...IMMORTAL MORTAL...

Chapter 1: The Fallen Prince

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

Prologue:

“Hahahaha... Ruoyin, I was finally able to refine the Channel Opening Solution. I’ve succeeded...” Inside a messy lab, Mo Wuji started laughing, clutching a porcelain bottle in his hand as if he had gone mad.

“Ding...” A glass cup fell onto the ground, spilling tea everywhere. A beautiful girl in a crimson red cheongsam stood by the doorway, blankly staring at the hysterical Mo Wuji. Only after a good while did she speak in a shivering voice, “Wuji, did you succeed? Did you really succeed?”

Mo Wuji stared at the beautiful girl standing at the entrance. He knew that Xia Ruoyin had come to serve him a cup of tea. This piece of information had shocked Xia Ruoyin greatly; due to her excitement, the cup slipped from her hands and fell to the ground.

“Ruoyin, there is absolutely no error this time around. I just tried half of the bottle, but I could clearly feel as if a fire was burning down my meridians as they are gradually being opened and expanded. At the moment, my meridians are still in the process of opening, but we have succeeded.”

Mo Wuji, while holding the porcelain bottle, excitedly walked up to the girl and grabbed her hands. “Ruoyin, it has been hard for you. In all these years, I have been dedicated to researching the Channel Opening Solution and I did not take care of you. Instead, you had to take care of me. Let us marry. Afterward, we will start a company specializing in the production of the Channel Opening Solution. I believe our business will soon be a sensation throughout the world.”

The girl finally calmed down, but she still spoke in a shivering voice, “Did you take down the drug formula?”

Mo Wuji nodded his head, “Ruoyin, don’t worry. I have all the information on my laptop. Here, take a look...”

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After Mo Wuji finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards his laptop.

Suddenly, he felt something cold, followed by an excruciating pain from his back. Upon seeing the tip of a blade emerging from his chest, he realized that someone had stabbed him through his heart from his back.

The pain caused him to feel extremely dizzy and his strength started to fade away. Mo Wuji slowly turned his head around as he unconsciously looked at the hands clasping the blade. It was Xia Ruoyin’s. With his eyes wide open, he muttered, “Ruoyin... Why? Why?”

He still could not believe that his lover whom he had loved dearly for many years would stab him.

“I’m sorry, Wuji. I’m sorry...” Xia Ruoyin’s hands were trembling as a shudder went through her whole body. She had killed her lover. He was the man who she had loved for over a decade and the one who had showered her with endless affection.

Two teardrops appeared at the corners of Mo Wuji’s eyes. He felt his body becoming colder by the second. He gradually lost his consciousness and his eyes began to lose its luster. However, he still did not want to close his eyes. He kept on staring at Xia Ruoyin as he murmured, “If you wanted the formula... you just had to say it and I would have given it to you... why?”

Mo Wuji did not shed his tears because he was dying. For as long as he could remember, he had never cried in his life. However, today, what hurt the most was not the injury on his back, but the pain caused by the betrayal of his lover.

Perhaps even Xia Ruoyin did not know her position in Mo Wuji’s heart. If she had asked for it, Mo Wuji would have willingly died for her. However, Xia Ruoyin, the woman who he would have gladly died for, had stabbed him on this fateful day.

Maybe the question would remain unanswered for a long time. Perhaps he would not even be able to rest in his grave. His dim eyes finally closed, leaving the two teardrops by the corners of his eyes.

“Pa-ta...” Xia Ruoyin also shed two lines of tears, which fell on the corners of Mo Wuji’s eyes, washing away his teardrops.

-----------------------------------

The Fallen Prince

"Gua...." The shrill sound of a crow woke Mo Wuji up. As soon as he raised his head, he saw a single crow flying above him, quickly disappearing together with its shrill cries.

“Where am I?” Mo Wuji felt strange. He seemed to be sitting on a newly piled up tomb, surrounded by seven to eight children kneeling in front of him. Among them, a young girl wearing a floral blue skirt was holding a bamboo basket beside him.

As Mo Wuji was still confused about the situation, the young girl whispered with a gentle voice, “Everyone behaved well today, however, there are no more sweets left so let us call it a day and come back tomorrow to continue playing.”

