of the hall, he heard Shi Di say, “Worthy nephew, you haven’t told uncle your name.”
“Mo Yunqi.” Mo Tianliao smiled without looking back.
Lord Shi Di picked up his wine cup once more, the last doubt in his heart had been removed. Lord Duantian’s surname was Mo and all the people who could have known this were dead, apart from him.
When the lion saw the kitten being carried away, he slowly and leisurely padded out, then pretentiously shook his mane and gave a commanding roar, as if it had been some other lion that had just hid behind his master and lowered his ears.
End of credits song: “What You Don’t Know”
Big lion: You don’t know why he didn’t tell you ~ roar ~
Xiaozhao: I was the one who insisted that you shouldn’t be allowed to spit on the axe ~ meow ~
Carpenter: There are many things that you don’t know ~
Shi Di: QAQ Fuck, you useless bastard! Duantian, I’m not finished with you!
Unedited, please point out any mistakes
Thank you so much for all the ko-fi! This is the last of the extra chapters.