Chapter 1322: Dragon Pool

Chapter 1321: Dragon Pool

The Royal Court’s night assault was still ongoing.

Bai Zisheng gripped his long spear, man and weapon like a dragon, charging and killing ahead. Mo Hua provided support from behind. Thus, the senior and junior brothers formed a perfect balance of offense and defense—unstoppable—cutting through the chaos of the Royal Court like a streaking rainbow, fleeing straight ahead…

The mountains and plains of the Great Wilderness flashed past their eyes one by one. No one knew how far they ran. By then, there were no barbarian soldiers around, no Dao soldiers, no Feathered Ascension True Persons, nor the prodigies of the great clans.

There was only the boundless night and the biting cold wind.

At the horizon hung a thin, dim crescent moon. For tens of thousands of miles around stretched endless yellow sand.

Vast. Empty. Desolate. Not a soul in sight.

As the thrill of slaughter faded, exhaustion surged forth, and his injuries seemed to worsen.

Bai Zisheng couldn’t help it, his body tilted, and he collapsed into the yellow sand. His eyelids grew heavy, and just like that, he drifted into a hazy sleep.

He didn’t know how long he slept. When he opened his eyes again, Bai Zisheng realized that a small blanket had been draped over him—soft and warm.

Lifting his head, he saw a campfire burning nearby.

The flickering flames illuminated Mo Hua’s refined face, glowing red.

Mo Hua was fully focused on roasting meat. Amid the sizzling sounds, an enticing aroma spread through the air, warm and homely.

Bai Zisheng was momentarily dazed.

It felt as though time had flowed backward.

Back to twenty years ago, to the days when he, their master, his younger sister, and his little junior brother traveled the world together.

Back then, everyone he loved most was by his side. Life was carefree—there were fights to pick, naps to take in the grass after getting tired, and when he woke up, his little junior brother would always be there, roasting meat for him.

Those days were the happiest of his entire life.

Only in the occasional dream could Bai Zisheng see those scenes again, each time accompanied by a lingering, sour ache in his heart.

Watching Mo Hua roasting meat by the fire, looking at that face—somewhat unfamiliar, yet deeply familiar—Bai Zisheng suddenly felt a sense of unreality in the hazy firelight, as though he were still dreaming.

Once the dream ended, everything would vanish again.

The campfire. His little junior brother. All of it… gone.

He would be alone again, struggling through the vast Great Wilderness, being plotted against, hunted down, fleeing nonstop, killing without end…

“Little Senior Brother, you’re awake?”

A clear, gentle voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Bai Zisheng slowly came back to himself. Only then did he faintly feel the pain in his limbs and bones, the chill of the night, and the mournful desert wind.

He murmured in realization, “So… this isn’t a dream…”

Memories slowly surfaced, and an overwhelming joy rose in his heart.

He really wasn’t dreaming. He had really found his little junior brother…

Bai Zisheng tried to turn over and sit up, but suddenly hissed as pain shot through him, several meridians inside his body had ruptured.

“Don’t move,” Mo Hua said quickly, handing him a bottle of pills. “Take the medicine first. Your injuries weren’t healed, and you fought again, they’re pretty serious now…”

Bai Zisheng took the bottle, poured out a few pills, and swallowed them.

The medicinal power was instantly refined, nourishing his fleshly body. His injuries slowly began to recover.

Seeing this, Mo Hua felt a bit envious. A strong physique really was something, just popping a few pills and the injuries started rewinding like a lantern show.

After taking the pills, Bai Zisheng felt much better. His gaze drifted involuntarily to the roasted meat in Mo Hua’s hands.

Mo Hua handed it to him. “Just finished roasting it. Try it.”

Bai Zisheng took the meat and took a bite. The familiar fragrance and spiciness from his memories surged back, making the corners of his eyes inexplicably damp.

Mo Hua was startled. “You’re not crying, are you?”

Getting emotional over roasted meat now?

That tiny bit of sentimentality instantly vanished from Bai Zisheng’s heart. Slightly annoyed, he snorted coldly, “It’s not as good as it used to be…”

Mo Hua chuckled and handed him a jug of wine.

Bai Zisheng took a sip, frowned, and said, “Why is it still sweet?”

Mo Hua replied, “Just make do.”

So Bai Zisheng ate spicy, fragrant roasted meat and drank sweet fruit wine, as though he had returned to childhood. All the bitterness and hardship of the mortal world melted away, leaving his body and mind warm.

Mo Hua grabbed a skewer for himself, gnawing on it—one bite of meat, one sip of fruit wine. His eyes half-closed, feeling utterly content.

These days in the Great Wilderness had been far too busy, mentally and physically exhausting.

He hadn’t relaxed like this in a long, long time.