“Were these games played in the previous emperor’s dynasty? Why does this scene feel so familiar?”

Mo Wuji was shocked because this scene resembled the last scene of the novel in which Mu Rongfu was in. Mu Rongfu became crazy because of what he had to do for his country. His beautiful cousin and childhood sweetheart Wang Yuyan left him for another man, and in the end, all he had left by his side was a servant named Abi. This present scene is the scene after Mu Rongfu went crazy because of his lost country and Abi gathered a few children to play with him.

"Long live my King, goodbye my King. We will be back for more sweets tomorrow..." The children dispersed after chanting these words in a non-orderly manner.

Mo Wuji gazed all over the place, and he noticed a few young men and women were walking by. When he rested his eyes on a lady wearing a purple skirt, he was so infatuated by her beauty that he completely forgot about his current situation.

The lady in the purple skirt exchanged looks with Mo Wuji. She looked confused, sympathetic and was disappointed with him. The other young and attractive men and women seemed to be discussing and laughing about him while they passed by.

“Can’t be...”

All of a sudden, Mo Wuji thought of a horrible scenario. “Could it be that after my death, I was reborn into Mu Rongfu’s body? Did our souls really crossed over to other bodies in this world?”

“And why would my soul crossover? What was I doing before this?”

At this point, Mo Wuji started to have a headache. He finally recalled that after he successfully developed the solution, his lover who he was willing to die for backstabbed him. With this thought, Mo Wuji’s entire spirit was overwhelmed with sadness...

His throbbing headache caused him to think of this matter no further. There was an excessive amount of information flooding into his head. It was only after two full hours that Mo Wuji finally understood what was actually happening.

He realized that this was not the Song dynasty anymore, and he was not just reborn into Mu Rongfu’s body.

This was not even Earth! He was currently in Rao Zhou City, the national capital of Cheng Yu state. He was called Mo Xinghe, the prince of Northern Qin Prefecture. His father named him Mo Xinghe after the Xing Han Empire.

Mo Xinghe could not recall exactly how big this world was, but he knew that Xing Han Empire is not the only empire. Every empire was divided into states, and every states were further divided into many prefectures.

Mo Xinghe belonged to Northern Qin Prefecture under Cheng Yu State, and Cheng Yu belonged to the Xing Han Empire.

Nineteen years ago, Mo Xinghe’s grandfather, Mo Tiancheng, was the Northern Qin Prefecture’s lord. After he arrived at Cheng Yu state, he suddenly disappeared. As a result, Northern Qin Prefecture needed a new lord, and this lord needed to have the approval of the State Lord.

If it was not for Mo Tiancheng’s sudden disappearance, Mo Tiancheng could have passed the throne directly to his children and reported it to the State Lord. However, Mo Tiancheng was missing and he did not pass his throne to anyone officially. Hence, the successor must now personally head to the state to take over the throne in front of all the other prefecture and state lords.

Mo Xinghe’s parents decided to bring Mo Xinghe to Rao Zhou City for two reasons. Firstly, they wanted to locate Mo Tiancheng. Secondly, Mo Xinghe’s father, Mo Guangyuan, had always wanted to gain recognition from the other lords and succeed his father’s throne.

Originally, succeeding the throne was a simple affair. Nobody expected it to turn out to be filled with so many different obstacles. Mo Xinghe’s parents have spent countless amounts of money, and ran around for more than a decade; however, they were still unable to succeed the throne.

Mo Xinghe’s parents died of illness and Mo Xinghe inherited his father’s obsession to succeed the throne. With the death of Mo Xinghe’s parents, the Mo family finally exhausted all their money. Mo Xinghe was then on the move for several years without achieving anything meaningful. When he found out that Northern Qin Prefecture had been taken over by Cheng Yu’s lord, Mo Xinghe went crazy and was then reborn as Mo Wuji.

Mo Wuji also managed to recall who the lady in a purple skirt was. Her name was Wen Manzhu and her father was very close friends with Mo Xinghe’s parents. Mo Xinghe and Wen Manzhu were childhood sweethearts and even though they were not promised to one another, everyone agreed that both of them would grow up and be together.

