It was still snowing outside, the sky was overcast, and it looked like the weather would only worsen. Although it was close to noon, it was still very cold. Mo Tianliao rubbed his hands together, took out a cloak with a fire attribute from his storage wrist-guard and put it on, it would protect him against the snow and wind while also keeping him warm.
Ding Ziyu had not been able to open the wrist-guard because it still carried the mark of Mo Tianliao’s divine soul. The man was selfish and had not wanted anyone else to get the things inside so he had not even asked his father for help, because of this, everything in the wrist-guard was still intact.
When Mo Tianliao had fled for his life three hundred years ago, he had gone through all the treasure-like magical weapons that could be used to defeat his enemies. Now, except for a large number of lingshi, all that was left were Mo Tianliao’s daily necessities, cloaks, clothes, cooking utensils, dried fish…
This wrist-guard was much more useful than the storage bracelet which could repel tribulation lightening, Mo Tianliao transferred everything in the bracelet into the wrist-guard, he could now sell the bracelet at the marketplace. Taishi had learnt how to look like a storage wrist-guard, it could appear indistinguishable from it, but its colour could not change, it still kept that ugly tortoiseshell pattern, how could it compare to the delicate object on his left wrist which sparkled with a deep blue light.
“Master, why didn’t you embed some gems in me when you made me?” Taishi could not stay still for long, it turned into a big mouth and flew over Mo Tianliao’s head.
Mo Tianliao jumped on top of a big stone and gazed into the distance. “Can you promise not to eat the gems? If so, I’ll give you some.”
The big mouth gaped; it could not argue with that.
The snowy mountain range was very vast, with many peaks, the place where the Crystal Palace had landed was a valley between two mountains, but rather than a valley it would be more correct to say it was a huge snowfield. There was a forest in front of it, full of hardy pines and cypresses, covered in frost and snow. As it went down the mountain, the snow gradually disappeared from the forest, at the foothills the scenery looked completely different.
This place should be the famous Hansong Mountains, which were rich in Snowshard Stone, a white and translucent material with snowflake-like patterns on it, usually used in magical weapons with ice attributes. It was not a top-grade material, but it was beautiful and very popular with female cultivators, it was often carved into hairpins, bracelets, etc. In Mo Tianliao’s Mo Palace, there was a whole pavilion carved out of Snowshard Stone, a pleasantly cool place to sit in during the summer, Mo Xiaozhao liked it very much.
He looked back at the Crystal Palace behind him, with his cultivator’s eyesight, he could clearly see the situation inside. Seeing Qingtong lying on the bed obediently, he could not help smirking. This feeling of “the wife has a lie in at home while the husband goes out hunting to provide for his family” was… It just made him feel indescribably happy.
The snow on these mountains had not melted in tens of thousands of years, it was very cold and the snowstorms were fierce, if ordinary cultivators were to come up without expensive magical tools to keep them warm, their spiritual power would soon be exhausted, while ordinary people could not survive at all. On the other hand, some common beasts could survive safely, such as elk.
Mo Tianliao called back Taishi, which had assumed the shape of an arrow, picked up the dead elk and weighed it. It was a very fat bull, enough food for both people. Throwing the whole prey into the wrist-guard, Mo Tianliao now planned to go find some mushrooms, spiritual grasses to use as spices, and the like. These kinds of things would not be in the snowy forest, so he would have to go all the way down the mountain for them. The forest was huge, he walked for a long time before reaching its end. He was halfway down the mountain when he suddenly heard someone shouting.
“Quick, don’t let them get away!”
“Go east, cast the net. Hurry, hurry!”
“What about the Soul Subjugating Horn?”
The jumble of voices headed towards the east, Mo Tianliao extended his divine sense, there were three Golden Core and five Foundation stage cultivators in the forest, most probably hunters chasing a Demonic Beast.
At first, he had not intended to meddle, but when Mo Tianliao turned around to leave, he suddenly heard a hunter say, “Big Brother, the fox is wearing a collar around his neck, does it have a master?”
“I don’t care either way, let’s catch it first.”
A fox wearing a collar, why did that sound so familiar?
Mo Tianliao made a snap decision and jumped to the top of a tree, quickly approaching the group of people.
Two white foxes were trapped in a small array, they seemed to be injured, their white fur was stained with a bit of blood. The fox with the collar pulled the other one behind him and glared at the group of people.