Between heaven and earth, there were no tribal wars of the wilderness, no scheming and intrigue, no famine, no Huá Clan, no Dao soldiers—only two senior and junior brothers reunited after a long separation, having survived a great calamity, eating meat and drinking together.

After eating for a while, Mo Hua suddenly glanced at Bai Zisheng and asked curiously, “By the way, Little Senior Brother, how did you end up this miserable?”

“Are you not well-liked in the Bai Clan?”

“How did you end up coming to the Great Wilderness all by yourself?”

“Does the Bai Clan really not care whether you live or die?”

“Is your popularity really that bad?”

Mo Hua rattled off question after question.

Bai Zisheng choked for a moment, feeling as though several arrows had pierced his chest at once. He shot Mo Hua a look.

This kid really didn’t distinguish between friend and foe when it came to irritating people…

Still, seeing Mo Hua’s curious expression, Bai Zisheng sighed softly and said slowly, “I told you back when we were kids, didn’t I…”

“I don’t like the Bai Clan. Whether elders or peers, I don’t like any of them. And they don’t particularly like me either…”

Mo Hua nodded. That seemed to match his impression.

“Later, my Longevity Talisman shattered,” Bai Zisheng continued. “After returning to the Bai Clan, I became even more unwelcome.”

“That Longevity Talisman was something my mother begged for with extreme difficulty from the Bai Clan’s upper echelons.”

“In any great clan, a Longevity Talisman is a priceless treasure. For my sake, my mother offended many people to obtain it. In the end, I shattered it myself… caused a huge disaster. My mother couldn’t say much after that, and the other Bai disciples naturally looked at me with hatred and resentment…”

“Over time, I became like a despised ‘outsider’ in the Bai Clan.”

Bai Zisheng’s tone was calm, tinged with cold detachment.

Mo Hua felt guilty. “Little Senior Brother, the Longevity Talisman… it was because of me…”

Bai Zisheng shook his head and smiled. “Don’t say stupid things. I couldn’t stand that damn Saint Son, so I used the Longevity Talisman to blow him up. Sure, my talisman was destroyed, but didn’t his Immortality Talisman get blown up too? One talisman for one talisman, not a loss…”

“Besides, you’re my little junior brother. I said I’d protect you.”

Mo Hua fell silent.

Then he remembered—back then, when the Saint Son tried to capture him, it wasn’t only his little senior brother who destroyed his Longevity Talisman.

It seemed his senior sister had also destroyed her own natal Longevity Talisman…

Pain stabbed Mo Hua’s heart. He couldn’t help but ask, “Then… Senior Sister? Where is Senior Sister now…?”

Bai Zisheng shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know…”

“You don’t know?”

“Mm,” Bai Zisheng said. “After Zixi’s and my Longevity Talismans shattered, Mother separated the two of us. I stayed in the Bai Clan to cultivate under the clan instructors. Zixi was sent, to study at the Dao Province. I haven’t seen her for a very long time…”

He sighed again.

Mo Hua nodded.

After a moment’s thought—though he knew he shouldn’t ask, and that asking might very well reveal certain karmic threads—he still couldn’t help but softly utter that word: “Master…?”

Bai Zisheng’s heart trembled as well. With a bitter expression, he said, “I don’t know either. Master’s coffin… Mother sealed it away. She won’t let anyone see it. I also…”

Mo Hua’s gaze dimmed.

Bai Zisheng looked at him and asked,

“Do you… want to see Master?”

Mo Hua nodded. He didn’t say a word, but his expression clearly fell.

It had been a very, very long time since he had last seen Master.

Bai Zisheng rarely saw Mo Hua like this. He also knew that Mo Hua was Master’s youngest disciple, and the one Master doted on the most.

Even he and Zixi together couldn’t compare to how much affection Master had shown this little junior brother.

Because of that, he understood even more clearly how heavy Mo Hua’s heart felt.

But matters concerning Master touched on things far too profound. He was powerless to help, and didn’t even know how to comfort Mo Hua.

In the dark of night, the atmosphere grew somewhat stifling, broken only by the occasional crackle of the campfire.

After who knew how long, Mo Hua finally came back to himself. Realizing the mood had grown too heavy, he gathered up his sadness and asked Bai Zisheng,

“Little Senior Brother, do you know True-Person Huá?”

Bai Zisheng froze, anger flashing in his eyes as he nodded. “True-Person Huá—despicable and shameless.”

“He tricked you?”

“Mm,” Bai Zisheng said. “When I first entered the Great Wilderness, I happened to meet True-Person Huá. He said he had some ties with the Bai Clan and counted as an elder of mine, and that he could take me along to gain experience. At first I didn’t believe him, but he looked kind, took care of me in many ways, and even pointed out some key cultivation insights. Over time, I let my guard down.”