Ever since the Mo Clan lost their opportunity to ascend the throne, along with the death of Mo Xinghe’s parents and the loss of Mo Xinghe’s sanity, the Wen Clan gradually disregarded Mo Xinghe. As Wen Manzhu grew up, she grew apart from Mo Xinghe and went closer to the princes from other more influential families.

Upon feeling two drops of tears on the back of the hand, Mo Wuji raised his head from his knees and saw that it was a sad young girl, marked with a scar on her face.

Just like how Abi faithfully stayed beside Mu Rongfu, this girl called Yan’Er was the only person who stayed by him despite only being his servant. If not for Yan’Er, Mo Wuji would have never been reborn and no one would have known how long the original Mo Xinghe would have been dead.

Other than the scar on her face, Yan’Er also suffered from malnutrition. She was pale, her hair was all blonde, and she lacked the vibrant energy of a typical young lady.

“It still doesn’t make sense...” Mo Wuji shivered. The Mo Clan was still a part of the royal clan, so even if Mo Xinghe’s father was not able to succeed the throne, in this rich country, he still should not have died of illness in poverty. Was it not possible for him to leave Rao Zhou City and return to the Northern Qin Prefecture as soon as possible? Alternatively, was it that there was no escorts or money given to the Mo Clan?

There was certainly something wrong here...

Mo Wuji looked up and saw Yan’Er wiping her slightly reddish eyes as she gently asked, “My King, can we return now?”

Mo Wuji bowed his head and sighed, for not only Yan’Er but also his current state and body. Even while playing such a childish game, Yan’Er still had to be polite and ask for permission as if she was really in an empire state.

However, Mo Wuji recuperated very quickly and felt that he should be upset at himself the most. He had mixed feelings about whether he should be grateful that he was not dead, heartbroken that his lover was the one who plotted against him or saddened that he could no longer return to Earth.

Seeing Mo Wuji not say anything after a while, the overly cautious Yan’Er spoke again, “My King, the sky is getting darker...”

Mo Wuji sighed as he looked at the distant setting sun. He was unsure of whether it was because he thought of Mo Xinghe, or if he was just lamenting about his own destiny. He eventually said, "Let’s go back...”

He saw Yan’Er’s surprised look on her face, without feeling the need to explain any further, he sighed and said, “Let’s go back to the dynasty...”

Having said that, he wanted to stand up, pat off the soil on his legs, and leave. However as his leg were crossed for a long time, they were numb and asleep. Fortunately, Yan’Er was there to help him up.

As Yan’Er helped him out of the sparse forest, Mo Wuji was busy rearranging the thoughts that remained on his mind.

"What kind of world is this...?” The two quietly walked for a few minutes, when Mo Wuji mumbled this to himself.

“My King, what did you just say?” Yan’Er asked as she did not quite understand what Mo Wuji said earlier.

Mo Wuji shook his head, “Yan’Er, please do not call me your King anymore. Address me by my name.”

Because both Mo Wuji and Yan’Er will still be living together in the future, there was still some explaining left to do.

Feeling a bit touched, Yan’Er asked excitedly while carrying a bamboo basket with her trembling hands and teary eyes, “Young master, are you feeling better?”

Mo Wuji replied with a slightly hesitant smile, “Perhaps I have not completely recovered or remembered everything, but I will not act and dream like an idiot as before anymore.”

Mo Wuji was afraid he would let the cat out of the bag, so he simply stated that he had not completely recovered.

"Then...” Yan’Er seemed like she wanted to say something, yet she did not dare to.

Mo Wuji knew Yan’Er wanted to ask if he still wanted to play with these children tomorrow, but she was afraid that after playing these games, it would remind him of the previous dynasty’s incident and make him crazy again.

Patting Yan’Er’s back, Mo Wuji laughed and said, “I have lived the Emperor’s life before and I am now sick of it already. Let us not come tomorrow and instead, we should think about how to carry on living tomorrow.”

Yan’Er dropped the bamboo basket she was holding, tears rolling down her cheeks with her knees on the floor. She can’t seem to stop mumbling to herself...

