Immortal Mortal

"I’ve been searching for you for quite some time." As Mo Wuji just left the Ancient Texts Depository, someone stopped him.

It was Cen Shuyin, without looking at her face, Mo Wuji could recognise her from her voice.

Turning around, he indeed spotted Cen Shuyin walking over. Even though Mo Wuji had nothing to exchange with her, but he couldn’t deny that it was rather enjoyable to feast his eyes on her beauty every time he met her.

"Senior apprentice sister Cen, I really cannot exchange my lightning affinity body tempering technique." Mo Wuji impatiently said. He knew how much Cen Shuyin desired the body tempering technique that he possessed.

To that, she calmly replied, "I desperately need your lightning body tempering technique, and can do a trade with you for it. Just now were you stopped from entering the Ancient Texts Depository to read books? If you’re willing, I can use the sect’s contribution points to exchange for it."

If it was possible, Mo Wuji would trade with Cen Shuyin without any hesitation. He was totally unwilling to do any nonsense tasks, as he wanted to make good use of all the time on hand for cultivation and advancement. However, he really did not have any lightning body tempering technique.

As Mo Wuji did not respond, Cen Shuyin continued, "I’ve searched from the Immortal Training Tower to the outer sect peak, then the Technique hall, and finally the Ancient Texts Depository..."

At that point, Cen Shuyin bit her lip, perhaps unintentionally, but this move made her overflowing beauty even more prominent.

"Because this lightning body tempering technique is really important to me..." Cen Shuyin changed her tone. This was the first time she had to speak this much. Moreover, it was towards a male cultivator that she basically was not acquainted to.

Still, Mo Wuji was very impatient, and after a good period of hesitation, he suddenly said, "Since you know that I attended a lecture, I’ll ask you a question based on today’s lesson, if you’re able to answer it correctly, I’ll give you the body tempering technique."

"Okay, ask away!" Hearing Mo Wuji’s words, Cen Shuyin’s face revealed an extremely ecstatic expression. She looked like a small girl who was excited about some candy.

At this moment, Mo Wuji suddenly thought of Xia Ruoyin, back when she was still young, and before she became cold and quiet. In reality, Xia Ruoyin was very boisterous at a young age, and was often very expressive, like how Cen Shuyin had just burst with happiness. Sometimes simply because of candy, sometimes just to make Mo Wuji happy.

"Junior apprentice brother Mo, ask away," The question never left Mo Wuji’s mouth, hence Cen Shuyin reminded him again.

A distracted Mo Wuji regained his senses, as he abruptly recalled Xia Ruoyin, Cen Shuyin’s perfect image had suddenly vanished. The Cen Shuyin before him had become just another female cultivator seeking to trade for her own benefit.

"In normal circumstances, even the most talented cultivator would only be able to open 99 spirit channels when opening the spirit at the Channel Opening Stage. However, there are a few rare cultivators that can open 100 spirit channels, even 101 spirit channels. So let me ask you, if you had already opened the 99th spirit channel, how would you open the 100th one?"

Mo Wuji was trying his best to put his emotions away, and composed himself before asking the most crucial question that he needed the answer to.

He was very confident that Cen Shuyin would not be able to answer this. No matter how impressive she was, it was only in terms of cultivation. She couldn’t be be even better in knowledge than Dai Zhu, who specialised in spirit channel research.

With a few nods, Cen Shuyin became calm and serious, "In the ancient world of cultivation, opening the 100th spirit channel was actually not a rarity. Not only the 100th spirit channel, some people had also opened the 101th one. Both the 100th and 101th spirit channels are called the Elemental Storage Channels. There’s only one way to open the 100th spirit channel, which is to advance to Channel Opening Stage Level 10, and once there, use the Sky Channel Flower to build the spirit, because you only can do so at Channel Opening Stage Level 10. At the instant that the Sky Channel Flower builds the spirit, the 100th spirit channel can be opened..."

Stunned, Mo Wuji stood there motionless. Originally, he wanted to ask a difficult question to make Cen Shuyin back off . That would mean that it wasn’t that he didn’t want to sell the technique to her, but it was because she couldn’t answer the question from him.

Before asking her, the thought that Cen Shuyin would be able to answer such a question never popped into Mo Wuji’s mind. This was exactly the answer he wanted to find at the Ancient Texts Depository. He had even made preparations for what to do in the event that he did not obtain the information that he required, but who knew that he would get the answer with such ease.

Spirit building at Channel Opening Stage Level 10 could be done with the Sky Channel Flower, and at the moment that the spirit was built, you could use it to open the 100th spirit channel too.

The answer was that simple, but even a master level spirit channel researcher like Dai Zhu did not know about it while Cen Shuyin did.

Yet Mo Wuji still remained silent, which worried Cen Shuyin. She was afraid that Mo Wuji would not keep his word, hence she added on, "I know that the Sky Channel Flower only grows at one location on the whole Lost Continent, which is the Lost Sky Ruins."

"Lost Sky Ruins? Where is that?" Mo Wuji asked subconsciously.

