Chapter 56

"This Grindstone Mountain unexpectedly has a hidden Mo Clan Ruins?" When the Divine Machine Clan fled the Vermillion Bird Territory and wandered the Three Realms, a portion of them arrived at the Azure Dragon Territory. To honor their homeland, "Black Earth," they were known as the "Mo."¹ These people were also called by the names "Mo Clan," and "Mo Race"; it was just that their conception of the manufacture of Mechanical Beasts was such a feat that at the Azure Dragon territory, they also received the greed of worldly powers.

They developed for approximately less than three generations, and from then on, their traces disappeared. The present Great Liang Dynasty's state teacher, the virtuous Mo Shang,² had extremely little Mo Clan blood remaining in his veins.

"The Mo Clan altogether left behind many Ruins in the Azure Dragon Territory. After the Star Duels began, these Ruins then dispelled the clouds to see the light of day."³ Shi Qian stared at that Mechanical Beast's broken soul with a tone of pity.

"You're finding this to do what?" Lin Yingmei opened her mouth to ask.

"Legend says the Mo Clan Mechanisms are matchless under Heaven. As a professional thief with a sense of morals, this Young Lady of course has the integrity to go try and experience these mechanisms personally." Shi Qian shook a scallion white finger, with a look of "You do not understand."

Lin Yingmi very forcefully glanced askance at her.

Truly finding her own path to doom.

Wu Xinjie cut in: "Do you take this Knowledge Star to be extremely easy to fool? You must have come for the Mo Clan Mechanical Arts, correct?" The Knowledge Star glanced at Shi Qian disdainfully. How could this careful thought possibly elude her.

The girl, her scheme seen through, cursed: "Sister Knowledge Star, you can't always feel that I, the little sister, pursuing self-preservation is a sin. Furthermore, helping the Mo Clan develop the Mechanical Arts is also a good thing. As a conscientious thief, you Sisters should be encouraging me."

Su Xing laughed. This Thief Star was actually very nimble, "Alright then, I'll oblige you!"

"Little Sister has stayed on Grindstone Mountain for a month and still has not broken through the Mo Clan's mechanism?" An Suwen asked, surprised.

The Thief Star spread both of her hands helplessly: "Sister, you did bring injury medicine?" An Suwen then brought out a bag and applied it for her. Shi Qian had no choice but to say: "The Mo Clan mechanism is truly too formidable. This Young Lady spent a month yet had no way to break through the surroundings to enter the ruins."

"How could you, a single thief, handle these Mechanical Beasts." Wu Xinjie felt that she being able to live through that was already amazing. Within her impressions, Shi Qian was only ordinary in military strength, but her thoughts were meticulous, with top-notch light movements,⁴ possessing exceptional thievery arts. These had no use as fighting strength. Say it in any way, but the Mechanical Beasts all used Demon Beast souls as a driver; put another way, these Mechanical Beasts could also be counted as a Demon Beast's other body. In addition, some were constructed from solid steel, and the degree of strength they had even exceeded what it was when they were alive.

Shi Qian raised her head, puffing out her chest: "This Young Lady possesses an excellent plan to get rid of them."

"Isn't that the caveat you implicated in your offer just now, truly an age-old trick." The Knowledge Star yawned.

"Have you not thought of signing a contract?" Su Xing interrupted the two's argument.⁵

Shi Qian revealed a very disdaining⁶ attitude, "Lin Chong is not the only sort of Star General that would refuse to sign a contract. This Young Lady acts a carefree thief that does not want that sort of burden⁷ as a master…"

Being described as a burden, Su Xing blushed with shame.

"This servant's Young Master is not!" Lin Yingmei said coldly.

Shi Qian stuck out her tongue. It seemed she was more fearful of Lin Yingmei, "Your young master that contracted with two Star Generals is indeed a rare sight. Ha, ha, Sister Suwen, thinking again of offering yourself⁸ to him? Hee."

An Suwen smiled gently, not even arguing with her.⁹

"Let's leave!" Lin Yingmei, not wanting to waste time, turned and moved forward.

Shi Qian asked in a quiet voice: "This Sister is very imposing, Su Xing. Which Sister is she?"

"In short, you cannot utter malicious words against the Young Master. Yingmei definitely likes Young Master down to the deepest level."¹⁰

The Knowledge Star giggled.

The Thief Star and the Efficacious Star went blank at the same time. The former did not believe that a Star Maiden could like her contractor down to the bone whereas the latter knew Lin Yingmei's Star General identity and was thus shocked.

The Majestic Star liked her partner? An Suwen perplexedly glanced at Su Xing.