...IMMORTAL MORTAL...

Chapter 2: Living is Difficult

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

Mo Wuji did not help Yan’Er up. He could feel that after Mo Xinghe went crazy, Yan’Er bore a lot of pressure and suffering. At the moment, he just watched the distant shadows of the high-rise buildings as he secretly clenched his fist. “Even if I have to start from scratch, what’s wrong with that?”

Although it seemed to be a monarchy in this world, the levels of science and technology were similar to that of Earth. There was a public transport system and electronic devices and equipments. How could he still be afraid that he cannot survive?

“Yan’Er, let’s go back first,” Mo Wuji said, watching the tall buildings as he pulled up Yan’Er who was still at a loss.

Even if he was reborn from Earth, he probably cannot recapture the Northern Qin Prefecture back.

He may not be able to dream about being a king, but Mo Wuji still had the confidence that he could establish a foothold here. After all, he was a top biological and botanist in the past. It was precisely because he was able to extract the essence from a number of plants and concoct it into a solution that could open the meridians, which caused his lover to plot against him. Consequently, this was why he was ultimately reborn in this place.

He was still unsure about the value of his solution. The existence of meridians had always been in a gray area even though meridians were often mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine. In actuality, how many people could prove the existence of meridians and even write a research paper about it?

But, could one imagine? What if the meridians could be expanded to the point where they could actually be felt? How much more powerful would one be? One could participate in the Olympic long-distance running or weightlifting events and still have a chance of winning.

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The only thing he did not expect, however, was that his lover, whom he would have spent his life and death with, would plot against him. Until now, he did not understand why she would, at the moment of his success, backstab him with a dagger.

“Yes, Master...” Yan’Er finally calmed down, her eyes containing a glimmer.

Mo Wuji helplessly said, “Yan’Er, do I look like a young master? From now on, call me by my name. The past is the past. Today is a new beginning. My name will no longer be Mo Xinghe, but Mo Wuji. “

“Yes, Master.” Yan’Er quickly responded.

Mo Wuji did not continue to persuade her; some habits were too hard to change. “The sky’s going to be dark, let’s go back. Tomorrow, I will go find a job.”

Although Mo Wuji had not returned home, he had some ideas. With his parents’ death and his family’s wealth emptied, the Mo Family had long gone bankrupt. Afterward, Mo Xinghe went mad. In addition to work, Yan’Er also had to play this silly game with Mo Wuji. The fact that they could survive was already not bad.

“Master, you don’t have to find a job. From now on, just don’t come out every day. I can find another job. That will be enough.” After hearing Mo Wuji say he wanted to find a job, Yan’Er hastened to stop him.

Mo Wuji just looked at Yan’Er’s faded dress and the simple hair ornament on her yellow hair, he did not say anything. Some things could not be said clearly by words alone. Until his death, Mo Xinghe did not understand the difficulty Yan’Er went through with him.

...

Although there were castle gates and walls at Rao Zhou City, there were no guards. Regardless if it was day or night, anyone was free to come and go.

In other words, the city gate and walls of Rao Zhou City were a symbol of status rather than a form of defense for war.

Mo Xinghe was determined on restoring his country and did not care about the workings of Rao Zhou City. Mo Wuji could only uncover from the faint memories of Mo Xinghe that Rao Zhou City was very busy.

After following Yan’Er into the city, Mo Wuji immediately felt the wild, booming bustle of Rao Zhou City. Spacious streets were filled with a dense flow of people, along with brightly lit shops on both sides of the street. Mo Wuji even suspected that this was a modern city from Earth.

This bustling area was naturally not a place where Mo Wuji could afford to live. After the two bypassed the busy streets and walked for nearly an hour, they came to a messy residential area. Here, the lights looked faint and dim.

Mo Wuji could see from afar the messy space that they lived in. Even though the rent is almost equal to zero, it was still not what they could afford. If it was not for the sympathy of the landlord, they might not even have a place to sleep.

“Aiyo, the king is back. We better quickly make way for this one,” An abrupt voice interrupted Mo Wuji’s chain of thought.

