The ice sculpture was still on the same spot but after scrutinizing it, Qin Mo found that its pupils were empty. Because the ice around the sculpture was transparent, he hadn't noticed it before.

Qin Mo held the black spar crystal and moved to embed it into the sculpture's left eye. The irregularly shaped crystal strangely turned into an oval bead when it came into contact with the sculpture and lodged itself into the middle of the hollow spot.

Without hesitation, Lin Zizheng placed the other crystal into the statue's right eye.

The entire ice sculpture was transparent and only the pupils of both eyes were pitch black. Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng concentrated on the special eyes and the two eyes flashed, reflecting a strange black light.

Qin Mo's expression changed as he pulled Lin Zizheng and immediately stepped back.

Just as they were retreating, inch by inch of the ice statue broke apart and burst out on all sides. The place where the ice sculpture stood started to emit a strong white glow.

As the light was about to cover them, Lin Zizheng turned around and protected Qin Mo, blocking the attack of the shattered ice.

When Qin Mo opened his eyes, a sense of soreness and pain came all over him. As he moved his hands, he found his right hand being held tightly. Following the source, he saw Lin Zizheng laying beside him unconscious, but his hand was holding Qin Mo's hand.

Qin Mo's brows wrinkled. He found that the spiritual power within his body couldn't circulate, and the spirit energy in the air was so scarce that he could hardly feel it.

A light footstep sound came from the side and he looked up to see an old man walking over.

The old man was gray-haired and wearing an ordinary hemp garment. When he spotted Qin Mo and Lin Zizheng, his expression sharply changed. He looked around and felt relieved when he found no one else.

"Where is here?" It took a long time for Qin Mo to break away from Lin Zizheng's hold. He stood up straight and supported Lin Zizheng on the ground.

The old man walked before Qin Mo and gazed at them with a somewhat complicated complexion. His eyes fell on the precious robes on Qin Mo. After a long time, he said hesitantly, "Were both of you just thrown here?"

Seeing Qin Mo's confused gaze, the old man s.h.i.+fted his sight around and finally decided, "Take that kid and come with me."

This shocked Qin Mo, but he glanced at the unfamiliar surroundings and hesitantly picked Lin Zizheng up from the ground. He followed closely behind the old man.

They ended up standing in front of a dilapidated house where the terrain was complex. If he hadn't been following the old man at all times, he wouldn't have found this place.

Watching him lay Lin Zizheng on the bed, the old man sighed softly and spoke with a little pity in his tone, "This is your younger brother, right? I didn't expect you two to be thrown into this place together."

Qin Mo's movement paused. He lowered his head faintly and asked, "Where is this place?"

"You must have heard of it before. A place in the world called the Dark Tomb." The old man said the name in a bitter tone, "Most of the people gathered here are those who cannot awaken their nascent spirits, and there is…"

The old man glanced at Qin Mo and saw no special reaction on his face before he continued, "There are some young children like you two who have been abandoned by a big family. But young people like you should be extra careful here. The Dark Tomb has always been ruled by the military government. As long as the young people are in the Dark Tomb, they must serve under the house of the military government. My son is… Oh dear! Both of you should stay here with this old man first." Sighing, he watched Qin Mo shook his head and walked out.

"Da s.h.i.+xiong, we have come to a terrible place." Lin Zizheng's voice sounded from behind Qin Mo. When Qin Mo turned his head, Lin Zizheng was leaning on the bedside and looked to be in a somewhat weakened state.

Qin Mo sized him up and down and saw him struggling to get up. Qin Mo thought of the scene where he had been desperate to save him, and his heart gradually softened. He stepped forward to support Lin Zizheng and whispered, "Be careful."

This stunned Lin Zizheng, and he couldn't hide his joyful expression. He held Qin Mo's arm and saw that Qin Mo didn't shake him away as before. He happily agreed, "Alright, I will listen to Da s.h.i.+xiong."

Touched by Lin Zizheng, Qin Mo's body stiffened but eventually relaxed. He intoned, "There is no spirit energy in the air here, so we can't use our cultivation base."

Qin Mo smoothed out his lips and continued, "First, I will find something for you to eat."