The Majestic Star's body that was ahead of them shook imperceptibly, immediately nonchalantly pretending she heard nothing as she advanced forward. "Let's get going." Su Xing urged them

And after they went far away, atop a great tree within the forest, a completely wooden Mechanical Bird suddenly shook its wings and soundlessly departed. The Mechanical Bird kept flying towards Grindstone Mountain's abyss until it finally dropped down onto a long-haired man's finger. Gray hair covered half of the man's face, showing a sort of laughing squint with his eye as he spoke with the Mechanical Bird.

"Gong Xu,¹¹ how is it? Has Shi Qian obtained something yet?" The voice came from beyond more than tens of meters away. A young girl wearing golden armor and covered in a shirt the color of goose feathers sat on a piece of rock playing with her fingernails.

"The Thief Star is even more of a trash than we had imagined. Using up more than a month, and she still hasn't solved the mechanism." The girl said despicably.

Gong Xu squinted as he smiled, saying: "The Thief Star found a good helper."

"?"

"A Star Master has appeared, and it seems there are an additional three Star Generals.

"What? Three Star Generals?" The girl froze in place. "This is definitely a bit problematic."

"Let's make a trip back to the gang. Right now, this is already something the two of us can no longer handle. Let the sect leader send a hundred disciples over, and this time, we'll kill three birds with one arrow." Gong Xu turned his finger, and the Mechanical Bird fluttered and flew off.

Then, a light yellow flying sword descended before them. Gong Xu gave a look at the girl, and the girl spun, her beautiful body turning into nothing, followed by a light yellow ray of light leisurely flying towards the bottom of the mountain.¹²

The completely oblivious and tracked Thief Star Shi Qian was currently setting off, guiding Su Xing and the rest towards the Mo Clan Ruins. This Flea on a Drum ran really far, and according to what she said, they would specially lure out the Mechanical Beasts outside the ruin and then crush them one by one. Though, they had now trekked for half a day and still had yet to arrive.

"Shi Qian, just how much farther is the Mo Clan Ruins?"

"Since this Young Lady doesn't plan on signing a contract anyways, it will do if you call this Young Lady's true name. This Young Lady's true name is called Shi Yuan¹³, remember that!" The Thief Star Shi Yuan glanced back. Within the mountain's forest, her footsteps were quick and agile, as if she was treading on level land.

Although Star Cultivators' escape techniques were brilliant, compared with the Flea on a Drum's light movements, the difference was not small. It was just inconceivable that she could, in a critical situation, avert disaster. Having originally been pounced on by a Mechanical Beast, perhaps if Lin Chong had not intervened, this Thief Star could still break away from danger. No wonder she would dare charge at the Mo Clan Ruins alone.

"Pass through this grove and we've nearly arrived." Shi Yuan effortlessly walked.

Su Xing currently wanted more and more to study the Riding Sword Art.¹⁴

They continued to walk for probably only a moment before they finally exited the forest. In the distance, they saw a very ordinary looking building that looked like stacked large stones. An open space had been cleared on its outside, and more than a dozen Mechanical Beasts could be seen currently prowling about. According to Shi Yuan's explanation: This Mo Clan Ruin was one of several ruins constructed in the Azure Dragon territory symbolizing their former culture, however, looking at its abandoned appearance contrarily made people feel great pity.

The ruins could not do without the Mo Clan's proud Mechanical Arts. For example, looking at that open space in the building's surroundings, the ground hid many triggers that once touched, those seemingly lumbering Mechanical Beasts would then focus their attention on the enemy and launch a frightening attack with the speed of thunder.

Shi Yuan originally tasted this and nearly lost her life, nevertheless relying on Huangjie Magic to escape a calamity.

"Right now, this Young Lady wants to lure them one by one. You all just find a chance to get rid of them." Shi Yuan said.

"Besides Mechanical Beasts, does the outside have some other mechanism?" Lin Yingmei asked her, her own pupils containing a sort of unordinary light.

"None." The Thief Star replied. "How…"

"Then there is no need to do more than what is required." Lin Yingmei coldly said.

Shi Yuan had not even finished asking, when suddenly, a cold wind blew onto her face, and Lin Yingmei already raised her Arctic Star Spear amidst the Thief Star's astonishment, coldly going out to kill with an imposing manner.

1. 墨 means “ink.” ↩
2. 墨尚 ↩
3. 撥雲見日 ↩
4. 輕功蓋頂 ↩
5. That’s my boy, let the depravity continue… ↩
6. 不屑一顧 ↩
7. 拖油瓶, very, very derogatory term… ↩
8. 獻身 ↩
9. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ↩
10. 骨子裡, in general meaning to the very depths of something ↩
11. 公緒 ↩
12. Yes, just to confirm your suspicions, she is another Star Maiden. The yellow light is him, and she has returned to her Star Nest. ↩
13. 時媛 ↩
14. And then he can finally return…to the DANGER ZONE! ↩