“Hu Fei, you get out of the way,” Yan’Er, who was originally half a step behind Mo Wuji, suddenly stepped forward, like an angry little leopard, pushing Mo Wuji behind her.

Under the dim light, Mo Wuji saw a youth with thickly gelled hair. Although he said to make way for Mo Wuji, he stood in the middle of the street without showing the slightest intention of doing so.

“Little Yan’Er, Big Brother Hu specially bought half a catty of pig meat for you. You doing this to me makes me feel sad,” said Hu Fei while he fiddled around with the lotus leaf packet in his hands. (TL: Chinese food is sometimes wrapped up in lotus/pandan/banana leaves)

Mo Wuji’s belly disappointingly rumbled loudly. Yan’Er, who originally wanted to have Hu Fei move out of the way, hesitated while looking at the lotus leaf packet.

“Isn’t this better? You and Big Brother Hu aren’t strangers...” Hu Fei said, coming over as he moved to put his hand around Yan’Er’s shoulders. Although there was a scar on Yan’Er’s face along with her having an undeveloped body due to poor nutrition, she still had a set of pretty facial features.

Yan’Er’s eyes showed signs of hesitation. If she was alone, she would not be bothered about Hu Fei. But today, the young master has not eaten for the whole day, and his stomach was rumbling. Furthermore, there was not even a grain of rice at home. What could she do even if she went back?

Mo Wuji did not know what Yan’Er was thinking. He did not wait for Hu Fei’s hands to reach Yan’Er’s shoulders before he kicked out with his foot.

Hu Fei did not expect Mo Wuji to react this way. Mo Wuji kicked him squarely in the chest.

Mo Wuji felt like he kicked a piece of steel, and he had to take a series of steps back from the strong rebound.

“Master, are you alright...” Yan’Er quickly ran over, supporting Mo Wuji.

Mo Wuji looked at Hu Fei who was only forced back by a single step and could not help but become shocked. His current body was indeed very weak as it was not even able to kick down Hu Fei. Is Hu Fei a martial artist?

“You’re courting death...” Hu Fei did not expect the weak Mo Xinghe, who only dreamt of being a king, to suddenly act against him. He went into a fury and pulled out a foot-long knife from his waist and rushed towards Mo Wuji.

Several bystanders saw Hu Fei rushing towards Mo Wuji, but no one came forward to help. They did not even say a word.

“Hu Fei, hurry up and stop! It’s broad daylight and you dare to commit murder?” Yan’Er’s face turned pale white, and she did not notice that it was already night time.

“Ha ha, I have long wanted to get rid of this idiot. Today, this idiot acted against me first, even if I kill him, I will at most get only a fine. Yan’Er, I am doing this for you. If you follow me, you can have food to eat and clothes to wear...” Hu Fei apparently did not intend to stop.

Yan’Er turned anxious. There was no other way; she could only use her body to protect Mo Wuji.

At this moment, Mo Wuji completely calmed down. From his recollection, Cheng Yu State indeed had such a law. Whether you are right or wrong, if someone acted upon you first and you killed him, you would only receive a small fine.

Knowing that it was too late for regrets, Mo Wuji quickly pulled Yan’Er to the side. He calmly stared at Hu Fei and said, “Hu Fei, if you dare to even touch a single hair of mine, you will die a horrible death.”

...IMMORTAL MORTAL...

Chapter 3: Mortal Roots

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

Mo Wuji calmly told Hu Fei, "I am still part of the Northern Qin Prefecture royal clan. Even though I did not manage to succeed the throne, I still have my aristocratic title. Do you dare hurt a noble like me? Hu Fei, I’m warning you, even tearing your body from limb to limb by five horses or cutting you up into a thousand pieces would be too light a punishment for you.”

Hu Fei startled as he realised that even the weakened duke like him still belonged to the royal clan and that he was not someone a lowly personnel like Hu Fei could mess with.

Whether or not Mo Wuji was still considered to be part of the royal clan was not for someone like Hu Fei to find out. However Mo Wuji was right in stating that if someone were to hurt a noble, punishment such as tearing the body from limb to limb by 5 horses would indeed be going easy on the offender.