Cen Shuyin replied, "Yes, the Lost Sky Ruins. The five great empires that we’re at now has been collectively referred to as the Lost Continent by foreigners, but that’s not without any reason. The reason behind it was the Lost Sky Ruins, which was the battlefield of gods in legends, and has many treasures in it. Because of its emergence, every sect’s training missions would include it as one of the locations. However, once you enter, even if you are a True God Stage expert, your safety is not guaranteed."

In one breath, Cen Shuyin finished her whole explanation. Then she clenched her fist. Just for this lightning body tempering technique, the amount of words she had spoken to Mo Wuji today was probably already much more than what she would say in a year. But as she saw that Mo Wuji still did not bring up the technique despite her laborious answers, Cen Shuyin began to frown.

"Senior apprentice sister Cen, I have a skill transfer crystal ball for a sword art, why don’t I give this crystal ball to you?" Mo Wuji simply had no way of producing a lightning body tempering technique, and could only make use of the Invisible Sword Sword Art.

Since they day he obtained this sword art, he had never opened it.

Cen Shuyin’s expression darkened, but she did not speak a single word. Creating enmity with others was never her style, but she also was not willing to be played by others like this.

As she did not say anything, Mo Wuji knew that he could not withhold the truth any further. However, it would be completely impossible for him to reveal the channel opening solution.

After some hesitation, Mo Wuji knelt to the ground, "Senior apprentice sister Cen, it’s not that I’m not willing to give this technique to you, but it’s because it’s merely a lightning magic skill, called the Seven Style Lightning Sky..."

Under the pressure of the current situation, Mo Wuji was prepared to use Seven Style Lightning Sky as a bargaining chip.

Calmly, Cen Shuyin replied, "Keeping one’s promises is a basic moral, so since you agreed, even if it’s a magic skill, you have to trade it with me."

Reaching out, Mo Wuji stopped Cen Shuyin from saying any more, "Senior apprentice sister Cen, there’s another reason behind my unwillingness to trade with you. Because this Seven Styles Lightning Sky is life-threatening. I almost got burnt to death when training in it initially."

When he said these sentences, he was also worried that Cen Shuyin would end up dead after casually training. Informing her that she would be able to escape death in the extreme cold, he also hoped that she would go to places with extreme cold when training.

"Pass me your disciple identity token." Cen Shuyin took a quick glance as she took over the incomplete Seven Style Lightning Sky manual, unsure if she could trust Mo Wuji’s words.

"There’s no need, just take it. I am not that hard up for contribution points now anyway." Mo Wuji knew that Cen Shuyin was going to give him contribution points in exchange. However, he really did not want to take advantage of her that way, as this first style of Seven Styles Lightning Sky had become worthless to him.

Yet Cen Shuyin did not reply, instead directly grabbing Mo Wuji’s disciple identity token hung on his waist, and produced her own. After a clink together and a swipe of her hand, she left.

Mo Wuji automatically looked down on his disciple identity token, and found a thousand more contribution points in writing. Shaking his head, he knew that he could no longer reject it now that she had given it to him.

...

Now he had contribution points, but his interest in the Ancient Texts Depository had died down. The top priority was to find the Sky Channel Flower, and to find out more, he had to go to the Assignment Hall.

The first thing that he noticed upon stepping foot in the Assignment Hall was not the various assignments worth contribution points, but a large ranking board, the Heaven Seeking Staircase ranking board.

He had climbed to the eighth step of the Heaven Seeking Staircase previously, but the top score on the ranking board was a shocking 91 steps.

The person ranked number one was named Gou Zihan, which was a rather odd sounding name. A little further down the ranking board, Mo WUji actually found someone he knew: rank 50, Cen Shuyin, step count, 54 steps.

This puzzled Mo Wuji. While Cen Shuyin was much higher in her level of cultivation than him, but he was sure that she did not enter the Yuan Dan Stage yet. For someone not even in the Yuan Dan Stage yet, she could get ranked 50th?

Hence, he quickly pulled a cultivator next to him and asked, "Apprentice brother, may I find out if one can climb higher on the Heaven Seeking Staircase the higher one’s cultivation level is?"

After judging Mo Wuji thoroughly, the cultivator concluded that he was new here, thus replying as though he was a teacher, "You must be new here. The higher your cultivation level, the older your bones are, the harder it is to climb higher on the Heaven Seeking Staircase. The Heaven Seeking Palace has used countless years to prove that it is almost impossible for someone over 100 years old to climb the Heaven Seeking Staircase."

"Then may I ask how ranking is determined when two people climb the Heaven Seeking Staircase at the same time?" Mo Wuji followed up.

The cultivator mildly answered, "I’ve told you already, the Heaven Seeking Staircase is also a test of your bones’ age and your potential. For people of the same batch, naturally whoever is younger will rank higher. Look at senior apprentice uncle Gou, he’s younger than me, but has already entered Yuan Dan Stage Level 8, and climbed 91 steps. That’s a real talent."

With this the cultivator couldn’t be bothered with Mo Wuji anymore, but still, a look of admiration had appeared in his eyes.