“Take this. I’ll draw them away, you run up the mountain. Do you remember where our clan is?” Shuang Ren shoved the magical tool capable of defending against the Soul Subjugating Horn at his sister and spoke to her in animal language.
They had stayed in that Liuyun Sect house for a few days, his sister had been frightened, needing to be held constantly just to be able to sleep, but they had still let the guards think that they could be bred, tricking them into feeding the both of them well. However, the Liuyun Sect guards kept watch over them day and night, they could not find a chance to escape.
Yesterday, there had been a huge and sudden explosion, the earth had shaken and the house, which had been engraved with a barrier, collapsed. Shuang Ren immediately took the chance, before those disciples climbed out of the ruins, he changed into human shape, picked up his younger sister, took out his flying sword and fled. Inside the storage collar which second shixiong had given him, there had been a token which allowed the person holding it to enter and exit the Liuyun Sect. When he saw a bunch of people flying to a mountain nearby, he followed the crowd, carrying his sister in his arms.
The guards discovered that the foxes had escaped and searched for them everywhere, but unbeknownst to them he had already mixed in with the crowd.
After that, Xuanji shibo had gotten into a fight with the Leader of the Liuyun Sect and everyone had had to escape far away. Since he was not in the Liuyun Sect’s guest list, if they were to check carefully, he would never be able to escape and his sect would also get in trouble, so he had taken advantage of the commotion and left the Liuyun Sect, fleeing all the way to the snowy mountains. His sword was not as light as Mo Tianliao’s, the journey had exhausted his spiritual power, and then he just happened to meet a group of hunters. What rotten luck.
“I’m not leaving!” The little fox clutched her brother’s fur from behind.
Before Shuang Ren could persuade her again, the hunters began to move. Eight people surrounded the two foxes, Shuang Ren instantly took human shape, took his sister in his arms and lifted his sword.
“Ooh!” The hunters were in shock, it was the first time they had seen such a thing. “A shape-shifted Beast cultivator!”
Before anyone could react, Shuang Ren made a move, rushing toward the southeast, where the weakest Foundation stage cultivator was. Fighting against the array, he jumped straight outside of it and slashed at the man’s head with tremendous strength. The Foundation stage cultivator got a fright and hurriedly raised his broadsword to block.
Shuang Ren’s sword was given to him by Mo Tianliao, naturally it was not an ordinary magical weapon, with the added spiritual power of a Golden Core Beast cultivator, the broadsword was instantly cut in half, the Foundation Establishment hunter was killed in one chop. Shuang Ren mounted his sword and fled up the mountain. A Golden Core hunter suddenly jumped into the air, directing a blow straight towards Shuang Ren’s chest.
Shuang Ren dodged sideways, but another Golden Core hunter had caught up and hit him from behind.
“Cough.” Shuang Ren spit out a mouthful of blood, rolled on the ground, knelt on one knee, propped himself up with his sword, and glared at the people coldly.
Now that they had clearly seen Shuang Ren, the greed in the hunters’ eyes just kept growing. They had heard that a shape-shifted Beast cultivator had appeared in Liuhe Market, and that it had been sold for an exorbitant price. If they caught and sold this boy, the amount of lingshi they would get in exchange would last them until they reached the Nascent Soul stage.
These hunters were all rogue cultivators, no matter how good their skills, they would be no match for a disciple of a major sect as long as their cultivation was similar. However, the problem was that Shuang Ren had only recently entered the sect, he had studied for a mere few days with Yan Lie and he was outnumbered besides, there was no way he would be able to defeat them.
“People,” Shuang Ren said and stood up. “I know I can’t escape, but if I blow up my beast core, you better believe that none of you will survive.”
When the hunters heard that, they could not help stepping back. They would not be able to withstand the power of an exploding beast core from a shape-shifted Beast cultivator.
“This little fox is my sister, she’s still very young, even if you sell her, she won’t fetch a good price.” The teenager’s face was full of determination. “If you let her go, I will go with you.”
The people glanced at each other and looked at the fox, her head poking out from where Shuang Ren held her against his chest. The small thing really did not look like it could shape-shift, its price would not be one tenth of that of a shape-shifting Demonic Beast. After some discussion, the leader of the group agreed.
Shuang Ren put down the fox and winked at her, signalling that she should quickly run away. He was caught, but he could still find a way to escape once more, second shixiong had left him some summoning jade slips, if escape was really impossible, he could still ask his Master for help. He would never again let his sister fall into the hands of these kinds of people.