Hu Fei realised the consequence of hurting a noble and quickly responded, “My King, I am just joking with you, I would never dare to lay a finger on you.”

There was no rush to get rid of Mo Wuji, Hu Fei had nothing but time on his side to do a thorough check on whether Mo Wuji’s title was still valid.

Mo Wuji calmly walked over to Hu Fei and took the knife from his hand.

“What a good knife...” Mo Wuji knew this knife was exceptionally sharp the moment he got his hands on it.

Having let go of the knife in his hands, Hu Fei subconsciously took a few steps back and cautiously observed Mo Wuji.

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Yan’Er watched over the two of them nervously. Even though the knife is with Mo Wuji now, Yan’Er still could not help but panic. Having served Mo Wuji for a long time, she clearly knew that Mo Wuji was just a civilian like the rest and no longer held any aristocratic title.

In other words, since Mo Wuji attacked Hu Fei first, even if Hu Fei were to indeed kill Mo Wuji, Hu Fei would at most be punished with a small fine.

Looking at the knife in his hands, Mo Wuji stared at Hu Fei’s eyes and said, “Hu Fei, I am not trying to use my position to threaten you. Even if I am no longer part of the royal clan, my ancestors were once dukes and you would not get away by hurting their descendant. Hurting the descendant of a royal blood, isn’t it equivalent to not showing any form of respect for the Cheng Yu State?”

Mo Wuji gave a cold smirk as he finished his sentence.

Hu Fei kept pondering if Mo Wuji was really part of the royal clan. Because if he was not, Hu Fei was confident of finishing him off even though the knife was with Mo Wuji. Upon hearing what Mo Wuji just said, this thought of his disappeared quickly without a trace and he replied, “My King, a lowly personnel like me was just joking with you earlier.”

Hu Fei also wondered how Mo Wuji’s change in attitude could be so drastic.

“I am no longer the King now, scram before I change my mind,” Mo Wuji kept Hu Fei’s knife in his boot tube.

“Yes, yes Master Mo please take care,” Hu Fei’s heart ache as he watched Mo Wuji keep his knife and walk away.

That knife had always been with Hu Fei and little did he expect someone to take it away from him today. He would be lying if he said his heart did not ache.

“Master, you are no longer...” As Hu Fei left, Yan’Er cautiously walked over and whispered to Mo Wuji.

Mo Wuji interrupted and said, “I know, let’s talk when we get back.”

Even without Yan’Er’s reminder, Mo Wuji would have already guessed he was no longer part of the royal clan.

...

They lived in a very cramped space and there was only an old cloth separating the two wooden beds. There was nothing valuable in the house. Mo Wuji knew that anything with worth, even a penny, would have been sold by Yan’Er to buy sweets to play with the children.

Mo Wuji saw himself in the scratched mirror hanging in front of his bed. He resembled himself in the past life and his long dry hair was tied very neatly by Yan’Er. Even though his face was pale, it was much better compared it to Yan’Er’s yellowish skinny face. Other than the tired eyes, his slick eyebrows and sharp nose made him look decently handsome.

“Master, I will go to Aunt Lu’s house to borrow some rice...” Yan’Er said the moment she stepped into the house. She still felt that Mo Wuji should have taken and kept the packet of pig head meat from Hu Fei instead of the knife.

“Hold on...” Mo Wuji stopped Yan’Er.

Mo Wuji asked Yan’Er the moment he saw her turned her head curiously looking at him, “Yan’Er, Hu Fei seems to be trained in martial arts as he was much stronger than me. He’s a hooligan, but where did he learn them from?”

From what Mo Wuji could remember, this world was not a place full of top martial artists. What rights did Hu Fei had that he could learn martial arts when the descendant of a noble like himself could not?

Yan’Er revealed an expression of disdain and replied, “Hu Fei barely learned a few moves from others, and he cannot even open his spirit. How can he be considered to be true martial artist? I’ve heard from your grandfather that your great grandfather was a true spiritual martial artist.”

"What is opening of the spirit?" Mo Wuji anxiously asked because in his memory, other than his previous country, there was absolutely nothing else. Could it be that he was wrong and that this place was still a place where one can master martial arts?

