Chapter 9

Chapter Nine Forging
Xu Yi shixiong had gone to great detail. The Ling Exciting Hoe was the simplest of all talismans. Calling it a talisman was a bit of an overestimation. It couldn’t even enter the first-grade. But for Zuo Mo who had no experience in forging, there were still endless problems.
For example, the copper ingot had to be beaten into a hoe shape. This was a great test of Zuo Mo’s abilities. Thankfully, the copper was soft and after repeated banging for four hours, he managed to form a hoe blade.
After that was carving formations on the copper hoes. The formation for the Ling Exciting Hoe was very simple. The [Thunder] of the eight basic formations. For any xuizhe, it wouldn’t be unfamiliar. He wasn’t unfamiliar with the formation, but there were concerns about how to carve it.
Zuo Mo held a carving knife in his right hand as he cautiously carved out [Thunder]. He had never used a carving knife before and frequently made mistakes. Once a mistake was made, it required erasing everything and starting from the beginning.
After redoing it seven or eight times, Zuo Mo finally managed to finish carving the formation.
Looking at the formations carved on the surface of the copper hoe, Zuo Mo’s heart was filled with a sense of achievement. His cultivation was too low right now so he could only use a carving knife, the most basic tool. If his cultivation was higher, and he could use his heart fire to forge, shaping would occur according to his thoughts. Similarly, due to his low cultivation, the simplest formation filled the entire hoe. If he had higher cultivation, he could manipulate a flying sword and carve layers of jinzhi, destroy the heavens and become omnipotent!
But for Zuo Mo, right now was his limit.
Face full of pain, he took out a second-grade jinshi and inlaid it in the center of the formation.
The copper hoe suddenly lit up, a light like a wave rippling through the body of the hoe. The scarred hoe suddenly became as smooth as in the beginning. By now, Zuo Mo finally took a breath of relieve. This Ling Exciting Hoe was half completed. At this step, it was still successful.
The copper hoe was too soft and easily changed shape, destroying the structure of the formation. So right after would be using fire metal ore to reinforce the structure and increase hardness. Holding the crimson fire metal ore on his hand, he could clearly feel the warmth that spread out from it.
Putting the fire metal ore on the copper hoe, Zuo Mo thought back to the forging methods that Xu Yi shixiong had taught. The crux of this step was to turn the fire metal ore to liquid to dissolve in the copper hoe. If there was heart fire, it would be extremely easy to finish this step, but for Zuo Mo, he had to borrow a few special spells.
The ling energy in Zuo Mo’s body revolved, his hands moving like flowers blooming. The ling energy changed as it followed the path of his fingers, his hands enveloped in a layer of red light.

Go!