“Who would’ve thought that from the very beginning, True-Person Huá was harboring ill intentions. What he was after… was my bloodline.”

At this point, Bai Zisheng’s gaze turned icy.

Mo Hua nodded with a sigh and said,

“Little Senior Brother, you’re still too young. Your experience is too shallow, you don’t know how dangerous the cultivation world is, or how vicious people can be. I’m telling you, when boys go out into the world, they must learn to protect themselves. Otherwise, all sorts of weird and shady people will definitely set their sights on you…”

Bai Zisheng looked speechless. “You’re younger than me.”

Mo Hua put on the look of a little fox and said in the tone of someone who’d been there before,

“I may be a few years younger than you, but my life experience far exceeds yours. I’ve traveled north and south for years, what kind of monsters and demons haven’t I seen? Someone like True-Person Huá, the moment he smiles, I know there’s rotten water sloshing around in his belly…”

The corner of Bai Zisheng’s mouth twitched. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and without realizing it, the anger from earlier faded away.

“Oh right,” Mo Hua’s eyes suddenly lit up, gossip instantly bubbling up again. “Wasn’t it said that… you were having an affair with some Great Wilderness demoness?”

Bai Zisheng froze. “What Great Wilderness demoness?”

Mo Hua said, “The number one beauty of the Great Wilderness Royal Court.”

Bai Zisheng frowned. “Who?”

Mo Hua was stunned. “You don’t know?”

Bai Zisheng looked puzzled. “Why would I know?”

Mo Hua said, “Didn’t True-Person Huá say that you had an affair with the number one beauty of the Great Wilderness Royal Court, leaked Dao Court secrets, and that’s why they’re hunting you down?”

Bai Zisheng frowned. “This is a Great Wilderness war. It concerns the overall situation of the Dao Court, how could it be treated like child’s play? Every day on the battlefield is soaked in blood. There’s only victory or defeat, life or death, and tempering one’s cultivation. Where would there be any beauties?”

“Besides, how could a beauty from the Royal Court possibly run to the front lines?”

Mo Hua took a deep breath, utterly speechless.

So the Huá Clan was just framing him outright?

These days, spreading rumors really was as easy as opening one’s mouth, no evidence needed at all?

And the key point was, everyone actually believed it…

I even believed it…

Mo Hua pressed his lips together, conducting some serious self-reflection.

Mainly because this kind of “rumor” fit people’s psychological expectations way too well. True-Person Huá, it seemed, was truly a master at manipulating human hearts. Next time, I should learn a thing or two.

But thinking about it, it made sense. Someone like Little Senior Brother could never be the type to lose his head over lust.

Mo Hua nodded and said again, “Then why didn’t you clari—”

He stopped halfway through.

It was impossible to clarify.

Clarifying wouldn’t have helped anyway. People only believe what they want to believe. Even if Little Senior Brother tried to explain, no one would believe him.

What’s more, with Little Senior Brother’s “clumsy mouth,” he couldn’t explain it clearly even if he wanted to.

He probably couldn’t even be bothered to say more. Kill if you want to kill, fight if you want to fight—why so much nonsense…

Mo Hua couldn’t help but sigh.

No wonder True-Person Huá had targeted Little Senior Brother with false accusations.

Strong, stubborn, and bad with words, he was practically a walking target for slander.

Bai Zisheng looked at Mo Hua and suddenly frowned. “Mo Hua, are you badmouthing me in your head?”

Mo Hua was speechless. “Why did you suddenly get smart at a time like this?”

Bai Zisheng said, “I don’t know why. Looking at your face, I just suddenly felt that way…”

Mo Hua sighed.

As the saying goes, stay near vermilion and you turn red; stay near ink and you turn black. Even a blockhead like Little Senior Brother was getting smarter by hanging around him…

After that, the two of them chatted on and on for a while.

As the night wind grew colder, Mo Hua roasted some more meat. The two of them shared it while eating, and Mo Hua casually asked,

“Oh right, Little Senior Brother, why did you come to the Great Wilderness to gain experience?”

Bai Zisheng said, “I cane to form my Golden Core in the Great Wilderness.”

“Form your Golden Core?” Mo Hua was a little surprised. “You still haven’t formed one?”

Bai Zisheng said, “My Longevity Talisman shattered, which affected my foundation somewhat, so it was delayed for a while.”

Mo Hua looked a bit ashamed.

Bai Zisheng comforted him. “Don’t take it to heart. It’s just a Longevity Talisman, if it shattered, it shattered. It’s no big deal.”

Mo Hua sighed inwardly, then asked, “Then why not form your Golden Core in the Bai Clan? Why come all the way to the Great Wilderness?”

Bai Zisheng took a bite of meat and said, “I’m going to the Royal Court, to temper my grade in the Dragon Pool.”