At this moment, he felt excited and fired up to go all out to learn martial arts if it is really possible now. This was so that if one day he could return to Earth, he could ask her in person: “Why?”

Yan’Er was not surprised at Mo Wuji not knowing what the opening of spirit is. What surprised Yan’Er the most is that the young master previously could not care less about such things, why is he so curious about it now?

She still decided to tell him all that she knew, “Opening of the spirit is helping someone with spiritual roots excite their spiritual roots and open up their spiritual channel. Only those who have excited roots and opened channels would be able to cultivate and master martial arts. I’ve heard that opening more channels during the first try would indicate a greater quality of spiritual roots.”

Mo Wuji immediately caught two main points from what Yan’Er said. The first is that to learn martial arts, one has to have spiritual roots. Secondly one must be able to open up their spiritual network.

“Yan’Er, why did the old master not bring me to open up my spirit?” Mo Wuji asked excitedly.

Yan’Er tone became deeper and said, “When old master first came to Rao Zhou City, he was too busy trying to succeed the throne. When he realised that it was not possible anymore, he wanted to let you learn martial arts. Old master accumulated enough money for you to test your roots and open your spirit. However after the tests, it was discovered that you possessed mortal roots just like old master. People with mortal roots under normal circumstances cannot excite their roots and hence are unable to learn martial arts.

“What are mortal roots?” Mo Wuji’s heart sank but asked anyway.

Having gone through death, what else can he find unacceptable?

Yan’Er could feel Mo Wuji’s disappointment, sighing as she said, “I’ve heard from old master that one’s roots will affect one’s martial arts future. Normally, those without spiritual roots are called mortal roots, also known as useless roots. Those with mortal roots are just like everyone else.

Those with spiritual roots could cultivate and the grade of one’s spiritual roots could be further divided into different levels. There are the low level, medium level, high level and the top level. I’ve heard people saying there are some with grades even higher than the top level but I’m not too sure what are those levels.”

“So I only have mortal roots...” Mo Wuji could no longer hide his disappointment after hearing Yan’Er.

Yan’Er tried to comfort Mo Wuji saying, “Young master, even in Cheng Yu State itself there are only a small number of people with spiritual roots. The rest of the people like us only have mortal roots but they are all living just fine, I am sure we will too.”

Mo Wuji clenched his fist and said, "Yan’Er, I will go and find some work tomorrow. I want to accumulate some money and get ready to try and open my spirit once more.”

"Ah..." Yan’Er seems to be shocked by Mo Wuji’s decision but understood what he was trying to do. “Young master, please don’t do it. Back then, old master saved up money to test for your roots and despite knowing you have mortal roots, he still tried to open up your spirit only to realise mortal roots will never turn into spiritual roots. After this attempt, old master passed away with an illness not long later...”

Yan’Er’s words might be a little obscured but Mo Wuji understood what she was trying to point out. Back then, if the old master did not try and open Mo Wuji’s spirit, even if he might be poor, he would probably not die of illness. This also proved that the amount of money needed was not a small sum. However having lived in two different worlds, Mo Wuji was not as innocent as Yan’Er. Mo Guangyuan died coincidentally after he tried to open Mo Wuji’s spirit, it probably isn’t something so straightforward like an illness. From the looks of it, if he were to open his spirit, he had to be extra careful.

“Do not worry Yan’Er, I have confidence I will be able to earn the money. Tomorrow onwards, you do not have to go borrow rice from Aunt Lu because I will take care of you,” Mo Wuji said as he walked over to Yan’Er and gently touched Yan’Er’s undernourished yellowish hair.

Yan’Er was so young, could you imagine how much she sacrificed when Mo XingHe’s parents died and she had to take care of a mad Mo XingHe?

Aunt Lu was only their landlord, and she had been very accommodating to them all this while. Aunt Lu was a widow and hence her life had not been exactly very good either. Therefore, to always request for rice from her was a form of burden to Aunt Lu too.

Mo Wuji was still a top notch botanist in this rather advanced country, how could providing three meals a day be an obstacle to him?