The two hands flipped and the red light left, hitting the copper hoe and the fire metal ore.
The fire metal ore became entirely red, the crimson liquid metal pouring onto the copper hoe. The copper hoe was like a sponge. When the liquid metal touched it, it was absorbed, not a drop left. The color of the copper hoe quietly changed, a few hints of dark red among the copper hoe.
He took up the hoe blade. The hoe was heavier than before. He reached with a finger to gently tap. The sound was clear. He could clearly feel the quality had moved up a few levels and was exceptionally strong.
Taking the prepared pine wood stick and sticking it into the hoe, this Ling Exciting Hoe was complete.
Joyfully, Zuo Mo immediately rushed into the ling fields in the yard to try out the power of this Ling Exciting Hoe.
After digging down, the hoe shuddered slightly. From the head came a strong feeling of vibration. Zuo Mo bent down to inspect the field, a happy expression on his face.
The Ling Exciting Hoe was definitely an essential talisman for farming!
The ling energy where the hoe had just been was clearly different from the surroundings. The ling energy in the surroundings were unequally distributed, in tangles or blocks. And on the piece of dirt he had just hoed, the ling energy had all been broken up and scattered equally around. Like this kind of free ling energy, the ling grains found it easiest to absorb!
Good thing!
Zuo Mo instantly became motivated and the hoe flew. In one session, he hoed all of the five mu of ling fields in the yard!
He held the Ling Exciting Hoe, breathing like a bull, his face pale. Because he had been too excited, he forgot that the weight of this Ling Exciting Hoe wasn’t light. With his little body, it took a lot of strength.
But even half-dead, he still couldn’t disguise the glee in his heart. To successfully make a talisman on the first try, it was hard to describe the kind of exhilaration.
Five mu of ling fields. He used [Art of Aged Gold] to kill pests, used the fourth level of [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] to water, and used Ling Exciting Hoe to loosen the soil. In this entire sect, no one had taken so much care with the ling grains. He was very curious how much the harvest of these five mu of ling fields would increase this year.
With his cultivation of lianqi eighth level, he was at ease controlling the ling energy. If the production of these five mu increased a lot, he could use this fine and attentive methods to raise the fifty mu of ling fields that he had rented from the sect. Then he would jump to become the wealthiest among all the outer sect disciples!
This made his heart beat. Nothing was more real than ling grains and jingshi!
Successing at forging on his first try, it gave Zuo Mo great encouragement. The unluckiness of the past while seemed to sweep away. He started to familiarize himself with the other three arts, especially [Art of Flora]. The uses of the three arts were completely different. [Art of Crimson Flame] was used to activate seeds, to speed up germination. Other than that, it concentrated the essence of the sun and was most suitable for yang- type[1] ling plants. [Art of Earth Energy] could concentrate the energy of the earth and was especially suitable for the growth of some yin-type[2] ling plants.
And [Art of Flora] and [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] were similar, not yin or yang. But [Art of Flora] was more dominating than [Little Art of Cloud and Rain]. It extracted the essence of plants to nourish the growth of the ling grains. The basic quality of [Art of Flora] was robbery. Robbing the essence of other plants to nourish itself.
He had to be extremely careful when using it. Even though Wu Kong Mountain was covered in trees, but if he wasn’t careful, it was easy for one of the old trees to wither.
Everytime he used [Art of Flora], Zuo Mo was alert and cautious, afraid of ruining the ancient trees in the mountains. It wasn’t easy for ancient trees to grow and live. They all had endured for thousands of years before they could become their present shape. There wasn’t an explicit rule in the sect, but if he caused large sections of ancient trees to die, then waiting for him wasn’t anything good.
The sunlight came into the woods through the trees, forming a scattering of light and shade. The climate of Wu Kong Mountain was beautiful, dry and delightful. Cold winds blew through the trees without any hint of humidity. The surroundings were all quiet. This place was very out of the way. Except for Zuo Mo, no one else would come.
Zuo Mo calmed down and started to revolve his ling energy, his hands moving rapidly. It was the still unfamiliar [Art of Flora].
After the stiffness at the beginning, the movements of his hands quickly became smooth. The fingers flickering like a flower continuously blooming. Each time he flickered out, there was a faint wave of ling energy in the air that rippled out.
Following the ling energy ripples, thin threads of green light flew out of the trees and converged at Zuo Mo’s hands.
In a short while, the green light became even brighter. Zuo Mo stopped the spell. A green bead rolled into his palm. This was the bead that was concentrated from the essence of the plants. He put the bead away and inspected the ancient trees around him. The glow of the leaves were much dimmer and some leaves showed signs of withering.
Zuo Mo took out a jade stick from his bosom. Recorded in the jade stick was the general geography of Wu Kong Mountain. It had taken him a lot of time to make it.
Finding the present position in the Wu Kong Mountain of the jade stick, he made a mark. Next time, he had to change places. This place needed a length of time to recover.
Even Zuo Mo was shocked at the dominance of [Art of Flora]. This was only the first level and it easily stole the vitality of the trees. If it reached any higher levels, what would it look like?
Carefully putting the plant essence bead into his bosom, he prepared to leave.
Within six hours, this plant essence bead needed to be, using the special methods of [Art of Flora], released in the ling grains. Otherwise, it would dissolve.
Coming out of the wood, he followed the mountain trail, heading for his own yard.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of a woman crying.
Woman?
He didn’t stop but as he walked forward, the sobbing became even clearer.
Most of the female disciples in the sect were at the animal raising rooms and responsible for raising ling beasts. Zuo Mo hadn’t had many interactions with them. He didn’t want to cause trouble and prepared to make a detour.
Suddenly, he heard as the female disciple sob, she muttered:
Woo, wooo, mama … …

Zuo Mo’s steps stopped. A certain soft place in his heart was viciously jabbed.
Mama… …
That strange familiarity rose again in his heart.
Damn it! He cursed inside. He disliked this feeling. Each time this feeling of strange familiarity appeared, it was like his heart was blocked, unspeakably uncomfortable. Cursing was cursing, but the thoughts in his head uncontrollably turned.
Who am I? Where is my home? Who’s my mama… …
He was slighted irritated but his feet unconsciously walked towards the crying.
When he went forward a few steps, he saw behind a piece of rock, there curled a female disciple. The apple-shaped face was full of tears, extremely pitiful. She was curled into a ball like a cat, her shoulders occasionally jerking.

Why are you crying? It’s so bothersome!
Zuo Mo scolded ill-temperedly, sitting down on his butt.
The other was liked a frightened cat, shrinking back. When she saw the outer sect uniform on Zuo Mo’s body, the fear in her eyes retreated. In a weeping tone, she timidly said:
Sorry, shixiong… …

Hearing the other’s timid voice, Zuo Mo was even more irritated:
Screw sorry. You crying is none of my business. It’s so irritating.
He noticed that his own attitude was overly vile and tried to suppress the vexation inside, and asked impatiently:
Say it, what is it?


Nothing … …
The other’s voice was like a mosquito.
The fire in Zuo Mo’s heart rose. He raised his volume and interrupted impatiently:
I told you to say it!

The little girl was clearly frightened by him. This wooden-faced shixiong was so scary! Her crying instantly subsided and she instinctively answered:
There isn’t enough of the Green Sword Grass for A Bao and the others to eat.


Whose A Bao?
Zuo Mo glanced at her and asked.

A Bao… … A Bao is A Bao. He needs to eat green sword grass everyday. Hoo, hoo, there isn’t enough green sword grass… …
As she narrated, she started to cry again.

Shut up!
Zuo Mo’s furious shout definitely wasn’t friendly. The young girl jumped, her body instinctively shrinking back, a fearful expression on her face. Her sobs instantly stopped.
Looking at this muddle-headed little girl, Zuo Mo rubbed his forehead in pain. Even though he hadn’t been in the stables, but at least he knew the basic protocols. The amount of ling grass the ling animals needed to eat wouldn’t vary too greatly. The sect had special ling fields set aside for growing ling grasses.
Compared to raising ling grains, ling grasses were much easier. So it was taken care off by the female disciple who took care of the animals.
Did something happen to the ling grasses?

What happened? Be more detailed.

[1] 阳: masculine, positive
[2] 阴: feminine, negative, shady