Mo Hua froze. “What?”

“The Dragon Pool. Tempering the grade,” Bai Zisheng repeated, then glanced at Mo Hua in surprise. “You didn’t know?”

Mo Hua nodded blankly.

Now it was Bai Zisheng’s turn to be speechless. “You didn’t know? Then why did you even come to the Great Wilderness?”

“I…”

I came to unify the Desolate barbaric lands, improve livelihoods, and build the Great Wilderness…

Mo Hua couldn’t say those words out loud and could only say, “I just… saw things were lively over here and tagged along to mess around…”

Bai Zisheng sighed. He truly couldn’t tell whether his little junior brother was smart or an idiot.

Mo Hua gradually caught on as well. “So all those other prodigies… they also came for this Dragon Pool?”

Bai Zisheng nodded. “Naturally. Within the great clans, this is common knowledge. Otherwise, those prodigies wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to besiege and kill me.”

After all, eliminating the strongest competitor was a tremendous benefit to all of them.

Mo Hua finally pieced it together and felt a bit annoyed.

“Oh, so that’s how it is. Those little brats from the Qianxue Prefecture… we even counted as having some friendship. With something this good, they didn’t tell me a single word…”

Bai Zisheng looked at Mo Hua and silently said, “Little Junior Brother… is your popularity also not very good?”

“That’s absolutely impossible!” Mo Hua said firmly. “I have great popularity. In the Qianxue Prefecture realm, everyone loves me.”

Bai Zisheng didn’t believe a single word of it.

“Then this Dragon Pool tempering of grade… what exactly is it?” Mo Hua asked.

Bai Zisheng replied, “I don’t know the details either. I only know it’s an extremely ancient Golden Core forming inheritance from the Great Wilderness lineage. By using the Dragon Pool to nourish one’s blood qi and temper spiritual qi, when forming the Golden Core, one can record the number of spiritual qi circulation cycles within the body—that is, the total amount of spiritual qi. As long as the total amount of spiritual qi remains unchanged, the core’s grade won’t drop during core formation.”

“Won’t drop?” Mo Hua froze.

Bai Zisheng nodded. “Yes.”

“Oh… then it really doesn’t seem to have much to do with me…”

Mo Hua shook his head.

Other prodigies, with Superior-upper grade, Intermediate-upper grade, or Inferior-upper-lower spirit roots, feared their core grade slipping. Preserving their grade during core formation was understandable.

But he, with Intermediate-Lower Grade spirit roots, was already half-baked to begin with. Whether his grade dropped or not didn’t really matter.

It wasn’t worth making such a huge fuss and expending enormous effort just to prevent a grade drop.

Whether or not he knew about this Dragon Pool tempering of grade didn’t seem to matter at all…

This was never meant for him in the first place.

Mo Hua felt reassured.

Seeing that Mo Hua didn’t care, Bai Zisheng said nothing more.

Moreover, his injuries hadn’t healed yet. After chatting for a long while and eating his fill, he grew drowsy.

Mo Hua told his Little Senior Brother to rest and recover properly. They would resume their journey tomorrow. Mo Hua himself wrapped up in a blanket and lay down on the desert sands, preparing to get some rest as well.

After running around for so long, he was exhausted too.

Lying in the blanket, listening to the wind and sand brushing past his ears, Mo Hua dozed for a bit—but no matter what, he couldn’t fall asleep.

Bai Zisheng’s words echoed again in his ears:

“Using the Dragon Pool to temper spiritual power…”

“When forming the Golden Core, recording the number of spiritual power circulation cycles…”

“Keeping the total amount of spiritual power unchanged so the core grade doesn’t drop…”

…

As he thought, a flash of insight struck. Mo Hua suddenly opened his eyes and sprang up.

Recording the circulation cycles of spiritual power!

Maintaining the total amount of spiritual power!

Keeping the core grade unchanged!

This Dragon Pool tempering of grade wasn’t unrelated to him—on the contrary… it had a great deal to do with him!

Because his Life-Bound artifact was the Taotie Twelve-Meridian-Spiritual-Skeleton Formation!

With his emotions surging, Mo Hua couldn’t help but frown and think:

“I can also go to the Dragon Pool to temper my grade, using the spiritual power increased by the Taotie Spiritual Skeleton Formation… to temper my Golden Core…”

“Transform the spiritual power added by the Taotie Spiritual Skeleton Formation into my own circulation cycles of spiritual power, then use the Dragon Pool to ‘fabricate’ a higher-grade record based on the amplified number of circulation cycles…”

“And thereby temper a higher-grade core…”

“For me, this wouldn’t even be Golden Core tempering of grade, but rather…”

“Golden Core grade ascension!”

(TN: Finally!!! Golden Core grade upgrade)