"Ha ha ha…" Lin Zizheng looked at Qin Mo's back and laughed out abruptly. His eyes narrowed with the corners of his lips raising upward as he murmured in a low voice, "Da s.h.i.+xiong, good…"

When Qin Mo re-entered the house, he saw this scene. He stepped forward and handed a slightly damaged stone bowl in Lin Zizheng's hands. "Although we are without spiritual energy, we still have to eat."

"Thank you, Da s.h.i.+xiong." Lin Zizheng's eyes smiled as he took the stone bowl from Qin Mo's hand. 

Looking at his happy appearance, the lights in Qin Mo's eyes flickered. Since that incident, he hadn't been in harmony with Lin Zizheng. He couldn't see any dark appearance when he stared at Lin Zizheng. He unconsciously said, "You're we–"

But before he could finish, he closed his mouth with a cold expression. Whatever the reason was, betrayal was a betrayal. Thinking of this, the warmth around Qin Mo disappeared again. He turned around and left without giving Lin Zizheng another look.

Lin Zizheng held the stone bowl as he looked at his own dark eyes reflected in the soup, his hands tightening around it.

When Qin Mo walked out of the house, he saw the old man handling the herbs. The herbs had no fluctuation of spiritual energy; they were just ordinary herbs. Looking at the old man, Qin Mo hesitated. "You…"

As if seeing Qin Mo's embarra.s.sment, the old man smiled gently, and his eyebrows no longer carried the deep expression from before. "You can just call me Old Man Wen."

Seeing his smile, Qin Mo's originally troubled thoughts gradually settled down. He walked to Old Man Wen's side and gave a gentle "En".

Qin Mo's sight fell on the herbs and Old Man Wen smiled. He said proudly, "This old man has few skills.  The only thing he can do best is refining medicine technique. I dare say that in the whole Dark Tomb, only a small number of techniques are above this old man's."

"Refine medicine?" Qin Mo picked up an herb beside him and his face showed some doubts.

"Refining medicine is a special treatment on these herbs. Refine them into liquid medicines which have special functions and are much better than those herbs." Talking about his expertise, the old man inevitably started to glow with delight.

Qin Mo understood now. The liquid medicine's function was probably similar to that of a medicine pill.

As the old man chatted with Qin Mo, he quickly sorted out many herbs in front of him. Then he fished out a flat iron sheet and placed it before him.

His expression became solemn. He picked out several herbs from the pile and placed them on the iron plate. He took out some gray stones and set them in the middle of several holes at the edge of the iron plate. Then his hands moved quickly.

Qin Mo's casual glanced gradually grew serious. He looked at the constant rolling herbs on the iron plate and the gray substance flowing around the stones under the old man's movements.

The herbs above the iron plate slowly turned into a green colored liquid. The most peculiar thing was that it's filled with granulated shape matters.

The old man brought out a jade bottle and carefully poured the liquid inside. When he put the bottle away, the old man breathed out deeply.

"The gray substance around you…" Qin Mo began suspiciously when he saw the old man had stopped his actions.

"You can see it?" Surprise appeared on the old man's face. He scrutinized Qin Mo from top to bottom, "This is the power of nascent spirits."

Noticing Qin Mo's puzzlement, he explained, "I awakened the power of nascent spirits. Originally I shouldn't have been living within the Dark Tomb, but… she did not awaken hers. Unfortunately, she left very early." When he finished, his face showed the bitterness again.

Looking at the depressed old man, Qin Mo also quieted down.

After a long time, the old man came out of his mind and laughed at himself. "This old man's age is ancient. He likes to let his imagination run wild." Suddenly, a sense of joy returned to his eyes. "Since you can see the power of nascent spirits, it means that you're not incapable of awakening its power. Wait until tomorrow when I'll refine some awakening liquid medicine to help test you."

Feeling the old man's goodwill, Qin Mo's cold expression slowly eased, and the corner of his mouth raised in a small arc. "Thank you."

It stunned the old man when he heard Qin Mo's thanks. After his previous observation, he determined that Qin Mo was a cold person. He had some unexpected feelings when he heard the thanks. He moved his sight away and waved to Qin Mo. "If it wasn't for you and my son's likeness, I would have been too lazy to help you."

Translator(s): Teo

Editor(s): Dark

Proofer(s): Sarah