The little fox looked at her brother tearfully, turned around and ran away.
The moment the little fox ran out of the people’s encirclement, a Golden Core cultivator quickly took out the Soul Subjugating Horn and sounded it using spiritual power, the ear-piercing sound instantly resounded over the area.
“Awooo,” the little fox screamed, the nearest Foundation stage cultivator went to catch her, while the two Golden Core cultivators went straight for Shuang Ren. Once they caught the little fox, they need not fear the shape-shifting fox not cooperating.
They had thought that the Soul Subjugating Horn would make Shuang Ren easy to capture, however, although he went pale his movements did not slow down at all. The two people were surprised and the one who had jumped at him first ran straight into the tip of his sword.
The Dantian of the Foundation stage cultivator who had gone to catch the little fox was suddenly pierced by the palm of Shuang Hua, who had taken human form.
“This one can also change shape!” The people reacted; the remaining Golden Core cultivator immediately ran towards Shuang Hua.
There came the sound of something cutting through the air, the man subconsciously dodged, a sharp arrow cut across his cheek.
The dark arrow was buried in the ground then instantly disappeared; it was immediately followed by another arrow. The Golden Core hunter took out his own special weapon, a whip, he lashed at the tortoiseshell-coloured arrow and deflected it. “Who the hel– ah!” He had not finished speaking when the arrow unexpectedly turned by itself and pierced his chest, a three-chi-long splatter of blood immediately gushed out.
The man fell to the ground, hastily took out some pills and swallowed them, two Foundation stage cultivators hurriedly ran over to protect him.
Of the three Golden Core cultivators, one was the head of their hunter team, and the other two were from renowned Beast hunting families, if they were to suffer a loss, there would be no way to explain it.
Countless small wooden thorns came raining down, heading straight towards their heads; the people dodged, scared shitless. When they rolled aside and looked up, they saw a man wearing a pitch-black cloak, a tortoiseshell-coloured bow in his hand, his face was hidden beneath the wide hood and could not be clearly seen, they could sense a vicious aura covering his whole body, it was frightening.
Mo Tianliao stood beside Shuang Hua, he glanced at the weak and beautiful woman, then looked away; he had no intention of giving her a hand. If Shuang Hua were still in the shape of a little fox, then for the sake of the fluff, Mo Tianliao would have definitely picked her up. But now… Let her lie down in the snow, Frost Soothing Foxes had no trouble with the cold anyways.
“Who the hell are you?” A Golden Core cultivator and the three Foundation Establishment cultivators staying with Shuang Ren shook, another Golden Core cultivator rushed over to deal with Mo Tianliao.
“Hunter.” Mo Tianliao lifted his bow carelessly, as the bowstring stretched a tortoiseshell-coloured arrow instantly coalesced in it.
All trades had their own mores. Among hunters, there was often poaching; as long as you were strong enough, anything was yours to steal. That was why this hunter squad now had three Golden Core cultivators, ever since someone had caught a shape-shifted Beast cultivator on these snowy mountains, the hunters who came here kept getting stronger. The group had not dared to go up the mountain without adding two more Golden Core cultivators to help guard against poaching.
“Golden Core late period!” People in the same stage could sense each other’s power levels, of the present Golden Core cultivators, two were in the beginning period and one was in the middle period, none of them could fight against Mo Tianliao.
The difference in the spiritual power available between each period was huge, except for Mo Tianliao, that monster, ordinary cultivators would inevitably retreat when they met someone with a higher level than them.
Mo Tianliao was also stunned, he had been in the middle period of the Golden Core level just yesterday, why was he in the late period now? Looking inside his body, he found that the Golden Core in his Dantian was gorgeous in colour and solid in structure, it was comparable to the size of a Nascent Soul. It was indeed a late period Golden Core! Could the dual cultivation be the cause? Thinking about this, he could not help feeling like his heart was squeezing. His cultivation had advanced, did that mean that Qingtong’s cultivation had declined?
Beginning to worry, Mo Tianliao had no patience left to talk nonsense with these people, the arrow left the bowstring, and, imbued with plenty of spiritual power, it shot towards the Golden Core cultivator.
Unedited, please point out any mistakes
Gah! I’m so late! I’m very very sorry, I’m having some life problems because of the current global situation.
This chapter was split in half because of length, I believe it’s the only chapter this long.
Edited it again to try and make it more coherent, I hope it’s better.